KIOSK!

     Kiosks are pretty much everywhere.  New York City is chock full of them, and I have seen them throughout the Capital Region as well.  I think the word is from Russian, and I was not surprised to see them here in Japan.  We are a bit closer to Russia than New York, and the Japanese people are quite entrepreneurial.  The train stations here are full of coffee shops, news stands, convenience stores, and restaurants.  One store in particular has really caught my attention here.  It is a kiosk style store, with all the personality and creativity of a person who names their dog, "Dog".  It is cute, it forces people to be redundant, and repetitive, which always makes me happy and happy.  Here is a photo of the Kiosk kiosk. . .

Bar in Minami Kashiwa

I was jogging this morning towards Kashiwa and I passed this bar on my way.  I am planning to go soon, do you think I should bring ID to prove I have a name?

"Club the No Name"

Turkey Dinner at Grand Lodge

     Last Saturday Ryoko, Yuta, and I went to Tokyo so that we could attend a turkey dinner at the Grand Lodge of Japan.  I had to work most of that day in Kashiwa, so Ryoko and Yuta met me at the train station so that we could travel together.  I took this picture of Tokyo Tower as we were approaching the lodge. When we got to the Scottish Rite lodge room where the dinner was being held, the Christmas theme was fully realized.  I felt like I was back in the States. The turkey was delicious and there were copious quantities of stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and afterwards pies of all appropriate flavors.  I am glad to say that I stuffed myself, as did Yuta and Ryoko.  Yuta made a friend there named Shane, a very dignified ten year old son of another mason.  I exchanged email addresses with them and maybe we can host them some time soon.  These photos were taken in the lodge as we were leaving the dinner.

     Overall the dinner was a great success, the only issue I had was that the dishes were cold.  I am accustomed to turkey being still hot from the oven. . .

Christmas Tree!

     Yesterday, after Yuta returned from school, finished his homework, and before dinner was ready, we went to D2 (a store similar to Lowes) and bought all that we needed for an American style Christmas tree.  I had thought that we would not be able to pull the season together because of all the differences between American and Japanese culture, but now I see it can be done.

     I am not accustomed to a Holiday season where I can go outside the house and pick an orange to eat (What did you say? The ground is frozen solid in New York?).  We even have a Kumquat tree that is about ripe, that I can pick from any time I want to (What did you say? Kumquats are expensive in New York?). The persimmons are all collected off of the several trees and in the house ready to eat (Don't know what a persimmon is? Neither did I until I saw them growing in the yard.).  You have already seen all the flowering trees and plants around the farm (What did you say? The only flowers in New York are the ones for sale?)  I miss my winter coat, the fleece I wear here is much less massive and I need the reassuring weight of a real wool coat.  It just doesn't get cold enough in Japan to require it.  I miss driving in the snow and ice of New York, there is never any black ice here to "liven things up" with a little loss of friction.  The frequent drivers on their cell phones are just no substitute for black ice.  I think I will go outside and pick an orange now. . .

Gardening and News

     I took a good photo of the garden outside my computer room today as the Sun was setting.  The Camellia trees are in bloom here and looking awesome.  You can also see Mums in the background, and this garden really shows how good Oba-chan is with plants.  The only other person I know with as green a thumb is my Mom.

     In other news, I have started work with Berlitz teaching English.  It is a part time job with better employee supports than I have seen at other similar institutions in Japan.  They made me travel to Tokyo for five days of training and one day in Kashiwa without pay.  In the US this would have been illegal, but here they get away with it as an "extended interview".  I still plan on doing the best work for them I can, but I have to wonder how many teachers are less enthusiastic because of this lost time.  It certainly wasn't cheap to go through with travel and food for the week.  I did learn a different style of teaching than what I am accustomed to, and I know that it will effect my work in the states.

Braille for your feet!

     I have been meaning to write about this observation for some time now and am finally getting around to it. When I first came to Japan I noticed yellow tile stripes on the floor of the train station and then all around Japan.  They were on the streets and in some buildings as well.  I asked about the tiles, specifically why they had bumps on them.  The answer is that they are for blind people to find their way around the train station. You can feel the bumps through your shoes, and even make out if they are dashes or dots!  Here is a photo I took in the subway outside of Ueno station.          

     I think this idea is terrific and wonder, why we are not doing this in the States?  Come on infrastructure people, get on the ball!

