tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12723656988325194932024-02-19T02:02:16.777-08:00Dreaming Big in JapanRick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-23359835461944853832013-01-21T20:11:00.000-08:002013-01-21T20:16:12.224-08:00Our blog has a new permanent home<span style="font-size: small;">We are transplanting all three of our blogs to our own newly sprouted website: <a href="http://www.dreamseedfarms.com/">www.dreamseedfarms.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Dreaming Big in Japan, Dream Seed Yoga and Dream Seed Farms blogs will all now take root at: <a href="http://www.dreamseedfarms.com/blog">www.dreamseedfarms.com/blog</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Our fields, accommodations and the website are all a work in progress...<br /><br />Please check out our blog, photos and other content as more becomes available.<br /><br />Come plant your own Dream Seed with us!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">Rick and Michie</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> on Ajishima</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.dreamseedfarms.com/">www.dreamseedfarms.com</a></span>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-88914832046214345632012-02-11T23:17:00.000-08:002012-02-13T04:06:24.039-08:00Mendou Kusai<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The Japanese have a great turn of phrase that quite accurately sums up my approach to life for the past year: 面倒くさい (<i>mendou kusai</i>), or "I can't be bothered!"</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3eTUSKNhakeJvZzGfginHF63gi3Bpu4ZoHTzzEY03vjbl5JbKO8Y7w1n3AkTKtxGjDCi_qrBSp3VTbRAkFr1gpqp9QXuTWpTfBtdw0IYJQoKxKbVPloUGQ-MGRaXszClwvSqBw-DdoMyd/s1600/p1080955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3eTUSKNhakeJvZzGfginHF63gi3Bpu4ZoHTzzEY03vjbl5JbKO8Y7w1n3AkTKtxGjDCi_qrBSp3VTbRAkFr1gpqp9QXuTWpTfBtdw0IYJQoKxKbVPloUGQ-MGRaXszClwvSqBw-DdoMyd/s400/p1080955.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm a bear who cares! <i>[or]</i> I'm a bear. Who cares!?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This leads, inevitably, to lots of loafing around. But, said loafing was getting unusually difficult because we only had a set of chairs around the dining room table at which to loaf. Plus, the average daily temperature (<b><i>inside</i></b> our rental house too!) has been hovering around freezing, with nighttime temps dropping low enough to freeze our water pipes a handful of times every week. They might still freeze even if they were inside the house, but since this is Japan, the water pipes are actually <i>outside</i> of the house mounted on the wall. They are just there in all the elements, mostly because I think Japanese carpenters do not want to take the time to drill holes in the wall studs to pass the pipes through. Some of our wiring is the same way, inside and out, just tacked onto the wall. It sure makes the whole building process faster and cheaper, but at what an aesthetic and functional cost!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The solution to both these conundrums (and these two only!) was made apparent on a trip to the mainland, during which time I tested for my Japanese Driver License. I failed my first attempt at the driving test with flying colors...but more on that later. And so, as a consolation prize, we undertook a hasty remedy involving a healthy dose of retail therapy.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We would later stumble upon a nice bakery with a variety of beautiful and elusively-vegan breads, then find our way to a shopping mall and even take in a movie at some giant gigaplex, but before that we stopped at a second-hand store. We remembered a few items we could make use of, but such purveyors of others' trash seldom reveal the treasures we seek. Yet, lo and behold! Under a heap of lesser cushions and couches-without-legs laid buried a stout sofa suitably appointed for cradling my loafing loaf. We rescued it from its shoddily upholstered captors and proceeded to put it through the paces of a rigorous snuggle test. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This seat of love amply fits this loving couple side by side, but once alone and reclined across both cushions, my legs dangle over the side. And we now know the reason this otherwise prime specimen of functional furniture may have been pawned off in the first place: the cushions slip and slide right off the frame when put under any weight. However, we have a couch now, whereas we did not before. Recline and Rejoice!