Japan by Bike: Niigata Files: Kamo City

From top: Former Tsurumaki Sake Brewery, Tsurumaki Open Garden (same surname, not sure if there's a connection), Old Post Office (now a gallery and cafe)

COVIDiaries Japan

Primary and secondary schools throughout much of the country welcomed students last week as the new academic year began, while universities have delayed their in- person classes until mid- May.

The government's non- binding state of emergency for seven prefectures including Tokyo and Osaka has been moderately successful, with districts that are ordinarily packed referred to as "ghost towns" by locals.

All prefectures with the lone exception of Iwate are reporting cases, the nationwide total currently at 7268, with 138 deaths.  

Social Distancing Scarecrows

Japanese Pride and Japan Today

Japan Today has become the go-to source of Japan-related news in English for the expat community. The quality of the reporting is fine when the articles originally appeared at Reuters, AP, and Kyodo News (among others), as opposed to inhouse productions. The comments section reveals many of JT's readers to be unable to understand Japanese, uninterested in learning the country's culture or history, and just plain uninformed.

An example from an article today re pride in Japan:

 That's been a concern for me ever since I came here. Everything in the supermarkets is so expensive. I can get most things for less than half the price back home. And I'm tired of eating bananas and moyashi. I wonder how many Japanese are proud of the expensive fruit.

The reader has exposed his flanks on this one, but I'll resist the urge. Instead, let's consider food prices (Walmart Grocery US for comparison).

green onions@ 98￥/ horenso spinach@ 128￥/ shishito sweet green peppers@ 74￥ (50% off)/ 3 nishin herring fillets@160￥ (20% off)/ aburage fried tofu@60￥/ oboro semi- soft tofu@70￥　(1USD=108￥)

I compared prices on similar items/ sizes (ones I could find) at Walmart Grocery (online): green onions (1 bunch) @$.50/ baby spinach@ $1.37/ herring fillets (tinned only) @$3.50/ tofu @$2.64

Total for the same 4 items puchased at a Japanese grocery store (pictured): $4.20

Walmart Total: $8.01

Dairy (cheese, cream, butter in particular) tends to be a bit more expensive in Japan. I purchased a liter (33 fluid ounces)of low-fat milk yesterday for 100￥. Walmart sells 64 oz. for $1.47. 

Fruit (domestic), also, tends to be higher: 1 apple, 100- 200￥

Walmart: $1. 10

1 pear: 100- 250￥

Walmart: $.69

(That said, Japanese fruit is worth every yen of extra cost.) 

So no, you don't have to subsist on a diet of bananas and bean sprouts.    

Antlions for a Change

Today's edition of the popular Vox Populi column in the Asahi Shinbun features a 15-year old student who has researched antlions and their larvae since she was in primary school.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13274882

COVIDiaries Japan

Tokyo continues to break records for infections, with yesterday's tally at 143, the second straight day above 100, and over 200 nationwide.

The prime minister is expected to announce a state of emergency by Wednesday. Just what that will entail remains to be seen. Legally, authorities are unable to enforce restrictions on movement.

The central government has announced it will offer direct cash payments of 300,000 yen to those whose annual income is 3 million yen or less (approx. 27,000 USD).

COVIDiaries Japan

Tokyo is reporting another record number of confirmations, 78, a day after posting a significant drop.

Elected officias and medical associations are asking the Abe administration to invoke the recently enacted law granting the prime minister declaration of emergency powers, but the government has yet to do so.

The law does not permit the government to enforce measures to limit movement, however, so it remains to be seen how effective the declaration would be to halt the spread of the virus.

COVIDiaries Japan

March 29th saw Tokyo continue its week-long streak of record-breaking confirmations for a single municipality: yesterday's figure of 68 was up from 16 on the 23rd.

Beloved entertainer Shimura Ken (70) is among those who have succumbed to the disease.

The Abe administration is moving to prohibit foreigners entering from China, Korea, and the US.