Tsukuba Mountain

      Tsukuba Mountain is a short trip to the north of us here, and we were told to take a hike, so we decided that was exactly what we would do.  We got up at 4:00 AM (2:00 PM for you in New York) and met the cousins from Moria.  They drove us to Tsukuba and we were lucky to get parking even though it was still quite early.  The weather was perfect and the maples were in full color, check out the photo.

      The hike was great, as I am in fair shape now that I am running.  I did discover that the muscles for running are not exactly used the same for hiking and my calves took a few days to stop reminding me.
      I found the hike somewhat melancholy since the last time we hiked Tsukuba was with Ryoko's cousin, Yumi-chan, who was killed by a truck last Summer as she was crossing the street.  I kept remembering how Yuta held Yumi-chan's hand on that last hike.  He was having a difficult climb and she was so kind as she helped him.  I remembered how I took Yumi-chan ice fishing years ago and how she looked like the wind would just pick her up and carry her off that day.  She had the slight frame so common here in Japan.  The next picture is one that we took that day.  I kept an eye out for the tree in this photo and when we came to it I suggested a photo with

the new group.  Ryoko took the picture, as she had the first time.  I did not think at all about where to stand and ended up in close to the same position.  Yumi-chan's sister, Kyo-chan is standing quite near to where Yumi-chan stood.  I feel that Yumi-chan was there in our spirits and I know that she would have approved of how we enjoyed the beauty of the mountain.  We miss you. . .

     We did not take the train down the mountain this time because the weather was much nicer. The number of hikers increased as we went down until it was almost harder to go down then up.  This trend continued until we made it to the bottom and took some pictures there.  We loitered

around at the bottom for some time and then made our way to the car. The scene around the parking lot was chaotic and Lee-san lost his temper with another driver.  I have not seen him angry before and that speaks volumes.  The line of traffic that we drove by snaked all the way down the foothills into the valley below.  I estimate that the line was at least 2 miles of cars.  I am glad that we got there early. . .

Tree Maintenance!

     I usually spend the Summers in Japan helping out around the house and farm, and this is the first real Fall/Winter that I will be here.  Oba-chan has always put me to work at some point trimming and maintaining the trees around the house with the statement that "this is early".  Well this year I finally get to do the work at the appropriate time.  Today we broke out the clippers and started "cupping" the trees along the driveway.  They had gotten a little rough and the work was needed.  It took us most of the day and clean up was tough considering the clippings were quite small.  I hope you agree that the outcome was worth the effort!

Signs and reading Japanese.

      I do not read Japanese, and this is a major setback to life here in the land of the rising sun.  It is especially a pain in the neck when shopping.  I once bought skim milk thinking it was regular milk, which seems minor until you factor in the sheer volume of complaints emanating from the developing human in my life.  Size apparently is inversely related to vociferous rejection of fatherly mistakes.  The inability to read Japanese characters usually resolves itself when English characters (called romanji in Japan) are used and I can figure out the meaning.  I now have greater empathy for illiterates in society. . .

     One of the positives though is that many signs in Japan use cartooning to strengthen their message, and determining the meaning from them can be funny.  While I was jogging the other day I encountered this sign.  My thoughts of what it means were that "if you walk your dog here, we will throw explosives at you and blow up your dog!".  I looked around to make sure that there were no dogs in the area that may be misconstrued as mine.  It seemed best to not test their resolve, since rules in Japan are followed without variation.  When I showed this sign to Yuta (he is literate in Japanese) he told me that it was just a warning not to litter.  What I took to be a stick of dynamite is really a can.  I like my misunderstanding better, its more exciting!

The Magic of visiting Grandmothers

     I clearly remember, with great fondness, the times that I got to spend with Nan (my father's mother) in Yonkers, New York.  We would often go for a few days and spend time in the house that Dad grew up in, which is kind of awe inspiring for a boy who considered his father superhuman.  I can still call up the smell of the back yard with its moist, earthy notes. When I smell that aroma now, I am transported back to that place emotionally and imaginatively.  We would look forward to taking the walk "across the creek" to visit the store there, or up the hill to the other.  It was special to me, as I would imagine it was to my siblings.  Maybe this is because there is no love like a Grandmother's, no safety like in her care.

