Stands for the Rain

A couple of umbrella stands were out in front of shops today. It only sprinkled for a little while.

Umbrella Stand

It was a dark and rainy day. And it was cold, too. So, no pictures outside. Click on this one to get a better look.

I took this picture the other day. This umbrella stand was at a small station. It looks like a rocket, doesn't it? The umbrellas were 500 yen. Shopkeepers put these cheap umbrellas in a bin outside their shops when it starts to rain. They usually sell them for 300 yen. I guess this Space Age display was expensive.

Japanese Restaurant

At this Japanese restaurant, we had to take our shoes off. Fortunately, there were locked compartments for our shoes. (My shoes were taken by mistake while we were on vacation in August. See "Inside a Thatched Roof House".)



This is the key in the lock. We put our shoes in two separate compartments and removed the wooden keys.



There were no slippers provided so we walked through the restaurant on shiny, beautiful wooden floors. Papa had socks on, I was barefoot. We sat near the windows. These are the seats across from us. We stepped down to sit. There was a well under the table so we didn't have to sit Japanese-style (on our shins). We sat on cushions on benches. There was tatami or grass mats under the table.


There was a shoe horn provided to use on the way out.



In the vestibule, there was a place to put umbrellas. It wasn't a rainy day. These cheap white umbrellas were left here.

Things that Brightened a Rainy Day

No, I haven't run out of things to post. This is the second time I have posted a picture of a rain chain (see April). This one, however, is a close-up and the chain actually has rain splattering down it. It was a nice view from the window of Denny's, a family restaurant.





Before going into the restaurant, we passed through two sets of doors. Both were plastered with signs congratulating the birth of the new prince. It made us smile.





Before going to Denny's, we went to the hospital. This picture was taken at the hospital's parking garage. At the exit, there was a bin of umbrellas for visitors or patients. We used two of them to walk to the main building. Another bin was at the entrance for us to leave the umbrellas. The name of the hospital was written on each umbrella in bright purple marker. It was a nice service.


This is a close-up of the umbrellas.





This person was well-prepared for the rain today. It would be nice to go out to a dry bicycle, wouldn't it?

Souvenirs

Big Sister bought a paper parasol for her souvenir. I was surprised (and proud) to see her using it while she walked around the Ainokura village. I thought that was pretty cool for a 14 year old girl.




Little Brother bought one of these for himself and one for a friend. They are mascots. They're about the size of my palm. They're too big to be used as keychains. Kids hang these kinds of things on their randoseru or school bag.




Little Brother also got these. You place the thin stick between your palms, spin it, and let go. They fly up into the sky. We have one that was Papa's. You can find them everywhere, but I had never seen them with dragonfly wings and eyes.

Around a Small Town in Niigata Prefecture

Niigata Prefecture, a district in northern Japan, is known among other things for its very good rice. There are rice paddies or fields everywhere. The paddies outside town are commercial. The rice is sold all over Japan. There are paddies in town, too. That rice is grown only for the family who farms it to eat. The picture above is rice. At this point in its growing cycle it is bright yellow green. The rice was beautiful on this sunny day, but almost blinding. It was so bright!


This is the irrigation system of one of the paddies. I believe that's grass along the center.




Though we had sunny days for our visit, Japan has received more rain than usual this year. Everyone is concerned about the rice and other crops. It seemed every house here had a rice paddy or a garden or even both. This gardener is protecting her tomatoes from rain. The umbrellas are clear plastic so the tomato plants can still get the sun when its out. In April, I posted about a gardener in Tokyo who put an umbrella over her azaleas.




Walking around town we came across this scene. After the big earthquake in the area two years ago, this family put portable toilets behind their house. Can you see the man in front of the toilets emptying them with a hose attached to the truck? Having portable toilets in your back garden is not common. At one time, however, non-flush toilets were common in Japan. Someone would come along with a wagon to empty them. Nowadays, there are houses with non-flush toilets and trucks like this one come by to empty them. Let's just say that even though the process has surely improved over the centuries, it's not a pleasant job.




This rock was behind another house down the street from the toilets. This gardener planted bonsai or miniature trees on it. It was impressive how these trees could grow on a rock.

In the Hardware Store

I've always thought these paintbrushes were unusual.





A ball is a ball everywhere you go, but look how these are sold. This netting makes it easy to carry home and to store at home.




This is a cart of cotton gloves. They are used when cleaning up in the garden, but workmen use them, too. I've seen workers wearing them as they carried panelling and wallpaper. It protects what they are carrying from smudges and fingerprints.




I've never seen an umbrella stand like this one. I've never liked putting a wet umbrella in a canister-type stand. This one will allow the umbrellas to dry faster. We have to air out our umbrellas to make sure they don't sour.

Left Behind

These clear and white umbrellas are really cheap compared to other umbrellas. If it starts to rain during business hours, shopkeepers put a bin of them outside their shops. People who have gotten caught in the rain can quickly grab one to buy. I guess you could say that they are considered throwaways though they hold up pretty well.

This one was left behind on our street, so someone picked it up and put it on this tree brace. Here in Tokyo, when something is left behind or dropped by mistake it is put up somewhere in plain view. The person can come back to find it more easily. It's not unusual to see a lone shoe or glove on a fence or a shrub. When I went out shopping today, I noticed that this umbrella was gone. It had been there a long time. There was a non-stop downpour yesterday so perhaps someone had desperately needed it.




Today was a hot, sunny day. I also noticed as I passed a convenience store that their customer umbrella stand outside was full. People somehow left without taking their umbrellas with them. When I passed by again on my way home, I noticed they had moved all of the umbrellas to this bin on the parking lot. I guess it is their lost and found. There are several sturdy umbrellas in the bunch. There are quite a few of the cheap clear and white ones, too. Wonder if anyone will be back for those.

Umbrella Bags

Here is something incredibly important for rainy days. These are placed outside the entrances of stores. There are long, narrow plastic bags hanging from hooks. Customers put them on their wet umbrellas. They can then carry them into the store without getting everything wet. The used plastic bags are tossed in the bin as customers leave the store.

Small shops usually have an umbrella stand to leave wet umbrellas outside by the door. Train stations need these bags. Our local station doesn't have them. It's miserable to shake out your umbrella and then carry it dripping onto the train. We have a heavy plastic umbrella bag that stays in the car. I need one of those for my purse.