Changing

 

This is the view of Mt. Fuji from my apartment. The autumn skies are clearer than summer's and the snow is growing.  The evenings are getting cooler. The seasons are changing.

In Japan, the percentage of people fully vaccinated is increasing and the number of new infections is drastically decreasing. I'm thinking it is safe to travel in Japan again. (Still wearing a mask, of course). My friends and I are making arrangements to meet again.  Community events are back on calendars. I hestitate to say we are getting back to normal, because I know the next wave of the pandemic could be just around the corner if we are not vigilant. I really do think things are changing though.

Friday Finish - Felt Snowman

 I made this to add to a letter to someone I think will enjoy it.

Undersea Volcano Harm the Coasts of Japan

 

Large amounts of volcanic pumice rocks thrown from the Fukutokuokanoba undersea volcano in the Pacific Ocean are piling up on Southern Japanese coasts.  These pumice pebbles are causing damage to ports and fishing boats.  The government has established a task force to deal with the problem as a natural disaster. 

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko reported that 11 ports in Okinawa Prefecture and 19 in Kagoshima Prefecture have been affected so far. Forty fishing boats have been damaged and ferry services connecting remote islands in Okainawa and Kagoshima have been suspended. 

At their first meeting the government task force decided to provide support for the local municipalities. The cost of the damage is not yet known.  Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki said there has been a huge impact on the fisheries and tourism industries as well as the environment. 

What next?

Work In Progress Wednesday

More on last week's new project

This week's new start

Dogwood Afghan - second block

Puppy Love

Mt. Fuji Climbers were Fewer in 2021

 

During the 2021 Mt. Fuji climbing season (July 1 - September 10), 78,548 climbers passed the eighth station of Mt. Fuji, according to the Ministry of the Environment.  This is a third of the 235,646 climbers in 2019.  The mountain was closed due to the pandemic in 2020, so there were no climbers that year. 

In 2021, the largest number of climbers used the Yoshida trail, about 54,393, or 40% of the total. This is followed by 11,409 on the Fujinomiya trail, 6,411 on the Subashiri trail, and 6,336 on the Gotenba Trail. The day with the highest number of climbers was Saturday, August 28th, with 4,563.  The daily average for holidays and weekends was 1,843 and the daily average for regular weekdays was 1,007. 

Why were there so few climbers this year?  I think many people were still staying at home because of the pandemic.  There were no foreign tourists this past summer, but I don't know how many there usually are on Mt. Fuji. What do you think?

Monday Morning Star Count - Week 26

Year five of the temperature quilt 

Week 26 

October 24 - 30 

64, 61, 72, 59, 73, 68, 64

First half of Year Five - 26 weeks

I am reporting the high temperature each day.  My Year Five temperature/color scheme remains the same as previous years: 

100+ Brown 

90-99 Red 

80-89 Orange 

70-79 Yellow 

60-69 Green 

50-59 Blue 

40-49 Purple 

30-39 Pink 

20-29 White 

You can see my finished Year One Quilt here.

The Bar Exam

 

According to NikkeiAsia, the new husband/formerly the longtime boyfriend/fiance of the former Japanese princess, now commoner Mako (niece of the Emperor), has failed the New York bar exam. The bar exam is the two day long test one takes after graduating from law school in order to become a licensed attorney. 

This couple just can't get a break it seems. In case you are new to this story, Princess Mako and Kei Komuro announced their engagement in September 2017, with plans to marry in the autumn of 2018, having met and fallen in love while at university.  The wedding plans were put on hold after it was discovered that the groom-to-be's mother's former fiance claimed that the groom-to-be's mother owed him money.  (This is Mr. Komuro's mother, not Mr. Komuro possibly owing the money).  The mother claimed it was a gift, her former fiance said it was a loan.  Anyway, three years ago, Mr. Komuro went to the US to enroll in the law school at Fordham University; the Princess stayed in Japan. 

Fast forward to 2021. (The gift or loan money is still in dispute.) Mr. Komuro graduated from law school in May and sat for the July bar exam. Mr. Komuro came back to Japan. The couple announced they will be married, without the imperial ceremonies and all.  The former princess denounced the usual money gift given to princesses when they marry and become commoners. They were married on October 26th by registering at the city hall, then held a short press conference, and moved to an apartment in Tokyo together to get ready to move to the US. 

Now, it is announced Mr. Komuro's name is not on the pass list released by the exam organizer. Of the 9227 who took the New York state bar exam, 5791 passed the exam. The bar exam is given twice a year and he must register by November 30th if he plans to take the February exam. My heart goes out to them.  

