Snow in Inagaki

Shimoyake is a term familiar to all Japanese, but its English equivalent “chillblains” evokes images of Jane Ayre at Lowood School in the winter. My first experience with Shimoyake was about 30 years ago when we lived in a drafty Japanese farmhouse with traditional Japanese “heating” (kotatsu and woodstove). I learned to live with its annual appearance, and then for the 20 years we were in the States I was shimoyake-free . My first winter back in Japan, my toes were assaulted again. Heating in Japanese home is notoriously poor A winter’s tale: cold homes, poor lives in wealthy Japan | The Japan Times Online and in spite of solutions for small spaces, most residential construction does not incorporate sufficient insulation. The floors are really cold and walking around in slippers and socks isn’t enough to protect the toes of those susceptible to shimoyake. I’ve tried a few folk remedies and have followed the advice of the NHS (UK Nat’l Health System), but every winter about this time, my toes turn red and swollen and sometimes even crack… and then become unbearably itchy as they get better. I am more interested in prevention, but since it’s too late this year, I’ll be asking my local Kanpo(Chinese medicine) shop for his remedy today. I can always try some of the remedies listed here, but I’ve got to get them under control soon because I am supposed to run a 5K on the 19th. I am running pretty regularly, but my pace is pretty slow because of swollen toes. I am also starting to use Hokaron (disposable hand and feet warmers),  but I hate adding this type of stuff to the landfill/ incinerator. Woe is me.

Canal in Saiki on a snowy day

We had snow! It’s a pretty rare occurence here on the Pacific side of central Kyushu. Everyone was so excited even with less than 1 cm accumulation – lots of miniature snowmen and kids throwing snowballs. It lasted a day and facebook friends that live in Saiki posted lots of photos. In northern parts of Japan, especially on the west coast bordering the Japan Sea, there has been record-breaking snowfall and accumulation. Goof for the Snow Festival in Sapporo, but devastating for many- collapsed roofs and a n umber of casualties. I wonder how they deal with shimoyake!

Yesterday Jiro and I drove up to Beppu and visited Hyotan Onsen- the same hot spring I went to after taking the JLPT (no, the results haven’t arrived yet!), but this time he and I took a hot sand bath. It was so relaxing and comfortable. I expected it to feel like being buried in the sand at the beach as a kid, but the sand is dry and heated from below-my muscles all relaxed and I actually fell asleep for a few minutes. Afterwords we went took a regular hot spring bath. We are so lucky to live in an area with so many hot springs.

On New Year’s people exchange postcards similar to Christmas cards in the West. Most people use postcards issued by the post office which are printed with lottery numbers. In mid-January a lottery is held and the winning numbers are printed in newspapers and online. The top prizes (3500 winners) are things like a digital television, tickets for international or domestic travel, and a laptop. The lowest prize(71,000,000 winners) is for commemorative New Year’s postage stamps. Two cards we received had lucky numbers and I redeemed them for two sets of stamps with images of dragons for the Year of the dragon. I think I need to start sending cards so we get more and increase our chance of winning.

2012 New Year's commemorative stamps

Kagura dancer

Last Saturday Saiki held its Second Annual Kagura Festival- a full day of kagura dancing by local dance troupes. Kagura is traditional folk dance theater that portrays ancient tales and legends of gods.The dances are often performed in this area by Shinto priests and many towns practice and perform these dances at Shinto festivals. It is said the the local Daimyo, Lord Mouri, in the 1600′s loved kagura and arranged an annual gathering of all the kagura performers in this region. Now the city of Saiki is working hard to revitalize this area and build a sense of community between the 5 regions that were merged in 2005 to form the current municipality of Saiki. Even on a cold February weekend, there was a huge crowd enjoying the dancing and eating local foods.

My work with Kojiya continues. We were planning to go to New York in March to meet some people involved in food preparation and to scope out some possibilites, but they have been inundated with domestic orders since appearing on yet another national TV cooking show. Being a family-run business, they don’t have a large enough staff to fill the orders and they had to cancel their trip. Our next plan is to go in August and to hit both the East Coast and the West Coast. In the meantime, I am working to develop some more recipes and will do some more research for them.

