Gideon’s eye on Nagareyama

kashiwa resident Gideon, a photographer with an amazing eye for light and shadow, will be showing his work in the 8th Royal Photographic Society Japan Chapter Photo Exhibition, New Horizons.

The show is from 11th February (Thursday)-16th February (Tuesday), 11:00am~18:30pm at Fujifilm Photo Entrance Hibya- (Tel: 03-3500-5957) (Hibiya Mitsui Build. 1F, 1-1-2, Yurakucho, Chiyodaku , Tokyo)

Gideon writes,

“The photos being featured in the gallery were taken in Nagareyama-shi, at Suwa Jinja (note- the first two photos in the invitation). It’s a short walk from my home and somewhere I often go on a photo-stroll, so I know it quite well. Not only does it have the traditional Japanese, but also the timeless connection with nature which has inspired so much of that culture. I go there as much to connect with the ancient trees that have grown there for centuries as with the peaceful, sacred, meditative atmosphere of the place.”

“So much of modern Japan is rushing around, following superficial trends, I need the serene atmosphere of the shrines and temples to balance this. In this, Suwa Jinja is my favourite place to go, alongside Hondoji temple, near my old home in Kita-Kogane. Here is some more of my work there, which I hope reflects the ’sacred, illuminating atmosphere’ of a place of worship that is said to have existed there, in various forms no doubt, for thousands of years.”

Thrifty, Crafty, Eco-friendly

Maybe you’re feeling the pinch these days in Japan. Some companies have no allowance for wage raises, some industries have bargain basement wages, and many of my foreign resident friends have moved on to better, more lucrative employment markets. In other words, not Japan. Japan Times reports that big retailers are dropping prices due to deflation JAL is cutting jobs, and consumers are keeping costs down by shopping online.

At school, my second year high school students are looking at the causes and effects of environmental issues that affect Japan and the world.  Climate change and use of resources are real issues that are already affecting our lives, and will continue to have an impact on my students’ lives for decades to come. I’m becoming sensitive about how I consume, spend and waste. Every time I go shopping or put waste in the burnable and non-burnable garbage bins, I wonder how I could do a little better at being thrifty, crafty and more concious of my choices and how they affect me and my world.

I have to live by example. I mean, if I don’t act, how could I expect my students to do so?

So, here are some things that I can do right now, right here in Japan.

Trash to Treasure

Reducing the amount of garbage that comes into the house with the groceries takes time and effort, and leads to a better diet. I’m making an effort to skip the inside aisles of the supermarket, and shop the outsides for fresh vegetables, fruits, seafood and meats. I still have a weakness for chocolate, coffee and nuts which come in plastic packages.

Meat and seafood come packaged in white styro-foam packages, and milk and juice are in paper cartons, creating waste. However, the waste created can be returned to the supermarkets. Ito Yokado and Kasumi Supermarkets have bins that take these waste products and result in recycling and upcycling.

The paper products that come into my house get recycled, saved or reused.  Cardboard containers make great structures for packages for other purposes. These two packages are recycled from a wheel of cheese and a box of chewing gum covered in cool glossy paper that has an interesting graphic. These will appear on my desk next week to organize paper clips and textbook labels.

When I go to the supermarket, I’m overwhelmed by the amount of plastic. But many packages are reusable. Miso paste often comes in plastic boxes that make great boxes for fridge storage and bag lunch fixing. Other plastic containers that come with lids are great for organizing other things in the fridge. Plastic bags with zip closures are great for organizing stuff on my desk at work.

My stuff wears out, of course. Goegoe in Kashiwa repairs my jeans and sells kids stuff that

ismade from recycled fabrics.  I also look for treasures at local second-hand clothing shops like Kapre, Sozoukan and other places. A secret between you and me…some of my favorite clothes that I wear to work came from Kapre and cost less than ¥1000.

The stuff that I wear out I recycle into zokin rags, and you can see a simple tutorial on how to make them and typical sashimono stitching patterns here.

Explore all the places that take recycling and shops that sell recycled goods on this map - The 3Rs in Kashiwa.

