tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35772207440663924292012-02-09T00:12:30.301+09:00Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.comBlogger4031100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-6104262101049487282012-02-05T22:16:00.000+09:002012-02-05T22:16:29.808+09:00

Last weekend we went to the Tokyo Photography Museum in Ebisu to see an exhibition of Contemporary Japanese Photography. There were five exhibitors, two of whom I was really impressed with Ken Kitano and  Sohei Nishino.   Highly recommended if they have an exhibition that you can get to.  Ken Kitano  mostly does portrait photography. The images appear as a single person but are actually

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-73640346372832809802012-02-05T14:01:00.002+09:002012-02-05T14:23:50.091+09:00

Sazare Hiro's birthday and a regrettable lack of imagination gave a perfect excuse to venture yet again to the back strees of Ueno-Hirokoji to Kagetsu,  one of my two favourite (to date) karintou shops in Tokyo.  Karinto is like a kind of rice cracker I guess, usually sweet.  It's a fail proof gift for Hiro - his favourite, sazare  -   a word which always reminds me of  arare  (dry sleet) and

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-3164410796962699052012-02-01T22:13:00.003+09:002012-02-01T22:36:06.164+09:00

It snowed last week, but I had the flu so didn't go out to look at it. It was a substantial dusting, the kind that looks like icing sugar rather than anything you could make a snow man with.  A week later it still hasn't melted completely.  It's been a cold cold week.  Ice crystals, piles of snow, flowers poking through. I admire their constitution.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-70269756935907398392012-02-01T20:57:00.000+09:002012-02-01T20:57:43.445+09:00

I have no idea why in a country that is so advanced that it has eye scan technology for proof of age on tobacco vending machines isn't able to do something about this mess of overhead lines. Given the state of national accounts though, it's probably fair to say that there are better ways to spend the tax yen.(You know you've been in Japan when you are no longer sure if you spell it tobacco or

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-13986674642499769572012-01-29T01:49:00.001+09:002012-01-29T02:00:45.703+09:00

The other day I was heralding the tapering off of earthquakes. I spoke too soon. It was soon followed by another big earthquake in NZ and then more here. I am not impressed to see Yamanashi turning up on here. Yamanashi is where Mt Fuji is and Mt Fuji is dormant, not extinct. The last eruption was in the early 1700s. With a list of tremors like this for a day, one would hope that there is major

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-8606935968852133992012-01-22T23:10:00.000+09:002012-01-22T23:10:24.835+09:00

At the bottom of Asukayama park, along the railway lines near Oji station is a charming little row of little bars that in cherry blossom and hydrangea season double as places selling food to passers by. I've never been to any of the places there, without being seedy they are more like places where salary men stop off on their way between the station and home. Yesterday, early

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-48584316293941536442012-01-21T09:08:00.004+09:002012-01-26T08:27:04.324+09:00

Which amount of snow stops the trains? Picture A taken near Kazuno-Hanawa on the Hanawa line?   OR B.   Tokyo yesterday snow falling but not collecting on the ground. And the answer is B. A few flakes of snow yesterday and the subways were in chaos with delays and cancelled trains.  Most subways turn into suburban above ground trains once they get out of Tokyo so even though

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-62337409049517361222012-01-19T08:06:00.001+09:002012-01-19T11:54:38.255+09:00

Occasionally these adds pop up on my facebook page. She was a fat fat 40.9kgs and now.... she's lost 2.6kg AND 7.3cm from her waist. I'd better check myself in. (The numbers are for) Weight Waist Hip Thigh

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-56116293288684347372012-01-04T23:16:00.004+09:002012-01-05T09:38:21.270+09:00

                                                                                                  Beware of terrorists...                                                                        I don't think any terrorist would want to wade through  metre deep snow 60 km from the Japan Sea coast in the foothills of the mountains between Iwate & Akita to attack a town that has a rapidly dwindling

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-62472058149551417302012-01-04T22:25:00.004+09:002012-01-05T07:49:39.609+09:00

TL - berries that I don't know the name ofTC - omikuji - fortune slips tied onto branches that are now mostly under snow.R - a new year fire - people bring back their old shrine mementos / new year greetings decorations etc from the the previous year and burn them.BC - gohei (paper zigzags)hanging in front of a shrine for a stoneBL - hand washing / purification water (there was ice on it,

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-12231682777551694572012-01-04T22:15:00.002+09:002012-01-04T23:04:55.451+09:00

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-37619987797402416572012-01-04T21:54:00.002+09:002012-01-04T21:58:35.972+09:00

All the pictures are taken from outside the train, except the one of the window  which was  the view from inside.  Pictures are from  Morioka to Odate to Takanosu.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-34784426696729865282012-01-04T21:36:00.002+09:002012-01-06T09:07:06.657+09:00

