Takamatsu Castle Ruins

Takamatsu Castle was originally build in 1590 by the first feufal lord of the Takamatsu Domain, Ikoma Chikamasa. The Ikoma Clan governed for four generations, 54 years. It is one of three castles on the sea in Japan.

This castle has been open to the public as Tamamo Park since 1955.  The stone walls, the turret, the gate, and the ruins were designated as a national historic site on March 2, 1955.

100 Yen Sushi

In Hokkaido there is a 100 yen sushi restaurant we like, with a touch pad ordering system that can be in English.  I found a similar restaurant here, but the ordering screen does not change to English.  I managed to figure it out and had a delicious, inexpensive meal.

A race car delivered my order

I didn't mean to order avocado mayo tuna, but it was ok.

The Fish Pond Restaurant

I'm slowly unpacking and getting organized.  I haven't come across my epp box yet, so again, there is no MMSC post.

Instead, I'll write about a Japanese restaurant I found and have eaten at twice. The most interesting thing is the pond in the middle with fish for the restaurant.  Both times I ate the ebi tempura setto because the waitress couldn't tell me anything else that didn't have some kind of meat.  That's okay because it was good.

 

Getting Better All The Time

The apartment I live in is rented by the school I work for and I pay rent to the school.  It was not the fault of the apartment owner that my apartment was disgustingly dirty when I moved in.  I have been cleaning every day and it is getting better.  There were some problems that I could not fix myself, so someone from the school called the owner to have them repaired.

A few days ago, my landlady, a repairman, and a Japanese staff person where I work came over and the repairman replaced the light in my tatami room (the old one had no pull string so it wouldn't turn on), replaced a missing bulb/tube in the kitchen, fixed the shower hose bracket that was coming out of the wall, and added a hose to the washing machine on the balcony so it wouldn't flood when I washed clothes. ( I don't know why the last two pictures are sideways).

The landlady is an elderly woman who talks very fast.  She likes that I am quiet and after inspecting everything from my kitchen sink drain to my toilet room, says she approves of me living here.  After the repairs were done, I went to the bakery and bought two apple pastries and left them on her door (she lives in the apartment below me) with a short thank you note in my best Japanese.  Later in the day she came to my apartment to thank me and brought these big two oranges.  She is my new friend!

Old Coin Biscuits

I wanted something a little sweet, but not chocolate and not cake.  I didn't know exactly what I wanted, but when I saw this little package of cookies at the grocery store, I knew this was it. Little coin sized cookies!  The back of the package shows the coins and gives the information about them.  What do you think of that - a dessert that is also educational?

Kokubunji - Temple 80

On my day off, I visited Kokubunji Temple.  This is temple 80 of the 88 Temple pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku.  If you are interested, you can find out more about this pilgrimage here. Kokubunji Temple was founded in 741 and has been designated a special historic site.

Cherry Blossom Map

I found this map on tenki.jp showing the expected blooming dates for the cherry trees in Japan.  Where I live now the sakura will be in bloom around the 25th of March.  Where I used to live, it'll be in May!

And the Cleaning Continues.......

I've started on the indoor windows.  Here is the paper towel from the first window.

How on earth do windows get this dirty?  I'm going to need a lot more window cleaner and paper towels.

Sanuki Udon

Sanuki is the previous name for Kagawa Prefecture and udon is the special food here.  Sanuki udon is characterized by its square shape and flat edges, with a dashi (fish flavored) broth.

If you’ve been reading my blog long, you know that my favorite Japanese noodle is soba. There is even a soba festival in the town where I used to live.  Now that I am in Kagawa, I’ve decided to give Sanuki udon a try! 

The menu was in Japanese with no pictures, so I told the woman I wanted udon and I didn't eat meat.  She told me they had two choices without meat.  I recognized the name of the first as a type of seaweed.  The second sounded like kitsune (fox) to me. When I asked what that was, she told me tofu, so that's the one I ordered. 

I got this big bowl of udon for only 320 yen! I'm going to have to figure out what that kitsune word is so I can order it again.

Monday Morning Star Count - Not!

I am very behind on my blog reading and blog commenting! The two weeks before moving I was busy getting ready and the two weeks since arriving here, I have been even busier. I haven't forgotten to read your blogs, I just haven't had much time lately.  As things here settle down I will catch up. 

I haven't been stitching much since moving either, but as soon as I get everything unpacked and organized, I will be back with that again! I'm sorry I haven't had anything to show.

If you need ideas for new projects, please take a look at these two blogs. (Or even if you don't need any new projects - take a look).

