Special Green Light

When I entered a department store I go to often, the sign under this green light caught my eye. The sign said "Push for Assistance" in Japanese and in English. There was a big red button below the sign. At first I thought it was for customers who needed help with items, but then I saw the rest of the display. It was for people in wheelchairs. See the picture below.




There were stacks of trays and baskets. The tray could be strapped around a person's waist to hold the shopping basket in place. The service was provided by the 7-Eleven Corporation that also owned the department store.

An Alternative Ice Cream & An Alternative Source of Energy

Have you ever had potato ice cream? Maybe it's not an option where you live. Ice cream made with potatoes can be found here in Japan. There is a sweet purple potato that is made into ice cream. There is also just plain potato ice cream. Here is a picture of a potato ice cream that has matcha or green tea powder in it.

(This picture was taken in the summer. See the sign for kakigori or snow cones? I posted a picture on July 26th. The signs are no longer around. You can't buy snow cones anymore. Summer is gone.)



Here is a city bus that uses compressed natural gas. It is much smaller than other buses in the Tokyo area. I think there are some cities in the U.S. that use alternative sources of energy for their buses. There are probably some in other parts of the world, too.

Newspaper Stand

This newspaper stand was in the waiting area at Denney's restaurant.




If you want a newspaper, you put the money in the box on the stand and take the paper. There are no buttons to push or levers to pull. It is an "On Your Honor" system. There are locks on the money boxes, though.

One newspaper is 100 yen. One is 110 yen. Some are 130 yen. Click on the picture to view a larger version. See how the price (130 yen) is written two different ways?

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.

School Days: Reaping and Sowing

Taking care of a rice plant was part of Little Brother's fifth grade homework over the summer vacation, too. After planting it at school (see post for June 15th,) he brought it home on July 12th (see that post). Here is a recent picture of his rice plant. It has produced rice!




Yesterday while I was out and about, I came across two fields with long sheets of black plastic stretched across rows. Round holes were cut in the plastic. In each hole as far as I could see, there were pink pellets strewn. I wondered what the pink things were.


Later Little Brother came in and announced that his class had planted daikon, Japanese radish, in fields near their school. "Yeah, and the seeds are pink!" I was nowhere near the fields he planted, but I got the answer to my question. He said he made a hole with his finger and put three seeds in it and covered them with soil.


Here is a picture of a daikon. I took it last year. The daikon was sitting on a table to be sold for 150 yen. The price was lowered to 100 yen. There is a blue tin money box on the scale next to it. Whoever wants to buy it will put the coin in the tin box. It is an "On Your Honor" system at this vegetable stand.

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?

People to People, Pole to Pole, It Is A Small World

I planted a white rose bush on the first anniversary of 9/11. It hasn't bloomed yet this year. I took this picture of a single white rose at someone's entrance this morning.

As I write, it's the afternoon of September 11th here. We're a few hours ahead or maybe even a day ahead of most of you in time. The day begins in New Zealand, I believe. That is, the sun rises on land there first.

9/11/01 is a tragic day in history, but did you know that on September 11, 1956 something extraordinarily positive happened? U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded People to People, an organization to encourage international understanding. His idea was to bring people of different cultures together. Since 1963, thousands of young people have traveled to other countries through the Student Ambassador Program. People to People's Friendship through Education has ideas for younger students. There are People to People programs for adults, too.

Walt Disney was present at the first White House conference that established People to People. He created "It's a Small World" afterwards. It's one of the favorite attractions at Tokyo Disneyland. And, I have heard, it is popular in California as well.




Speaking of a small world, I found two of these Peace Poles on the same road just five blocks away from one another. I found this one a long time ago as I was walking down the street. I took this picture this morning.



On the wall of the apartment building beside the pole is the phrase "May Peace Prevail on Earth" written in 81 different languages. That is non-burnable recyclable garbage in the blue bags. It's from the residents of the apartment building.







I was on the bus recently when I saw this Peace Pole peeking up from the trees in a garden down the street from the other one! September 21st is the International Day of Peace . Some people are planting trees, some are making pinwheels, some are planting Peace Poles.

Changing Trains

Big Sister went to a school festival today. She is in her last year of junior high school. Part of her summer homework was to make appointments to visit at least three schools. Going to their fall festivals will give her an idea which one to choose. She will take exams for three schools in January or February.

Litle Brother and I went out to lunch today. We got to ride in a new train on our usual train line. We sat and compared it to the old ones. We decided it was much nicer.




I will post a picture of the inside of an old train later. The new one seemed larger. We noticed the windows were larger and they were tinted. Even so, the sun was hot. A lady jumped up to pull down the shades, but there weren't any. This new, improved train had no shades.




This sign is in most corner seats of trains. Can you figure out what it says by looking at the pictures? There are priority seats on buses, too.

