Pacific Islander

We Do Miss Fiji

2012-01-22T16:44:00.004+09:00

One of the most beautiful videos I've seen in a long while - underwater sites in Fiji and Tonga. It goes by fast, so just pause it as you please to take in the scenes.

Full screen is a must for this one:

We will return one day.

Turning to final approach, Matei airport, Taveuni, Fiji

A B C D Goldfish?

2012-01-21T18:47:00.003+09:00

L M N O Goldfish!

O S A R Goldfish! C M?

O I C D Goldfish!

Or do you?

(full screen highly recommended)

Painting a cross section of goldfish between each layer of resin, artist Riusuke Fukahori creates three dimensional images, much in the way 3D printers work. The result, as you can see, is a stunning illusion.

Power Play

2012-01-19T04:32:00.000+09:00

Stop SOPA

Censorship

2012-01-18T08:14:00.000+09:00

Stop SOPA

It Is To Laugh

2012-01-07T16:30:00.004+09:00

According to ancient mythology, Japan's Sun Goddess, Amaterasu Omikami, went into hiding in a cave after an argument with her brother that had resulted in the death of one of her attendants. As a result of her entering the cave, the world was plunged into darkness. What to do?

Eventually, she was coaxed out by the prayers and dancing of Ame-no-Koyane-no Mikoto, Hiraoka shrine's main diety along with the laughter of the other gods.

Nowadays, there is an annual Laugh Festival held at Hiraoka Shrine in Higashiosaka, Osaka Prefecture. Priests and followers give it their all to laugh out loud, long and hard.

Other countries and cultures have laugh festivals as well. And laughter can lighten one's burdens even if one has to "fake it" at first. Our minds and bodies are so intertwined that the physical act of laughing or smiling will trigger happy feelings in the mind. Like yawning, laughter is contagious.

So have a good laugh. Even the gods will enjoy it.

Daffy and Porky in Robin Hood Daffy (1958)

Momo Rocks-in the New Year

2012-01-06T17:41:00.009+09:00

Momo likes to drum. When she sits on "her" bench on our front porch and wags her tail, she hits the storage box of the storm shutters which sounds like a drum. Of course, off camera she can really get into it at times and make sound like a "taiko" drum.

2012 is of course the Year of the Dragon. Our friend Arkonbey, who draws comic books and graphic novels (among other talents), recently got the idea for a comic about an all girl puppy band called the "Glitter Dragons". To read about how he came up with the idea and the name, check out this post on his website Obscurum.

Arkonbey emailed and asked if he could model the drummer after Momo and of course we said that would be a great honor. So now Momo is drumming for the "Glitter Dragons".

Here is the band on stage:

Drawing by Arkonbey, over-painting by his significant other, Sweet Enemy

And now the Glitter Dragons have their own blog. Click on the logo above to check it out!

Momo, you rock! You never cease to amaze us. Thank you Arkonbey and Sweet Enemy. Happy New Year of the Glitter Dragons!

Ending 2011 On A High Note

2012-01-02T15:21:00.003+09:00

Friday we took the car on an hour and a half journey west, while Bluesette crew member Martin rode the train two hours eastbound, to meet up in the town of Ushiku, Ibaraki as a way to celebrate the end of 2011.

First we visited the Ushiku Daibutsu, a steel framed bronze statue of Amida Nyorai - Buddha of infinite light and life. The statue, built by Higashi Hongwani (lit. East Temple of the Primal Vow) and completed in 1993, stands 120 meters (394 feet) tall from ground to top and 100 meters (328 feet) from head to toe.

Comparison of Ushiku Daibutsu to the famous budda in Todaiji Temple in Nara, the Statue of Liberty, and of course Gojira (Godzilla).

It is more than merely a landmark as the interior has several floors of exhibits which tell the history and teachings of Buddhism. At chest level there are windows allowing one to glimpse a view of the surrounding countryside. As the weather was very clear, we were able to see Tokyo Sky Tree and Fuji-san which is 95 miles to the West.

Here's Martin ringing out 2011

After coming back down to earth, we were famished so headed for the *NEW* Doki-Doki restaurant. I have mentioned the original Pocket Farm Doki-Doki, which is closer to Lake Hinuma, in previous posts. Martin blogged about it here: Five Stars For The JA Ibaraki Pocket Farm Doki Doki Restaurant. The restaurant/farmers market was started by the JA Ibaraki - the farmers association - to provide an outlet for locally grown produce and meat. They offer a huge selection of fresh, local foods, prepared using the favorite recipes of farmers and chefs. All you can eat. It's always a great experience.

Round one for me - all vegetarian except for a piece of fish. Kimie tried the pork "shabu shabu" with her fist tray. We all went back for 2nds and 3rds.

After the leisurely lunch, in spite of feeling like a nap, we headed for Chateau Kamiya. This is the site of the Japan's first winery, built in 1903. At the time, they had vast vineyards and VIPs would come out from Tokyo for "secret" parties. The building was designed by a French Architect and the vines were brought from Bordeaux. The brick buildings are now a National important cultural property.

Chateau Kamiya

The vineyards were gradually sold off for development decades ago and the ownership changed. They no long make wine there. Instead, they make a local beer and import wine from France (mostly) which they re-bottle. Martin tasted some and said it was awful. With good wines from France, Germany, Chile, Argentina, the USA, and Australia readily available in Japan, one wonders why the Chateau Kamiya would bother trying to sell sub-standard re-bottled wines. Seems a losing marketing strategy to me.

There appeared to be some earthquake damage to the clock tower of the main building. Only the shop was open - the museum, wine making room, and restaurant were all closed. Might have been a great place to visit at one time, but I can't recommend it as we saw it, other than to view the buildings for their architectural historical value, and this lovely Iigiri tree with its bright red grape-like bunches of berries in the main courtyard. The Iigiri is native to China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Then it was time to head home. While the Chateau was a disappointment, the Daibutsu was uplifting and the meal at Doki-Doki a delicious feast. An interesting monument, delicious food, and friendship - a great way to celebrate the end of the year.

So long 2011.

Winter Solstice

2011-12-24T17:44:00.006+09:00

The "reason for the season" is of course the Winter Solstice. We've turned the corner from the days getting shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, and hence forth we will get more sunshine (for a time). Celebrations lasting a few weeks help us get through the darkest of times (literally speaking) and different religions find various reasons to celebrate, but basically they do so, I believe, at this time of year to help us all get through the lack of sunlight. For me, vitamin D supplementation and a dose of wide spectrum artificial light each day does the trick.

One celebration we partake in around the Winter Solstice each year is a special dinner at Wordsworth Restaurant. This year it was extra special, as the restaurant was damaged by the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami, but has survived, as have we. (Life goes on, despite the odds.)

This year's menu included Bagna Calda, Parma ham with mozzarella and tomato in pumpkin sauce, foie gras, seafood salad, soybean soup, baked stuffed Homard lobster, pasta with greens, and for desert, apple compote with cookies and chocolate.

PandaB does not eat foie gras (click here for why) and a very special thing happened this year. The waitress came to our table before we began our meal and asked if I would like a substitute instead of foie gras. They had remembered my preferences! So while they served K the foie gras, they brought me a special dish of baked turban sea snail in olive oil with chopped greens, covered with tiny croutons. It was a delicious alternative and I was very impressed by the thoughtfulness of Wordsworth in offering it to me.

After dinner we went down to Kashima Jingu train station to see the light display.

All the best from Pandabonium and K this Winter Solstice season - no matter how you celebrate it - and may 2012 bring us all peace and understanding.

May all beings be happy.
May they be joyous and live in safety.
All living beings, whether weak or strong,
in high or middle, or low realms of existence,
small or great, visible or invisible, near or far,
born or to be born.
May all beings be happy.

-A Buddhist Metta

There Are Rainbows

2011-12-13T09:16:00.003+09:00

Our friend Sandra on Maui sent us this photo the other day.

Enjoy some Hawaiian music with the rainbow. Here is George Kahumoku Jr - with "Hawaiian Lullaby"

A hui ho.

Syzygy

2011-12-11T11:41:00.006+09:00

We watched the total lunar eclipse last night. It started at about 22:00 our time and we watched until 23:45 (when we were getting too sleepy to continue). As the moon was nearly directly overhead, we soon tired of straining our necks, so we spread a blanket on our pebble drive and laid on our backs to view it.

Skies were thin clouds broken to scattered at first, but it later cleared. Due to a rain storm that passed recently, the air was very clean and since we're in a relatively rural area, there was not much in the way of light pollution. It was a little chilly out (about 39°F), but we were dressed for it.

It was the most beautiful sight either of us has ever seen in the night sky. Jupiter was out too and with binoculars we could see some of its moons. When a large patch of sky was clear, the stars added to the spectacular show - the moon was in Gemini with the Pleiades (Subaru in Japanese), Taurus with its red giant, Aldebaran, and Orion offering a lot to enjoy with the binoculars. (Nikon 10x50mm 6.5° field of view).

As Martin mentioned to me in an email today, with the moon fully eclipsed, it looked very three dimensional against the backdrop of stars. I think the brightness of a full moon normally makes for too great a contrast for us to see it as a sphere.

I didn't get any pics with moon partly in shadow, as early on I didn't think they would come out at all (I haven't had much luck photographing the moon). Later I decided to give it a go anyway. I took several pictures, but only a couple of them were worth saving - they were ones taken with the camera on a tripod and tripping the shutter with the timer so as not to vibrate the setup. Canon Powershot S3 IS was on full zoom. Not an astronomer's choice of equipment, but good enough pics to jog my memory of this event in the future.

As I walked back to the house to go to bed, I turned to take one last look, and as I did so, a meteor streaked across the sky to the southwest. Perfection.

Until next, sweet sailing.

syzgy: Astronomy . an alignment of three celestial objects, as the sun, the earth, and either the moon or a planet

Almost As Good As S...ailing

2011-12-04T19:05:00.004+09:00

It looked like it would be too windy for us to go sailing today, and besides, after the rain we've had it was a full morning of catching up on laundry, with warmer weather and crystal clear skies.

For lunch, we treated ourselves to Wordsworth Restaurant in neighboring Kamisu City.

I had spaghetti with oysters in a spinach cream sauce, topped with salmon roe.

Oishii.
K went for the pasta soup with seafood. Scallop, clam, oyster, mussel, crab, prawn and squid.

So good. Or so I was told. ;^) K finished the whole thing.

No, we don't usually eat out twice in one week. We'll need to take a break from it, as we're thinking of having the special Xmas dinner at Wordsworth again this year.

Lunch With The ATM

2011-12-02T16:35:00.005+09:00

No, we didn't have lunch with an automatic teller machine...

Kimie had a day off in the middle of the week, so we went to Mito City for a little year end shopping. We got there after noon, so parked at Keisei department store for lunch. The top (9th) floor features several restaurants, and our favorite* one specializes in tofu and yuba.

In addition to western style and Japanese style dining areas, they have a long table - perhaps 20 or more feet - facing the outer glass wall of the building. It is made of one solid wood plank, about three inches thick. The view is to the north and on a clear day, one is treated to the mountains of north Ibaraki and of Tochigi - one being Mt. Nantai in Nikko National Park, some 40 km distant. Closer in, at just two blocks away, is the "ATM" - Art Tower Mito with its 100 meter (328 ft) tall geometric spiral tower made of titanium.

Art Tower Mito has an exhibition hall for contemporary art, a music theater for classical performances, such as those by the Mito Chamber Orchestra (Seiji Ozawa, musical advisor), and a drama theater in which Acting Company Mito and other groups perform. The lobby connecting all three has a German designed pipe organ made with American oak that has 3,283 full stop pipes. It was built by two Japanese craftsmen who studied in Germany and achieved the designation of master organ builder.

Pipes!

The tower itself is, as I mentioned, 100 meters tall. This was done to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mito becoming an official city in 1889. Inside, there is a circular glass elevator which takes visitors to an observation room at the 86 meter level.

The restaurant has a wonderful buffet, but we opted for a teishoku (set lunch), which starts off with a basket of fresh tofu to which one can add sea salt and or shoyu, and a bowl of yuba. Yuba is a favorite of mine, in all its many forms. It is the film skimmed off the top of the vat when tofu is being made. Delicate flavor and silky smooth texture lend it to several uses in Japanese cuisine, especially the dishes of the Buddhist "Shojin Ryori" vegetarian tradition. Shojin means "to pursue enlightenment" and ryori simply means "cooking". So Shojin Ryori is not just vegetarian food, it is a Zen Buddhist practice, and it dates back to the 13th century. But I digress a long way, as we were not eating an entirely vegetarian lunch.

The teishoku tray we ate offered mackerel, tempura, steamed veggies, sashimi, miso soup, rice, pickled veggies and a desert.

After shopping at Keisei, we went down to the Mito train station and picked up a few more items in the shops there. There is a new coffee house at the station - Saza Coffee. The company grows its own beans in the Americas and Africa. They've been around for over forty years (starting out in Hitachinaka, northern Ibaraki. We have been served the company's iced coffee at the yacht harbor, but the Mito shop is new. Anyway, Kimie had wanted to try it last time we were up there, but on that trip, it was getting late in the day and I declined. So I owed her. This trip I just had iced tea (I can't drink coffee in the afternoon or I stay awake at night), while Kimie had her coffee and a slice of cheesecake.

Saza!

It was a nice way to end the day before heading home.

* (Actually, I've never eaten at any of the other restaurants up there, as their focus is on foods I'm not interested in - Chinese, Korean, beef, pork, oysters, etc. ).

Morning Cup Of What?

2011-11-17T16:24:00.006+09:00

We enjoy a cup of coffee with breakfast - nothing unusual there. Even though it costs more than what is offered in the grocery store, I often buy roasted beans from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Papua New Guinea, Ethiopa, or other exotic countries, through HonuKATOCOFFEE. We grind them up ourselves as needed, for a fresh flavor.

Honu Kato Coffee offers some nice combinations for about $9.00 per pound

Recently, Kimie read about a very special coffee from the Philippines. It is called "Coffee Alamid" or "Civet Coffee" and locally as "Kopi Luwak". The price is an eye opening US$394.00 per pound! Who needs caffeine? If that doesn't wake you up, you're either one of Wall Street's 1% or you need to check your pulse.

What is especially odd to me is the reason for this huge price difference. You see, the Alamid, Luwak, or Asian palm civet, is an animal found in the Philippines which plays an important role in the production of this coffee. Civets are nocturnal mammals that like to eat the fruit of the coffee plant for its pulp. Their bodies have enzymes which allow them to digest it. Their digestion chemically changes the coffee bean making it lose its bitterness. They eliminate the beans, which - I am not making this up - people search for and gather to make into Civet coffee.

After a thorough washing (I should hope) sun drying and roasting, it is ready to package.

I'll pass (so to speak).

Tanbo Art

2011-11-10T17:00:00.007+09:00

Tanbo is the Japanese word for "rice paddy". In 1993, in the center Aomori, the northern most prefecture on Honshu, the people of Inakadate Village created "Tanbo Art" by growing pictures in rice paddies using different strains of rice that have various leaf coloration as their palette. They hoped to increase commerce by drawing attention to the village. They plant the art in front of the town hall on which they built a castle-like viewing tower. The idea was a success, with over 200,000 visitors coming to see the Tanbo Art each year.

I posted about the Tanbo Art back in 2005 - http://pacific-islander.blogspot.com/2005/07/rice-paddy-art.html - during my first year of living in Japan.

Tanbo Art has not been without controversy. In 2008, in an effort to cover costs, the village revitalization group who are responsible for the art, planted advertisements at the base of the pictures - one for Japan Airlines, another for a local newspaper. The town government was so angry that they threatened to no longer lease the land for the art in following years. After a vote by the townspeople, the rice seedlings for the advertising portions were removed.

This year, the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami gave a new focus for the art and the messages grown in the rice.

The above picture is of Kaguya-hime, a princess from the Moon and the main character in Japan's oldest novel Taketori Monogatari, "The Bamboo Cutter's Daughter". She is shown being returned to the Moon at the end of the story. At the bottom is written : "Gambaru Japan!!" a common expression which has become the nation's post 3/11 slogan. It means "Do your best, Japan".

The second picture is of the Bamboo Cutter and his wife and the glowing section of bamboo in which, as the story goes, the princess arrived on Earth as a baby. Under it, it says "please think of others."

I also happened to write about the novel on my blog in 2007, as I have a beautifully illustrated and translated book of it. The original novel dates back to the late 9th or early 10th century. At the time I wrote that post, Japan had just launched a moon exploration probe named "Kaguya" after the Moon maiden.

That post is here - http://pacific-islander.blogspot.com/2007/09/moon-maiden-takes-flight-princess.html and if you haven't read it before, I hope you'll do so and find it interesting.

For more remarkable images of Tanbo Art, just search for it in Google Images.

Parlez-vous De Crevettes Bleues?

2011-10-24T16:14:00.002+09:00

Stormy weekends have kept us off the water. We consoled ourselves with food. Yesterday, I took Kimie to lunch at a new restaurant in town. The food (Japanese style) was OK but we missed Mama's Kitchen.

Then, in the afternoon, we received a cold package delivered to our door. It was from our friend who runs a ryokan hotel to our north. A box of Pacific blue prawns (called Tenshi no Ebi - angel prawn - in Japan) from New Caledonia, a bottle of sweet red pepper sauce, and wonton sheets to wrap around the meat and fry in sesame oil.

We'd never tried blue prawns before, so Kimie prepared some for dinner. So many ways to cook them - pan fried, tempura, wonton, sashimi, soup.... Kimie kept it simple and pan fried some with mizuna (a leafy green vegetable) garlic, salt and pepper.

