The Japanese Emperor's Birthday

Today is another public holiday, it's the Emperor's birthday.  It's known as Tenno Tanjobi (天皇誕生日). It's a celebration to honour Emperor Naruhito.

The Emperor's Birthday is one of the few times people can enter the inner grounds of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Visitors gather to wave flags and listen to the Emperor deliver greetings from the palace balcony.

The holiday is tied to the reigning emperor; the date changes when a new emperor ascends to the throne. When Emperor Naruhito succeeded Emperor Akihito in 2019, the holiday moved from December 23rd to February 23rd. I liked having December 23rd as a national holiday, an extra day to celebrate Christmas.

When Emperor Naruhito ascended to the throne, not only did the official birthday holiday change, but the era changed.

Japan uses the Western (Gregorian) calendar and the traditional Japanese era system, known as gengo (元号) or wareki (和暦). In this system, each emperor's reign defines a new era. The first year of an era is called gan-nen(元年), followed by year 2, 3, etc. We are now in Reiwa 8. This system is used on government forms, driver's licenses, tax documents, and even some business paperwork. At the hospital I go to, I'm asked to verify my ID by stating my date of birth, which is Showa 37, 1962. The problem is that I never remember it! I had to look up the year to make sure I got it right!

Recent eras are Showa (1926-1989), Heisei (1989-2019), and now Reiwa (2019-present).

A few years ago, I visited a museum that had these jars displayed.

The left hand one says the last air of the Heisei era, the right hand one says the first air of the Reiwa period.

Even though most people use the Western calendar today, the era calendar remains culturally significant today. The system connects modern Japan with centuries of tradition. It reminds people that each era marks a new chapter in the nation's story.

Just Another This And That Post

 My brother has been updating me on Dad's situation.

The first update was at 11am, Japan time, which was 12 hours after the fall. Dad was sitting up waiting for results from blood tests and X-rays.  At 9:30 the same evening, they had moved Dad to an Acute Medical Unit (AMU). At least there, he had a bed; he was waiting on a cardiologist to see him. This morning at 8:30 am, he was moved to post-trauma care for cardiology. In between all these moves, they have lost Dad's phone!

I'm honestly shocked at how awful the situation is in the UK for medical care. I've seen the headlines, but I  know that headlines are many times are exaggerations, just take the worst case and make it look like it's the norm. But maybe there is some truth in the situation with the National Health Service. Maybe it's time to really look at the whole institution and start again. Maybe looking at countries that have good health services and see what can be adapted to the UK.  When the NHS started, just after the war, it really helped those who were poor to have access to doctors and hospitals. Before, only those who were wealthy could afford health care. It looks like it's back to that situation again: those with money can go private, everyone else has to struggle through an underfunded and understaffed institution.

I really hope Dad will be alright! It's so hard being here, but I have no way to get to the UK. Also, I'm not sure what I could do there! I'm glad that my brother is taking care!

Here we are dealing with dentists! Both Christopher and David have had problems with their teeth! Christopher is having a root canal done; it takes at least 7 to 8 appointments to get it finished. David had a tooth extracted last Tuesday; he's been in pain with it since then!  Today's lunch was curry, nothing hard, but he couldn't eat properly! He called the dentist, who told him to come in right away! It looks like the cavity was infected. They gave him a local anaesthetic and cleaned out the area. He came back with pain meds and antibiotics. David said that he was glad that he lived in Japan, at least he didn't have to wait to see the dentist!

David being dsft with the cats!

Even though it's still February, the weather is very nice, more like spring.

We have a load of blossoms on the front of the property. I think they are plum blossoms.

These photos are from last week, but they still look good today!

Very beautiful.

I decided to go out for a bit; the garden really needs doing, and I seem to have the most free time! I picked up some of the trash that was lying around. I got Christopher to move some of the branches that had been cut down! Hopefully, we can burn some of them next week!

I really have to go out every day, just do a bit at a time! I hope the nice weather continues, but the forecast is for rain next week!