Walking home from the station, I was thinking of Grandparents' Day when all of a sudden a very old man zoomed past us on his bicycle. He was holding a cane in one hand while gripping the handlebar!

It reminded me of a friend who was using a cane because she had hurt her foot. I went with her to the airport. She was about to miss her plane so she took off running. Running with a cane. That's what you would call "mind over body". That seems hopeful to me. Just yesterday I posted about carts with seats for the elderly. Today I saw another exceptional old person.

Changing Seasons

As we walked along, we saw a scene like this several times. City gardeners are trimming shrubs and trees. They are getting ready for the change in seasons.

For the Elderly

Tomorrow is Grandparents' Day in the States. Japan has its Day of Appreciation for the Elderly on the 18th of this month. Not all grandparents are elderly. Here are some things that would make life easier for those who are.




These are shopping carts that have seats. The wheels lock so Baba (Granny) won't roll down the street as she sits down. Most people ride bikes or drive cars and carry groceries home that way. Some of us walk everywhere we go. Older people use these carts. I use a cart when I shop. A neighbor laughed and called me "Granny" when I first used my cart. It doesn't look like these, though. These carts are for people much older than I am. I have seen really, really old people do their own shopping with these.




You've probably seen these. One is a shower stool and one is a shower chair. There is also a toilet in this picture. There are other toilets in the picture below. Most of these would have to be emptied. The one on the left fits over a regular toilet.



P.S. You may want to look at the post for July 4th, 2006. Tokyo Gas visited Little Brother's school. They held a workshop to show the students what it's like to be old. Do a search of my blog and look up "School Days: Visit from Tokyo Gas".

The Lost & Found Pole

I don't go to the hardware store very often but when I do, I always go the same way. I notice there is usually something hanging from this utility or telephone pole. It is on the corner of two small streets. This time there was a hat hanging on it. Someone stuffed its chin strap under the wire that is holding that sign to the pole. I remember once there was a towel hanging near the bottom of the pole and a cute bag higher up.

When something is lost on the street here, a passerby will put it up somewhere like on a fence or a bush. That way, it's easy for the person to come back to find. I guess for this area, this is the lost & found pole.

The Bird

This is the bird that runs around in the field behind our house in the morning. I'll try to find its name. If you know, drop me a line.

Grocery Store Thoughtfulness

What a nice service! This is a bin for customers to put the outside rough leaves of the lettuce. I have also seen this kind of bin for corn husks.

Elephant Ears?

This looks like a plant we call Elephant Ears in the States (at least where I come from). This is the field behind our house. There are a lot of these plants in the fields in my neighborhood. They get as high as an elephant's eye.




These plants are called sato imo. Imo means potato. Actually, these plants are taro plants. I will post a picture when they are harvested. I am sure I will post other pictures of the plants. Water beads up on them and they look like crystals.

There are different kinds of potatoes here. Some are like the ones that are sold in the U.S. They have thinner skins, though. They are used in stews and curries. One fall day when my children were in kindergarten, they had to wear their rain boots and take a shovel to school. They went to dig potatoes. They brought some of them home. They also went once in elementary school. They peeled and cut the potatoes to put in a curry. They ate it for lunch.

It's a Boy!

You may have heard that the Chrysanthemum Throne has a new male heir. Princess Kiko had a baby boy this (Wednesday) morning. Chrysanthemums are not in season now, but since it is the crest of the Emperor I thought I would post one.

A Restaurant's Request

On the back of this chopstick package, this restaurant requests that you take your chopsticks home with you, wash them, and use them again. They are made of cedar and were not made to be thrown away. In most restaurants here, chopsticks are disaposable. (Chopsticks are used for Japanese food. Forks, spoons, knives are used for other kinds of food.)

We went to this traditional Japanese food restaurant to celebrate Baba's birthday. I unfortunately forgot to take the camera and missed out on some really nice photos. Like the tofu. It was made especially by the restuarant and was served with different flavors of seasoned salt. Everything was served on its own plate or in its own bowl. We eat that way at home, but the dishes there were beautiful.

The music of "'Tis a Gift to Be Simple" was playing overhead as we ate. I smiled to myself. There is nothing simple about a Japanese meal!

A Big-Footed Bird?

I like to check the back of the house in the morning even when it rains. There's always something crawling around. This morning there were two small birds running around. They looked a lot like sandpipers. But look at this!




It looks like something jumped our fence and made tracks through the field. It ended up in that clump of plants. There are rose bushes on our fence right there so it wasn't a good place to go over. Whatever it was didn't make a bee line for the clump. It must have been a sore-footed whatever or a big-footed bird jumping around. See how the tracks veer off to the right and then back? Never seen anything like it. Any idea what is was?

P.S. I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that we have bats flying around at night that help keep the mosquito population down.

