Mochi

Local Tondo Festival today. All the neighbourhood folks gather, in our case at the local elementary school, to eat hot zensai sweet bean soup with fresh mochi cakes in it, imbibe in hot sake straight from the trunk of a bamboo tree, and watch the bonfire where people bring all their old good luck charms and new year's decorations to burn and get the New Year off to a warm start.

Met some of our lovely neighbours and made the usual promises to do better at getting together this year.

Community. It's important.

Real or virtual. Happy New Year to all.