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The second dilemma revolved around my feet. I am ostensibly endothermic in relationship to my surroundings, whereas my better half conversely displays exothermic properties. But isn't that the way it always is...I'm hot and she's cold!? We have a heater, of course, but it is only big enough to slightly warm the room we are currently in. There are portable versions, either electric or kerosene fueled, to accompany one as one moves around one's domicile, but the cords are short and electricity is astronomically expensive (and nuclear in origin) in Japan, and the kerosene heaters vent right into the room you are in. This necessitates opening windows every few hours to let the carcinogenic smoke escape, with the added bonus of losing all the heat previously generated. Thankfully, there is another option (not passive solar design, as our rental hardly faces the sun at all) and that is a kerosene heater with an external flue which vents smoke outside. We happened to purchase one before the disaster last year, during a half-off-end-of-winter sale. We installed it last November and have been burning 36+ liters of kerosene per week (at approx. $60 per refill) to slightly warm two small rooms. This does not include the bi-weekly refill we need to keep the bathtub hot water heater fueled...</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Compound this silly equation by the absurd fact that most buildings in Japan lack insulation (I have yet to hear an explanation as to why) and we end up with a room dropping to or below outside temperatures (how is that even possible!?) the moment the heater is stopped. Thankfully we can hibernate the night away under warm futons, but during waking hours it is a struggle to stay warm.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0S7jSNP20qqtFQ2hLN6ifaAj2XD2rn7ArV-ldXsy5gmOQdoX8G0sgKlfhn68kHmlc93UHsfKY_DfpYiJMcrRhCwEab-PYundIwYuVxXA8bXlkisuUMJo6WaMQ6doNvnZi3WOQ9hevXJsO/s1600/p1080842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0S7jSNP20qqtFQ2hLN6ifaAj2XD2rn7ArV-ldXsy5gmOQdoX8G0sgKlfhn68kHmlc93UHsfKY_DfpYiJMcrRhCwEab-PYundIwYuVxXA8bXlkisuUMJo6WaMQ6doNvnZi3WOQ9hevXJsO/s400/p1080842.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">See: painted particle board, air and dry wall. That is ALL!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpbqXSKBLTBGBiXb4iHtS6SAT1AXoxlj-nxcysvCcykrToZPW7Ckczw55XnQE2NMAi3CYlMl7gigG2fTZqnYucSdVHDwRWMbtIQRMME99RGeRQNKkww7nnI6220e8eg1WnJ4bIRlxDgi7/s1600/p1080846.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpbqXSKBLTBGBiXb4iHtS6SAT1AXoxlj-nxcysvCcykrToZPW7Ckczw55XnQE2NMAi3CYlMl7gigG2fTZqnYucSdVHDwRWMbtIQRMME99RGeRQNKkww7nnI6220e8eg1WnJ4bIRlxDgi7/s400/p1080846.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bottom to top: flue, fuel intake, 90L kerosene tank on blocks!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We employ the layer method quite effectively, with often double digit figures layered between us. Oh, and 'someone' sticks self-adhesive pocket warmers all over her inner layers. While I am usually warm enough, recently my feet feel like I am playing shuffle puck with two blocks of ice. So, after we procured the aforementioned sofa, we found ourselves in an offensively large, yet well heated, shopping mall particularly in a 'Village Vanguard' which turned out to be the only place in our little corner of Japan that sold big fluffy slippers. We scored some kind of cartoon character themed slippers, which I care to know nothing about because anime is just dumb, but they are severely plush and severely warm. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqT_f-tHNCa94YodADpPlsRnBcL2kT2mRiy8DGm-WlcVoE3VIFSdUYkznIAC2hV_fylxsgUy09l8a1DgWEVJHmVVynIzVRHIVgh7iQ5MEktNYIfDk6PqA5Set0au_GVl2ryYR-fOykeA6/s1600/p1080959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqT_f-tHNCa94YodADpPlsRnBcL2kT2mRiy8DGm-WlcVoE3VIFSdUYkznIAC2hV_fylxsgUy09l8a1DgWEVJHmVVynIzVRHIVgh7iQ5MEktNYIfDk6PqA5Set0au_GVl2ryYR-fOykeA6/s400/p1080959.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Three-toed sofa sloth in its natural habitat.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Having finally warmed my little piggies, I had a week to digest the absurdity that is the Japanese Driver License (DL) examination process. First of all I had to pay, not do it myself, to have my Colorado license translated into Japanese. Then I had to lay down over $50 in fees to submit my application for a DL. Michie came with me and helped answer a slew of very detailed questions, like when, where, how long and in what make, model, and country of manufacture, of car did I take my original driver's training. Then they asked me how much I paid for the training. When I told them with a huge grin that it was free through my high school, the pencil pusher across from us let out a wild expletive of disbelief as his jaw audibly dropped. You see it costs upwards of $4,000 (yes, four <i><b>thousand</b></i>) to take a driving course in Japan. These course are administered exclusively by private companies 'licensed' by the DMV, which refers perspective drivers to said companies. If you are Japanese, essentially, you will never pass the DMV's tests if you cannot show proof of purchase of driving school instruction.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">While foreigners in Japan face an astronomical amount of discrimination, institutional and otherwise in our daily lives, we have one loophole to our advantage when it comes to getting a DL. Most countries have a treaty with Japan to allow their citizens a Japanese DL upon the simple translation of their origin DL. The US, however does not have such a treaty because Japan is basically like a petty child. Each of the 50 states in the US has a different procedure for foreigners, including Japanese, to secure a DL. As such, because all states will not conform to the standard Japan demands, Japan chooses not to make any accommodations for US citizens. At least that is what some government minister officially stated in a press release. Anyway, US Americans, have to pay their way through an oppressive bureaucratic maze, with another 'official' at every turn to collect 'fees' for encrypted instructions to the next 'official's' desk.