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Roses from our garden

Jun 3

Posted by js in Family, Japan, Nature | No Comments

We have a climbing rose vine that had looked like a dead stick all winter. As the weather has warmed up it has sprouted leaves – unfortunately in a ridiculously high position threatening to climb over and beyond the wall and where the flowers, now that they have come, are rather hard to see from most places inside.

So when the rainy season kicked in, it was the perfect excuse to cut a few blooms and bring them inside to enjoy before they got battered out of existence.

P.S. okay so a small confession to make – only the white roses are from our garden. The others came from the florist.

Now if only I could stop extended family members from “cleaning up” those fallen petals, which I think give the composition beautiful balance…

Gardening on Greenery Day

May 4

Posted by js in Family, Japan, Nature | No Comments

Today is Greenery Day (みどりの日, midori no hi), a public holiday in Japan for the appreciation of nature. Or at least that’s the official line. In pratcice, today is just another in the series of (mostly) consecutive public holidays that collectively constitute “Golden Week”.

For most Japanese, this period is the longest time off from their jobs in the whole year (about one week all up) so it is an extremely popular time to travel within Japan and abroad. Hotels, airfares and so on are at their peak now during this brief period. With the earthquake and tsunami disasters still fresh in people’s minds, it seems the travel market is relatively subdued this year. In a normal year, a large portion of hotels, resorts, flights and shinkansen bullet trains are completely booked out.

I like to think that I appreciate nature most days, but today by coincidence after a very early start I got stuck into some gardening (without realising until afterwards that it was Greenery Day today).

The main task at hand was to plant a new momiji (maple tree). It turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected as the ground is criss-crossed by very aggressive and strong roots of some kind of climbing vine that seems to spring up all over our garden and beyond (such as from improbably small cracks in the driveway). Once I started digging though I realised a bigger problem: the remains of a rather large tree stump that had been left just below the surface. It was right where I wanted the maple to go, so there was no alternative but to get digging and finally after chopping out a decent creater I was able to (barely) haul the thing out.

Maple tree in the garden

You can see the new maple tree in place (and almost vertical… hmmm…) at the back left of the photo. In the foreground on the far left are some extremely small mini tomatoes that ripen up when they are only about 3 or 4 milimetres across. They have a bit of a tough skin but are tasty, and Keira has taken to helping herself to these any time she spots one that’s turned red.

On the lattice at the back is a vine I’m not sure about and on the right is a climbing rose that has nearly all its new growth up high outside of this photo (and now flowers yet).

At the back beyond the yellow daisies is more or less empty for now, but I’m leaving it alone as there are some curious looking spikes emerging that seem to be some kind of bulb I am guessing. That has been a fun part of this inherited garden, especially with the more distinctive changes in the seasons in Japan compared to Sydney: things that looked like straggly old sticks that I had contemplated pulling out have sprung to life with new leaves and flowers; one of our established trees turned out to be a sakura (cherry blossom) without me even realising when we first moved in.

When Mum was here in April, she planted the three mini tomatoes that can be seen staked up on the right of the photo. They now have some fruit on; none ready to eat just yet but there’s two of appropriate size that just need to ripen up now. To the left of the tomatoes is raddish we grew from seed. As you can see it is far too closely planted, but I’m reluctant to pull the poor things out even though I know the raddishes won’t form properly when they are living this close together. We’ve eaten some of the baby shoots in salads, which has been nice. There’s also some basil to the left of that, near the “keep out” sticks border, although they seem to be strugging (probably at least in part because they were verging on death by the time I transplanted them from a tiny cup that had been living in the kitchen sink, and they subsequently were largely eaten by slugs or something).

With the momiji planted, I also gave one of our pine trees a decent haircut to get it looking more Japanese, trimming downward facing leaves and extraneous new growth and exposing the forms of the trunk and branches.

All in all, a pretty good start to Greenery Day!

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Sakura cherry blossoms at the Odawara Mint

Apr 15

Posted by js in Family, Japan, Nature | 1 Comment

We recently enjoyed a stroll through the grounds of the Odawara plant of the National Printing Bureau (国立印刷局), or what I call Odawara Mint since many of Japan’s yen banknotes are printed there.

