Here and There Japan

Finally

2008-11-30T20:08:00.000+09:00

I took a picture of this when it had just sprouted. Click here to read that post. We've been waiting for it to be ready.

It has been ready for a while. He cuts some every day but it sells out fast, so I've been buying it from the store down the street.

Finally we got to buy one of his! I thought we'd have to reserve one. Click here to see a young broccoli plant.

Tea Sweets & Tea from Kyoto

2008-11-27T20:42:00.000+09:00

Big Sister went on a school trip to Kyoto recently. She brought these tea sweets to us. They have autumn decorations on them; a gingko leaf, a cosmos, and a maple leaf, and a rabbit. I'm late posting them. We ate them a week or so ago. They are like gumdrops, but you're supposed to nibble on them while sipping tea.

Chrysanthemums

2008-11-26T22:16:00.005+09:00

This photo was taken at the competition at Jindai Botanical Garden. I forgot to look to see which flower won. This one looks like a winner to me!

Most of the chrysanthemums were tall.

Some were short.

This photo was taken in front of someone's garage.

Click on the label below to see the photos of a chrysanthemum festival in Niigata.

Fried Fish Patties on Sticks

2008-11-25T21:22:00.005+09:00

This stall was at the ichou (gingko tree) festival.

This is called iwashi genkotsu. The fish is not a whole piece of fish. It is a patty made of ground fish, but the texture is not like ground beef. It's really tasty. Look, this stall keeper keeps his change in a dish.

A steamer.

More Stuff on Sticks

2008-11-25T21:15:00.007+09:00

At this stall, there was chicken on sticks, beef on sticks, corn cobs on sticks and

rectangles of vegetable gelatin on sticks. Yum! They are soaking in hot water. The sticks are pointing upward. She's putting a sauce on one before serving it to a customer.

Day of Thanksgiving in Japan

2008-11-24T23:27:00.001+09:00

November 23 is a day of Thanksgiving in Japan. Read about it at Kids Web Japan by clicking on the link below. Big Sister and Little Brother had a day off from school. The postman and the garbage men were at work today. Stores were open in our neighborhood.

Kids Web Japan-- Labor Thanksgiving Day

Gohei mochi

2008-11-24T22:16:00.005+09:00

This was one of the food stalls at the ichou festival.

He's putting miso on the grilled mochi (glutinous white rice.)

Little Brother chose the one with red miso on it.

Gingko Trees in Aoyama

2008-11-23T20:44:00.003+09:00

Many streets in Tokyo are lined with gingko trees. There is a festival for viewing ichou or gingko trees in Aoyama, Tokyo. I'll post pictures of the stalls of food tomorrow.

We came here in December 2006 and the trees were completely yellow. Click on the link below to see other posts about gingko trees.

The trees here are still very green, so if you're in the Tokyo area and want to visit this festival you may want to wait a little longer.

JFK Rose

2008-11-22T08:39:00.002+09:00

Taken at Jindai Botanical Gardens the other day. JFK roses photograph well. Check the one I posted two years ago by clicking on the label below.

Under wrap

2008-11-21T12:20:00.006+09:00

These cabbages are in a small field across the street from us. They are next to the sidewalk.

It's nice to walk along and see vegetables growing.

"Oishisou!" "Looks delicious!" Big Sister used to say.

Time to Split

2008-11-21T12:19:00.003+09:00

This field down the street from us is planted in Japanese eggplants. (They are small.) Some of them were left on the stalk too long. They split like this one.

A Confused Sakura Tree and other fall scenes

2008-11-21T12:17:00.001+09:00

This sakura tree was blooming! It's early or late. They are supposed to bloom in spring.

This is pampas grass and a flower that looks like clematis. It was on a stalk, though. Clematis blooms on vines.

Pampas grass.

In Memoriam

2008-11-20T09:44:00.004+09:00

Granddaddy passed away last year. I took this photo of an Anne Frank rose at Jindai Botanical Gardens. Many other beautiful roses were blooming.

Shower Caps for Cars

2008-11-19T18:17:00.004+09:00

They had to wash the house again so they covered the cars again.

This is our car. Note the elastic band.

The workers strapped and taped this one on the car next to ours.

