After two straight weekends of awesome globetrotting madness, I finally had a weekend to myself and could make use of a couple of terms my host mom in Nishiaizu taught me:
骨を休め – literally “rest one’s bones,” take a physical rest
羽を伸ばす – literally “spread one’s wings,” a similar pattern but also includes a mental rest aspect, and another alternative is…
鬼の居ぬ間に洗濯をする – literally “do laundry while the oni is away,” where oni = unpleasant boss-like person/situation that oppresses you
Get the scoop on these and other idioms at this awesome ことわざ dictionary.
Rocco from Facebook says: I always liked 足をのばす, literally “stretch your legs” but it actually means to go to a particular place. 例えば：じゃあ、来週福島まで足をのばすわ！ or something like that.
That’s a good one! I need to try and use it more often. It does sound like it should mean relax.