We arrived back from Akita last night. New Year was toned down this year. Hiro's brother died unexpectedly in November and by custom there are no new year celebrations. There is no New Year card sending or receiving  - a "cold winter greeting, death in the family" card goes out and the correct response is to send no greeting card for New Year.  It seems very harsh - more than ever people need to

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-49127462459003396852012-01-04T20:49:00.000+09:002012-01-04T20:49:06.874+09:00

This is a photo I took weeks ago.Three cans of almost beer  for tax purposes - malt reduced beer AKA happoshu.  Japanese breweries, in an effort to circumvent tax laws that tax according to malt content, have developed a range of low malt, same alcohol beer.   It used to puzzle me that the decorated seasonal cans were always with happoshu rather than regular beer.  I've deduced that "real" beer

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-14540579078825640802011-12-22T11:15:00.001+09:002011-12-24T13:19:41.278+09:00

Writing this may be tempting fate.... but the aftershocks have started to drop off noticeably.  Yesterday there was just one for the whole day. The 18th and 19th also had just one aftershoock.  It's been a while since I have felt one, but not feeling them doesn't mean they are not happening.  There have often been 10 or more aftershocks in a day and the only reason I know about them is from

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-70752374852885217632011-12-15T23:49:00.003+09:002011-12-16T00:08:56.770+09:00

Why spend 60 minutes travelling around it when you can spend less than 10 minutes passing through the stations virtually!

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-12101677551528014642011-12-08T10:20:00.000+09:002011-12-08T10:20:52.917+09:00

This JR poster for Akita has been around for a couple of weeks.  A namahage in an onsen with sake (the sake puzzles me a little since I thought it was taboo to drink sake in an onsen - something only obnoxious Russian sailors did). A....kita - is a pun which means both Akita and I  have (finally) arrived.  It's  apt description of  how I feel upon arriving there after the long trip up.   "akita"

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-85674830249099768432011-12-07T23:27:00.000+09:002011-12-07T23:27:48.335+09:00

Mercifully I have found a place to park that is sufficiently grey zone not to have to pay and not to have my bike confiscated. At 4,000Y ($50 or so) per bike, and about 10 stations in the local govt. area, the local govt. are onto a serious cash cow.  Bikes get confiscated perhaps every 3 weeks, or whenever the local govt is short on cash.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-42712852016340588912011-12-07T23:14:00.000+09:002011-12-07T23:14:32.434+09:00

Tonight I had dinner with former colleagues.  We were seduced by the Christmas gimmick and ordered beer by the stocking.... Not so easy to drink out of  but a good night.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-6096166590215865842011-12-07T23:08:00.004+09:002011-12-11T22:56:04.794+09:00

JR has a new Tohoku campaign. I've been quite underwhelmed by it. The colours of Tohoku are beautiful and yet they came up with a retro 80s looking pink and blue and green and grey campaign.  And then after seeing the Hayabusa, I realised the colours are probably inspired by the new shinkansen. Go to Tohoku! there is a special Tohoku 3 day pass happening at the moment. It's a pity I won't

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-15662612911479377672011-12-07T22:26:00.001+09:002011-12-07T22:27:53.052+09:00

Misfortune took us back to Akita during the week, a bright spot was the return trip, a ride on the Hayabusa. The Hayabusa is the new shinkansen that goes to Aomori. It's sleek and fast (even though strong winds and blizzards had it running 5 minutes late) and has power points at each seat.   Very very cool. The Hayabusa with a sign painted on it - let's connect Japan! Very sleek! Not

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-43439918518060916002011-12-07T22:16:00.001+09:002011-12-07T22:16:47.493+09:00

For a moment, a split second , I was excited - black rye bread.... Japan has come so far... not quite pumpernickel but  black rye bread.... and I even have sour cream in the fridge....Alas.... closer inspection... chocolate bread.... I should have known.At least it wasn't like the olden days before I could read Japanese when I bough MSG thinking it was some superior kind of sea salt crystal....

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-6848958175385388442011-11-16T20:37:00.000+09:002011-11-16T20:37:52.887+09:00

Why is it that when there is  a single lane escalator, the person who pushes you aside to get  on it ahead of you invariably gets on and stands still..... ?

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-85136167727816506902011-11-11T06:55:00.000+09:002011-11-11T06:55:10.894+09:00

The answers to the quiz the other day.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-23684876956754782772011-11-10T23:35:00.000+09:002011-11-10T23:35:37.877+09:00

Let's merry.   While we're at it... why not let's frappucino as well.No wonder schools are full of signs for club activities like "Let's basketball" and "Let's English."

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-24807316688151844192011-11-08T23:43:00.001+09:002011-11-08T23:44:17.031+09:00

This is radically brave. This man was in his 60s or 70s. I wish I had this degree of bravery!