The full cost of a PCR exam in Japan is either 140 or 180 USD, depending on the ability of the testing facility to analyze the sample. Those enrolled in the national health scheme would normally expect to pay from 10-30% of the total. However, as of March 6 testing is free for those covered by national insurance.      

COVIDiaries Japan: Tokyo Sees Jump

For the third day running, Tokyo has led Japan in new cases of coronavirus, with over 40 confirmed in the capital today, March 25. This is up from 16 on the 23rd and 17 on the 24th. If you are in Tokyo or have seen photos of crowded parks and other public spaces there (and elsewhere in Japan), the news will come as no surprise. Complacency typifies the attitude of many in the country.    

COVIDiaries Japan: A Different Kind of Story

Thirteen- year- old Takimoto Hime, of Yamanashi Prefecture, decided she needed to do something a month ago when she began seeing long lines of customers outside of drug stores hoping to snag a packet or two of masks, then in extremely short supply. In late February she began making masks with cotton and elastic, working as many as 5 hours/ day. On March 17th she visited the prefectural office, where she presented officials with the 612 masks she had made by hand. The cost: 80,000￥, all of it money she had saved over the years from traditional New Year's otoshidama from family and relatives.

https://mainichi.jp/articles/20200318/k00/00m/040/037000c

COVIDiaries Japan: Back to School

Japanese schools prepare for the start of the new school year in April even as countries such as France announce schools will remain closed until after summer. Indeed, some students in Japan have already returned to their school for extracurricular acivities. The Ministry of Education yesterday released coronavirus-prevention guidelines for schools which included instructions to students and teachers to wear a mask when speaking and to open windows periodically to ventilate classrooms.

COVIDiaries Japan

Several key announcements yesterday by the office of Tokyo governor Koike.

1) Postponement of the Olympics was in the cards (US broadcaster NBC is now saying the Games will be postponed.)

2) A lockdown for the nation's capital in three weeks was a possibility

3) Late in the evening, Tokyo reported 16 new coronavirus cases, the largest one-day tally to date for a single location in Japan.

COVIDiaries Japan: Tokyo Lockdown Possible

Tokyo governor Koike Yuriko announced today that her administration would closely monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus in the Japanese capital during the next three weeks (from 23 March) and that a lockdown of the city would be considered if conditions warranted.

COVIDiaries Japan: Restrictions on Arrrivals from the US

The Abe administration has announced that from 26 March until the end of April, all those arriving from the US will be asked to self-quarantine at home or a tourist accomodation for 14 days and to refrain from using public transport, including taxis, for the duration. The Ministry of Health requests that those to whom this applies make necessary arrangements prior to arrival. The US is the latest addition to a list that includes China, Korea, Iran, Egypt, the Schengen countries and 10 others in Europe.    

COVIDiaries Japan: Danger of Business as Usual

Niigata Prefecture announced its 26th and 27th confirmed cases on March 21. No. 26, a company employee in his 30s, traveled to Fukuoka and Tokyo (by train) on business from 10-12 March, thereafter returning to his home in Nagaoka, Niigata. The man left again on the 15th, visiting Tokyo (by train) for the day on business. Despite experiencing chills and joint pain, the man traveled to Tokyo (by train) again the following day, returning to Nagaoka on the 17th. He visited a medical clinic that day, where he recorded a fever of 38C. From the following day he stayed home from work. On the 19th, coughing and experiencing diarrhea, he visited another clinic, where he tested negative for the flu.   On the 20th the man visited the city's only hospital capable of administering the PCR exam. The following day a positive result for COVID-19 was announced.

COVIDiaries Japan

Official statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare show that an average of 1,190 PCR tests have been administered daily during March. Daily testing capacity currently stands at 7,500.

To date, 20,228 individuals have been tested, 1086 confirmed, with 40 deaths.

These figures do not include those from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

The governor of Tokyo has announced that postponing the Olympics is under consideration after a conference call with the IOC, with a final announcement expected in the next four weeks.  

