In an attempt to prevent large scale get togethers and parties, this year all public transport had ceased by 10 pm, unlike other years when it runs throughout the night. New Year’s celebrations in Japan are much more similar to our Christmases. A family time with lots of cooking, eating and playing games. One tradition, started in 1951, is to gather around the television to watch a four hour show, the Red & White song festival that pitches male performers…
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…
Another day exploring ….. regardless of cheese & Christmas cake consumption, I can’t have put on any weight this year. Walking, walking & yet more walking. Below are photographs of various temples and shrines in and around Fukagawa Fudodo … I won’t embarrass myself trying to explain each of the photos! Below are photographs of traditional small shops and restaurants Above … Oysters for sale. And traditional sandals to wear with a kimono In local neighbourhoods, the streets are decorated…
Our destination for Christmas Day was the Rainbow Bridge … but alas no pot of gold at the other side! And Rainbow Bridge is one of the landmarks easily visible from our new apartment; photo to follow after we have moved. The Rainbow Bridge, unlit during the day, crosses one of the main navigation channels of the Port of Tokyo, and carries road traffic on two levels and a driverless train on the lower level. And importantly, it has a…
As I am sure most of you know, Christmas is not a celebration here in Japan; it is a regular work and school day. Of course businesses recognise a sales opportunity so most of them put up a token Christmas tree and a few decorations. But more and more children are getting into the Christmas spirit by writing to Father Christmas. They receive presents on the foot of their beds … and then go to school! The most popular food…
You may recall, in an earlier post, me mentioning a chime type music that played at 5 pm every day including weekends. In my locked-up-quarantine state I fancily imagined this as an ice cream van even though that made no sense. So on my first day of freedom I made sure I was outside before 5 pm and raced around the corner from where I thought the music was emitting, Nothing. I have since learned that it to tell children…
Omori, situated on the southern edge of the city, is our first home in Japan. Based on what we could see from the windows of our 17th floor apartment (and that is all that we could see during our quarantine) we thought that it was all residential and business. Indeed, rather boring. But freedom and the ability to explore has changed my mind ….. and particularly given my ability to get lost, I have now probably walked around most of…
I knew that my lack of language skills would be a problem, but I have decided that food will be an even bigger problem. I have wandered around a few supermarkets & regardless of language issues, I realise that I don’t even recognise what I see. Everything seems to be packaged to within an inch of it’s life Japanese supermarkets, depending on size, appear to be similar to those in UK in that they sell a wide of groceries, fresh…
We have now been free for 6 days (it seems so much longer) so I thought I would share some initial observations. A new home …. our current apartment is booked up until Jan 13th and rather than move somewhere temporary again (too much moving in 2020) we have been looking for a ‘permanent’ home. Geoff’s employer have contracted a company to help us and this lovely lady booked appointments and drove us around 14 apartments on Friday. And on…
On the evening of 10th December we went out to Akasaka to celebrate arriving in Tokyo, completing 14 days of quarantine and our 37 years wedding anniversary. All three together … I must be a cheap date! But what an incredible meal. We went to a teppanyaki restaurant where the chef cooks using an iron plate, set into the table, in front of us. This is the only meal I have eaten when the chef wanted a photograph of us…