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-661876336254857932011-11-08T11:16:00.001+09:002011-11-08T11:22:04.742+09:00

The other day I came across this and had a bit of chuckle. I admire her spirit...she's probably never had an English lesson but as struggling almost monolingual tried to avoid smug feelings....  but nonetheless it is quite funny. Yesterday one of the students came to class with a bottle of coke.  I don't mind if they eat their breakfast in the first few mins of class  - most of them eat at home

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-44919471495882048532011-10-28T01:08:00.005+09:002011-10-28T16:03:19.367+09:00

I've been lamenting the increase in littering lately.  Behind the old pachinko parlor where I often park in a grey zone of legality it has been getting very very dirty.   So working on the assumption that I can't complain about the grottiness if I don't make active efforts to improve it, I took a pair of  gunte  - litterally army gloves but there actually coarse woven cotton gloves that are

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-3795304499696791752011-10-26T08:44:00.000+09:002011-10-26T08:44:46.431+09:00

http://blogs.sacbee.com/photos/2011/09/japan-marks-6-months-since-ear.html This is a link to a website with amazing pictorial records of the tsunami from Kyodo.There are three photos of each site. The first the immediate damage of the tsunami, the second taken in June and the third in September.  Rikuzen Takata, where I spent a week, is among the photos.  It's a great testament to the effort that

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-29909967822087275332011-10-19T10:08:00.000+09:002011-10-19T10:08:04.243+09:00

Inside the box of goodies was akebi - I have no idea what it is in English. It's a Tohoku food apparently, Yamagata people are thought particularly savage, even from their fellow Tohoku-ites because they eat the bitter skin.  According to kyoto foodie it's considered a fruit - the fleshy inside part is like a rambutan or lychee in taste but has fleshy seeds like a pomegranate (only much softer

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-7789435129042887672011-10-19T09:58:00.001+09:002011-10-19T09:59:35.443+09:00

Akita's signature dish - Kiritanpo. On Sunday out of the blue Hiro's mother sent a food parcel (since we can't buy food in Tokyo).  Some vegies and chestnuts from the vegie patch, some local apples, oldest uncle's new season rice and.... kiritampo.  Kiritampo is the signature dish of Akita prefecture & Hiro's mother cooks it to perfection.  It's a chicken hot pot with mushrooms - mostly maitake

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-85281607205533605342011-10-18T12:29:00.002+09:002011-10-18T20:39:30.551+09:00

I will post the answers in a few days. Actually more truthfully it's a Honshu Island picture quiz - the warm up activity for class on Mon. I have a couple of other quizes on here if you're into quizes. http://ponkanchan.blogspot.com/2011/05/japan-food-quiz.html http://ponkanchan.blogspot.com/2011/05/kyoto-quiz.html http://ponkanchan.blogspot.com/2011/05/tokyo-quiz.html

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-27309379149350238982011-10-15T21:44:00.003+09:002011-10-19T11:53:26.388+09:00

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-82702923367378581692011-10-15T21:22:00.000+09:002011-10-15T21:22:25.046+09:00

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-67901831921109268742011-10-15T21:15:00.002+09:002011-10-15T21:18:32.404+09:00

I can't say it's the most representative food, but it's from the collection I have.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-68145904441057958032011-10-15T21:12:00.001+09:002011-10-15T23:23:22.485+09:00

I've been putting together a few photo collages to go with an essay writing unit I am making.This is the first, Japan and nature.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-11363930279949670002011-10-08T20:24:00.003+09:002011-10-16T19:58:46.210+09:00

A map of caesium levels from today's Japan times- the headline of the article was "Okutama cesium levels seen spiking" Okutama is in the far west of tokyo.  It's a pity Gunma, Ibaragi, Saitama, Chiba, Miyagi  & Tochigi as well as fukushima get lost in  Tokyo's quest to preserve itself.... I had planned to write a radiation 4 because radiation 3 ends with the sense that I am not concerned.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-13441631644033564092011-10-06T10:35:00.000+09:002011-10-06T10:35:20.024+09:00

The new subway poster. Doing your makeup maybe bothersome to others. The whole notion of doing makeup in public kind of defeats the whole purpose of makeup - artifice but never mind.  I am always impressed by the skill with which people attach false eye lashes on the train... talk about a steady hand.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-1239557183567756942011-10-02T18:09:00.002+09:002011-10-02T18:09:27.806+09:00

There isn’t a lot of faith in the food chain security. Given the repeated history of foodsubstitution scandals, it’s not surprising.[i] While I was in Akita, Hiro’s parents’ neighbour was saying that contaminated rice would be mixed with non contaminated rice and sold as safe.   She had no evidence that it was actually happening, just based on previous experience of food safety cover ups it was

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-10787011572163421772011-10-02T18:08:00.006+09:002012-01-11T10:16:58.484+09:00

Anxiety surged when Tokyo water was listed as too contaminated for children to drink. Over the summer doubts regained momentum and anxiety levels intensified.  Contaminated beef reached the market. Food that had been declared “safe” was found in fact to be contaminated; the cattle had eaten contaminated feed.  The cattle had been tested for external radiation, but not internal radiation and the