The Gratitude of the Goose

Once upon a time an old man lived on the shores of Lake Jyusan on the Tsugaru Peninsula of Aomori.

One winter's night the man heard a knocking at his door. Opening it, he beheld a young girl standing in the blowing snow, covered in white from head to foot.

"Oh, my. What are you doing out on a night like this? Do come in."

He stirred up the fire and bade his guest warm herself by the hearth. Looking at the girl more closely, he noticed that one of her feet was bleeding.

"Is your foot hurt?" he inquired.

"Yes, I stepped on a hunter's trap by accident."

"That's rotten luck. Would you like to stay here until it's better?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you ever so much," she replied.

"Look here, dinner's ready. Let's eat."

The old man served the girl a bowl of piping hot fish soup, which she quickly devoured. Then, curling up by the fire, she was soon asleep.

Later that evening, thinking to cover her with a futon for added warmth, the man discovered his visitor was not a young girl but a goose. "So that's how it was. Injured, she became separated from the other geese, and before coming here she changed into a human girl", ran the old man's thoughts. Smiling with this knowledge, he applied a healing salve to his guest's injured foot.

The snowy weather continued, but at last, a day of clear skies dawning, the goose-girl bowed deeply to the old man and said, "For many a day you have treated me with great kindness. Thanks to you, my foot has healed. As I am now able to resume my journey, I will soon be leaving you."

"Is that so? You're going?" 

The girl was saddened to perceive how deeply affected the man was by her announcement.

"I've kept a secret from you all this time. The truth is, I'm a goose."

"Ahh. But you see, I knew that," the man replied.

"You did? I'll never forget your kindness."

With that, the girl became a goose again and rose into the sky. After thrice circling above the old man's house, the goose, now a mere speck in the sky, flew northwards. 

Then it was spring, then summer, then fall, and the time of year geese begin appearing in the region of Lake Jyusan. When the old man beheld the first geese on their southward journey, he was reminded of his visitor earlier that year. 

One day the man noticed a goose veer from its traveling companions and head in his direction. When the goose was overhead, something fell from its bill to the ground. Retrieving the item, the man found it to be a small packet containing some gold dust and a letter. Unfolding the latter the man read, "Thank you, Grandpa, for your many kindnesses. Take care of yourself."

 

With a tear in his eye, the old man watched the goose until it passed from sight.

"You, too," he said.

　

Lake Jyusan, Aomori

Gutsu and the Crow- A Japanese Folktale

Long, long ago, a boy named Gutsu lived in a village with his grandmother. One day, his grandma said, "Gutsu, as today is your late grandfather's death day, we must summon a priest to chant the sutras in his honor. Won't you run along to the neighboring village to ask for the priest there?" "What's a priest?" inquired the little boy, for Gutsu's village did not have a temple. "He's a man who wears a black kimono." "I got it," replied Gutsu. Heading through the rice fields, Gutsu came upon a large crow perched atop a scarecrow- and crows, as everyone knows, are black. "There he is!", exclaimed Gutsu. "Hey you, Mister Monk, hey, come with me," he shouted. The crow, startled, took wing and flew off.  "Where are you going?", Gutsu cried. Running after the crow, the boy soon found himself outside a temple. "Mr. Priest, I know you're in there. Hurry up and come out," whereupon Gutsu found himself face to face with the real thing. "I'm the priest. What do you want?"  "So priests are human," thought Gutsu. Haltingly the boy explained his errand, and the priest accompanied him home. The old woman, who rarely found cause to praise her grandson, did so that day: "Well done, Gutsu. Good boy."

Tattoos and Onsen

This poorly written and researched article on tattoos exemplifies the low editorial standards at Japan Today. If you read through to the end and felt no more informed than at the beginning, the answer to 'Can onsen, swimming pools, sports clubs, and similar facilities bar those with tattoos?' is "It depends".

