Summer Breeze

Wind chimes are hung in gardens during the summer. Papa says that the tinkling sound of a wind chime makes him feel cool. Today I went to Harajuku. When I was inching through the sweaty crowd toward the exit of the station, I heard these wind chimes. They are made out of glass. They are very common here. Paper strips are tied to the glass clapper or tongue of the bell to catch breezes.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Even the smallest breeze is welcomed! I'm not sure I felt any cooler.

Click here or the label below to see more wind chimes and other summer things.

Protection from the Summer Sun

These are sold to wear in the summer. They are for women to wear when they walk or ride their bicycles in the sun. They are supposed to protect against UV rays. They are available in black, too.

This how they are worn.

This pair costs 2000 yen. I think you could make them by cutting a long sleeved T-shirt. Perhaps they wouldn't be UV protected, though.

Summer Floor Coverings

Stores sell rugs and floor coverings throughout the year. During the summer months, they sell floor coverings that are made of woven straw. These are not tatami, the traditional straw mats. These rugs would be used on a wooden floor or even in a washitsu, a room with traditional tatami built into the floor. We have used straw rugs to protect the tatami from summer sweat. The rugs can easily be taken outside and aired out in the sun in the garden or on the balcony.

Most of these straw floor coverings or rugs are plain. Some have designs. This one has dragonflies on it. Dragonflies are a summery motif that is used on fans, handkerchiefs and yukata, etc.

Do a blog search for pictures of yukata, dragonflies, etc. or go to the archives and click on June, July, or August 2006 to see more summer pictures. The label below will show a few of the posts as well.

School Days: Homework for Summer Vacation

Here is a sample question of the fifth grade summer homework at Little Brother's school. They were asked to use a ruler, a protractor, and a compass to make the figure on the left with those measurements.

I want to point out how papers are marked here. When an answer is correct, it is circled. At Little Brother's school, homework is graded at home by a parent. This was started a couple of years ago. Students get checks for homework and numerical grades for tests. In elementary school, they get "can do it well", "can do it", and "needs more work" on their report cards.

Little Brother had other summer homework as well. He had to write kanji and read several books. He had to make something and write a report. He made paper and pizza. He also had to clean two things around the house. He had to think of a creative or unique way to do it. He cleaned the fuzz off a rug using masking tape. He scrubbed the bathroom sink with a toothbrush.

School has been in session for almost two weeks now. Little Brother had to carry everything back to school. (See the April posts for "School Days".)

Big sister is studying to take exams to get into high school next year. She had summer homework,too. She had to make appointments to visit three high schools. She had to study for exams in her classes the week after school started again. Even so, they both had some fun, too.

Remains of Summer

All of the stores are putting out fall displays, but there are still remains of summer. During the summer, these plants crop up everywhere. Along the streets like this clump or at the garden gate, they are unplanned but are a sign of summer. Some people pick stems to use as cat toys. Summer feels like it is ending. It could be the typhoon that is approaching.





I was told that kemushi, one kind of moth caterpillar, lays its eggs on the fluffy part of the plant. We have to be careful because the hair of the kemushi burns or blisters skin. This caterpillar is most likely a moth, but I'm not sure it is a kemushi. Little Brother insists that is. Look at the orange dots. Amazing.

As it turns out, this caterpillar looks like a Painted Lady butterfly .

Old Summer Friends

It seemed the cicadas started up a little late this year. They climbed out from under the dirt and have "sung" nonstop ever since. We have a lot of these holes in our garden. We also have several of the brown shells they leave behind.




This was the first cicada I have seen this summer. He stayed on this wall for a long time.

Mugicha, Summer Tea

During my first years in Japan, mugicha or barley tea could only be found in stores during the summer months. Nowadays, bottled mugicha can be bought throughout the year. In the summer, I buy the tea bags and make it at home. I prefer this brand. It is made by a company called House.

I fill the mugicha pitcher with tap water, put a tea bag in, and let it steep in the refrigerator. No sugar is added. The pitcher of mugicha in the picture above is just starting to steep. The tea should be darker before it is ready to drink. I take the tea bag out when it is ready. It is served to guests usually in short wide glasses like the one in the picture. When it is just us, we use our daily glasses.



During the summer, stores have displays of mugicha containers like this one. The short wide glasses are available in stores at that time, too.

Somen, Cold Noodles

These thin noodles are called somen. They are bound by a paper tab and come in a package with several bundles. They boil quickly and then they are chilled. They are served cold. We rinse them in cold water and then put them in the refrigerator for a few minutes. I have seen others serve them with ice cubes in the bowl.