England's National Health Service

When I arrived in Japan in the early 1990s, I was surprised to find out that health care wasn't free.

Part of that was my own naive thinking. Even though I had spent some time in the USA, where health care is very expensive, I had never really thought about paying for health care in Japan.

Between the two extremes of the USA system, where if you don't have good insurance, getting sick or injured can put you in debt and the free services in England, I've found the system in Japan is a good middle ground.

We pay into the national health insurance. The amount that you have to pay depends on your income. At the moment, my income is very low, about 20,000 yen a month, £100, so I pay 2,000 yen, £10 pounds a month. At the hospital or dentist, I have to pay 30% of the bill.

A few times when the bill has been more than I can pay, I've talked to the accounts office and set up a monthly payment. I did this when my mother-in-law was in the hospital for almost a year. When I was given the bill, I told them that I couldn't pay and asked for help.

The services here are good and quick. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I joined an online support group based in the UK. There are support groups here, but I didn't think I could communicate or ask questions in Japanese. Within a month, I had been diagnosed, had a lot of tests done, had my teeth checked, had a mastectomy and was back home. One lady in that group was diagnosed at the same time and was still waiting for follow-up tests! This was pre Covid.

The reason I'm writing this and why this is on my mind is that my Dad called last night, at about 11 pm, Japan time.

He had fallen down while he was out shopping. One staff member in a building society ( similar to a bank, but is owned by the customers, not shareholders, they deal with loans and mortgages) saw him, and helped him into the shop where he could wait for the ambulance to arrive. My Dad didn't have his hearing aid, so the lady was relaying the information to the paramedics. When she had finished doing that she spoke to me, telling me that she hadn't seen my Dad fall but had found him on the floor. She then said that the paramedics would arrive in about an hour!

I was shocked; this isn't a remote area, and it's not in the middle of nowhere. The nearest hospital with an A&E (accident and emergency room) is a 20-minute drive away, with sirens and lights, making it about 10 minutes away.

After I finished talking to Dad, I called my brother and asked him to check on Dad. My brother doesn't live near, but nearer than me, at least in the same country. I told him about the one-hour wait, he said that it is quick; sometimes you can wait anywhere from 4 to 8 hours.  I'm wondering what if it's a fatal injury, a heart attack or stroke, do you still need to wait for hours to get help?

We live in the middle of nowhere, the nearest hospital is over half an hour's drive away, but when David collapsed, an ambulance arrived within 10 minutes. 

At 11am, Japan time, my brother sent me a message saying that Dad was waiting for X-rays and blood tests. That's 12 hours since the accident! I can't imagine waiting that long!

I struggle with being in Japan, basically language and culture barriers, some of which are in my mind and not real. But after this, I'm glad to be here, at least the health service here is quick and thorough. There are long waiting times in bigger hospitals, but not 12 hours! The longest I've had to wait was about 3 hours. 

I've seen news articles about the problems with the NHS, but I always thought they were exaggerated, but maybe not!

I'm waiting to see how my Dad is, why he fell, this is the second time this year. I guess at 88 these things are going to happen, but it's a worry!

Dad, nine years ago!

Last Part of Of Our Trip

 I didn't have a chance to write yesterday, just very busy with classes!

After Burger King, we got the bus back to Tenjin Station.  Hannah wanted to go to Bookoff, a recycle bookstore, near the station. She is always looking for books to help with her study and research. 

As always, Google Maps and reality were different.  The few-minute walk from the bus stop to Bookoff was more like 15 minutes. One problem was the crowds, just so many people, plus it started to rain. A lot of people with umbrellas meant dodging around or getting hit by an umbrella, also there were a few people riding bikes on the pavement! I got hit twice by bikes!

I am really impressed by the street art in this area. We cut through an arcade to get to Bookoff. There were some interesting statues. The arcade reminded me of the UK.

Hippos

I don't know what this is, but it's interesting.

The arcade

Then there's a cubed tree, Hannah said it's a LEGO tree!

Cubed tree.