Public facilities may not bar tattooed patrons. Full stop.

Private facilities may do so at their discretion.  

Matsuo Basho

In the year 1689, haiku poet Matsuo Basho departed Edo on what would be a two-year journey to the north of Japan. The collection of prose and travel verse inspired by the excursion yielded 奥の細道, or Narrow Road to the Interior. Basho spent a week at Mt. Haguro at Minamitani, or South Valley, at a temple no longer existing.

Path to South Valley

South Valley, where Basho spent a week in 1689

(Some of) The 2446 Steps

Pics from Haguro

Yamabushi Pilgrim

Photos from Mt. Haguro

Zuishinmon Gate

Shrines and Cryptomeria

Mt. Haguro

Mt. Haguro, located on the outskirts of Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, is sacred to shugendo, a belief system which is perhaps best described as an amalgam of Buddhism, Shinto, and ancient Japanese beliefs. Practitioners, or yamabushi, believe in the restorative and regenerative power of nature and of mountains in particular. Mt. Gassan and Mt. Yudono, both nearby, form a holy mountain trinity with Haguro known collectively as Dewa Sanzan, the three mountains of Dewa, the old provincial name of the prefecture. Pilgrimages undertaken to the area to experience renewal and rebirth- 生まれかわりの旅, as a sign above the entrance to the local culture museum puts it- begin at Haguro, which represents one's present life. The next stop on the pilgrimage route is Mt. Gassan, the highest of the group, signifying the past, with Mt. Yudono (the future) the last.

Sanjingosaiden Shrine, Mt. Haguro, and the largest thatch roof in Japan

       

Soba Made Simple

Total time approx. 15 minutes

"The Truth about Wasabi", a Short Video

Highly recommended: https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/585172/wasabi-fake/

Izumozaki, Niigata: Basho, Ryokan-sama, and Grilled Fish

The town of Izumozaki in Niigata Prefecture has much to offer: haiku poet Basho spent a night there (commemorated by the sign pictured, which includes a haiku the poet wrote after gazing seawards from the window of his room) at "Travelers' Inn Ozaki-ya" in 1689 during the tour of northern Japan that inspired Narrow Road to the Interior; nineteenth-century poet and calligrapher Ryokan-sama was born in Izumozaki- be sure to visit the monument (shown below) and nearby museum curating his work, and the Ishii Fish Shop, which serves up local catch (from the Sea of Japan- of which there are wonderful views from the town) freshly grilled.

The haiku (inexpertly rendered):

The turbulent sea
Stretching to Sado Island
The glittering sky

Basho Memorial

Ryokan-sama Memorial

Grilled Saba from Ishii-ya

View of Sea of Japan (Sado Island just visible at right)

Black Ships and Dancing Girls

Shimoda, a city at the tip of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture, was one of two ports (the other being Hakodate) opened to the outside world in 1854 with the signing of the Kanagawa Convention between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the US government. The first US consular office was located at a temple in the city and manned by Townsend Harris, who was later instrumental in negotiating the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between the two countries.

The limited express linking Tokyo to Shimoda is named Izu no Odori-ko, or "Dancing Girl of Izu", which evokes the short story by Yasunari Kawabata and its title character. I can't think of a lovelier or more appropriate name for this train.

A hand towel, a monk, and the first alpinist

Pictured is a hand towel, or tenugui (手ぬぐい), commemorating 1,300 years since Mt. Haku (2,702 m) was first climbed. Taicho, known as "The Monk of Echizen", accomplished this feat of mountaineering in the year 717: in other words, over 600 years before Petrarch (he of the sonnets to Laura in the style that bears his name) became the "first" alpinist in the modern sense (that is, climbing mountains to enjoy the views, among other things) by scaling Mt. Ventoux (1,912 m) in 1332. Whether Taicho admired the views from the top of Mr. Haku (which, by the way, straddles Ishikawa, Gifu, and Fukui prefectures and has been considered sacred from ancient times) is, well, irrelevant. In 717 there were no climbing routes, so Taicho had to blaze his own trail. In the following century three paths were established, one starting in each of the three prefectures (not then known as "prefectures", if you care about such things) mentioned above. Nice hand towel/ wall decoration.  Tenugui make good souvenirs, too.     

