Doctors

 I've been having back pain, left shoulder and lower back. The shoulder pain is probably because of a herniated disc in my neck. I've had this a few times before and it's always the same problem. My lower back has been bad for far too many years. Most of the time it's okay but occasionally it starts to play up.

I was going to go to the clinic that I used in the other city but that's a 30 minute drive so I found something a bit closer. 

David took me. We went in and tried to use "My Number Card".  This is a new thing here that is supposed make life easier for residents. My Number card has information on your tax, national insurance and what benefits you are collecting. The reason I had to register with the new city was so my national insurance would work.

After My Number Card failed we gave the receptionist the temporary insurance card I was issued. We waited for half an hour, in a rather uncomfortable waiting room.  The receptionist came back and said that I wasn't registered with the city!

At that point I gave up.  

Actually I was kind of relieved. I didn't have a good feeling about the clinic. All of the patients were very old, the waiting area was uncomfortable, even the decor in the toilet was rather weird.

toilet, the floor reminded me of something from the 1970s

Maybe they were going for a homey feeling but they didn't really pull it off.

So instead of seeing a doctor we went shopping. I bought some shelf liners for the some of the cupboards under the stove top. I have no space to store things, so I have to use them.  I have to get this kitchen organized better!

For my back, I'm going to try some gentle exercise, hot showers and using my hot blanket.  I don't think there is much a doctor can do except give me strong painkillers.

Wish me luck with the exercise. I really don't enjoy it but I know that it helps!!

City Hall

 In Japan when you move from one city to another you have to inform both city halls.

Yesterday I decided to get this done with.

The city that we were living in just rebuilt there city hall. It's very new and modern.  The staff are young and very competent. I went with Hannah as I really get lost with all the language needed. 

We went in, filled out the form, waited a minute to hand in the form. Because I have foreign residence status it makes things slightly different to my kids who are Japanese citizens.  Not a big deal, the city hall made a special paper showing my residence status. Took about 15 minutes.

Went to the local city office near where we live, the main city hall is a massive place. It's easy to get lost or end up on the wrong floor. David suggested the local office thinking it would be quicker.

There were very few staff, which wasn't a good sign. We took a number ticket and got called quickly. David explained what we needed to do. The lady looked at my information and said "I'm just a year older than you"  I have no idea where that statement came from, I just said something along the lines of you don't look that old! Made her happy!

It then took one hour to register me as the head of the household here. Plus this old lady kept calling me Oba Chan, grandma!  

Anyway it's done. I have to go a couple more times to sort out my national insurance but that can wait a bit.

Bit of good news.

Christopher got a part time job. It's not great money but better than nothing. He started yesterday. One problem is that he has to walk, about 40 minutes. He said that he's okay to do that!  I hope he can save to get driving lessons.

Also Hannah has another little job. The nursery that she works at is only until April. Once she starts graduate school she won't be able to work mornings!  She's found a job in a cram school. She starts on Saturday, it's just a few days a week, it will help her.

I keep looking at the mountains that we are at the foot off. They are very beautiful and majestic.

part of the mountain range that we live near

This is the Mino Mountain range, the highest point is 222 meters, about 730 feet.  The problem is that most of the old growth trees were cut down during World War 2.  These trees had deep roots and help the  under growth to develop. The roots of these trees helped to prevent landslides. After the war trees were replanted, but they were fast growing trees that don't have to same deep root system. Over the years typhoons, heavy rains and earthquakes have made the mountains unstable. Landslides occur almost every year through out Japan. Where we lived before I didn't worry about landslides or floods, no mountains or rivers nearby! We have a deep stream, concrete lined behind our property and of course the mountains.  I know if it happens it happens but I really hope that we are safe here. I talk to the mountains in the morning, thank them for being there, for there beauty and I ask them not to fall on us!

Earthquake

 I know that Japan is one of the most seismic active countries in the world. 

I know that scientists have been warning about the possibility of a Nankai Trough earthquake for many years!

The Nankai Trough is an oceanic trough running along the Pacific Coast of Japan. It's where the Philippians Plate and the Eurasian Plates meet. Nankai Trough earthquakes occur every 100 to 150 years. The last two were in 1945 and 1946.  The areas around this trough have become a lot more active in the past few years, scientists say that there is a possibility of a major quake within the next 30 years.

Last August there was an earthquake near the trough which triggered an advisory for people who live in the area that would be most affected by a strong earthquake and the tsunami that would follow. This is the first time such an advisory had been issued.