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-27056321307074285152011-10-02T18:07:00.002+09:002012-01-11T09:18:09.669+09:00

The typhoon season has started and the summer recedes a little further with each down pour of rain. The 6pm chime that rings out around the neighbourhood to remind children to go home is now chiming in the darkness, and soon will begin ringing at 5pm for the winter.  Along with electricity and power savings, the summer   of 2011 has been characterized by fear and uncertainty.  With the approach

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-52576784265823205932011-09-21T00:04:00.008+09:002011-09-27T12:37:53.838+09:00

I'll confess I had some misgivings about the situation over the past week.   Some are oganizational, some are ethical and some are interpersonal. In terms of organization and efficiency it is difficult for the volunteer centre to get a balance.  They want volunteers. Volunteers bring assistance, keep the Sanriku in the public mind, give local people encouragement and stimulate the economy.  At

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-77588740612856251292011-09-20T20:48:00.005+09:002011-09-27T13:00:29.486+09:00

Progress is being made.  JR East's Ofunato line was partially cleared while we were up there. I'm doubtful that the trainline will be reconstructed here,  buses may be more viable.  The concentration of population will move back from the coast. If they do decide to build a new rail line, the route will be determined as part of an overall plan to rebuild the city. The Ofunato Line Wednesday

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-33245646319802361652011-09-20T18:45:00.002+09:002011-09-27T10:19:12.921+09:00

At Otomo we took our lunch break in the shade of the former Junior High School.  The school was inundated to the second floor.  The clock out front was stopped at 3.13,  twenty seven minutes after the earthquake. It was very moving.  Books scattered around. A class list with photos next to a map of the evacuation route for disasters. There were pictures retrieved and rehung, trophies. Graduation

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-91267234684783369002011-09-20T17:25:00.002+09:002011-09-27T12:25:34.727+09:00

On Sunday our task was in Otomo,  Rikuzen Takata, a small settlement on the flat land away from the main town, at the land end of the Hirota Peninsula.  The tsunami apparently struck from both sides.   Our task was to dig an irrigation canal that  had filled in with soil, concrete and asphalt and other debris during the tsunami. In soil like this the digging shouldn't be hard, but there was so

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-24384196437761640982011-09-20T16:12:00.003+09:002011-09-27T11:42:38.066+09:00

 Hirota - which I have marked on the map here - is still in Rikuzen Takata local govt. area but about 8 km away from the principle settlement. It seemed that places further from the town centre, had more clean up remaining to be done. Buses of volunteers lined up - looking inland from the tsunami wall. Much clearing of rubble still to be done Piles of rubble. We  cleared some but not all

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-13797387482607166332011-09-20T15:55:00.005+09:002011-09-27T11:28:54.045+09:00

On Friday the group was smaller as most had returned to Tokyo. Seven of us remained and we were sent to a different branch of the same company we went to on the Tues to help clean up rusted goods.   It was painstaking work. Work was divided into men's work and women's work..... (grrrr)... but we probably got the better deal.  We spent the day scrubbing rust from brackets that were dipped in

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-14969382473654055452011-09-20T15:46:00.003+09:002011-09-27T10:14:25.468+09:00

We arrived early Tues morning, dropped our things at the campsite and changed for a bus to Rikuzen Takata.  The visitors centre allocated us a task of clearing rocks, stones, and concrete blocks from a comapany's site on a hill overlooking a valley that had been inundated.  It wasn't quite clear how the task fitted into the context of the tsunami as the area was not hit by the waters.   But

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-75048049814261234742011-09-20T13:07:00.004+09:002011-09-27T10:13:10.107+09:00

When my classmates were up there in May, they had instructions not to go out of their way to interact with locals - people were deeply traumatised, and  many people were still listed as missing. Survivors had enough to deal with without fielding questions from inquisitive outsiders.  They said that in ten days there was a single encounter with a local who talked about the situation. This time was

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-11643610090132518062011-09-20T11:55:00.002+09:002011-09-27T10:12:09.089+09:00

There has been a lot of comment that people built recklessly in places that were known to be tsunami places.  The implication being that had they not been so foolish, they wouldn't have faced such tragedy. While there is a grain of truth in the statement, it shows little understanding of the Sanriku. The coastline is a vast series of inlets and peninsulas, of river valleys and hills. Principle

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-89550291275543167752011-09-20T11:04:00.005+09:002011-09-27T10:11:24.562+09:00

Hiro and I were up on the Sanriku coast in May. Though we didn't pass through Rikuzen Takata, we did go through similarly affected places not much further north.  The situation seems to have improved a lot.  Huge piles of sorted and semi-sorted rubbish remain in the city but most damaged buildings have been razed and the the rubble removed.  A few prominent buildings remain - all concrete and

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-16114093566385421372011-09-20T10:45:00.002+09:002011-09-27T10:10:46.370+09:00

