We drove up to the North along the Japan Sea. As we kept going toward Akita, we enjoyed viewing the beautiful sea. This area is called “Sasagawa Nagare”. We saw many interesting rocks in interesting shapes. According to local people, it has been this sunny and hot since June and many people are going there. Last year, they had many rainy days and business was very slow. Weather does affect economics. This fisherman has just come back from catching summer oyster or “ Iwagaki”. We can eat this oyster from June to the end of August. There are some shops you can buy and try out the oyster on the spot. We tried one. It was very creamy and tasty! The oyster itself has a strong taste and flavor so it was very good as it is. This oyster is very popular and its price is high. If you buy this oyster at restaurants in Niigata or in Tokyo, it’s more than twice as expensive as the price near the beach. If you have a chance to visit this area at this time of the year, it’s worth trying.

On our way to the Northern part of Tohoku we stayed one night in Niigata. Senami( Murakami City ) is located on the coast of The Sea of Japan to the north of Niigata City. There are many resort hotels since it has good hot springs and fresh fish are available. Above all many people admire the beautiful romantic sunset. Fortunately, the weather was perfect to view the famous sunset.

The sea was calm and water warm. Next morning I saw a man feeding Japanese gulls. The birds are very friendly and like this person. I talked to him and found that he can’t hear or speak. But we could communicate by sign language. Once I read in a book that people mostly communicate non-verbally and communicate verbally only 20%. I guess that’s true. I could tell that the man is a very warm-hearted person.

Murakami City is famous for its salmon. A man named Buheiji Aoto completed the method to incubate salmon about 140 years ago. That has greatly contributed to this area’s economy. A long time ago the Japan Sea?was very busy with trading traffic so we can see big old houses and warehouses along the coast. Today we find most of the leading ports on the Pacific Ocean sides, however.

In the previous entry I wrote : The Edo Bakufu was established by Ieyasu Tokugawa in 1603. Since then Ginza has been one of the centers of culture.

However, Mr. Tokugawa kindly pointed out a few inaccuracies in the following E-mail to me:.

“I believe Ginza did not become the center of high-end consumer life in Edo/Tokyo until Meiji 5 (1873), when the area was devastated by a fire and an English style brick-built neighborhood was newly constructed. During the Edo period, it was Ueno Hirokoji that was the busiest. And Nihonbashi, of course.” 

 On December 27^th I went to a seminar organized by “ Tra 3” http://tra3.jp. This company has been organizing many interesting events to introduce Ginza’s past and present.  Have you been to Ginza ?  What comes to your mind when you hear the word “ Ginza” ? It has a 400-year history. The Edo Bakufu was established by Ieyasu Tokugawa in 1603. Since then Ginza has been one of the centers of culture.  Originally “ Ginza “ was the place where coins were minted. At that seminar, the main speaker was Mr. Iehiro Tokugawa who is 19^th generation descendent of Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa. I’ve heard his name before since he is a translator and writer and translated a book by George Soros. His own book has been released recently. I was very interested in his speech. He talked about the future of Japan and the world. He seems to know a lot about history, politics and economics. He also talked about The Tokugawas, mentioning some specific shoguns and giving his own comments about the persons. I really enjoyed it. If he talked on something about his ancestors in history class at school, many students would become interested in history. About economics and politics, it’s not easy for me to know what’s really happening in the world only by watching TV or reading newspapers.But listening to someone like Mr.Tokugawa might help me to open my eyes or make decisions. Later, Mr. Sawakami who is said to be a pioneer of a new type of mutual fund in Japan joined with some shop owners in Ginza joined to talk about the future of Japan’s economy. Many of them lamented the bad economy. Or they talked about the changing trends. They are all distinguished business people but things aren’t always easy. Personally I like Ginza. Things may be a little expensive but you can get something you feel like cherishing for long time. You might use it or keep it for a long time so eventually it won’t be expensive for you. People in Ginza are friendly and helpful. Why don’t you visit Ginza.

On August 30, we have a Lower House election and referendum for the Supreme court judges.We can cast ballots for the following three items.

1. We can vote for an individual candidate in our region.

2. We can vote for the party we support.

3. We can make a cross against any judge we object to ( but we don’t have to write anything if we have no objection) This time we can evaluate nine judges. But regarding Supreme court matters, many people say that they can’t get enough information to make a decision. I think so too.

But this is a very important issue. This time I had a close look and will take it seriously. And I got my own decision. Not only me but many people seem to take this election very seriously.

When the economy was on an upward trend people were just being optimistic but now I guess many people in the world are worried about their lives.

I hope our decisions lead to better societies and I feel sure in the case of Japan that we are moving into another era.

In the city where I live, there are many paper factories. And Hayashi Paper Company has been making interesting toilet paper. They started to make such things to make toilets fun place to be in. Toilet have usually been considered to be dark and dirty places. Frankly speaking, I don’t think people pay much attention to how comfortable they are. Now I think we must pay more respect to toilet paper and these small spaces that are so important to our lives. Let me show you three different types of toilet paper for this time.

This is their latest one. Mr.Koji Suzuki, the author of “ring” or “edge” wrote a short story for this toilet paper.

