Moving Upstairs

I'm in the midst of packing and moving my stuff upstairs to one of the Guest rooms.  It's a matter of schedule that I'm moving this week.  My replacements here at the Guest Home will be arriving on August 29 and they need to live here. I would like to take a bit of a holiday while things are relatively quiet here and have the opportunity to go to my favorite place in the woods in the mountains in Karuizawa.  My quilting class is having a party at our sensei's summer home in Naka Karuizawa on August 26. So, if you put all of those things on a calendar you come up with my needing to move this week. A friend got me a discount on tickets on the Shinkansen, so that really means I have to go on the planned day and time, no excuses.

One thing that makes it a little easier is that in my mind I've never moved in to this apartment.  The circumstances of my taking on the job of managing the Guest Home and the relentlessness of the work itself has meant that I sleep in the bed, I use the shower and the kitchen, but my stuff pretty much sits on the top.  Not stashed away too far.  So for the last day and a half I've been putting things in boxes so that I can get them out of here quickly and then I'll clean the house so that I can go on my vacation.

This morning I did another job that was on my list.  I went for my annual check up with my local doctor. I was due for a blood draw in any case, so I also had the urine test, chest x-ray, and EKG.  They also check your height weight, waist measurement, and such.  Because of my age and because I am part of the National Health Plan this annual check is free for the things I mentioned.  The only thing he asked me about adding was the liver function tests on the blood samples.  This added about $4.50 to my usual fee (like a co-pay). I could go to a bigger clinic and get a mammogram and swallow a camera for a stomach cancer test, but I have chosen to defer those till I get home. The doctor I see has a small clinic very near here.  It's great for getting my maintenance medications and for colds or other ailments.  The best part is that he understands most of my questions/responses in English and attempts to use as much English as he can pull up from his memory when speaking to me. So it has worked for me. When I told him I was moving back to America in September he didn't make much of a response, so I said, "Will you miss me?" He said, "I suppose."

The Quintessential Ichikawa Summer Event

Most summers the city of Ichikawa puts on an event the first Saturday of August.  It's a fireworks display down by the Edogawa River. Sometimes I have gone down to the riverside and sat on a tarp with crowds of others to see the show close up and other years like this one I went up to the flat roof of the Guest Home building.  The weather conditions this year were near optimal and the view was great.  Fireworks in Japanese are Hanabi which can be roughly translated as "Fire Flowers."  Here's a short clip of the 75 minute show.

Only in summer

I decided this afternoon that I really needed to get out and walk for a bit before it got too dark. The quality of my physical exercise has become a bit tatty recently.  I noticed when I was greeting Mrs. Kusaka that it seemed a bit cooler and drier outside than it had been this morning.  So, after dinner I got my bag and a towel, put on proper shoes (not Crocs or sandals) and stepped outside. 

I immediately heard a distinctive sound. It was music, but of a special type heard on certain summer evenings in this area. Summer festival music with the strong beat of taiko drums and and the plaintive vocal.  So I headed toward the elementary school and the sound grew louder.  I had been to this festival in 2004 and really, it looked much the same.  There were more drummers today and a fire truck, but otherwise the same.  No doubt the annual PTA summer fundraiser.

Having seen fellow blogger, Nancy J's video of the newborn lambs gave me the idea to take a video with my camera, which I had never done. It's quite a small, relatively uncomplicated camera and I had never videoed with it before.  I did manage to figure out how to switch modes and off I went.  Here it is:                                                               

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My Favorite Wins Again

It's always difficult to explain to anyone why I like Sumo.  To many, especially my Western friends and acquaintances it's a lot of sweaty fat guys pushing each other around. There is some of that, but Sumo has it's skills, it's rules, it's stars, it's up-and-comers. Six tournaments a year, one in each of the odd numbered months.

This year as the second week of the July Tournament was drawing to a close, two men remained unbeaten and by today's final round the Yokozuna, Hakuho with a perfect record went up against the Ozeki Harumafuji also 14-0. Both are Mongolians. Both are tough. This was only the fifth time since the advent of 15 day tourneys that two men came up to the final day without a loss.
I was pleased when Harumafuji came up the winner.  He's been solid in every match. I've liked him for several years now, since he came up the ranks to win his first Tournament several years ago. He's not huge and he's not pretty, there's a bit of the underdog about him.  Tonight though, he's the King of the Ring.

Next to Last Quilting Class

Today was my regular Quilting Class. We don't have class in August because Sensei always takes a holiday, and so do many of her students.  This year however we are planning to meet at Sensei's summer home in Karuizawa on August 26.  This will be a day for relaxing at the onsen, shopping and eating together.  Emiko san has requested Taco Rice, so that will probably be what we have. This is also a "going away" commemoration for me. I hope to be able to go to one more regular class in September.
Attending this Quilting Class during this term in Japan has been a real learning experience. My classmates have learned lots of English. I have learned a lot of Japanese. I have learned much more about Japanese Culture than I can ever recount. Then there are the typical Japanese Housewife conversations. Today we even talked about the Japanese opposition to the stationing of Osprey aircraft at the airbase in Okinawa, and the rumour that Bill Gates has purchased a huge piece of property in Naka Karuizawa and is building a villa complete with helipad. Oh yes, we are also all sewing and quilting during this twice monthly 4 to 5 hour session.

I seem to have accidentally gotten a blue filter on the camera today.  (Japanese camera with Japanese instructions!)

Kawakoe san with the bag she finished today.  She really liked it and so did I!

Hayakawa san with her current project, also a bag.

Yamazaki san at the machine with Kuraishi sensei giving instruction.

Me enjoying our 2 pm "coffee and sweet."

The Banners Find a Home

A year and a half ago, I think, I wrote about a set of banners that were a cooperative process between a Thai batik crafts person, another OMFer and me. The banners took a really long time to put together and send to their intended place at our newly refurbished International Headquarters in Singapore.  I found out earlier this year that due to some unspecified problems they had not yet been hung.  Then in the last week I received photos by email from two different friends of the banners hanging, not in some open atrium as I had been lead to imagine, but on the walls in the office area.  I suppose if I had known that they were going to be open to close scrutiny I would have fretted more about the stitching and they would have taken even more time to put together.  Sometimes it's better not to know.

Not Exactly What You Might Be Expecting

Today was the annual performance of Voice of Adoration.  They are the women's Black Gospel Choir at the Chapel of Adoration in Ichikawa City.  They are better every year, gaining confidence and ease in performing their music. I really enjoy them, even though I know they are not black, but Japanese and that they feel more comfortable with music that can be clearly written on a proper staff than they could ever  be with the "call and respond" style of the choirs they emulate.  But still, once I get past all that I know that they are doing a great job reaching out to others.  Not all of the members are Christians, but by participating they come to know Christian community and love for others.  The performance draws many family and friends from nearby and all are welcomed and invited to come back. I guess the best part is that the choir looks like they're having more fun than anybody.