Before cooking, they look silvery blue. She saved the heads for later.

I didn't get a picture of the cooked prawns - we were too busy eating them. They were so flavorful - the best prawns I've ever tasted - with an excellent texture. New Caledonia has been farming blue prawns for decades now. Their local species were not adaptable to aquaculture, so they brought in this one from Mexico. Unlike many farmed "fish", these prawns are not fed land animal by-products, hormones, coloring or antibiotics. They are raised in a way that does not harm the surrounding mangrove forests.

The Pacific blue prawns are grown on Pacific islands. New Caledonia is one place, Fiji is another. Development work is being done in Hawaii. Other than the superior flavor, the water that is used on island farms is free of viruses. Polluted water can be a big problem for prawns grown in some other countries.

Today, we had the heads in our ramen (noodle soup). The wonderful prawn flavor was infused into the ramen. I did manage to take a picture this time. The prawn heads turned an otherwise ordinary dish into a savory delight.

Délicieux!

Japanese Women Are Burning Their Bras!

2011-10-16T17:21:00.011+09:00

It's true. In recent years Japanese women have begun burning their bras.

This isn't a feminist protest, this an ecologically more responsible (and private) way of disposing of old bras.

In Japan, burnable garbage is placed into translucent plastic bags which in turn are put into neighborhood wire bins for collection so that non-burnables (which are handled separately) erroneously mixed in with burnables can be spotted before creating a problem in the system.

Unfortunately, that means personal items such as undergarments may be visible before the bag is collected. Many women are embarrassed by the thought of their bras being seen by others or even snatched by a pervert, and so cut them up into small pieces - not easy as many of them contain wires.

From this

In the last few years major underwear makers in Japan started programs to recycle such items and they offer opaque bags for women to use with the recycling program. And instead of just being incinerated, the bras are recycled into what industry calls RPF - "refuse paper and plastic fuel".

to this.

The fuel is burned in boilers and power generation plants. It is a fraction the cost of coal, burns more cleanly, and produces less carbon dioxide. There is such a growing demand for RPF that one company is expanding their bra collecting efforts to Taiwan.

So, two um.. thumbs up for burning your bras, ladies... after you're done wearing them, of course.

source: Recycling bras kills two birds with one stone - Kyodo News

Full Moon At Hinuma

2011-10-12T17:44:00.003+09:00

Tonight (October 12 in Japan) there is a full moon. It will be a "Hunter's Moon" - the farthest, and thus smallest, full Moon of the year. I hope the weather cooperates so that we can view it.

I was surprised to come across this woodblock print of a full moon over Lake Hinuma (1946) by Hasui Kawase 川瀬巴水 (1883-1957):

I had no idea that Lake Hinuma, where we spend so many days sailing each year, was ever the subject of a woodblock print - let alone by such a famous artist. Kawase was one of the most prolific Japanese artists of the early 20th century. In all, he produced 600 landscape prints, but also other works. Unfortunately, most of his early wood blocks were destroyed in the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.

He was part of the "shin hanga" (new print) movement. Unlike Edo Period woodblock artists who designed, cut the blocks, and printed their own art, shin hanga artists split the tasks between artist, wood cutter, and printer, and gave credit to each for their contribution to the finished product. Shin hanga artists also worked to create more limited edition pieces which were not to be mass produced like the famous ukiyo-e pieces were.

Kawase's subjects were mostly landscapes, and the places he chose to depict were not famous places in Tokyo and evirons, but rather picturesque rural areas which still had the appeal of being more natural and undeveloped parts of a rapidly changing Japan. He traveled far and wide and sketched his impressions, returning to Tokyo to create the resulting prints.

Well, I must say that it is those same characteristics (more natural and less developed) which led me to settle in Ibaraki and to choose Lake Hinuma as home for our sailboat Bluesette. Full Moon At Hinuma captures well the serenity we find there.

Enjoy the moon.

Hatari!

2011-09-15T13:25:00.003+09:00

by Momo of the Jungle (aka Momo the Wonder Dog)

Every day is an adventure!

One of the routes I take on my walks is now a jungle, thanks to lots of summer rain. There are beautiful flowers (from close to the ground to reaching two meters ore more into the sky), great heaps of tangled vines, and tall, tall, grass.

I like to chase the animals I come across, such as grasshoppers, birds, lizards, and snakes, although PandaB puts a quick stop to it when it comes to snakes since some of those might be venomous. I haven't seen any lions or elephants.

Here I am on "safari":

I hope you are getting out and having a great adventure every day, too!

trivia: Hatari means "danger" in Swahili and was the title of a 1962 adventure movie which starred John Wayne and Elsa Martinelli.

Cooling Off

2011-08-21T17:54:00.004+09:00

Last Thursday the temperature reached 38°C (100° F) here as a high pressure area lingered off shore of the Kanto region. During the previous week, over seven thousand people suffered heat stroke in Japan and a few died. Earlier in the month, former Japan international soccer player Naoki Matsuda died, at age 34, two days after suffering a cardiac arrest during training.

One 75 year old man died as he was waiting for an electrician to install an air conditioner in his apartment scheduled for the following day. Not having air conditioning or even a fan, he had suffered heat stroke events in previous years and had decided to do something about it. A day late.

We don't use air conditioning, but have plenty of electric fans. We just stayed indoors with windows shaded by awnings and fans blowing - reading, taking naps, and sipping cold mugicha (roasted barley tea). A tenugui (printed cotton towel) helped to mop our brows - or sometimes we wore one with a cold pack in the folds.

Me wearing a tenugui at Lake Ashinoko in 2007. That's Mt. Fuji that you don't see in the background. If you want to see it, visit this post: Pirates of Ashinoko

Since it was cooler on the patio than in the house, Momo slept under the bench on the front porch which has been cloaked in sun tarps that cut the temperature considerably. I also cool it by wetting down the ground in front of it using a sprinkler. At times, she even has a fan to move the air out there.

Meanwhile, at the zoo, a distant cousin, an orangutan, had a similar strategy. We've never visited Tama Zoo, but we hear it is great, with animals exhibited in natural habitats...

"Laugh with glee at a chimpanzee, he reminds you of someone in your family" - lyrics from "Never Smile at a Crocodile" ~ Disney's Peter Pan (1953).

The weather changed drastically on Friday, with rain bringing much lower temperatures 22° C (71.6 F). Quite a drop! Momo, with her summer cut, found it a bit too chilly for her, and spent today in her indoor cage.

The coming week will see slightly higher temperatures , but cloudy weather will keep it reasonably comfortable (29° C).

We have another trip coming up - heading north on the newest Shinkansen train (the only way to fly) for a couple of days in the Tohoku region - yes, the area worst hit by the Great Earthquake and Tsunami of 3/11. Stay tuned...

On Course

2011-08-15T21:23:00.004+09:00

I like food as much as sailing, so perhaps I can be forgiven for thinking that the blog "Proper Course" was about dining etiquette.

I don't know if this is considered "proper" for a sailing blog, but we had no sailing pics today for the Sweet Bluesette blog. Perfectly fine here, "of course".

We had thought of sailing with Martin (see Viking Invades Hinuma about Martin) and his brother who is visiting from Sweden, but they made other plans (a baseball game at Tokyo Dome). Good call, as the day was a hot one and the trains and roads they'd have to ride to get here were crowded with Bon season travelers.

Then we were going to take our niece to lunch as she returns home tonight and her mom had to work today, so she had naught to do. But then her grandmother brought her sushi, so lunch with us was off. Another change of course.

We decided to go to lunch on our own, to one of the many Italian places we like - Trattoria Buona Fortuna. The set lunch sounded good. We were warned it took an hour or more, but that just made it more appealing to us as we could linger in the air conditioned restaurant longer while outside the temperature was 93°F and the heat index was hitting 100°.

So, today we just have food pics. Choose your favorite course - proper or otherwise.

click on a photo to zoom in

Lovely appetizer plate of veggies lettuce and potato salad topped with prosciutto, followed by spaghetti with eggplant and tomato sauce, trout stuffed with mushrooms, and bread with olive oil.

Dessert was ice cream with caramel sauce, two cakes - one made with earl grey tea, the other with green tea and chocolate chips - and a small pastry.

We did dilly-dally, and spent a good hour and a half (or more - I lost track).

Full Moon Tonight

2011-08-13T19:05:00.003+09:00

There is something special about a full moon, especially in August. In the northern hemisphere it is harvest time, for Buddhists it is Obon - a time to express appreciation for those who have gone before us - and everywhere it marks the endless cycles of life and love. Or perhaps it is just that a full moon gets our attention by reflecting the sun so brightly and we stop looking down at our earthbound workaday lives, and start looking up to the heavens and are inspired by what we see.

Here is Imai Miki singing "Moonlight Lovers"....

"Hey, boys & girls, don't be afraid, look at the sky

Can't you see the full moon? Tonight's the night"

Let Me Take You Up

2011-08-09T17:42:00.002+09:00

'Cause we're going to Lavender Fields.

Nothing is real...

and nothing to get hung about...

Lavender fields forever...

We flew to Hokkaido in an attempt to beat the heat. Momo the Wonder Dog stayed in an air conditioned doggy hotel while we were away. It was only a few degrees cooler in Hokkaido, so Momo got the better of that deal. We did see some beautiful scenery. It was my first flight in almost 7 years, my first domestic Japanese flight, and Kimie's first ever domestic flight as well. (Normally, we take the Shinkansen). And our first time to see Hokkaido. It seems so big! About the size of the State of Maine. It is 20% of the land area of Japan with only 4.4% of the population.

We were gone a week and saw lots more than flowers. Waterfalls, lakes, horses, sea ports, an Ainu village, and more. For those who are interested, see all the pics plus videos and comments, at this page on Picasa: Hokkadio 2011.

Lavender fields forever.

*top photo: John and Yoko, Sean and (?) at Fujiya Hotel (Hakone) in 1978. 2nd photo - Pandabonium and K, same spot, 2007.

Hiatus

2011-07-25T10:30:00.000+09:00

Summer break.

See you next week!

Head In The Clouds

2011-07-22T22:22:00.004+09:00

Sometimes I look up into the sky and just say, "wow".

I saw this in the sky this afternoon.

Japan wins Women's World Cup

2011-07-18T08:04:00.002+09:00

Omedetou Women's Soccer Team Japan!

Up A Lazy River

2011-07-09T15:55:00.003+09:00

at the Itako City "Ayame Matsuri" - Iris Festival -
Iris Festival "Abassadors" greet guests

Long ago, the Tonegawa river flowed through Tokyo and into Tokyo Bay. It's course was never steady and every big storm brought floods and course changes to the river. So, about 400 years ago, Ieyasu Tokugawa (the first Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate) began a project called the “Eastward Transfer of the Tonegawa river”, which changed the river's course eastward to the Pacific Ocean just south of what is now Kashima City. The project helped to protect Edo from floods and aided the development of agriculture in this area. It was also designed to offer protection against invasion from the north.

Itako grows one million iris plants with five hundred different varieties

This also resulted in a waterway that allowed fish and rice from what is now Ibaraki Prefecture to be shipped by boat to markets in Edo. The lakes, canals, and rivers were the major means of transportation. Itako city, located where lakes Kitaura and Kasumigaura empty into the Tonegawa river, became a transportation hub, in turn creating a tourist trade.

Map from this great travel site: Let's Travel Around Japan!
One can take a ride up the Maekawa on a robune (oar powered skiff).
Today, transportation is primarily by rail and truck, but the days of poling and sculling boats through the canals and rivers are not forgotten. They are celebrated especially during Itako City's Ayame Matsuri - Iris Festival - during which people come by the busload to take a step back in time, enjoy viewing a million iris flowers along the Maekawa, listen to ancient music, watch dancers, and take rides in traditional "robune" - boats powered by a single sculling oar mounted on the stern. The oar, called a "ro" is common to Japan and China and consists of a curved handle connected at a pivot point to a horizontal oar blade.

Our oarsman learned to do this at age six and has carried on for seventy years since then. He said that it takes a few months to learn to use the oar effectively, but poling with a bamboo pole is more difficult and may require three years or more to master. The volunteers who do this during the festival agree to make ten trips a day with eight people in the boat.

The tour boat businesses have long since switched from using bamboo poles, to small outboards as the primary source of power (though poles are still kept on board). This was in part due to the dredging of the Maekawa which made part of it too deep for poling. Many of the women who run these boats have been doing so for over 50 years.

Happily, there are younger people ready to carry on the traditions.

Women in traditional yukata with woven hats and baskets tend to the iris plants.

The iris festival dancers wind their way through the iris beds. The dance uses gestures from ancient times common to local festivals and Japanese Buddhist Bon dances which take place in August.

At lunch we had a view of the Hitachi Tonegawa river which connects lake Kasumigaura with the Tonegawa river.

Unagi - broiled eels served on rice - is a very popular treat throughout Japan.

The eels hatch in waters off the Philippines and swim up rivers in Japan.

After lunch, it was time for a wedding...

At an Itako style wedding, the bride and her parents form a proccession through the iris gardens, and board a specially prepared robune which contains a hope chest of sorts as well as symbolic gifts of rice and sake for the groom. The groom waits downstream as the bride and her parents float past friends, relatives, and other well wishers. Watching this has become a popular tourist attraction in its own right, so the city and tour companies provide actors to play the roles on days when there is no actual wedding scheduled. This day, we saw the saw the real thing.

These days, the great waters of the Tonegawa river system are used primarily to provide drinking water to large parts of Tokyo and the Kanto Plain, as well as flood control and recreational boating. But who knows? As the global energy crisis continues to emerge, perhaps these rivers and canals will find their past role as transportation "highways" revived. In the meantime, festivals such as the Ayame Matsuri give us a glimpse of the past in a fun and beautiful way.

Blossoming soon...

2011-07-08T22:13:00.001+09:00

On Pacific Islander - Itako City Iris Festival (Ayame Matsuri) in full bloom with flowers, canal boats, oars, dancers, ambassador girls, a bride, and grilled eels for lunch. (Just the eels were for lunch.)

A Song For Japan

2011-06-22T11:01:00.004+09:00

Trombonists from Japan and around the world perform for charity and to maintain awareness of the on going efforts to recover from the tragedies of March 11. "A song for Japan" is a beautiful piece, I think you will agree, written by Belgian trombonist Steven Verhelst. Enjoy.

Whether you play trombone or not, be sure to visit the website http://www.trombones.jp for more clips, information, free downloadable sheet music, t-shirts, artwork and tools to help you contribute to the cause through music. All profits go to the Japan Red Cross.

Special thanks to my high school buddy and fellow trombonist, Larry, who sent me the link.

About Time - Lunch Time

2011-05-28T15:55:00.004+09:00

No, Pacific-Islander isn't turning into a foodie blog. At least not intentionally. I leave that to the experts like Kat and Satoshi.

Super Typhoon Songda (Vietnamese for tributary) is coming our way. Luckily its progress is slowing and by the time it reaches us in the wee hours of Monday morning, it is expected to be no more than a tropical storm.

As Kimie pointed out to me this morning, it will be a disaster for this part of Japan if this summer we are hit with a strong typhoon carrying a lot of moisture, as so many roofs (including our own) were damaged in the March 11 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.

Today we had lunch at restaurant we had never tried before. Oddly enough, it is only about one mile from our house. Over the years we have talked about giving it a try, but perhaps because our own kitchen is so close, we had never stopped there. Today, on the way home from a local garden center in the rain, we decided to have lunch there. About time!

とんがりかん（Tongarikan) is yet another couple owned restaurant with the business on the ground floor and their home upstairs. We learned that they moved here from Saitama Prefecture (the other side of Tokyo) for health reasons - much easier breathing out here near the ocean and away from the big city. They have been in business for 13 or 14 years now.

Tongarikan has cheerful atmosphere with bay windows full of flowers. On the menu today were curry, pasta, and a teishoku (set lunch).

I opted for spaghetti with asari clams and Buna-shimeiji mushrooms which was served with a salad of cabbage, carrots, lettuce, and mizuna, and a fresh roll.

Kimie chose the set lunch, which today was pork picatta sautéed in egg and served with salad, veggies, rice and soup. That's not ketchup by the way, but the tangy tonkatsu sauce often served with pork in Japan.

The food was good and the owners friendly. Kimie quizzed them about our next holiday destination, which they have visited twice before. Where might that be, you ask? Sorry. You'll have to wait a bit to find out.

They offer a choice cake and coffee sets too. We didn't have one, though. I can't really throw the diet out the window every weekend, after all. But Kimie thought it might be a good place for the teachers at her school to gather, as it not far for them to travel.

The name Tongarikan is reference to the peaked roof of the place - tongari means pointed or sharp. The white car on the left is going down the street leading to our home. Note the blue plastic patch on the roof of the house it is passing - a common sight throughout East Japan these days.

(The food pics were taken with Kimie's cellphone, so a little rough. I rode my bike back to take the exterior shots with my waterproof Olympus µ Tough.)

After the stormy week ahead, I'm hoping for some nice sailing weather next weekend and if we get it, we'll be having lunch at Mama's Kitchen once again.

Trattoria Buona Fortuna

2011-05-23T18:55:00.006+09:00

The weather was too windy for sailing this weekend, so today we went out for lunch at Trattoria Buona Fortuna Italian Restaurant. This was our second visit together (Kimie had been there before with colleagues from work). Located across the street from the south side of Kashima Jingu shrine, in the heart of the city, Buona Fortuna is in a two story building with the owner's residence on the second floor. The husband is chef and his wife waits the tables. With just the two of them, they are kept quite busy. (horizontal pics can be enlarged by clicking on them).