     Being in Japan, I can see my son making these kinds of memories for himself.  Yesterday I plowed where I was directed, and we planted onions (tama-negi) as a family.  The smell of my Grandmother's back yard was there, and I was likewise transposed.  Yuta enjoyed the planting, even though it was work, and informed us of his feelings by his enthusiasm and cheer, he even started singing.  When the first notes reached me, I glanced over at Oba-chan and we both smiled at each other.  Yuta can sing well, but we were reacting more to the evident joy in his tenor.  Hopefully when we harvest the onions, the lad will be more willing to eat them. . .
     Each day that Yuta goes to school at Yagi-Minami Shogako, I walk with him.  When we get to the gates of the school, I start my run and Yuta starts the academic day.  We usually take the shortcut that brings us down the hill and past a Lawson (small store) that reminds me of "across the creek" in Yonkers.  I have also had many instances of deja-vu when walking around the house.  Oba-chan resembles my Nan, and sometimes when I walk past, I see her in my peripheral vision.  I see Nan.  This causes me to back up and take another look to find that its Oba-chan, sitting flat on the floor, in the same way that my Grandmother used to.
     Nan had many humorous but very wise sayings, one of which was "when you burn your butt, you've got to sit on the blister".  I have thought of that this year as I struggle through homesickness, bacon withdrawal, and learning a difficult language.  But I know that this trip is worth our time as I know that Yuta is building a series of memories that will comfort him when he needs it.  I believe that these memories are part of what helps make humans resilient and I know that Yuta will have a better life with this experience to draw upon.

Nawa!

     I recently went on an overnight trip with Yuta to Ibaraki, just north of where we are now. Yuta's cousins had invited us to harvest rice in the traditional way and enjoy a local farmers festival on the river.  We had a blast and one of the things that I learned is how to use rice hay to make rope, which is called "Nawa".  I spent a few days playing around with the process and made quite a bit of rope (about 50 foot of it), none of which was strong enough to hold my weight, even when I doubled the rope.  Here is a picture of my Nawa:


     You can see the broken ends where I tested to see if it was strong enough to hold me.  I was very focused on the process and wanted to make sure that I remembered how to make nawa, so I spent a few days playing around with it.  Ryoko, observing me, decided to ask me to make an ornamental rope for the Shinto shrine in the house, which you can see below:

     I am accustomed to being able to make things with my hands.  I am a woodworker and general handyman as most of you know.  I took some time to study the fancy rope and tried to reverse engineer it so that I could make one.  After about an hour I realized that I had no idea what to do.  The rope in the shrine is beautiful, mine sloppy.  The level of workmanship in the shrine rope was way above anything that I could do at this point.  Ryoko told me that her father had made one, and it had taken him a full day or so.  I also learned that you can purchase them for not so many yen.  So I will not be making one, this is something better left to more adept craftsmen. I will be glad to teach anyone who asks, when back in the states, how to make crude rope. . .

Archaeology in Japan

     Today I was out on my morning jog when I went past the JA (Japan Agriculture) building.  Across the street are fields and within one of them were these holes.



Now my first thought was "holy cow, look at the gophers!", but then I noticed how regularly the topsoil was removed.  I have seen this before in Japan, only at the time the holes were filled with Archaeologists (I know what you are thinking, they were alive and mostly women to boot).  When I approached them then, I was informed that because Japan has such a long history, every construction project that is going to disturb the stratigraphy must have a dig performed in order to make sure that nothing important is destroyed.  Seems a bit much, but I can see the point and support the science.  So it seems that the first dig I found was active and real artifacts were being found, while I do not know if anything was discovered here.
     You gotta love a country that can keep their archaeologists busy.  In the States, they just wander around and get into your garbage, kind of like degreed raccoons. . .

Little Things

     Little things can make a big difference.  Japan is profoundly different in many ways from the US, but there are many aspects of Japanese society that are the same.  Gossip still reigns supreme among neighbors, litter still dots the landscape, and politicians lie.  But I find the slight differences to be humorous in the extreme.  Take my work shoes in the photo.  They are comfortable and stylish, if a little dirty here.
   












     I really enjoy wearing them and they certainly serve their purpose well.  The only issue is in the brand name of the shoes.  I know Shakespeare's opinion: "What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;" , and I agree with Juliet, names should only be important when communicating with others.  But there is a hitch in this philosophy, when the names become downright funny.

     As you can see I have reason to laugh each time I put these on.  I even find myself occasionally chuckling as I walk along , remembering the shoes I wear. . .

