Happy 冬至 (とうじ) – the shortest day/longest night of the year. The weather is so nice today that it doesn’t really feel like the arrival of winter, as the characters seem to suggest. As you can see above, I’ve partaken of the ritual gourd and beans, which is supposed to give you the nutrients to make it through the night (and whole next year) without any illness, and later this evening I’ll be soaking in ゆづ湯, also supposed to ward off colds.