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, once I managed all of this, I had my interview. Then I was told I had to come back another day next week, because who would even think to register for the driving test and TAKE said driving test on the SAME day? What kind of world would that make any sense in, the pencil pusher questioned. So, I came back, registered again, took a vision test, and a 10 question paper test. I got one wrong, but they refused to tell me which one, because in what kind of a world would we tell students the correct answers to test questions they failed, so they can learn from their mistakes and ultimately become safer drivers? This all took about a half hour, then the waiting ensued.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">After two hours of watching ALL, without exception, even for the last minute arrivals, of the Japanese students getting to take their driving test, the proctors called out the handful of foreigners present. There are two saving graces of the whole experience. The first is that since we do not yet have our Japanese DL we have no legal DL to drive on the real roads in Japan (despite our international permits) so we only needed to take a course test, and no road test. The second was that the proctor took us in a car before our test began and personally drove us around the course in a practice run that we would have to mimic on our own. Such graciousness began and ended there! There was no explanation of what was being checked for, only where to turn for the next test. In the end, this turned out not to be a test of actual driving skill and safety awareness, but rather an exact aping of what the proctors quickly did one time without explanation.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Other Prefectures in Japan allow test takers to walk the driving course hours before there are cars whizzing around it. They also allow a translator (self-provided) to ride in the back seat, to convert the vague Japanese instructions to whatever your native tongue may be. They also provide study materials and maps of the course before the driving test. Miyagi Prefecture, wherein I currently reside, neither supports nor condones any of the above subversive behaviors. The common consensus among all the foreigners I met over the duration of this ordeal was that all of these ludicrous requirements and prohibitions were in place to exploit and extort as much money as possible out of us. Since we did not have to take out a sizable loan to finance our drivers ed classes in our home countries, our respective DLs were seemingly deemed both qualitatively (not Japanese) and quantitatively (massive amounts of money) inferior to their four-grand Japanese counterparts.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">However, despite weeks of training (read: no instruction, just admonishment when you do something wrong, without knowing what was wrong since it was never taught) and loads of cash in outlay, the average Japanese driver is no better prepared to be a safe and skilled driver once they finally get a DL. They too must mimic the exact course, without deviation. It comes down to a game of memory, and of convincing your muscles to repeat certain prescribed actions from rote on command, while constantly checking the proctor out of the corner of your eye as he violently assaults his clipboard with ferocious jabs and slashes of his pencil.<br /><br />So, needless to say, it is a scam. Plain and simple. But all the best scams the world over are government sanctioned, are they not!?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I digress. As mentioned much previously, I failed the first test, because, and I translate and quote "American roads are sooooo wide, huh. Our Japanese roads are sooooo narrow. You Americans do not know how to drive on narrow roads." Other than a wide left turn (we drive on the left here) out from a narrow driveway that I know I fudged, I was told I failed without any real explanation as to why. I had to go back to the office, re-register (paperwork and all) and pay another $50 for the next test.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now, it would be bad enough to make the long trip and fail the first test if you lived on the mainland. But, since all travel to and from our home involves a ferry ride both ways, one trip involves up to two extra days of traveling and gasoline and waiting and hotels and food expenses and so on. If we did not have to wait two hours before the foreigners got to go, I could have been out in time to drive 50 minutes back to the port at Ishinomaki and catch the last ferry of the day at 4:10pm. The ferry and island part, we knowingly and gladly brought upon ourselves, but the abusive amount of waiting at the DMV was definitely perpetrated against our will. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, we stayed at a hotel, because it is too cold to sleep in the car, like we are wont to do in the summer. Once home, we had a week of refuge back on Ajishima, protected from the madness of the world by a massive moat of saltwater on all sides, and a lock on our front door.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> I spent a lot of time reflecting on my few known mistakes and visualizing every turn and procedure, from the 'baby check' (making sure no errant babies have crawled under the car while parked) before even getting in the car, to the final parking brake and supplicating gesture of inferiority and spoken plea of unworthiness and expression of gratitude to the proctor for whiling away so much of his precious time on such an undeserving peon. These are the things that get a passing grade. I decided I would never grovel, so I contrived a farcical ruse whereby I would over exaggerate every gesture and as sarcastically and condescendingly as possible speak the rote parts of the scripted conversation between the pencil pushers, the proctors and myself. They would have the satisfaction of seeing a foreign fool apparently fumble his way through an intentionally complicated maze and I would rest assured knowing that I never <i>really</i> gave in to their expected demands of self-deprecation.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">After a week of peace, I hopped onto a ferry bound for the mainland, this time alone, without my trusty sidekick. They wouldn't let her do anything anyway, plus she had to work and earn money for me to burn up in gas and hotels and DMV revenue stamps. Oh, I forgot to mention that I had until Feb 22 to get my Japanese DL. This is because my international driving permit would expire then, and legally I would be driving illegally after that. So, I needed to get this all done as soon and as cheaply as possible. This time I brought lots of money, lots of snacks, changes of clothes and a determination to pass the second test, with a healthy realization that I would likely need to find room and board near the driving center, just in case.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I failed the second test. Who would have thought? I made wide left turns the first time, so the second time I may have overcompensated by taking a left turn too close to the curb, as I can only assume by the proctor literally jumping out of his seat, hanging from the handle above the door and screaming 'watch out!' I know I didn't do anything wrong, or anything worse than the average Japanese driver does on a second by second basis when they are 'driving.' I realized how startled he was, and I may or may not have done the same thing again at the next left turn. Regardless of my intentions, he freaked out again and started defacing my poor helpless report on his clipboard. I did a damn fine job on that course that day, but I still failed.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Back into the office, new paper work and receipt of payment of another $50 in hand. Thankfully, I got the last slot for the next day's test. At least I wouldn't have to waste a night at a hotel between test days, but I started to anticipate living out of my backpack for the next couple weeks. I would have to buy my cup ramen in bulk and go to the coin laundry every other day if that was the case. But, I was mentally, if not spiritually prepared for such an event.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">One more thing before I get to the third try. The proctors usually have the next foreigner in line ride in the back of the car during the current test. I actually got to ride with this poor guy from Iran who understood no Japanese at all. Not even numbers (the turns were numbered) or left and right. It pained me not to translate for him into English, which he spoke very well, but that was strictly verboten. He rolled through traffic signals, missed almost every turn, went off course just to get back on course and actually crashed into a wall. Good thing I buckled up for safety.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">After I took care of the paper work and paid the second time, I saw that guy moping about the waiting room. I asked him if he had a few minutes and I offered to explain what the proctor said and what was actually expected. I drew up some detailed maps of the corners of the course, and laid out what the proctors refused to. He seemed to feel better about it all after a good chat.