Setsubun

In honor of Setusbun, a festival celebrating the day before the first day of the Spring Season - I thought the first day of Spring was March 30th, No? - L and I went to Nara. Our reasoning for making the nearly three hour drive on a Tuesday was to see the 3000 lanterns at Kasuga Grand Shrine illuminated.Despite the rain, which was not warded off by L's leaving her umbrella at home to combat Murphy's Law, it was a really beautiful event. Setsubun has some really interesting traditions including throwing roasted soy beans at a family member who wears a devil mask, and eating an uncut rolled sushi while facing a specific direction without talking until the roll is finished.