I also know what to do in an earthquake. If possible turn off the gas and try to get to a safe place, away from furniture that could fall on you, under a sturdy table or in the door way.

With all this knowledge I should be able to deal with earthquakes but of course I don't!

Last night was weird. I was sitting in bed trying to decide whether to watch TV or read my book. As I was sitting there my bed started to shake. At first I thought it was just the bed, the screws need tightening up!  But it felt very strange, so I went out into the corridor where I could see the lights swinging and one of the cats just standing with it ears down. I went to David's room, met up with the other kids, we all said "Earthquake". The strange thing was our phone alarms didn't sound.  

In Japan there is a system set up where phones will sound an alarm if an earthquake is detected. I don't like the sound of the alarm going off, as the phone just shouts "Earthquake, earthquake!" but no other information such as where the epicenter is or how strong the quake is.  Even with the smallest quakes the alarms go off but yesterday it didn't. Hannah said that on her social media a lot of people were commenting on this so it wasn't just our phones!

Again I panicked. It's like my brain goes white and I have no idea what to do. My kids were all calm, they just checked to see where it was.  Me, I just stood in the cold corridor with the deer in the headlights look on my face!

Part of my worry is this house is not a new build, I've noticed cracks in the foundation and on some of the external walls.  I need to go and see if these cracks are worse or if there are any new ones!

Earlier in the evening David was playing with blue angel key ring holder I had bought him.

This tickled me!

 

Another Problem Solved!

 In Japan each household has to take their garbage to a certain place for pick up, usually twice a week. Each community as has a designated space, usually 20 houses has one space. The trucks then pick up from there. If a household has very old people or disabled people the city will arrange a pick up from the house.

When we moved to the old house a neighbor stopped by and explained when and where the garbage had to be put out, there was a space next to the small park on the next block. Moving back here we didn't get that courtesy! I think because we moved into my mother-in-laws house the neighbors thought we knew where the pick up place was! But we didn't. For one month we've had trashing piling up outside. The yard is massive so it isn't a big problem but the local cats kept getting into it, plus I'm sure there are other creatures about!

Yesterday I sent David to the neighbor's house to ask where the trash place is. She told him that there are two places one up the road near the community center, the other place is down the road, a cage near Yamaguchi's house! David just looked at her, who's Yamaguchi?

She explained that we had to cross over the road, walk down a small road and the cage is on the left hand side! Much better explanation than "next to Yamaguchi's house"

Just to make sure where it was Christopher and I had a little walk early yesterday evening. The moon was just rising. I managed to get some photos!

Full moon

One thing with living in such a rural area is that there is very little light pollution, on a clear night the moon and stars are very bright and easy to see.

This morning Mikey and Christopher took the trash. I'm glad that we got that sorted!

A Long Day

 Yesterday was very long and very cold!

Every other Saturday Mikey does volunteer English classes at different community centers. When we were living in the same city it wasn't a problem, I would stay home and cover his classes if he was late back. Moving has made the logistics more difficult. For me to get to the other city would involve using two different trains, something I don't want to do or going in the morning and hanging around until I have to teach in the evening.

Yesterday's plan was for me to go with Mikey in the morning and wait at the local shopping mall with Christopher until it was time to go to the community center in the afternoon. When I woke up yesterday morning I was too tired to go. I asked David to drop Christopher and me at the train station but David took us to the other city! That helped a lot!

Christopher and I had lunch at an Italian restaurant in the mall. This restaurant isn't too expensive, we had onion soup with garlic bread and shared a pizza. The soup was nice and warming!

onion soup

pizza

lunch

After lunch we met up with Hannah. She was at work in the city and wanted to come back home for a couple of days!  We did a bit of shopping, a lot of window shopping!

Then it was time to go to the community center.  We thought there would be a bus but when we went to the bus station we couldn't find a bus to the area we were going to and I was getting too cold to look around. We got a taxi with heated seats! It was the first time to use heated seats, I didn't want to get out!

When we got to the community center we were greeted by a rather rude lady! The community center had double booked the room!  Monday is Coming of Age Day, when all young people who have turned 20 get to celebrate becoming an adult. For the young ladies it means paying a small fortune to hire a kimono for the day!  The room that we usually use was being used for young ladies from the area to come and get ready.  Putting on a kimono is a complicated process, something most ladies don't do now, so the shop that hires the kimono also has staff that helps you dress and styles your hair.  