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I came back the next day refreshed and focused. I did the preliminary paperwork, then waited a long time for my turn. I visualized the entire course and every action start to finish including getting handed the 'pass' card from the proctor at the end. I was mid course on another visualization when all the other foreigners, some back for the fifth and sixth time, came to the waiting room. The same Iranian guy sat next to me and he showed me a satellite image from google maps of the course he cleverly downloaded. We talked a little about the test but then spent the rest of the time just chatting away about life in general. We were having so much fun that I didn't hear my name the first time and once I realized I had to go, I really felt I would get more out of talking with a fellow human being than being ignored by a seemingly feelingless robot. But then the Iranian guy was called to ride in the back while I drove this time, so I thought that should be alright. I was hoping that I had chalked up a bit of good DMV karma for helping him out. I did all the stuff I was supposed to do, got in the car and rocked that test like it had never been rocked before.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The proctor, the third one I had, and by far the nicest, and possibly even a real human being, said to me after I pulled into the final parking spot, 'Mikkeruson-san wa totemo jouzu deshita,' or 'Mickelson-san you were totally perfect!' I could not believe it and I expressed my concern to him, but he assured me I had passed, and I got the card to prove it. I did not see how my friend did next, but he did fail again. I was too elated to notice anything else. I looked at the clock on my way back into the lobby, and noticed I had several, many hours in fact, to wrap it up here and catch the last ferry home. Unbeknownst to me, the waiting hadn't even begun yet. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I made it to the foreigners office through what looked like a broom closet door, handed in my 'pass' card and was given more paperwork requiring more revenue stamps. Bastards. I had to pay to take each test and, finally, to pay for passing the last one, or pay for the actual license as the case may well have been, but the pay-for-passing scenario fits my depiction of moral bankruptcy on the part of the DMV much more deliciously!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Many stamps and a lighter wallet later, I handed my paperwork in and was told to wait an undisclosed amount of time. It ended up being two and half hours give or take, while Japanese folks who came after I did got to go ahead of me. After all the Japanese had been processed and sent along their way, I was finally called, along with the only other foreigner to pass that day, a really cool woman from China. Thankfully, we ended up sitting next to each other in the waiting room. I thought she was Japanese at first only because her Japanese was really really good. We chatted and waited and waited some more. It was her fourth or fifth time taking the test. But finally, we were called. My picture was taken and I had my license within another half hour. All it cost me was a few ulcers, a bit of my dignity and a couple hundred dollars instead of several thousand.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">By the time I made it out to my car, the time was exactly one minute before the last ferry would leave the dock for home, but that ferry was a long ways away and it was rush hour. So, I slowly drove back towards Ishinomaki, spent some time in a video arcade, had a nice vegan meal at a real Indian curry restaurant and pulled into an internet cafe parking lot around 8pm. In Japan, internet cafes are often very elaborate affairs with individual booths with doors and walls. The idea started before the advent of the internet, so the remnants remain and entail a small library's worth of Japanese comic books, or manga. Students and, not surprisingly to me anymore, businessmen and housewives, will pay for a couple hours so they can catch up on their favorite manga stories, catch some rest in a reclining chair or on a mat in their booth. There is an all you can drink soda fountain, that also dispenses coffee, tea, corn chowder, tomato soup and slushies. Some cafes have showers, billiards and darts, and a full menu of Japanese comfort food (read: nothing vegan!) delivered right to your booth.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Thankfully, they had an overnight package for 12 hours at about $25, which is a far cry from the triple or even quadruple price of an average hotel, per person. However, there is not a lot of privacy, nor a lot of room for someone two and a half times the size of the average Japanese person, for whom the booths were originally intended. I stayed in another branch of the same cafe the night before near the DMV, but this one in Ishinomaki was much better. The other branch had 5 non-smoking booths next to the smoking booths. In Japan, people smoke like chimneys like they did in the 50's and early 60's in the US. Even doctors and nurses and government health officials do as well. They don't care because they do not know any better. I digress again...the Ishinomaki branch on the other hand, had a handful of smoking booths in a secluded room with a separate ventilation system. It was fun to drink fizzy pop and hot salty seaweed tea until I fell asleep.