Hay Fever

 Hay fever (kafun shou 花粉症 in Japanese) season is so long, from February to May. The main culprits are the Japanese cedar, sugi, and cypress, hinoki, which were planted after World War Two to quickly replace the old-growth trees that were cut down during the war.  Whole areas of the country were planted with these trees simultaneously. The trees reach maturity and peak pollen production after 30 years. So now whole mountains are covered in these trees, and they release pollen at the same time.  

The reason these trees were planted was that they grow quickly and straight, making them easy to use in building houses. However, cheaper imported wood flooded the market, so the trees that were planted were left. 

About 42% of the Japanese population suffers from some kind of hay fever. This is significantly higher compared to other countries, where the rate of suffers is about 10% to 30%.

There is a whole market dedicated to hay fever sufferers. Masks are used by a lot of people. There are sprays to use on your face, special glasses to keep it out of your eyes and of course over the counter medicines and eye drops.

On high pollen days, people are encouraged to dry laundry inside. To remove jackets and coats near the entrance of your home, so you don't bring the pollen inside. And to keep windows closed.

For me I have year-round allergies, but spring and autumn are the worst.  I'm so miserable with itchy eyes, a runny nose, and non-stop sneezing. I want to enjoy the weather in these seasons, as both winter and summer are hard on me. I take allergy medicine every day, but end up feeling sleepy and having a headache! But it's worth it if I can get things done and go out to enjoy the nice weather.

I'm looking into more natural ways to deal with these allergies. Research is showing that a type of tea called Benifuuki may help with reducing the symptoms of hay fever. I'll have to see if I can find that!

Any other ideas?

Where I'm living now doesn't help. The mountain here is covered in those trees, and they are growing in my garden!

It's hard to see, but these are the mountains near our house, they are covered in those trees!

Poverty In Japan

 Most people don't think of poverty as an issue in Japan. 

When I arrived in Japan in 1991, it was the start of the collapse of the bubble economy.  During the bubble economy, everybody considered themselves middle class. This has changed drastically in the past 30 years!

In the 1990s, there seemed to be a disparity between the news, which was full of economic woe, and what I saw. The news would talk of inflation rates, falling yen values, and how people were struggling. I would see lines outside expensive restaurants and shops full of customers buying things that aren't necessary.

Then I came across an article, maybe online, but I really don't remember about an old lady, in her 80s, and her son in his 50s, who starved to death. The article stated that there was only 10 yen in the lady's purse. The police found the lady's diary, she had written, "Today we ate the last rice, I don't know what will happen to us now."  That made me sad and very angry!  How can two people starve to death in a society that is as rich as Japan? 

This was maybe 20 years ago, maybe more. But that story has haunted me ever since.

Poverty in Japan is hidden; there's a cultural tendency to maintain appearances, which can mask the reality of financial hardship. 

According to my research, Japan's poverty rate is relatively high; in 2021, one in six people lived below the poverty line.  That's a lot of people.

Poverty among children is a particularly pressing issue. 16% of Japanese children lived below the poverty line as of May 2017. Single-parent households have even higher poverty rates. In 2021, approximately half of single-parent households surveyed were living in poverty.  This is significantly higher than the OECD average.

 With nearly 20% of the elderly living in relative poverty, which is nearly twice the OECD average, elder poverty is also a pressing issue. Poverty affects women disproportionately, with one-third of women living on their own and nearly half of single women over 65 living in poverty.

I've watched videos showing elderly people (in their 80s) having to work because their pension isn't enough. In some cases, old people have been known to commit petty crimes because in prison, you get a bed, 3 meals a day, and health care!

Poverty affects education. After junior high school, you have to pay for education. A lot of children who are living below the poverty line don't go to high school or college, which makes getting a good job difficult. 

What about welfare? There is a system in place, but it's hard to access. Any assets you have, you have to sell. Each city will have its own criteria, but most places will check into your bank or postal savings. I've read that most cities will make you sell anything they consider luxury; high-end TVs fall into this category, as do cars and motorbikes. If you own your own house you might be made to sell that before being considered for welfare.  The next thing they check is your family, can you be supported by family members?

So many people don't bother with welfare.

Why this post?

Because at the moment I'm poor, at least financially!

I'm rich in that I have my kids, and they are helping me out a lot!

