I was talking about it for a while and I wasn't sure anymore whether I will be able to do it. But on Friday I finally managed to go to the beach again. Actually, the weather was not really promising and somehow it felt like winter was just around the corner. Lots of rain and a sharp wind, and also the temperatures have been falling quite a lot lately.
But on Friday during work, when I looked out of the window, I suddenly saw blue skies and the sun was smiling so nicely, as if we weren't in December, but as if summer had just started to say goodbye. Unfortunately, the temperatures were not quite as pleasant as the weather would have indicated. In the morning we had about 5 degrees Celsius, and it wasn't much more in my office room at home.
The window there has only milk glass and I can't see through it. And since I don't want to look at this glass wall all the time, I open the window as long as I can stand it. In terms of heating, Japan is totally backward, almost all apartments and houses have no built-in heating system and you either use the air conditioning or put small kerosene heaters in your rooms. My study has of course no air conditioning, which is the summer a very hot and sweaty affair, and therefore I have already prepared a small kerosene stove. But of course I don't want to run it with an open window, and that's why I'm sitting at my desk wrapped in a blanket and trying to ignore the cold weather. So far I'm doing quite well, Japan seems to be a perfect country if you want to toughen up.
But since the sun showed up again yesterday, I took the chance to finally visit our beach. As expected, there was nothing going on except for a lonely walker, and I didn't really plan to linger long.
Last summer we had built a small camp there out of washed up driftwood, and I wanted to store some of the still usable wood a little higher up so we could use it again next year. And most importantly, I wanted to tie up our swing so the winter storms couldn't do any damage. So far everything was fine and except for the sometimes sharp wind it was pretty nice being on the beach again. Of course, I had taken precautions and put on my winter jacket and also a nice warm hat.
Apart from the temperatures, you could almost have forgotten that we are already in December and the end of the year is just around the corner. The sky was still blue with only a few clouds and the sea was noticeably calm. But at the end, the sun did not want to stay as long as at other times of the year and at about half past three it had already made its way down towards the horizon. At the moment it gets dark here about 30 minutes later than in Germany, but the sunrise is still way before 7 o'clock. So fortunately the days are not that short after all.
The shadows were getting longer and longer and after a little round and last cleanup it was time to head back. This year we came to this place as early as February and I wouldn't mind if we could beat that mark this winter. If the weather plays along, I'd always be up for a walk on the beach, as fresh air can never do any harm.
But the forecast for this winter is snow, snow and more snow. And for that reason, I'm skeptical about roaming the beaches in the coming months. But I already have the sled and a shovel in the car, okay... to be honest, they've been sitting there all year waiting to be put to use again.
But until the first snow we will hopefully have to wait a little longer. The next few days promise a lot of rain again, which is not really better either. But since we can't choose the weather, it doesn't help to complain. For now we will enjoy this weekend and make ourselves a little comfortable.
That's exactly what you should do as well, so after reading this post you better turn off your computers and in any case, don't have a look at the crypto market. The sun will shine again soon, so there is no reason to worry.