Decor is a combination of recycled items (crockery, chairs, stained glass windows), antiques, and homemade crafts (cushions, coverlets) which fits with the popular modern Japanese esthetic which cherishes "kawaii" - cuteness. One might be tempted to call this esthetic "kitsch", but I think that would be a mistake. It isn't trying to imitate anything, or be pretentious, but rather mixes various elements to create an atmosphere that is homey, fun, old, new, renewed and of course, kawaii.

A print on the wall incorporates the restaurant's name.

We had a corner room to ourselves today and sat by the window looking out on a patio and the back yard.

For lunch we started with onion soup, then a salad, spaghetti, and desert with coffee/tea. I had spaghetti with eggplant and for desert, banana chiffon cake. Kimie chose spaghetti with tuna and had lemon chiffon cake with honey for desert.

Sponge cake, ice cream, and cookies.... Not exactly on my diet, but for Sunday lunch out I play my "Get out of dieting free" card. ;^)

Golden Week

2011-05-18T21:24:00.003+09:00

by Momo the Wonder Dog

... Well, Golden Week Dog anyway.

Pandabonium and Kimie took a day during Golden Week to go to Tokyo and see a magician, and to sightsee. To make up for the day I had to spend alone, the next day they took me to the "Bark Park" - Suigo Prefectural Forest Park. I've been there twice before and really like it. See K-9 Kool and Bark Park to read about my previous visits.

Trees!

I like it a lot. It has more trees than I could possibly pee on in a month, and big grassy areas where I can play. The first thing I did when we got there was sniff around a tree and pooh. Heh, heh! Good thing PandaB brought a bag for that. :=p

Helping K spread the picnic blanket.
It was Children's Day in Japan, a national holiday. People fly koinobori (carp streamers) at this time. A top streamer has the family crest, then there is one carp for each family member. It used to be just for boys, but now it's for us girls too. They look very colorful and seem to cheer everyone up.

Tummy rubs are the best.

We had a little picnic and I got bite of each of their sandwiches. After the food was gone, I was most fascinated by the people there - children sliding down a grass slope on a plastic snow sled, kite flying, adults playing tag and baseball, and boys playing with a soccer ball. Wow. I like greeting the local elementary school kids walking by our house to and from school, but I never get to see them at play. I got so focused on people-watching that I lost interest in the games of fetch PandaB and K kept trying to get me to play. Later they told me about the birds I had ignored. Really?

We had a nice walk around the park and across the big suspension bridge (I wasn't even scared this time).

K's "levitating dog" magic trick

wild wisteria

Shrines on the neighboring farmland.

All too soon, it was time to go home. I hope they take me again. It was so much fun!

Oh, and Monday I got a bath and haircut at the doggy beauty parlor. It had been two months and I was getting pretty shaggy and dirty and itchy and stuff. But I'm a happy girl now!

the Wonder Dog

Getting Lost On The Way To The Geographer

2011-05-08T21:00:00.002+09:00

Oh, the irony!

Last Wednesday we headed for the Shibuya ward of Tokyo to see the Geographer. We had been there twice before in the last several years and I thought I knew the way well enough. (Such assumptions are always a mistake. It is the reason that airplane pilots at every level always use a written checklist. It doesn't matter how many times we do something, we are fallible.)

I should have looked at a MAP before leaving home (what a concept! - looking at a map to find a geographer). Shibuya has a lot of curved streets that fan out from the train station and make for forks in the roads. It is also an incredibly noisy place with huge video screens on buildings, stage performers on street corners, and stores blaring music and/or advertising messages onto the sidewalk - very disorienting. (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). I took a left instead of a right and as we walked, and walked, and walked, and as our destination failed to appear (we were on a road which curved away from it), we realized I had, uh, goofed. At least the route I chose had no retailers with blaring bull horns and had lovely trees on either side instead.

Finding a crude map on a construction sign, we adjusted course. Once again I screwed up! (Here I blame the lousy map). But we were getting closer. Sort of. Another turn and we finally arrived after a few more blocks. Whew. What should of been a 7 minute walk had turned into, well, let's just say ... a long morning adventure.

The place we were going was the Bunkamura art center - a building that offers music, drama, cinema and art plus shops and restaurants under one roof. The "Geographer" we went there to see was the painting of that name by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer van Delft (1632-1675).

This painting was centered on a wall with a 17th century map on the wall to the right, a globe and compasses (dividers) dated 1700 in one corner, and a globe of the heavens in the corner to the left of the painting. To me, Vermeer was the master of masters when it came to controlling light. A favorite of ours, we go to exhibitions of his works whenever they come to Tokyo.

The event is titled Vermeer "Geographer" The Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Städel Museum and so in addition to Vermeer's magnificent work, there are ninety-four other works by 17th Century Dutch and Flemish painters with the following categories: History Painting and Allegory; Portraiture; Genre and Interior Scenes; Still Life; Landscape & Topography (which included several painting of sailing ships).

Before we went in, I treated Kimie to a lunch of soba and tempura in the adjacent department store as an offering of apology for getting us lost, and after seeing the exhibit, to coffee and desert. She forgave me.

Coffee and desert at Bunkamura: ¥995 yen each (the cost of an entire lunch at Mama's Kitchen). Forgiveness for getting us lost on the way to the Geographer: priceless.

Next time, you can bet I'll be sure to plan ahead and carry a reference map of the area we will visit with me - even if we've been there a dozen times before!

Earth Day

2011-04-22T07:51:00.004+09:00

April 22 - "Earth Day"

Just as a crew must always be taking care of their ship, we all should be taking care of the Earth everyday.

When you see or hear the marketing label "eco friendly" you should think, "slightly less eco unfriendly", instead.

Happy Earth Day

With A Smile

2011-04-20T15:49:00.014+09:00

Service, that is.

One of the great things about living in Japan is very high level of customer service one encounters at nearly every business. That was (ahem) driven home for me today, for, as Kimie was driving us the twenty minutes home from the grocery store in town, little did we know that the left rear tire of her car was losing air and going flat at some point. Though in retrospect, I had wondered as we neared home why the computer was telling us we were only getting about 18 kpl (42 mpg) on this trip when we would normally get 26 kpl (61 mpg) or more.

It was only after we arrived home, unloaded the car, and she was preparing to drive it into the garage that I noticed the flat. It had been flat for some time apparently and we simply hadn't felt it. The result was a badly damaged tire.

A peculiar "feature" of the Honda Insight is that, in an effort to save weight and space, it has no spare tire. Instead there is a can of "goop" designed to seal a puncture from the inside along with a small air compressor which runs off the car's battery. One is supposed to put the sealant in the tire, then re-inflate it as a temporary fix until the dealership is reached. In this case, it was out of the question. The side walls were deeply gouged by the wheel rim making the tire totally unserviceable. I did try, unsuccessfully, to re-inflate the tire, but as I was doing so decided that even should that work, I was not going to allow Kimie to drive with this tire and risk a catastrophic blowout.

Honda customer service to the rescue. Kimie called the Honda dealership to see what we should do. Coincidentally, the person who answered was Mr. T - no, not the muscular Mr. T with the gold chains of the "A-Team", but the Honda salesman Mr. T, who had sold us the car two years ago. He said he'd come right out and have a look. He knows where to find us, as he comes by personally once or twice a year to make sure we're still satisfied customers.

Thirty minutes or so later, he arrived with a tilt bed truck and another Insight. After inspecting the tire, he put the other car in our driveway as a loaner and loaded Kimie's car onto the truck to take it to the dealership.

No spare tire? No worries. They'll bring you a spare car.

So, if they have the tires in stock we'll have the car back this afternoon. If not, Kimie will drive the loaner to work tomorrow and later into to town to pick up her car at the dealership.

Service with a smile - Japanese style. What a country!

Update: the car will be ready tomorrow. Total cost: ¥13,000 (about US$157). Having such service a phone call away: priceless.

Suspended Rail Service

2011-04-08T16:35:00.000+09:00

When they say suspended rail service

they really do mean suspended...

Cue the mine car chase from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...

This is north of us on the Kashima Rinkai Tetsudo line - the train I take when I go to lake Hinuma on my own. I'd have to take a bus between two stations now. Too much hassle when carrying a backpack and folding bike. That section will reopen in June. Until then, I'll rely on my crew to drive us up there.

PS - can someone please turn off the plate tectonics for a while?

Salty Dog

2011-04-05T14:51:00.006+09:00

Regular readers of Pacific Islander know that I don't like the ocean. Oh, playing at the seaside park is great - all that fresh air - but I won't go near the water.

Did you see the dog named Ban in the news? During the March 11 tsunami, she was swept out to sea with her house (I mean her owner's house!) and rescued after three weeks on the water off Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture. Her owner saw the rescue on TV and recognized Ban. Ban looked confused after the rescue, but now that her owner came to get her she's one happy doggy. Happy owner, too.

I wonder what she had to eat or drink in all that time? Anyway, happy she's back and glad to find out that human rescue workers will help doggies adrift at sea.

From Here, From Now On

2011-04-04T17:59:00.004+09:00

ここから、いまから　(koko kara, ima kara) means simply, "from here, from now on".

Saturday we ventured out to visit lake Hinuma for the first time since the Great East Japan Earthquake. There were many reasons for not going sooner - gasoline stations were closed, unknown damage and hazards awaited on the roads, wanting to stay out of the way of those involved in repair and recovery efforts. And we still have aftershocks - it would never do to get twenty miles from home and be unable to get back due to the effects of a strong aftershock.

I'll try not to include too many photos of earthquake damage in this post, by now the world knows what it looks like. I will add just a some to share a sense of how things are.

The weather was overcast, but not too cold with the temperature getting up to 60ºF. About six miles from home, we passed the "Rokko" bridge, a section of which fell into lake Kitaura during the earthquake, taking at least one life. (Eyewitnesses said multiple cars fell in, but so far only one has been found). I've always hated that bridge as it is used as a two way crossing but is only one lane wide! To make this possible, there were three turnouts along the span so east bound traffic could pull over while west bound traffic passed. Crossing it always felt like a James Dean style game of "chicken".

A short news clip shows the bridge post-quake. A new, two lane bridge has been under construction close-by for the last several years (stalled for lack of funds for much of the time) and is now about half complete. I think now they will finish it.

As we proceeded north, we saw the typical blue tarps covering the damaged roofs everywhere. A few buildings were badly damaged. One home, burned out. We went through several sections of road where repairs were under way and the road narrowed to one lane with traffic control workers keeping things orderly. There were lots of bumps where cracks had occurred and temporarily patched with macadam.

The road along the south shore of lake Hinuma had been badly hit but was already repaired. The road runs through rice paddies, and the soft earth caved in from liquefaction during the quake. In some areas half the road for long stretches had already been repaved. As we passed Mama's Kitchen we saw that they were open for business. That was a relief. First stop, however, would the harbor.

Turning toward the yacht harbor we saw the Hakuta (owners of the harbor) family's home. Like so many other houses with tile roofs, theirs had lost much of the ridges. Ridge tiles stick up and are filled with clay, so during an earthquake, their mass makes them susceptible to breaking free.

Though not appearing to be damaged, the club house did shift, causing window casements to be out of line. Windows and doors don't work properly. So, Mr. Hakuta brought in a portable building and set up a temporary office in the parking lot.

The showers and bathrooms are functioning, so we'll be able to go sailing as soon as we are ready. I'm ready, but Kimie wants warmer weather. I can wait - it's no fun if the crew is unhappy.

In the boat tie-down area, there were some cracks and the two docks had some damage as well, but things were still functioning. There is a one inch bump in the launching ramp where one slab of concrete sank a bit relative to the other. A fishing boat was out this day and Mr. Hakuta's son was out on a jet ski checking out the damage on the other side of the lake and along the river which fishing boats navigate to get to the sea.

It pays to pull your boat out of the water sometimes.

After our look around, Mr. Hakuta was off on some errand, though I had some questions for him, so we headed back toward Mama's Kitchen.

The building had minor damage - some loose corner tiles, a crack or two in the foundation and one wall. When we walked in, Mama's daughter was in the kitchen placing freshly baked bagels on a cooling rack on the pass-through counter. Mama came in the back door shortly thereafter. It felt like a homecoming. We learned that they did lose half the crockery, but were otherwise OK at the restaurant. Their home, near the ocean, was just above where the tsunami came and in fact, their cars, parked a little lower than the house, had water come up to the axles. Close call. Mama was out doing grocery shopping at the time of the quake, like us, and at first thought something was wrong with her car - also like us.

Kimie had spaghetti in cream sauce with ham. By the way, the front CD in the basket to the left of Kimie, is the one that was being played when we came to Mama's Kitchen after Bluesette's shakedown cruise two years ago. The song, as you may recall, was "Bluesette". (Magic happens.)

I was going to order a basic tomato sauce, but at Mama's suggestion, I had asari clams (called Manila clams in the US) and Buna-shimeiji (brown beech) mushrooms instead. It was a spicy, yet very flavorful, dish. Wonderful.

Mama then surprised us each with cocoa cream cake and fruit for desert.

After lunch, Kimie purchased four bagels and we said our goodbyes. Returning to the yacht harbor, we found the whole Hakuta family in the office, including their daughter in law and two grandchildren. Their granddaughter had just made agemochi (fried mochi rice snacks) and offered some to us. Flavored with shrimp, it was excellent. She was very insistent in offering it to us, and dense old panda that I am, I only realized later it was because she had made it herself, otherwise I would have made more of a fuss over it. The picture of agemochi below is ~~stolen~~ borrowed from Shizuoka Gourmet, a great blog for foodies/Japanophiles.

We inquired about Mr. Y, the owner of the Com-pac Picnic sailboat parked next to Bluesette. We had been concerned since his work was in Sendai. Happily, Mrs Hakuta had called him and learned that he was OK and even his office had not been damaged. I am sure he has much to cope with up there, but I hope he can find time this summer to come down and enjoy his boat.

We took a different road home and near the Hinuma train station there were several more damaged sections of road in various states of repair/disrepair. This was the worst of it...

Hinuma station is in the distant background.

We also saw a railway bridge being repaired. Most of the line going from Kashima to Mito City will reopen in about a week, however, a five mile section nearer to home will be closed for some time longer and a bus will be used to take rail passengers between the stations involved until repairs are complete.

This building in Hokota City really took a beating.

In spite of all the damage we saw, it was a good day. The important things - the people we have come to know and care about - were all OK, and as an old friend used to tell me, "life goes on, despite the odds". With everyone safe, the harbor open, and Mama's still providing gastronomical delights, it seemed as if all was right with the world.

And so, we go forward - ここから、いまから - from here, from now on. In deep gratitude.

The Morning After

2011-04-01T21:39:00.004+09:00

UPDATE: We went to the yacht harbor today (Saturday) and learned that Mr. Y is fine and even his office had no damage. More about our day next post.

I have yet to hear from Mr. Y who owns the boat (a Com-Pac Picnic from Florida) tied down next to Bluesette, mentioned in "Bluesette Meets Her Neighbor". We hope for the best. He was working in Sendai last I heard...

The yacht harbor sustained damage to the club house, concrete tie-down area and docks, but not the boats. When roads and/or rail are restored, we shall sail again. We'll try to make our way up there this weekend to check things out further.

If you are of a certain age in the USA you'll remember this tune:

Out to Lunch

2011-03-29T17:41:00.020+09:00

In late February, we visited our favorite local Italian restaurant, Wordsworth, for lunch.

As always, the food was great. We had nice salads with greens and sprouts, and as is common in Japan a few kinds of what us Americans would call "seaweed". Which is about as silly as referring to spinach, romaine or raddichio lettuce as "landweeds". Oh, well.

The main course was pasta with spinach and oysters in cream sauce topped with salmon roe. Delicious!

We of course had not been out since then due to the earthquake(s), but on Sunday I wanted to see if Wordsworth was open. Kimie had driven past it a week ago on her way to visit a family member in hospital and reported a lot of damage in the area. But I wanted to check on Wordsworth, so I bribed her with an offer of lunch and we went.

The restaurant is located about six miles south of us and one mile inland from Kashima Port in the city of Kamisu. It is fairly low lying flat area - easy pickings for a tsunami that was, along this stretch of coastline, up to 5 meters high (16.4 feet).

Along the way, we passed UniQlo clothing store. There were two shipping containers in the parking lot which had floated in from the port and bashed in the store's windows. Containers are still strewn across the landscape and in the canals. The store had also suffered a fire.

From there, we saw lots of buckled pavement, sunken roads with the concrete curbs and drain boxes sticking up, and leaning power poles.

Wordsworth was closed. The patio addition at the front was sunken a bit and the land there was lower by quite a bit relative to the street than it used to be. It had also be flooded. A sad sight. I hope they can recover eventually.

Along the back service road we saw three houses which either due to liquefaction during the earthquake or water from the tsunami, sunk into the ground a bit - one of them a burned out shell.

Ibaraki Net TV took video of the exact same area.

We decided to head toward another restaurant which Kimie's sister had recommended - "tratteria Luce". Judging by what we had already seen, we were not optimistic. But, as we approached we could see the chef/owner standing out by the street waving a huge Italian flag to attract customers.

The owners told us that Kamisu City has electricity, but will not have water service for three months. The restaurant hired a porta-potty to meet legal requirements for a toilet, and is cooking with bottled water. They aren't able to wash dishes so are using paper and plastic ones to get by. By the way, the owner's house is behind and over the restaurant, so they are living day to day with the same conditions.