I'm rich in that my health is okay, not great, I need to work on my blood pressure and get off diabetes medicine. Also, my joints need some help. But I'm not bed-bound or house-bound!

I'm rich in the fact that I live in an area that is beautiful, I can step outside, wander around my garden, enjoy the blossoms and the birds.

But I have no money! I'm trying to get new students, but it isn't easy. 

I know from experience that it's just a blip, that things will work out, somehow, but today I feel bad about being poor. I want to help Hannah; she is working two jobs to support herself through graduate school.

 I would love to have some money for Mikey to help him set up his own home when he gets married.

But just looking at the cold facts about poverty in Japan makes me feel more grateful for what I do have. A lot of people who are poor here have no way to move forward. I've seen videos of elderly people working for a pittance because their pension doesn't cover the basics, and I've known single mothers who work two jobs just to pay rent. I've given discounts to my English school to a family who had 3 generations living in a 2-room apartment but wanted their kids to have a chance of a better life by learning English.

I'm determined to get out of this situation, but I don't know how at the moment.

If you have any ideas, let me know!

I don't know what picture sums up this post, but two cats sleeping together is cute!

That's another thing I'm rich in, my cats love me!!!

Another Small Problem

 When we were cleaning out my mother-in-law's stuff, I joked that she could have run a restaurant—there were that many plates, dishes, and cups! For at least 40 years, only my mother-in-law and her mother lived here, but there were about 40 rice bowls and just as many soup bowls. Every cupboard we opened in the kitchen revealed more. It felt never-ending!

I kept a few things. Some were boxed sets given as presents, some were really nice and useful.

A few of the dishes I kept

I like nice dishes and cups, but they take up space that I don't have. Most of what I've kept has gone into the storage room. As things get broken, I can go and get more, and things get broken a lot!

During the clean out I just put the stuff to be thrown away into boxes and crates, to be dealt with later. Problem is later is now. 

How to safely dispose of broken dishes and glasses?

From a quick search there is a place that can take our trash, but (of course there's a but) you need ID that has a local address.  David has legally changed his address but hasn't updated his driver's license. To do that, he has to go to a police station, and the only one is on the opposite side of the city!

So not a big problem, just annoying!

David asked why I was so desperate to get that area cleaned. I told him that I want to clear out the garage so he has a place to park his if we get a typhoon. He rolled his eyes and said that the typhoon season is months away. In one way that is true, typhoon season used to be the end of August to the end of September but year on year the season is starting sooner and sooner. I just want to be prepared!

Doing Outside

 This is the space in front of the storage building.

In front of the storage building

It's an eyesore. There's so much trash there that we don't know how to dispose of it! There are plastic containers, bits of metal, a mattress, and other bits and pieces.

I want that area cleared as quickly as possible. It should be the parking space for the cars. I know that we are still in spring, but once the heat starts going out for me will be difficult. Also, the door at the back leads into a big space that can be used as a garage if we get a typhoon.

So I decided that I would make a start on this area today!

But of course things didn't go to plan! Do they ever?

First, the problem was the fact that I didn't fall asleep until 6am! Cats, what else keeps me awake at night!? Fred has become very needy. He wants to be with someone all the time. So at night, he cries outside my door for hours. So I let him in, but he is so heavy that it's difficult for me to get comfortable. Also, every time I'm about to drop off he would start wanting to go out!

Fred, looking very innocent!

Not falling asleep until 6am meant that I couldn't wake up this morning! I finally dragged myself out of bed at 10:30. Not good! I was going to make lunch, but felt very unfocused. I asked David to make lunch, and I went out to see what I could do. I thought going outside would clear my head a bit. I got Mikey and Christopher to help.

I then had problems with my trousers. They kept coming down. I would take two steps and have to stop to pull them up. I thought it was the weight of my phone in my pocket, so I took my phone out, but I was still having the same problem. So I came in to change. I've had those trousers for over 20 years, so I think it's okay to throw them out!

Went back out and managed to put together two trash bags of plastic bits. This is one thing that we have a problem with, what to do with the load of plastic buckets, crates, etc, that are hanging out there. Some can be used, but a lot are broken! Things that can be burnt we are burning, also any metal we find we can put together to take to the scrap metal place, sometimes we get a bit of money from that!

I didn't do too much but made a start. I'm hoping to sleep tonight so I can do more tomorrow morning. 