It is a short stroll from home and is normally closed to the public for obvious security reasons, but within the grounds are many old sakura (cherry blossom) trees and for one weekend of the year the security gates open to allow people in to appreciate the trees at the all-too-brief peak of their bloom.

We had heard the mint may not open this year, but were pleased to see that it had, although it was less busy than I remember it being when I visited in 2007. Some people were taking quiet strolls, a few were enjoying picnic lunches, and some (us included) bumped unexpectedly into friends.

We also had heard that there would be none of the usual food stands, but some things were still in operation, including novelties such as Japanese yen patterned biscuits and bath towels. Keira was happy to accept some biscuit fragments while making a small donation to Tohoku disaster relief.

Our Spring garden and thoughts on sakura

Apr 13

Posted by js in Impermanence, Japan, Nature, Zen | No Comments

We have been having a lot of fun tidying up our garden and planting flowers, herbs and veggies to enjoy.

We are also fortunate that there are some well established trees too – and right now we are particularly thankful that we have a reasonably sized sakura (cherry blossom) tree. After watching the buds form and getting very excited only about a week ago when the first bud popped open delightfully one morning, we now have a more or less “100% bloom” tree, in that all the buds are now out.

Sakura holds a special place in the hearts of many Japanese people, and mine too, at least in part because it always reminds me of my first trip to Japan (this time of year exactly 15 years ago).

This fleeting time of year when the sakura bloom is normally a time of great celebration, with many revellers enjoying food, sake and general merriment in the midst of the many parks and public spaces that are currently filled with pale pink and white blossoms.

Of course this year is no ordinary year in Japan, with the one month anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster coinciding with the full bloom of the sakura here in Odawara more or less to the day.

There are far fewer revellers this year; in some part because some local governments such as in parts of Tokyo have actively discouraged merry-making. Others may still be mourning, or at least feel it is not yet appropriate to enjoy oneself to excess. No doubt others are still somewhat put off by the ongoing aftershocks – somewhat less of an issue here where we are feeling them less strongly, but I’m sure it’s a consideration for some. Many usual night-time hamami (flower-watching) spots are also effectively closed as the usual night time lighting is being switched off in an effort to conserve electricity.

Personally, while I have full respect for whatever stance people take with respect to this year’s hanami season, my feeling is that while I am certainly not going to be passing out drunk under cherry trees any time soon, I do want to enjoy their beauty and the feeling of peace they bring. (Actually, as an interersting side note, some sake (rice wine) producers from Tohoku are in fact a little displeased at the calls for restraint in this season, since it is further hurting their business: they would much rather people were passing out happily sake drunk on sheets of blue canvas right about now).

Much of what makes sakura special is their ephemeral nature; the flowers have Zen-like qualities of impermanence; fragility. A change of wind or an unexpected rainfall might knock off the blossoms in an instant. And even at the best of times their journey from opening bud to blossom “snow” to street litter takes only a week or two.

To me the cherry reminds me of the soft character of our natural world, but also its rhythmical patterns: next year the flowers will bloom again, albiet briefly. In a similar way, the creakings of the earth and other natural disasters like floods and bushfires visit us from time to time – often with devasting impacts in our communities. To me, this isn’t a time to forget the trajedies that have taken place here or to disrespect them. Rather, I am mindful of the power of the natural world, which is simulaneously all-powerful and yet fragile.

For my part, tending our garden, carefully observing sakura and photographing them brings me some joy in what has been a difficult and stressful time. I hope in some small way my thoughts and photos of make you feel better too.

I’ve also thrown in a bonus picture of our Japanese lounge room, for those who are curious about the innards of our house; not that it entirely fits this post, but it rounds out the number of pictures nicely and didn’t quite justify it’s own post, other than to say I’ve been enjoying scouting for art to adorn the many “hooks and nooks”.