Overlooking a river valley that was inundated. I estimate more than 1km from the coast. The train line used to run through here. Where the town proper used to stand - approaching the coast. The Central Hotel on the foreshore. By the damage it seems that the tsunami came to the height of the second top floor. An apartment building and the hospital (I think) behind. This used to be the

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-39655974070952281652011-09-20T08:55:00.004+09:002011-09-27T10:07:29.278+09:00

Wikipedia's japan I am back from a week in Iwate prefecture where I spent time helping with the tsunami clean up in Rikuzen Takata local government area. (see the map below- it's three places north of Sendai).   Rikuzen Takata was one of the towns hit worst by the tsunami. The town proper, built behind a tsunami wall that gave a false sense of security, actually no longer exists. The city hall,

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-82739620005710558722011-09-11T22:16:00.003+09:002011-09-11T22:16:39.283+09:00

This touches a nerve in the Tokyo commuter.  A politeness sign urging people not to lean on the person next to them when they fall asleep. I had a good chuckle the first time I saw it.   When it's an elementary school student that slumps onto me as they fall asleep, I feel very charitably inclined, when its a drunk salary man dribbling.... not quite so...

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-17592192198978280542011-09-04T14:27:00.004+09:002011-09-06T10:02:33.040+09:00

The trip back took a little over 12 hours. The trains weren't running quite to the schedule below - I assume due power saving timetables that aren't fully accounted for on the electronic search engines.   Several of the changes were quite tight, and for someone who didn't read Japanese, knowing the incoming and outgoing platform numbers (as shown below) would make it easier to change

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-34022187892107191382011-09-04T13:27:00.000+09:002011-09-04T13:27:20.186+09:00

While I was in Akita Hiro was in Yurakucho, (near Ginza / Tokyo station) and came across this. It's the Yamanote line running above.  Fortunately it's designed so the train line is almost impossible to hit.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-43754285462726731432011-09-03T00:24:00.001+09:002011-09-04T11:52:33.007+09:00

Hiro's parent's are relatively self sufficient as far as food goes.  Most of their vegies they grow themselves.  In summer cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum, - very Mediterranean - in winter pickled daikon in an unfathomable number of variations. shelling dried beans dried beans - in many varieties. a  flower part of the vegie patch the house behind  theirs and a

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-84080995319690544122011-09-03T00:15:00.003+09:002011-11-04T07:47:41.055+09:00

Since Heisei 5 - or 1993 in the Gregorian calendar - Inakadate　（田舎館）has made effort to invigorate community spirit and the local economy by tanbo art - art in the ricefield made by planting different coloured rice to make picutures and patterns. This year's pattern is Taketori Monogatari, or the Bamboo Cutter's daughter. Inakadate's local govt building, no doubt inspired by Hirosaki castle. The

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-67530393462038683362011-09-02T23:20:00.002+09:002011-10-13T20:49:36.704+09:00

From Fukaura we opted to pay the 500 yen reservation fee and use Shirakami Resort liner - which runs three times a day - to go to Goshogawara.  There is a standing nebuta museum there which Hiro's parents wanted to show me. The highlight of the building was the view from the top floor - Mount Iwaki was being uncharacteristically agreeable and was not hidden by clouds. Most times I have been to

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-10995310627659973362011-09-02T22:58:00.003+09:002011-09-02T22:59:49.426+09:00

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-42574230570828087712011-09-02T22:57:00.001+09:002011-09-04T14:44:40.576+09:00

We stopped at Fukaura mostly for the temple - Engakuji - that is there.  Hiro's mother was keen to visit it.  The town is also home to an impressive art gallery - the gallery itself though is considerably more impressive than the contents.  It's more aptly described as a folk museum with some pictures.  The 300 yen entry fee per person is unlikely to come close to covering the wages of the

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-46818866201041565132011-09-02T22:27:00.000+09:002011-09-04T14:45:52.558+09:00

We stopped briefly in Noshiro before taking the through train further north. The rustic looking Gono line train Noshiro man hole covers Storm water drain cover in Noshiro The main street looks rather forlorn, but given that it's 7am it's not a fair assessment. Once upon a a time Noshiro was a thriving industrial port city. With the mines closed, the timber industry lagging and

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-37722672481015614022011-09-02T20:54:00.000+09:002011-09-04T14:46:10.972+09:00

The Gono line which traces the coastline from Higashi Noshiro in Akita to Kuwabe, just north of Hirosaki in Aomori, has been a poster pin up for JR East for the last several years as both a seishun 18  destination as well as being home to the Shirakami Resort Liner train.  The Shirakami Resort liner takes its name from the World Heritage Shirakami beech forest on the inland side of the train

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-51131387633702626062011-09-02T09:45:00.002+09:002011-09-02T09:49:11.872+09:00

Hanaoka is also home of a rather grand house that is open to the public - the Torigata residence.  It's relatively new, being built in1936 but has recently been designated a prefectural level tangible cultural property. According to the woman showing us around the residence used to belong to one of the Torigata family who was an eminent  Kyoto doctor and academic. If I understood correctly,  the

