I am not sure whether this has something to do with the Oseibo tradition I was talking about the other day, or with the end of the year or Christmas in general, but these days I keep receiving lots and lots of fruits. I have been given apples (from Aomori) and tangerines (from Kyushu) and even some small yuzu, Japanese type lemons. I also received yuzu marmalade, so those at least will keep for a while.
It’s interesting that fruits are considered a good gift, but maybe that’s because tangerines and apples are expensive, even now. Of course all of the fruits I received are immaculate and obviously store-bought, so I am wondering whether people would be happy about getting tiny apples like the ones that were growing in our garden when I was a child…