Just Another Day In Japan

Not really! 

Yesterday, there were some alarms, and at first I thought it must have something to do with Typhoon 9 that was on its way to Japan.

No, it had nothing to do with a storm out over the ocean. The emergency alert was about a tsunami warning.

There was an 8.7 or 8.8 earthquake in Russia, far north of Japan, that set off the tsunami. I live in the red area on the map below, and the warning was for 3 meters here. My home is near the coast, and I think I’m about 7 meters above sea level. I thought I was safe, but I added a few things to my “go bag” just in case I had to grab it and go. I followed the news coverage on my computer and drank coffee all morning in my second floor apartment.  All was fine here.

I’m glad I wasn’t traveling by train yesterday.

Thank you to everyone who emailed to check on me!

World Embroidery Day and Work In Progress Wednesday

Today is World Embroidery Day!

The initiative came from Skåne Sy-d, a local group of Broderiakademin, the SwedishEmbroiderer’s Guild. The first World Embroidery Day took place in Vismarlöv, 30th July 2011. The importance of embroidery must be made known and World Embroidery Day will spread around the world. Make 30th July a day filled with creativity for the sake of Peace, Freedom and Equality.

www.broderiakademin.nu

I stitch every day, but it’s good to have a day when people all over the world are stitching.

This week, I have another small Christmas piece ready for finishing.

A little progress on my Hawaiian piece.

Stitch Group Sunday

We met on Sunday and continued with our Hawaiian projects.

We also talked about our next project, which will be blackwork. I brought some pieces I had stitched previously, and some books and patterns as examples.

At the end of our stitching session, I took pictures of the stitchers and their Hawaiian projects.

Tea Time 

This dessert was something I had never seen before. It came as a block in this pretty box.

When sliced, you can see the picture. How cool is that?

That’s all for this month. 

Monday Morning Star Count

I am continuing with the border quilting. I trimmed the extra fabric from the edges. I think the end is in sight.

I continue making small pieces of fabric into miscellaneous hexagons.

Fentanyl Cases in Japan

I frequently see news stories from the US about the drug Fentanyl being smuggled across the borders and trafficked. It seems to be a very big dangerous problem. 

I don’t often see drug stories in Japan. Being an island country, it is more difficult to smuggle in, and I think the penalties for illegal drugs are quite high. I was interested when I saw the story below on Nippon.com:

Japan Police Take Action Against 17 Fentanyl Cases So Far

Tokyo, July 25 (Jiji Press)--Japanese police have so far taken action against 17 cases of violations involving fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid, in the country, the National Police Agency said Friday.

Fentanyl smuggling and trafficking have not been confirmed in Japan, the agency said.

Of the 17 cases reported between 2000 and 2024, 15 involved doctors and pharmacists stealing or abusing fentanyl for medical use. In the other two cases, patients and their family members abused it.

One case of death was reported. A patient killed a male partner through drug poisoning by putting fentanyl patches on him.

“Though fentanyl has not spread in Japan, we will continue to police any case strictly,” an NPA official said.

17 cases between 2000 and 2024! I love living in Japan.

World’s Best Airports 2025 - Haneda 3rd, Narita 5th

Japan made a strong showing again this year in the Skytrax World Airport Awards. Haneda Airport (Tokyo) rose one place from last year, to finish third. Narita International Airport remained in fifth place for the second consecutive year. Haneda continued to rank highly in a number of categories, including “World’s Cleanest Airport” for the tenth consecutive year and 13 times in the World’s Best Domestic Airports category.

Here is this year’s top ten:

1. Singapore Changi Airport (Singapore)
2. Hamad International Airport (Qatar)
3. Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) (Japan)
4. Incheon Airport (South Korea)
5. Narita International Airport (Japan)
6. Hong Kong International Airport (Hong Kong)
7. Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (France)
8. Roma Fiumicino Airport (Italy)
9. Munich Airport (Germany)
10. Zurich Airport (Switzerland)

Created by Nippon.com based on data from Skytrax.

Have you traveled through any of these airports? Do you agree with these rankings or have another airport to nominate?

Friday Finish - Hexagon Potholders and Otedama

 I made these as a gift. I hope the recipient will find them useful.

I also made these otedama as a gifts.  They are filled with small beans.

Daitsu-ji Temple and Lotus Land Lunch

I joined three friends to visit the Lotus Temple (Daitsu-ji Temple) in Fujinomiya. We had visited this temple before.

After visiting the temple, we went to the Lotus Land Restaurant (vegetarian) for an early lunch. My friends all ordered the same thing. I did not choose that meal, which included raw egg and natto. 

My meal was vegetable salad, potato salad, brown bread, white toast, and sweet black beans. Lunch was delicious!

Outside, the restaurant has a koi pond.

We plan to return to the temple and restaurant!