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Summer fireworks
Summer fireworks festivals in Japan are spectacular. Last night, we watched Tamagawa challenge its rival, Kawasaki City, to a duel on the inky black battlefield of the sky. Nine of us lined up on Elizabeth Andoh’s narrow balcony to watch and keep score. Tamagawa’s show was to our right; Kawasaki was across town to our…
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Mizuhiki
When I was a little girl, I learned a craft called “paper quilling” that involved curling long thin strips of colored paper around a pin to form spirals then joining them to make patterns and pictures. The Japanese have one-upped paper quilling. The art of paper knotwork, called mizuhiki, is extraordinary. These paper cords were…
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Earthquake
Well, I was right about those earthquakes. The two on Tuesday & Wednesday paved the way for one whose epicenter was in Tokyo proper. 8-18, 4:53 Magnitude: 4.0 Location: Tokyo 23 Wards Oddly enough, nobody outside Tokyo felt it, according to Tenki’s map. Usually the effects of a quake spread a little further out. Maybe…
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Japanese e-mail
It’s taken two years, but I’ve finally found a way to send e-mail in Japanese. This is a minor triumph in my life as I belong to some groups that have a mixed membership of English and Japanese speakers. Now I can send messages that everyone can understand (if they can parse my bad Japanese…
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Obon
Ah, quiet. It’s Obon! During this mid-August week most small businesses close and many larger companies take a holiday, too. Over the weekend, 50% of Tokyo residents evacuated. Traffic jams on every highway leading out kept people stuck on the roads for hours longer than usual. Every Sinkansen was full to capacity and non-reserved express…
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Two earthquakes
Two earthquakes in 12 hours. Yesterday afternoon everything in my office trembled then lept up as if frightened. Things quickly settled back down except for me. I logged into the Tenki quake page to see what I’d just experienced. 8-14, 16:33 Magnitude: 4.3 Location: Northwestern Chiba Prefecture So not a big earthquake, but nearby. Chiba…
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Press holidays
What do we do without newspapers?
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The Kanda River
The Kanda River is not a big river nor is it terribly important as rivers go. But it is the closest river to home and last night when I wanted to see some water (other than in the bathtub), that’s where I headed. Tokyo, being on a bay as it is, has an astounding number…
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ne, ne, ne
I don’t know who dreamed up the idea that Japanese needs to be softened when spoken, but I’d like to box his ears. It’s fine to write “Atsui desu,” it’s hot. But if you’re saying that, or almost anything else that expresses an opinon, you must add “ne” at the end. “Atsui desu, ne….” Draw…
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Conbini run
“I wonder if they recognise us?” Tod wondered about the clerks at our local 7-11. Of course they do, we go in there every night and buy the same thing. Two cups of Kudamono Daisuki. We call it Frozen Fruits. Kudamono Daisuki means “I love fruit” and it is a wonderful dessert made of slices…
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