The House on the Side of the Hill   Melody posts links nearly every day for free projects and tutorials.  There are many I have put on my "future projects" list.  She is very generous to find and post so many pretty things.

Stitch Bitch   For the month of March (Craft Month), Nikki is posting all different crafts and finishes with a different daily theme. Some days are stitching, some are paper crafting or other things.

Take a look at both of these blogs and find some ideas and inspiration!  I hope to be posting a Monday Morning Star Count next week.  

Trash Confusion

Trash in Japan is very confusing. Everything has to be separated and put out on different days.  I had the trash system figured out where I used to live - I put it out in the large metal cage on the designated day for what ever kind of trash it was. 

Here inside my new apartment, I found a ton of trash and a poster with the trash calendar.  I knew how to separate it and could read what day to take it out.  The problem was, I didn't know where to take it.  I walked all around my neighborhood and I couldn't find any large metal trash cages.  What was I going to do with all this trash left by the previous resident? Finally, I found this in the back corner of the parking area behind my building. 

On the designated trash days a blue net appears and everyone puts trash bags under the net.  The days the trash isn't picked up, no blue net appears.  It's a good thing I kept looking and saw the blue net with trash bags under it. I've been putting it out a few bags at a time on the proper days.  Friday was pet bottle day and there was no blue net - I have no idea why it wasn't there.  I had collected a big garbage bag of pet bottles from all over my apartment and balcony and I wanted them out.  I ended up carrying them to the grocery store where there is a recycling area outside the entrance.  I'm looking forward to getting the last bags of plastic trash out next week. Having ones own trash is one thing, but I really hated having someone else's trash to get rid of.

No Cosco Here!

In Hokkaido, I lived about an hour from the big city of Sapporo, where there is a Cosco store (also known as the big American store).  The big American store has big packages of American toilet paper.  No Cosco means no American toilet paper.  If you are wondering what I am talking about, check out my post here, where I illustrated the difference.

I guess I'm just going to have to make do with this ---

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've been here in Kagawa almost two weeks now and I have been so busy. 

The job is good.  The first week I spent four days observing other teachers, and one day teaching classes for a teacher on vacation.  Starting this week (and the new semester), I've had my own classes.  I teach at three different schools and all ages.  The schools have lots of materials and books so it's not difficult.  

The living situation has been more challenging.  The first week I was in four different hotels, waiting for the previous teacher to move out of the apartment that would be mine.  I finally got to move in on Sunday and was very disappointed with the condition she left it in.  I've been cleaning all week and still have more to do.  I've hauled out 12 big bags of trash and still have a closet to empty.  I don't think she cleaned at all the entire year she was here. I've wanted to cry and vomit.  I know it will be fine once it is clean and once I get the furniture my contract says I will have.  I live on the third floor with a nice view. I'll try to get some pictures soon. 

I hope to get my stitching unpacked soon.  I've just had two little projects and practically no time to work on them.  Cleaning the apartment comes first!

Hina Matsuri

Today is Hina Matsuri (also known as Girl's Day) in Japan. This display is in the lobby of Takamatsu hotel.

To celebrate girls growth and good health, dolls dressed in Heian period costumes are displayed on a tiered stand. These dolls represent the Emperor and Empress, their noble court ladies in waiting and ministers. 

The custom of displaying dolls began during the Heian period (794 - 1195). 

 There is a certain order of the tiers of dolls. According to Wikipedia, the top tier hold the Emperor and Emperess dolls, usually in front of a gold folding screen and placed beside green Japanese trees. The traditional arrangement had the male on the right, while modern arrangements had him on the left (from the viewer's perspective).

The second tier holds three court ladies, each holding sake equipment. 

The third tier holds five male musicians, each holding a musical instrument except the singer, who holds a fan.

Two ministers may be displayed on the fourth tier: the Minister of the Right and the Minister of the Left. The Minister of the Right is depicted as a young person, while the Minister of the Left is much older. Also, because the dolls are placed in positions relative to each other, the Minister of the Right will be on the viewer's left and the Minister of the Left will be on the viewer's right. Both are sometimes equipped with bows and arrows.

The fifth tier holds three helpers or samurai as the protectors of the Emperor and Empress. Additional platforms can hold miniature furniture, tools, etc. 

              

Families generally start to display the dolls in February and take them down immediately after the festival. Superstition says that leaving the dolls past March 4 will result in a late marriage for the daughter.

Work In Progress Wednesday

I haven't had much time since moving to Kagawa, but here is a little bit of progress.

Going Away Lunch #5