Seafood Shack, Matsushima

Ukraine, and Japan

This is not a political site, and I don't do politics, generally, but... if you support Trump, and if you believe in freedom... you are a moron. And a sociopath. Japanese avoid confrontations, that's what we're taught. Tired trope. But, PM Ishiba has indeed said he will not add accelerant to the fire by choosing sides post Oval/ Offal Office ambush. Okay. (Though Japan is a diplomatic cipher, practically speaking, and has much to lose by crossing swamp thing.) However, let's see a bit more spine from the so-called free world.

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.

Student Art

紅葉 Fall Color at a Zen Temple

A Japanese Expression for Our Times, for All Times

歯を食いしばる (ha wo kui shibaru): To grit one's teeth, to bear up in adversity 歯- teeth 食い- eating しばる、縛る- to tie, fasten, bind Or, as a man who lost nearly everything in southern Japan's unprecedented flooding today (11/9) commented more eloquently, 人生には色々ある。

Artwork by Niigata Primary and Secondary School Students

These works are by atudents ages 11-15.

Saigo Takamori: One of the Founders of Modern Japan

Samurai Saigo Takamori, along with Sakamoto Ryoma, is one of the most influential figures in the restoration of the emperor and modernization of Japan in the 19th century. This statue is in Ueno Park, Tokyo. When it was unveiled, his widow thought it execrable.

Golden Carpet: Gingko at Ueno Park

A Festoon of Drying Daikon

'Tis the season for daikon.

Sado Cat

Neko and Jizo Sado temple welcome committee

Wabi and Wabishii

The former means quiet elegance, refinement, while wabishii something quite different: miserable, wretched. I think this farmhouse with the thatch roof expresses 侘しい。

Ramen to soothe the soul

The highlight of the past 48 hours: 辛海老味噌らぁめん from Magogorotei. They've got the best miso ramen around (Niigata City), the spicy shrimp my favorite.

Harris Defeat: Glad to be in Japan

Wow. Clean sweep. Yet not that surprised, really. Many people who have no business voting for Republicans did just that. One of the stated aims of these Republican zealots is to end America's pathetic version of government funded health insurance. And people who rely on Obamacare voted for the these fanatics. Morons. So glad I live in a country with universal health care. So glad I don't live in the US. Goodbye to all that.

New Shorts

Several new videos have been uploaded to https://youtube.com/@japanglimpsed?si=4nK8X2ZkjuMHRlZ-

The 辻堂 (tsujidou), or Wayside Shrine

I am quite fond of such unassuming shrines, which are common in rural areas, particularly. They typically house statues of Jizo-sama, about whom much has been written in this blog. This particular tsujidou does not show figures of the bodhisattva guardian of travellers or childbearing women but of a deity I do not recognize. The characters refer to streets, roadsides (辻 tsuji) and temple, shrine (堂 dou). Regarding the initial character, my kanji guide lists 辻番人 (tsujibannin, or guard) which has been replaced by the unattractive ガードマン. A perfectly fine Japanese term usurped by an import that is merely a sound, devoid of essential meaning. Then there is 辻自動車、tsujidousha, which is so preferable to the pedestrian 'taxi', or タクシー. This second photo of a 辻堂 along my commute contains a figure of Jizo-sama.

October 27 Ride Videos

Negi Transport : Sawayama Dango Shop: Samurai: Low Ride