June is usually rainy - it is the rainy season, after all. Some years are more rainy than others. There are earthquakes somewhere in Japan every day, often just small ones, but sometimes bigger ones. Where I live, typhoons usually happen from June through October, with the worst later in the season.
This year we are off to a big start. At the beginning of June, Typhoon 6 passed through, cancelling a planned three day trip to Tokyo, unfortunately. A few days later, a big earthquake in the Philippines set off tsunami warnings along the coast of Japan. I live fairly close to the coast, but not so close that it is usually scary. I read afterwards that the water came up one meter here.
Here are some earthquakes we felt this month where I live. Mid-month, with epicenter in Ibaraki Prefecture.
Last week, another earthquake that we felt, epicenter off the coast farther north.
The last few days we’ve been watching two typhoons - 7 and 8, travel toward us. They came from different directions, then their projected paths overlapped some hours apart. Where I live, Typhoon 8 arrived first, overnight Friday to Saturday and T7 Saturday. (Screenshot below from Friday evening).
About 10:30 pm Friday, while watching the storm, there was an earthquake that lasted longer than the usual little quakes.
I keep an emergency backpack near my door in case I have to leave quickly. Luckily, I’ve never had to do that. Sometimes I add things or take things out, or just check what’s in there because I forget. Being prepared is taken seriously in Japan.
What will July bring?
(Screenshots from the Japan Meteorological Agency website.)
My friends brought me this gorgeous fabric back from their trip to Indonesia. Isn’t it fabulous?
This is another cross stitch US map that was stitched before and just made into a hanging piece. The backing is white with stars. It is also now hanging on a tension rod.
For the first time in 56 years, crested ibises are on the main island in Japan, after recently being released into the wild. Eight birds were released in Hakui, Ishikawa Prefecture, after years of breeding and conservation efforts on Sado Island, according to the Environment Ministry. The population of crested ibises on Sado Island in the sea of Japan, off Niigata Prefecture, has increased to about 500, since the first release there in 2008.
These birds are national treasures in Japan. Due to over hunting and other factors, the last one on the main island of Honshu was captured in 1970. Japan’s native ibises went extinct in 2003, but breeding efforts using birds donated by China have helped the reintroduction of the species into the wild.
The local prefectural government considers this release as a symbol of the area's revival after the deadly earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day 2024.
The Great Wave progress
Linda Driskell Hardanger - I started working on the center medallion this week.
I see signs like this about not walking on the escalator everywhere, but people continue to walk on the escalator. I’m old and not in a hurry, so I’m okay with just standing. I try not to hold on though. I don’t want to touch the place that millions of people have touched.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the number of women’s toilets installed at Japan’s train stations is only about 60% of the number of men’s toilets. In addition, men’s toilets outnumber women’s in other facilities such as bus terminals, airports, and movie theaters.
This has prompted the ministry to make up guidelines for an appropriate ratio to shorten wait times for women’s restrooms. According to the survey conducted by the Ministry, over 90% of both men and women believe that waiting times for women’s public restrooms are longer than for men’s. It is believed that the longer wait times for women comes from facilities being designed on the assumption that men would use toilets more.
The government plans to create guidelines by the end of the fiscal year on the appropriate number of toilets based on conditions and line characteristics. One Ministry official is quoted “This survey has highlighted the problem of waiting times for women’s restrooms. We want to consider how to level them out based on effective case studies and the survey results.”
I hope some changes are made, but to tell the truth, I don’t think they will be.
I usually do my grocery shopping at the large grocery store inside the local Aeon shopping center. On a recent shopping trip, I had finished shopping, had packed up my food, and was putting away my cart, when a man walked up to me and started talking in a language I didn’t recognize. In Japanese, I said, I’m sorry, I don’t understand. He switched to English, and said, I thought you were from Finland. That surprised me! He talked to me about five minutes, telling me where he had visited in the United States. I was really so surprised, I don’t know if I said much of anything. Then, he went on with his shopping, and I walked home with my food, wondering why he thought I was from Finland.
Beady Fobs
Kogin Fobs - front and back
