This is the first book I have ever written. It has taken almost two years to complete. The book is about my experience in Wakaki in 2015, my first year here after moving from Bangkok. My work on this book was made possible by my friends both in Thailand and Japan, who took an interest in my stories and encouraged me to keep writing.
The story is written in Thai. However, some people in Japan wanted to know what this book is all about. So, upon their request, let me explain the contents of my book without getting too much into the details. I hope that this explanation will sufficiently enable them to understand the outline and tone of the story.　The story develops around the transition from one season to another throughout that year.

1 Introduction
2 About Writing This Book
3 About Establishing Ties
4 About Cooking and Seasoning
5 About Putting in Order
6 About the Beginning of the New Story
7 About Moving

8 Chilly Early Spring Before the Cherry Trees Blossom
9. Bamboo Shoots Grow Spectacularly Fast in the Spring
10 Men and Women in the Neighborhood, Children, and a Dog
11 General Store and Supermarket
12 Baggage and Garbage
13 Animals around My House
14 A Gathering to Draw a 3000-Year-Old Camphor Tree
15 Arita
16 Removing the Weeds
17 Hamlet That Appears in a Fairy Tale
18 Visit from Nong and Phim

Rainy Season

19 Working on Japanese Plums
20 Home Vegetable Garden
21 Arrival of the Rainy Season and Centipede Scare
22 Fireflies

Summer

23 Morning Glories
24 Bon Period
25 Summer Thai Cuisine
26 Driving School and Driver’s License
27 Training to Become a Kyushu Tour Guide in Fukuoka
28 On-site Training in Karatsu
29 Oracle from Yutoku Inari Shrine
30 Ureshino Hot Spring
31 Hospitals, Clinics, Pharmacies and Chinese Medicine Doctors
32 Toast

Autumn

33 Cluster Amaryllis
34 Funerals in the Village
35 Balloons in the Sky
36 Autumn Has Just Arrived
37 Keeping Warm while Saving Energy

Winter

38 Clubs, Escallops, and Mandarins in Tara-cho
39 Regular Gathering of Women in the Village
40 New Year
41 Snow Is Falling
42 Purchase of a Car
43 Makeup Exam
44 Girls’ Festival, Boys’ Festival
45 The warmth of springtime
Postscript (from my husband)
About the Author
Acknowledgments

After my book’s publication, Yamagami-san of *Nagomi-no-Ki asked me, “Why does your book have five chapters while the title is ’Four Seasons’?” The reason is that I needed to insert an additional chapter, Tsuyu (Japanese Rainy Season). I am from Thailand, which is no stranger to the rainy season. As I wrote in Japan, I was tempted to write extensively about some exciting things I encountered during the rainy season here, compared to that of Thailand. I know some people don’t like the rainy season. Still, the rainy season in Japan inspires storytelling with some beautiful flowers at their best. However, I kept the title of the book Four Seasons, in line with the general concept of the seasons of the year among the public here in Japan.

*Nagomino-Ki is a local woodwork factory run by Mr. and Mrs. Yamagami.
Its kitchen utensils made from Itoshima timber are known for their excellent quality.

Author name: Noi
Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
I live in Wakaki-cho, Takeo City, Saga Prefecture, together with my Japanese husband, raising our child.
In Thailand, I used to do art and publication-related work.
I have a Kyushu Special Zone Guide-interpreter’s license (in Thai).