They are eaten with chopsticks and are dunked in sauce in a small cup made especially for somen and soba (thicker noodles). We buy the sauce in a bottle and keep it in the refrigerator. It is concentrated so after pouring a little in the small cup we put cold water in it. The sauce has mostly soy sauce and seaweed broth with a little sugar. My kids like to eat somen with mandarin orange slices. These came from a can. My daughter likes to put horseradish in her sauce. Papa likes to put slices of leek. My son likes lots of orange slices.

Summertime Gifts

A truck like this delivered a box to our house. This is a delivery service called Pelican.




A business assoicate of Papa's sent it to us. The box was full of cookies, cakes and jellies like Jell-o.

In the summer, gifts are given to show appreciation. The gifts are usually food or drink items, soap, or even household cleaning items. (We got a nice box of laundry detergent one year.) Department stores and grocery stores have big displays and an ordering service where you can have the gifts delivered.

I want to point out that the gift was partially wrapped. When I first came to Japan these gifts were carefully and completely wrapped. Even purchases you made at a department store were wrapped. Each store had its own design. Clerks were trained how to wrap packages using only one piece of tape. My sister kept the wrapping paper of a purchase so she could learn how to do it. Now, items are just placed in bags.




This tin of cookies was hand delivered by Papa's aunt. It was plainly wrapped. Grandfather passed away three years ago in July. For the anniversary of his death, relatives came to pray for him. Some brought boxes of things to eat. Others sent boxes of summer fruit.

More Japanese Handheld Fans

These are folding fans called sensu. They are easily carried in a purse or bag. It is not unusual to see people use them on the train. When wearing a kimono, fans are placed in front between you and the obi, the wide sash worn at the waist.

One of my Japanese students gave me the purple and white fan on the left over 20 years ago . It still has a nice scent. I believe it is an expensive, well-made fan. When I first came to Japan, fans were pretty expensive. Now, fans vary in quality and price. The one with the blue and white wave pattern came from the 100 yen shop. Its blue cover was bought separately. The yellow monkey fan was bought many years ago for my daughter long. It was bought before there were 100 yen shops.

A little American girl once showed me how to fold the purple and white fan after I received it. She folded it carefully one fold at a time. She knew what she was doing. When cared for properly, a fan can last a very long time.

Japanese Handheld Fans

These are handheld fans called uchiwa. They do not fold. They used to be made of bamboo and paper like the green one in the picture. Plastic and paper ones are more common now. Summer scenes, summer patterns, animation or popular characters or advertisements are printed on them. We use them in the car when we first get in and the car is hot (especially in the back seat). We also use them at home.

Someone once said that fanning oneself did not really help. I think it does. I've had a lot of experience over the years. We don't use air conditioning in every room. There are places like on the train where the air is hot and stuffy.

Kakigori

Before bedtime last night, we learned from the news that there would be 2 to 3 more weeks of the rainy season in Tokyo. Rain fronts move across Japan so different regions of the country experience the rainy season a few weeks earlier or later than others. According to the same news report, Kyuushu in southern Japan has finished its rainy season. It's a good thing, too. They've had flooding in the past few days.

We woke to a bright sunny day today. It lasted all day. Not much humidity and a nice breeze made for a nice day. We dragged out our snow cone or kakigori machine and made snow cones. The goofy looking character is a sweet robot named Doraemon. He sometimes wears a propeller on his head and flies around with his human friend, Nobita. He also has magic gadgets and all kinds of adventures. Here, he is holding a fan. The kanji printed on the fan means "ice".


Wherever you see this sign, you are sure to be able to buy kakigori or maybe even the machines like in the picture below. Yikes! I just noticed that the sign is reversed. I was on the wrong side when I took the picture. Compare the picture of this sign and the one below. Same sign, different sides. The one below is correct.



Here is a display of machines at a department store. I saw an electric machine recently. Most are operated manually by cranking.

Kakigori is a true summertime treat. The syrup is sold by the bottle, but recently bags of different flavors in little plastic cups are available (see the top picture). Melon, strawberry, lemon and blueberry are the usual flavors. Green tea or matcha can also be found.

Floats

Public pools are open, but it's been raining. Here are some floats sold at a department store. There are all kinds but I thought these were unusual. I'm sure there are kids who can't wait to get in the pool with some of these. School children sign up for pool practice at school. It's not for fun, though. No floats are allowed.

Summer Yukata

Today was the fireworks display in our area. Some people dress in summer yukata, a lightweight cotton kimono. Crowds of people go down to the river to watch them. You see more little girls and young women wearing yukata. They wear bright colors with different patterns. I saw several young men wearing them, too, this year. The yukata for men are darker colors with geometric or no designs.


These pictures were taken at a department store. The top picture shows women's yukata. There is one black one with a flower design. These are little girls' yukata in the picture to the left. See the big bows? Those are worn around the waist.

