Check old posts for tanabata. I forgot to do it this year! The children are older now and aren't that interested, but Papa and Baba and Aunt wrote their wishes.
Entrance to a large tea room.
An entrance to a small tea room on the other side of the larger entrance. That is a small wooden door. One must crawl through to enter.
A window screen.
These girls are on their way home after a short day at school. They're not carrying their usual school bags. They probably took their desk boxes to school in the bags they are carrying.
From the field looking into the park. Those are petals on the ground.
In the park down the street, the sakura trees are not quite in full bloom.
Branch by branch, they're blooming at different rates.
Big Sister graduated from high school on Saturday. Aunt bought her this cake. The bouquet of roses is made out of a lemon flavored candy. It says Omedetou. That means "Congratulations!" Those are sakura (cherry) blossoms stenciled on top of the cake in pink sugar.
Big Sister wore a hakama for graduation. We rented it from this shop. Note that either boots or traditional sandals could be rented. She chose to wear traditional shoes with it.
The shop's name is Suzunoya.
www.e-hakama.com 0120-753-411
Not of the season. It is the first time this tree has bloomed! Ever. It has been pruned at the wrong times in the past. Everything has its season for blooming and pruning. It would get scraggly and in the way in the summer so somebody would snip at it. Finally, we got it right! 
That's the top of the neighbor's house. The daphne (next post) is to the left of this tree.
This daphne blooms every winter. Sun or snow. The olive tree in front of it is not doing well.
This one azalea bloom is a little early.
We didn't put Big Sister's dolls out this year because we have a kitten in the house who knows no boundaries. This is a catalog from Isetan, a department store. Check the label below for other posts and photos.
Bedrooms in apartments usually have a closet for futon. They are big and spacious. There usually aren't clothes closets, especially in older apartments. People buy wardrobes that sit in the room. They are wooden or cloth cabinets. Some are just open racks. Others have cloth drapes around them.
These choices are from the catalog Big Sister, the high school graduate, received recently. These things are available throughout the year.
Here is the company's link. It takes awhile to link up:
http://www.seikatsuzacca.com/
This year we have a high school graduate in the house! Big Sister is graduating from high school in March! So that means she's getting a lot of catalogs.
This one has furniture for college students' first apartment or for those who want to remodel their rooms at home. I think it's safe to say that most college students in Japan live at home with their parents. That is, if their university of choice is in the same town. Papa and aunt lived at home and went to university. Actually, they never left home!
This bed system is a real space saver. That's a television underneath.
Listed here in For Kids- Japan
HTJ is listed here.
