Tokyo Heart

Tanabata - The Star Festival

Tanabata – The Star Festival

Today, July 7^th, is the day Japanese celebrate the Tanabata (Star) Festival. It’s not an official holiday, but it has been popular in Japan since the 8^th century when it was imported from China.

This festival celebrates the love of Princess Orihime, the seamstress, and Hikoboshi, a cow herder. As a seamstress, Orihime wove clothes while sitting by the heavenly river, which we know as the Milky Way. Hikoboshi lived on the other side of the river. Their meeting was arranged by her father who was one of the gods. It was love at first sight and they soon married. They loved each other so deeply that Orihime stopped weaving and Hikoboshi allowed his cows to wander freely.

Their carelessness caused Orihime’s father to become angry. As punishment, he forbade them to live together. His daughter begged him to allow them to be together. Although he loved his daughter deeply he only relented to the point of allowing them to meet just once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month, but only if Orihime would begin weaving again and Hikoboshi would tend his cowherd.

When the time came for their first meeting the Milky Way was too difficult for them to get across to each other. Orihime was so saddened that a flock of magpies came to build a bridge for her to cross the river.

Legend has it that if it rains on Tanabata these magpies will not show up and the lovers must wait another year for a chance to meet. The weather forecast for today, July 7, 2020, is cloudy with a small chance of rain in the early afternoon. Will the lovers meet or will a few rain showers keep them apart for another year?

Dirty Hearts San Francisco

San Francisco - a city loved by millions, but it sure could use some cleaning up.

We have met and talked to a lot of people over the years who have visited San Francisco. Many have told us how much they loved their visit here.

San Francisco has been, and still is, a great place to visit. There are so many things for tourists to do and see (locals too, of course) that every day can be a fun filled adventure.

San Francisco also still has some great old buildings - not just towers of glass shining in the sun - but of course, there are plenty of those too. Walking around, looking at the architecture of homes and office buildings, many of which are well over 100 years old, is always a treat. 

Unfortunately, San Francisco has a very dirty side too. 

We spend more months in Tokyo than we do in San Francisco, and while it is certainly possible to find trash in the streets in Tokyo, and the bushes lining some of the streets in Tokyo, it's nothing compared to the carpet of litter that seems to be what San Francisco could well become know for. Of course, the trash has to contend for first place with the number of homeless and beggars that seem to be every 10-20 feet apart as one walks along many of the streets. And, if you're not walking, you'll see the same people (same meaning they have their spots) at many traffic lights, just waiting for the light to stop traffic so they can do their begging walk. I actually saw two of these people do a shift change. One took his sign out of the bushes, the other put his sign in the bushes, they had a few seconds of conversation, shook hands, and one headed "home" while the other took over the corner. 

We also travel a lot. In fact, we just finished a one-month tour of Europe, staying in five countries, and other than Barcelona, where cigarette butts carpet the streets, the cities are clean. I mean, trash is not all over the place, no human feces on the sidewalks, and no overflowing trash bins on the streets. People in Europe are proud of their cities and homes. Tbey keep things clean, just like the Japanese who actually sweep the area in front of their homes daily rather than waiting for the city to do the clean up.

San Francisco - San Franciscans - have you no pride at all? Really? No Pride?

City leaders (Mr. Ed Lee, Mayor of San Francisco, are you and your employees so incompetent or so blase that you don't give a damn? Or are you all too busy figuring out more ways to screw more money out of the citizens and businesses so you can bloat the city employee figures and salaries some more?); citizens of San Francisco, beggars and homeless of San Francisco (although I doubt any of them will read this) - WTF is wrong with you people. San Francisco is such a great city yet you allow it to be befouled. You allow homeless from all over the nation to make SF their base camp (literally, camp). You allow drug needles and human shit to be on the streets. You don't clean up after your dogs.... I could go on and on, but hey, if you people don't care, then why are you living here? Move. Leave. Just don't go to some place where the people still respect each other and still know how to keep their city's streets clean. 

Oh, and speaking of crime (somebody always is), what's up with the lack of policing in San Francisco? Leave your car in a space for more than the two hour limit and those little vehicles that drive around constantly will issue you a ticket faster than you can say "hey!". 