New Year's Decorations: the Kadomatsu

Examples of kadomatsu flank the entry to a trad villa in downtown Niigata City.

For a discussion of the "gate pine" and other decorative elements, see the earlier post titled The Japanese New Year.

Poet and Priest Ryokan-sama

From a 2009 post:

One morning death comes before
They can use even half their money.
Others happily receive the estate,
And the deceased's name is soon lost in darkness.
For such people there can only be great pity.

Well, I get the idea about the pity, even if it is tough to feel in this case.

Karin, or Chinese Quince

Karin (花梨) may be available at a grocery near you- or on the ground, as were the two I collected on my way to work a few days ago. Called Chinese quince in English, the fruit is used to make jams, syrups, and flavored spirits and is included as an ingredient in some throat lozenges as well.  

Weekend Cycling

Pics from June 3.

                                    Destination: Mt Sumon, Niigata,

                                               Roadside Shrine

                                         Rice paddy recently planted 
                                       

                                    Tough climb to reach the lake (700 m)

Photos of Shirakawa Village, Gifu

Photos taken at World Heritage Site Shirakawa-go, Gifu.

Religion in Politics

The Komeito Party in Japan is the political wing of Sokkagakkai, the Buddhist lay organization. It is the junior partner in Prime Minister Abe's administration and is expected to moderate the nationalist extremes to which some in Abe's party are tempted. Here's wishing Komeito luck.

Speaking of religion, Christians in America have a stark and simple choice: either take up the cross and follow Christ, or lay the cross down and follow Trump.

Here endeth.   

Photos from a Recent Outing on the Bike

                              

     Jokoji, Kamo City, the family temple of Steve Jobs' Zen master,                             Kobun Otogawa

dilapidated farmhouse and kura- the original thatch roof of the former has been covered with tin

the only remaining rolling stock of the defunct Kambara Railway, Japan's first all-electric line- taken in Kamo City, Niigata; the foremost carriage is the oldest wooden car in the prefecture

                                   

Japan by Bike and Glimpses of Japan

Japan by bike now posts on Glimpses of Japan.

From a post entitled "On the Road Again."

Japan by Bike is back, albeit without Don, who a couple of years ago returned to his native New Zealand. So for the time being it's a solo effort, dear reader. The colorful commentary of my erstwhile cycling partner will be missed, but I trust Japan by Bike will continue to convey the pleasures of discovering the country on two wheels.

Afternoon Ride: a Post from Japan by Bike

A few photos taken during a recent afternoon ride. Severe winter weather in the area felled trees, which block a spur of a local rindo, or forest road. These roads, usually gravel but sometimes sealed, offer excellent cycling but are often sketchy come springtime until crews can get out and clear or repair them.








Houses like this are a common sight in rural Japan.



skunk cabbage



A paved section of forest road.

The HS Entrance Exam: Today is the first day of the rest of your life

It comes down to today and tomorrow, March 7-8 this year in Niigata, the culmination of 9 yrs. of compulsory education, the last 3 of which were primarily a preparation for the high school entrance exam and additional years of "elective" schooling. I'd venture to say every jr high 3rd-year who sat the exam has an insurance policy, a Plan B, or what is referred to as a suberiko （滑り校), or suberitomeko  (滑り止め校), the private school (In Niigata City there are 8 from which to select) chosen by students that will arrest their fall should they fail to gain admission to a public school. Otherwise... Official exam results to be announced next week. Students will nevertheless have an accurate sense of their performance, as local newspapers publish the test questions and answers the following day, but whether a student's overall score is good enough will remain unknown, resulting in several days of anxiety, for many..