My own bar exams story. After graduating from law school many years ago, I sat for the July Illinois exam, then started a legal job, with the contingency that I pass the bar exam. If I hadn't passed, I would have been unemployed. Fortunately I passed, but waiting to find out was difficult. The exam is in July and the results come out in October. The next year, I took the Indiana bar exam. I studied for it while being employed full time and didn't know if I had studied enough. (Different state - different laws - different test).  The day the Indiana results came in the mail, I had already planned to meet with friends in the evening. I didn't know if I should open the envelope before meeting my friends or not. I had heard if the envelope was thin, it meant pass.  If the envelope was thick, it meant fail, because information about registering for the next exam was included. I couldn't tell if my envelope was thin or thick. I was afraid if I opened it and failed, I would have a miserable evening.  If I didn't open it, I would be thinking about it all evening.  I decided to open it, I passed, and had reason to celebrate that evening. Hearing about Mr. Komuro brought back those memories and feelings. 

I do hope he passes the next time. (Or maybe it was a mistake and he really did pass but his name wasn't on the list.)

Dementia Patients Go To Work

I read about this interesting story in the Japan Today online English news site. In Chiba Prefecture, elderly people in long-term care facilities are going to work at convenience stores that are struggling to find staff due to Japan's acute labor shortage. 

In 2018, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced that users of care services would be allowed to engage in "paid volunteer" activities. The program was started under the Nanashoku (Seven Color) Project, jointly launched by care providers and convenience store owners to encourage dementia suffers to engage socially and to add work to their weekly schedule. The participants work during times set aside for recreational activities at their care facilities. 

With the support of a caregiver from the facility, patients in their 60's to 90's with mild dementia, engage in work such as stacking shelves and sanitizing shopping baskets, but not waiting on customers, at convenience stores. They work one hour shifts and earn a 1,000 yen shopping voucher for every three shifts they work.  

In Fukuoka Prefecture, care patients deliver direct mail within walking distance for Yamato Transport Co.  In Tokyo, Days BLG! began a program nine years ago to allow its users to place flyers in mailboxes and wash cars at dealerships.  

I think this is a great idea. It gives people with mild dementia a chance to feel useful and have an opportunity for social interaction. Some of the comments to the JT story complained that this was slave labor and other negative things. It doesn't appear that the care patients are forced to do this.  One hour shifts under the supervision of a care giver seems safe and it sounds like people enjoy the work.  What do you think about this?

Friday Finish - Cross Stitch Ornaments

These have been waiting to be finished into ornaments for awhile and now they are. They each measure a little over four inches square. I made the twisted cording with #5 perle cotton.  The Joy ornament, the ice skate, and the ginger bread cookie are free designs by Kissy Cross.   The diamond shape Santa is a free chart from the Drawn Thread.  The Santa on the top row is from Mosey 'n Me and the Noel is a Shepherd's Bush design.

If you are looking for some free ornament designs, I listed some on this post.

Abenomasks are Still Haunting Us

 

At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, everyone wanted masks, but they were in short supply.  The Prime Minister at the time, Mr. Abe, announced every household would receive two washable, reusable masks from the Japanese government. It sounded like a great plan at the time. The government said the plan was reasonable in that it would help reduce the demand for disposable masks and ease public anxiety.

Many people complained about the cost (46.6 billion yen) and the small size and that two per household doesn't work for families.  In addition, they took so long to be delivered that people made their own masks and later, masks were back on the store shelves, so the timing was a little off. 

I did think they were small.  I added a little fabric and decorated one of mine with stitching. 

Last week I read in the news that about 83 million of these Abenomasks are still unused and are being kept in a private storage facility costing hundreds of millions of yen! This is about one third of the 280 million masks that were originally made to be distributed. 

These leftovers in storage are worth 11.5 billion yen and their storage fee for eight months cost 600 million yen, according to Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshikhiko Isozaki. He insisted the masks were appropriate at the time and that the government would consider the possible use of the masks as needed.  

As needed?  What does that mean? Needed for another pandemic?  

Any ideas?  What else could these masks be used for?

Work In Progress Wednesday and Culture Day

Today is a national holiday in Japan - Culture Day. This holiday is held every year on November 3rd to honor traditional Japanese culture and to promote the arts and educational endevours.  It has been a public holiday since 1948, having been established in the Japanese Constitution in 1946. 

I finished the stitching on this piece.  Next will be to finish it into something.

Puppy Love

The Scarf

A New Project  

Because it is a holiday, I expect to spend time stitching today.

Pumpkin Ice Pop

Japan is all about the four seasons and seasonal foods and other items. I saw this at 7-11 and decided to try it.  The Japanese on the package says Kabocha Purin Ice Bar. It was a pricey 158 yen, but I decided to try it.  

