Wow.  Three months went by fast...again.

I hope you have been doing well.  I hope you had an awesome holiday season and an exciting but not tiring New Year!

Too much has happened in the last three month so today I will focus in on Christmas and my New Year's holiday....

I use to love watching a Charlie Brown Christmas or How the Grinch Stole Christmas on TV when I was a kid in the USA but this year in Japan guess what was on TV!

Although only about 1% of Japanese claim to be Christians, Christmas is none the less one of the most popular foreign holidaysin Japan with cakes and teeny tiny Christmas trees. 

(Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan.)  

Winter vacation usually starts from the 29th and goes on till about the 4th.  (It is a bit longer for students though.)

I took a pretty long holiday.

The 23rd to today!

:-)

Here's what else I ate during the New Year holiday:

in Nagasaki

"Osechi" is a boxed meal that is filled with dishes that are made to last for a few days so that housewives don't have to be constantly cooking...we are supposed to let the kitchen rest... but you know how things are....it really doesn't end up that way!

The white bowls with the white round rice cakes on top are called "ozoni".  This is a soup that you put the rice cakes in.  Each region in Japan has their own flavors.  Osaka is miso based.  The city where my  mother is from (Fukuoka) has a clear fish/seaweed broth and in Nagasaki (where my husband is from) it is made with a seaweed and chicken broth and has lots of vegetables in it...which is actually quite unique in Japan.

I still have not mastered the Nagasaki style...

Rice cakes also show up as decorations with little mikan (like tangerines) on top.

The above are the decorations my mom had.

The flowers must include"sho-chiku-bai":

Pine-Bamboo-Plum blossoms (or Japanese apricot)

It is hard to see all three but they are there!

Speaking of New Year decorations, 2012 is the year of the dragon and this is my dragon at home!

This year I have made a motto:

Keep it simple.

and my NewYear's resolution is:

Do!

Combining the two means lots more de-cluttering this year!

I can't believe no matter how much 2stuff" I throw away there's still tons more.

Today I threw away old yellowed cards and envelopes and organized the ones that I have like so:

I had so many categories that I couldn't find the right cards when I needed them the most....I'd just keep buying and buying....

(the postcard with the girl in the kimono is something I bought in Kyoto but I do not know who painted it....)

If anybody out there would like to trade postcards please let me know!

Also, if you have any questions about my de-cluttering experience please leave a comment.  I will be posting more about my motto "keep it simple"soon!

Until then, I hope you have a wonderful January and a happy New Year!

the best stationery itemsI used in 2010

There are several things in this world that help me release stress.

One of them is buying stationery.

Stationery can be divided into various types…today I would like to focus on paperclips and notebooks.

For work and for my “research” I think I have settled on the Cornell Method Note that can be bought in Japan through Gakken.

(http://www.gakkensf.co.jp/lineup/cornell/index.html).

Kokuyo, the largest stationery/office equipment company

(http://www.kokuyo.co.jp/), has many notebooks that I have been using for my book diaries for the past 10 years or so.

http://www.kokuyo-st.co.jp/stationery/campus/). 

(By the way, if you understand Japanese, the Kokuyo website currently has videos of Ryuichi Sakamoto talking about Ecology and Creativity. From the second video, Everett Kennedy Brown appears to talk about his experience in Japan etc.  and what people can learn from Nature.  His website is here:

http://www.brownsfield-jp.com/about)

This year, my schedule book is from Muji (http://www.muji.com/) and I just found out that they have apps for the iPad and iPhone too.

The scheduler comes with a canvas type cover that I am thinking about dressing up with iron-ons later.

I added a trim with decorative masking tape as well as ribbon bookmarks.

The checkbook-like notebook on the right is for the months and the notebook on the left is for the weeks.

I think this will be very easy for me to use this year and I am looking forward to filling it up with fun events!

More notebooks that I really liked last year and kept buying for various reasons were:

The one on the left is from Midori (http://www.midori-japan.co.jp/md/).

The pink one in the middle is one that I found in a store in Kyoto called karankoron (http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/karancolon/index.html).  My favorite from last year is on the right.

It is from Tsubame Note and this series comes in all sorts of sizes and shapes (http://thinkbeforesearch.com/) and the pages are perforated but sturdy so they don't fall apart.

Now, for paper clips...

My favorite elephant shaped ones and fruit shaped ones are not here but this is to give you an idea of what is out there and what I actually use. 

I use these kinds of paperclips as often as I can because I read somewhere that the most circulative stationery is the paperclip.  

This means that more than any other stationery, the paper clip is the least likely to stay in one place.  It is reused and passed on to people so you never know where your paperclip is going to end up!  I figure if that is the case, why not send around a bit of happiness and excitement too?!

