Here and There Japan

2013-01-05T12:10:00.002+09:00

HTJ is in the process of moving. I will keep you posted!

Check here to see the new place:
www.hereandtherejapan.edublogs.org

Sakura Leaves in November

2012-11-14T18:28:00.000+09:00

Halloween Report

2012-10-27T14:16:00.001+09:00

Parties and parades are this weekend. Candy displays are small or non-existent in stores here. Anything Halloween is already sold out in our neighborhood grocery store.

Check out HTJ Halloween posts by clicking on the labels below.

Serious Sweepers Or Halloween Broom Parking?

2012-10-27T13:25:00.000+09:00

Kenyan Roses in Japan

2012-07-01T11:02:00.000+09:00

A former student is importing roses from Kenya to Japan. They are gorgeous! Thick petals and stems and they smell like roses used to smell!

Some of What is Left Behind

2012-06-27T22:05:00.001+09:00

Seems the farmer let the crows have it. The corn, that is.

Standing Again

2012-06-22T13:03:00.002+09:00

The typhoon on June 19th flattened the corn.
.

Almost uprooted it.

Two days after being knocked down, the corn is almost standing up straight again. (The crows didn't bother this corn field. Maybe they didn't want to pick on something beaten down to the ground.)

These photos were taken with a Panasonic Lumix 10x.

Crow Update

2012-06-21T19:32:00.000+09:00

The crows have lost their breakfast, lunch, and dinner spot.

Unfortunately, crows are noisy and the fruit tree was messy.

They still gather. Can you see why?

Corn fields. They've done a lot of damage.

Let's see if this works.

These photos were taken with a Panasonic Lumix 10x.

recent posts about the recent neighborhood crow situation:
Gathering Before the Storm

Gathering After the Storm

Today's Setting Sun

2012-06-20T19:47:00.000+09:00

Gorgeous sunset out there. No crows, though. And no bats. Something on the horizon?

The Morning After the Typhoon

2012-06-20T12:59:00.002+09:00

Mt. Fuji looked like this.

I could see the damage to the corn from the roof. This is ground zero.

The corn looked like this before the typhoon.

Yesterday, the zucchini in another farmer's field was curved.

Today, it's twisted.

His corn is a little bent, but still standing.

Our vegetable stand is open today.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, carrots and onions made it to the shelves. Bags of edamame, too. Some of their stalks were flattened and muddied.

A little more damage in the next post.

These photos were taken with a Panasonic Lumix 10x.

A Little Typhoon Damage

2012-06-20T12:24:00.000+09:00

The tree farm suffered the most. This is only half of the damage.

One of those "disposable" umbrellas in satsuma imo, taro.

Two at the foot of a mailbox.

This shop expected more water.

Up under the shop's awning, Mrs. Starling is safe at home.

These photos were taken with a Panasonic Lumix 10x.

Gathering After the Typhoon

2012-06-20T10:57:00.001+09:00

Crows gathered here again. About 40. Fluffing and drying their feathers at 5:30 A.M. And...

Gathering and

eating their breakfast

from this tree.

Soaring

and watching me.

Gathering Before the Typhoon

2012-06-19T21:20:00.001+09:00

Clouds gathered and so did crows! These photos make a panoramic view of our neighborhood at 5:30 P.M. Look closely. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Crows! I see 14 in this photo. One was sitting on the balcony but flew away.

Crows!

Crow!

It was raining a lot. They sat in the rain and traded places once in a while. I wouldn't say they were playing. They looked pretty miserable.

These photos were taken with a Panasonic Lumix 10x.

Outside a Shop that Sells Glasses

2012-06-15T20:03:00.000+09:00

This is a well-established chain of shops. It's been in Japan for a long time.

These are current photos. The mascot for the shop is holding a sign that says, "Ganbarou Japan! Hang in there, Japan!"

Japan is still recovering from last year's tsunami and earthquake.

Here is a place outside the shop to stop to clean your glasses. It's a free service.

The name of the shop "Megane Drug" is on the right panel of the sign and "one year guarantee" is on the left panel. Megane is "eyeglasses" in Japanese.

Here is a link to a post about the eye chart used here.

These photos were taken with a Panasonic Lumix 10x.

