Just This And That

 I have a hard time thinking of catchy titles for my posts! I know what I want to write, but thinking of a title is hard. That's why this post is Just This And That!

Yesterday, I had to buy allergy medicine. I asked David, but he wasn't sure which one I use. I could have looked online and sent him a photo, but I decided to go out! Sounds so simple, just a 5-minute drive to the drug store, get the medicine, and be home to make lunch!

I got distracted! 

March and April are moving months.  Some companies still move staff from place to place every year or so. This means packing up everything and moving. As I know from experience moving time is a great chance to get rid of things that aren't used or not needed.  People buy furniture that fits in one house but maybe not right for the next place.  If stuff is old, then you have to pay to have it taken to the trash place, but if it's still in good shape, then recyle shops will take it. You might even get a bit of money!

So this time of year recyle shops are full. 

On the way to the drug store is a big recyle shop, I'm still looking for good storage for the kitchen. David and I went in to have a look round, there were some nice things but nothing that would fit in my kitchen. David suggested going to another shop, again lots of nice things but not what I wanted!

We then realised that it was almost midday! And I sill hadn't bought the allergy medicine. Two hours of just wandering around!  

We went to a store that sells groceries as well as medicine, we needed a few things.  Managed to get what we needed, by that time I was really dizzy. I hadn't eaten since about 6am, I think my blood sugar dropped very low. I left David to pay and went to the car!

One thing that made me sad was that there were no cherry blossoms. I thought they had all been blown down by the awful storm we had on Wednesday and Thursday. Today we went shopping in the opposite direction, into the countryside. There were a lot of cherry blossoms! I was happy to see them.

Lots of lovely cherry blossoms

But at the same time, the tree pollen is very bad.

Pollen from the trees

What looks like smoke is actually pollen. No wonder I'm sneezing and my eyes are burning!!

Natural Disasters

 Japan is a country of natural disasters.

There are many earthquakes almost every day; most are too small to feel, but sometimes there are bigger ones. Then there are volcanoes that are active; they just smolder away, occasionally erupting, so we don't forget about them. Of course, some earthquakes trigger tsunamis!

Then there are the weather disasters, typhoons, which used to be at the end of August and September but are getting earlier and earlier. Rains that cause floods and landslides are getting more common. And thunderstorms that shake the house are more normal than they used to be. Last week we had tornado warnings for this area!

I was always grateful that out of all the natural disasters Japan has, wild fires are few and far between. I actually don't remember any in the past 30 years, although I'm sure there have been some.

The summers here are very humid, and I think this stops wildfires from forming. That's just my theory! But between February and April, the land is a bit drier, and the possibility of wildfires is higher. This year has seen quite a few fires!

I was shocked at the size of one wildfire. Thousands of firefighters were bought in to tackle the blaze. Many people had to be evacuated. There was one death reported. 

Another country that I don't associate with wildfires is Korea, but they are battling a massive fire at the moment, too. That fire killed at least 26 people, destroyed homes, and even a 1000-year-old temple.  

I'm saddened by these disasters. Life is hard enough for most people but having to recover from such disasters is hard.  As I wrote on the blog about March 11th earthquake and tsunami, I don't know how people recover from these disasters. 

This post has gotten a bit heavy. Sorry, but these news stories were on my mind.

Just to finish on a lighter note, this was our dinner last night!

Butadon (pork meat) and miso soup

We were eating when David asked what I had written on my blog (he saw me writing earlier). I told them, David and Christopher, about the mouse in the miso soup. Let's just say they both checked their soup very carefully. Me? I was wondering if I had any toy mice lying around....ideas!!!!

Extra Protein In Miso Soup

 I came across an article the other day about a very popular chain restaurant in Japan. This restaurant has over 2000 stores throughout Japan.  The main dish is gyudon, beef cooked in a mildly sweet sauce, flavored by soy sauce and mirin (Japanese sweet sake), served over a bowl of rice. It's a simple dish that is very comforting! 

gyudon and miso soup, I think this is from Hannah's university cafe.

The article was about an incident that happened in January. Apparently, a customer ordered a breakfast set that included miso soup. When the meal arrived, the customer noticed a dead mouse in the soup. Not exactly the best way to start the day.  The customer altered the staff and posted a negative comment on the store's web page. The customer also informed the headquarters of the company and the city's health department!

The company removed the negative comment and didn't say anything about the incident until now! The company apologized and said that the store was closed for a few days to check for cracks where mice might come in! The staff were told to check for unwanted things in the food!  

The image that many people have of Japan is one of a very clean country. Which is true in many ways, there is litter in the streets but not to the extent I've seen in England. Where we live, there is a small problem of people throwing trash on the fields, but not too bad. 

But hygiene in Japan is another thing altogether, at least in my experience.

The incident with the mouse in the miso soup is disgusting, but one factor that was offered as a reason is staff shortages in those types of restaurants; in some places, one staff member is doing the job of two or three people, therefore, rushing to get things done and not noticing things!