Water and Soil

Every time you take a shower, so much water simply goes down the drain. To make more of the water I use, I wash over a bucket and cycle that back to the flush the toilet and the water the garden.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about compost in a cardboard box. Now, all my organic kitchen waste goes into the cardboard box on my balcony which doesn’t smell and is slowly digesting the vegetable peels and bits that will soon become part of the garden humus to grow flowers, herbs and vegetables.

In just a few months, I’ll be growing veggies in the guerilla garden I started behind my building.  If I can produce right here, I reduce to nothing the carbon footprint the food I consume creates.

Heating and Cooling

In the summer, I hang すだれ, sudare, which are bamboo blinds (available at 100 yen shops and DIY shops). They are easy to attach to the gutters above the balcony at my apartment. These blinds significantly reduce the temperature in my apartment and incidentally provides privacy.

In the winter, I bundle up. This year, Mayumi-san gave me leg warmers for Christmas, and I’m wearing them to shreds! Other things that keep my extremities warm are yutanpo and the found electric heater from my apartment’s garbage station. I try not to use the aircon/heater unit in my apartment, reserving it for mornings when the garden has frost.

Keeping Clean

Do you really need so much detergent and bleach and other caustic chemicals? A friend at Kashiwa Information Center gave me this loop of acrylic yarn that is very effective at cleaning with only a little bit of dish detergent. It works fine, and I put it out in the sun every day to dry it out and keep it clean. Zokin cloths and a bit of soap are adequate for cleaning my kitchen and bathroom without any nasty chemicals. As long as I rinse down my bathroom after a shower, there is no stubborn mildew.

My apartment is トイレ別 toire betsu, or toilet seperate, with a basin at the top of the tank. I keep the soap dish and a pretty towel there so I can wash my hands after, using the water efficiently. Gray water from the sink gets poured down the toilet, too, to flush it. A little Luddite, but it gets me two uses.

when I wash the floor of the main room, I throw down used tea leaves, which stick to the dust, making it easier to sweep, and leave a fresh scent.

Fridge Food, low impact cooking

Yesterday, I went shopping at the little produce stand down by Obori River in Kashiwa. I got a little lost again on the way, and finally corrected my course, making it an hour before closing at the produce shop. The little old man who runs the shop teased me, “You should get these lovely raddishes, all of them.” But being a single gal, I wasn’t sure if I could get through them before they spoil. “I’m a single girl, you see,” I responded, “But if you find a nice single guy for me, I’ll cook for him.” He is such a cheeky man, and quipped, “We’re all single!”, and I shot back, “Oh, so many, I can’t choose!” They crack me up. Thanks, folks!

Also, I went to the World Spices shop just west of Kashiwa Station east exit. They stock lentils of all kinds, canned foods like saag and daal, nuts, Indian subcontinent raw ingredients, Indonesian and Thai foods, and lots of Indian subcontinent movies. They have a collection at the counter for Kashiwa’s mosque. I’m pretty sure that anything you buy there is halal, ritually clean food for Muslims.

I found Indonesian curry paste mix and coconut milk there. The coconut milk turned out to be more paste than liquid, and made the Indo curry more creamy. Not bad.

So tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s bento is based on the coconut paste, the haul from the grocer, and the few things I had languishing in my kitchen this week.

After some searching on the ‘Net, I came up with my own recipe. I pan fried some onions in a mix of olive and sesame oil, then added some thinly sliced carrots and chicken bits that were labeled “for oyakodon”. After the chicken was browned, I added a few tablespoons of white wine, a few more of coconut milk, and then chicken boulion and water, garnished with black pepper, dried basil, grated yuzu, ginger and yellow pepper slices.

Served with a side of soba noodles in simple katsuo broth and garnished with long onions, this was filling and healthful meal.

Virtually all of my meal came as is and locally produced – fresh, no packaging, or packaging that is easily recycled. I’m on an eco-bender right now, trying to reduce the amount of waste that comes into my apartment.

It takes some time to find good, clean food, and time to prepare it, but cooking and eating good food is very satisfying.

Kashiwa Past and Future

Saturday was crisp and bright, so I got on my mountain bike to take a tour into the past and future of Kashiwa City. My destination was Kashiwa no Ha Campus.