Ba-chan has improved but is still in the hospital. She no longer requires oxygen but is still on an IV. She really wants to some home and has tried to leave the  hospital on her own, removing the IV and then falling out of bed. It is so hard to watch, but she is getting better and hopefully can move back to the care home within a week or so. Once the weather warms up, we’ll bring her home for a day.

A little late on the good wishes, but I hope for a prosperous, healthy and joyful 2012 for all my friends and family. I am looking forward to lots of adventures, making new connections and venturing to places I haven’t been before. Nothing planned yet, but I’m getting itchy feet.

Kagura Dancer at Onyujima Tondo

Things are always pretty hectic at the end of the year. With only a week between Christmas and New Years’, it seems I spend all seven days in the kitchen preparing and eating food.  We had a nice gathering with the local out-of-towners on Christmas Day, played board games, ate good food, listened to holiday music and exchanged funky gifts. On New Years’ I made lots of traditional dishes: kuromame, konbumaki, nitsuke, namasu, kinton, lotus root balls, and yuzu daikon-My new favorite recipe  (in Jpn)is for the lotus root balls-I usually  make them as patties. No pictures of the New Year’s feast, though-after completing a Flickr 365 project of 2011, my enthusiasm for taking photos has waned, and I took the day off- but I  did sign up for a 52 photos group…) we had Jiro’s mom home for one night, she was so relaxed and clearly enjoyed being home, but the support she needs at night is really too much for us. It seems that we’ll just be bringing her home for day visits in the future.

After Jiro’s mom returned to the care facility, Jiro and I drove  up to Usa in the northern Oita Prefecture to visit old friends. We lived in Usa when Kai was born and our friends there all have kids around his age. Several of them are now married and have kids of their own! When we lived there we did a bit of farming-shiitake and rice, and our friends there are still growing their own rice- I think I’d like to do that again…It was good to get out of town and we enjoyed the drive- stopping to take a couple hot spring baths and visit a couple old Buddhist sites in Ajimu.

Tondo Bonfire

His mom has not been doing so well the past couple of months. She had pneumonia caused by aspiration of food in mid-December. She was pretty sick for three or four days, but recovered. Then yesterday she had a mild stroke , and although she was weak, she seemed to be okay. This morning she got another bout of pneumonia and is really weak. She is now in the hospital on oxygen and an IV- I am praying that she will be in better shape tomorrow. It is so hard to see her gradual physical decline. She really wants to come home and I think she is losing her will to keep going. I haven’t felt this sad in a long time.

But, there is also GREAT news today. The translation and writing project I’ve been working on since the end of October is finally done. I am pretty pleased how it came out. The web designer was really easy to work with and she created a site that exceeded everyone’s expectations. I already noticed one editing miss of mine and am sure there will be more. I am continuing to translate recipes for them and hopefully we’ll be going to the US this year to introduce shiokoji to the US market. Lots to be excited about. Kojiya website

Also I’ve been asked to teach part-time 4 mornings a week at a university in Oita- the hours are really convenient for me. If all goes as planned, I’ll be teaching the first term  (April to July) and maybe even the following term in September. It’ll be nice to be working with college-age students again. Now I’ve got to get some new clothes!

Last week I went with some friends to the Tondo festival on Onyujima- a small island just a kilometer or so from Saiki Harbor. Tondo festivals are held in January in towns across Japan. A huge  bonfire is built using straw, bamboo, and everyone’s New Year’s decorations and it is set on fire- people pray for good health and success in the new year. On Onyujima there is a kagura dance prior to the bonfire and the local kids play taiko. Bowls of udon with the local specialty gomadashi sell for 100 yen and of course there is also the typical Japanese festival food- yakitori, fried chicken and french fries- at typically high prices- 300 yen for a bag of fries!

Mountainside Statue at Sen no Iwa in Ajimu

We are having our coldest winter weather this week-there were even a few snow flurries on Wednesday, but spring comes soon here in southern Japan- maybe in two or three weeks. Jiro’s planted about 25 fruit trees in a large field near here- I’m thinking I want to plant pumpkins in the rows between the trees to help keep the weeds down. Keeping busy!

