April 16, 2003
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Neighborhood Pictures 4/2003
These pictures were taken just after we moved out of Shinjuku and were enjoying spring in the new neighborhood.
4/17/2003
These little fellows below are called "tsukushi," (sorry, don't know the English name) and are as much a sign of spring as are crocuses. If you want, you may fry them up in an omelet for a lovely seasonal dish. The tender green leaves are called "yomogi" (mugwort) and are also edible. I believe that they were the source of the green in the rice ball and bean sandwich that I offered all of you awhile back.
4/21/2003
Just some boring pictures from da verandah - Things are starting to "green up" outside. I wonder how long it will take the trees to reach respectable heights?
2008 edit: I am increasingly glad that our apartment is positioned where it is. We knew the scenery would change and picked a place with "stable" scenery. In the above picture you can see our train station between the buildings, but now it is just the white wall of an appliance store.
This picture is called "gardening for dummies." You buy a buncha plants in their little black plastic containiers and stuff them in a basket for an instant garden. When the plant kicks off, ya can just toss it! Well, some of the stuff is transplanted from the old place, but I don't really remember what I planted anymore. Time will tell.....
2008 edit: Most of the plants are about deceased at the moment. Dotter forgets to water them. Well, it was our project and we will just plant more stuff later.
The area where we now live is home to many nashi orchards. For those of you who may not have sampled this fall fruit, they are also referred to as Japanese pears, and are about the same size as apples. The orchards are scattered throughout the small city, interspersed between domiciles and apartment buildings.
Here you see view of the small orchards from above and below. I think that I prefer the below shot without the buildings. The trees are all tied onto low frames, perhaps for easy harvesting.
This picture is a close up of nashi blossoms, which have fallen by now. I pass by this spot every time I go to school, so I will keep an eye on the progress.
2008 edit: The orchard where this above picture was taken has been totally cut down and is now a parking lot. Perhaps the owner of the land thought that more money could be made with less effort.
I found out that there are pheasants in the neighborhood! These pictures were taken from afar, so forgive the graininess after cropping. This is probably a male, and I noticed him because he was advertising for a SBF (single brown female) by skrakking like a small rusted turkey. There is not much in this area, and I kind of hope that it stays this way, but there is alot of land leveling going on, so eventually we may have Starbucks and all that. I think that I like the pheasants better.
2008 edit: All of the greenery in these picture is now gone, and an apartment building is going up where the pheasants roamed. We also now have a small shopping mall that blocks the view of Mt. Fuji, a Best Denki electical appliance megastore and a computer shop is going up as are two more apartment complexes. All I really needed was a local post office. I suppose people complained when our apartments were built, too.
Comments (8)
So glad you got pictures of the nashi orchard. They are beautiful.
Very interesting post. I'm always fascinated with Japan. Glad to find someone whro writes from there.
i remember going into the mountains for bamboo shoots, then eating them. lovely. Appreciate the update. I hope we can convince the Japanese about the value of THEIR esthetic. sorry the greenery is going. very un Japanese. But very urban.
@ANT_L - It seems strange sometimes how treasuring nature and destroying it both happen. The hills around our Tokyo neighborhood are still green, but I wonder if they will not someday be covered with little box houses. We have skylarks (hibari) drawing circles of song above the fields where nothing has been built yet. I hope that they don't go the way of the pheasants. The hibari's song is quite interesting. They are not easy to see because they fly high in the sky. The kanjisused to write hibari is "kumo suzume" or "cloud sparrow." (^-^) When they sing, they repeat the same phrase five or so times like a looped tape, and then change to another repeated song sequence, and then another and another... Sometimes it is just a "chip..... chip..... chip..... "
yes, this sounds so very Japanese. Is your husband Japanese? how do you come to be there? are you lonely sometimes?
@usalapinhazzer -
@ANT_L - Yes, he is from Kagoshima and was an exchange student to my high school in 1970-71. I followed him over here when I graduated college in 1975 and have been here most of the time ever since. We have lived mostly in Tokyo, but have also lived in Okayama, Izumo and now in Fukuoka. We will be getting back to Tokyo eventually. When I first got here I went to language school for a couple years and then audited at two local colleges before having kids. I had to be able to handle my own life before handling the lives of others. This is what I chose, so I must also choose not to whine about the results of my choice. I also believe that this is the path that God prepared for me, so anything that comes my way is to conform me to the image of Christ. I am not to be ruled by my emotions, but by what I know about God. He always gives us what we would pray for if we knew the entire picture. If I find myself starting to have a pity party, I just remember that things can always be worse, and I should be thankful for what I have, because things can change so quickly. I am living in a country where I don't have to hide my Bible. I can eat three meals a day. I can pay my bills. There have been no major earthquakes in my area. There are no wars happening here at the moment. I am healthy as are my family members. What is there to complain about? There, how is that for stiff upper lip maintenance? Haha!
watashi no shujin wa kyushu dunji des. so des ne? Ha! that's about all that's left! oh well. Yes, love the old satsuma castle, overlooking that circular bay. the haiku garden is so awesome. I write poetry, so a natural for me.
God bless you and yours. We thought about it, but he came to the states for a reason; not that he KNEW all about the reason, but we deeply considered and prayed, and in the end we were to be here. Yes, you have a great stiff upper lip. But with God, all things are possible.
as you seem to illustrate. I really admire you... let's stay in touch! all my best. (((hugs))) ( how UN Japanese!)
@usalapinhazzer -
@ANT_L -Kyushu danji wa taihen! Te ni oen! Ibaru! Iuu koto kikan!! Nabe-bugyou dashi. Otaku no otonosama wa doko shusshin? Moshikashitara Kagoshima ni itta koto arimasu ka? Sometimes Kyushu danji feels more like Kyushu dungeon. Haha!
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