Here comes the rain

Between seasons, there always seems to be a period of rain.  We are currently immersed in the short rainy period.  I am so, so happy to be done with the humidity and heat.  As the weather transitioned from heat to wet, we had a lot of thunderstorms.  It was a rough transition. 

For the last two weeks, I have walked my son to school in the rain pretty much every day.  He doesn't mind since he loves to jump in puddles and doesn't care if he gets wet.  We walk through a park on the way to school each day.  There is a little rice patty that one of the elementary schools use to show the students the lifecycle of rice.  It was cut and hung to dry last week, just like we did in Roppongi Hills.  Since it has been raining every day, the rice has not been able to dry.  So, the students have covered the rice in plastic to keep it out of the rain. 

With all the rain, mushrooms are making an appearance everywhere.  Matsutake, a prized mushroom in Japan, has begun to be sold in stores.  People go crazy for this complex and flavorful mushroom.  Their flavor profile is usually described as spicy, intense, and sometimes compared to cinnamon. Luckily a little goes a long way, because this mushroom is expensive.  We saw a giftset of 4 mushrooms and 4 sudachi (a small citrus) on sale for ¥30,000 ($265). 

Matsutake are sometimes given as gifts to very important business clients or perhaps really special friends.  I have been told they symbolize fertility and happiness. 

I am looking forward to autumn actually arriving.  The colors of the trees are truly breathtaking here and the weather tends to be pretty mild - sunny, yet cool.  We just have to get through the soggy part first.