WHERE IN THE WORLD

In early January, 2009, Andrew Hampsas and his wife Seika visited her family in Japan. They took the Reporter to the Taishakuten temple, in Tokyo’s Shibamata area, for the New Year festivities. “In my left hand is a hamaya, or ‘demon-breaking arrow,’ a traditional talisman sold during the New Year period to scare away misfortune and bring good luck,” Andrew wrote.