Lunch was simple, but very good. A chicken wrap, minestrone soup, pasta with tomato sauce, and freshly baked bread. We took the wraps home for later. We'll go there again.

Another news video shows the fishing boat harbor at the entrance to Kashima Port. Pretty much trashed:

The man interviewed said he and his son had to be rescued here. He says it is hard, but "shoganai" - it can't be helped.

And closer to home, the bridge connecting Kashima Jingu Station to the rail line which connects us with Tokyo, is under repair:

The other line out of Kashima - the one I take to lake Hinuma - also has sections out which will take quite a while to repair.

Compared to all this, the damage to our roof, bath tiles, and driveway entrance walls, seems pretty minor. If it were not for the aftershocks, things would almost seem normal. We've been fortunate.

We're looking forward to warm weather, once again sailing Bluesette on Lake Hinuma, seeing our friends up there and eating at Mama's Kitchen again. For now, we hang on and do the best we can, along with the rest of Japan.

The Latest Poop

2011-03-19T18:31:00.001+09:00

A cartoon about "Nuclear Boy" explains the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. English subtitles...

Helping Japan - Caveat Donator!

2011-03-15T20:28:00.002+09:00

A lot of wonderful people want to help Japan recover from the earthquake/tsunami disaster we have experienced. Before you do, make sure you aren't being scammed, and then make sure that your donation gets spent where you intend.

Scam alert:

I recently stumbled across what I suspect is a big scam. "People" leave comments on news stories about the earthquake, or on stories listing charities to donate to, saying that they have "donated $100 to the American Red Cross" through Amazon.com. The comment also contains the url for a website which posts an article copied from the American Red Cross website, and links and banners with the American Red Cross name. They also say "it is safer to give through a name you know, like Amazon" .... Really?

Trouble is, the website url in the comment offers no information about who is running it. All the links - including "about us" and "contact us" take you back to the main article. Worse, the link for donating goes directly to Amazon payments with no intermediate pages, so for all you know, your donation is going to the owner of the bogus website! I did a little sleuthing and have found that this scheme has been used in the past for the Haiti earthquake disaster.

So, if you want to donate to American Red Cross through Amazon, you can do so, but do it by going directly to either Amazon or the American Red Cross website. Do not use a unknown 3rd party website.

Is your donation going to be used to help Japan?

Also, if you want your donation spent on Japan, you have to make sure of it. Many charities, including reputable ones like the American Red Cross, will be asking for donations by reporting on the disaster in Japan. But be advised, that does not mean they will spend your donation on helping Japan.

So, before you give, please read this article at Charity Navigator: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The article offers advice on making the decision to give, how to avoid scams, and a list of charities that Charity Navigator has analyzed and rated, which will use your donation to directly help the victims of this tragedy.

By all means, help Japan in this time of crisis, but do so wisely.

Peregrine Falcon

2011-03-09T20:06:00.006+09:00

Regular readers know I am a big fan of Shinkansen trains.

The latest addition to JR East (East Japan Railway Company) is the Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon), a Shinkansen service from Tokyo to Shin-Aomori in the far north of Honshu. The new train, which started service on March 5th, has a top speed of 300 kph (186 mph) and even with stops covers the 675 km in 3 hours 10 minutes.

Here's an ad for the first class service:

Even the regular cars have 5 across seating and are upgraded with a seat pitch of 1,040 cm (41 inches) for plenty of leg room, adjustable head rests, and power outlets at every row for your computer or mobile phone charger.

The newest Shinkansen trains produce a fraction of the greenhouse gasses of aircraft or other forms of transportation while being as fast and even more convenient and comfortable.

The Hayabusa is the world's most energy efficient train, being more than 10% more efficient that previous Shinkansen models. JR East has a target to reduce the company's CO2 emissions by 32% by 2018 and by 50% by 2031. Power to the train comes from a mix of sources including JR East's own hydro-electric plant, their own gas fired thermal plant, and from other companies that use wind, solar, coal, nuclear, and oil.

*post updated 2011/03/10

Fate Yanagi

2011-02-27T13:07:00.003+09:00

Hawaii's Rap Reiplinger became popular in the 1970s after forming a three man comedy troupe called "Booga Booga". He went on to do solo tours across the US Mainland playing in top clubs including 'The Aladdin' in Las Vegas, 'Catch a Rising Star' in New York, and at 'The Improv' in Los Angeles. He also won an Emmy Award in 1982 for his Public Television special 'Rap's Hawaii,' which he both wrote and starred in, and took home a bronze medal from the International Film and Television Festival of New York for "Most Outstanding Television Production". His video and recordings are still available through the Hawaii music label "The Mountain Apple Company".

The TV special has become a classic and many of the songs and comedy routines are available on YouTube. But who played "Fate Yanagi"?

Her name is Gayln Kong Akaka and in 2008, she was a guest on the Hawaii talk show NightTime with Andy Bumetai. Butemtai himself is a stand up comedian who was influenced by Rap's work.

So here is Gayln talking about what it was like to play Fate Yanagi and who she is in real life.
Good fun. (Why the poster of this video included a minute of commercials at the end I don't know. )

Land Of The

2011-02-19T15:01:00.003+09:00

Taken this morning from our hotel room in Oarai, Ibaraki. Oarai is a port town with a fishing boat harbor as well as a shipping harbor where ocean going ferries leave for Hokkaido. It is also where Bluesette's lake Hinuma's waters empty, via the Naka River, into the sea.

We were celebrating Kimie's **th Birthday. I'll post more pics later.

Sparrow's School

2011-02-18T09:47:00.003+09:00

More birds are visiting our yard including a Jyobitaki (Daurian Redstart), some Uguisu (Japanese Bush Warblers), and Eurasian Tree Sparrows - in addition to our brown-eared bulbuls and dusky thrush.

I put out seed on our old bench in the garden with a (year of the) Rabbit feeder. Here's a clip of the sparrows feeding. (about 5 minutes). I put the clip to some Japanese children's music: Sparrow's School; Rabbit Dance; Evening Sunset; and Spring is Coming.

There is an interesting story about tree sparrows in an article by Michael McCarthy of The Independent:

"Fifty-two years ago, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, decreed that all sparrows in the country were to be killed. He had decided China was to make a sudden surge in its economic development, which came to be called The Greap Leap Forward, and sparrows, which Mao thought ate too much grain, were getting in the way."

skipping down

"in 1958 Chairman Mao decided they had to go."

skipping down

"Millions of sparrows, maybe hundreds of millions, were killed. But the following year, 1959, it was noticed that insect infestation of crop fields had soared; pests such as locusts, which the sparrows ate, had lost a major predator. China's Academy of Sciences produced reports on how many insects the birds ate, compared to how many seeds, and it became clear that killing sparrows was cruelly counter-productive; presented with the evidence, Mao called it off, but not before the already failing harvest had been even more reduced right across the country."

"It was one of history's most notable acts of hubris over the natural world."

Go to the link to read more.

A Winter For The Birds

2011-02-02T12:53:00.003+09:00

I recently put a birdbath in our front yard. Unlike the bird feeder I hung which only one bird has found so far, the bath was an instant hit. Within an hour, a "Brown Eared Bulbul" - one who likes to hang out in our yard to eat our kumquats - was enjoying the water.

This morning I set up a camera on a tripod near the birdbath and after about 20 minutes caught a "Dusky Thrush" on video. He stayed over five minutes, drinking and preening and checking our mikan (mandarin orange) tree for fruit.

The Dusky Thrush is a Siberian bird that migrates south to east Asia in winter.

It does get down to freezing here at times, but only briefly in the early morning. Days are well above freezing. So I empty the birdbath at night and refill it in the morning.

Note: Sorry about the traffic noise - it was "rush hour" - and there is an odd electronic noise. The camera was right under the telephone lines, so perhaps the electronics picked up a data stream or something from there.

Flakes!

2011-01-16T12:15:00.012+09:00

About 5cm or so of flakes...

This morning we awoke to find our world covered in soft, cold, white stuff.

The first person to create artificial snowflakes, and figure out why snowflakes grow into the unique shapes that they do, was a Japanese physicist by the name of Ukichiro Nakaya back in the 1930s. You see, Nakaya had a degree in physics, but the only job he could land was at the University of Hokkaido in Japan's far north which did not have any facilities for nuclear research experiments. Hokkaido does have an abundance of snowflakes however! Nakaya studied the crystalline structures using a microscope and camera and worked out how and why they form as they do. For more, check out this beautiful book on the topic: "The Snowflake, Winter's Secret Beauty" by Kenneth Libbrecht with photos by Patricia Rasmussen.

A snowflake photograph by Nakaya
Momo is not keen on snow. She came out for a look, but wouldn't touch it. After staring at it for a while from her cushion on the patio bench, she asked to go back inside the house to her cage with its heated bed. Later, however, the call of nature was too strong, so she had me take her for her morning walk even in the ice and snow.

Knowing this wouldn't last, I decided to take some pictures. I visited our local Shinto shrine - Tsubaki Shrine (camellia). The tori at the entrance still has its New Year decorations of bamboo and pine branches.

Even though sheltered by massive oaks and Japanese cedars, the buildings were coated with snow.

A garden of winter vegetables with a row of ume trees behind it.

A field of daikon - large radishes. Daikon is used extensively in Japanese cooking. Speaking of which, Kimie is cooking "oden" tonight - a kelp based soup with sliced daikon, lotus root, various fish cakes, konnyaku (a gelatinous food made from konjac roots), eggs, and other goodies. There are variations across Japan and of course depending on what you have on hand. Just the thing on a cold winter's night!

Some flakes trivia: 1) "Films made prior to [It's A Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart] used cornflakes painted white for the falling snow effect. Because the cornflakes were so loud [when tread upon], dialogue had to be dubbed in later. Frank Capra wanted to record the sound live, so a new snow effect was developed using foamite (a fire-fighting chemical) and soap and water. This mixture was then pumped at high pressure through a wind machine to create the silent, falling snow. 6000 gallons of the new snow were used in the film. The RKO Effects Department received a Class III Scientific or Technical Award from the Motion Picture Academy for the development of the new film snow." (IMDb.com)

Please Don't Go

2010-12-25T21:21:00.004+09:00

For you Christmas travelers out there, here's a tune by long time Japanese pop star Seiko Matsuda titled "Please Don't Go" from her 1987 album "Snow Garden".

It starts with Christmas tunes in the background as a taxi pulls up to a railroad station - goes to the sound of high heels walking then running for the train, whistle blowing, the locomotive chugging to life.... The music is at first soothing strings, but gradually it shifts into a jazz swing with clarinet. Seiko finally starts singing just after the 3 minute mark. The music takes on a Latin rhythm turning into a tango. Amazingly complex for a "pop" tune. The voices in the intro, including railroad announcements, are in English, the song itself, other than "please don't go", in Japanese.

I hope you enjoy it. Happy holidays.

A Traditional Japanese Pasta Christmas Dinner

2010-12-24T15:55:00.000+09:00

Well, it's our tradition anyway.

Each year we have Christmas dinner at one of our favorite restaurants - "Wordsworth" which is named after the poet. We used to lunch there fairly often before we started sailing and eating at Mama's.

Wordsworth is an Italian style seafood and pasta restaurant. For a few days at Christmas time, they offer special set meals for dinner - reservations only.

Kimie drank Perrie water with ume juice and an ume fruit in the glass (ume is Japanese plum, which is more like an apricot if you ask me, and is primarily used for making ume liqueur).

The meal began with Bagna Calda, a hot dip composed of hot olive oil, garlic and anchovy, along with raw vegetables to be dipped into it. Then came uncured ham with tomato and mozzarella cheese. Kimie had foie gras while I enjoyed stuffed horned turban shell. After that there was a prawn salad, and before the main course, a frothy cup of soybean soup.

For the main course, Kimie had pasta with squid. I chose pasta in cream sauce with spinach and oysters topped with salmon roe.

Dessert - a wine glass with chestnut puree on coconut ice cream, and a long straw-like cookie. Finally, biscotti and gateau au chocolat with coffee or tea.

Another excellent experience at Wordsworth. I wonder what they will dream up for next year? Daffodils?

If you are still hungry for food pictures, you can read about our 2008 Christmas dinner, which featured different dishes, here: Le Delizie Gastronomici Della Festa

Happy Holidays

Joy!

2010-12-21T17:07:00.002+09:00

Friends. A wish for you all in two parts.

The opening ceremony of the 1998 World Olympics, Nagano, Japan. Beethoven Ode to Joy with Seiji Ozawa conducting the ... well... the whole world.

O Joy, bright spark of divinity,
Daughter of Elysium,
Fire-inspired we tread
Thy sanctuary.

Thy magic power re-unites
All that custom has divided,
All men become brothers
Under the sway of thy gentle wings.

Pacem in Terrace

It's not too late. If you want it.

Best wishes to all on this Winter Solstice and throughout the New Year
with love, from

Kimie and Pandabonium

*Seiji Ozawa, my all time favorite conductor, after a year's hiatus fighting esophageal cancer, raised his baton once again in Carnegie Hall on December 16th.

TSA - Japanese Style ?

2010-11-19T19:07:00.002+09:00

Or - don't you wish you could take the Shinkansen instead?

My New House

2010-11-17T20:39:00.004+09:00

Pandabonium bought me a new house! It was kit and he put it together for me last month. He had to do some work on some of the parts that weren't cut right at the factory, and use different hardware in places, but what do expect from a dog house kit made in China?

I like it! It is bigger than my old house and has a bigger deck too. Yet, it isn't too big for me. You know, a dog house has to be small enough for the dog in question to be able to maintain a healthy body temperature. Too big a house is a problem. This one seems just right for me.

Kimie also bought new blankets for me (not shown) - with Disney characters on them. They are very soft and comfy. Along with my winter bed warmer, they make me a happy doggy.

So, I've got my new house, my heater, new blankets, and my toys. Life couldn't be sweeter.

My house even has a dog-bone sign over the door with my name on it!

Slacking Off

2010-09-16T17:45:00.004+09:00

Sorry for the delay in following up with the story of our trip to Wakayama. Contrary to the above cartoon, things are fine here. I'll have another post up Monday regarding Koyasan, by which time I'll have yet another trip to report about while still having more installments to share about Wakayama. Idle bloggers are the Devil's workshop, eh?

Saizen-in

2010-08-13T12:09:00.012+09:00

continued from "Peekaboo Fuji-san"

Of the 117 temples in Koyasan, 53 offer lodgings to visitors. These are called "shukubo" and may include two meals a day and morning sutra chanting. Food is strictly vegetarian. This way of cooking is called Shōjin Ryori, and was brought to Japan with Buddhism. Much more than just vegetarian cooking, it literally means to cook in a way that leads one to enlightenment.

Our choice of shukubo - based on location, small size, reviews, and history - was Saizen-in. The temple is right across the road from the Danjo Garan. Garan is a word that comes from the Sanskrit "smaghrama" which means a quiet place for monks to gather. It was here that Kobo Daishi first built a temple complex in the 9th century which has served as a focal point for study, training, and rituals of Shingon monks ever since.

Our room, on the second floor of a new wing, had a lovely view of the temple courtyard and the great stupa called Konpon Daito - a key building in the Danjo Garan.

On our first evening we were taken to another private room on the ground floor to be served dinner. The room had a view of the main garden of Saizen-in, which was designed by the famous landscape architect, Shigemori Mirei (1896–1975) .

Tea room which is part of Matsushita's rooms
After dinner we were shown the rooms donated by the founder of Panasonic - Konosuke Matsushita (1894 – 1989). The room also faces the rock garden. Matsuhita wrote his last of 44 books there. Due to his old age and frail condition at the time, the book was dictated.

In Japanese style lodgings, while one is out for dinner, the room is transformed for sleeping. One little detail I did not know about was the bell inside the Danjo Garan -

This bell, cast in 1547 is located about 175 meters (575 feet) from our room. It is rung at 9 PM, 11 PM, and 4 AM. Maybe other times as well, but those were the hours I noticed! We were told it is used primarily for the nearby high school (they wake up at 4 am?). It is struck at 20 second intervals to allow the sound to fully dissipate each time. It did disturb my sleep the first night (11 PM equals 23 strikes), but not the second night. The tone is quite beautiful, which is of little consolation when you are awakened in the middle of the night. I'm sure there is a deep lesson in there somewhere, but it eludes me.

Early each morning, guests go to the hondo - gathering place of the temple - and sit before the altar as three monks perform sutra chanting. After thirty minutes or so, the head monk gives a talk to the guests. In our case, the first day he told the story of Kobo Daishi and the founding of Koyasan. On the second, it was about Saizen-in.

One of the more interesting bits of the history of Saizen-in to me was that Shinran Shonin (1173-1263), a monk of the "Pureland" tradition and long time resident of Ibaraki (and of whom I have written previously ) stayed at Saizen-in. He built a shelter there and carved an image of Amida Buddha, and referred to the place as Amida-in. The statue is still there. After services, the head monk took me to the altar adjacent to the main one which is dedicated to Shinran Shonin and features an image of him.

After morning sutra chanting, we would return to our room (around 7:30 am) to find breakfast being served.

On the first morning, after breakfast, we were taken to see the other garden designed by Shigemori Mirei. It is the back of the temple complex and features a koi pond with lotus plants.

Oh, the wonderful food. Prepared mindfully and hopefully eaten mindfully - appreciating deeply everything and everyone involved in making the meal possible and this time and place.
We had timed out trip to be ahead of the Obon rush, and so our time in Koyasan was very peaceful. In fact, there were only about a dozen guests at Saizen-in the first night, and on the second night we were the sole guests!

