My First Fugu

On the right is sushi made with fugu or blow fish. It is topped with red radish and a green stem. Sushi chefs have to have a license to cut and serve fugu . It can be poisonous if cut incorrectly. On the left is a mound of pickled ginger called gari. During the pickling process, dye is usually added to gari to make it pinker.

Store-bought Dried Persimmon

Click here for a post about drying persimmons.

This Hakusai Gets a Chair of its Own

150 yen for a full head of Chinese cabbage! Direct from the field.

Click to enlarge the photo and you'll see another, bigger hakusai on the bottom shelf. Can you see the farmer in the shadows? He's minding the store while his wife is home cooking lunch. She left earlier with a cabbage in her bicycle basket. He's in the fields all day except at lunch time and late afternoon when his wife is making dinner. He is 86!

Wall and Fence

Most garden walls in our neighborhood are made of concrete. There are exceptions like these.

These fences let air pass through. Click to here to see some vents in concrete garden walls.

The Littlest Sakura Tree

I took photos of this little sakura tree in the spring when it was in full bloom. I pointed out the mark on the wall. It was made from a dirt speck on my camera lens. I took these photos with a different camera.

Look! There is a mark on the wall now! Sakura trees are spectacular any time of the year, aren't they? Click to enlarge the photos. Click here for the old post.

At the Entrance of a Family Restaurant

It's not unusual to see sinks at the entrances of restaurants. Some convenience stores have them, too. This was at a family restaurant in our neighborhood called Royal Host.

Emergency Number for Children

Children are on their own a lot here. They walk to and from school and after-school activities. If they run into trouble they should call 110. This was posted at a family restaurant entrance in our area. It could be seen from the inside and outside of the restaurant.

Late Afternoon at Nogawa Koen

Fall colors continue into December in Tokyo.

Maple leaves,

mostly gingko leaves,

and sunlight in evergreens.

More sunlight.

Click on the photos to enlarge them. Click here for information about Nogawa Koen (Park).

The Lunar Eclipse from Our Rooftop

The moon's light moving across our rooftop.

The earth's shadow moving across the moon.

Click on the photos to enlarge them. The first photo was taken with a small Panasonic Lumix. The second and third photos were taken with the Canon SLR. A stronger lens and a better light adjustment would have given more detail of the moon.

This was taken with the Panasonic Lumix. The shadow was moving away from the moon.

Neighborhood Trees

Sakura tree in the park.

Maple tree in a field.

Not sure what this tree is.

A Big Production

A crane was used to install

this big heater vent. This photo was taken two days after it was installed. Someone was still working on it.

Polynesian Sunset is blooming at Jindai Botanical Gardens. As of today, there are still lots of buds of other roses, too, ready to open. I took this photo with my iphone.

Click here to see the photo of the JFK rose I took on November 23, 2005. It was one of the first photos I had taken with the big Canon camera.

Dragons in the Sky

Lots of dragons in the sky yesterday at sunset. Look at the shape of some of the clouds. This is the view from our roof garden toward the northeast. Looks like fire in the clouds. (Click on the photos to enlarge them.)

This is southeast. The skies were clear above our house! I had a rooftop view of other people's weather.

Frank Lloyd Wright in Japan

I was in the Ikebukuro area today to go to the hospital to see my asthma doctor. I was breathing a lot easier afterward so I stopped by here. Recognize the style?

This is Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and Arata Endo. It was built in 1921 in Meijiro, Tokyo. One stop from Ikebukuro on the Yamanote line. It was once a girl's school. This building and others on the site are now used for events such as weddings and concerts. Visitors are welcomed when no events are being held inside.

Check this site Wright in Japan for more information and for photos of other buildings in Japan that were influenced by the Wright style.

Also check Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan for more information.

Detail of the main building of Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan.

Another building across the street from the main building.

On the corner.

Look at the detail of the windows!

Next time I go to the doctor, I want to go back to see inside.

Click here to see a post about a past visit to the asthma doctor. (They've remodeled the hospital since those photos were taken. The staff doesn't appreciate taking photos inside the lobby and halls of the hospital.)

Connie Francis Sang in Japanese

Japan and the United States has had many things in common. Like the love for the American singer, Connie Francis. My father and father-in-law were big fans.

She was very popular here and all over the world in the 1960s. She sang in 15 languages! Here is the cover of her greatest hits CD in Japanese. I am not sure if this is the original album cover.

I just learned that another American singer, Peggy March, known for her hit "I Will Follow Him" sang in Japanese, too.

A Cultural Icon

November 3 is Culture Day and a national holiday. I thought I would write a post about a national icon, Hibari Misora. She made her stage debut at the age of 8 in 1945. She became a very popular singer and actress. The last song she recorded was kawa no nagare no you ni. It means "like the flow of the river." It is a well loved song in Japan.

Kids Web Japan Culture Day