On the way north, I stopped by 柏市リサイクルプラザリボン館 Kashiwa Recycle Plaza – Ribbon Kan, which has displays that explain how materials are collected and recycled in Kashiwa City, what they are recycled into, crafts made from recycled products (no beer caps here, but smart, stylish clothing and accessories), and a substantial library of books and videos about waste reduction, recycling and reusing waste.  It’s an amazing resource and inspiration. Amongst the displays were containers designed using origami architecture, made from milk cartons and covered with Japanese washi paper.

On the bookshelf were a number of DIY books with clear instructions on how to recycle PET plastic bottles, milk cartons, and various sizes of plastic containers into useful household objects. You might think that sounds too much like macaroni pictures on paper plates, but actually the designs were interesting, practical and attractive.  One of my resolutions for 2010 is to carefully consider all the products that come into my house and regard waste as resource. How can I reuse a package or bit of paper?

It’s a shame Ribbon Kan is a little out of the way and doesn’t have a website. To get there by bus from West Exit of Kashiwa Station, board the “Shinai Junkan” bus. Get off at “Kashiwa-shi Recycle Plaza-mae” bus stop. The phone number is 04-7199-5082.

The next stop, about 5 minutes by bike from the Ribbon Kan, is Kashiwa no Ha Station and The Urban Design Center. The UDCK is intended as a center for community improvement by providing a forum for discussion and cooperation between the businesses, residents and university campuses around the station. The future of the area is being decided by the people themselves, with lots of emphasis on the environment and quality of life. While I was there, I picked up the Kashiwa Cycling Map. From the UDCK you can rent bicycles and get some pointers about the historical sites around the area. Close to Kashiwa no Ha Station is the Yoshida historical house that belonged to a soy sauce baron, the nearby 香取神社 Katori Shrine, 長泉寺 (I don’t know the romaji for this temple’s name!), and the tree-lined pleasant lanes that I hope will be preserved despite the mad rush to develop the area.

I headed over to Kashiwa no Ha Park, which has big ponds, a massive playground castle for kids to clamber around on, and one of the nicest traditional gardens in which to have tea. At the “Rest House” in the middle of the park, you can rend barbeque grills and other equipment year round.

On the way home, heading south, I crossed the Obori River, which feeds Teganuma Marsh. Just before the river I happened to pass an open-air produce shop. The old couple that runs it are super friendly, and explained where much of the produce comes from. The old lady makes her own pickled daikon and I found a rare treat there – good, old-fashioned red radishes. She pickles them with cucumbers. For only 500 yen, I bought a good variety of things – a dekopon orange from Ehime Prefecture, local yuzu citrus, and two kinds of pickles.

On the way up the hill, south of the Obori River, I found the Lost Temple. I call this place the lost temple because, one Sunday afternoon a few years ago, I stumbled upon this picturesque Shingon Buddhist temple, called 西光院 Seikouin, which was indicated on Kashiwa City’s website as one of the area’s cultural treasures. Some Sundays I like to go temple bagging, but had quite forgotten where I had found Seikouin.

For Saturday night’s locavore dinner, I made udon soup, tempura, and pickles.

The places I visited this past Saturday are all on this Google Map here.

Kashiwa Shrine Market ての市

Since July last year, Kashiwa Shrine has been hosting 手つくりてのいち Tezukuri Te no Ichi, the hand-made goods market, and ジモトワカゾー野菜市 The local grocer’s market. As the market’s website describes so well, the market is a chance to make a connection between craftspeople and the consumers. It’s a human connection that is absent in the big stores around Kashiwa Station.

While Tokyo consumers marvel at farmer’s markets bringing vegetables from Nagano or farther afield to Omotesando, we’ve got little veggie stands of homegrown produce and people making handmade goods right here.

And what a wealth of produce we have around Teganuma Marsh. When make the trip on the cycling path, you see rice paddies, allotments, greenhouses and the vast lotus marsh. To see the route, see this photo essay about Teganuma Cycling Road. From the station to the marsh, it is a mere 10 minutes’ ride, as Kashiwa is so compact and has urban and rural landscapes close together. What a cool idea to use the shrine grounds right in the busy shopping area for a market that brings people, talents and local produce together.

