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With the new year
With the new year approaching, we’re starting to see snakes everywhere. Not real snakes, but decorative snakes adorning everything from greeting cards to flower vases. In six weeks we will begin the Year of the Snake. Having often eaten in American Chinese restaurants, I’m pretty familiar with the animal years. Year of the Horse, that’s…
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We’re hosting an office
We’re hosting an office party in two weeks, so now I have incentive to find curtains for the living room and a place to store CDs. To that end, I went shopping yesterday. I came home with sheets and a calendar, not quite what was on my list. But that’s not all. I came home…
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My desk is a
My desk is a disaster of piles. Everything I use gets put on top of whatever else I’ve just used. An archeological dig (currently out of fashion in Japan after the revelation that a well-known archeologist faked the findings at two of his digs) of the pile to my left reveals: pen video camera remote…
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Although 94% the Japanese
Although 94% the Japanese are Buddhist or Shinto, Christmas is gaining ground. Shops are decorated with Merry Xmas banners, displays of lights, and wreaths. Some are having sales, others plan special events of singing or illumination. Takashimaya in Shinjuku has a huge display of lighted figures outside their store. Departments stores have sections devoted to…
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“Hello? Hello?” I hear
“Hello? Hello?” I hear a young voice calling behind me and getting closer. I stop and turned. Looks like another session of English practice. Two high school girls, dressed in short skirts and tall boots, come to talk to me. “We are doing a project for our class,” they read from a sheet of paper.…
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Recently, Tod asked me
Recently, Tod asked me to bake his favorite cookies, a special ginger snap. Since our new house has an oven, I was happy to agree. But there is no molasses in any of our local shops. No problem, in a day or two, Tod found a gourmet grocery on the ‘Net and had some delivered…
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Ah, another Monday. The
Ah, another Monday. The sleeping men will be out again at lunchtime. Since the weather turned nippy a few weeks ago, I’ve observed an odd custom at lunchtime. Working men with vehicles–delivery drivers, plumbers, construction workers, salesmen–park their cars and trucks on my street and take a nap. Sometimes there are two or there men…
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Soy can be transmuted
Soy can be transmuted into dozens of edibles. You’re probably familiar with soy sauce, soymilk, tofu and beansprouts. Maybe you’ve eaten miso soup; miso is fermented soy bean paste. But there are some stranger items. Have you ever seen frozen-then-dried tofu? It looks like pumice and reconstitutes into a spongy block. How about tofu skins?…
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Yesterday, Matsuzakaya, one of
Yesterday, Matsuzakaya, one of Tokyo’s venerable department stores, delivered a Winter Gift catalog to our house. In the packet were enticements to us–a free ticket to Matsuzakaya’s next art show and a washcloth. But the catalog itself was the showpiece with 16 pages of boxed gifts. 550 variations on a theme, really. Let me explain.…
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Some families discuss politics
Some families discuss politics or sports or movies. We talk about talking, reading and writing. I don’t think we can have dinner without discussing Japanese grammar. Last night, Tod read aloud from Anthony Burgess’ “Language Maid Plane” about the structure of Asian languages while I brought our meal to the table. The night before that,…
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