Opposite that area is the place that needs to be cleared to grow some vegetables. Again not getting done as fast as I would like.

Need to clear this area

I know the trees are nice, but this is a good place to grow vegetables. Taking down the trees isn't too hard, as they aren't that big, but digging out the roots is going to be the hard part!

I really hope the weather cooperates this week so we can get a lot done!

Great Start To The Day

 I got up early this morning. Well, early for a Saturday, 7am.

I did laundry and had breakfast. It took a long time to make toast and boil water as the breaker kept dropping. It looks like I'll have to get that changed before we put in air conditioners.

After messing with that, I was on a roll. Cleaned up, made cookies, put the rice on to cook, went shopping, came back and made a good lunch.  I managed to get some vegetables at a decent price, so I did a couple of different salads!  While I was cooking, I got Christopher to run the vacuum.

I was feeling very pleased with myself.

But after lunch, things went downhill rather fast.

It started with the most awful headache. I took some painkiller, which helped a bit.

I couldn't figure out why the medicine wasn't more effective. The past week, I've had headaches almost every day. My allergies are very bad; the medicine I take for that gives me headaches, plus my sinuses feel heavy. 

But today the painkiller didn't help that much. I tried closing my eyes for a bit, but woke up with my head still pounding.

Turns out the air pressure was very low, about 960 hPa. And now we have a thunderstorm, just writing this I've screamed a couple of times. The lightning is close, a bit scary!

I hope this passes soon. I know that Mama Cat and Fluffy will be hiding somewhere. 

Outside during the storm, you can't see the mountains

The storm has finished, and you can see the mountains again

A Challenge

 A friend sent me a challenge yesterday evening: find seven things to be grateful for in this house, but not the kids or cats!

I thought it would be easy. Seven isn't that many things to find, but it's proved to be a lot harder than I thought!

What I've come up with so far.

I'm actually very grateful to have this house. If we didn't own this house, we would be homeless.

The biggest problem in renting a place in Japan is finding someone who can act as a guarantor, usually two different people or your company. In the past, we always put my mother-in-law and her sister as our guarantors.  They have all passed away now, and I don't know of any other relatives we could ask. The few friends that I have are foreigners, which is allowed, but it would make the whole process more difficult. I think David could use the company he is working for as a guarantor, but I'm not sure!

Also, we have cats. Most rental places don't allow pets! Some older properties allow maybe one or two pets, but not nine cats. Rehoming the cats would be difficult; they would end up in a shelter, which is no life for an animal. Most shelters in this area are kill shelters, even the ones that aren't get to be overcrowded and can't offer a good quality of life to the animals they take in!

This house was always the safety net, if the worst comes to the worst, we can live here. But I never thought it would come to that!

At least we have a roof over our heads! 

Another thing I'm grateful for in being here is that I'm starting to appreciate nature more.

We moved in the dead of winter. The garden was dead and I really wondered if it would come to life again but as the year has moved on the whole area is slowly waking up. Everyday I'm seeing new plants and bushes come into bloom.

Today, there was a very noisy bird outside my window.

This guy was singing his or her heart out.

It flitted from tree to tree, really singing and calling out. I was reading in my room and this was such lovely background music.

A couple of Japanese ladies I follow on YouTube make videos about their slow life in the countryside. They are about my age and are spending time on hobbies and just slowing down to enjoy things more. I watch them to study Japanese, but also because they have such a positive outlook and are really enjoying their lives. I think the idea of a slow life is becoming more appealing for me. Living here is giving more chance to just breath and be!

So that is two out of seven things to be grateful for!

I feel that this house has the potential to be very nice but I need a lot of money to make it how I want it.

When I asked Hannah what was good about this house, she pointed out that the kitchen is very big. It is, but very badly designed.  Having money to redo the kitchen, bathroom, and toilets would go a long way toward feeling better here. 

I have my reading nook, I'm grateful for that space but at the moment it's Mikey's bedroom. 

Once he moves out I want to change the tatami room into a living room.

For me, the tatami room is a wasted space. It's there to be a guest room and for the Buddhist altar. But we don't have the Buddhist altar anymore more and not using one room because you might have guests once or twice a year is a waste. 

I would love to pull up the tatami and put down flooring, but that would be expensive, so I'm looking a putting a covering on the tatami, something that is easy to clean because of the cats. Then, having a nice sofa and moving the TV in there. Yet another project to save for!