I brought home two treasures from the market today. From Atelier Saiyuu, I bought this tea bowl with a tsubaki flower pattern on it. And tonight’s dinner is yakisoba with carrots grown right here in Kashiwa.

I hope it’s sunny for the next market, February 21st.

Compost in a cardboard box 段ボールコンポスト

I have one big resolution for 2010 – to save the world one step at a time. I figure a good place to start is with the way I deal with household waste. A few years ago, I eliminated plastic bags from my shopping trips (see this informative blog No More Plastic Bags Please! about the reasons to  stop using these), always bringing my own bag. I’m also doing my best to not bring home so much plastic junk in my nice cloth shopping bag. This is tough in Japan where bulk shops are impossible to find, and everything comes packed in three layers of plastic and paper.

And then there is the kitchen waste. Every time I put kitchen scraps in the garbage, I feel a pang of regret. Here in Kashiwa City, this stuff goes in the burnable garbage category. What a waste of good material! But how do I deal with kitchen waste in an apartment? Worm boxes are cool, but labour intensive and messy. An open compost pile in the garden behind the building could attract vermin. I needed a cheap, easy solution that doesn’t cause a health problem.

A little bit of searching on the ‘Net led me to this video -

Today, I picked up a box from the bin at the local grocery store, and a bag each of peat moss and もみ殻くん炭、momigarakuntan, burned rice husks, and a wooden pallet to keep the air circulating under the box. This cost me about 450 yen.

I fed my box some kitchen scraps, put an old t-shirt over the box as recommended in the video, and placed it outside on the balcony. As it recommends in the video, feed kitchen scraps to it daily, and in about two weeks, the 微生物 biseibutsu, microbes, should break them down considerably. The reporter said that the compost had no smell because the air circulated freely. In a few weeks, I’ll post a photo here of my disappearing kitchen waste.

On a deserted tropical island with palm trees…in Tokyo

Chibaraki is feeling the pinch of the economic malaise bothering Japan,  and  is keeping overhead low by finding nearby escapes from the hypercity. There are great get aways all over Kanto, but most of them are freezing cold. Yearning for somewhere warmer, but not having the cash to go to Hawaii or Thailand,  I retreated to a near-tropical island hideaway a mere 45 minutes journey by plane from Tokyo.

より大きな地図で Hachijojima を表示

The destination - Hachijojima in the Izu Seven Islands chain.  If you look at the weather forecast for Tokyo in the papers on the the ‘Net, you’ll see that Hachijo Island is nearly always a few degrees warmer than Tokyo proper. This is because Hachijo and the Izu Islands catch the Kuroshio, the warm current that comes up from the South Pacific. The administrative quirk is Hachijo, like the Izu Seven and the Ogasawara Islands way off to the east are still part of the Tokyo Metropolitan area, even though you can’t see Tokyo from there on a good day. You can’t see anything but the Pacfic from Ogasawara…

I thought that, with school out and many foreigners taking Christmas holidays, there would be visitors there. But before the travel rush of  お正月 Oshogatsu, Japanese New Year, the streets of Hachijo are empty and the pension I stayed at on the west side of the island had three guests for the five days I was there, including me.

December 24th 

I arrived in the afternoon, dropped off my bags and walked from one side of the island to the other. The island is shaped like a  瓢箪 hyotan, or calabash gourd, with two volcanic peaks (extint, I was assured by locals) one to the north, ”Fuji”, and the other 三原山 Miharazan roughly south, with a little valley between. It was easy enough to make my way east to 底土港 Sokodo Port. I even had time to walk down to the beach on the 樫立 Kashitate side, and watched the surf crash on the rocky beach there.  At sunset above the rocks, I felt so relaxed, so peaceful. And then I heard what I thought was a man shouting, then a woman laughing. There weren’t any cars around, and certainly nobody passed me on the way down to the shore. There are no houses, the fishing boats were all tied up at the berths and dark. I wondered if there were some divers coming back late, but who would stay out diving at dusk? A couple making out on the rocks? Whatever.  

Coming back in the dark, I missed some of the landmarks (a newspaper billboard, a peculiar grouping of rocks) and got lost for 30 minutes in the dark in palm tree plantations until friendly neighbours redirected me back about 20 meters to the unmarked road.