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Visit to Hakone Jijna (Hakone Shrine)

Mar 29

Posted by js in Japan, Nature | 1 Comment

At the end of February, we took a visit to Hakone with our dear friend Asuka. We enjoyed a great kaiseki lunch (which I will write about later), but beforehand we paid a visit to Hakone Jinja – 箱根神社 – a Shinto shrine that is nestled amongst tall trees high up on a hill.

It was a very cold day, with an strong wind blowing (especially down near Ashinoko, the famous caldera lake within Mt Hakone). We went down to the lake to have a look and admire the vermilion torii gate that serves to advertise the shrine’s presence. (There are also large torii gates on the road leading to the shrine.) Actually the best view by far of the red gates at the lake side is from afar, where, on a clear day, you can see the gates, the forest and Mt Fuji in the background – perhaps even reflected in the surface of the lake.

It wasn’t snowing the day we were there, although there was some (dirty and icy) snow lying around in various places where it had been heaped up, and on the rooves of some buildings.

AQ, and the flyjin phenomenon

Mar 22

Posted by js in Family, Japan, Media, Nature | 2 Comments

This is my first post “AQ” (after quake); it is now a little over one since the Tohoku Chiho Taiheiyo-oki Jishinof 11 March 2011.

It is difficult to know where to start writing, which is largely why I have left it so long to say anything at all – though there have been other reasons like having to spend extra time hunting down food, waiting for scheduled blackouts to kick in and spending a good part of each day monitoring the unfolding multi-faceted disaster.

I’m aware that we are lucky here – the Tohoku quake really came as quite a surprise, where the “big one” long overdue for the Tokyo region has thankfully not yet happened. Our family is together, and safe (though scared), and while I’m sure the Aussie side of the family would rather us home there, it’s a complex situation and has been hard to know what to do.

Many foreigners have left Japan, some at the recommendation of their governments. For instance some 75% of French citizens are thought to have fled. This has led to a new word entering the lexicon here: flyjin. This is a pun and play on the abbreviation gaijin, an already not-quite-polite term for foreigners (non-Japanese). “Fly” from the English (and rhyming with “gai” or outsider in the original word), plus “jin” for person. This is used reproachfully against those foreigners who have been seen to abandon Japan at its time of greatest need.

I’ve seen plenty of rants on Twitter and elsewhere from long term non-Japanese scornful of those leaving, but I certainly don’t hold anything against anyone deciding either way. It is a very personal choice and depends a great deal on circumstances.

For us, it was a very difficult choice, with a lot of deliberation, but we have decided to stay.

The reality in Tokyo seems to be as it is in Odawara: things are almost “normal”, it’s just that normal isn’t what it used to be. People are still shaken up. A lot of firms have moved operations further south or shut down for a while (e.g. Shangri-La Hotel in Tokyo has closed, as have all the restaurants at the Mandarin Oriental; but meanwhile it is all but impossible to secure a hotel room in Osaka).

People are out in the streets, going about life, and fortunately I can’t seen any signs of irrational panic about radioactive rain from the showers we’ve been having yesterday and today.

There are scheduled blackouts to cope with the power shortages as a result of the loss of the Fukushima capacity; but we’ve been lucky here, at least at Yoko’s parents place. So far despite being advised of the blackout times most days, our power has stayed on (a little birdie told us it’s because we are on the same part of the grid as the local Japan Rail lines, so now that TEPCO has decided to keep trains running during the blackouts, Yoko’s parents house will stay on too…)

We are still having lots of aftershocks, although they are small, at least by the time they get to us. The only significant one since I have been here was centered around Shizuoka (a little way further south of us here) and that was big enough to scare the sh!t out of me (and all of us)… The little wobbles come and go, and we are basically used to them – though they are adding to the background stress levels. And Yoko and I (at least) are feeling shakes that aren’t even there now – maybe something called “earthquake sickness”, a bit like motion sickness from bouncing about in ways your body’s balance system isn’t expecting.

Finally, I can’t avoid mentioning the global media coverage of the recent events. I’m really distressed by the over-dramatised coverage given to the radiation and nuclear risks, and feel very sorry for the real victims of the earthquake and tsunami who have already been largely forgotten by the media. Of course I’m concerned about what is going on at Fukushima and following facts very carefully; there just don’t seem to be any reputable science-based reports suggesting any grave risk to health for the people of Tokyo and surrounds. I’ve seen too many outrageous reports to remember, but there is a wiki Journalist Wall of Shame has been compiled in relation to the quake.