But, have a crazy guy, or a homeless person, or just a common thief walking along the streets pulling on car door handles, or smashing car windows, or wandering onto someone's property, or breaking and entering, or even running around the street naked shouting who knows what, and guess what - there's nary a cop in sight. Maybe the donut shops are too alluring? Or maybe the mayor, #EDLEE doesn't know how to appoint a police chief that knows how to get the police to actually work? 

Okay, yeah, this is a rant, but I think it's a rant you can - and do - hear from many in San Francisco. Just not all of them are willing to write about it.

Come on San Francisco, you can do a hell of a lot better!  You can, can't you?

 

Those Setsubun Beans

With freezing temperatures in Tokyo, and even some snow just a few days ago, it's hard to believe that the first day of spring is just around the corner.

But, February 3 is Setsubun (seasonal division). In its association with Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year) Setsubun used to be thought of as a type of New Year's eve.  This was accompanied by a special ritual to cleanse away all the evil - clean out the bad spirits of the old year -  and drive away disease-bringing bad spirits for the new year

This special ritual is called mamemaki, which means bean throwing (maki can also mean scatter or plant, but in this case the beans are thrown). 

If you want to keep it really traditional the bean throwing should be performed by the toshiotoko of the house. The toshiotoko is the male who was born on the corresponding animal year on the Chinese Zodiac (this year is the year of the dragon), or if there is no toshiotoko the male head of the household can throw the beans. The best beans to use are roasted soybeans, known as "fortune beans (fuku mame). These can be purchased in many stores. The beans are usually thrown out the door, but they may also be thrown at a member of the family wearing a  demon mask (also available in a variety of stores, temples, or shrines), while the people throwing the beans say "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa Uchi!" (Demons out! Good luck in!)

 [Oni (Demon) Mask]

The beans are supposed to do a purification of the home by driving away the demons (the evil spirits) that bring bad luck and bad health. After throwing the beans many people eat roasted soy beans; one for each year of one's life, and one more for bringing good luck for the new year.

Some shrines and temples will have Setsubun ceremonies too where priests and special guests will throw roasted soy beans (some may even be wrapped in gold or silver foil), or small envelopes with money, candies and other small prizes. Some of the bigger shrines might invite celebrities and/or sumo wrestlers. Check a shrine or temple near you to see if any Setsubun ceremony is going on - it's another good Japan photo opportunity.

 

Sports Day - good for the Heart(s)

Oct. 11 - Sports Day - a National Holiday in Japan and since it is on a Monday it means we all got a 3-day weekend to engage in some sports and enjoy the outdoors.

Unless, of course, it's a rainy Saturday to start the weekend. No outdoor sports today, but yours truly did get up and away from the keyboard long enough to head to the gym and get an hour in for a decent workout.  Of course, the berry tart I had at the Cafe-Restaurant Milieu probably made up for any calories worked off at the gym. BTW, if you haven't been to Milieu yet get yourself on over. Not fancy, but very good food and very, very reasonable prices (2,100 yen for 3 courses + coffee!).  And that's at dinner time.  Lunch is only 1,200 yen.

Sunday started out a bit wet, but Mother Nature decided we had had enough rain & she parted the clouds to show us some nice blue sky before noon. With half a day of decent weather left we decided to take a short drive (distance depends on how you go - we opted for the Ome Kaido route - not the shortest, but more interesting than the expressway) out to the Tama River to see if any trees were putting on their autumn dresses yet. Nope - still all pretty green, but the river was running fast & deep & we were able to watch several kayakers (although they call them canoes here) practicing for the canoe races to be held on Monday.  

Below are a few photos of the canoes and their wet riders as they surged through the rapids and around the rocks.

Starting "line" for the canoe races

Practice makes perfect!

Through those gates!  Now back again!

Time for a breather.....

Walking along the Tama is an easy hike (okay, walk) for just about anyone regardless of physical condition (or not). Plan on about 90 minutes for a round-trip walk starting from the free parking lot that is on the west side of the river, up to the fishing area, and back down the other side. More time for stopping and looking - so maybe 2 1/2 hours or so altogether. The east side is fairly flat, all paved, and a very easy walk. The west side has a few ups & downs, some steps, and some areas where the trail is dirt or stones.

