Happy Birthday to my ray of sunshine Ryoko! Every day is the most wonderful fun with you. Let’s enjoy tea, cake and picnic today (& kiss :)).
Ryoko’s birthday came, of course, in the midst of the pandemic and all that, but, we did some great activities starting with lunch at Mac’s goat farm the day before then we drove to Setouchi to (socially safely) pick up a custom made cake by the same baker who made our wedding cake which we really didn’t get to eat. Then enjoyed a wonderful picnic lunch with the parents (who live “inside the wall” with us).
That night, sparked the candles in the cake and I sand (what I am sure is a magnificent version of) happy birthday etc. etc.
Evidence of this treasure follows:
picking up the cake “social distance” style from Pom in Setouchi townPom bakery had a fun photo booth frame set up and of course, we cheesed out
Noto port, feels like the end of the world, indeed, a rather remote peninsula jutting out into the Sea of Japan, often ravaged by disaster, yet intrepid fishers head out to sea…
[Note: catching up with dossiers from May 2019 when we took an extended ramble around rural areas of Japan as a sort of honeymoon – see Shinkonryoko for more from this journey]
The following is as documented at a small morning fish auction in Noto, Ishikawa-ken [map] (at the end of the Noto peninsula) where various Norwegian and Russian ships also exchange wares.
So many kinds of sea creatures! How many can you name? a few of these (Ankou / angler fish and shellfish of which i don’t the name and more slippery little treats) were later consumed by our hosts and us.
+ Fish etc Variety Pack +
{update: the remarkable Sandra DeMonti sent along many names for many fish, added as captions – consider helping with the rest]
Various trains and trams (streetcars or trolleys if you prefer) to and around Nagasaki on Kyushu in Japan including: Kamome limited express, several unique carriages (both modern and classic) rolling the electric tramway network, the classic Sea Side Liner (so pretty!) and more notes about “tokyu” class trains with comfy seats and lounge areas as compared to “super express” shinkansen.
No narration but some ticker scroll information and observations. Music snippets by Dan Mangan + Ryoko, and some coffee-house free jazz recorded live in Ubud, Indonesia.
Christmas isn’t really an “event” in Japan, more of a marketing campaign and a prelude to New Year’s Eve which is laden with tradition, nostalgia and routine. It’s kinda my speed as i am def turned off by rampant commercialism quasi-religious sabre-rattling which comes around.
Regardless, with new family (and more family arriving in 2020) i wanted to wrangle a bit of festiveness – also acknowledging been a long while since i had vaguely “regular” christmas and while this was atypical, established some new routines, scratched an itch… after all, with the turmoil in my life the last years, there is admittedly some misgivings and rather tough emotions which come around during all this hoolpa. Most importantly, got to show love and respect for wife and in-laws.
What follows are a few poorly-photographed artifact of activities from Dec. 24 – 26 JST. Carry On!
First off, Dec. 24 (christmas eve) we made dinner of grilled mackeral, squash, pickled cucumbers and tsukemono carrots, greens, miso soup, tea, rice, lotus root, and whatnot. Yup, not off to a very traditional start – ha!
Christmas morn, we opened our stockings (pictured above) purchased from a 100yen store ($1), nothing but the best! and enjoyed toast with cream cheese and my kaki (persimmon) jam which i am always talking about, and nashi (pear). My sock had snacks, Ryoko’s had expired 35mm film and a necklace and snacks.
Then we went to post office (one of my fave activities of course) and i wore a Santa cap (borrowed from Ryoko who wore at Mae Maes Christmas concert) to the amusement of the post office staff and the kids at the grocery store which was our next stop. Folks are stocking up for New Years time during which many stores are closed or scaled back hours and folks generally wanna hunker down.
Then we picked up a pre-made feast from a great lil cafe called Sakura-mi we had ordered a while back when we went on a little lunch date. Here’s the café’s post box.
And i got to make a fire in the wood stove. So yeah, post office and fire making in the same day! Pleased.
Took the grub home and set up at parent’s house (next door).
Some kind of phone… possibly from a battlefield or remote office
We headed out on some errands to return the felt sheets used in the tea ceremony at assassinated Prime minster Inukai Tsuyoshi’s home to a strange little office in a corridor with the cigarette smell cemented into the cracked linoleum floors which all evoked the lost Showa times.
Along the way, a saw some shops, ate ramen, developed film, checked out cameras and whatnot.
First though, along one of these covered shopping arcades which i totally dig (how does Vancouver not have these everywhere?), continued my rather absurd documentation of phone boxes.
I would call you but haven’t figured out where to buy a phone card. Also noting these “midori denwa” (green phones) are abundant and in beautiful condition but i (not shockingly) never see one in use.
PS Did someone call a doctor? #joke My friend in Adelaide Australia made the snap into a fun cartoon-y image. I might do this with all photos in future.
Batch 2 of festive greetz away from the main downtown Okayama postoffice!
And technically, this post box is just for mailing New Year’s cards within Japan, so the pedantic ones amongst you need not point this out… Festive display made for a pleasant photo.
The overall count was smaller than batch one however several bonus super-deluxe envelopes of treats in the mix.
Destinations include: Germany, UAE, Scotland, Sri Lanka, … and the usual USA / Canada locations.
Such fun applying the stamps and interacting with the post office staff as so many folks are in preparing and mailing New Year’s cards.
This lil elf dropped off 80-ish new year cards into the hopper.
A few remarks regarding Star Wars IX “The Rise of Skywalker“ #NoSpoilers
Empathy is the greatest power or attribute worth striving towards and is cultivated (in large part) from kindness, calmness, self confidence and trust in others
War brings displacement and costs beyond death of fighters… Cultural loss, loss of personal history, plus refugee situations & family separation which can bring trauma for generations.
While you can’t choose whom you share blood with, you can choose “family“ and love beyond status, background, gender, species etc.
Rewards come eventually and sometimes in unexpected ways – Patience is your ally.
As you continue the hero’s journey, mentors and icons fall away, you will become your own hero. Be empathic to self, choose your family wisely.
Konnichi-Mae! To complete the trifecta of tunes from Saturday’s Matsuri comes my favourite!
Ryoko’s band Mae Maes played at a community outdoor festival (you can see video some of the other performers elsewhere in this archive) and several of the usual supporters were out on a sunny and surprisingly hot day, including the effervescent Tadanori Suzumura-san – “the Shacho” (boss) is a singer himself and a huge supporter of local music.
made a little photo book for gift and sale featuring postboxes of the world, post offices here and there, and letter writing “still lifes” scenes with stationery and bevvies (note to self: post a link or something to purchase this book)
A few years ago (or less), each day was quite tough. Now, each day i deal with pain and confusion but enough joy and interestingness to compensate. My brain fires but i have to throttle as i get headaches and eye strain very easily, i remain very sensitive to light and sounds so use dark glasses and ear plugs when out and about.
Anyhow, there are several recent “standalone” dispatches of activities and outings (Mae Maes concerts, tea ceremony, museums, tours…) but this post simply gathers up miscellaneous whatnots which don’t really chronicle anything but normal day-to-day tasks and action with brief annotations.
coffee and cake date with the amazing Ryoko who amazes me daily with her tenacity, honesty, grace and endless interests
