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Death and memories
Taking time to remember a person is how I grieve. This may not be the most classic way to process grief, but it works well for me and is influenced strongly by two books: The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier. In this book, a plague has wiped out all but one woman…
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Garden planning for climate change
I started writing this in August, but decided I was too novice to publish anything about garden planning. However, this week the USDA updated their plant hardiness zone map in the US and winters are skewing warmer, pushing areas into new Zones. So what I wrote is definitely correct. I have been vindicated, and here…
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Chocolate for breakfast
Today marks the 8th anniversary of my yoga classes in Kamogawa. They started as a twice weekly practice at Satoyama Design Factory and later become a daily class first in person and then via Zoom. I never set out to be a yoga teacher, but I am glad that I did. My practice has created…
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Light-up delight up
Sounds from Oyama Senmaida carry straight over to 555. So yesterday afternoon, when I heard a muffled welcome speech, loud applause and then shouted instructions, I was intrigued enough to take a break and walk over to see what was going on. Aha! A clue. It wasn’t long before 200 high school students came trooping…
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Equalising Gender in Japan
Let me lead with the obvious; there isn’t much gender equality here. But I have an idea that might help. The situation Japan ranked 125th out of 146 countries in the 2023 Global Gender Gap report by the World Economic Forum. It will take 131 years for Japan to close the gender gap according to…
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This summer’s fav drink
Japan ‘s beverage & snack industry is known for its seasonal and limited time products. It’s a manufacturer’s nod to the seasonality of produce and fish, I suppose. Nothing sticks around forever. I appreciate it now, but I still remember the juniper-flavored soda I encountered on our first trip to Japan in 1995. It was…
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How to Drive in Inaka
Living in the countryside of Japan, I have re-learned how to drive. Now I can avoid tanuki and tractors and stay out of ditches most of the time, but I can’t drive in the city, where the hazards come one after another and are usually human. Two completely different driving environments! It makes me cranky…
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Firewalking
At Oyama-ji, aka Oyama Fudouson, there is an annual firewalking festival on the the 3rd Sunday in May. It is one of the most lush rituals I’ve attended. Oyama Fudouson will celebrate its 1300th anniversary of founding next year. (The shrine on the mountain above it is even older.) While it looks typically Buddhist on…
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Oshima special trip
For about 6 weeks in early spring, the Tokaikisen jetfoil runs a seasonal service from Tateyama to Oshima for the annual camellia festival. Tod and I have wanted to make the trip for seven years, but this year I finally did it. But without Tod. This morning, Naomi, Fujii-san, and I hopped on board the…
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Before social media
This morning, I saw the headline of an article in The Atlantic, “The Age of Social Media is Ending” by Ian Bogost. It’s behind a paywall, so I didn’t read it, but… It got me thinking about the pre-platform days. How did we connect with people online? If social media dies, what will we turn…
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