Japan New Year Celebrations

Throughout the world New Year's eve is about getting together with friends and spending a fun evening while imbibing oneself with spirits and hanging over on the first day of the year. Even in Japan, where alcoholism is probably higher than the international average, New Year's celebrations are about being at home, quiet with family. The first day of the year is more about being with family more and engulfing oneself with the best food you can possibly get your hands on.

The traditional food is Osechi Ryouri ("Osechi" just being the name of that particular food and "ryouri" meaning cuisine), however, many families stray beyond tradition and will put together gourmet food of some kind totally unrelated to Japanese culture - something they don't normally eat but have the occasional craving for. Our option a couple years ago while in Hawaii, was Mexican food at the food court in Ala Moana Shopping Center. Last year it was extra crispy Kentucky Fried Chicken and the kids had one of their favorites, tuna sashimi.
The bringing in of the new year is also a traditional celebration where people gather with friends to eat Toshiko Soba ("Toshiko" meaning bringing up a new year, and "Soba" being a word for the noodles), then going to the neighborhood temple for a prayer. My brother-in-law, Ken, who is a bit younger, brings it in a pseudo-modern manner. Ken gathers with friends, goes to the same place every year to have Toshiko Soba at about 11 p.m., then heads to a lookout over Yokohama Port to watch the fireworks blast at 12 a.m. - a mix of both traditions.

Enjoy! 73s..... Happy New Year!

Christmas In Japan

Over the past nine years I have seen Christmas evolve into something that is actually recognized in almost all parts of the society to a certain extent among middle-aged and younger Japanese. First, all Japanese companies are open and operating for business on Christmas day, so that is somewhat of a shock to most foreigners the first time they spend Christmas in Japan. Most foreign workers take the day off or attempt to make such arrangements if they are not going home for the holidays.

For the Japanese, however, Christmas falls on the monthly pay day of most Japanese companies, so there are two things that people do, depending on social obligations. For single men and women, Christmas is a romantic time to spend with that special someone in Odaiba, Tokyo or to have a dinner and take away to the local love hotel. For everybody else, it is a time to go to the local shopping center and buy a Christmas cake, have dinner with the family, and maybe exchange a couple of gifts. Younger parents, especially those that have spent some time overseas, actually decorate a small tree, and put presents under the tree for kids and surrounding family. This tendency over the past five or six years has been heavily driven by merchants promoting the holiday as a precursor to the normal New Year's spending season.

Overall, it's definitely not like Christmas in other parts of the world where the town shuts down, everybody gets together, and it's a festive time with family and friends. The atmosphere is more commercial, romantic that resembles Valentine's Day, and cake sellers on every corner, aisle, and nook between the train station and the other side of the shopping center - no matter where you are in the Tokyo area.

Japanese Copy Editing

I see this advertisement just as I get off the train in the middle of the Sotetsu platform in Yokohama. While the average male looking at this would be a bit surprised and feel even a bit challenged, and maybe even inclined to join the fitness club that is advertised, this lack of attention to what is actually written on the model's shirt really does hurt the corporate image.

Before doing a shoot, isn't there usually an art director or some kind of manager whose six years of English education actually means something? It's amazing to live in a country with such a strict mandatory English education system, but still have the most English illiterate society in Asia.... even worse than most poor countries in the region; the Phillipines, for example. However, I think much has improved over the past ten years and we are just starting to see the fruits of a couple of changes in the younger twenty-somethings out there. One such change was the realization that Japanese nationals teaching English in public and private schools is probably not an effective solution - duh! This was the craziest thing I heard some years ago. The Ministry of Education in Japan gets away with some stupid policies and still runs unaccountable for its actions. This advertisement and corporate and social Japan's globalization are the biggest indication of this unaccountability.

Some Mountain Pictures

Was going through my iphone pictures earlier and this came up from a hike up in the Minami Alps in early October. Quite late for a hump up Kita-dake, so it became very cold under some fierce winds late night an early morning; but the hike down threw these streams on the side of the mountain made the trip worth it. The water right at this point was pure (tested) and delicious. This was the last hike of the season since I stopped earlier than normal this year, but am looking forward to an early start next year. Fuji-san is now pure white from just above the 1,000 meter level, so won't be attempting Tanzawa's Tono-dake any time soon. However, a gradual climb may not be so bad even in the snow, and may find my way out to Kumotoriyama some time around the turn of the year.

Here is a picture from last fall up on Kumotoriyama at about 12 mid-night when I could not sleep. When I climb I generally tend to go to bed earlier than normal, but the Japanese 'rule' to sleep within an hour after sun down and wake up and pack at 5 am just does not work for me. I generally prefer to stay up until about 9 or 10 pm then wake up slow; especially when it's cold and bitter - to build up the courage to crawl out of the sleeping bag.

Cheers! NH2GX / JG1FXZ

Day At The Park

The kids and I set out for the park at about 10:30 a.m. this morning. The weather was awesome today after a good, hard rain last night. Yesterday morning I woke up at about 7:30 a.m. and looked outside to clear skies with just a few cotton ball clouds floating. Again, at about 8:30 a.m. I went outside to take a look at the antennas and saw clear skies.

When the family started to rustle around at about 9:00 a.m., we prepared breakfast and started our day with an excursion that, for me, turned very short. I opened the front door at 10:30 a.m. and the clouds were dark, the temperature had dropped suddenly and it was drizzling rain. Ummm..... "I feel like staying home", I mumbled. Then was let off the hook from stuffed animal shopping. I stayed in most of the day and worked on PIC programming and some circuit design. Got a lot of rainy day stuff done on a rainy day.

Today, we took advantage of the clear weather at a muddy park!