We are fortunate to be able to see the fireworks from our roof garden. We usually watch them from there. One year we dressed up in yukata and climbed the stairs to the roof. We sat there fanning ourselves the whole time. It was hot! This year it sprinkled the whole time. We sat under umbrellas.

Summer Days: Last Days Before Summer Vacation

Yesterday was their last school lunch. It was a special menu. They had two set choices and had to make a decision two weeks in advance. My son chose the meat pie, coffee milk instead of the usual milk, and orange sorbet. The other choice was chicken cream pie, tea or apple juice and vanilla ice cream. Everyone got spaghetti and salad.

Today was the last day of school. They came home at lunch time. Students are off for six weeks. They will go back to the same class on September 1st. (New school years start in April.) Though they have homework assignments to do over the vacation, they'll have time for fun, too. Unfortunately, it was raining today. But here is something fun to do inside on rainy days.

I said in a recent post that a ball is a ball everywhere you go. Well, maybe not. These are paper balls. You blow into the hole to inflate them. They come in four sizes with a round cardboard paddle that you can cut out. The paddle has a hole for you to stick your finger through to grip it easily. You can play by yourself trying to keep the ball in the air or hit the ball to another person. The ball doesn't float so you have to be quick. They're pretty tough. They don't even break when kicked. It's fun for all ages.

At the Hardware Store: Summer Things for the Outdoors

There aren't that many lawns of grass here. If there is grass in a garden it is more than likely quite a small patch. Small patches require small mowers like these. These are about a 12 inches wide.



This one is a push mower. Note the yellow strips on the ground for the blind! See the post for June 25th for more information about these lines.





Screens are put outside windows to block the hot summer sun. All different sizes are sold. These large screens will lean against the wall outside a sliding door. There were some smaller screens inside the store, too.



These are glass wind chimes with a moss decoration on top. Usually they are just the glass chime with a piece of paper hanging on the string. The paper catches a breeze making glass clink against glass. It is a sound that gives the feeling of summer. On a hot day, the clink lets us know that there is a breeze. The chimes are put away after summer.

The Look of Summer

Hydrangea and a screen on the window. Ah-h-h, summer. This is a friend's kitchen window. It's not unusual for windows on the first floor to have this kind of bars. Shutters are on bigger windows.

Summer Days: Fireworks & Cars

Fireworks are sold in convenience stores, hardware stores and some department stores. They are mostly sparklers and poppers. Children light them with their parents. They usually hold them over a bucket of water and then drop the leftover into the water.





The movie Cars opened recently in Tokyo. There were goods at the department store where I took the picture of the fireworks. We want to see the movie, but the Japanese dubbed version is only shown at kids' times. Most movies are shown in their original language and have subtitles written at the bottom of the screen. However, children's movies are dubbed by Japanese actors. Though my children are fluent in Japanese, they actually prefer to watch American movies in the original English. Me, too. We'll have to go all the way downtown or wait until it comes out on video/DVD.

Summer Days: Lavender

I have waited all year to see this! Last year, I noticed that the parking lot of a garden nursery had lavender planted all around it. It is pretty far from our house, but I can get there easily by train. I went back several times to take a picture this spring but it hadn't bloomed. I finally went at the right time.

When I went to Tasmania many, many years ago, a friend and I stumbled onto a lavender farm that was in full bloom. We were there at the right time. It has always been a great memory. Seeing a field of flowers is awesome. I'm glad I got to see this.




As I got closer to take a picture, the parking lot attendant warned me about the bees. Maybe you can see them. They don't sting, do they?




He's got a nice spot to work despite the bees and the humid weather. The humid (wet) weather we have in Japan makes it all even more precious and incredible; lavender prefers dry conditions.

P.S. The children aren't as eager anymore to make long treks by train and on foot in these hot, humid days so I went alone. Hopefully, we'll get to go by car to see the lavender at the foot of Mt. Fuji. Hope there aren't many bees. My son doesn't appreciate them as much as he does other bugs.

Tanabata

Today was Tanabata. Here is our Tanabata decoration on our porch. There have been branches of bamboo outside homes and shops everywhere for about a week. My son had one in his elementary school classroom. Now that I think of it, there weren't many outside homes. Perhaps people put them inside the entry hall. The weather has been pretty unpredictable lately.

The branches, called sasa , are sold at flower shops. People decorate them with handmade paper decorations. They also write wishes on strips of paper. The branches are usually put in a container of water to keep them fresh. Jiji used to burn everything promptly the next day, but there are now city laws against it. Now we throw it all away. As you may remember, we have a garbage day when we put out burnable items.



I took this picture above of a branch in the hallway of the elementary school when I visited. It ended up decorated in a classroom.



This was outside a community center.




This was at a shopping center. They had already set up shops but were setting up games for tomorrow's matsuri or festival.




Kids Web Japan--information about tanabata

Kids Web Japan--story of tanabata