Repelling Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are still biting and we're still using repellent incense. I'm not sure what you would call this in English. The green spiral is an incense that is put on a stand, lit, and placed in the pig-shaped decanter to burn. Pigs are a very common design for the decanter. Smoke from the burning incense comes out of the pig's mouth and kills the mosquitoes. It is a common summer scent. Walking through the neighborhood, we can smell it wafting from gardens. The can with the rooster on top is full of these green spiral incense. The blue green device next to it is a lighter. I have recently seen the lighters sold in the U.S. for grills.

The blue electrical device has a bottle of mosquito repellent in it. For the picture, I put a bottle next to the device to show you what it looks like. The repellent vaporizes and kills the mosquitoes.

Aunt has a device that emits a high frequency sound that kills mosquitoes. We use that sometimes, too. There is also a plastic bracelet that is supposed to keep them away. Mosquitoes don't bite Big Sister and me. Papa and Little Brother are the tasty ones. I put the incense in the garden long before the children come home from school. Mosquitoes don't seem to be as bad in wider, more open spaces, so children usually go to the park to play. Besides, there's not much room to play in most gardens. We don't have yards like in the west.

Recycling Man

This truck goes around our neighborhood every now and then. On a loud speaker, the driver asks for old electronic, mechanical, or motorized items. Today he had an old computer, a television and two motorcycles on his truck.

The parts are salvaged or the items are repaired and redistributed. This is another way to recycle here. This truck comes by very rarely, but there is another way to get rid of these kinds of items. By calling the city, you can arrange for them to come to get them for a small fee.

By the way, there is also a truck that goes around asking for old laundry poles. He actually sells new ones, too.

Mosquito Net

The mosquitoes in our garden were really bad again this year. They are still bad. Little Brother saw this in a summer catalog and thought we should get it. Mosquitoes find him tasty.

Funny enough, there are much smaller versions of this at the 100 yen shop. They look just like this. They are supposed to be put over plates to keep flies off. I sent several to my sister because she barbecues outside a lot. She likes them because they fold up.

In our old house that great-grandfather built, we didn't have screens on our windows so we needed such kinds of things. Now, we have screens.

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 .

Earthquake Supplies

There are displays of emergency supplies in all of the stores this month. Here is a lightweight, waterproof "blanket". As you may be able to see from the pictures, it has many uses. We have 6 of these as part of our emergency supplies. I tried to download a picture of the portable toilet, but it keeps showing up upside down on the page. I'll try to post it another day.

Jiji, grandfather, put a small shed in the garden to store emergency supplies. The shed had to be at a distance from the house. There are many things stored in our shed. A three (or more) day supply of water and food, sleeping bags, tents, etc. We are supposed to go to the elementary school in case of a major earthquake. I guess we have all of our supplies in case we need to camp out in the garden or a nearby field.

Rope Ladder

We live on the second floor of our two-family home (grandmother and aunt live donwstairs). We need this rope ladder in case of emergencies. The container is 16 inches in height. It sits in our living room. There is a hole in the back so that it can be hung on the wall. There's actually more floor space than there is wall space in our living room so it sits on the floor. The end of the rope can be looped around our balcony railing and then hooked.




He makes it look so easy. We should practice using it!

We also have a bigger portable escape ladder from the U.S. sitting on the balcony outside the children's rooms. It is harder to get over the railing, but I think it's easier to climb down.

Anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake 1923

On September 1, safety drills and lectures take place. It is the anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. I had plans to stand around the fire department to take pictures of them doing drills, but it rained. They probably did them anyway, but the thought of standing in the rain and juggling a camera was too much of a drill for me. So, since I didn't get the pictures I wanted, I'm posting more pictures of fire hydrants. I have already posted some in the past. I will post other safety devices and supplies later.




This was out in the rice fields of the small town in Niigata prefecture that we visited recently. I took the picture from the car so I'm not sure how it works. It looks like a door needs to be opened to get to the spout.




This picture of a fire hydrant was taken from a window of that thatched roof house we visited near Ainokura.




These are on the streets of my neighborhood. They tell firemen where the spouts are for fire hoses. The one above is about 2 ft. x 1 ft.


This round one is about 8 in. in diameter.



In our area, September 1st is the first day of school after the summer break. As you may remember or know, new school years start in April. September 1st is a short day spent doing safety drills. Mothers or fathers meet their children at school to walk home with them. The children and teachers usually walk out of the school in their fire hoods (see April post). The children line up for the family members to meet them.

It was raining today. I left home thinking we'd do the same old thing only with umbrellas. As I arrived at the school, I heard an announcement to come inside. Other mothers had brought their slippers. I didn't! I had to walk through the school in socks. (Street shoes are left at the entrance). I was embarrassed, but I noticed some mothers (and even grandmothers!) were doing the same. No hoods today. Not even drills. I wonder if they'll be doing them on Monday.

By the way, my shoes were right where I left them. (see the August 24th post)