Maybe I couldn't find 7 things to be grateful for but today at this moment I'm content to be here. 

The weather is warming up, and there are signs of spring everywhere. 

We aren't homeless or living in danchi (social housing, some are nice, but most are very old, and I've heard that the cockroaches outnumber the residents), which would be awful.

This place has potential, but it will take a lot of money and time to make it really nice. 

I have to stop thinking I'm too old to do things. I need to find a way to make more money and have the life I want.

So I'm grateful for my friend who helped to stop and think about things in a more favorable way. 

I'll see if I can find a few more things to be grateful for. 

Am I Prepared?

 After watching the awful news from Myanmar, I'm wondering how prepared we are as a family for a major disaster.

Japan is home to many natural disasters, with earthquakes and typhoons being the most common.

In my way of thinking, typhoons are easier to cope with. Weather reporting has become very accurate. Typhoons are watched from when they first form, there are tracking simulations so you know if your are going to be in the path of one. As soon as I'm aware of a possible typhoon, I make sure that our yard is clean so there is little chance of debris flying and causing problems. Here, the neighbour's houses are far away, in the last house we were living on top of each other. As much as I was worried about the typhoons, I was more worried that something from our yard would cause damage to the neighbour's house or car! I make sure we have enough water, filling the bathtub to have water for the toilet, to wash with, or for the cats, and for us I would buy bottled water and fill as many flasks as we had. Also, checking that we had food that didn't need to be cooked, and whatever medicines we needed.  These preparations take a couple of days. The hardest part is convincing everyone else that we need to do this. My way of thinking is that if we are prepared and nothing happens, it's okay, but if we aren't prepared and we get hit then it would be awful! Especially if we lose power!

Earthquakes are something else altogether. They hit without warning. Apparently, we had one last night, about an M1, so very slight. I didn't feel it! 

My fear is the megathrust quake that could happen because of the Nankai Trough off the Pacific Coast of Japan. This subduction zone fault line moves about every 100 to 150 years. The last big one was in 1944, then 1946.  Each time, the quake was M8.1. 

People who study earthquakes have said that the possibility of a megathrust in the next thirty years is very high. Last year, an advisory was sent out after there was a large earthquake near the Nankai Trough. The advisory was to let people in the area that would be affected to prepare. Not only are these quakes very large, but because they occur at sea, the possible tsunami would be devastating. One news report I saw said that a tsunami caused by the Nankai Trough could be worse than the March 11, 2011, tsunami.

So, what to do? Panic? I've talked to each one of my kids, and they all say if it happens, it happens, nothing we can do about it! Which is true, sitting around worrying about something you can't control is a waste of time and energy! 

But at the same time, there are things that I feel are important. We live at the foot of a mountain that might be inaccessible if there is a large earthquake, so having three or four days' worth of food is a sensible thing to do. We should be able to take care of ourselves until rescued. Alongside that, a good first aid kit would help, with things like bandages, alcohol, and some kind of painkiller inside.  Any important documents should be copied and kept at hand.

Making a plan of how to contact each other and a meeting point is a good idea. Also, what to do with the cats?

The only big earthquake I've experienced was in 2016. The two big quakes were both at night when we were at home, but after that we talked about where to meet if we were out and decided that the best was to go to Hannah's school. I think we need a new plan!!!!!

These things are always in the back of my mind, but after the Myanmar disaster and the fact that there have been many earthquakes recently I think I should take some action!

There are disaster kits that you can buy, but I always feel they are very expensive. They seem to become more expensive after a major disaster as well. Most items are available at local supermarkets and 100 yen shops. That's where I'm going to start.

The big question is what to do with the cats!  We have enough carrier boxes for them but I'm not sure we could take them all with us if we have to evacuate to a shelter! 

Also, I've seen several apps for disasters. I'm wondering if it's worth downloading them. I'll have a look. I know on the Line app we use there is a disaster mode that allows you to contact people to let them know you are safe.

Another thing that I think is important is my own health and mobility. I was talking to one lady who used to go for long walks, even in the summer heat. She said that her fear was not being able to help herself or others if there was a disaster. I think getting healthy and keeping my mobility would help with that.

Any other ideas?

Totally unrelated photo, just because the cats look cute!

Sam and Steve