Random thoughts

January 4, 2021 Avril

Drivers here are so considerate … they wait patiently, even if it is their right of way & I am doing some poorly timed jaywalking. No revving of the engines nor rude gestures. What a contrast to Hong Kong where drivers see you in the far distance and immediately start hooting & honking and accelerating!

But cyclists are something else; here they cycle on the pavements even if there is a cycle lane on the adjacent road. Although it is rare that they use their bells, they weave through pedestrians & all is well until the pedestrian, such as me, suddenly changes direction.

I thought at first that there must be a load of vans & lorries with dodgy brakes ,,,, but it seems to be customary to put a chock under the wheel if parking on any sort of incline.

2021 & the only way is up

Out for a walk on a sunny January 1st and looking around rather than at the ground. Tree roots cunningly camouflaged with tarmac caught me out and I fell face first. Cuts & bruises on hands, cuts on my nose & chin and a split lip. But hey, all facial injuries are covered by my face mask …. and I will pay more attention to the ground in future!

My cooking

I promised to share some pictures of my cooking … it is most definitely fusion cooking. Some western ideas but with Japanese ingredients, so not fusion cooking as you know it. I take local ingredients & randomly add stuff until it tastes ok or even good. Unfortunately I still have little awareness of what it is I am adding so must label bottles. My favourite appliance is most definitely the rice cooker … stupidly I refused to buy one in Hong Kong. Lack of workspace/I’ve cooked rice for years etc. It is now top of the ‘to buy’ list.

They all look a bit brown … ! Geoff won’t give me a rating anymore but it would be impossible to recreate anything

Japanese Gardens

A few photos but more to come as we move into Spring

Temples and Shrines

I must confess that I thought the terminology was interchangeable, but I have since discovered that temples are Buddhist whilst shrines are part of Shintoism.

We visited Zojoji Temple, a key temple of the Jodo sect of Japanese Buddhism and was fascinated by the huge number of childlike statues. These are ‘care guardians deities of children’ and are dedicated to the growth of children and grandchildren. They are also memorials to still born or miscarried babies.