I've gotten used to things in the 13 years since I moved to Japan, so sometimes it takes a visitor to remind me of all the things I still don't know.
This time the visitor was my mother. We were walking through my neighborhood when she noticed several round, furry decorations hanging outside a local liquor shop. She asked me what they were but I had no idea, though I'd seen them around many times. I kind of blew off the question, distracting her by telling her to just enjoy the sights. I didn't know what these brown orbs were, and the truth is I felt bad for not having an answer for her.
My mother eventually left (she had a great time, by the way) and in the days that followed, I began to notice the brown orbs more often — each time they caught my eye was a reminder of the bratty petulance I'd displayed before. I tried searching online for a description of what they were, but found no useful results immediately. (I confess, had I done a little more digging I would've likely come across an answer.)
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