Winter

My mom asked me what I missed about Japan this time of year. Here's what I came up with:

-Onsen, especially in the snow
-The Kobe Illuminiarie
-End of the year parties (Bounenkai)
-Nabe pot dinners
-My kotatsu
-Celebrating Christmas without the massive consumerism or, in my family, mandatory church services
-New Years' celebrations
-Celebrating friends' birthdays (I have at least 10 friends with birth dates in Dec.)

But, in fairness, I do not miss:

-Working in a freezing school
-Returning to a freezing apartment (no central heating anywhere!)
-The train commute to work packed to smothering with high school boys (more ride the train in the winter rather than ride bikes)
-Teaching the same Christmas vocabulary each year
-JLPT first weekend of December
-Not having a proper Christmas tree in my home