When I opened it, it didn't look as brightly colored as the package, but it did look like the color of real kabocha. It was soooooo good. At 113 kcalories, I don't know that I will buy it again, but it was delicious.

Monday Morning Star Count - Week 25

Year five of the temperature quilt 

Week 25 

October 17 - 23  

68, 61, 59, 70, 64, 55, 66

I am reporting the high temperature each day.  My Year Five temperature/color scheme remains the same as previous years: 

100+ Brown 

90-99 Red 

80-89 Orange 

70-79 Yellow 

60-69 Green 

50-59 Blue 

40-49 Purple 

30-39 Pink 

20-29 White 

You can see my finished Year One Quilt here.

Election Day

In the US, today is Halloween.  In Japan, today is election day for members of the House of Representatives.  Elections are always on Sunday and voters hand write the name of the people they are voting for on the ballot, but I don't know anything else about it. The following is from the Japan Today online news.  After reading it, I still don't understand.

TOKYO

The following is an explanation of how members of Japan's House of Representatives will be elected on Oct 31.

The number of lower house seats is 465, and 289 are elected from single-seat districts and the remaining 176 through proportional representation in 11 regional blocks.

Each voter casts two ballots at a polling station -- one to choose a candidate in a single-seat constituency and the other to select a party for proportional representation.

A candidate who runs in a single-seat district can also appear in the candidate list of the proportional representation system.

Even if such a candidate loses in the constituency, he or she could still secure a seat by the proportional representation vote, if the candidate's party wins enough votes, in what is known as a consolation round.

Political parties and groups, which have five or more Diet members or gained 2 percent or more of the total valid votes in the previous national election, can submit lists of their candidates for the proportional representation vote beforehand and will be given seats in line with their share of regional block votes.

They will then grant the block seats to candidates based on the order in which the lists are drawn up.

Japan's First Typhoon Research Institute

Typhoons cause a lot of damage every year in Japan. Earlier this month a research institute dedicated to studying typhoons opened at Yokohama National University, which is the first of its kind in Japan. The Typhoon Science and Technology Research Center brings experts from private and government sectors, in addition to experts from academia together in order to predict damage caused by the storms and to develop countermeasures.  

Another goal of the research center is to promote research into making typhoons into a source of renewable energy. The head of the center, Hironori Fudeyasu said "As a researcher, I have felt a sense of defeat looking at the great damage brought about by typhoons." In addition to being the head of the new research institute, Mr. Fudeyasu is a professor of meteorology at the university. 

The center's members include researchers from the University of Tokyo, Keio University, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, the University of the Ryukyus, and the Meteorological Research Institute.  Also participating are Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting LLC from the private sector. 

This has not been a bad typhoon year where I live. I always check the typhoon situation on the JMA website, which is very helpful. 

In other areas of the world these storms are called hurricanes or cyclones. Have the storms been bad this year where you live?

Friday Finish - Shirley

 

Love Letters from the Vending Machine

 

It seems like you can get anything from a vending machine in Japan - covid tests, umbrellas, alcoholic beverages, batteries, cigarettes, fruit.  Now I read in the news that you can even get love letters. Outside a convenience store in Nagano Prefecture are some vending machines.  In one of the machines you can buy a handwritten love letter, rolled up with the sticker seal, for 300 yen. The Lake Kizaki Y convenience store owner started selling the letters three years ago, because he thought getting a love letter would make people happy.  A workshop of writers compose the letters. If you are interested, here is the shop information:

Y Shop / Yショップニシ

Address: Nagano-ken, Omachi-shi, Uminokuchi 12076

長野県大町市平海ノ口12076

(I found this story on the Japan Today website, but originally it came from SoraNews24).  

Work In Progress Wednesday

I did more on the canvas piece. 

Puppy Love gained more stitches, mostly white stitches.

My other project this week was the Year two temperature quilt that I posted about on Monday.

No, You Can't Come In

This was on the wall outside my apartment door.  It was interesting to look at but I didn't want it to come inside.

Monday Morning Star Count - Year two and Week 24

I continue to work on the hand quilting of year two.I have quilted the hexagon flowers and will start on the seams of the squares next.

Year five of the temperature quilt 

Week 24 

October 10 - 16

79, 82, 72, 64, 73, 77, 72

I am reporting the high temperature each day.  My Year Five temperature/color scheme remains the same as previous years: 

100+ Brown 

90-99 Red 

80-89 Orange 

70-79 Yellow 

60-69 Green 

50-59 Blue 

40-49 Purple 

30-39 Pink 

20-29 White 

You can see my finished Year One Quilt here.