Snow!

Mt. Fuji has been snow-capped since November.

Today, Tokyo was capped in snow.

The snow highlighted the mountains to the west. I could actually see them this morning.

Look closely through the wires and beyond.

Funny, no birds were sitting on the wires this morning.

Snow Curls

Later in the day, the snow on our roof began to curl...

because of the snow guards.

Click on the photos to enlarge them. Click on the label "roof" below to see a post about our neighbor's roof guards.

Neighbor's Roof

I took this picture of our neighbor's roof from our kitchen window yesterday. It was raining and we couldn't go out to see koinobori.

This isn't a traditional tile roof. These tiles or shingles are made of metal. The aluminum crescents near the edge are to hold snow. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

I zoomed in and saw for the first time that the snow guards have tulips on them.

Click on this link and the labels below for more information:

Kids Web Japan--koinobori

Skyline of the Kabuki-za

Two high rise buildings peek over the Kabuki-za.

According to a pamphlet, this Kabuki-za Theatre, the theater for kabuki in Higashi Ginza, Tokyo, was opened in 1925. The original building opened its doors in 1889. It had a western style of architecture. In 1911, it was remodeled in the Japanese style. In 1921 it burned down. A new building was started, but was damaged in the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. Construction was delayed. Performances in a new fire-proof and earthquake proof structure began in January 1925.

Those are plants growing on the roof.

2-22-09

Here is a link to an article about the plans for the new building. It has a comment from a famous kabuki actor. It has some history, too. The pamphlet that we got at the theater said nothing about the theater being bombed in 1945.

The Painted Roof

The painters are now finished and all the scaffolding is gone. The color of the roof is called coconut shell brown. It reminds me of a Malaysian saying "like a frog under a coconut shell." It describes a person who hasn't seen or experienced much. So here we are, living under a coconut shell in Japan!

P.S. Little Brother thinks the roof looks purple. It does look different at different times of the day.

A view of our house from the street.

Roofer

A man was sitting on a roof. He was replacing tiles. This is a traditional roof.

He's holding cement in one hand and spreading it on the roof with the other. Click to enlarge the pictures. There is a loose tile near the edge.

House Roof

I have wanted to take a picture of a new style roof. I saw this big crow sitting on this roof, so I snapped the picture. The bird flew off. It turned out okay, don't you think?

This roof is a good example of the new style. Shingles were used. Do you know what those things sticking up are? They are pieces of metal to hold snow on the roof. Snow slides off the roof anyway.

Here is an example of an old style roof. These tiles look like they are made out of cement. See, there's another part of the roof that is made out of corrugated tin.

See how the tiles fit together?

See the blue part? That is the roof of a new addition to this house. They added a room later and used a new kind of tile. The newer tiles are lightweight. Most new houses now have shingles. I haven't seen any traditional style Japanese houses being built in our neighborhood. I'll add a picture of a house with tiles later.

Shoes on the Roof

It rained today so I didn't go out to take pictures. I took this picture on my way home from the class observation the other day. Click on the picture to enlarge it. I've been wondering if they're still there on this blustery rainy day.

Why would anyone put shoes on the roof like this? There is a balcony around on the front.