You can pack a picnic and stop along the river to watch the activities as you eat your lunch. You may see rafters (yes, you can take a raft ride down the river & through the "rapids"), the boulderers (like rock climbing, but on big boulders), the fishermen (get a license if you're gonna try this), and the kayakers - canoers (canoeists?).

Or, you can buy lunch at one of the restaurants along the river from coffee shops to soba restaurants (this one below requires a hike up a steep hill / steps):

           Soba restaurant on top of the hill

Coming back we opted for the expressway since it was dark (dark at 17:30 in Japan at this time of the year) and quicker - even with a bit of the inevitable traffic jam. Using the express you can get on the Ken-o, which connects to the Chuo or you can follow highway 411 and the signs for the Chuo.

Monday - actual Sports Day - and we decided that a bicycle ride was the way to spend this nice sunny day. Three hours of actual riding, with a stop for a bit of lunch & a cold Asahi Draft added to that 3 hours, and a break to watch the show put on by the 80 year old gentleman who is famous (but we don't know his name) for his Buyoh style dance that seems to be his interpretation of the angst for lives lost in wars (at least that was a bit of the explanation in the newspaper yesterday). He supposedly has been doing this for years & has done his dance all over the world.  

Preparations.....

Up close.....

We left the show a bit puzzled as to the meaning of each dance, but he definitely had an appreciative audience if the paper & tissue wrapped donations tossed his way were any indication.

The fnal hour of our ride took us along the backroads till we came to the junction of the Kanda & Zenpukuji Rivers. We opted to follow the Kanda River and that took us most of the way home till we hit the big fence where access is blocked for flood control construction. But a slight detour and it was home again time - and a nice cold Michelob to wrap up a great Sports Day (whoops, there goe those calories again!).

 

 

Golden Heart

Golden Week - that period of many holidays in Japan - is upon us! For some, the long holiday period started on April 29 (Wednesday) and will stretch through Sunday, May 10. A "hearty" few even took April 27 & 29 off, giving them 16 days of vacation time with only 6 days of actual vacation days used. This year we have 3 consecutive holidays on May 4, 5, 6 after that one day break on the 29th. Most companies are closed for at least these 3 days & many for the whole week.

We figured that Tokyo would be pretty empty, but when we headed for Shibuya on Saturday I was really surprised to see the number of people on the train - it was like rush hour during the week! Mostly young people; mainly students, but a LOT of people.

We were in Shibuya to enjoy dinner with friends at one of our old favorites, a Presto Nobematsu, where Chef Nobematsu serves some of the best Italian food you'll find in Tokyo. For info in English see a Presto on GuruNavi. If you're going definitely reserve and tell him I sent you.

Moving on from a Presto we made our way over to Suidobashi to The Tokyo Club, a small - gotta love your neighbors kinda small - jazz club to hear friend Miyake-san's group, MUJQ, play some good jazz. Miyake-san "moonlights" during the day as CEO of Allianz Life Insurance, and plays a mean jazz guitar in about half a dozen gigs a year.

Sunday morning found us on the road for a trip up to Karuizawa to visit friends. Smooth sailing till we hit the 6 km jam on the Kanetsu. Got through that & saw the next sign that said 35 km jam ahead. Ouch! We decided to get off & take the local highways. More scenic and less stressful than sitting on an "expressay" (more aptly named big parking lot when you're in a big jam).  Took us about 4 1/2 hours to get here, but we enjoyed the drive. Got to Karuizawa in time for an early BBQ on the deck with friends Rick & Mico. Nothing like mountain air, BBQ, and some nice Bordeaux red (remember, wine is good for The Heart) to wind up the day.

A bit of light hiking around the base of Mt. Asama today and a bit more trekking around the cabbage fields (this part of Karuizawa is where much of Japan's cabbage is grown) helped walk off some of that BBQ.   Walking is also good for The Heart! 

Not really looking forward to that drive back tomorrow as predictions are that the "U-turn" (people heading back to Tokyo) is supposed to be heaviest tomorrow. But, gotta do it - haven't figured out how to make the car hover over all that traffic yet!