As a result of this media coverage, I’m melancholy about the perceptions “outside” people are likely to have of Japan in the future. As we approach the peak sakura cherry blossom tourist season, I hope non-Japanese continue to visit; to live here; to enjoy the food and rich culture; to form business relationships, friendships and more.

And I hope for peace for those directly affected by the tragedy.

Changing of the seasons

Mar 2

Posted by js in Family, Impermanence, Japan, Manly, Nature, Zen | No Comments

One of the things I have always liked about Japan is how actively people participate in the changing seasons. Despite the majority of Japanese living in cities that have long since lost a lot of real nature, there is still a strong appreciation of the changing seasons and for example the flowers, foods and fine artworks that represent them.

This is something I would miss if I lived in a place like Singapore, where the seasons do not change so much. In Manly, I mainly think in terms of “beach weather” and “not beach weather” although of course do enjoy things like the first warm breezes of spring; “southerly busters” and thunderstorms after a hot summer day and flannel flowers, wattle and other signs of seasonal change in the wildflowers.

Australia splits its seasons exactly every quarter on the first of the month, so 1 March sees in the first day of autumn. Japan, however, starts its spring rather earlier and so back on the 3rd of February we celebrated setsubun (節分) – literally “seasonal division” but usually meant to refer to the day before the start of spring.

One of the key aspects to celebrating setsubun is a bean-throwing ritual that is thought to cast out evil from the past year and clear the way for the year ahead. Sometimes these beans are thrown at shrines but it has historically also been a common practice at home (although I understand less so now than it was in the past).

In the household version, an evil-looking mask (representing the evil spirits) is donned by the head of the household while the other household members vigorously throw fistfuls of roasted soybeans at him.

Since the oni (demon or ogre) is sometimes represented by the male in the household who was born in the corresponding animal year in the Chinese zodiac rather than the head of the household, I also wore the mask – being a “rabbit” myself. Keira pelted me pretty well.

The bean-throwers shout “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (out with the demons, in the with good luck).

It is also customary to eat one roasted soybean for each year of one’s life, plus perhaps an extra for good luck, though we all just settled on a few each.

The crunch of soybeans underfoot was still being occasionally heard a few days later, as despite best efforts to clean them all up they seemed to reappear every now and then.

Earlier this week we experienced haru ichiban – the first strong wind of the spring. We had a 23 degree day, though it is now cooler again and some rain has come along after an almost completely dry winter. Since it has now started to warm up, I don’t think we will see any significant snow in Odawara this year unfortunately. It did snow here very lightly one day, and nearby Hakone has received some heavier falls. Tokyo also had an unexpected 5 cm overnight snowfall that caused some minor chaos.

Another common practice during setsubun is to eat an entire sushi roll while facing that year’s lucky direction, without taking a break or saying a word. These extra-long sushi rolls are called ehoumaki. We did not do this, but did see a lot of them for sale at the local Robinson’s department store as well as plenty of ehoumaki-themed produce such as roll cakes shaped and coloured to look like sushi.

Meanwhile, I have been enjoying some early spring foods, such as sansai (山菜) mountain vegetables, nanohana, and other bitter vegetables. The plum blossoms are beautiful and still going strong. It is not long now until arguably Japan’s best display of the changing of the seasons – the sakura cherry blossoms – come into being.

Park and Odawara Flower Garden

Feb 24

Posted by js in Family, Japan, Nature | 3 Comments

Plum trees in bloom at Odawara Flower Garden

On the weekend I did what any responsible father would do and went in search of some good, clean outdoor activities to enjoy with Keira and Yoko. So I did the best I could under the circumstances here, and headed for a large park to play in the EMF radiation of several high voltage power lines and imbibe the smoke from the Japan Tobacco factory and the local council’s main incinerator where all sorts of garbage – including lots of plastic and other nasties – are burnt more or less continuously. Thoughtful urban design really.