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I got up in time to drive ten minutes to the port and catch the first ferry the next morning. I can imagine that internet cafe coming in handy in case we ever miss the last ferry home in the future. Once back home the first thing I was greeted with was my neighbor and some random workman who couldn't wait to tell me that someone crashed into our house. That's right, while I was spending the week at the DMV learning how to fake my way through a driving test, someone drove a truck into the side of our house! They mashed up the wall a bit, and tore the stove pipe chimney of the side of the bathroom wall. This shook the stove pipe inside loose too and rattled our bathtub heater up a bit. Other than that everything was ok. Our neighbor, who happens to be the foreman for all the workmen cleaning up the island after last year's disaster, slapped some grey silicone caulk all over the white wall (read: no sense of aesthetics despite being a carpenter by trade) and called it waterproof. Oh, well, it is a just a rental...</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A few days passed, and Michie had to work some night shifts, so I had an ample amount of time to unwind and decompress after the frustration of battling with the worst bureaucracy I have ever encountered, worse than the US, and worse even than in Germany, where I lived, worked and studied for a while, and where one in two of all workers is a bureaucrat. It was nice to kick back on our new sofa with my fuzzy bear-like slippers warming my toes and to hear nothing but the wind and see no one until Michie came home later on. That is my idea of peace.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">As a reward or maybe just to eat some chocolate, Michie whipped up a snack last night comprised of brown-rice based cornflakes folded into melted dark chocolate and left too cool in little mounds. We wanted to eat them as soon as possible, so we put them outside to harden in the subarctic weather. Michie heard some rustling outside but thought it to be the wind. Once our cravings got the best of us, she went outside to gather our treats only to find a feral cat licking and pawing at our glorious chocolate. It got all but six mounds which remained unmolested and unslobbered upon. Less is definitely not more when it comes to chocolate, but at least we had a sweet treat. And what an ending to a couple weeks' worth of ordeals. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now let peace reign until our next trip to the mainland. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I really only intended to show off my new slippers not to bitch and moan about all the cultural idiosyncrasies here, but it does feel good to vent. And I should have broken this into more than one post, but, afterall, <i><b>mendou kusai!!!</b></i></span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-27044752547793520442011-09-04T09:10:00.000-07:002011-09-04T09:10:37.689-07:00We're off to see Dream Seed Farms<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Where it's <a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/09/3-week-compost.html">compost</a> and <a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/09/sound-investment.html">wood chippers</a> and <a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/09/driftwood-tool-shed.html">tool sheds</a>... </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1039989809" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOla99mUfBuj50pE4vfkx4EGXp3c6INlopyCR9mWzJE-Jv3LLBcpes58MJgsTg618MGDhsW_jw2p5NE5tSll9sekmDyJMWjHSlQ1UUOKJf3kAJqSpNl4YvD8E_RhfQtiOnvBvkprKFmhsm/s400/p1060830.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/">...oh my!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-47721029358247220392011-09-04T07:16:00.000-07:002011-09-04T07:36:14.569-07:00Hidenka Reizouko<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">非電化 冷蔵庫 </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">What do those six kanji above and the six materials below have in common?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtIIMMzsJ29ICfpsFrCmYh4FHuvIDDM2Cgiq6_MjXZTlzHaVR9nRl_-hsrUo7hOhIPy-Ai4qt8Wnn9C5Q8sCUV0eI40qVWhv9j7Mm2Ptwjj_lKt4SsNBVNI4SOzydpcOJCzDyOGbzrdjS/s1600/p1070055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKtIIMMzsJ29ICfpsFrCmYh4FHuvIDDM2Cgiq6_MjXZTlzHaVR9nRl_-hsrUo7hOhIPy-Ai4qt8Wnn9C5Q8sCUV0eI40qVWhv9j7Mm2Ptwjj_lKt4SsNBVNI4SOzydpcOJCzDyOGbzrdjS/s400/p1070055.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Driftwood, insulation and recycled water bottles</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a name='more'></a><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">These are the fixings for a non-electric refrigerator!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Picture it. The year was 2007 and I was minding my own business in the public library in Mizusawa City. After exhausting all my options at finding any English language materials in a Japanese library that did not include a 1978 World Atlas, a Beta tape copy of the Karate Kid or a 1981 Passenger Car and Light Duty Truck Service Manual Supplement (GM-Canada), I was delighted to stumble upon the periodicals, amongst which there were many, vaguely, English-titled selections...