One of the worst incidents I've experienced was not in food service but in health care. 

One dentist that I used was short-staffed. There was no receptionist, so when you went in, you called out hello, and the doctor or nurse would acknowledge you. After you were in the chair they would ask your name and get your file. Because of this system, the door between the waiting room and the treatment room was open.  As usual in Japan, the dental chairs were lined up,  with no privacy. At the end of the waiting room was a toilet stall, and the sink was outside. One time when I was waiting, the dental nurse excused herself to the patient she was working on. Went to the toilet, with her latex gloves on, rinsed her hands in cold water, still wearing her gloves, shook off the excess water and went back to the patient, putting her fingers in his mouth. I walked out! I was so disgusted. I never went back to that dentist.

After this incident, I became very aware of the lack of hygiene standards in Japan.

Until the pandemic, food cooked on site in supermarkets, usually fried foods, were displayed without any coverings. A few times I've told staff that the food needed to be removed because somebody had sneezed or coughed over it. The staff would look at me as if I were crazy!

I've read stories of food poisoning because staff at restaurants used the same cutting board for vegetables after chopping meat on it! At home, I'm very particular about this practice. I have three boards and never use the same one for meat and vegetables. My boards get bleached, after which I pour boiling water over them.

I feel so sorry for the customer who was served a dead mouse. I'm glad that he or she reported it, I hope that something can come from it, that restaurants can start to think more about staffing and training staff. 

The dentist that I wrote about is still open; that is scary. I should have reported him but this was many years ago, before phones with cameras so it would of been my word against his!

Coloring And Japanese Number Puzzles

 I thought that having a lot to read would keep me occupied while I waited for Mikey, but there is only so much I can read in one sitting.  I love reading and can easily get through one or two books a week, but I felt I needed something different to do. 

I thought about knitting or crocheting, but wool is difficult to find; there's a knitting boom at the moment!

So what else can I do as I sit and wait while Mikey teaches?  No wi-fi at the community center, so I can't do anything online. I thought about downloading videos from YouTube, but my headphones are broken. 

A stroll through Diaso, the 100 yen shop, gave me a couple of ideas! 

One is coloring. There are these lovely books for adult coloring. I chose one that seemed easy to do, just pictures of flowers. I was amazed at how absorbing it is. I haven't really colored since I was in elementary school and thought the idea of coloring rather childish.  But making the pictures come to life is a lot harder and requires more concentration than I thought it would.  I only do a few minutes at a time because my back starts to hurt but I'm really enjoying it.

The other book I found was a Japanese number puzzle book. Actually, this was Christopher's idea!  You have to figure out where the numbers go to complete a grid. The catch is not repeating the numbers in the small grid and not repeating them horizontally or vertically on the page. Rather challenging but fun, I was rather surprised the other day, I got so into it that 45 minutes passed without me realizing!

My coloring and puzzle book

Also, I try to walk around the gym if it isn't being used, I can do up to 3000 steps, it takes two or three times to get that many. It helps with my knee and hip, if I'm just sitting for the whole 3 or 4 hours I get very stiff!

I'm on the look out for more portable hobbies, but am very happy with what I'm doing now!

Cherry Blossoms

 According to the Japan Weather Association, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom where we live. Today is the start of the full bloom and the start of Hanami, cherry blossom viewing.

I haven't been to a hanami picnic in many years. When the kids were little, we would try to go somewhere with a picnic to see the cherry blossoms and enjoy a nice family time. Most years, we found it difficult to find a place to set up a picnic, and when we did, the time would sometimes be ruined by drunken elderly gentlemen!  After a few years, we gave up. My idea of sitting under the cherry trees, enjoying a quiet family time, versus the reality of having someone come up and yell at me, "Hello, hello," or just acting obnoxious because they were drunk, left me with a bad taste in my mouth for cherry blossom viewing. 

The last place we lived arranged a cherry blossom party every other year (until the pandemic). That was nice. The community leader would order obentos, and even if you couldn't attend, the obento would be delivered to you! We went a few times! It was a good chance to meet the neighbors!

For me, seeing the cherry blossoms means that it really is spring! 

This year we've had a few false starts to spring. A few days of lovely warm weather followed by winter temperatures again.  Today it's nice and warm, the high will be 24 °C, which is very warm for this time of year!  It's usually in the mid-teens!

I've been trying to get out in the garden, just pulling weeds and sweeping up dead leaves. I can't do much but at least 15 minutes everyday, it all helps! 

We have a few trees that are still blossoming. Not sure what, this is part of the learning curve!

beautiful camillias

Maybe azaleas, but I think it's too early!

Some other blossoms

being watched by the cats

The tape on the screen is to stop the cats from opening it. We will have to find a better way to fix this problem, but for now, it's alright!

Japanese Are So Polite

 Or are they?

