Shin Shin Shin, Shinjuku-ski

The annual Aki Matsuri Japanese Fall Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico gives me a chance to remember my 6 years living in Japan. You might think a festival cannot recall anything specific since it covers a spectrum of cultural displays from music, to dance to karate demonstrations. However, my neighborhood in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo had its very own annual festival complete with its own song with lyrics about how much we all like Shinjuku! Even though this was my second year in a row attending this festival, it still surprises me to be able to get a glimpse of live, Japanese culture here in the desert, in Albuquerque.