An intriguing discovery - looking up from our window at the roof gables, I notices a HF radio antenna. Could the monks be using short wave radio? Is this a new path to enlightenment? I neglected to ask, but later discovered a web page about the station - call sign JH3GAH - but it seems the last update was two years ago, so not sure if it is still operating.

Saizen-in was a wonderful place to stay and is an excellent location from which to explore Koyasan. We will surely stay there again.

What (else) we found in Koyasan, coming up in the next post.

つづく　（to be continued)

Peekaboo Fuji-san

2010-08-11T09:19:00.010+09:00

Last week we took a trip to Wakayama Prefecture which I'll be blogging about in this and coming posts. Our first destination was Koyasan, a mountain village founded in 819 by the Buddhist Monk Kukai (now referred to as Kōbō-Daishi by followers), who brought the Shingon sect of Buddhism from China to Japan. At one time, there were over 900 temples there. Today there are still over 100 temples, and it is a very active place for religious studies, pilgrimages, and tourists interested in Japanese history, religions, and natural beauty. About half the temples offer accommodations to visitors.

Koyasan is located at the north end of the Kii Mountains. For its natural spendor and historical significance as an area long traveled by pilgrims, the entire area was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.

To get there, we took the Nozomi Super Express train from Tokyo to Osaka.

Nozomi 700 series trains in Tokyo Station. Earlier cab design (the Duck) on the right; latest design (the Eagle) on the left. The aerodynamics of the Eagle squeezes an additional 30 kph out of the Nozomi, allowing it to hit 300 kph (186 mph) on some sections of the Shinkansen line. The main limit to speed is noise, so near cities, the trains are a bit slower.

As I have written before, taking into consideration the time required to get to and from airports, check in, security screening, and waiting for baggage, the trains are often faster than the airlines. And there's one leaving every ten minutes, so forget the scheduling hassles.

I had only seen Mt. Fuji once from the Shinkansen, and that was over twenty years ago. It is often shrouded in clouds. So, this trip I was hoping to be lucky. Well, Fuji-san was indeed shrouded in clouds, but came out to play a game of peek-a-boo as we sped past.

At this time of year there is no snow atop the mountain, but it was an impressive sight none the less. Thank you for making an appearance, Fuji-san!

We got off the Shinkansen at Shin-Osaka station, took a short subway ride and a little wallk to reach Namba station. From there, the Nankai Koya line would take us up to the base of Koyasan.

The ride takes about an hour and a half and goes from near sea level to an elevation of about 600 meters, at Gokurakubashi station (literally "Pure Land bridge" a religious reference to the Buddhist paradise).

The ride is quite scenic, especially as you climb into the mountains, and the train has big windows so you need't miss anything. If you take this train, do try to get seats on the right hand side as this will give you the best of the scenery. Luckily, our train had few passengers, so we were able to switch sides at will. Still, photography proved tricky due to greenery close to the tracks, the reflections on the windows, and speed of the train. So, perhaps, just sit back and enjoy the view.

At the end of the line, you switch to the Koya Cable Car, a funicular train which opened in 1930 that takes you the rest of the way up the mountain - another 200 meters - in about five minutes. It's a steep climb at angle of 30°. The mother of the little girl in the cable car image was just in front of us. She motioned to her daughter to hang on tight. How unusual in Japan to see a parent allow their child to have such an exciting experience on their own without being overprotective (aka "helicopter mom").

From there, it's short bus ride into the town, where this story really begins....

つづく　（to be continued)

next: Saizen-in

What's the Drill?

2010-07-29T21:32:00.004+09:00

At last, Kimie and I are done with the dentist for a while. Each of us had some problems needing care, so early this year we went to our local dentist together. Funny thing about it was that our dentists are a husband and wife team - Dr. and Dr. Hitomi. Kimie needed to have a wisdom tooth removed and another tooth filled. I had two teeth with old fillings which had cracked open and needed root canals and crowns.

So for some months, we've gone to the dentists' office together every couple of weeks to have the work done, never really knowing which of the husband and wife team would be working on us on a given day.

Happily, Japan's "pinko-commie" single payer health insurance (as some Americans might see it) paid the bulk of the cost. Whatever. We're happy.

Now, we're done. Finished. Over. Until our next check up. So, in celebration of that, I give you Allan Sherman's "The Painless Dentist" song.

And if you'd like more Allan Sherman, be sure to visit Sweet-Bluesette.

Shave Ice and Kyudo

2010-07-26T11:21:00.007+09:00

The morning after our sail, we awoke to the sight of long fishing boats crossing the lake to check nets. The yacht harbor is closed on Tuesdays, so this would be a day for a different sort of adventure than sailing.

miso soup, nori seaweed, salmon, egg, bean sprouts and ham on the little stove, banana and orange slice, raw egg, pickled veggies, natto (fermented soy beans), rice, and salad.

After breakfast Kimie drove us to Kasama Inari, the third largest Inari Shinto Shrine in Japan. Inari is the kami (god) of fertility and agriculture which is said to reside in the mountains in winter and in the rice fields during growing season. Worship of Inari spread during the Edo era. The shrines dedicated to Inari have many statues of kitsune - pure white foxes that act as Inari's messengers. Kasama Inari was founded in 651.

The town of Kasama still has an old feel to it with narrow streets, low rise buildings and shops fronting the shrine.

main entrance to the shrine
purification fountain used to rinse one's hands and mouth before entering the shrine
main gate
East gate - 1814
main building or "Haiden"
behind the main building is the "Honden" which is where an object of worship is kept. This one dates to about 1854-1861

The sun was merciless and after viewing the grounds and buildings, we decided to cool off with a treat.

A press squeezes out long thin strips of cold jelly made from tengusa seaweed. Vinegar dressing, green tea powder, and horseradish are added. The result is called tokoroten, and has been a summer treat in Japan for over 1300 years.

Kimie cools off with a peach flavored shave ice.

It was getting close to lunch time, so we headed for JA Pocket Farm DokiDoki - a farmers market and restaurant operated by the Ibaraki farmers association. The "Restaurant in the Woods that serves Home Food" is a favorite of ours, as the food is all local, fresh, and of high quality. Martin gave this 5 stars last time he visited. He wrote, "What I really liked was the friendly atmosphere and the focus on local, Ibaraki-made ingredients. All dishes in the different stations had memos explaining what the dish contained, and many also the name and photo of the farmer and the chef who had created the food."

Then it was on the road again, following the eastern edge of Japan's second largest lake, Kasumigaura, through Itako City and along the Tonegawa river to Katori Jingu in Chiba Prefecture, the ancient Shinto Shrine that we visited last year for sakura viewing (posted as Katori Jingu Sakura).

Katori Jingu, with its forest of ancient cedars, was much cooler than Kasama Inari and we enjoyed wandering the paths.

This anchor belonged to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force training ship, Katori, which was built in 1970 and was named after the shrine. In 1995, it was replaced by the Kashima - named for the related shrine in our town. (The Kashima is now in Baltimore, by the way, with two other Japanese ships and the crews will pay a visit to the Arlington National Cemetery.)

Martin stumbled upon their Kyudo Dojo. Kimie made an inquiry, and we were welcomed in to watch them practice. In Kyudo (the way of the bow), the targets are just 36 cm (14 inches) in diameter and placed at a distance of 28 meters (92 feet). They were most gracious in making us comfortable, serving us drinks, and explaining various aspects of how Kyudo is done. For more about Kyudo visit Zen's Sakai 1 - if by land.

A cool drink, the quiet pace of Kyudo, and the songs of cicadas made for a relaxing end to the day's adventures.

Two Plus Two

2010-07-24T13:56:00.002+09:00

Bluesette had guests this week, sailing with four aboard for the first time. I was interested to see how that would work out. I made sure we kept our weight toward the front of the cockpit and was happy to find that she sailed just fine.

Beautiful day on the lake with Mt. Tsukuba clearly visible some 38 km (23 miles) in the distance.

The weather was good, if hot (32°C or 90°F), and winds were a comfortable 5 knots - enough to move us along, but not so much as to make weight distribution for balance much of an issue.

First stop, of course, was for lunch at Mama's Kitchen. Three of us had pasta with nasu (eggplant) and horenso (spinach) with a spicy sauce that was just right, while Kimie satisfied her carinvore urges with a stir fry pork dish and some sausages.

Then it was on to the harbor and a full afternoon of sailing.

Martin has been sailing with us before - back in November when it was raining cats and dogs.

Our other guest was camera shy, but Martin grabbed my new Olympus μ 8010 and took several shots of Kimie and I and the scenery while I was busy at the tiller. With four in the boat, I would change sides when we came about, while everyone else stayed put. If the wind picked up while Kimie was on the lee side, she would just crouch by the centerboard trunk to help balance the boat. It worked out fine.

Look! Up in the sky. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's.... a wind vane.

After sailing, we checked into the hotel on the lake, Ikoinomura Hinuma, to relax in their bubbling onsen spa and enjoy an excellent dinner.

Our Japanese style rooms overlooked the lake.
Sunset on Hinuma - fishermen standing in the lake

Icebow?

2010-07-19T09:30:00.004+09:00

This picture of cirrus clouds over Yokohama is from Yomiyuri Online (newspaper). Cirrus are made up of ice crystals, and with the sunlight hitting at just the right angle, the crystals act like prisms giving off this colorful display of the spectrum.

Grazing In The Grass

2010-07-11T09:35:00.007+09:00

by Momo the Wonder Dog

When it gets hot around here, I usually hang out under my bench on the patio. Sometimes I'd dig a hole in the shade of the pomegranate tree, but Pandabonium and Kimie would always scold me for doing that. It wasn't good for the tree and I was always getting dirty.

Well, no more. They went out and bought some grass sod and put it down on either side of our front walk, right in front of the patio and some of it is under the pomegranate tree. It's just a few square meters, but plenty for me. Like almost everyone around here, we don't have a lawn. Most folks just grow vegetables and fruit trees or maybe decorative trees, but no lawns.

I really like my little patches of grass. It feels so soft and cool. I don't get dirty nor do my toys and I can lay there and watch the birds, and the bugs, and the whole world go by. Or just snooze.
This week, they're going to plant flowers along the edge.

While I do nibble on the grass by the side of the road - "michikusa" - during my walks, I don't really graze on my grass. But how nice it is to just relax on the grass. Here's The Friends of Distinction with Hugh Masekela's song "Grazing In The Grass":

Can you dig it? No! No more digging!

the Wonder Dog

The Froth of July

2010-07-05T09:58:00.003+09:00

The Mayflower's destination was Virginia, but the boat landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. A passenger's journal for Dec. 19, 1620, explains: "We could not now take time for further search or consideration; our victuals being much spent, especially our beer ..."*

Figures.

Thanks to the foresight of the Founding Fathers and the bravery of the revolutionaries, American citizens today aren't required to wear hats like these:

Happy Independence Day, America. Be safe out there.

*from Time Magazine 1977 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,945768,00.html#ixzz0shgCwRK0

Welcome Back M and J

2010-07-04T09:29:00.005+09:00

After a hiatus of over six months, I'm happy to see "M and J Adventures" blog (written by she who goes by NZM) back with a new look and posting more great pics and adventures by this globe trotting duo.

Check out the recent post about their visit to a Picasso Museum in Barcelona, from which I "borrowed" the above image.

http://mandjadventures.blogspot.com

Three More And She's An Ace

2010-07-03T17:45:00.005+09:00

The other night, Kimie went out to check on Momo and found her chewing on a....what is that? One of her toys? A bone? I was called to bring out a torch (flashlight) to see what it was.

None of the above. It was a dead mole which we discovered later had the misfortune of burrowing up right in front of the part of the patio where Momo's food dish is located.

As this is the second time she's caught a mole, I'm thinking of making a stencil so we can paint her kills on the side of her dog house.

Momo was a little put out that we took away her "toy". She didn't understand at all.

Who me? I wouldn't hurt a fly.

The Old Man And The Seas

2010-06-28T19:58:00.006+09:00

Minoru Saito has circled the globe seven times solo on a sailboat. The last time he did so he became the oldest person to sail non-stop around the world solo. He was 71 years of age.

So where is he now? Well, he has spent the last two years sailing around the world for the eighth time! But this time, instead of taking the usual route going west to east, he is going the "hard way" - east to west. This route has taken him against the prevailing currents, waves, and winds, especially in critical areas such as the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. The few sailors who have attempted rounding Cape Horn east to west solo have compared it to climbing mount Everest alone - without oxygen.

Saito-san has paid a price. His boat has been badly battered, its sails torn, the auxiliary engine overheating, his body broken (a gash in an arm, broken bridge of three front teeth, emergency abdominal surgery). After making it around Cape Horn on the second try, he refused to abandon ship as demanded by the Chilean Navy and was towed 400 miles to port where he spent the winter in a small fishing village making repairs.

He is now in Hawaii, 87% of the way around the world. The boat is getting more much needed repairs, thanks to his many online friends, for the final leg of his voyage which will return him to Yokohama, Japan. Saito-san is in a hurry, for the typhoon season in Japan starts in a matter of weeks, and he must get home before then.

To see a local news interview of Saito-san, click here: KITV News, Honolulu; or here: KHON News

Asked what he misses most, he answers "hot springs, ofuro (Japanese bath), tempura and sushi".

When he arrives, he will be 76 years old, and most probably the oldest man to have sailed around the world alone. Saito-san says this will be his final voyage.

Recently in the news, Abby Sunderland, who was trying to set the record for being the youngest person to sail non-stop around the world, met with disaster in the Indian Ocean and had to abandon her boat. Happily, she was rescued. While she is to be admired for her attempt, somehow, to me, being the oldest person to achieve such a feat carries more weight than being the youngest. Youth has quick wit, strength, and vigor to apply to the task, while the aged must muster all their waning resources to make such an attempt.

Saito-san's journey has been most difficult, but his age has not stopped him. He is a reminder to us all to never stop dreaming and doing.

[On the other hand, considering the troubles of this latest trip, perhaps the message is "learn to quit while you're ahead".]

His websites are here: www.saito8.com/ (English/Japanese); Logbook Blog - http://saito8.blogspot.com/

Cagny Moment

2010-06-22T18:10:00.001+09:00

What's That Strange Sound?

2010-06-10T11:12:00.002+09:00

It's A Jungle Out There

2010-06-05T20:19:00.002+09:00

In my yard, that is.

We've recently had our trees and hedges pruned and to deal with all the cuttings, I bought a 6.5 hp chipper/shredder machine (my electric shredder couldn't hack it) and we've now got a mountain of mulch for weed control and composting.

Just before the trimming started I went to the back of the house to survey the weeds and found this fellow hanging from a Japanese plum (ume) tree.

It's an aodaisho (lit. "green general") or Japanese rat snake. Quite common in Japan, we see them often around here. They aren't venomous and eat rodents, frogs, and lizards mostly as well as bird eggs. Coloration varies. I found this one quite beautiful and well camouflaged for our weed patch. It was about a meter long, which is good sized, but not as big as the first aodaisho I saw back in 2005 and wrote about in the post "The Mild Mannered Snake".

K-9 Kool

2010-06-01T15:55:00.000+09:00

Normally I'd let Momo write about this, but decided just to post some pics with brief comments as I think the pics speak (bark) for themselves. (click pics to enlarge)

Back in April, we had some nice weather one weekend and decided to give Momo a birthday present of some time at a favorite park - Suigo Prefectural Forest Park.

So many trees! And the lake below with a wild cherry tree still in bloom above. Doggy heaven.

She loved playing on the big grass amphitheater - back and forth between PandaB and K.
Great day at the park. One very happy doggy!

Memorial Day 2010

2010-06-01T15:54:00.004+09:00

I've been out of the 'States so long I've forgotten the dates of holidays, so a day late with this post. Memorial Day's roots are unclear, but one thing is certain to me - it is the most regrettable and unnecessary holiday ever. Not that we shouldn't honor those who have died fighting in wars, but one would hope that by remembering them we would learn not to have any more wars. That would be the greatest honor we could bestow.

A Girl Scout (my granddaughter Bailey) placing leis in the Veterans Cemetery on Maui, Hawaii. I remember her mom as a child, making leis for Memorial Day.

Can we stop the wars now, please?

Sailing On A Star

2010-05-23T17:13:00.008+09:00

Friday morning, JAXA launched an H-IIA missile from Tanegashima Space Center. On board were four small earth orbit satellites built by Japanese universities as well as the main attraction - Akatsuki, a craft which will carry out an extensive study of the atmosphere of Venus. Also onboard was Ikaros, a "space yacht" built by JAXA which is testing the use of the sunshine for propulsion.

Here's the launch and separation of Akatsuki from the launch vehicle (2 min 46 seconds)

The next clip runs about 12 minutes and details (with English subtitles) the Akatsuki spacecraft and mission. It's quite impressive and if all goes well, will provide a wealth of information about the climate of Venus, which in turn may help us to better understand our own planet.

As a sailor, I was curious about the Ikaros mission. Particularly, how one could use sunlight to "tack" "upwind" in space to a planet closer to the Sun. Essentially, the sail is set so that the spacecraft's orbital velocity around the sun is slowed by the wind (charged particles thrown off by the Sun). In other words, the sail is used as a brake. As the velocity drops, the craft's orbit gets smaller - closer and closer to Venus. I found a website at Cal Tech with an excellent explanation of this - Tacking Solar Sails .

The Ikaros space craft (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun) carries a sail that is just 0.0075mm thick wound around its core. Ikaros will spin and unwind the sail using centrifugal force. When deployed, the square sail will measure 46 feet on a side. This clip is in Japanese, but you can get the (ahem) drift by watching the animation. There are thin film solar cells and dust counters attached to the sail. In addition to testing the sailing concept, the development of this craft and a much large one later on, will lead to lower cost solar cells - an important element of Japan's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Fair winds Ikaros and Akatsuki.