 

 

 

Early November Ryougoji

After a creepily warm autumn, the temperatures have finally dropped below 18°C  and it is starting to feel like winter. Until last week I was still waking to the buzz of mosquitos. The fall colors arrived late and seemed a little less showy than in previous years, and the camelias and

Fall at the base of Shiroyama

narcissus are blooming in the warmer parts of the garden. One of the dahlias even put out a blossom last week. Weather forecasts say to expect a colder winter than usual, I guess it will arrive later this month. Nights and mornings are cold enough that we need to light the kerosene space heater now and there’s always a pot of hot tea on the table.

I’ve got no excuses for neglecting the blog, I just haven’t felt like writing. Sorry to those of you who check in and see the same heading week after week.

Thanksgiving dinner was the highlight of November. We’ve shared the meal with the Asari family of Kojiya for three years in a row now- I think we’ve passed the threshold for establishing a tradition. A couple other expat friends have joined us and it definitely feels like a holiday. The Asaris got a new commercial oven this year, so I was able to order a larger turkey (12 pounds) and roast it at their house. I even found frozen brussel sprouts, Japanese kabocha works fine for pumpkin pie, and I made cranberry sauce from dried cranberries. It’s tough being so far away from my family during the holidays, but we’ve come up with a good substitute here.

I took Level 2 of  the JLPT on December 4th. It was really tough, I took a couple practice tests beforehand and did fine, but the actual test was quite a bit more difficult. If I pass it will only be because of extremely lucky guessing, but I think I’ll take it again next year. the results don’t come out until mid-February, by that time I won’t care. Regardless of my score, I am becoming a stronger reader and am motivated to keep improving.

After the exam, I joined a friend and three of her friends and went out to dinner and then to a hot spring bath at Hyotan Onsen. I hadn’t been there since before Kai was born- of course, it’s been upgraded. A perfect way to end the exam day! We lived in the hot spring town of Beppu when we were first married and took hot spring baths every night-wish we lived closer to a good hot spring now.

Shiroyama castle wall

Working pretty hard on the Kojiya website content- we’re aiming for the end of the year for the launching of their English site. For those of you in Japan, think about coming down to Kyushu to take a workshop in using shiokoji or making miso next year!

The kids sent a holiday package with advent calendars, winter teas, chocolate and almonds for Jiro’s Christmas truffles and chocolate almonds, and a copy of Mother Jones for me. Thanks to them, it feels a little more like Christmas. We’ve got several gatherings over the next couple weeks. In Japan, it’s customary to go to Bonenkai (literally: forget-the-year party), end-of-the-year parties. On Christmas I may have a few people over for stew and cornbread and a day of board games. We won’t have a tree and Santa’s not going to be stopping by, but I definitely want to share a meal and hang out with friends.

It’s been a rough year for Japan and the nuclear disaster still is worrisome….I can’t see any benefits to nuclear energy, the dangers are too great. The news from Fukushima continues to be depressing. Sunday marked the nine-month mark since the earthquake and tsunami, lots of damage still to deal with and infrastructure that needs attention, but the Japanese government is discussing the purchase of new fighter jets. Aaah

My hope for next  year and every year is for the end of war…

Stay warm this winter.

No promises, but will try to write more soon.

 

 

day after the torrential rains and rising river: check out previous post for contrast

Not sure why I’ve been avoiding writing. I often think of lots of things to write about when I am running, but I never seem to follow through. But I think I will have more time to write now because there has been a huge change in our life.

persimmon

Two weeks ago, we moved Ba-chan to a care facility. We had been talking about it for a little while and had consulted with her social worker. She had been declining over the summer and was communicating less and less with us. The hardest part for me was dealing with incontinence and her associated shame- we tried so many different strategies- but nothing seemed to work. The past month, she was moving less and sitting in one spot for extended periods of time. We were concerned that she was withdrawing and getting lost in her own head. A few weeks ago we left her for 45 minutes while we had a visitor at our place. It was around her bedtime and we left out her pajamas for her to change. She usually is able to get changed on her own if we set out her clothes. When we went back to check on her, she was crawling on the floor in the dark, completely confused and scared. We turned on the lights and she was like a small child… We got her settled down and I helped her get changed and into bed. I knew then that she was not in good shape and we set up visits to care facilities to check them out to find a good place for her.

