First Time on the Eki

The interweaving transportation system in Nagoya is wonderful. You can go practically anywhere on clean, modern and timely trains and buses. This is a rather rare view of a train station in Japan. The station where we get on and off is almost at the end of one of the lines, so it isn't as busy as most stations, and this was an off peak hour. The people are quiet and mannerly while on the train, and you almost never see anyone eating while riding.

Below is the Nagoya eki, the largest train station in the world. There are several underground layers and numerous stores and hotels here. On one central level they have this golden clock, and on the level below is a similar silver clock. They are great meeting places.

Incoming missionaries ride the train from the airport to the Nagoya Train Station when they first arrive in Japan. Here they get off and spend a few minutes talking with people, sharing pamphlets and the Book of Mormon. It becomes their first experience as a missionary and gets them involved in missionary work almost from the moment they land in country.

Here is a missionary asking a funny looking white-haired lady if she would be interested in knowing more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She said she would.

(Actually, he's one of our office missionaries and he's explaining to me how the train system works.)

We have been on the train again since this first trip and it was much busier. We hear that in Tokyo there are "pushers" employed by the city. Their job is during rush hour. They stand along where the trains stop, and when people pile on and it gets full, they step on to the train and push people away from the door so more people can get on. They keep pushing until the people are all crammed together and then they step off, and away the train goes. I haven't asked how someone in the middle gets off at the next stop. While people who have experienced it say that one can just take a nap while standing, it's an experience I'm thinking I can do without.

Here's where you can go if you are starting to lose your hair: "Only One Hair." Or maybe you can try "Hair Hark."

Here fishy fishy fishy.

Lee and I were shopping at a grocery store last Saturday. As we strolled toward the back of the store, looking at all the things that we didn't know what they were, we saw a crowd of people kind of bunching up in the corner. So we made our way over there to see what was so interesting.

Here's what we saw.

There was a little dish of samples off to the right. Lee tried one and it was so fresh and delicious. We bought a piece and brought it home. We had half of it as sashimi, and half of it seared. I actually liked the sashimi better. It was the best, melt-in-your-mouth fish I've ever eaten. Just FYI, it was about 3/4 of an inch think, and about 3 inches by 8 inches. It cost 1000 yen (about $12 in US currency).

Wish you could have enjoyed it with us!

Two more names of beauty shops: Roo Moon and Posse Cut.

Girls Day-March 3

I know, it's a little late for March 3, but this is so fascinating that I wanted to blog about it.

3/3 is Girls' Day in Japan. It's a pretty big deal. It's a time to pray for the health and welfare of the nation's daughters. I like that idea!

My first introduction to it was when we were invited to the home of a sweet older couple who live across the street from the Mission Home. They are not members of the church, but they built their home at almost the same time the Mission Home was built, and they have known and been friends with every mission president since. I'm not sure how many that is. Mission president's serve for 3 years.

In this couple's small living room, in a little cove at the side, was what I would call a staircase, about five feet wide and standing alone. There were 7 steps to the top. It was covered with a red cloth. Numerous figures of dolls in various dress, tiny serving dishes with little cakes or crackers or candy, model sized wagons with horses in front, miniature boxes with drawers, and all sorts of other cute little items had been carefully placed on each step of this staircase. On top were a man and woman doll, and these were the largest and the most elaborately dressed. Then in each step on down, the dolls got less elaborately dressed and smaller, but each was intricate and beautiful.

We discussed all the little items in detail (but it was spoken in Japanese and translated for those of us who needed it). I think the staircase is set up at least a few weeks before March 3 and must be taken down and put away on March 3. Or at least there was something about getting some of the dolls put away by March 3, or your daughter would never get married.

Next, I saw a similar (but not quite as big or elaborate) display at a department store. It was on sale--for US equivalent of $1200. People buy them already put together. After seeing that, I guessed that Mrs. Ito's display would be worth at least $2000-$3000.