Next is my favorite The Tokaido Highway paper.

We can study Japanese history or culture here. As a student, I had to cram for tests but now I can learn it at will with this.

The third one, in this paper, a well-known economic analyst Mr. Morinaga gives 10 useful tips to survive economic hardship. Let me try a rough translation.

1) Prioritise saving and then try make both ends meet with what is left.

2) Live in the suburbs. Rents and prices are lower there. Living there will bring you benefits such as easy       access to sightseeing spots. No need to be competitive.

3) Buy cheaper manual cars. They are economical both in efficiency and maintenance.

4) Check your home phone and mobile contracts. You may save more by changing some of them.

5) Don’t decide what to cook before going to the supermarket. Have a look and pick the day’s most inexpensive ingredients and think about what you can cook.

6) Don’t use carts at the supermarket. You may buy more than you need.

7) Choose the right level of school for each child. If the person isn’t good enough for the school it’s a waste of money and if someone happens to pass the school entrance but is not really good enough for it, the person will be unhappy after getting in it.

Use internet banks. You can get slightly higher interest rate, charges are lower than conventional ones. Also you can get cash back by doing shopping on the website.

9) Sell the things you don’t use on internet auctions.

10) If anyone gives you anything, even though you don’t need it, accept it with all smile and be very thankful. You may get more in the future.

What do you think ? Do they help you ?

I had a chance to help out at a Swedish art and craft exhibition.These are the famous Swedish wooden horses known as ” Dala horses”.

 This craft work reminded me of the Japanese wooden craft  “Miharukoma”. Both of them are old crafts and at the time when they started, people didn’t visited each other, nor did they have chance to watch things on TV about foreign countries. Also when I saw a Swedish textile work, I found something in common with Japanese textiles and I wondered why. Isn’t it interesting ?

The things displayed were not for sale this time. Many people told me,” I wish I could buy one!”  They are all top level in quality and many of them are used in Swedish Royal family.

At the same time, at the street gallery of a certain bank, they displayed glass artworks. They are also fantastic.

I learned a lot about Sweden. Particulary about Leksand and the area around Lake Siljan. I know the economic climate is hard for everyone now, but we shouldn’t forget about this kind of cultural event.

I visited Chokoji Temple in Numazu ( Shizuoka ). It is located on the old Tokaido road. It’s only about ten minutes walk from the beach. ( Suruga Bay on the Pacific Ocean) And we can view huge Mt. Fuji to the North of the temple. I visited it because it has a beautiful tea ceremony room and garden. I’m also interested in Hakuin. The Zen master whose home temple Shoinji is next to the temple.

The chief priest, Rev. Matsushita, showed us the beautiful garden , the tea room, and the inside of the temple. Everything I saw amazed me ! When Hakuin lived in Shoinji, lots of Zen students used to stay at this temple like a dorm. Now Rev. Matsushita let many foreign students who study at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies stay at this temple during their Summer and Winter vacation since he is an alumnus of the University. I think they are lucky to be able to enjoy staying in such a fantstic place.

Since the yen has surged against many other currencies, I guess this is a big help for many foreign students living in Japan. However, I wonder if the decadent ex-finance minister and the people hanging around him might help to depreciate the yen again.

This is the green tea made by the chief priest. It was very delicious. And here is some confectionary. We eat this kind of sweet before having ” Usucha”.

I saw too many wonderful things to introduce in one entry. I’ll write about them little by little in other entries.

According to some newspapere reports, there is a boom in visiting shrines. The article says that’s because many people are worried about their future.

Do you know how to pray for good luck ?

1. Bow once

2. Ring the big bell if there is one.

3. Put some coins or even a bill or bills into the box in front of you.

4. Bow twice.

5. Clap your hands twice. This means ” Gods, please listen to me.”

6. Then you say quietly as follows: My name is (            ). I live in (           ). I was born in (            ). I always appreciate your help. I wish I will be able to (            ). Thank you.

7. Bow once.

A friend of mine asked me if Japanese gods understand foreign languages. So I said that I believe gods are multilingual. And when your succeed in doing something, be sure to visit again to say thank you. Then the gods will support you more in the future.

In this shrine, Amenominakanushi-no-kami and historic figure Tairano Masakado are enshrined. According to the chronicle myths, Amenominakanusi was one of the first three gods. This god is often compared to the polar star. Or this god is said to have some relationship to Taoism. Tairano Masakado was very powerful samurai. There are some interesting stories about him.

Here we are at Soma Nakamura Shrine again. Have you seen this kind of basin at a shrine ? This is called “Chozudokoro”. We wash our hands and rinse our mouth here. Someone drank the water. They must have been really thirsty. It is drinkable though not for drinking. We do this as a simple form of purification before facing the gods at the shrine.

Then here we see “Torii” or gate. Inside the gate is considered to be a sacret zone. When we walk the path, I was told not to walk on the middle of it because it is the place where gods walk. So I usually walk on either the right or left part of the path.

The number of visitors to shrines all over Japan on New Year’s Day was very large this year. It is said that when the economy is weak, more people visit shrines. I like shrines when it is not too crowded so I went there on 3rd.