I was welcomed by an elegant seasonal dinner on Christmas Eve of all local  fish, tempura including  明日葉 ashitaba, a vegetable unique to the island,  home made pickled radish, and しゃぶしゃぶ shabu-shabu, the hot pot dish on the right, into which I swished mushrooms and the rose of fish filets on the right.

 A hot bath before bed, and the warm breeze off the water made it pleasant enough to leave the window open and fall asleep to the sound of surf so close by.

I like the people here. They’re genuine, talkative and laid back. Sure the tatemae is there, but it’s subtle and feels less dense than that of most Kanto folks. I like how people here show their feelings by getting quiet and hanging back. You know when an islander disagrees, or is seriously considering something you said. I find that they can balance harmony and honesty like I remember west Shikoku people, like the Japan I first met when I arrived 10 years ago.

December 25th

I made a long, slow slog on a rented bicycle through 中之郷 Nakanogou village high on a bluff overlooking the Pacific in search of onsen and 裏ヶ滝 Uragataki Waterfall.

In the gorge below is a wild, free onsen which I had all to myself. Rules are shoes off at the top of the steps, no soap or shampoo, bathing suits required. I improvised with boy shorts & tank top.

I pushed the bike up the hill and noticed a sign propped up against the rock wall - 古民家喫茶 Yominka Tea House. A wide bare wooden floor with sunken irori fire pit, kotatsu tables, jazz playing softly behind the screen. The young hostess presented the menu , exquisite hand made paper and curvy katakana, indicating she serves tea, coffee and a Monty Pythonesque list of toast. I had a cup of coffee and tuna mushroom toast. The hostess, from Kanagawa, told me the 150 year old tea house belonged to her grandmother.

As I was plodding back up the steep hillside, a flash of tan fur on a garden wall caught my eye – a weasel. It wasn’t shy and it started to work its way down the wall to have a closer look at me but a truck came by and it scrabbled into a hedge.

I turned south at the top of the bluff in Nakanogou and headed towards the reservoir marked on the map, and found a little hollow overhung by palm trees and ferns. Beyond the hill, I saw a cemetery where a road crew was working on the water main, and above that, a sign that indicated a betsuin temple. I walked the bike up the hill, and in the shadow of a hedgerow, found a fish head in the middle of the road. It looked like it had been cut properly with a cleaver, nice and clean, and had no flies, or bite marks from an animal. And nobody was around…At the top of a flight of steps, a small, austere concrete building was all the temple I found, and a plaque that described the Nichiren connection. My reading isn’t that great, but I found the Nichiren breakaway group motto, 不受不施, fujufuse, which means no give and take, an exhortation to cut all contact with other Buddhist sects. I took a few minutes to soak in the atmosphere, and meditate on the concept. On the way back to the main road, the fish head was gone. I never heard or saw anyone on the road…

Back along the road to the bluff, I saw the wide view of the Pacific to the west and a Shinto shrine on the rock cliff above. A member the Minemoto clan visiting the island saw there were no womenfolk and resolved to change that, bringing in brides. At one time, the island was a prison colony, some local people told me, lowlifes and mentally ill people exiled from Edo. The round stone walls, called 玉石, tamaishi, were built by the prison laborers, each rock pulled from the beach, carried up to the bluffs and built into walls. 

December 26th

It rained throughout the night, and  I dodged drops on the bicycle to the museum to se the exhibit of local cloth and the looms it is made on. But no word on where the workshop is. The other product of the island, tsubaki oil, is credited for the island women’s legendary long hair.

The rain eased up and Pop from the pension drove me up to the mountainside farm to greet the cows, all named. Kinoko is the honey-colored gal. A cow pasture in metropolitan Tokyo? Who knew?

The clouds cleared, and the drive on the new mountain road led to the Aloe Garden, lighthouse, and view of Hachijokojima (site for Battle Royale, uninhabited after govt paid people to leave as part of national park system, now home to a few stubborn goats yet to be eliminated). Below was a diving spot with water clear as a spring. Pop dropped me off and I biked clockwise around the volcano back to the ferry port. The only offee shop I could find was Kokomoon for sweets and a cup of Joe.