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-23510473855890817762011-09-01T18:00:00.003+09:002011-11-08T09:18:29.600+09:00

Odate is famous for.... kiritampo, a chicken and rice hotpot,  being the home of Hachiko a loyal dog, and less illustriously it is also the site of the Hanaoka copper mine which was a camp for Chinese slave labour during the war.  The Chinese people who were brought there to work were building a canal for the mine.  Looking at the area today there are many empty  shataku (company apartment blocks

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-5961276988075193462011-09-01T15:54:00.001+09:002011-09-01T15:56:36.744+09:00

From Mamorogawa I took a train to Akita City and changed for Odate, arriving at 10pm.  It was a loooong day of travel, and less efficient than the Japan Sea Side route but I took the Yonesaka line for the first time which made it worth the extra time.  This amused me just for the fact that yokubAri means glutton in Japanese. Akita station signboards for a Korean drama that is filmed

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-17365641126498763912011-09-01T11:22:00.002+09:002011-09-04T14:46:44.566+09:00

From Shinjo there was a train that went a few stations north, terminating at Mamurogawa.  I decided to jump on it rather than wait in Shinjo for the train to Akita.    The risk of not getting a seat for the two hour journey was worth the opportunity to take a look at somewhere different.  Most people  in Yamagata I imagine have never heard of Mamurogawa. It's  a little town with a big river, a

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-90391259056771988402011-09-01T10:58:00.001+09:002011-09-01T11:15:21.913+09:00

Regrettably I didn't take pictures in Niigata - between reading Captain Underpants,  catching zarigani and trying to work out how to reply to emails on Lily's i-pad. there wasn't a whole lot of time. Zarigani catching seems like a quintessential Japanese summer childhood experience.  Wikipedia's entry says that they are sensitive to water quality.... I am not sure how true this is - there was no

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-7623787176830973952011-08-31T23:04:00.000+09:002011-08-31T23:04:44.374+09:00

In a mad scramble I finished up a meeting last Monday, dashed to Okachimachi , bought some karintou for Hiro's mother, some coriander for Lily, some tapioca, coconut milk and palm sugar, and a seishun 18 ticket.As I've written before seishun 18 tickets facilitate travel through remote and under-visited parts of Japan.   With Lily in Niigata and Hiro's parents in Odate, there is plenty of excuse

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-3501666448616331222011-08-20T18:30:00.001+09:002011-08-20T18:39:50.135+09:00

It's a bit late... but 12th Aug was the anniversary of the crash of JAL123 in Nagano.  There were only 4 survivors of more than 500 passengers, making it one of the worst in aviation history.  If I remember rightly, I was on school holidays and with my family in Queensland at the time. I remember it being a bad year for aeroplane crashes.  It was the same year as the Air India flight that was

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-78425555266061249472011-08-16T10:29:00.004+09:002011-08-18T08:58:11.118+09:00

I had planned to go to Yasukuni today  (15 Aug) but got waylaid by unexpected events. 15 Aug marks the day of the Japanese surrender in WWII and Yasukuni is the hang out of the right wing nationalists, particularly on 15 August. Yasukuni, a shrine in Kudanshita, central Tokyo honours the war dead.  In the beginning it symbolized progressive modernity. It honoured the war dead - casualties of

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-56246642589347164622011-08-15T23:29:00.001+09:002011-08-15T23:52:32.500+09:00

Hot hot hot hot hot! It was 33 degrees inside when I got up at 6.30am today. It's 34 degrees now at 11.30pm.... It didn't used to be this hot. And it's nothing to do with global warming. The two little apartment blocks with lots of green and a great big biwa tree have gone. Replaced by a behemoth* monstrousity apartment block that blocks out the breeze and has no green. Concrete and bitumen that

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-19822055431129119902011-08-15T22:03:00.000+09:002011-08-15T22:03:03.010+09:00

Don't push in when you're getting on the train The Have you seen this person? manners series continues on the subway, but when you can't really understand the picture, it probably means it's not effective.  The caption is Don't push in when boarding the train. When I first saw it, before I read the caption,   I assumed it was line up in an orderly fashion  - but couldn't work out if it was

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-7588213858991673822011-08-14T20:52:00.001+09:002011-08-14T20:52:42.649+09:00

NHK have been urging the masses to up their salt intake. Heaven forbid we might die of heatstroke. I was insufficiently impressed with the beauty of my cooking efforts tonight to take a photo, but if my diet in anyway resembles the Japanese average diet, NHK should be sued for inducing strokes... Dinner here was - somen noodles with (salty) soy based dipping sauce. - eggplant and capsicum (

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-35859745614767703902011-08-14T15:30:00.002+09:002011-08-20T15:08:21.907+09:00

Below is a link for a website that a group of my classmates has made. They have been volunteering in Rikuzen Takada, Iwate prefecture,  one of the towns most damaged by the tsunami.  The three of them who made it went during term time & are returning during the summer break. It's an impressive effort, well worth a look. http://www.311relief.com/

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-12646302535588545372011-08-14T09:41:00.000+09:002011-08-14T09:41:12.254+09:00

I was dismayed to read last night that Finance Minister Noda, who is seeking election as PM, wants to install a grand coalition.  Minster Noda ! " Grand Coalition" means one party state.   One party state is not democracy.  This country needs ideas and imagination and  that will never come from a behemoth government who is cemented into power....