On the upside, Keira enjoyed riding her scooter around the 325 metre circular track as well as watching some remote control cars being played with by big “kids”. It looked like a reasonable place to have a picnic too, on a warmer day, and if you forget about the smoke and power lines.

There is a park centre here with some interesting looking craft activities available. The day we visited there was a group making baskets and other objects out of sticks. They looked quite attractive as holders for fruit, plants and so on.

Adjacent to this park is the Odawara Flower Garden where plenty of plum trees were in full blossom. Unfortunately I only had my iPhone and no decent camera plus the weather was a little unfavourable, but I’m sure you can get the idea. I particularly liked some of the weeping plum specimens – Prunus mume ‘Fujibotanshidare’ for instance.

Keira enjoyed running along the paths between the trees and spontaneously sat by a small lake. I didn’t get a chance to frame a decent photo, but it was still a cute sight seeing her looking out at the trees and water (and electricity towers…)

Yoko enjoyed a quality meal (sausage on a stick). Okay, I concede I ate about half in the end too since it was warm and surprisingly edible.

After the garden we perused the small market onsite which operates each Sunday selling flowers and locally grown fruit and vegetables at very reasonable prices. We came away with a sizable collection of leafy vegetables, gobo, kiwi fruit, citrus fruits, shiso furikake and various other things that only came to a round ¥1,000 in all ($12).

Planting onions down at the mini farm

Jan 24

Posted by js in Family, Food, Japan, Nature | No Comments

Keira celebrating her recently plucked daikon

Hiromi and I planted out 150 red and white onions in the little family hatake (farm plot). They should be ready for harvesting in June, or thereabouts.

There is already a good variety of salad leaves including a lot of my beloved rocket, and we’ve been enjoying these fresh organic salads for breakfast.

Keira was keen to help too – managing to rake up some of the onions we had carefully planted. And pulling up some kabu (Japanese turnips) from which we make tasty pickles, as well as a large daikon (Japanese white raddish).

Looking back at the onions I planted, I could see I am not ready to take over the reins to be a fully-fleged Japanese farmer any time soon. Definitely not enough order in my rows and the whole thing looked a bit chaotic and haphazard. Still, Hiromi appreciated my efforts and I am sure they will taste just as good when the time comes for harvesting.

Abandoned farms in Japan

Jan 7

Posted by js in Food, Japan, Nature | No Comments

Harvesting mandarins in Odawara

Harvesting mandarins in Odawara. Image from Kyodo Photo via Japan Times.

Japan is facing an aging population as well as birth rates that are virtually the lowest in the world: Japan is ranked 220 out of 221 countries according to the CIA World fact book for birth rate (only Hong Kong is lower).

The low birth rates combined with the tendency for young people to seek out non-agricultural work means that all over Japan there are farms being abandoned.

Rather than let the land go to waste, it is usually desirable to have someone make some use of it. My Japanese family have maintained part of a tiny hatake or neighbourhood farm plot at the end of the street. I’m not acquainted with the financial aspects of the deal, but as far as I am aware no money changes hands, although the various neighbours who share out the space exchange surplus vegetables and herbs with each other throughout the year.

I also remember reading last year about an American family who was enjoying a rural life in Yamanashi, a mountainous area near Mt Fuji famous for its fruit such as pears and grapes. They were staying rent-free on a farm because the owner would rather have the farmhouse occupied and land put to use than it be allowed to go to ruin. Additionally, the family had several children and the local government pays a per-child allowance to live there. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find the original story to place a link here, as it was quite an interesting read.

Meanwhile, nearer to home, today’s Japan Times has an article about mandarin farms in my (new) hometown of Odawara. I have on several occasions thought about helping out our friend Hiroi-san who has a mikan (mandarin) farm in the hills near Odawara Hilton. While I would still like to give that a try, it turns out there is also a volunteer group that is helping to harvest the local mandarins from abandoned farms. I have sent off my contact details to the NGO that organises the harvesting, BeGood Cafe, so we will see what happens.

Edit: I found the above mentioned article about Homesteading in Japan which I found worthwhile reading (both originally and when I re-read it just now).