1) The Japan Tourism Agency will NOT be giving away free flights to Japan in 2012 😦 It seemed too good to be true, anyway.
2) The article I wrote last August, “Is Raising Bilingual Children Worth the Costs?” made the Top 10 Articles of 2011 at In Culture Parent.
3) Our family has decided to take the plunge and fly to Japan this year! This means there will be many posts coming up about getting passports, what to pack, flying with children, what to do in Japan, etc (That’s my plan, anyway!). Anyone else going this year?
4) On New Year’s Eve, along with most other Japanese people, I watched “Kouhaku Uta Gassen“. I was smitten by these two 6-year olds singing “Maru Maru Mori Mori“:
Hiragana Mama 
Me! Well actually us! We also decided to visit Japan this summer (I’m going alone in April for a wedding). We couldn’t see my dad last year, so we hope our kids get to spend time with their grandpa (their grandma was visiting here). Let’s hope situation will be better.
Oh and congrats on the Top 10 articles! Keep up the great work Hatsuho!
Thanks Nami! And, yay! I am so excited about going to Japan I can barely think of anything else.
We are hoping to see as many relatives as possible, and my kids with meet their grandpa for the first time!
Good luck with all your travels 🙂
We love Maru Maru Mori Mori too! And my husband got some great fatherhood tips from watching the ドラマ Marumo no Okite. We’re moving to Japan in March! See you there~❤
thanks for the visit, and good luck with your move!