Inagaki during rice harvest season

Everyone had told us that it was hard to find a place with openings and we would have to wait awhile. We got on the waiting list at two places and two days later we got a call back from the place we really liked. It has an on-site day care program, so she can go to planned activities for 5 hours every day. She also gets physical therapy once a day. They do her laundry, serve good food and she has a private room. I was a wreck on the day we took her. She really didn’t want to go- “Do I have to go?  I really want to stay at home.”  She only went after Jiro told her that she was moving there for physical therapy and that when she can walk more steadily, she’ll be able to come home. It was so hard to leave her there. she was so sad. I cried all the way home. BUT when  we went to visit her a couple days later she was more talkative, initiated conversation with us, and  was trying to walk more. She was more like she was a year ago. I am sure the stimulation of having people around all the time has helped her keep more engaged. It was really reassuring. Since then I’ve visited her several more times and although she still wants to come home, she is making friends and is smiling more. The staff deals with her incontinence in a matter-of-fact way and hopefully she feel less stress about that. I think when she was at home, she was always trying to hide her messes and spent a lot of energy and emotion pretending?? that there wasn’t a problem.

As for us, it has made a huge difference. I can leave the house and not be worried about her falling or doing something dangerous. It’s been two weeks now and I am finally feeling like a huge burden has been lifted. Everything happened so quickly- we weren’t expecting to find a place until at least  next spring. I am now trying to figure out what I am going to do for work. I am considering teaching a few more classes but am networking to see what’s out there. Any ideas or leads?

View of Saiki from Ryuuozan

I am working with the koji shop, Kojiya, on a big project. They are expanding and want to target the English speaking market. So I am helping with their website content and they will finally be publishing an English version of their cookbook that I translated. They are also making several You Tube videos in Japanese and want to make some in English. I’ll keep you posted.  I’ve also helped a friend who runs an online business selling crafts from Oita with some translation work recently. I’d rather do translation than teach English, but I need more experience before I can pick up more work. We’ll see.

I’ve been keeping pretty busy around here. I got in our winter garden and everything has sprouted- lots of greens, daikon radish and kabu. As I was planting, I remembered that less than three years ago, Ba-chan was still gardening a bit—now it’s my garden. I had left one garden space right outside her residence for her to tend to, but she never made it out  this year. I think I’ll plant flowers there, so it will be nice when she comes home to visit.

Taiko at the starting line at Tour de Saiki

I participated in a cycling event here in Saiki. I rode the short course- 26 km along the coastline of Saiki. It was a beautiful day and the riders were rewarded with a huge kaisen donburi (fresh sashimi rice bowl) at the end. Lots of fun and great exercise. I also hiked a local mountain here Ryuuozan (Dragon King Mountain) 317 meters. The view from the top was great- I hadn’t seen Saiki from the south before- really beautiful. The trail was well-maintained which is unusual for these local mountains, but I had to use my walking poles as spider web whackers. There are several mountains in Kysuhu with this same name and in Saiki there are two-although the kanji is different. I found a couple websites (here and here) that introduce hikes in Oita and it’s been fun exploring. Oooooh, another translation project.

I’ve  also become involved with some local activism against dredging up industrial waste from a pulp plant that closed 40 years ago. There are plans to fill in a bay off Onyujima with the sludge and then dump waste from construction projects there, too. This plan was approved 15 years ao, but was stopped by opposition of the local residents, but there are plans to start up again. I’ll write more about that as I learn more.

