Matsushima, Miyagi

Photos from my visit to Miyagi. Matsushima is about 45 minutes from Sendai by local line and is one of Japan's top three areas for coastal scenery. It was nice, no question, but cold: February, after all. We went to a stand selling freshly-grilled corn, squid, mussels, and such.. Very shibui- one of my favorite concepts, as per an earlier post about Mitaka in Koriyama.

Next Generation

Babies. 赤ちゃん。Last year saw Japan's lowest number of births on record. Fewer than 730,000, far outnumbered by deaths. The country's population is approximately 123 million but is expected to fall to 90 million by 2050. One of my sons and his wife welcomed into the world a baby girl in January, and I am elated to be a grandparent. She is the future of Japan. But her Japan will be very, very different from mine when she gets older.

At the station: Hayabusa Super Express arrives

We took the Hayabusa from Sendai to Koriyama.

Snowy Days: 大雪

Much of Japan has seen heavy snowfall in recent days, including areas that rarely get any. The bus to Niigata stopped in Nishi Aizu, Fukushima, where this video was shot.

Kamei Museum, Sendai

A highlight of the Sendai holiday weekend was a trip to the Kamei Museum, a short walk from Sendai Station. Occupying two upper floors of an office building, the museum's collections include paintings depicting characteristic regional lanscapes (photography not permitted), kokeshi dolls, and an extensive beetle and butterfly collection numbering specimens in the 1000s. It was the last the I found most stirring. Video and additional text to follow...

Video 1 Video 2 Video 3 Video 4

Mitaka Shokudo, Koriyama

Returning to Niigata from a weekend visit to Sendai, I detrained at Koriyama, Fukushima, and popped round to Mitaka (みたか) for a late lunch prior to boarding a highway bus for the final leg home. Mitaka, located a few blocks from the station, is a shokudo, 食堂, or diner, sometimes translated dining room. Such restaurants typically offer a variety of dishes: ramen, curry and rice, fried rice, and deep fried pork cutlet, are common. Set meals are also available, and prices cheap. Like most shokudo I've been to, Mitaka is run by an elderly couple who do everything: bus, cook, wait, and wash. Again, like most I've visited, Mitaka is shibui-渋い- which can mean astringent, elegant, or plain (among others). It's the last that best characterizes the diner's atmosphere. I find this 'down-home' feel quite appealing, and Mitaka did not disappoint. We ordered the pork cultlet set meal and the rice omelet (as you can see from the photos), and they were excellent. For shokudo history, there's this.

Japan in Terminal Decline

The root of Japan's myriad problems is population decline, as this article outlines. Locally, the prefectural BOE has announced it will reduce the number of public HS from 86 to 64 by 2039. (Last March, a mere 18,500 15-year-olds graduated from JHS- the total population of Niigata is 2.1 million). Furthermore, in 2039 the no. of JHS graduates in the prefecture is forecast to number less than 8000.

Tale of Two Japans: Update

Seven foreign skiers are rescued, one hospitalized, after off-piste misadventure in Hokkaido.

Rice Price

The price of rice in Japan has remained stubbornly high in recent months despite government countermeasures. Crop yields have dropped owing to climate change (yes, USA, a real thing with a name), and inbound tourism may be a contributing factor. Japanese consumers are fed up, as the linked article shows.

Dump- 2 Days Later

This video (1 min. in, particularly) shows that the dangers posed by heavy snowfall in mountainous regions in Japan are by no means over when the snow stops falling. Update: Sorry, but the video has been 'privatized'. I'll look for another.

Historic Dump

A recent winter storm caused record snowfall throughout Japan, with Niigata City receiving 40 cm overnight last Friday. Obihiro, Hokkaido, got a record 1.3 meters in 24 hours.

Next Generation: 1/17/25

A Tale of Two Japans

Articles like this appear online almost daily. Two Japans: the one the vast majority of residents know- weak yen, wages that lag far behind cost-of- living increases, general obi-tightening- and the other Japan, where the weak yen favors inbound tourists who think nothing of 15,000¥ seafood- bowls or ski-park lift tickets far beyond the means of those who live nearby- and whose taxes pay for tourism infrastructure, including the rescue of morons-on-planks who venture off piste and come to grief.