In the first few days of May, most Japanese people are actually in a pretty good mood. The weather is usually at its best, it is sunny, mild to warm and there is usually a light, pleasant breeze. What's more, most Japanese finally have the chance to relax a little.

It all started on 29 April, Showa Day. This public holiday commemorates the birthday of the former Showa Emperor, who held onto the Japanese throne for an impressive 63 years. His reign began well before the Second World War and ended in 1989, a year that was also characterised by important and far-reaching changes throughout Europe.

But I don't want to go any deeper into the history of Japan at this point, except to say that the birthday of the emperor of the Showa period is now a public holiday on which many Japanese have off and don't have to work.

Ultimately, this day is also the introduction to the so-called golden week, in which there are three more public holidays to come.

On May 3rd the Japanese celebrate Constitution Day (_Kenpokinenbi_), on May 4th _Midori no Hi_, the so-called Green Day, and on May 5th _Kodomo no Hi_, Children's Day.As is usual in Japan, if a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is also off. As a result, this year not only Monday, 5 May, but even Tuesday, 6 May, is a non-working holiday. Well, not for everyone of course, but at least for most Japanese people. Unfortunately, I don't have all golden week public holidays off this year either, but this is something I'm used to from the last few years and, well, what can I say, I don't really see any reason to complain.

I've already been quite lucky this year to be able to go on a few nice trips and take some short breaks where I got to see a lot. In particular our trip to Tokyo, my absolute favourite city, was a fantastic highlight of the time we some special visitors around us.

And now, with this beautiful weather, it's usually not so important whether I'm off work or not. Early May is simply a wonderful time of year, which I want to enjoy no matter where I am.

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But there is, of course, one place I really want to go. As it's not that far to the sea where I live, I certainly like to go to the beach.I've already been there a few times this year, which, as usual, really helped to boost my mood. The swimming season isn't open yet, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go to the beach and have some fun there. On the contrary, it's already the perfect place to unwind a little and get away from everything that's weighing you down.

In addition to the beach, I also have a few other places in mind, such as a few nice parks, which I absolutely have to visit in the coming days and weeks.

Hopefully we'll manage it all, as usual I have far too many plans for far too little time. But nonetheless, I'm pretty sure we're going to make this month a great one too. The emphasis is on us, because luckily I'm not alone in this endeavour, I have the greatest team in the world by my side.

And with this team, nothing can really go wrong. So, as usual, I'm looking forward to everything that lies ahead and will certainly enjoy whatever happens. I'll be reporting back to you as normal, and I already know that there will be plenty of photos to see of all the beautiful and interesting things we encounter. So be sure to check back so that you don't miss anything that's happening here in the Land of the Rising Sun.