Also, the Japanese government has come up with a plan to distribute rubble from the disaster areas all over Japan including rubble that has low-level radiation. Several regional governments are refusing to accept the rubble, but many people think that the burden of the waste should be shared by everyone in Japan,not just Fukushima. I don’t know why they don’t just dump everything in the 30 km exclusion zone- as noone will be able to return there for at least another generation… It seems that the money spent transporting the waste could be better used to support the evacuees and their resettlement.

shinto priest blessing at our home

Closer to home: In our neighborhood there are about 20 homes. Most of the families have lived here for several generations. There are only two families with children and most of the people are over 60. Four times a year women from the neighborhood gather to pray for safety, good health, good harvests and to avoid natural disasters. A Shinto priest comes and performs a ritual and then everyone shares lunch together. The responsibility for hosting rotates throughout the neighborhood and in September it was our turn. I had never attended one , so I really had no idea what to do and Ba-chan was no help. So I asked several people and never got an entire explanation from anyone. After asking 5 or 6 neighbors, I was able to piece together what  I needed to gather to set up an altar for the Shinto priest- one bottle of sake, one sho of rice, two sea bream, 3 types of seasonal vegetables, another small dish of rice, and 7000 yen…I also had to serve lunch to everyone, but luckily the local custom is to order boxed lunches. Until a few years ago, this gathering (Murabito) was an opportunity to show-off your cooking and everyone tried to outdo each other. So I ordered lunches, made pumpkin muffins and had lots of fresh fruit. A few neighbors showed up an hour early and helped me get it all set up. It went well and everyone left satisfied, Whew! Ba-chan enjoyed having everyone there, but she  didn’t really participate in the conversation. It was interesting to hear the local gossip about people who aren’t even alive anymore, I heard stories about Jiro’s grandmother-she was really fashionable and a little arrogant. The neighborhood has decided to end this tradition once the current rotation ends- another tradition that is dying out.

Autumn sunset

 

 

Enjoying the fall, can’t wait for the leaves to turn red and yellow and orange.

Looking down on Hatozu Beach

I’ve been back for a couple weeks and am finally getting back into my groove. Drove out to my favorite beach for an end-of-summer swim and even made it to a local festival. I’ve started getting the garden in shape, but haven’t made much progress because of all the rain. I’m planning to plant lots of greens for winter and also daikon and kabu. The weeds were taller than me when I got back, but I expected that. I’ve harvested a few zucchini and jalepeños and I’m hoping to find carrots in the next area I get cleared.

Banjyo River rising

The rain has been relentless. Two typhoons are contributing to the rainfall-one has passed and the other is moving very slowly this way. It sat above Okinawa most of the weekend, so all of our rivers are swollen and low-lying areas are flooded. It doesn’t look good because the winds and full-on rain haven’t hit yet. We are very close to the river, but I think we are relatively safe because of the way it bends just a little upstream from here. But I’ve never seen the river this full and am a little worried. I feel nervous, but at the same time I am super interested to see what will happen.

Coming back after being gone for 6 weeks to see Jiro’s mom was hard. Even though she hasn’t changed much, I found myself surprised how disengaged she is and how she confuses so many things. Her sister and sister-in-law both passed away while I was gone, but she doesn’t remember. She can’t follow through on anything she begins- even changing into her pajamas- unless someone guides her. I forgot how much energy it takes to support her, especially because she fights the help. Today I found myself getting short with her- she was out on the covered veranda trying to bring in laundry-she was using a curved weeding knife (check the photo below) to pull the clothes off the laundry poles, sitting in pooled water.  The laundry was still wet. AARGH! I was already disappointed because the day care service brought her home 4 hours early because of concerns about flooding. And I have a feeling they won’t be open tomorrow.

Kama- weeding tool (image from www.smithandspeed.com)

I’ve started back studying kanji and am really rusty. The JLPT is in December, so I am studying for that. I took a practice test yesterday and did okay except for the longer reading passages. I’ve got a short translation job to get done next week and hopefully I’ll get more jobs soon.

Well, I’ll keep this short and post again soon. Thanks to everyone who helped to make my trip back to the US so much fun- and sorry I missed seeing everyone I wanted to see. Can’t wait for next summer.

Fresh fruit at Shilin Night Market in Taipei

I arrived last Tuesday after a nine hour layover in Taipei and I am really happy to be here. The weather is gorgeous- perfect August in Oregon.