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-54264963322031617162011-08-11T23:21:00.001+09:002011-08-11T23:45:24.896+09:00

There is a lot of effort being made to reduce electricity. Some of it is useful useful - aircon no longer blasting through open shop windows onto the street, toilet seat warmers switched off.  Some is counter-productive - I wonder how many computers will burn out from overheating in offices this year. Some is irritating - subways running at 80% capacity then being overcrowded, universities

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-18927128452379199672011-08-11T21:53:00.001+09:002011-08-11T21:53:52.732+09:00

I just took a look at the Meteorological Agency's website. They have added a 35 degree category to their maps! It was needed today.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-46205000121927014912011-08-11T08:50:00.000+09:002011-08-11T08:50:58.283+09:00

Summer 2011 seems to be characterised by two things: power shortages & heat, and radiation.  Though that might sound like three, this summer power shortages and heat are conjoined twins sharing  vital organs.   With Fukushima dai ichi out of action Tokyo, and the whole of Eastern Japan, is on voluntary electricity rationing.There is a conspicuous effort to save electricity: lower lighting, some

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-58883149962508774762011-07-18T19:05:00.001+09:002011-08-06T12:16:04.940+09:00

Tanabata was a fortnight back.  It's a Japanese festival (click on Tanabata for the detail) where people write wishes and hang them on bamboo branches.   It might be a nosey thing to do, but I like reading what people write - it's an insight into people's concerns.  I was struck by the difference between the types of messages at my local supermarket, in an unfashionable working class part of

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-56417280893994627272011-07-18T17:49:00.000+09:002011-07-18T17:49:39.770+09:00

The other day in Ueno Park we stumbled up on ice carving sculpture exhibition. At 35 degrees on the thermometre on a nearby department store, it was an ephemeral cooling of the park.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-4806564937637857772011-07-02T16:37:00.001+09:002011-07-02T22:44:36.116+09:00

Today was  apartment building grasspicking day. Four times a  year - or three if   the organizers are laudably low on initiative - the apartment building members  gather to pick out the weeds in the  garden.  Picking the weeds is less important than being seen to pick the weeds. There are still plenty of weeds in the back corner but because noone was interested in taking on the mosquitos for

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-73685408047702961912011-06-28T13:36:00.000+09:002011-06-28T13:36:02.758+09:00

A four year old East Timorese Boy, Martinho Ronaldo, with a severe facial deformity. He is brought to Melbourne for treatment that makes him "normal" again with much better prospects of living a happy life.  What a lovely smile. http://www.smh.com.au/national/threehour-surgery-prevents-lifetime-of-hurt-20110626-1gluf.html For the details see here. New subculture in Japan inserts saline

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-24303360760962640172011-06-27T23:37:00.003+09:002011-06-29T11:20:56.333+09:00

Uniqlo have just released a limited edition celebrity t-shirt  collection. They are only on sale for a week. The proceeds are presumable going to raise money in Tohoku (as opposed to raising money to increase the wages at their factory in China).   Marketing savvy as always, but it's a generous gesture and it's good to see conspicuous corporate effort to keep it in the public consciousness.  It's

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-10461265281973139412011-06-21T23:38:00.002+09:002011-06-22T12:40:06.027+09:00

Tonight the phone rang at 10.45. The first thought was ...oh no Hiro's been calling my mobile & I haven't heard it. It was Hiro, calling as he leaves work - as per custom. But he hadn't been calling my mobile.... Sheepishly he admitted he'd lost his phone (with my mobile no. in it). Sheepish because usually I lose things and he finds it both incomprehensible and exasasperating. "No worries,

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-16752808009874907452011-06-19T21:54:00.000+09:002011-06-19T21:54:35.674+09:00

From front left Vie de France gobo (burdock root), pickled plum & shiso bread, pickled cucumbers, beans, a cabbage, a lettuce, a simmered dish of takenoko (bamboo shoots), fuki (butterbur), dried herring, mushrooms & not sure what else,  asparagus, fried tofu, pickled radish, & shitake. This week we had a convergence of Hiro's mother sending a care package (she knows Hiro doesn't get much from

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-35025003578466517832011-06-17T12:10:00.002+09:002011-06-17T16:29:37.016+09:00

This is a very heartwarming video... We were only saying last night we need to learn some Korean since we're planning to go to Hiro's cousin's wedding in Korea in the summer. http://www.facebook.com/sungbong2win?sk=wall