We finally got to Bookoff. I was tired and hot. Outside was very cold, but inside was hot. Fortunately, there was a bench near the entrance, I sat there and had some water. Christopher and Hannah went to have a look around.  Hannah found a few books that she bought; I'm not sure what Christopher bought.

After that, we were all rather tired, a bit wet and cold. It was time to head back home. 

We made our way back to the station. There are only 2 platforms, so finding the right one was easy! We usually use the JR train, which goes to Hakata Station, which has 14 platforms, including the Shinkansen platforms. Where we usually get lost!

We used the local train to get back. We could get seats! 

We got back to Kurume but had just missed the bus. We had an hour to wait, but I was too tired to walk around anymore, so we went to Mr Donuts to get a little something!

A little treat!

We got back home about 7 o'clock. 

I had a great day, but it was a lot of walking for me, over 10,000 steps!

I'm looking forward to more adventures like this! I just need more money to make them happen!

A Trip To Fukuoka Art Museum (Part 3)

 I asked Hannah to find a place for lunch before we went on Saturday. I know that trying to find a place when we are out ends up with a lot more walking! She found a Burger King nearby. Plus a Cat Bookshop. Of course, we had to check out the Cat Bookshop.

To get to the bookshop, we had to meander through a nice little neighbourhood, full of quaint houses, little shops and cafes.

There weren't many cars, but a lot of foot traffic.

One of the little alleyways.

A cafe.

A Turkish cafe.

A sign for the Cat Bookshop

The alleyway where the bookshop is.

The Cat Bookshop.

On the wall outside the bookshop.

We couldn't take photos inside, which is a shame. I was surprised at the number of books available on cats. Most were in Japanese, a few English ones and a couple of them in other European languages. I guess cats are popular worldwide.

Christopher bought me a book. I'll post about it later.

After the Cat Bookshop, we walked another 10 minutes to find Burger King. 

This sign was on the door.

Funny!

Burger King was packed. It was lunch time, and it looked like there were a lot of orders for the Uber Eats delivery service. 

We had to wait for about 20 minutes, which I was very happy about, a chance to sit down for a bit!

Lunch

I had a simple set, Christopher and Hannah had a bigger set meal. Not only a burger and fries, but chicken nuggets and apple pie as well!

While we were waiting for our meal, Hannah showed me what she had bought at the museum.

How to write hieroglyphics and a soft toy

After lunch, we went back to the station to do some shopping. I'll try to write that up over the next couple of days. I have to make lunch now!

A Trip To Fukuoka Art Museum (Part 2)

 One thing that I like about Japan is the way the old and the new go together seamlessly.

Opposite the Fukuoka Art Museum is a shrine with a stunning tori gate. This shrine was founded in 1749. Next door is the NHK broadcasting studio, which was built in 1992.

The tori gate

The NHK building

In the top photo, you can just catch a glimpse of the building through the trees on the right. It shouldn't work, but somehow it does!

We finally made it to the museum.

The exhibit we went to see.

Interesting sculpture outside the museum

The museum is also a newer building. It was built in 1979 but has undergone many renovations; the last one was in 2019.

One thing I was very happy to find was a place to sit down. Walking is still hard on my back and legs (but easier than a year ago!), having somewhere to sit for a few minutes really helps!

It was 2000 yen to enter, about £10, not too bad!

We could take photos of the exhibits, no flash photos, though, so some photos are a bit dark.

The hair on this piece is amazing; it looked really textured.

This made me smile.

The colours don't show up well in the photo, but they were very vivid.

Of course, we found a cat.

Egyptian cat.

A model of an Egyptian Temple.

An Eygptian Mummy, you can still see a bit of the cloth.

We were able to get a photo there as well.

Hannah, me and Christopher.

We spent over an hour looking around. It was very good, very well laid out. It was very busy, though, but not crazy!

We left the museum to find a cat bookshop and some lunch. 

That will have to wait until the next post. I'm having problems with pop-ups. I've tried many things to stop them, but they just keep coming. I'll have to get some help later.