I am writing a blog for my English students while I am away from Japan. Check it out.

Another month has passed and other than thinking about it, I still haven’t taken any steps to post more frequently. We had a super dry spring and farmers were worried about the lack of rain, but then the rainy season arrived just  in time. All the rice fields have been planted and the summer critters are out- dragonflies, cicadas, praying mantis, snakes, centipedes, cockroaches, spiders, frogs, caterpillars, hornets, wasps…I have to check my shoes and shake out clothes before I slip them on lest I get stung or end up squishing some bug. Our garden is totally overgrown with weeds- need to get it in shape this week. Bought a low rolling bench to sit on while weeding, kneeling for hours is painful.

looking down our lane towards Ryougoji temple

In January I set a goal to get fit this year. Now that it’s been six months, I guess I can write about it. I started the Couch to 5 K program and after nine weeks, I was able to jog 30 minutes. I used podcasts to help me keep track of the time and I can’t believe that I have been able to stick with it. I jog 3 days a week and walk, swim, or bike 3-4 days a week. There is an awesome path along the river and I run different routes so I don’t get bored. I am now doing interval training to build up to 8K and am now two weeks into that program. I never have enjoyed running in my life, but now I look forward to it and think I will participate in a 5K this autumn.

The other day while walking an older man called out to me and starting asking me questions. “Do you have diabetes?” No. “Then why are you running so often? You look skinnier than you used to. What kind of health problem do you have?” I explained that I am just trying to stay fit and build endurance.  I had never met this man, but am aware that a lot of people know who I am because Saiki is a pretty small city. I have to be careful what I say to people, including strangers, because word spreads fast and often the strangers are connected to Jiro’s family. He then started asking me about where I was from and wondered whether I grew up in  a city or the countryside. I told him I grew up in a coastal city south of Los Angeles. So he jumped to the next logical conclusion that there must be a lot of fishermen there.  I nodded and started across the bridge. He kept up with me and he started with the compliments. “You are really amazing, taking care of your mother-in-law.”I shrugged off the compliment and kept walking. “Even after your husband died, you still came back to Japan to take care of her.” Huh? I explained that my husband is alive and well…..”Aren’t you Yonezawa-san?” Yes. “Didn’t your husband die several years ago?” NO. And then I realized that he had confused Jiro with his older brother and that the local stories are are pieced together with fragments to construct something that makes sense.

Banjyo River full after rains

It also reminded me of a conversation I had with a woman who chatted with me while we were doing the annual river cleanup. She wondered if I was running the ranch that my husband had planned. I had no idea what she was talking about and just smiled and said I wasn’t running a ranch. Now I realize she also thought I was the wife of Jiro’s brother. I wonder how long it will take for the story to be amended…

Because I deal with the altered reality of Jiro’s mom every day, I am never too surprised when I hear strange information. The other day we were watching a show about the development of the test for determining blood type. Trying to keep her engaged, I asked her what her blood type is (all Japanese people know this information about themselves). She thought for a little bit and told me that she is Type C.

Read a “delightful” book- The Housekeeper and The Professor by Yoko Ogawa. I really loved the story of a housekeeper who works for a mathematics professor with a memory impairment. I rented the DVD and will watch it later this week.

Rice fields

Two more weeks til Oregon!

Links related to Fukushima

The news continues to be troubling.

Mainichi Newspaper TEPCO: Uphold Share Values or Stop Further Contamination????

Ten Thousand Things Karl Grossman & Ann Landman on Fukushima

New York Times Japan’s Safety Myth

They Lied to Us Michio Kaku

Atlantic Wire Meltdown: What Really Happened at Fukushima

The Asia Pacific Journal    Nuclear Workers and Fukushima Residents at Risk: Cancer Expert on the Fukushima Situation

Newly planted rice field

How can it be three years since I arrived? Originally I believed that we probably would stay three years or so- I realize now that we will be here as long as we need to be and there is no timeline. Now feeling comfortable with that and am feeling less loss than I had been.  Even though I still miss working in a stimulating environment, I have learned to appreciate lots of time to explore my own interests. As long as I can take a month-long trip back to the US each year…

Yonezawas in Saiki

Kai and Nina’s visit ended so quickly but we got in a good hike, sightseeing, great food, visits with relatives and friends. I’ll see them in Oregon in a couple months, so it was easier to say good-bye this time. It is really a treat to have them both here at the same time and we made a trip over to Nagasaki and also to the town of Imari to see Japanese porcelain.