Japanese Landscapes

     Several days ago I was jogging around the area where we live in my usual pattern.  My usual pattern involves striking out in a randomly chosen direction and finding a way to get lost.  I do this so that I can learn the roads and landscapes of Nagareyama.  I am finding that I can go farther and farther as I become more and more fit and my success rate at finding my way back is still 100%.  This day I was listening to my Ipod and as I turned a corner, saw some striking flowers up on an embankment that seemed to capture the Japanese approach to landscaping.

     As you can see the hill is quite steep, and there is a retaining wall completely down the left side of the road.  There are drainage pipes from behind the wall in order to mitigate the chance of a landslide, and the gutter is of a common type here in japan, though they are usually covered and not open like this one.  The walls around the houses are common around here as well, you can see them on the right.
     It seems to me that the owner of the parcel on top of the hill purposefully planted those flowers there so that people would enjoy them from the road below.  Very nice. . .

Japanese Phoneme Problem

     Phoneme - a sound used by a language that can be utilized to make words.  Different languages use various phonemes and leave others out.  Japanese does not have a phoneme for an "L" or an "R", but combines them together into a liquid sound that is kind of hard for American english speakers to make (I actually took several years to learn how to speak Ryoko's name properly and I still have to concentrate on it).  This is often the cause of jokes directed at Japanese individuals who attempt to speak English, which I find particularly annoying.  "Rice" becomes "Lice", and you can imagine what "Broccoli" and "Celery" come out as.
     I have found many instances of this mispronunciation while in Japan and thought you would like to see one of the more recent examples.

     While I find the humor around the spoken mistake to be annoying, a printed error is just downright funny.  The company that produced this product had ample time to investigate the proper spelling, and their lack of follow through is humorous.
     This product apparently is a bag made with Calcium Carbonate.  It should react with environmental acids and do two things, break down and neutralize the acid.  A very good idea with not so good advertising. . .

     One more thing, since so few people have commented on my posts, I erroneously assumed that few people were viewing it. But I have gotten feedback that more postings would be appreciated.  With that in mind I would ask that readers post a short comment so that I can have an idea of just how many there are of you.  Thanks.

The HORROR!

It's hard to type while curled up in the fetal position!  I have to stop trembling in fear and disappointment to explain.  I have been living in Japan now for more than a month and each time I go shopping for food, I noticed something missing.  The local supermarket is just a short walk away and we go there often for day to day needs.  For the first week I just learned the layout and tried new things, and then I went looking for BACON.  I found the closest  thing to BACON, a type of ham cut to look like BACON.  I cooked it up and made an omelet with some American cheese (another item of scarcity in Japan) and to my dismay, it had none of the deep rich mouthwatering savor that I am accustomed to.  I started feeling a little anxiety, but figured that another store would have the real deal.  So then began the hunt; York Mart, Takashimaya, Lawson, Family Mart, Big A, even Seven Eleven with none of them satisfying my need.  Then I learned about Costco.  Surely an American style warehouse market will have American style BACON!  So after begging Ryoko (I have to do the dishes for the entire month of October. . .) we went today and found - - -  the same limp ham.  The same lack of savory goodness.  My soul has withered and now whimpers from somewhere near my left kidney (who would have thought that a kidney could be the souls safe room?).

The real scare is that I still have 10 more months to go. . . . . .  WITHOUT BACON!

Chop Stick Rubber Band Gun!

Last weekend, Yuta was bored and asked if we could make a few rubber band guns from chop sticks and have a battle around the house.  We looked up how to build them and made a few, we are still finding rubber bands all around the house (at least I am).  The activity was a success, which led Yuta to take pictures of his collection of weapons (at that point he had 2 pistols and a rifle/shotgun he had invented) and show them at school.  Yuta's fourth grade teacher was very impressed with the idea and asked if Yuta could bring them in the next day.  Upon seeing the rubber band shooters, the teacher then asked the class to bring in the materials to make one for themselves the very next day.  Yuta led the class and each student made a rubber band pistol.  They then broke into two teams and had a battle!  I am very happy with this teacher, he is so much cooler than I am!  Yuta is now a bit of a hero in the class, the students had quite a bit of fun. . .