Then we heard about a display in the Marriott at the Nagoya Train Station, which happens to be the largest train station in the world. The Elders took us on the train to the Nagoya Station and we got to go into the Marriott and see it. It was amazing, as you can see by these photos. In this display, all items were hand sewn and made from old kimonos. So there are millions of memories in this display.

There was every kind of little animal and figure sewn up, stuffed, and hung on these strings. It was fascinating and beautiful.

Finally, we heard about the city of Konosu, which has a history as a doll-making center that dates back to the Edo Period (1603-1867). They have the largest display in Japan. It is gigantic, made up of 31-steps and 1,807 traditional ornamental dolls. They have it in their city hall, and the figures represent the Emperor, Empress, servants and musicians, etc. The rest of the town gets involved and about 8,000 dolls are on display in other places. I wish we could have gone there. Konosu is north of Tokyo. But if you want to see a picture of this amazing display, google "Nezu Museum doll display." Fun, fun, fun.

Do you need a haircut? Come on over to Japan and try "Hair Pop," or "Mustache."

Follow-up on Staying Warm

As I sit here typing in my chair (this happens wherever I am in the living/dining room part of the house) I have cold legs on one side and warm legs on the side toward the heater. I have complained about that (at least to myself) and told Lee that I am looking forward to the time when my legs can be warm all over. Church is worse because my legs are cold all over for four hours. But last night I was reading in “Daughters in My Kingdom,” a wonderful new book from the Relief Society. Here’s what I read:

Eliza Partridge Lyman gave birth to a son on July 14, 1846, in a wagon. Like many infants among the pioneers, the boy did not survive. In a journal, Eliza described her experiences: July 14, 1846: “I am very uncomfortably situated for a sick woman. The scorching sun shining upon the wagon through the day and the cool air at night, is almost too much of a change to be healthy.”

Oct 14, 1846: “We have taken possession of our log house today. The first house my babe was ever in. I feel extremely thankful for the privilege of sitting by a fire where the wind cannot blow it in every direction, and where I can warm one side without freezing the other. Our house is minus floor and many other comforts but the walls protect us from the wind if the sod roof does not from the rain.”

December 6, 1846: “My baby is sick and getting worse. Has cried all day but I cannot see what ails him.”

December 12, 1846: “The baby is dead and I mourn his loss. We have done the best we knew how for him, but nothing has done any good; he continued to fail from the time he was taken sick. My sister Caroline and I sat up every night with him and tried to save him from death, for we could not bear to part with him, but we were powerless… I still have friends who are dear to me. If I had not I should wish to bid this world farewell, for it is full of disappointments and sorrow. But I believe there is a power that watches over us and does all things right.”

I'm now counting my blessings.

How to stay warm in Japan

Japan is very modern in a number of ways. But they do not have central heating. Electricity, like everything else, is very expensive. So we keep all doors shut between rooms and try to turn heat off when we walk to another room for longer than just a minute. That means that whenever we walk into a room, it is cold. I have a feeling that when it is very hot here, air conditioning will be woefully inadequate.

So, how do you stay warm in Japan? Come in July and leave in September.

How do you stay cool in Japan? Come in November and stay until April.

I can't think of any other way.

But we are getting smarter. You turn the space heater on in the bedroom an hour or so before you want to go to bed, turn down the bedding so it can get heat on it, and close the door.

You get your clothes out of the ice closet and bring them into the living room where the heater is running. Let them hang there for a few minutes or wave them close to the heater. Then you can stand to get dressed in them.

You face the space heater near the bathroom with the door open so you can stand to sit on the toilet. If you have to go to the bathroom during the night, too bad. It's going to be really cold.

You stand by the heater a lot. You wear leg warmers. You layer your clothes more than you ever have. You exercise just to warm up. You wrap up in blankets to read. You wish you could lie down---on the ceiling where there might be some heat.