We went to the Peace Museum and Peace Memorial Hall in Nagasaki. The last time I was in Nagasaki was when my mom and her friend came to visit about 28 years ago. I was pregnant with Kai and we did a road trip around Kyushu. It is surprising how little has changed. However, the Peace Museum has been updated and there is a very powerful Peace Memorial now. It was designed by Akira Kuryu and the main part of the memorial is an underground hall with 12 pillars lit from above, at one end of the hall there is a tall stack of records listing all of the victims names.  A sacred place to honor those who lost their lives and to pray for world peace.

Imari teacups

It was pouring rain during the entire day we were in Nagasaki and to end our visit in that city we went to the Peace Park and got completely soaked. The memorial in Nagasaki is less visited than the one in Hiroshima, but I think it is important to visit both sites. The horror of nuclear war is incomprehensible. Both museums present a strong case for the  elimination of nuclear weapons and an end to all testing.

Looking at the photos of the city after the bombing I was reminded of the current devastation in Tohoku. Nagasaki and Hiroshima are now both thriving cities and hopefully Tohoku will eventually be rebuilt. It is hard to believe that Japan is still committed to nuclear energy after experiencing atomic bombs and now this serious nuclear accident which is still emitting radiation.  I am so tired of the daily reports of cover-ups, misinformation and blaming. The politicians in this country are so pathetic. They tried to pass a no-confidence vote of the Prime Minister last week in the middle of this disaster. How can they be so splintered when the country needs a united government to pull them through this mess? The citizens are reportedly frustrated and angry, but politics continue as usual. For now Kan is still Prime Minister, but a potential successor is already being named.

Three months after the disaster, news coverage is still focused on the recovery and also nuclear power plant- there is so much uncertainty and hopelessness in Fukushima. The contamination is extensive and Japan’s food and water supply is definitely affected. We are somewhat safer down here, but I am definitely reading labels more carefully to check the origin of fish and seaweed.

Aaah, it’s so easy to fall into the worry and anxiety trap. I actually am pretty careful to limit nuclear power crisis information input, because I get so overwhelmed and paralyzed.

Zenzai

Nina and I had a day together in Fukuoka after Kai left. We covered a lot of ground on foot, visiting downtown shrines and exploring side streets. We had a macrobiotic lunch and then went to a old sweets shop for a bowl of zenzai, mochi in sweetened beans.

I am taking a weekly tai chi class and also a stretching class. Both classes use music, but what is funny to me is that both teachers use tape players and we spend a few minutes every class waiting for the tape to rewind, and then partway through class the music abruptly ends and the teacher has to turn the tape over. Why don’t they have CDs or some other music source?

Rainy season, cool days before the heat of summer arrives. I’m on mukade (monster centipede) alert and will start wiping all surfaces daily to prevent the accumulation of mold and mildew. I’ve started our small vegetable garden. I’m giving tomatoes one more chance-some sort of fungus got all of the tomatoes the past two years. Stuck a couple in pots, maybe that will make a difference. Lots of cilantro volunteers that are already bolting. The weeds are intense and the pressure to be out there weeding makes it hard to get into summer relaxation mode.

Nakasu sidestreet in Hakata- boy playing with cardboard box

Spent the day up in Oita today- found a really cool vegetarian sushi cookbook. The author writes a blog In Japanese with lots of really great vegetarian recipes. This is her recipe blog (in Jpn). Ooh, she has a blog in English!

I realize this blog posting is terribly disjointed. I have been trying to figure out how to use this blog more regularly and think I will aim for shorter posts more frequently and work on longer posts over time. We’ll see. Need to make some changes to keep it going.

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