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-87456289599473970222011-06-08T10:24:00.002+09:002011-06-17T15:09:09.887+09:00

Lily was in town on the weekend. An art exhibition curator by training, it's a joy to go to galleries with her.  We passed by the Pyramid building in Roppongi and stumbled an exhibition by Firoz Mahmud - a Bengali artist who was exhibited in the Nagoya triennale. The pictures all centred around a theme of war.  Between independence, partition, and colonization the recent history of Bangladesh has

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-25206299426240630252011-06-08T08:59:00.003+09:002011-07-02T10:19:43.046+09:00

This was the last of the Please do it again manners series on the train.Perhaps it was too bright in the post earthquake sobriety, more likely it had run its course. The campaign was never quite as eyecatching as the  do it home. campaign but it did have its moments where the "manner"   Despite the rumours of tremendous civility in Japan, it appears manners have yet to be conquered, as the

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-50045546116145571932011-06-01T22:02:00.004+09:002011-06-03T11:19:22.317+09:00

I had a chuckle today when I read that the German newspaper Die Zeit mistakenly sketched a picture of the former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso in its picture of G8 leaders instead of the current PM Naoto Kan. Considering Kan is the fifth PM since 2006, it's not all that surprising that they could get them mixed up... http://news020.blog13.fc2.com/blog-entry-1555.html My chuckle evaporated

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-1229469552034251022011-05-29T09:52:00.002+09:002011-06-05T21:53:11.520+09:00

oops I mustn't have downloaded the picture... it's gone... but it was a typhoon that actually was no longer a typhoon by the time it reached Tokyo. It has been raining for days....In the tradition of weather for the headlines, weather for the main, and weather for the weather in the evening news,  Friday night's NHK news was interviewing people in the street about how the rain in making it

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-1452372427009564972011-05-28T11:10:00.003+09:002011-05-28T14:23:05.063+09:00

It is with some irritation that I  received the news from the university that they are cutting the term two weeks short to contribute to energy saving. The economic rationalist in me says.... what about all those fees? The scholar in me says....... but I enjoy my classes.... The cynic in me wonders....... why is it only the uni I study at and not the uni I teach at. The realist in me is quite

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-67079064196546433252011-05-22T10:05:00.007+09:002011-05-22T15:37:09.404+09:00

Yesterday we cycled to Mukojima Hyakkaen - a park in Higashi Mukojima near the Sumida River.  Though it features on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Parks and Garden's of Tokyo website, it's not really on the radar of most Tokyo-ites.  It's not on the japan guide website,  I've never seen it come up on the Lonely Planet's thorntree and neither my bilingual nor Hiro's Japanese atlas

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-38097585481978905942011-05-20T20:04:00.003+09:002011-05-27T21:39:48.048+09:00

This is the last Japan tourism quiz - Kyoto. In jpg format because blogger doesn't do a great range of formats.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-4226593341899537912011-05-19T21:52:00.005+09:002011-10-18T12:53:21.860+09:00

A Japanese food quiz - it will only upload as a picture file but should be able to be downloaded. t

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-712472491884745002011-05-19T21:03:00.002+09:002011-05-27T21:38:41.000+09:00

I have a few quizes that I made up when my nieces and nephews came to Tokyo.  Just in case anyone is looking for quizes... I will post them.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-56623499424111148322011-05-18T19:58:00.000+09:002011-05-18T19:58:53.122+09:00

I was in Ginza the other day. The Sony building, true to form, has an inspiring seasonal display out the front.  In winter they sometimes have snowmen, in summer tropical fish, eco themes, many different kinds of displays. At the moment it's early summer sunflowers.   Such a cheerful sight.

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-13589320280424979772011-05-18T19:06:00.003+09:002011-05-18T21:20:08.287+09:00

Reporter 1: "At reactor two today workers entered the reactor for the first time. But because of steam they could only stay inside for 14 minutes." Reporter 2: "What is causing the steam?" Reporter 1: "The steam was being caused by evaporation." hmmm...  and the other causes of steam are....?

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-52733352207245571432011-05-14T20:05:00.003+09:002011-05-19T07:46:19.933+09:00

With the rise of setsuden  - power savings - making roped off escalators a ubiquitous site,  there is hope for an unintended spin off.  In recent years carrying trolley bags has become very fashionable - among a certain demographic of young, fashionable females (at least younger and more fashionable than I am).  They are used kind of like a big handbag I guess - I often wonder what is in them...

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3577220744066392429.post-65256976828299927922011-05-14T19:27:00.002+09:002011-05-14T19:37:19.035+09:00

The other day we were at Maihama, the station next to Disneyland,  the toilets there contain tremendous technology.  At the entrance way is an electronic board to indicate which cubicles are vacant and whether they are Japanese style or western style.   Such efficiency...

Ceciliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03061122323528396071noreply@blogger.com1