Domino’s Cheese Volcano

 

What is this, you ask? It’s Domino’s Pizza 1 Kilogram Cheese Volcano, which contains 720 grams of mozzarella cheese and 280 grams of cheddar cheese. It went on sale November 18th and will be available until December 22nd. The price is 3690 yen for take-out and 4430 yen for delivery.

I like cheese pizza, but this doesn’t not look like anything I would want to eat. Would you order this?

Friday Finish - Four Seasons Kogin

Toki, who blogs at 私がめがねをかけるとき, and I are both stitching this kogin piece. (She blogs in Japanese, but there is a translation button on the top left under the title, if you don’t read Japanese.) Check out her progress! 

The patterns we used came from this book.

I finished mine this week. I used fabric from a Japanese shirt for the backing. The dowels on the top and bottom are udon rolling pins from an udon making class I took. (I never tried to make udon after the class, so this is a good use for them). I hung the hanging on the back of the door to take this picture, but I will have to find a better place for it.

Ueharahara Jizo Hall

While out for a walk on a road I had never been on before, I noticed this little almost hidden place.

According to google translate, this says “Commemorating the 2,600th anniversary of the Imperial era.”

This is the view looking back to the road.

Work in Progress Wednesday

Four Seasons Kogin progress - I finished the winter section and chose this new Japanese shirt fabric for the backing.  The finish will be coming soon.

Toki, who blogs at 私がめがねをかけるとき, and I are both stitching this kogin piece. (She blogs in Japanese, but there is a translation button on the top left under the title, if you don’t read Japanese.) Check out her progress!

Japanese Patterns - 22

Rapunzel progress 

I am using this book, Why Call It Blackwork?, by Marion Scoular, for the Rapunzel filling patterns.

Walking Around My Town

I walk pretty much every day, both for exercise and grocery shopping and other errands. I always look for Mt. Fuji.  The picture below was taken yesterday from my apartment.

This is Tesshuji Temple. Last summer, a big typhoon hit Japan. There was a lot of rain for days where I live. The rain caused a huge mud slide on the side of the hill where the graves are.  Yesterday, I saw the area is still covered by a huge blue tarp. I don’t know how they fix graves sliding down.

Winters are mild here and I see a lot of year round vegetable gardens.

This is the view of Mt. Fuji taken near the Taiyo grocery store.

I bought a bag of mikan (a tangerine type of citrus) at this fruit stand for 500 yen. It is a popular place. I notice many older people riding scooters. Maybe it is easier than driving a car, especially on narrow roads.

The firefighters at this firehouse keep the firetrucks shiny and clean.

I haven’t visited this book store, but I usually see people hanging out at the magazine rack outside the shop.

It is normal to see houses that are very close together. On pretty days, people hang their futons and bedding out on the balcony to air out.

There seems to be more and more of these eyelash shops around. I think they are like hair salons where individual eyelashes are glued in.

One thing I find strange in Japan, is advertising featuring non-Japanese models. I notice a lot of blond babies/children in advertisements, but I can’t remember ever seeing a blond child here. This billboard is outside of a barber shop.

The green containers behind the sign are recycling containers for boxes and paper.

Since moving here, I have wondered what this SIN shop is. The kanji says beauty shop. Is it sinful to get your hair done?

This house/garden looks very traditional and makes me happy.

And this is the street I live on, about half way down on the right.

I am so happy to live here.

Monday Morning Star Count

I have stitched one or two lengths of thread each day this past week and can see some progress. I hope to continue with at least one length of thread a day in the next week.

Old Yakuza Men Without a Pension

If you are a law-abiding employed person in Japan, you pay into the pension system. If you pay into the system for at least 40 years, you qualify for a full pension when you become 65 years old. I think most foreign residents in Japan don’t qualify for the full pension because they haven’t paid into it for the full 40 years. If a person who has paid into it at least ten years, the payer qualifies for a partial pension. 

I read about how older yakuza (Japanese mafia) members who haven’t worked legitimate jobs, are facing a future with no pension or retirement benefits. The organizations’ leaders may have lots of money, but what about the lower levels members? 

A 68 year old member of one crime family shot two members of another family, then waited for the police to come and arrest him. Why didn’t he try to run and hide, you ask. Well, maybe he wanted to get caught. To me, jail sounds like a horrendous place to live, but if you are facing old age with no money saved and no pension, maybe these guys are thinking it’s not so bad. You get three meals, a place to sleep, health care, all at no cost. There may not be a lot of old men doing this, but even if just a few, there is really something wrong with this situation. Yes, if you commit a serious crime, you should go to jail as punishment. On the other hand, if you commit a serious crime in order to get the “retirement benefits” of being in jail, that just isn’t right.

These crime organizations go back to 17th century Edo (today’s Tokyo). At their strongest in modern times in the 1960’s, membership was about 184,000. Membership now is estimated at about 40,000.