JAXA website is here: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Slow Is Beautiful

2010-05-08T20:44:00.004+09:00

During the colder months, we had set up - at the vet's suggestion - a cage in the house where Momo (the wonder dog) could sleep out of the cold air. As the weather warmed a bit she was still in the habit of coming inside after dark. She would let us know by a few barks when it was time.

Last night she stayed out well past the usual time and was unusually quiet. We thought it a bit strange and offered to let her in a few times, but she refused. After about nine o'clock, I went outside to check on her. I sat down beside her on the bench (her bench) on our covered patio. A soft rain was falling that I had not heard from inside the house and I found the air temperature to be 'just so' - not warm, but not too cool either. A chorus of frogs were singing from the small farm fields all around us. There were no barking dogs or noisy motorcycles nor much in the way of car traffic. As I sat talking to her, stroking her fur and scratching behind her ears, I realized why she had remained outside on this evening and had been so quiet.

Sometimes animals can show us, through their innate wisdom, how to be. Just slow down and "be". I was reminded of a talk that I listened to recently by Cecile Andrews, author of "Slow Is Beautiful", in which she quoted a passage by Henry David Thoreau -

I love a broad margin to my life. Sometimes, in a summer morning, having taken my accustomed bath, I sat in my sunny doorway from sunrise till noon, rapt in a revery, amidst the pines and hickories and sumachs, in undisturbed solitude and stillness, while the birds sing around or flitted noiseless through the house, until by the sun falling in at my west window, or the noise of some traveler's wagon on the distant highway, I was reminded of the lapse of time. I grew in those seasons like corn in the night, and they were far better than any work of the hands would have been. They were not time subtracted from my life, but so much over and above my usual allowance.

Momo "knows" what we humans often forget. That we don't have to be "doing" all the time - running to the mall to buy "stuff", watching TV, reading, eating, blogging, and on and on trying to fill each hour of the day with doing. How much of our "doing" behavior is really superfluous? Even unhealthy? We have time. We can slow down. Should slow down. Experience the present. Listen to the frogs and the rain, feel the air around us, smell the soil, notice our own breathing, and thus feeling fulfilled, have no need for meaningless actions.

Thank you Momo, for getting me to come outside and share in your wisdom. This was indeed the best use of my time.

Bouncing Spring

2010-04-17T10:26:00.006+09:00

On April 3, we visited Shiroyama (castle hill) park to view the cherry trees. It was good timing, as the trees were about fifty percent in bloom. The mix of flowers and buds lent a more pink tinge to everything.

The city had prepared an earthen stage and some dance groups performed to celebrate spring. Some women from neighboring Itako City performed a dance about the brides in their town who ride a boat down a canal as part of the ceremony. More about the brides of Itako here: Princess Brides and Shrieking Eels!

The weather was warming and it seemed we could soon look forward to lighter clothing, sunny days, and sailing on lake Hinuma. In the following weeks, however, the weather has swung between warm sunny days and cold rainy ones. And then, this morning, April 17th, it snowed!

Our front yard on this fine spring day!

The Japan Meteorological Agency says the record cold April is due to fluctuations in the Arctic oscillation combined with the influence of el Nino conditions in the Pacific. As a result, air masses have been clashing over the Japan archipelago bringing us the wild weather.

I'll be happy when it all gets sorted out and I can trade my winter clothing for shorts and an Aloha shirt and we can try out Bluesette's new sails!

Birthday Girl

2010-04-06T14:37:00.004+09:00

I went to the beauty parlor again yesterday and got my Spring cut. It was a rainy day and I had been kind of unhappy that I couldn't go for walkies, so it was nice to get out.

Here I am doing my stretching exercises this morning. It's warm and sunny today so I've been for a long walk and laid in the sun soaking up some rays. Spring is really here. After K gets home, I'll get to go for another walk and maybe get the chicken treat that my beautician gave her - they're really tasty.

It's my birthday month. No one really knows when I was born, so PandaB and K decided to celebrate my birthday on April 17 - about the time I came to live with them. Of course, no one knows how old I am either, which is fun 'cause I can lie about my age.

Since my beautician knows that my birthday is in April, she took my picture and gave PandaB a 10% discount on my haircut. This time I got a pink kerchief with strawberries on it that goes well with my collar.

Happy Spring everyone.

I Knew This Would Happen

2010-04-02T13:17:00.001+09:00

Renoir: Tradition and Innovation

2010-03-23T15:47:00.004+09:00

This is the title of the exhibit in the National Art Center in Tokyo which we recently saw. Renoir is of course the artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir (February 25, 1841 – December 3, 1919). What a special treat it was.

We went on a drizzly Saturday taking the express bus from Itako and then by train to the museum. There is an exit from the subway station that goes directly to the museum. I couldn't help but note that a bicyclist could have made the trip from Tokyo Station in less time, without the rush, but such is modern life - until the energy runs out anyway.

Anyway, we have seen several paintings by Renoir - some in Shibuya-ku four years ago and there is one in our prefectural art museum in Mito - but this was the first all-Renoir exhibit for us. There are a surprising number of his works in Japan, most of which are at the Pola Museum in Hakone near Mt Fuji, but there are many others in private collections, prefectural and other small museums around the country. This exhibit included eighty five (85!) of his works gathered from around the world and spanning his entire career.

The National Art Center is Japan's largest public art facility, but interestingly, it is not a museum and does not have a permanent collection. Rather, it is used to display exhibits from other museums and to host a broad range of art events including music, dance, sculpture, and so on, in the form of exhibits, classes, and participatory experiences. The building is a large rectangular block which can house a wide range of events of every size. (One artwork currently on display is a grove of 90 bamboo trees). To make the building more interesting the front is covered with a wavy glass facade and there are huge cone-shaped structures with the foyer which support the restaurants. A wide balcony fronts each floor, open to the atrium with elevators near the center and escalators on each side. It all looked very modern and dazzling from the ground floor, but the functionality proved to be a different story.

When I originally wrote this post over a week ago, it a had several paragraph long rant about "starchitecture" - buildings designed by famous names that are really just for "shock and awe" looks, rather than to be user friendly comfortable places for people to use. In this case, the culprit was the late Kisho Kurokawa. I'll leave it at that and spare you the details. After all, this post is about the exhibit, not the building.

We had lunch atop the tallest cone, the at Brasserie Paul Bocuse Le Musée. It was very pricey, but the food and the service were excellent and what could be more appropriate for a Renoir exhibit than a eating at a French restaurant for lunch? N'est-ce pas?

There were a lot of people there to see the exhibit, but it wasn't so crowded as to mar the experience. Many of the most popular of Renoir's works were included. As usual with me, I was mesmerized by seeing them in person and surprised at things like size, colors, and brush strokes when viewed up close or from across the room. It was busy in there, but by pacing ourselves, we could let groups of people go by and have the chance to get up close or see a painting from further out without much hassle.

Within the exhibit there was a special section with video (in Japanese of course) about recent x-ray, ultra violet, and infrared examinations of Renoir's work and what that revealed about his choice of paints and techniques over time, but I skipped ahead at that point since I really just wanted to spend my time looking at his paintings rather than learning which pigments he chose or how they looked under different wavelengths.

And the paintings did indeed look wonderful. One of the things about his work that I love is that for the most part he painted times of happiness. This is perhaps best illustrated (pardon the double entendre) in the painting " Dance at Bougival". I was surprised at how big the painting is, at 182 x 98 cm (about 3 feet by 6) and standing before it, I could feel the joy of the people dancing as if I were witnessing it live. How does an artist convey emotions like that? I surely don't know, but Renoir did. The man in the painting was a friend of Renoir and he also knew the woman, a model. I have read he didn't like the woman so she is not shown smiling. Regardless of accuracy of that story, to me the image conveys a joyful time.

He was also a chronicler of his times of sorts and through his paintings can see what life was like then - the things people did, what they wore, how they enjoyed their leisure time. And then there were many portraits of clients, friends, and children - including his own. His son Claude was his third child born when Renoir was already sixty years old and inspired him anew.

Some of his bronze works were also on display. When he made them, in the last year of his life, he was not able to do the physical work, and so had help from a man 20 years younger - Maillol - who worked under his direction to create the pieces.

In the 1880s he visited Italy, doing some soul searching I think, as he didn't like where his own impressionist painting was going at the time. From then, his painting took on a slightly more classical influence and his subjects were more full, the women more Rubenesque.

Renoir died at the age of 78, and though he suffered from arthritis in his later years, he lived to see his paintings hanging in the Louvre.

It was wonderful to be able to see such a large and diverse collection of his work in one exhibit. K got a second look last Sunday when she went on a "girls' day out" meeting with a friend from her college days. I'll try to get back before it closes, but time is running short as it only runs through April 5.

Fiji cyclone - a first look at the aftermath - World - Video - 3 News

2010-03-18T10:40:00.005+09:00

Just found this linked video update from New Zealand 3 News regarding the damage from Tropical Cyclone Tomas in Fiji.

Fiji cyclone - a first look at the aftermath - World - Video - 3 News

Posted using ShareThis

I shows considerable devastation to Taveuni homes, and says that so far there are six known deaths in Fiji. No information from Taveuni Estates as yet - roads are closed with landslides, fallen trees, and so on, and there is not much phone communication available. The island's hospital, which K and I visited a few years ago, lost part of its roof.

The major challenges now are the basics - shelter, food, and potable water. Relief efforts are in progress. Crop damage poses a longer term problem.

News of Vanual Levu can be found at Wendi & Peceli's blog Babasiga.

Other helpful news updates are regularly posted on Fijivillage.com

Fiji Hit Again

2010-03-15T21:20:00.006+09:00

Many thanks to Wendy of the Fiji/Australia blog "Babasiga" for the wake up call on this important story to which, though Fiji has been much on my mind of late, I had been totally oblivious.

Cyclone Tomas is plowing its way through Fijian waters today between the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni, so far leaving one woman dead (she was swept into the sea by waves after saving her two children) and will continue to pummel the islands for another day or so even as it moves away to the south.

Peceli and Wendy's "Babasiga" - the dry land of Macuata in northern Fiji - is on Vanua Levu, while Pandabonium's land is on Tavueni. There seems to have been adequate warning, and thousands of people evacuated to shelters, so the loss of life has been limited to the one instance as far as we know so far. Damage to homes and crops can have a long lasting effect on people's lives, however, so we'll have to wait and see how the affected areas fare.

Winds have reached 130 mph and waves were reported at 25 feet. The storm is expected to diminish from a category 4 to a 3, still nothing to trifle with.

More Better English

2010-03-02T17:38:00.002+09:00

Study these word definitions - there could be a pop quiz at any time.

Abdicate—v., to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

Balderdash—n., a rapidly receding hairline.

Bustard—n., a very rude bus driver.

Carcinoma—n., a valley in California, notable for its heavy smog.

Circumvent—n., the opening in the front of boxer shorts.

Coffee—n., a person who is coughed upon.

Esplanade—v., to attempt an explanation while drunk.

Flabbergasted—adj., appalled at how much weight you have gained.

Flatulence—n., the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

Gargoyle—n., an olive-flavored mouthwash.

Internet—n., the web of interns in which Ken Starr has tried to snare Bill Clinton.

Lymph—v., to walk with a lisp.

Macadam—n., the first man on Earth, according to the Scottish bible.

Marionettes—n., residents of Washington, DC, who have been jerked around by the mayor.

Negligent—adj., describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightie.

Oyster—n., a person who sprinkles his or her conversation with Yiddish expressions.

Semantics—n., pranks conducted by young men studying for the priesthood, including such things as gluing the pages of the priest's prayer book together just before vespers.

Testicle—n., a humorous question on an exam.

Rectitude—n., the formal, dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before s/he examines you.

Willy-nilly—adj., impotent.

Olympic Fail

2010-02-22T12:56:00.001+09:00

So Long, Peaceful Mountain

2010-02-05T08:06:00.003+09:00

by Momo the Wonder Dog

The Panda known as Tai Shan (peaceful mountain) is leaving the National Zoo in Washington D.C. and heading to China. Watch the effect he has on humans in the video below. When it comes to making life better, Tai Shan takes all your human world "leaders" and their puffed up "state departments" and knocks 'em into a cocked hat. What the world needs is more Pandas (and other animals) to show humans the right path.

Pandabonium says I have a certain effect on people too. I'm not sure what he means by that. I hope it's good. Gaze into my eyes.....

Far Out Setsubun

2010-02-02T10:51:00.008+09:00

While Americans seek the news of winter's end from groundhog Punxsutawney Phil, the Japanese are celebrating the end of winter on February 3rd - the official day according to the old lunar calendar. As reported here in previous years, on Setsubun people throw toasted soy beans around the house and shout "Oni wa soto!" and "Fuku wa uchi!" - "demons out", "happiness in".

This year, astronaut Soichi Noguchi performed the honors in the International Space Station, donning an "oni" (demon) mask and throwing candy instead of soy beans (no doubt easier to clean up).

Noguchi arrived at the ISS on December 22 and will be there through May. Among other things, he is growing a garden in the Kibō (Hope) laboratory. He can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/Astro_Soichi, where he is Tweeting from space.

K Takes A Powder

2010-01-14T17:57:00.002+09:00

(snow that is), while Pandabonium tends the home hearth - "baby it's cold outside".

K's Jr. High is taking 160 students on a trip to the Urabandai ski resort area next month. (160 junior high school students on a three day outing? - the mind boggles) and K had the opportunity to be part of a team of eight teachers who went up there on a two day trip to check out the facilities ahead of time and get in a little skiing. Tough job, but someone's got to do it. (She's going to "miss out" on the next trip when the 160 students are along).

I wasn't too disappointed at being left behind as I don't ski and my interest in being in snow lasts about as long as it takes to build a snowman and have a snow ball fight - then it's time to enjoy a warm beverage by the fire and wait for spring. K hadn't been skiing in ages and we don't get but one or two days a year when it snows here in Kashima, so she was excited about going.

For this trip, the teachers got there by van - a six hour drive - did some skiing, spent the night, did a little more skiing and came back. They were treated very well - the resort not only wanted to make a good impression, they were fearful of a cancellation since many school outings have been canceled over the last year due to the H1N1 flu. K reports that the food was very good with lots of Japanese and Western options served buffet style.

The area is on the back side of Mt. Bandai, which at 1819 meters (5968 ft) towers over Lake Inawashiro, elevation 514 meters (1686 ft). Urabandai's lakes were created by the last eruption of Mt. Bandai, which was in 1888.

The area lies in the center of Fukuoka prefecture, a few hundred kilometers to our north. I visited there once back in April of 1987 and would love to go again - in a warmer time of year - as it quite beautiful and the local castle town, Aizu Wakamatsu, has an interesting history as one of the last holdouts against accepting Meiji Imperial rule. It ended for the Aizu clan during the Boshin wars at the battle of Aizu in 1868 where the 5,000 man Aizu army defended the castle for a month against the 15,000 men of the imperial forces (à la "The Last Shogun") before being forced to surrender.

Mt. Bandai and Lake Inawashiro - April 1987
Inawashiro is much larger than our Hinuma lake with an area of about 103 km² compared to Hinuma's 22 km². The waters are very clear as it is a snow fed crater lake, and reminds me of Lake Tahoe in California. I'd love to go sailing there sometime, as this blogger did a few years ago with the Koriyama Yacht Club.

Are we there yet?

K found out a few things the first day on the slopes - such as that she had forgotten a lot about skiing, but remembered how to fall down. The second day she learned that eye glasses fog over when you're skiing, even if you're wearing goggles and using fog repellent, and that they ice up when you take the goggles off, making for instrument navigation conditions either way - without instruments. And of course, she was reminded that gravity still works very well for skiers, both for powering their runs and hastening their falls. Nothing broken, just some sore muscles.

So, happily for me, K isn't going to try to convince me to take up skiing. We would both like to take trip up to Aizu Wakamatsu together and enjoy the scenery around lake Inawashiro sometime and perhaps sail its waters.

Yesterday, the west coast of Hoshu and even the south end of Kyushu were hit by heavy winds and snow storms. Here on the leeward side, it was very windy and cold - lots of ice on the puddles this morning. Momo is really enjoying the luxury of sleeping in the house.

The Days Dwindle Down

2009-12-27T22:16:00.008+09:00

To A Precious Few...*

I've been a busy dog over the holidays. It hasn't all been fun though.

A week ago Saturday I started coughing in the morning and again later in the evening and it got pretty gross since we dogs tend to empty our tummy when we cough hard. I'll spare you the details. Pandabonium and K were worried and Sunday morning when I did it again they took me to see the doctor.

He said it was probably due to the cold air - more to the point, the difference in temperature between my warm doggy house (which has a heated bed and is well insulated) and the morning air outside which can be close to freezing. He recommended that I sleep in the human house. Well, I'm not allowed in the that house usually, but next thing you know, PandaB and K go out and come home with a big cage - bigger than my dog house. They put it in their entry hall, and set it up with heated bed, just like my doggy house and covered the whole cage with a blanket.

So now I have two houses - one outside and one inside. The hall isn't heated so the air gets pretty cold at night, but not nearly as cold as outside. With the heater and blanket I'm pretty cozy. I like sleeping in the big house and get right into bed when I'm let in after dinner time. It's quieter inside. I can hear PandaB and K of course, but I'm not bothered by noisy motorcycles or the barking of other dogs and such. Best of all, I don't cough anymore when I go outside in the morning. I think of it as my Christmas present.