I'll let you know if I discover anything else.

Well, before I published this blog, I discovered (heard it through the grapevine) something else. When it's hot in Nagoya, there are spiders. Lots of them. And no one kills them. Anywhere. And there are millions of mosquitos, and they leave welts on you the size of half dollars. And there are a whole bunch of other bugs.

Have I been complaining about being cold? Never mind. I didn't say a thing!!

Oh, I almost forgot. Hair salons: Bell Hair. God's Hair. (That's quite a claim!)

Guess Who

Upcoming at some point is an exciting blog on trash in Japan. I know you can hardly wait. But meanwhile, I couldn't resist this:

We have a very large, beautiful home directly across the street from our apartment complex. We have looked at it on google and it is a large "footprint," for a Japanese home. Here is the trash they put out last Friday.

And here is the trash that was put out by three families from across the street. Now here's the million dollar question......Which one belongs to the Americans?

New Beauty Shop Names: Hair Make Antenna and Calm of Hair.

Cars and Driving

Another little dose of beauty shop names: Clip Clop and Manish Hair.

We went on a long walk last Saturday. We did about five or six miles. We saw someone driving a white Dodge Ram pickup truck. It was an American car, and he was sitting on the right but driving on the left. My first impression was, "How does he maneuver that thing on these tiny narrow roads?" Then Lee pointed out that he was sitting on the right, but of course, driving on the left. So confusing! And I can't imagine what he must pay for gas. Here's the kind of car we see a lot more often here:

And the two-lane roads are way more narrow than the one-way roads in the US. It's just amazing how people get around so well in so little space. Here are a couple of shots of a road near our home. It's kind of like an access road along a busier road.

There are two things to notice here in addition to the width of the road. 1) the glass wall. These are everywhere here and line both sides of heavily travelled roads. They shut out the noise. We can walk along this road with busy traffic as close as the headlights you see through the glass, and hardly hear the traffic. This road is also interesting in that between the two lanes of traffic, there is another short wall, and down below the road level you can see a steel grated roof. It is the roof of the freeway, which is underground below and between the lanes of traffic at ground level. No sound comes from the freeway to the people living above.

The other thing to notice, if you can see it, is the person in red standing in the street in the photo on the left. She is a service station attendant. After each car is filled with gasoline, she runs out to the street ahead of the car leaving the station, checks to make sure no other traffic is coming, then motions for the car to drive out onto the road. Then she does a deep bow and holds that position for a while so the driver can see her bow in the rear view mirror. How's that for service! It was amazing for us to watch.

And these last two photos are just a peak at the freeways. Once again, the glass lined sides that are usually curved in a little at the top. It cuts down on noise and wind, which is nice. But it also cuts down on view. I have been amazed at how many layers they can do freeways. They spiral up and up, with roads coming onto the spiral and off the spiral. They have toll roads here, too.

I'm hoping I won't have to drive, but Lee is getting better and better. He has really started to adjust to driving on the opposite side of the road. Bro. Oldroyd went everywhere with Dad for the first week—the Post Office, the bank, and some stores. He did a good job of coaching Dad and helping him learn to be very careful. You are seated on the opposite side of the car to drive, so you aren’t used to measuring how far away you are from things on the left, which is now so far away from you. It’s easy to run into a ditch or something else on that side.

And then there are road signs that you can’t read, or no road signs at all. Dad and I walked one morning to a nearby park. We noticed no signs to indicate which street we crossed or even what a person’s address on their home might be. How to find your way around here is still to be discovered by me. Oh, there is a navigation system in the car Dad drives, and apparently it works, but not well. Each missionary companionship has a little “Navi” they carry so they can find where they are going. Of course, it is in Japanese.

We are living and taking walks in an expensive neighborhood, and it's been really interesting to us that all the cars, almost without exception, are always clean. Spotless. And they are nearly all very new. It is just amazing. It seems like everything is clean, for that matter.