Happy New Year to everybody.  It is now the year of the rooster, if you are Chinese.  Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, New Year’s Day (元日 Ganjitsu?). However, the traditional Japanese New Year (正月 Shōgatsu) is still celebrated on the same day as the contemporary Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese New Years.  This is based on the Lunar calendar, and was on January 28th this year.  So akemashite o-medetō-gozaimasu.

Effective immediately, we have changed the times of the evening classes, moving them an hour earlier to 6 – 8 pm.  Hopefully this will make it easier for people to get to class.

Also, we have given up Unit 115.  Classes are canceled for the rest of the week, while a new partition wall is being built.  We will still have a 900 sq ft mat, which is not as much as we had before.  Most of the furniture is being given to charity.  We expect this change will get us into the black financially.