Looks like Darth Vadar with hat pins

2008-11-17T20:49:00.014+09:00

But, no, it's our house wrapped up for a bath and a paint job. The house was washed yesterday. The roof will be painted tomorrow. Why all the bars on top? Are they going to wrap the roof? I'm not sure. They used to spray paint onto houses, but I think they've stopped doing it that way. Maybe we'll find out tomorrow. If I can make it outside to take a picture!

This is the view from the street. When the workers washed our house, they put huge shower caps on the cars in the parking lot behind it. They will probably do that again tomorrow. Today they taped around the windows and shutters.

This is the view from across the field. We have to keep the shutters closed. We don't have shutters on every window. The cats and dogs are bouncing off the walls with men walking the planks around the house outside the second floor. It's a circus under this tent. But it's not fun!

This is the view at the front gate. That's the top of a car. The white round thing is the light on the gate. That gives you an idea how tall the house is!

P.S. They used brushes to paint the house and they didn't wrap the roof.

7-5-3 Shichi-go-san

2008-11-15T21:29:00.003+09:00

For information about shichi-go-san check out Kids Web Japan. Click on the label below, too.

Scaffolding

2008-11-15T00:15:00.003+09:00

Workmen have been putting scaffolding around our house for the past two days. They will put cloth on it. Then they will wash the house before they paint it.

A Roof with a View

2008-11-13T22:29:00.003+09:00

If you look closely (with a telephoto lens) you'll see,

Mt. Fuji! Our view has gotten more crowded over the years. Click on the label below to see more views of Mt. Fuji. Note the picture taken in October. There was no snow on it.

Close-ups

2008-11-10T19:01:00.005+09:00

We can never pass up the chance to take a picture of a praying mantis. They are part of our garden family. This picture was taken on the 7th. This may be the same praying mantis we saw climbing the palm tree earlier in the day. She was in a big hurry, and she looked a lot fatter.

She was not in hurry as she made her way across the picnic table. She paused to wash her face. Look at those black prickly things on her front legs. I've never noticed those before.

Check the label below for more pictures of other praying mantises. Click on these pictures to enlarge them.

Linda Gerber's Now and Zen

2008-11-07T20:32:00.003+09:00

Linda Gerber was in Tokyo on the 18th of October. She gave a workshop on SCBWI's Writers' Day. She has written several books. Here's one that is set in Japan. It is for young adults so you may want to put it on your list of "books for future reading."
It's worth the wait!

Kids Web Japan--Book Week

Author/Illustrator Keiko Kasza

2008-11-06T22:38:00.006+09:00

Author-illustrator Keiko Kasza had lunch with us yesterday, too. Check this link to see her books.

Kids Web Japan--Book Week

Author Kierin Meehan

2008-11-05T22:02:00.004+09:00

Australian author Kierin Meehan is visiting Nagoya for several months. She was in Tokyo today. Some SCBWI Tokyo members and international school librarians met her for lunch at Fujimamas in Omotesando. It's a great restaurant.

Ms. Meehan's first book, Hannah's Winter, is coming out in the United States in March 2009. Check out her other books here.

Kids Web Japan--Book Week

Yuzu KitKat

2008-11-05T21:05:00.001+09:00

Another KitKat! What flavor will they think of next? This mini size cost 45 yen.

Tanya Robyn Batt

2008-11-04T16:08:00.010+09:00

Tanya Robyn Batt, author of The Princess and the Bear King (a Sakura Medal 2006 nominee) told us stories at the SCBWI Writers' Day on October 18th. She is a great storyteller. Click on the book title in blue to link into her website. She does school visits and workshops. I bought this book for her to sign. It's a great story and the illustrations are lovely.

Click here to find the list for the Sakura Medal picture book nominees for 2009. The Wakame Gatherers by Holly Thompson, SCBWI Tokyo Advisor, is on the list!

It's still Book Week here in Japan.

Kids Web Japan--Book Week

Culture Day

2008-11-03T20:48:00.002+09:00

Today was a national holiday. Big Sister and I went shopping for her high school trip next week. She is going to Kyoto. We didn't see any festivities, but we heard the end of three opera singers perform in the lobby of a shopping area. It was great! Maybe they will be the Japanese El Divo.

For information about Culture Day check the following link:
Kids Web Japan--Culture Day/Constitution Day