And last but not least one of my most favorite items carries my paperclips and post-its...

(http://www.samiraboon.com/wawcs0116335/furoshiki_shiki.html)

It is an amazing piece of vinyl that I bought at the Nagasaki Museum a while ago and it is awesome.  I bought a larger one for my receipts too.

Have a nice day!

http://cementdesign.com/index2.html

what did I see this autumn?

Nagasaki was beautiful in the autumn.

The bay of Nagasaki was peaceful this day.

One of the most unlikely places to see a gigantic Christmas tree might be Kyoto. But it was pretty.

I went to Inari Shrine (Kyoto, Fushimi) with some friends.

We also visited Tofukuji in Kyoto. I enjoyed Momijigari...looking at the beautiful autumn leaves.

It has been a long time since I have taken pictures of flowers...

Another post about my New Years resolutions will be posted in a few hours! I hope you are having a wonderful OMISOKA (last day of the year) today!

an overview of my weekend in Nagasaki...

I haven't been able to check out many blogs this past week, I'm very sorry for being a "bad blogger".

I jumped back into my work schedule after returning from Nagasaki...and I also had a job interview! Yes, I am currently hoping to get a job where I can use my English skills and previous experiences as a teacher and in book sales.

I did my best and if providence is willing I will have a second round of interviews later this month...

Let's see what happens!

Now, here is what I did in Nagasaki...again, apologies...I wasn't able to take very many photos.

It was raining when we reached Nagasaki last week. There is a famous song in Japan...

sung by

Kiyoshi Maekawa titled "It Was Raining Again In Nagasaki"

It was a bumpy flight sometimes but we had a smoooooth landing...

There was a very strange looking (and gigantic) bowl of noodles in the airport to greet us.

It was supposed to be a model of the local delicacy called "chanpon" but it looks nothing like the real thing!

Here is a picture of the real thing...the picture doesn't capture the actual deliciousness of the dish though...sorry!

Chanpon is a bowl of noodles in chicken and pork broth with cabbage, bean sprouts, shrimp etc...
It is a combination of Japanese and Chinese food.

There are many Chinese descendants living in Nagasaki and that is why a lot of the Buddhist ceremonies and other festivities in Nagasaki have a very China-like atmosphere.

For example usually cemeteries in Japan are quiet...but the first summer after a loved one has passed away, in Nagasaki cemeteries...do not be surprised if you hear a lot of people lighting firecrackers. The loud crackling sounds are supposed to scare off bad spirits.

Lots and lots of firecrackers!...this is from the Chinese culture that has become a part of Nagasaki.

(I'd show some pictures from 2 years ago, but I'm not sure everyone would be interested in seeing me in a dark cemetery lighted by an orange-ish flame...;-))

...

Speaking of flames....since it was raining most of the time that we were in Nagasaki and because our main purpose of being there was to "commemorate" the 2nd year after my father-in-law's death, we didn't go out much. So with the couple of hours of free time, I read some of my husband's old manga that he had in his room.

Hinotori (the Phoenix) by Tezuka Osamu.

All 5 episodes are set in different times but the main character, the Phoenix, appears in all of them.

I wanted to bring these back with us but our suitcase was full...so next time I will try to post more about this epic tale of life!

...

In Japan there are many memorial services that are tied in with both Shinto and Buddhist religions.
There is the "tsuya" = kind of like a wake
the shonanuka=a memorial after the seventh day of passing
the shijukunichi=a memorial after the 49th day
the isshuki= a year after
the sankaiki = "san" means 3, but in this term it is actually the second year after...

I know, VERY confusing.

This year was the "sanakaiki" memorial service, the second year since my father-in-law passed away.

We listened to a Buddhist monk chant for about 40 minutes. My mother-in-law, my husband and myself had front row seats. I could hear people getting restless in the back...
I used this extremely long chant to "meditate". I closed my eyes, held my buddhist beads (like Catholic rosaries) and concentrated on my father-in-law's smile.

If someone stands in front of you, or waves their hand in front of your face when you have your eyes closed...you can tell, can't you? You can feel their presence without having to open your eyes...

...I had my eyes closed but I KNEW someone ELSE was there, right in front of me. Unless, the Buddhist monk was doing an unexpected jig around us...


Of course I can't be sure, but I wasn't scared. I felt calm and rather peaceful.

After the chanting, our party of 23 people sat down to eat a huge lunch.

Some relatives stopped by my mother-in-laws home. I had to shuffle around in the kitchen to prepare things to eat and drink. I can't cook, at least not for relatives...and ordered chanpon and other dishes from a local restaurant. I did cut some fruit though! ;-)

(My own "story" reminds me of a book I am looking forward to reading that should be released sometime this September. It is by Marie Mutsuki Mockett and she has written a very interesting essay about Buddhist funerals and Japanese society. Please click here to read it.)

