Here and There Japan

Apple Protection 2

2012-01-29T11:20:00.003+09:00

Scroll and check to see the changes to the post, "Apple Protection". Thanks to a comment by Kaneko.

Apple Protection

2012-01-25T14:21:00.014+09:00

I usually don't take photos of people.

"People aren't scenery," Big Sister told me when I started this blog. Papa, teachers and parents were worried about privacy and safety. And he reminded me, "You are easily found."

But I had to document this. Sorry the photo is blurry. It was taken in a hurry with the iphone. You can't really see what this grocery store clerk is doing. I was trying to protect her identity.

She's putting those little pink plastic skirts on the apples. I thought the apples were shipped that way to protect them. So, no, after making their way to the store the apples are protected from people bruising them while picking over them and taking them home!

But, wait, note the comment section below. A reader suggested that the skirts are for hygiene purposes. I'd never thought of that! Probably because I take the skirts off to look at the bottom of the fruit to check to see how green it is at the base. I've never noticed anyone else do that. Even though there was a time when they stopped using the skirts and there were some bad apples in the bunch (bin). So, they're either protecting the apples from bruises or germs.

A bag of pink plastic skirts.

I've noticed apples and grapefruit wear pink plastic skirts. Green apples, pears and nashi wear green plastic skirts. Click on the labels below for more posts.

Check out the comment section, too.

Holly Thompson wins APALA Award for Her YA Novel!!!

2012-01-24T20:40:00.001+09:00

The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) awarded their Young Adult Literature Award to Holly Thompson's novel Orchards. Holly is our SCBWI Tokyo chapter advisor and editor of our newsletter Carp Tales. Congratulations!

Click here to see other APALA award winning books.

Snow!

2012-01-24T20:39:00.007+09:00

Mt. Fuji has been snow-capped since November.

Today, Tokyo was capped in snow.

The snow highlighted the mountains to the west. I could actually see them this morning.

Look closely through the wires and beyond.

Funny, no birds were sitting on the wires this morning.

Snow Curls

2012-01-24T20:38:00.004+09:00

Later in the day, the snow on our roof began to curl...

because of the snow guards.

Click on the photos to enlarge them. Click on the label "roof" below to see a post about our neighbor's roof guards.

Dragon in the West

2012-01-17T21:39:00.006+09:00

Papa says it may have been some debris from the Russian satellite returning to earth. It could have been an earthquake cloud. I think it's a lone dragon cloud like the ones I saw in November. I noticed it as I was walking to the store. I took this photo at 4:53 today with my iphone.

Back to School After the Holidays

2012-01-10T06:00:00.002+09:00

Little Brother went back to school today after the winter break. His high school is far from our house so he has to get up early. When he left the house at 6:00, the moon was still high in the sky in the west. I took this photo later when the sun was rising.

Seven Herbs of Spring

2012-01-07T10:48:00.004+09:00

Another year, another post. Check here for more information.

First Visit of the Year

2012-01-03T15:52:00.006+09:00

We go to Fugakusan-Shoraku-in Jindaiji (we call it Jindaiji) on the third day of every new year. I hang out there and in the botanical gardens throughout the year. It is only a 15 minute bus ride away. It is just one of many places in the area where we can be surrounded by nature.

In Memoriam

2011-12-26T13:53:00.005+09:00

We lost our friend Ivy Terasaka and her young family at Phuket, Thailand in the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. That Grecian horse was a housewarming gift from her.

The tragedy of that tsunami was far-reaching. We made 1000 cranes to deal with the sadness and grief and had them blessed at a shrine. The cranes hung in our house for many years. We hoped to take them somewhere.

After the March 11, 2011 East Japan tsunami, Students Rebuild offered to donate money to Japan for every crane mailed to them. They made their quota early but continued to accept cranes.

I cut a string of 100 cranes from the 1000. Then we made 100 new cranes for Japan and strung it with the rest of the cranes that honored the Indian Ocean victims. I had to separate the string of 1000 cranes to fit them in two boxes. Big Sister and I mailed them to Students Rebuild. At the time it made sense. We are united in grief.

Students Rebuild-- Japan Challenge

poster

100,000 cranes came to Japan! Check here.

P.S. I will add photos later.

Motorcycle Santas in Shinjuku, Tokyo

2011-12-24T23:36:00.004+09:00

Papa saw 100 Santas on motorcycles in Shinjuku Tokyo tonight!

Click on the labels below for more posts about Christmas in Japan.

Christmas at Isetan Fuchu 2011

2011-12-24T13:39:00.005+09:00

The view from Starbucks.