In the evening, I went to the Anchor Pub at the Sokodoko ferry landing, where perhaps 15 people were celebrating the 5th anniversary of the opening of the pub. What an interesting group of people. A local mulitilingual gas jockey greeted me in Italian, then switched to French. He’s a city guy who escaped the rat race to the slow pave of Hachijo 7 years ago. An Englishman and his Japanese wife from Saitama were visiting the Aussie barman and his family. At the other end of the bar was a  friendly island lady who left her kids and man at home to come out for a drink, talked my ear off about the bioluminescent mushrooms the island is famous for, the pace of life, and some history. When I told her about the voices at the rocks, and then the little temple on the hillside above Nakanogou, and the fishhead in the road, she bugged her eyes out. Didn’t I know the whole island is full of ghosts? She was surprised I’d been all the places I have by myself, and was really shocked that I survived the Betsuin temple which has a scary ghost.

December 27th

Pop from the pension drove me up to the 7th station of the mountain. Pop said, if we see a goat, be sure to grab it and wring its neck. They’re the scourge of Hachijo and Kojima. Mum knows how to serve them, he says. On the way we picked up the M and T, the couple I had met in the pub, we hiked the stairs, and T and I went around the crater. This is the view from the rim looking way, way down. We took in the gorgeous views and had a  good girl talk! We cracked up laughing on returning to the trail – M was scared for our safety on the ridge where it looked very trecherous, but didn’t panic because he could hear our voices clearly even on the far side! He asked her who that cranky foreign friend was that we’d talked about….Oh, dear, the acoustics of the crater and the wind carried our voices. Maybe that is what accounts for the sounds I heard on the beach. But not the freaky fish head incident.

I stopped at the cow pasture for a bit, and then made my way down the old footpath to the airport, which took me through dense woods and along an old cart road. Some flapping of wings and screeches reminded me that this mountain forest is a protected wildlife habitat, and near the bottom, I heard an eerie sound, like a groaning. A goat? The bush seemed too dense for a goat to get around, and I never saw one.

I was greeted by an old lady in an apron at the trail entrance who chatted my ear off about the island people while we made our way down to the main road. She’s a transplant from Saitama and speaks standard Japanese, and filled me in on the island dialect, an Edo Period curiosity. Instead of いらっしゃいませ, irasshaimase, welcome to the shop, people say おじゃれやれ, ojareyare. This is only one example of the different dialect. One cab driver totally baffled me. His variety of island language bears a vague resemblance to Tokyo Japanese, and I really struggled to understand him.

December 28th

 I took it slow after another delicious breakfast and walked to the museum and caught the bus to Nakanogou for another try at figuring out where the treasures are.  This time I walked down to the oceanside footbath above the fishing pier, then Yasuragi Onsen for a proper soak. On the way back up, I stopped at Yominka kissaten for tea and cinammon toast.

The buses are infrequent, so I just wandered along the road, minding where the bus stops are.  I wondered where the famous 黄八丈 kihachijo workshop was, and finally spotted the sign board, which was behind a hedge. I was a bit shy to go in, as the building looked like a house, but past the noren curtain in the door, I could hear the clack-clack of looms. Three women were working golden silk fabric at the looms, and the fruit of the labours, neckties, purses, kimono accessories, filled the display cabinets ranged around the workshop. I picked out some post cards and an elegant coin purse.

At dusk the wind picked up and rattled me a bit, and I still had 20 minutes until the next bus, so I looked for the nearest shrine  or temple where I thought I might hide under the eaves. Beyond the bus stop, I found not the Benten temple marked on the map, but Mishima Shrine. The wind was whipping the pine trees, and beyond a red torii gate in a clearing was a little grotto with a tiny wooden shrine building and no shelter. The roots of the pine trees surrounding the shrine were white and exposed from the wind and sand. The moon was rising between the clouds shredded by the wind. I placed my few yens in offering on the lintel of the shrine, and went to hide out at the bus stop shelter.