I was to get a bath and trim at the beauty parlor for the New Year, but they were booked. It was sunny today, so K gave me a bath. After she toweled me off and brushed my coat, I lay on a big old blanket in the sun and chewed on a rawhide stick while I got dry.

As you can see, I really get into it. I start by holding the stick between my paws and chewing it until it gets soft and starts to unravel. Eventually I get it soft enough to bite off pieces and eat it. Yum.

Just kidding about the ice and snow in the slide show. It was sunny and about 10˚C (50˚F) today. =p

A Happy, Healthy New Year everyone!

* "and the days dwindle down to a precious few" is from the lyrics of "September Song" (1938) by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson. I thought of it for this post since my old pal in California - Shadow, the black poodle who has been mentioned on this blog regarding his role in a movie, passed away in November. He was over 19 years old! I miss his emails.

A Winter Solstice Dream

2009-12-22T17:26:00.011+09:00

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, completed 1791, was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace.
(Photo kindly provided by M and J Adventures.)

CHRISTMAS DREAM
From the 1974 film "The Odessa File"
(Andrew Lloyd Weber / Tim Rice / German lyrics: André Heller)

Perry Como & The London Boy Singers

Watch me now, here I go, all I need’s a little snow!
Starts me off, sets the theme,
helps me dream my Christmas dream,
Every year I dream it, hoping things will change,
An end to the crying, the shouting, the dying,
And I hope you will dream it too!
It’s Christmas,
Remember?
We’ve got to remember!

So, light the light, I’m home tonight,
I need you to warm me, to calm me, to love me!
To help me to dream my Christmas dream!

Crazy things, said an’ done,
Every single day but one!
Every night should, I believe,
Be the same as Christmas Eve,
Nights should all be silent,
Days should all slow down,
An end to the hurry, the noise and the worry!
And I hope you believe that too!
It’s Christmas,
Remember?
Does no one remember?

The whole world needs, a Christmas dream,
We need it to warm us, to calm us, to love us . . .
To help us to dream our Christmas dream!

(Lüge dirigiert die Welt, Ehrlichkeit bringt selten Geld,
Jeder möcht' Sieger sein, wer verliert bleibt ganz allein;
Doch manch Will' ist möglich durch die Fantasie
Du stirbst um zu leben und nimmst um zu geben;)
Einmal im Jahr wird alles wahr
Zu Weihnacht vergiss nicht,
Vergiss es gewiss nicht.