The idea that the Japanese are very polite often comes up on some of my Facebook groups. Tourists who spend a few weeks here see Japan and the Japanese as examples of how societies should work. There's this idea that all Japanese have wonderful manners, that services in hotels, restaurants and shops are always top notch and that Japan is a country where nothing bad ever happens!

I will admit that I've seen more polite behavior than impolite behavior. In most stores, you are greeted by staff shouting "Irrasshimase", which basically means "Welcome".  At checkout out you are asked if you need a bag or if you have a store card. The tone of language is usually formal and polite, and the staff will smile, even if you are the last customer of the day and all they want to do is go home. This is standard and part of the training for the staff. In my 34 years here, I've never been shouted at by staff or told to hurry up because the store is closing.  In restaurants the wait staff are polite and are willing to answer questions, they are clean, not chewing gum or leaning on the table, both of which I experienced in England!

But what about other people?  People who aren't being paid to put up with customers.  That's a whole other story.

In the news over the past few years, there have been more and more stories of kasuhara, customer harassment. Customers who refuse to leave the store even though it's closed. Resorting to violence and threatening to sue individual staff members. I thought this was just in the bigger cities, but I've noticed that even here in the countryside, staff name badges now just say "Staff". Japan has the philosophy that the customer is king, unfortunately, a lot of customers interpret that as meaning "I can do what I want". It's sad to see how bad this has gotten. I'm sure there have been isolated incidents for many years, but it's gotten to the point that in any city, there is enough of this happening to fill up a news segment!

The other thing I hear a lot on Facebook is how well-mannered kids are in Japan.  Again, there is some truth in that, but I've taught some very bad-mannered kids, and I've also encountered some kids and parents who could do with a crash course in manners.

One thing that I've noticed is that kids don't line up their shoes properly in the entrance. In Japan, shoes aren't worn in the house. My husband told me that as a child he was always told to place his shoes together facing the door, so they are easy to step into when leaving. This is especially true when visiting someone. When I first started teaching, all the kids did this, but over the years, fewer and fewer kids were taught this manner. They would race in and leave their shoes thrown about. I would tell them to go and line up their shoes properly. It's a small thing, but it shows that manners in younger kids are getting worse. In my English school, one of the first English words I would teach was please and thank you. If I offered the kids something, they had to say thank you, in English is best (because it's an English class), but even in Japanese, and repeating the English is alright.  Small things like that really help. 

I think that Japan as a whole is a very polite society. It's built into the language, using different forms depending on the hierarchy. I think being bowed to, and smiled at when you are out shopping or in a restaurant is nice and makes life a bit less stressful. But the Japanese are not perfect and painting all Japanese with the same paint brush can lead to disappointment. Japan is a wonderful country, full of exquisite places to visit. The people on the whole are nice and polite, but there will always be someone who got out of bed on the wrong side and couldn't be bothered.

I've had my run-in with very bad-mannered people. I was elbowed in the stomach when I was pregnant with David by an old lady who wanted to get on the bus before me. The driver came to my rescue and told her off!

I've had kids stand in front of my table and just stare at me because I'm a foreigner, their parents not bothering to tell them that they are being rude.

I've even had kids from the local junior high school outside my house at 3am yelling "Gai jin!" (impolite word for foreigner). 

So, yes, things happen, but on a day-to-day basis, things aren't that bad here.

As a foreigner I try to be polite, I don't want to stick out. But at the same time I have no problem saying something if I see people being rude!

One last thing I would like to point out is from Hannah's graduation last week. Children here go through graduation from kindergarten. The ceremonies are basically the same. One thing that is taught is how to receive your diploma. You walk up to the table, and you bow to the teachers and guests. You stand in front of the table, bow to the headteacher, who bows back, you receive your diploma, right hand first, then left hand and bow again. It's all very formal but very beautiful to watch. There is something in this ceremony that teaches the kids the importance of the educational institute and the importance of the education they have received!

Hannah receiving her diploma

Doing A Little Bit In The Garden

 Actually, very little!

I took a before photo, but the after photo looks the same!!

Before

After

Maybe the after photo looks a bit better.

I really wanted to get as many of those weeds out as possible. But after about 20 minutes of bending and crouching, my knee gave out, and my back was screaming at me to stop! I hoped to go tomorrow, but it looks like rain. Good excuse!

While I was out, David made lunch!

He makes his own karage, Japanese fried chicken. He also cooked up some green peppers with tinned tomatoes and served them with avocado! Very nice lunch!

Nice lunch

After lunch, I went upstairs in our storage place. I realized this week that I have very few T-shirts, so I went hunting for the ones I had put in storage! Managed to find a few but after looking at them I think I might have to buy a couple of new ones for summer!

We just had a surprise visit from one of Hisao's friends!  

Why, when people turn up, is the house a mess, not too bad, but not as clean as I would like! I guess that's a hint!! I should clean up more!  

Husband's friend with his wife and their friend!

We sat and talked for a few minutes. That was a nice surprise!