December 29th

Pop drove me back up to Nakanogou, and on the way to the tunnel, I pointed out the whole in the mountainside near the tunnel, but overgrown with palm trees. This is one of the wartime tunnels, shelters for locals, and hiding places for the Japanese soldiers I had heard about, and he told me there are nearly a hundred through the mountains. He says Okinawa was a mess because the US army airforce saw it as strategic and big enough for airfields. Hachijojima is too small for a major military base, so it was spared, and if it hadn’t been so, he would never have been born to his island parents. This is the third time people have opened up about war and  peace. A retired Yokohama couple got telling me about the horror of wartime Tokyo firebombing. The old lady said, if we just come together, reall learn to know each other as human beings, we can’t make war. I told her about the historical enemy sides of my family, and that I came here to learn first hand about Japan, to make a connection with people. I thanked them for taking the time to talk to me.

Pop took me to the site of an antique house where the local taiko players and dancers put on a show wearing kihachijo fabric kimonos. A little old lady with a  haunting voice sang rousing songs three centuries old while the other four members danced and echoed and answered her verses. This was followed by two women singing as they began the taiko performance, and then shouting to punctuate movements of the drum song.

In a dusty display I spotted a cabinet a collection of cutlasses, katanas, tantos and various other weapons, each with shomeisho, a government registration, taped to them. I asked at the counter if there is someone minding them, and the lady said no, and there is no one who knows enough about kenjutsu on the island. She said, if I come back could I please help out!

In front of the antique house were two kadomatsu decorations, pine, and bamboo decorated with straw musubi knots, symbols of protection for the coming new year.

I hope to go back to Hachijo Island in 2010 to feed and care for some swords, ignore some more ghosts, and get away from Neo Tokyo to this gentler, slower old Tokyo. Happy new year, all!

ポチたま会 Good Dogs and People in Chibaraki

Pochitamakai is a non profit organization based in Ibaraki Prefecture that  takes in abandoned dogs and cats to find new homes for them and educates the public about the plight of homeless and unwanted pets. The Potchitamakai website instructs new pet owners about pet issues such as mixing kids and dogs, vaccinations, and the costs associated with spaying and neutering pets. A big cheers to the Potchitamakai for teaching people about how to provide a happy life for animal family members.

 This is Marie, their poster girl. She’s so sweet, and she greeted friends and strangers in front of Kashiwa Station this afternoon, and snoozed through the pan pipe busker on the other side of the plaza.

Low bonus and high yen

At the Ito Yokado supermarket, I’ve been surprised by clerks telling me to take my reciept to the cash back counter. For three days, Ito Yokado is offering a huge discount on many products in an effort to appeal to customers whose families have suffered job losses or reduced or even no bonuses. Everybody’s hurting in this difficult economy, as deflation and a really high yen takes it out on the Japanese consumer, according to  Bloomberg’s report on Aeon and Ito Yokado  discounts.

On Friday, I picked up a few pairs of socks and was surprised to find that the clerks accepted my point card, which I redeemed for about 200 yen, and handed me a receipt which I then took to the front counter for a further discount of nearly 70 yen. At the register, every time I refuse a bag, my purchase price is discounted by 2 yen.

So, tonight, I’m going back to pick up a few more things for tonight’s dinner, cashmere socks and some other bits and pieces to keep me through the week.

酒井根下田の森 Sakaine Shitada Forest

Some years ago, I happened on a tiny valley bordered by a forest near Reitaku University campus. At that time the place was known as ふくろうの森 Fukuro no Mori, or Owl Forest. When I went looking for the forest last weekend, I got hopelessly lost because the name has changed to Sakaine Shitada Forest. Through a little stand of sugi trees, a path leads down to the Boy Scouts camp, and then across a meadow bordered by a forested hillside, and to the marshy bit at the bottom of the little valley. The forest park is very active, with rice paddy planting for kids, bird and bug watching.

When I arrived in the meadow, there was an old man and a little boy watching the leaves pass under the bridge over the brook, and an old couple sitting on a park bench. As the late afternoon sun descended through the trees, the woman sang the two verses of うさぎおいしかのやま… Usagi oishi kano yama, the nostalgic and beautiful lullaby which is often used as a civic chime in Kashiwa. The tune and the lyrics take on their real character when sung softly by an old lady illuminated by the setting sun surrounded by autumnal colours…