The Beetles at Toys R Us Japan

2012-06-14T21:09:00.000+09:00

Many department stores sell beetles. This is the beetle display at Toys R Us. These photos were taken with an iphone. Click on them to enlarge them.

This shows some of the items that are needed for the beetles.

This beetle has a plastic cup of yellow jelly to eat.

The pink plastic thing in this case is to hold a cup of jelly. Some of the holders are made out of wood.

Nets (on left) for catching bugs, insects and beetles are sold, too.

There was also an ant farm (upper left hand corner.)

These photos were taken with an iphone.

May's Title Page Photo

2012-06-13T15:18:00.003+09:00

This was the photo for May's title page of Here and There Japan. Sun through green bean leaves.

Open sky is needed for the title page. June is the rainy season in Japan and it's hard to take a photo of the sky!

This photo was taken with a Panasonic Lumix.

Name This Beetle

2012-06-12T12:40:00.000+09:00

I don't know her name, but she's cute as a bug!

Can't find a match in my bug book.

A friend told me she is female. And a flower eater. Anyone know her name?

BTW, these photos were taken with an iphone.

Sad News, Too

2012-06-07T19:52:00.001+09:00

On the front page of "The Daily Yomiuri" there is a photo and an article about the Venus Transit as well as the announcement of the Emperor's cousin, Prince Tomohito, passing away on Wednesday, June 6. It was a rainy day in Tokyo.

Another newspaper, "Mainichi Shimbun," quoted him about the role of the Imperial Family as "Shining light on places where no light shines: That's important."

Japan Times Venus Transit
Prince Tomohito
Mainichi Shimbun Prince Tomohito

Venus Transit in Tokyo

2012-06-06T22:27:00.000+09:00

The sun was hidden behind clouds most of the day in Tokyo. We missed seeing the Venus transit, but had spectacular sunlight

in late afternoon.

And then later,

we had the moon. Venus is out there somewhere.

Coin Design to Commemorate the Reconstruction After the East Japan Tsunami and Earthquake of 2011

2012-06-04T09:43:00.000+09:00

Click here for the story of this coin design. And here for the story of the Miracle Tree.

Busy Bird, Sleepy Dog

2012-05-28T10:34:00.001+09:00

When I first walked up, the dog was watching and responding to the jumping, chattering bird. It looked like they were enjoying each other's company. The dog started yawning and dozing off, but the bird kept jumping and chattering. He was so happy to be out in the fresh May air.

Parked Outside Our Gate

2012-05-28T10:07:00.003+09:00

An electrician came to check Baba's circuit breakers. He parked outside the gate.

His toolbox wasn't locked.

Headlines May 22, 2012

2012-05-23T08:41:00.001+09:00

Along with NATO forces pulling out of Afghanistan by late 2014, photos of the eclipse were the headlines in The Daily Yomiuri on May 22. Underneath them, it reads, "Ring of Fire Sweeps Across Sky."

Annular Eclipse Japan 2012

2012-05-21T12:25:00.000+09:00

At first, it didn't look like good eclipse watching weather. Fortunately, the clouds parted. It was hazy, but it was okay.

We watched from the roof. (There's always one in a group who's looking in the wrong direction. The cat not me.) Of course, it did take a while for the moon to pass across the face of the sun. There was plenty of time to look.

So I watched to see how others were reacting to the eclipse. The mourning dove who coos every morning was there. Cooing.

The chickadees were flittering through gardens like they always do.

A crow circled,

perched, and watched in the opposite direction of the eclipse.

A helicopter headed southwest.

The farmer never looked up from his work.

Neighbors watched from their windows. Or gathered on the street. A young man was at the edge of the fields. He didn't have glasses. I went down to share mine with him, the farmer and his wife, and passersby. I didn't think about taking photos of the eclipse. As an afterthought,

I took this one. It's me in an old broccoli field. With my back to the eclipse.

Anticipating the Eclipse

2012-05-20T19:05:00.000+09:00

We've got our glasses. Tomorrow morning there will be an eclipse. At dawn according to one source. And 7:30 AM according to another. I think 7:30 AM is way after dawn in May.

Little Brother is up at 5:30 to go to school. In some seasons that is before dawn. In some seasons it is after dawn. He doesn't have to be at school until 11:30 so that he can watch the eclipse. I hope he doesn't sleep in!