Tea House

Entrance to a large tea room.

An entrance to a small tea room on the other side of the larger entrance. That is a small wooden door. One must crawl through to enter.


A window screen.

Mt. Fuji During Rainy Season

I don't ever remember seeing Mt. Fuji during the rainy season.

Hydrangea season

Ume Branches on Manhole Cover in Fuchu

 

First Day of School

These girls are on their way home after a short day at school. They're not carrying their usual school bags. They probably took their desk boxes to school in the bags they are carrying.


From the field looking into the park. Those are petals on the ground.

Not Quite in Full Bloom

In the park down the street, the sakura trees are not quite in full bloom.


Branch by branch, they're blooming at different rates.

Graduation Cake

Big Sister graduated from high school on Saturday. Aunt bought her this cake. The bouquet of roses is made out of a lemon flavored candy. It says Omedetou. That means "Congratulations!" Those are sakura (cherry) blossoms stenciled on top of the cake in pink sugar.

Hakama Rental

Big Sister wore a hakama for graduation. We rented it from this shop. Note that either boots or traditional sandals could be rented. She chose to wear traditional shoes with it.

The shop's name is Suzunoya.
www.e-hakama.com 0120-753-411

The Bloom Blossomed

Peach blossom.

First Bloom

Not of the season. It is the first time this tree has bloomed! Ever. It has been pruned at the wrong times in the past. Everything has its season for blooming and pruning. It would get scraggly and in the way in the summer so somebody would snip at it. Finally, we got it right!


That's the top of the neighbor's house. The daphne (next post) is to the left of this tree.

Spring Snow

This daphne blooms every winter. Sun or snow. The olive tree in front of it is not doing well.

This one azalea bloom is a little early.

Girls' Day

We didn't put Big Sister's dolls out this year because we have a kitten in the house who knows no boundaries. This is a catalog from Isetan, a department store. Check the label below for other posts and photos.

World Read Aloud Day!
March 3!
Mark your calendars!

Extra Closet Space

Bedrooms in apartments usually have a closet for futon. They are big and spacious. There usually aren't clothes closets, especially in older apartments. People buy wardrobes that sit in the room. They are wooden or cloth cabinets. Some are just open racks. Others have cloth drapes around them.
These choices are from the catalog Big Sister, the high school graduate, received recently. These things are available throughout the year.

Here is the company's link. It takes awhile to link up:
http://www.seikatsuzacca.com/

Catalog for the Graduate in the House

This year we have a high school graduate in the house! Big Sister is graduating from high school in March! So that means she's getting a lot of catalogs.
This one has furniture for college students' first apartment or for those who want to remodel their rooms at home. I think it's safe to say that most college students in Japan live at home with their parents. That is, if their university of choice is in the same town. Papa and aunt lived at home and went to university. Actually, they never left home!

This bed system is a real space saver. That's a television underneath.

Patrick Gannon--SCBWI Presentation

Patrick Gannon gave a presentation about cut paper art. It was fantastic! And fun! We got a chance to make one ourselves. I did mine at home. I like doing it.

Check out his beautiful art at his website here. His art has appeared in Cricket Magazine, TIME Asia, and other publications.

Concrete Slabs

The crane also lifted concrete slabs. The worker directed them over to the pile.

These concrete slabs will be the outside wall of the house. Typically, houses are made of wood here.

This netting is to protect workers from falling tools, etc.

Jewel Lock Pins

I've had these for years but haven't used them.

I bought them to pin a towel to the top of a blanket. Baba used to use what we call 'diaper pins' to attach towels to blankets.

When Big Sister and Little Brother were babies (18 and 14 years ago) we didn't use diaper pins. Diapers were held on by woolen or cotton diaper covers that had velcro fasteners.

Building the Neighbor's House

A crane was brought in to do the heavy lifting.

It lifted metal sections of the frame. Workers fitted them into place.

Our vegetable stand man watched from below. Can you see him at the corner of his stand?w

Litter Box

The litter for this litter box is made out of recycled wood chips. The litter can be used for one month. Urine goes down through the grated tray and is collected in a block of compressed wood chips. The blocks need to be changed each week. For two cats more often. This system is so much easier than other cat litter. Our box has a cover so that the cats have privacy.