We asked this lady about the room, why she was set up in there as we had booked this room for every Saturday afternoon 2 months ago. Her response wasn't nice at all. She didn't apologize for the mix up or explain anything to us. She was going on about something but I couldn't catch what she was saying so I followed her to the room. She rounded on me and said "Don't come in here!"  I saw the kimonos hanging and said that they were really beautiful. Her response was "Don't look at them!!"  She then stormed out!  

So we were stuck with using the gym, a massive, cold room!  Hannah paid the meter to run the heating system but it didn't warm up the room at all. I had one lesson with very young kids, 4 and 6 year old brother and sister. I knew that using the gym wouldn't work for them, so we sat in the foyer to teach them. That was awful, it was so cold my fingers were numb!

The other classes we did in the gym but it was far too cold! 

I survived, somehow! I was so happy to get in the car with the heater blasting! 

Hannah came back with us, she doesn't have anything tomorrow so wanted to come home for a couple of days! As much as she likes her independence, coming back is nice! And she gets to hang with the cats for a couple of days!

Snow

 Yesterday I posted a short video of the snow. After I took that video it stopped snowing, I thought that would be the extent of the snow for this year!!

Last night it started again, this time a lot heavier and a lot longer!

This morning I woke up to this!

outside my bedroom window!

outside the front door

around the yard

Looked lovely.

The plan was breakfast, wash dishes, quick shower and out to shop.

Breakfast was okay.

Turned on the hot water to wash the dishes, no hot water! Checked the bathroom, same!

The water is gas heated. The set up isn't that good. The cold water pipes are all under the house, which is why they didn't freeze! To heat the water, it is pumped up from underground to the heater, which is on the back of the house and then into the house. The problem is that the pipes are outside the house and not insulated at all, just some tape wrapped round them!

the pipes bringing the water to the heater

A quick search came up with a few ideas, such as using a hair dryer to defrost them. The one we went with was using a freezer bag filled with hot water and placing it on the pipes!  I was sceptical but it worked!

Of course this meant that my schedule was off.

David came back about 10am, he is still working nights!  He said that some of the roads were still bad even though the snow was starting to melt! He counted about 10 accidents, cars that had skidded off the road or into trees!

We don't get snow here very often, not every year! The past 5 to 7 years I've seen more snow than the first 20 years here altogether.  I've never seen any gritters out, maybe in the city centers but not on the country roads!  

We finally got out about 12 o'clock.  First stop was the bank, but it was closed for lunch!  That is how countryside this area is!

I wanted to go to a supermarket in a small town about 30 minutes away. Somehow we took a wrong turn. We ended up driving past Costco. I still haven't been but at least I could see it. I was surprised at how busy it was. The parking lot is big and was almost full!

I was trying to get some photos of the mountains but on my camera phone it wasn't that easy!

Looks like it was still snowing on some of the mountains

This was the view from my bedroom this afternoon.

Cold mountains

The white patches worry me! They are areas that have had landslides, there are no trees or undergrowth!  Does that mean there is a possibility of a larger landslide?  

Tomorrow I'm out all day! I have one lesson but Mikey has back to back lessons. So I'm going with him in the morning and will spend the day hanging around!  Hannah called, she has work in the morning but will meet me at lunch time.  Something to look forward to.  

Snow is forecast for Sunday afternoon so I'll have to figure something out for the pipes before then!

I wonder how many more surprises this house is going to throw at us!

Mikey's Birthday

 Today is Mikey's 33rd birthday!

As usual I'm having problems processing this! 

Seriously, where does time go?  It feels like just a few years ago he was a kid now he is an adult.  Did I blink?

I found some photo's of him from when he was little. I took so many photos of him (and the other kids when they came along). This was before digital cameras, I would use a 36 photo film every month. I used to send a lot to my parents. Also I wanted to record of my kids lives! I love being able to look back and reminisce about things.  

2 years old, I don't remember where this was

3rd birthday with David

20 years ago

with his brothers

After watching some kids show

At a river near here, the statue is a Kappa, a water spirit

kids Halloween party a couple of years ago

outside our old house

starting junior high school

on a walk in the mountains

Seeing what his Dad had!

Sorry the photos are out of order.

And it's snowing. Not a lot and not sticking, but we do have snow. I'm glad I don't have to go out! I tried to take a video but not sure if you can see the snow!