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The uncomfortable hot and humid summer-like weather lasted for a long time this year in the Yokosuka City and Miura Peninsula areas.  It really wasn't until late-October that things began to cool down.  October 13th, was a Japanese National Holiday (part of a 3-day-weekend), called: "Sports Day".  It was originally established to commemorate the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and the holiday encourages physical activity and sports participation across the country.  During this time, many schools held well-organized & attended field days/sports festivals, called: 運動会 (Undo-Kai).  There is another National Holiday, on November 3rd (also part of a 3-day-weekend), which is called: "Culture Day" (文化の日, Bunka no Hi).  It is intended to promote culture, the arts, and academic endeavors, etc.  So, for example, some universities and schools were opened for outside visitors to come and enjoy festivals, exhibitions, parades, and performances, etc., done by the students.  Of note, back in 1868, the holiday on November 3rd was established to celebrate the birthday of the Meiji Emperor -- but it was renamed in 1948.  Overall, in November, the weather becomes pleasantly cool and dry, often with sunny days and clear skies (called: Aki-ba-re, 秋晴れ) -- all wonderful for doing outdoor activities.  Inside Japanese homes, as the evenings start to get cold, people will start heating their rooms, and this can cause excessively dry air, so in such cases, Ka-shitsu-ki (加湿器) -- humidifier appliances -- will be used.  Many Japanese like to travel or go on drives up into hilly and mountainous areas to view the forests changed into beautiful Fall colors (called: Ko-yo, 紅葉).  Finally, holiday lights will start to be strung up on trees and buildings in public places called: "Illumination" -- see the link below for more details.  We hope you will enjoy the wonderful November weather and outdoor activities while living in Japan. Written by Goodfield

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LINK:

Holiday "Illumination" Lights 

https://us.iino.cc/blog/blog.html?eid=00200