...

..and then the day we had to leave Nagasaki...it wasn't raining anymore!

...and from the car ride to the airport I was able to take a few pictures of the beautiful countryside.

Nagasaki grows a lot of fruit and vegetables... some people have asked me about the effects of the nuclear bombs...they wanted to know if it was safe to eat food grown in Nagasaki..."isn't the radiation supposed to last for a long long time?" they asked me.


There was a news article recently about how a researcher found that people who were in the area of the bombings still carry some radiation in their cells. However, since the bombs went off in the air and not on impact with the earth it is said that there is not enough radiation in the soil to be lethal.

...

The airport is an hours drive from Nagasaki City...in Omura City (Nagasaki Prefecture).

It is has recently been renovated! it is small but it's sparkly clean!

AND there is a new lounge!

This is what I saw from the lounge. You can see some of Omura City at the foot of the hills and the Omura Bay.

Before we boarded our plane back to Osaka, I noticed the green Nagasaki sign right behind our airplane.

It looks like our airplane is being sucked on by a huge elephant snout!

LOL

Hope you have a great weekend!

The Biwa or The Loquat

This is for all the wonderful comments and questions I have received recently, especially about this mysterious fruit.

I wish I could send everyone a real box of biwas....

This box was sent from Nagasaki.  Nagasaki is in the south western part of Japan, on an "island" called Kyushu.  Nagasaki is at the north western tip of Kyushu.... in other words,

fairly warm but lots of ocean breeze and lots of rain.

My hand is not extra huge or extra small so you get an idea of how big the fruits are...
The skin is thin, like an apricot or peach.

The texture of the fruit is similar to that of an apricot but the flavor is closer to (I think) a sweet pear.

The fruit is not sour even when it isn't ripe.  You know you have a "not so ripe" batch of fruit when the the biwa does not have any sweetness...

Lots of Vitamin A.

The biwa leaves are used as tea, it is supposed to be "good for you", but I don't think it is that tasty...

Biwa jello-o (or biwa jelly) is also sold in Nagasaki and is a popular gift in the summer.

I think the fruit got it's name "biwa" because it is shaped like a lute (in Japanese this instrument is also called a biwa).

As I was taking the above pictures just a few minutes ago,I realized how badly my floor needs to be vacuumed. 

Argh.

I will try to post again later today about today's national holiday... Children's Day!

Nagasaki - part 2

                        The view from the inside out.

The Nagasaki City Library is a very nice, very NEW library.  They have a nice amount of fiction and non-fiction books on various genres.  (The books on the shelves looked kind of like what I have at home...which I thought was interesting, and a tad bit disturbing...)

They do need more English books on Nagasaki and Japan but of course, if you can read Japanese, there's tons of books to read on the history of Nagasaki.  

When I visited in December 2008, I spent about an hour or so reading about the REAL inspiration for Madame Butterfly...Tsuru Glover - the wife of Thomas Glover (from Scotland), one of the few foreign business men in Japan in the later 1800s.  Their former residence is also a wonderful place to visit while in Nagasaki.

The brand new library from the outside.

I can't say it enough...Nagasaki is an often overlooked place...please visit if you are ever in Kyushu!

Nagasaki part 1 (Megane Bashi)

Megane Bashi (or Glasses Bridge) is the oldest brick bridge in Japan.  It was the first of it's kind built in 1634.  

The day I took this picture the winds were pretty strong so, there are small waves on the surface of the river.  If there were no waves, then the bridge would have reflected more clearly on the water...making it look like a pair of gigantic  eyeglasses staring right at you.  It is 22 meters long.  In 1960 it was designated as a national cultural asset. 

 If you stand on the bridge or around it and start taking pictures of it, one of the nice citizens of Nagasaki is bound to come forward and explain all of this to you.  It happened to me...twice...  I didn't have the heart to say that I already knew all of that.  The people of Nagasaki are really nice.  I know it is ridiculous to stereotype, but everywhere I went there was always somebody willing to explain the history of the city and it's buildings...and I don't even look like a traveler!

Many people who travel to Japan will visit Tokyo and Kyoto.  Some people will even try to get to Hiroshima...(even Che Guevara has been to Hiroshima!) but in my opinion, not enough people travel to Nagasaki.  One of the reasons is because the bullet train (shinkansen) does not go all the way to Nagasaki.  (There are mainly two reasons for that and I will try to explain that some other day...)  But I still think that Nagasaki, although it is rather inky dinky in size, is a good place to learn about some of the most interesting and devastating times of Japanese history.