I was born and raised in Shinjuku, Tokyo (around the Ichigaya area). Back then, I remember taking part in a mysterious custom called "Rosoku Morai" (getting candles) with my much older brother and about 20 other kids from our apartment building. We'd put candles inside empty cans to make little lanterns, parade around the neighborhood, and collect candles and snacks from the people we met.
I think I was around three years old at the time.
Within walking distance, even for a three-year-old's little legs, there was a candy shop (long gone now) called "Ichigaya Market" that was wildly popular with the neighborhood kids. There was a space just wide enough for about four kids to line up, and an elderly lady sat facing us, selling cheap sweets and kuji (prize draws) all day while looking after the kids. Looking back on it now, that must have been pretty tough work.
To me, my "countryside hometown" is actually a giant metropolis, but the townscape has changed so much that I don't feel any urge to go back. Aside from the roads and the schools, almost everything has been transformed into a completely different town from the one in my memories.
