These trees grow at the top of our block, by the big Shinto shrine. For a long time I wondered what the round leafy balls were, so I called them “monkey nests” although we never see monkeys in our neighborhood. Turns out they are probably mistletoe or some other parasitic plant. But I had never seen these in America, and I like their exotic look.

In what I suspect is a twin effort to beautify while discouraging graffiti, the walls of many of the underpasses in my area are painted with murals. These are sometimes done by school kids, under the direction of an art teacher I would suppose, since they are very excellently executed. My favorite was done by an elementary school, and shows several animals on either side of a river all engaged in turning a rope that a whale is jumping. A very cute depiction of “group” and “cooperation” and – my favorite – a sheep who is pulling with all her might. I pass this sheep nearly every day, and she always cheers me up.

My favorite little sheep - isshou ken mei helping

Some of the other animals on the sheep's side

I’m going to include my first picture here (beware: makes this a 1000 word post!) Seeing is understanding.

Not just any sound machine, these are machines about the size of 2 paperback books that are located in toilet stalls – ok, there, I said it. And they make a sound like the sound of a toilet flushing. Now, why in the world do you need a machine that makes that sound in a toilet stall ? Well you may ask. The machines are there to provide another level of privacy for those most private of functions – a curtain of sound! Sometimes they have a button to push, and a row of small LEDs to track the progress of the sound experience. But the other night the machine was electronically wired to the commode and started automatically when the patron sat down, and began tapering off when the patron arose again. Pretty nifty way to deal with a densely-packed small-personal-space-envelop but we-all-crave-privacy society, ne?

This week is holiday time here in Japan, known as “Golden Week” because of the string of holidays that enable people to take much more time off than they are used to (4 holidays in a row counting the substitute day for the one that fell on a Sunday this year). To set the mood, many merchants depart from the usual pop and rock music and play traditional Japanese music instead. What a nice change! I feel so much more like taking my time in a store when I’m not being distracted by loud music. Tonight I was even able to enjoy a little boy who playfully broke into his own version of traditional Japanese dance when he heard the music. . .

They flooded the rice fields in my neighborhood. As I came home tonight, I pulled up beside the new reflecting pool, briefly turned off the headlights and enjoyed for a few moments the song of the frogs on a cool spring evening with a bare wisp of a breeze and no bugs. What a magical time!

. . . starting to disappear. Now, I couldn’t put that in the title because it seems to conflict with my earlier post about liking Japanese toilets. Well . . . I do. But . . . I find that lately whenever I find a “Western” one I am relieved (no pun intended! Should I have said “happy”?) And yet I also feel strangely sad as yet another distinctive thing about Japan passes into history.

Last night I went out to dinner with some ladies and the restaurant had an such a beautiful ladies room I could hardly believe it. . .

I’m trying to hold all the things I like about Japan in my head! NOT a good idea. I’ve probably forgotten some good ones already. But one thing I know I’m going to like about Japan is the STARBUCKS they are building but a seven minutes walk from MY HOUSE. I like it already. I get to see it going up. Now I know, for example, that there are little individual bulbs that light up the letters in the name. After waiting for so long for one in our area it is incredible that it will be so close by. Scheduled to open in late March – hey! That’s THIS MONTH!

When I first arrived in Japan, almost 20 years ago now, nearly all the stores played classical music while you were shopping! I loved this about Japan. Nowadays, of course, it is usually rock music, which is a fine genre, but not one that I find particularly conducive to shopping leisurely and making purchase decisions. The classical music was a great idea! Bring it back!

I went to a local appliance store today to buy a LAN cable, and wanted to be in and out as quickly as I could. So I went to the service counter and asked where to find them. Directed to the second floor, I headed for the stairs, spent a few extra seconds looking over some of the “impulse” items that were arrayed there and arrived on the second floor, only to be welcomed by a salesgirl who asked “Are you looking for LAN cables?” Imagine my surprise! The service counter on the first floor must have alerted the second floor that a LAN customer was coming. (These are not expensive items.) Then she led me to the cables, we talked about the relative merits of the three basic kinds and after I made my selection she led me to the payment counter. She was cheerful and helpful, stuck with me until I had paid, and said “Goodbye.” I just can’t imagine this level of customer service in my passport country, and it’s definitely something I like about Japan!