It’s no secret that I love Japanese vending machines–or that they stock an unusually wide variety of foods, beverages, and other items.
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About
Susan Spann is the award-winning author of CLIMB (Prometheus Books, 2020) and the Hiro Hattori mystery novels (Minotaur / Seventh Street Books), featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo.

The Ninja Blog
Join me as I blog about Japan, my books, my travels, and all the things I see along the way!
Merry Christmas Tree

Christmas is a popular holiday in Japan, even though less than 1% of the population identifies as Christian. People here love holidays, lights, giving (and receiving) gifts, and special food, so Christmas is pretty much a lock on every level. Lots of the major buildings have Christmas trees (many of which are enormous, natural trees rather than artificial ones), but “at-home” trees–to the extent they exist–are usually very small (think table-top size) and artificial. While down in Meguro having my hair cut and having lunch with my friend Kaitlyn last month, I saw some living Christmas trees for sale at
Read morePraise for the Hiro Hattori Novels & CLIMB
Spann keeps getting better . . . a taut closed-circle mystery with perilous consequences. Fans of classic whodunits will be pleased.
review of BETRAYAL AT IGA

A tremendous reach into uncertainty amidst a cancer diagnosis, and ultimately her summits become a reward far more than the tops of the mountains she attains
mountaineer, bestselling author, founder of NO BARRIERS
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