The whole world needs, a Christmas dream,
We need it to warm us, to calm us, to love us . . .
We need it to warm us, to calm us, to love us . . .
We need it to warm us, to calm us, to love us . . .
To help us to dream our Christmas dream!

~~~~~

Pacem in Terrace

Best wishes to all on this Winter Solstice and always from
K, Pandabonium, and Momo

Summit

2009-12-18T20:45:00.001+09:00

Back On Track

2009-12-11T07:38:00.011+09:00

JR Kyushu ran its steam locomotive "Hitoshi-Go" in service for 15 days in November of this year. The engine, Class 8620 No. 58654, was built in 1922 and was in service until 1975. She was preserved at the Hitoyoshi Steam Locomotive Museum.

Award winning photo of the Hitoyoshi-go from Ken's Daily Photo Blog
In 1987 she was given a new boiler and drive wheels and returned to service until 2005, when it was discovered that there was a crack in the underframe. This crack was not fixable, but rather than retire the engine for good, a new underframe was built and more complete restoration performed. On the 25th of April 2009, after restoration, she was returned to service between Kumamoto and Hitoyoshi, Kyushu. The scenic route takes the train through an old brick tunnel and across a steel bridge that dates to the Meiji era.

Likewise, it seems Pacific-Islander has sat on a siding for a while. I've been undergoing a bit of restoration work myself which started with diet changes, exercise, and then some trips to the hospital for an ultrasound exam, endoscopy (yuck), and some meds. I'm now back on track and building up steam, so I hope to get Pacific-Islander rolling along again.

All aboard!

New Wheels

2009-11-09T10:26:00.007+09:00

K and I have a pair of matching six speed bicycles. I bought mine first in 2005 and some months later, got a second one so we could take rides together. They worked well until February 2007, when the spokes started breaking. As the problem progressed, I was able to move some spokes around and use a spoke wrench to "tune" the wheels and keep them straight with fewer and fewer spokes. Finally, too many were gone and I had to put the bikes in storage. I have new stainless spokes to install now, but that will take some time, which I haven't had in abundance since we took up sailing. I will get those bikes back in order, since we have a pair of them and its fun to ride together.

Meanwhile, in January of 2008, I bought a Yamaha hybrid-electric bicycle which has been a good work horse for carrying loads of groceries, garden supplies, etc. from town some 12 km away. It became my main means of transportation, which is not what I intended. I do have one problem with it , which is that although one has to peddle - it isn't an all electric bike - it doesn't make me work hard enough. As a result I have gotten further out of shape since owning it. (I can't blame the bike for that entirely, but it certainly played a part). Since starting a new diet/exercise program I have lost about 5 lbs. As my main means of transport is the bicycle, a new bike is also in order. One which will give me more exercise and hopefully address some of the shortcomings of the six speed.

All along I have been looking for an ideal bike. The six speed has good points for my use - fenders to keep me clean and dry, rack for carrying items, and seat and handlebars that offer a comfortable heads up posture - .ie. a good city bike.

The drawbacks, aside from lousy spokes, are that it is heavy - about 35 lbs - and has a narrow gear range that limit speed and hill climbing ability. Not surprising in a city bike, which normally would be used for short commutes and errands. I do ride in the city, but I also ride ten to twelve kilometers to and from the city and sometimes up some fairly steep hills.

I didn't need a road bike either. I wanted a combination of the two. Fenders, rack, and comfortable posture, but lightweight and with a wide gear range. No one seemed to offer such a machine - until recently.

My new wheels are built by Raleigh (founded 1885 in Nottingham, England). This model, the Club Sport, is only offered in Japan. Nowadays, Raleigh bikes are no longer made in the UK - mine was built in Taiwan - but they are a very good quality machine with Brooks saddle (established 1866 and still made in England) Shimano gears, Shimano Altus shifter, Shimano brakes, Sugino aluminum crank, and Araya aluminum rims. The wheels are quick release type, which is handy if I need to repair a flat or want to put the bike in the back of the Honda Insight.

It features a nostalgic look that I like a lot, down to the old style pin striping and logos on the frame. It has my required fenders, kick stand, small front rack and a very comfortable handlebars with a posture that is in between the low drag head down road bike and the upright city bike.

As for the gears - it has 21 speeds with a much broader range than the old bike. The shifters are on the handlebars and very easy to use with clearly marked position indicators.

The weight is not as light as I would like in my dreams, but I'm sure a much lighter bike would cost a whole lot more money. Still, it is 5 lbs lighter than the old one.

I've added a Cateye speedometer, Cateye (ultra bright) tail light, and a headlight. I may add a small handlebar bag for such things as my camera if I can find one that both looks good and is affordable. For carrying items, the small rack on the front works OK, but most things will go in a backpack. [For major loads, I will still use the Yamaha which has a big rear rack, panniers, and front basket.]

I've only had the Raleigh for a week now, but so far I'm very happy with it.

Be safe out there. Happy bicycling.

Catch of the Day

2009-11-06T12:16:00.007+09:00

Spectacular photos from National Geographic -Sperm Whales Feeding On Giant Squid

Five adults and one calf feeding on giant squid photographed by Tony Wu. He said, "It seemed as if the adult whales were trying to teach the baby to dive and also to eat squid."

Female sperm whale munches on 9 meter (30 foot) giant squid while calf swims close at her side.

The pictures were taken off of Japan's Bonin Islands - known here as the Ogasawara Group - which lie about 1000 km south of Tokyo.

Full article and more pics here: National Geographic

These Are The Times That Dry Men's Soles

2009-11-05T20:40:00.003+09:00

Where were we last? Ah, yes. I was dissing the meteorologists at the Japan Meteorological Agency.

In the morning, the weather presenters on tee-vee were still predicting thundershowers, but looking out our window we saw a gray sky over a still lake. Ha! I knew it.

A dozen or more people were standing off shore casting fishing lines. Net fishermen were checking their nets. The air was still.

We met up in the dining room for breakfast - a buffet of Japanese and western style foods - and discussed our plans for the day. As the wind wasn't blowing and the hour still early, we walked along the shore for a bit.

After walking off breakfast, we checked out of the inn and headed for the harbor. As we set up the boat, the wind started to increase a tiny bit, but only to about 4 mph. We'd had a good breeze the day before, so this was OK . The main thing was, it wasn't raining. I assured Martin that it would not rain as he had no dry pants to change into now and needed to keep them that way for his long trip home in the afternoon. As we shoved off I felt something. Was that a raindrop? Nah! It wasn't going to rain.

We enjoyed the relatively placid water and leisurely pace. Still, there was enough wind to keep us moving along. It gave Martin a chance to see what it's like in calmer wind and take in more of the scenery.

There were fish jumping out of the water here and there. Suddenly, a small one of about 15 cm/6 inches in length, popped out of the water, flew right past Martin and landed inside the centerboard well! We could peer down and see it wiggling around, but had no way to reach it. By the time we docked it had escaped out the bottom. Wow. First fish caught aboard Bluesette! Congratulations, Martin. Sorry it got away.

After a time, Martin asked to have a go at the tiller. He had been in boats before, but not a sailing dinghy. We changed places and he took over helming while I handled the port jib sheet and main.

It's always tricky at first, learning to handle the tiller. Martin was surprised at how responsive the boat is and also how much one has to work at it. The wind came up a bit and we tried tacking a few times.

It was new experience to me in Bluesette to be handling the jib and not the tiller. Martin noticed the look on my face as I reoriented myself to the new position in the boat. It did seem strange.

Then, when coming about, Martin changed sides too quickly and we rolled precipitously. I popped the mainsheet from its cleat and things steadied down. My bad for not doing a better job at briefing the crew. We changed places again.

K pointed out some very dark clouds to the East and shortly we heard a rumble of thunder. And then - the rain began. As we had agreed ahead of time, we immediately headed for the harbor, which was downwind from our position. The cloud followed us, however, and soon was emptying its moisture on Bluesette. So much for staying dry. The weather bureau's revenge was at hand.

(do click on these two to see the rain on the water and the boat and us) ...
Martin did his best to shrug it off (like a true Viking)

K didn't look at all amused - was it something I said? Perhaps it was raining lemon juice?

Ah, well. Showers and dry clothes would fix this. (except for Martin, who now had nothing dry to change into). What to do... I recalled seeing a new laundromat that we passed on the route that leads home and which wasn't too far out of way. So we went there and in a matter of minutes Martin had dry pants. Never a dull moment when you sail on Bluesette!

Time for lunch...

With Martin's interest in food issues - like food security (Japan only grows 40% of it's own caloric intake), food safety and sustainability - we had been wanting to take him to a farm association run market and restaurant we discovered about four years ago called JA Ibaraki Pocket Farm Doki Doki Restaurant. K set the Insight's navi computer for "shortest route" to get to the restaurant. We were soon driving down very narrow, winding roads through farms. At one point a delivery truck pulled out ahead of us, but thankfully he was heading the same direction. Maybe we'll stick to the main road next time.

They feature locally grown produce and meats both in the market and the restaurant. The latter is an all you can eat affair. The building has a high open beamed dining room set in a forest with large picture windows to bring the outside in.

I took this picture on a previous visit to Doki Doki.
The food is displayed on a large wooden, two tiered table. Often, the dishes are labeled with a small sign with a picture of the farmer who provided the ingredients and a blurb from the chef who prepared it. The food is all very fresh as the amount of each dish put out is relatively small, so replaced often with a fresh batch or a different dish altogether. There are no chemical additives in the foods. The selection is amazing. You can read Martin's impressions here: Five Stars For The JA Ibaraki Pocket Farm Doki Doki Restaurant.

After lunch and a visit to the market there, it was time to move on. We were heading in the general direction of the bus terminal, but there was another stop we wished to make along the way.

Both Martin and I have some background in Buddhism, albeit different sects. There is a temple in rural part of Hokota City which is little known outside the area, but of some historical significance, so that was our next stop.

Muryouju-ji (ji means temple) is on a hill overlooking a valley of rice fields. The gate is a the top of a long flight of steps (pant pant wheeze).

Muryouju-ji was founded in 806 and later renovated by the monk, Shinran Shonin, who lived there for three years starting in 1221. Shinran was the founder of the Jodo Shinshu (true pure land) sect of Buddhism - presently the largest sect in Japan. (It is known in the USA as Hongwanji and Buddhist Church of America). The worship hall was replaced in the early 1600s with the building one sees today.

The bell tower was built around 725 and is rung 108 times on New Years eve. K gave it a go.

On a previous visit, the temple hall itself was closed. It underwent a complete renovation starting in 2000, which took four years. This day, we were lucky and the hall was open and we went inside. A woman joined us - possibly the minister's wife - and lit a candle for us so that we could offer incense. She also told some things about the temple and its unusually elaborate decor and some of the history of the sect.

Altar with a statue of Amida Buddha. The carved panels above - some brightly painted and others gold plated - were made by the same artist who made the carvings for the famous Toshogu Shrine in Nikko in 1617.

A protective dragon greets one at the entrance.

Recent renovations included a new thatched roof.
The tall tree is a ginko, which may have been planted by Shinran Shonin himself as it is over 700 years old. To the right is a stone "Domae" - treasure house.

Then it was time to ~~repel the Viking invader~~ take Martin to the bus terminal for his long journey home - happily, attired in dry clothing. We'll do it again. Next time, just for kicks, in sunny weather!

Viking Invades Hinuma

2009-10-26T16:18:00.002+09:00

At the beginning of October, our friend Martin became our first guest aboard Bluesette. Martin is from Sweden and has lived in Japan for a long time. We met through blogging a few years back when my only blog was Pacific Islander. Martin writes Kurashi - News from Japan which is all about being GREEN and covers the issues of sustainability, food safety, ecology and energy as they affect life in Japan. He is the author of a new book (in Japanese) which is a guide to consumers on which foods are safest and what additives various Japanese companies may add to their food products. Japanese readers can check out the book here: Food Safety Ranking in Japan 2009

It's a two hour trip from Martin's home by train and bus. We picked him up at the bus terminal in Itako City and drove up the eastern shore of Lake Kitaura and on to Hinuma. The weather was going to be wet, but we were determined to go no matter what. Thinking the weather would likely be better in the afternoon, and not wanting to have to break for lunch later, we stopped at Mama's Kitchen.

Martin

K & Pandabonium - are we really gonna do this in the rain?

Martin is ready. Bluesette is ready.

We could barely make out the north shore 1 mile away - definitely IFR weather. The Hakutas obliged by launching Bluesette for us anyway, then retreated to the club house. Not sure what they thought of us at that point. Perhaps "baka" - crazy.

Ignoring the rain, we had a blast. The wind picked up a bit and we got sup some speed. Rather than trying to have 3 people change sides with each tack, Martin and K sat on either side of the boat manning the jib and trusting me to keep them from taking a swim.

Agent 99 -"we're soaked to the skin" Agent 86 - "and loving it!"
The mainsail acted as a great catchment system, intercepting the rain and sending it down and into the cockpit below. This insured that the crew got a double dose of rain and also kept them busy bailing.

Survivors

None of us had prepared ourselves well for the rain. I left my rain gear at home by mistake, K didn't have any, and Martin brought a temporary rain suit, but only wore the pants. I guess we were just determined face the elements and beat them. Lucky for us it was fairly warm with water and air temps around 21C/70F.

After tucking in Bluesette under her cover for the night, it was nice to enjoy a hot shower at the club and get into some dry clothes.

Then it was time to head for Ikoinomura Hinuma - a prefecture run resort just half a kilometer from the harbor. K and I had had lunch there before, but had never stayed overnight.

Ikoi no mura Hinuma - " village of rest at Hinuma"

Our accommodations were spacious Japanese style rooms with tatami mat floors and lake views.

After settling in and having a bit of rest it was time for dinner. Two meals a day are included in the room charge and dinner is ordered ahead of time so it is ready when you arrive in the dinning room. In addition to the set meal, I had ordered a plate of fried freshly caught "haze" (Japanese Goby fish). While we did enjoy them, it was a bit much food as the set meal itself was quite a feast.

A couple of hours later, it was time for the onsen - hotspring baths - to relax the muscles and warm one's body for a sound sleep. The baths at Ikoi no mura Hinuma (separate for men and women) have big windows overlooking the lake. After our long, active day, it felt great.

While one is out for dinner, the maids move the furniture in the room and set out futons.

K is wearing the yukata which Japanese inns (ryokan) provide guests. They are worn everywhere in the resort [men are additionally provided a sort of jacket that goes over it (haori)]. The yukata is also for sleeping.
An occluded front had formed over the area. That's when a cold front and warm front collide and duke it out as to which will win. It can be very hard to predict the weather with any certainty when this occurs until something breaks. I bet on the warm front winning and bringing improved conditions with it.

The weather bureau, however, was forecasting more rain and even thundershowers for the next day. Ha! What do they know?

つづく (to be continued)

Until next, sweet sailing!

Panda Poop Earns An "Ig Nobel" Prize

2009-10-04T18:40:00.007+09:00

From CNET News:
"A team at the Kitasato University Graduate School of Medical Sciences in Sagamihara won the [Ig Nobel] biology prize for "demonstrating that kitchen refuse can be reduced more than 90 percent in mass by using bacteria extracted from the feces of giant pandas."

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN:

A Japanese and two Chinese researchers who developed a method to cut kitchen waste by using bacteria from giant panda poop were awarded the 2009 Ig Nobel Prize for Biology in Boston on Thursday.

The award, a parody of the Nobel Prize, is handed out each October by the Improbable Research organization at Harvard University for "research that makes people laugh, and then think."

Fumiaki Taguchi, pictured, is a professor emeritus at Kitasato University's graduate school of medical sciences in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture. He shared the prize with Song Guofu and Zhang Guanglei of China. (IHT/Asahi: October 3,2009)

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Pandas Don't Hibernate

2009-09-30T14:26:00.007+09:00

So what's up with the lack of posts here?

K and I have been doing a lot of sailing this summer, that's what, and blogging about it on Sweet-Bluesette. This weekend, rain or no (hey if we were afraid of getting wet, we wouldn't go sailing at all), we're staying at a resort up at the lake with a friend from Saitama Prefecture and sailing for two days. I promise a post here about that as well as on Sweet-Bluesette.

On August 26th we visited DisneySea, which is a one of a kind park next to Tokyo Disneyland. It is themed on ports of the world and designed to appeal to an older age group. It sure appeals to us. I'll post about that SOON.

On September 13th we went to an airshow at Hyakuri Air Base and watched the JASDF aerobatic team "Blue Impulse" perform again. I'll post briefly on that as well.

In other news....

On Maui, my 6 year old granddaughter Bailey is kickin' goals in soccer games. Six of them in the last two games! At this rate, the Kashima Antlers will want to sign her up. (Her dad played soccer for Hawaii Pacific University - you don't suppose she has a coaching advantage, do you?).

Bailey on the right in the yellow jersey.
And on the mainland US my second daughter, Laura, graduated (again) this summer, this time with a master's degree in computer engineering and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. Woo hoo. All that while working full time for an aerospace company.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

2009-09-06T16:49:00.006+09:00

Forget the Mazda ads. I mean ZOOOOM!

As I mentioned back in July when I saw "an unusual formation" of JASDF aircraft fly over, there is an air show happening next Sunday, the 13th of September at Hyakuri Airbase not very far from us.

By the way, the following day, I saw another unusual formation and it circled the area twice. It was, as I suspected connected to the airshow, but it was not a rehearsal. Rather, it was a photo op flight, with the Kawasaki trainer being used as the camera plane.

In the poster below, you can see Kashima Football Stadium (soccer for Americans) in the lower left, Kashima Jingu Shrine (the green area under the 2nd airplane, an RF-4EJ Phantom) and somewhere off the nose of the closest plane (a Mitsubishi F-15J) "Ye Old Academy" where the Moody Minstrel teaches.

Flying starts at 0900 and ends at 1430, with the last hour being the Blue Impulse performance.

Schedule of flying, directions to the base, etc. can be found here:
http://www.mod.go.jp/asdf/hyakuri/show5.html

Go sailing on Saturday or to the airshow on Sunday? (K needs a day of rest on the weekend). Tough choice! But the airshow is only once a year, so Bluesette will have to wait.

Holy Chiropteran Batman!

2009-09-04T16:54:00.008+09:00

I am constantly amazed at the new flora and fauna of this rural part of Kashima City. Recently I heard an insect I had not heard before. It sounded as if someone were hiding in the bush with a bicycle bell - "lriinggg...lrriingggg...". It turns out to be a "suzumushi" or "bell cricket", which is a tiny insect not 2 cm long. It has been long admired in Japan for its beautiful sound and is even featured in the world's first novel - The Tale of Genji, written in the early 11th century.

Click above to hear the song of the suzumushi.

Today, K arrived home and excitedly asked me to come see what she had just found. A bat! K grew up around here and had not seen one in this area before. I double checked to make sure it wasn't April 1st, then went with her to the garage where, trough the open window, we watched this bat sleeping on our wall.

Cute, yeah?

I don't know what kind it is. It is quite small at only about 6 cm in length (less than 2 1/2 inches). Perhaps it eats flying insects. I think it is too big to be one that eats nectar. Anyway, it's welcome to "hang out" here. Bats have an important place in the ecosystem. Fruit bats (which are usually quite large like the ones we've seen in Fiji and in Japan are only found in the far southern islands of Okinawa Prefecture) spread seeds. Insect eating bats control the population of plant eating insects, and nectar eaters are valuable for their pollination function. All of them help to preserve forests.

Since I moved here (almost five years ago) we've seen an increase in wildlife - birds, snakes, frogs, insects, and now bats! Very encouraging. I hope the area doesn't get overbuilt and enough wild patches remain to be a home for these creatures.

Batten The Hatches!

2009-08-31T11:49:00.003+09:00

UPDATE: Krovanh veered to the east and passed us off shore, so all we got were some 20 mph winds and moderate amounts of rain.

Good thing we have a tight waterproof cover on Bluesette and that she and the sendai she sits on are tied down to eye bolts in the ground. Krovanh is coming.

TS Krovanh's position as of 10:00 AM Japan time today (Monday). Image from Japan Meteorological Agency

Korvanh is a Tropical Storm heading right for us. Already Tokyo International Airport at Narita (just 20 miles from us) is reporting winds of 50 kph with peak gusts of 70 kph (30 mph and 44 mph respectively). The center will pass over us around 21:00 tonight.

The good news is, the storm is not intensifying to Typhoon levels. However, it was a storm of similar intensity that wrecked an iron ore freighter right off Kashima Port in 2006 with loss of ten lives, grounded another ship, sank a 98 ton fishing vessel to our north with loss of all 16 hands, and capsized a pleasure fishing boat near Tokyo. So this is nothing to trifle with.

Cool As A Jewel

2009-08-21T18:30:00.001+09:00

I'm beginning to like this doggy beauty salon thing. Today was my third trip and I had a nice bath and real short summer cut. I relaxed this time, since I now know that my beautician knows what she is doing. It felt good!

This time I got my leg fur cut shorter too, so I really am as "cool as a jewel" for the rest of summer.

Oh, I got a kerchief with a flower pattern too, and the beautician gave me a special treat for later - chicken breast. Yum!

A Phone By Any Other Cover

2009-08-18T17:36:00.006+09:00

K recently bought a new cell phone. It's waterproof, just in case she needs to call for help from an overturned sailboat. (So much for having confidence in Bluesette's skipper!)

I don't own a cell phone, which makes me a very rare Panda bear in Japan. I had one for many years before I came to Japan, but now I find them more of a nuisance than a convenience. I don't need one, anymore than I need a TV or a car, thank you very much.

The R&D for cell phones obviously does not go into making phone calls better or easier or less costly, but rather into developing new income streams for service providers - video, internet, music, mapping, games, porn, market news, television, weather, taking pictures, ad nauseam. All of which come at a premium, of course.

This has worked against what one might hope that these little techno-baubles would do - bring people together; you know, "reach out and touch someone", make children more safe. Au contraire mon frere. (That's little double entendre joke for the Japan audience since "Au" is one of the major cell phone service providers here.)

Everywhere one goes people are living their lives on line and on their cell phones - not talking on them, but playing games, surfing the net, and so on - anything to avoid having to look or (gasp!) say anything to another actual human being. Even kids on bicycles are engrossed with their phone when they should be watching the road and traffic around them.

Now there is another level - layer if you will - of expense to these devices, but it is one of which I highly approve (since I don't have to pay for it). It is custom iPhone covers done in Japanese lacquerware designs, including a sprinkling of gold dust on them. Wow. I'd love to have one if anyone is looking for gift ideas. No phone, just the cover. And at about $1,000 each they are such a modest "investment"...

Photo from an article in the LA Times online edition: The Ultimate iPhone case

"Each case -- which takes nearly a month to produce -- comes with a soft pouch and a booklet that puts the design in a historic context".

I wonder how they will someday describe cell phone culture itself in a "historic context"?

Step Out Of The Car And Drop That Pin!

2009-08-18T17:32:00.002+09:00

On our way to lake Hinuma Monday morning we were stopped by the latest in Japanese law enforcement. Forget "Robocop". Always at the cutting edge of technology, Japan has a light weight, quickly deployable alternative that is much cheaper, more mobile, and very effective (providing you have a compliant citizenry). It's "Inflato-Cop"!

Well, actually there were two of these next to a Mobil gasoline station. They are effective - if only in catching one's attention and eliciting a laugh. Obviously, the location has a visibility problem and so has invested in numerous signs, flashing lights, and even "Inflato-Cops" to garner what business they can.

Fast Trains, Slow Life, and an Old Indian

2009-08-12T10:37:00.014+09:00

Last Saturday I took the train to Hinuma to work on Bluesette. K had driven up to Mito City to attend an English language lecture about the Ukraine and would join me later for lunch. While on the train, I noticed a hand bill about a model railroad event that was underway. It was being held at the Keisei department store in Mito City. The last day would be Tuesday.

Sunday, we went sailing, just beating the heavy weather that was on the way with Tropical Storm Etau, which at the time was causing a great deal of flooding and several deaths in Hyogo Prefecture just west of Kyoto and Osaka prefectures. (A passing shower did soak us, just as were pulling the boat out of the water). Luckily for us, when Monday came, the storm headed south of the Boso Peninsula and we just experienced the rains on the norther edge of Etau. Tuesday, the weather was actually very nice, so K drove us up to Mito for this 'kid' to see the model trains.

Keisei has a large room on their 7th floor which is used for special events like this. There was a section for the plastic train layouts for younger kids to check, out some small "N" gauge layouts, several larger model trains of famous Japanese lines, handmade models of steam locomotives, and a huge N gauge layout in the midst of it all.

At ¥304,500 ($3,150) this handmade N-gauge steam locomotive engine - one of many on display - is obviously intended for ~~crazy~~ dedicated railroad hobbyists only.

The main layout goes from rural mountains at one end, to a modern city at the other.

At the rural end of the layout there is a castle, farms, and a lake. (click picture to enlarge)

There was a video simulator so kids could see what it is like to drive a train and official JR coats and hats for them to try on. A long counter displayed individual cars as well as complete sets of N-gauge and larger HO gauge trains along with kits for making buildings.

K seemed both surprised and relieved that I didn't buy anything. A long time ago I had an N-gauge layout which I built in a walk-in closet. These days, I have enough hobbies and so neither the time or space to add model railroading to the mix. I still enjoy seeing them though.

Moving toward the city one finds a temple, park, and apartment buildings. Shinkansen ringed the table, while other express and local commuter trains ran on other tracks. (click picture to enlarge)

Around noon we left to find lunch. We have often enjoyed the Japanese restaurant at the top of the Keisei building, but this time we were headed for a little shop with an organic food restaurant in the back. Its just across Izumi-cho from Keisei and a few doors west, next to a Yamaha musical instruments store. Called Kanazawaya, the front part of the shop sells handmade chothes, bags, jewelry, crafts, soaps, and such, as well as environmentally safe pesticides for use in the home. K discovered this shop a few weeks ago and brought me back a nice bar of homemade olive oil soap. The also feature organic foods - rice milk, peanut butter, cereals, etc. from Alishan Organic Center in Saitama, from whom I purchase grains and beans.

Handmade goods are very popular in Japan. There are even clubs where people get together to make handicrafts, then periodically hold one-day sales to finance their club.

Another movement of which this restaurant is an example is called "Slow Life", which has been around for 15 years or so in Japan. As the name implies, it eschews the mindless frenzy often seen in "modern" culture and seeks to provide a more mindful, meaningful, and pleasant life. This includes "slow food". A sign on the glass at the front of Kanazawa-ya says "slow STYLE".

The restaurant is small, and has a comfortable yet fun atmosphere. On the menu were a quiche, tofu burgers and other organic dishes. We had tofu burgers - which also have veggies on them and shiso leaves for added flavor. The meal came with salad, a vegetable soup of onions, mushrooms, and bean sprouts, beverage and desert. All for ¥880 (about $9).

"fig grain coffee" pudding for desert
Their website is here: Kanazawa-ya (Japanese, but lots of pictures).

Then it was time to head home. As we sat at a stop light, still in Mito City, I looked across the street at an auto shop and was amazed to see and old Indian on the other side of the window!

This wasn't a person from New Delhi, nor a Native American. It was a 1920's vintage Indian motorcycle, as seen in the Anthony Hopkins movie "The Fastest Indian". (A very entertaining film by the way and based on a true story.)

I asked K to pull over somewhere so I could get a picture.

Well this old Indian was surely not the fastest, but certainly a rare find, especially in Japan.

I don't know much about motorcycles, but I used the Indian website to date this one and it appears that this model was built sometime in the 1920's.

All in all a fun day and nice change from sailing. With the storm passed, we'll be back on the water in a day or two.

Going, Going, Gauguin

2009-08-08T16:25:00.004+09:00

We went to Tokyo last week to see a wonderful exhibition of paintings, wood prints, etchings, and a sculpture by Paul Gauguin. Funny thing was, we had skimmed over the information about it and assumed (you know what means) that it was to be held at the National Museum of Western Art in Ueno Park where we saw "Master Paintings of 17th Century Europe" in June.

K bought our tickets on line and had found out that there is a free shuttle bus from Tokyo Station to the Gauguin exhibit, but not exactly from where it leaves.

Window cleaning with a loooooong extension pole at Tokyo Station's North Entrance
So, it was with very incomplete data that we arrived in Tokyo on the last Wednesday in July. I had some business to take care of just a block from the station, which went smoothly enough. We then set off to find the free shuttle. As you will see, it is a good thing that we didn't just hop on a train to Ueno Park, but the bad news was we spent time roaming around Tokyo Station (which ain't small) looking for the shuttle bus.

Finally, we came across some posters which pointed way to the bus stop. Oddly enough it was at the North entrance - right where our bus from home had arrived. Ah well, I needed the exercise. We had just missed a bus to the exhibit, but another would be along soon, they run every 30 minutes. When we boarded, due to the crowd (and a lady who needed a seat more than I did), K and I were in different parts of the bus. I watched the scenery go by and was was surprised to see the moat of the Imperial Palace. I thought, "wait a minute, this is on the west side of Tokyo Station and Ueno Park is four kilometers to the north." I glanced at my watch - the bus was supposed to take 15 minutes and 10 minutes had already passed. How the hell were we going to get to Ueno from here in 5 minutes? About then, we pulled up at "The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo" which is right across the street (and moat) from the Imperial Palace. DOH! Good thing we took the shuttle bus, otherwise we would have been in Ueno Park at the wrong museum wondering what happened to the exhibit.

The Guaguin Bus
By this time we were interested in lunch so got in line for the "Queen Alice Aqua Restaurant" (not to be confused with Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant) that is said to be "produced by the Iron Chef French, Ishinabe Yutaka". Whatever. It was "OK" but only offered meat dishes - mostly pork - tiny portions, and was very pricey to boot (¥1200 for a sandwich and 5 potato wedges, plus ¥400 for iced tea or coffee?). The wait was long as well. I would recommend eating at one of the many restrauants in the train station before getting on the shuttle bus. Anyway, that out of the way, we were free to view the exhibit at our leisure. And what an exhibit it is.

From the art museum - Bridge across the Imperial Palace's Moat leading to the Hirakawa Gate. The building on the left, partly obscurred by a tree is the Mainichi Shimbun building - one of Japan's major newspapers.
Surprisingly, there was no line. There were plenty of people, but no waiting to get in. The exhibit is presented chronologically with 18 paintings in the first section dating from 1882 to 1894, then a plaster sculpture "Oviri" and an Etching. Following that are 23 wood prints, and more oil paintings. In all, 53 works.

The Avenue of Les Alyscamps, Arles (1888) - a house that Guaguin shared with van Gogh
The paintings come from collections around the world, some in Japan which we have seen before, many from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, including the main draw - "D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?" (Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?) (1897–98).

Washerwomen, Alres (1888)
I was surprised to find "Where Do We Come From?..." is a huge work at 139.2 by 374.6 cm (about 55 inches high and 12 feet 3.5 inches wide). Just before it, one passes through a darkened room where a video about the elements of the painting is presented. The painting has a room to itself and because it wasn't crowded we could view it from different distances. The colors are wonderful and some of the figures even seem to glow. The elements of the painting, which is to be "read" from right to left, represent Gauguin's view of human life through it's stages.

"D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?"

Many of the figures are ones he used in earlier paintings. The black dog for example represents himself in many paintings. The old woman at the far left represents death and comes from a Peruvian mummy which he saw and used in other previous works. The woman in a black dress just to the right of the idol is his favorite child, Aline, who had recently died of pneumonia at the age of 21 and was the inspiration for this painting as well as the source of his depression. He considered the painting to be his masterpiece, and after it was finished he attempted suicide.

Lucky for us, he was unsuccessful and in the last room were six later paintings, two of which were favorites for us.

Te Pape Nave Nave (Delectable Waters) 1898, has "nave nave" colors and interesting figures - both beautiful and curious - note the woman and child in the background and the idol which is featured in "Where are we from...". The idol in his paintings does not represent a specific religion (Tahitians had no such figures), but rather the gradual stripping away of Western culture and Christianity from Gauguin the longer he stayed in Tahiti.

"A Horse On A Road" 1899, reminds me of Taveuni, where one can still see such a scene.

The exhibit runs through September 23, so there is time to go back for a second look. "D’où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous?" by itself would be worth the trip, but there is much more to see and the other paintings help to bring context to the key work.

The weather had been mostly cloudy with some thunder. As we neared home, I noticed a strange funnel-like cloud that corkscrewed toward the ground. It lingered even as I walked Momo at dusk, the sky itself looking like an artist's canvas.