Typhoon Man-yi

     Today we survived typhoon Man-yi!  The rain started last night and the wind picked up as well, until this morning when the real event started.  The wind blew over a tall flowering plant on the far side of the driveway from the house and kinked over a few of the potatoes and eggplants, but that appears to be all the damage we incurred.  We were lucky to be on the eastern side of the center and so did not receive the full brunt of the storm.

     On another note, I have started jogging!  On one of my early morning excursions, I was running past the nearby middle school and witnessed the baseball team greeting the coach.  The team was on the field practicing and the first player to see the coach called out.  All the players stopped what they were doing, faced the coach, and when one of them called out, they bowed.  The coach bowed back and then instructed the boys to continue.  I was impressed and happy to see a fellow teacher receive that much respect.  I can only assume that the same situation applies to classroom teachers.  No wonder the Japanese students we see in America do so well, they have such a profound respect for themselves, their teachers, and the institution of education.
     For my next post I plan on interviewing my son to see how cleaning the school on a daily basis affects his educational outlook. . .

Earthquake!

     Last night at around 4 in the morning, Ryoko and I felt an earthquake that was large enough to feel, but small enough to be no big deal.  Saku-san, my mother in law, did not even register the event and it was too small to wake up Yuta.  The fact that Yuta did not wake is not really surprising as he is entering the age where sleep seems to take a deeper hold, and it takes a small army to wake him up.  As I was rolling Yuta around his bedroom to start his waking ritual this morning, I accidentally bounced him off of the wall.  When the dust settled I noticed that he had cracked his left eye open and I jumped on the opportunity to ask about the earthquake (I did not want to wait until after dunking his head in the cold water bucket).  He mumbled something about inducing a 'quake in my head', and that seemed to be the only one of interest to him at that point. Ryoko and I are light enough sleepers that the P-wave will often push us into consciousness and the rest of the quake can be experienced.  These little earthquakes are exciting to me as an Earth Science teacher, I find the experience exhilarating. . .

First Week

     Our first week in Japan has been mis-slept away!  The first week is always the worst as Jet-lag hits quite hard.  The worst time of day is around 5:00 PM when my body just gives out and I cannot, for the life of me, keep my eyes open.  I have days were I swear somebody must have carried me to bed as I have no recollection of how I got there.  The worst time of night is around 3:00 AM when my body wakes up and refuses to go back to sleep.  I have memorized the wood grain pattern of the ceiling of the bedroom. The effect is wearing off rapidly now and I believe we will be sleeping like normal very soon.
     The weather here has been hotter than I have ever felt before.  We had a record setting 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) on our second day in Japan.  With the humidity caused by the surrounding ocean, my pores are certainly getting a work out.  I owe a deep and sincere gratitude to the inventor of the Air Conditioner!
     I have driven for the first time in Japan.  Ryoko and I took a trip to the local store at 6:00 AM (Jet lag induced earliness) and I nervously took the wheel.  All went well and I anticipate that I will be a regular driver soon.
     There is a battle in my digestive system between my American bacteria and the invading Japanese bacteria.  It is a minor reenactment of WW2 with all the expected bathroom casualties.  The Americans are holding out as I keep sending them vast quantities of coffee to bolster their spirits, but the invaders are too numerous.  Wave after wave of Japanese marines wash up on my duodenum and have whittled away the entrenched Americans.  Even with their resolute attitude and vast courage, my home grown boys are bound to "loose" this battle.  Thankfully the toilet here has a bidet already built in, so it is easy to keep the battle field clean. . .

Farming is a risky business!

We have just learned of a most sad occurrence, the corn has been pilfered!  Apparently there is a critter that resembles a raccoon in Japan called a Palm Civet.  They also appear to enjoy corn much like the Raccoon does here.  Oba-chan was upset to find her crop decimated by this bandit of the night. . .

Where we will be!

Good news! I have made changes to the settings so that all should be able to post comments.  I hope we haven't lost readers because of the start up troubles we have experienced.

Ryoko-san has asked that I post a map showing the exact position of the farm in Japan.  I know it is small, but look for the star on the image. . .

First Posting

This is the first entry in a blog designed to show our life in Japan.  It is my hope that it will help us maintain contact with friends from the US.  I plan on uploading photos and stories on a weekly basis.  I can also answer any questions or concerns followers may have regarding our life in Japan. . .

This is the house where we will be living while in Japan.  You can see the fields that I have plowed many times (in the South) as well as the community gardens that Oba-chan (Grandma) leases out and helps people learn how to farm, to the East.