Yes it's soppy and sentimental, but I really like this video - hope you will too.

Hello Fan(s)!It's me here. Been a while, I know. Sorry about that. Christmas, New Year and Having a Life got in the way of blogging... for a little while, at least.

Winter is here! Which IS a good thing (at least that's what I'm telling myself).

Her

e is my top ten for winter in Japan:

1. Snowboarding - definitely the best thing about Winter. Not that I'm amazing at it, but I am improving, and can now make 

it the whole way down

 a mountain without killing myself and/or others.

2. Nabe - a kind of Japanese hotpot. I suspect that it may be slightly daggy to be a fan of nabe (which may be the reason that I like it), but I do enjoy it. Full of vegetable and meaty goodness.

3. Snow - being a boy from Oz, it is a bit of a novelty. Though I'm sure if it snowed more tha

n a centimetre at a time I'd probably be over it. And the shacks in this town do look somewhat 

prettier when they have a dusting of icing sugar over them.

4. Not sweating. Needs no explanation.

5. Clear skies - unlike Summer where it rains almost every day and the humidity is off the scale, the sky is usually clear in Winter.

6. Not needing an excuse to stay inside - during Winter, it's kind of expected that you will be staying inside, and you don't seem like some kind of massive loser if you spend all winter under the kotatsu (see number 7) watching stupid videos on YouTube.

7. The kotatsu - I'll admit that I was flummoxed by this device to begin with, but I'm a convert now. The kotatsu is a piece of engineering brilliance that consists 

of a heater stuck to the underside of a low table with a blanket covering it. Flick the heater on and stick your legs (or better yet, your whole body) under it and you'll be toasty warm. Perfect for places which don't have central heating (ie any house/apartment in Japan).

8. Winter Vacation - unbelievably, Japan's hardworking (and not so hardworking...) teachers don't automatically have time off during "vacation" periods - they have to request leave. This also applies to me (I'm in the "not so hardworking" category, in case you were wondering). But over the New Year's period, there are 4 or 5 days in a row that are "unofficial" public holidays. This means more time for boarding. Everyone wins.

Um... I'm sure that there are numbers 9 and 10, but I can't think of them now. If/when I do, then I'll add them here later.

I have also included some wonderful Winter photos for you. Please enjoy!