Christmas 2011 ad campaign.

Amazing mural on the floor. It's like a big sticker, I'm sure, but it doesn't look like it at all. It looks like part of the floor.

Yuzu Treats

2011-12-23T06:41:00.001+09:00

This freeze-dried yuzu tea has been available all month. Just add hot water. The steamed cake has pieces of sweetened dried yuzu peel on top. I don't have them together, but I could. The tea is sweeter than the cake.

I make my own yuzu tea from scratch, too.

This Year's Yuzu Options for the Winter Solstice

2011-12-22T17:52:00.011+09:00

Three yuzu fruit are placed in the bath on the winter solstice. The cloth bag of yuzu and the packaged bag of yuzu peel is from Tokyu department store. It was sold in the vegetable section of their basement food department.

The net bag of yuzu is from our neighborhood grocery store. It was sold in the fruit section along with the paper of explanation. Kabocha or Japanese pumpkin is eaten on the winter solstice.

Here are the displays at Tokyu Department Store:

Yuzu bath products. Sorry, fuzzy photo.

Shishiyuzu

Yuzu in cloth bags for the bath.

Cut kabocha. I have never seen it sold like this. I like it! Kabocha is very hard to cut. Kabocha is rock hard!

Sample of a recipe with kabocha and adzuki beans.

Click on the labels below for more posts. Especially yuzu.

University of California--yuzu

My First Fugu

2011-12-21T09:25:00.003+09:00

On the right is sushi made with fugu or blow fish. It is topped with red radish and a green stem. Sushi chefs have to have a license to cut and serve fugu . It can be poisonous if cut incorrectly. On the left is a mound of pickled ginger called gari. During the pickling process, dye is usually added to gari to make it pinker.

Store-bought Dried Persimmon

2011-12-18T13:28:00.002+09:00

Click here for a post about drying persimmons.

This Hakusai Gets a Chair of its Own

2011-12-17T11:44:00.007+09:00

150 yen for a full head of Chinese cabbage! Direct from the field.

Click to enlarge the photo and you'll see another, bigger hakusai on the bottom shelf. Can you see the farmer in the shadows? He's minding the store while his wife is home cooking lunch. She left earlier with a cabbage in her bicycle basket. He's in the fields all day except at lunch time and late afternoon when his wife is making dinner. He is 86!

Wall and Fence

2011-12-17T10:55:00.002+09:00

Most garden walls in our neighborhood are made of concrete. There are exceptions like these.

These fences let air pass through. Click to here to see some vents in concrete garden walls.

The Littlest Sakura Tree

2011-12-17T10:18:00.003+09:00

I took photos of this little sakura tree in the spring when it was in full bloom. I pointed out the mark on the wall. It was made from a dirt speck on my camera lens. I took these photos with a different camera.

Look! There is a mark on the wall now! Sakura trees are spectacular any time of the year, aren't they? Click to enlarge the photos. Click here for the old post.

At the Entrance of a Family Restaurant

2011-12-14T08:33:00.003+09:00

It's not unusual to see sinks at the entrances of restaurants. Some convenience stores have them, too. This was at a family restaurant in our neighborhood called Royal Host.

Emergency Number for Children

2011-12-14T08:23:00.003+09:00

Children are on their own a lot here. They walk to and from school and after-school activities. If they run into trouble they should call 110. This was posted at a family restaurant entrance in our area. It could be seen from the inside and outside of the restaurant.

Late Afternoon at Nogawa Koen

2011-12-13T19:19:00.018+09:00

Fall colors continue into December in Tokyo.

Maple leaves,

mostly gingko leaves,

and sunlight in evergreens.

More sunlight.

Click on the photos to enlarge them. Click here for information about Nogawa Koen (Park).

The Lunar Eclipse from Our Rooftop

2011-12-10T23:19:00.008+09:00

The moon's light moving across our rooftop.

The earth's shadow moving across the moon.

Click on the photos to enlarge them. The first photo was taken with a small Panasonic Lumix. The second and third photos were taken with the Canon SLR. A stronger lens and a better light adjustment would have given more detail of the moon.

This was taken with the Panasonic Lumix. The shadow was moving away from the moon.

Neighborhood Trees

2011-12-09T15:30:00.007+09:00

Sakura tree in the park.

Maple tree in a field.

Not sure what this tree is.

A Big Production

2011-12-09T15:08:00.006+09:00

A crane was used to install

this big heater vent. This photo was taken two days after it was installed. Someone was still working on it.