Bamboo Forest and Japanese Cranes

 

My younger daughter, my wife and I went to 'Utsunomiya Romantic Village' to spend one of our new year holidays.

There were a small zoo that took care of Japanese cranes, a bamboo forest, a hot spa, vegetable shops and a botanical garden in the village.

I met my younger daughter for the first time since one year ago. We enjoyed walking about the village for almost half a day.

We Celebrate My Mother's 89th Birthday

My younger brother and I went back to my hometown to celebrate my mam's 89th birthday.
My daughters and my wife had sent potted flowers for presents before I arrived at home.
I took the picture of my mam holding the presents.

I found a pair of toys made of rice stalks displayed at Japanese style living room. One of them was a crane and the other was a tortoise. Cranes and tortoises are respected to as having a long life in Japan. Those two characters were best fit for her birthday.