Labor Day Holiday

Today is a national holiday to honor the hard work of laborers and give thanks. Maybe be thankful to have a job? Labor day was previously a harvest festival. 

This year, the holiday falls on a Saturday, so it doesn’t feel like a holiday. People who don’t work on Saturday don’t even get a day off from work. I’m not complaining; there are 16 national holidays in Japan, with a day off from work, plus many special observance days that aren’t national holidays.

I like that the Emperor’s birthday is a holiday in Japan. I love birthdays!

Emperor Naruhito, with wife and daughter

Do you have a favorite holiday?

Mt. Fuji Tram Idea Withdrawn

(Yesterday’s view of Mt. Fuji from my apartment.)

The prefectural government of Yamanashi has been studying the idea of building a tram to carry people from the bottom to the midway point of Mt. Fuji. It has now announced that it has given up on that idea due to public concerns over environmental concerns. A citizens’ group opposing the idea submitted about 70,000 signatures to the governor, demanding he withdraw it. They expressed concerns about potential environmental destruction and avalanche damage.

Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki now wants to look into rubber-tired trams with sensors to enable them to follow white lines or magnetic markers, eliminating the need to build a rail line. The Yamanashi Governor promised the light rail in the 2019 gubernatorial election, when he was elected for the first time. 

Mt. Fuji, the 3,776 meter peak and UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures and attracts climbers and tourists from all over the world. The rising popularity of the mountain had led to overtourism challenges.

What do you think of either the rail line or the rubber-tired tram? I don’t know everything about it, but I think I’m against it.  Why bring more people, when there is already overtourism?

I’m extremely happy I was able to climb Mt. Fuji in 2019 (I posted about it here), but once was enough. Really.

Creepiest Criminal Boss

A 55 year old company employee has been arrested by Kanagawa Prefectural Police for breaking into his 30-ish subordinate’s apartment 40 times, looking for her underwear. According to police, Tomohiro Suzuki, a company employee of Ebina, was arrested after he broke into the woman’s apartment in Yamato City, Kanagawa Prefecture about 7 pm on November 15th. 

Suzuki allegedly removed her key from her handbag in June and had a duplicate made.  He used this duplicate key to enter her apartment about 40 times.  In addition to photographing her underwear, he also installed miniature cameras in the bathroom and kitchen. The reason he gave for doing this was, “I had feelings for her.” 

This is about the creepiest thing I have heard of a work supervisor doing. I would probably have to move, and change jobs if the supervisor continued working there. Does this kind of thing happen only in Japan?

Work in Progress Wednesday

Four Seasons Kogin progress - I started the winter section and made good progress on it.

Toki, who blogs at 私がめがねをかけるとき, and I are both stitching this kogin piece. (She blogs in Japanese, but there is a translation button on the top left under the title, if you don’t read Japanese.) Check out her progress!

Rapunzel progress 

I have always been drawn to counted thread techniques. I like the orderly look of these stitching techniques.  That’s not to say I don’t enjoy other types of embroidery though!

Japanese Pattern 21

This project has been neglected, but I want to work on it again.

My Prefecture is the 9th Most Attractive in Japan

Japan has 47 prefectures, and the prefecture I live in is ranked ninth most attractive in the 2024 edition of the Local Brand Survey conducted by the Branch Research Institute. I live in Shizuoka and I have to agree, it is a gorgeous place. 

When I first came to Japan, I lived in Hokkaido, which has taken the number one spot every year for the last sixteen years. I also agree with the survey’s top choice.  

I’ve traveled to many places in Japan, and I can’t say I’ve seen any ugly or dirty places. With forty-seven prefectures, one has to be number forty-seven, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a nice place.

Monday Morning Star Count

I haven’t worked on this hexagon bedcover in a while. I would like to finish it. My plan is to quilt at least one length of thread each day until it is finished. I hope I can stick with it.

I Took a Little Trip

Thursday afternoon, I took the train to Ito City to visit an old friend. We went to a place called The Joint for a craft beer and to talk and listen to music.

Then we ate dinner at a Japanese place called Gyorakutei.  It was fabulous! We both ate the same thing.

Friday morning, we took a drive down the coast and went to an onsen. It was a nice place. The pay machine at the entrance was in Japanese, even when you tap English on the screen. The women’s bath area was on the fourth floor with all different indoor and outdoor baths with different kinds of water and temperatures. The men’s was on the third floor.

After that we went to a kaiten sushi place to eat.

Finally we went to Sakura no Sato Park. There are 40 types of cherry trees, with the juugatsu zakura in bloom now.

Saturday morning, we took a hike at Komoroyama.

Mt. Fuji has snow!

We went to a local pizza place, with a great view.

Part of my trip home was on this cute train.

The weather wasn’t very nice, but the visit was great!