</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Something generically camping-related caught my eye, and I took the current copy and all those tucked away behind it to a nice little table for further perusing. Beyond the magazine's Roman alphabet title there was little of interest or anything intelligible to my non-kanji comprehending brain. The pictures were nice, though! And that is what brought me to flip through a stack of magazines in a matter of mere minutes, only to pause for the flashy color spreads. Some dutch oven advocate here, some car campers there, but in the midst of so much mediocrity something did catch my eye: a man pulling a seemingly cold, deliciously perspiring bottle of beer out of a shiny box on a hot sunny day. There was no ice, there was no cord. From the complex drawings annotated in an even more complex language, I deduced that the sun somehow cooled that delicious bottle of beer.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">While that assumption proved false upon having my trusty translator (<i>Michie!</i>) exercise her kanji-skills, it was revealed that the box was in fact a non-electric refrigerator. The key points turned out to be insulation, thermal mass and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiative_cooling">radiative cooling</a>.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, four years ago, we photocopied that article and filed it away for future reference. Behold the future: when we first arrived in Japan earlier this year we tooled around Tokyo for a couple days, and the first thing we did after that was to head directly to see <a href="http://www.hidenka.net/hidenkaseihin/frig/frig.htm">the man that had invented the non-electric fridge</a>. The guy turned out to be a bonafide inventor, with all kinds of non-electric gadgets and gizmos all over his studio. The showcase version of the fridge (seen in the link above) was made from customized stainless steel parts and cost thousands of dollars to build. Thankfully, this guy was as practical as he was creative and he put together several more cost effective models that he said he had built from off-the-shelf materials from the local hardware store, and all that for under 10,000 yen or about a hundred dollars, give or take. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We studied the fridges intently and snapped as many pictures as possible while there. Little did we know that within three weeks time the whole country would be thrust into a situation where "non-electric" wouldn't just be some tinkerer's dream, but a viable way to comfortably survive.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">With all of this in mind, one of the first scraps I snatched up when we landed on Ajishima was that long-narrow, yellowish panel in the picture above. It is actually a thick slab of closed cell foam insulation framed in wood on four sides with a sheet of plywood over one of its faces. The other items include a couple styrofoam box tops, an old fashioned wooden rice bin, a bag of 2-liter water bottles from our first couple weeks on the island with no running water and a few bits of wood.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">One afternoon, Michie and I cobbled this little version together. All we needed extra were a few nails and screws, plus four hinges and a piece of screen from the 100 yen shop. This is how we did it:</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUJ5nGGNAeQIYBqLbwcv6ZjpfTP1tSgj1ezLatN8vGiiyqWUFDO0xcY7PwIfh_Y0uq_1CfrEWi8_zjQwwslseGa1XsK6sAJ6mc1AKQpunqOxB4EwyRmhyYERTqWVwIrtrNC3D0vFJFZx4/s1600/p1070056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUJ5nGGNAeQIYBqLbwcv6ZjpfTP1tSgj1ezLatN8vGiiyqWUFDO0xcY7PwIfh_Y0uq_1CfrEWi8_zjQwwslseGa1XsK6sAJ6mc1AKQpunqOxB4EwyRmhyYERTqWVwIrtrNC3D0vFJFZx4/s400/p1070056.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">First we cleaned up the box</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5mwL98p40MBYG7gDu2UFS-QJWseULixuwm3YzAAIElaQcwM6kLBa0ifqpbBlbzBykcIbfpWCedgWGAE4u87D0AE1g-x5SfICXuPkLKufVo_F1t4FDwy4VrvMCAZeh1j8vV9nL4Dnz6k4i/s1600/p1070057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5mwL98p40MBYG7gDu2UFS-QJWseULixuwm3YzAAIElaQcwM6kLBa0ifqpbBlbzBykcIbfpWCedgWGAE4u87D0AE1g-x5SfICXuPkLKufVo_F1t4FDwy4VrvMCAZeh1j8vV9nL4Dnz6k4i/s400/p1070057.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then pounded on some risers</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PWXrtSkSSRM9LN3QpAAskehcORzxxJdsNYO0yYHDtAmhkgSNSZKGb7n-GEmrUMLUxtuhjlNbUvpZi874U5U8MBmyo2SA7zijjLhqF1gqkm59CGEXA_jZoq2Oprk6OoIMRKvuZnIkM5Eb/s1600/p1070060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PWXrtSkSSRM9LN3QpAAskehcORzxxJdsNYO0yYHDtAmhkgSNSZKGb7n-GEmrUMLUxtuhjlNbUvpZi874U5U8MBmyo2SA7zijjLhqF1gqkm59CGEXA_jZoq2Oprk6OoIMRKvuZnIkM5Eb/s400/p1070060.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Flipped it upright</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02PSSU7cWQ5QLjzTJ7ndHWAxGztp7zZTFT5jPcyyZyyf8oVRuoOWw4JsuQdPYRezmqTHU7uV29lYb89zRvcuWZ1MYY90O_x1mLetWesaet-bZynK4LqHGp9cO72XeRMwHYaj6TvwI01W3/s1600/p1070065.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02PSSU7cWQ5QLjzTJ7ndHWAxGztp7zZTFT5jPcyyZyyf8oVRuoOWw4JsuQdPYRezmqTHU7uV29lYb89zRvcuWZ1MYY90O_x1mLetWesaet-bZynK4LqHGp9cO72XeRMwHYaj6TvwI01W3/s400/p1070065.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And sided it with the foam panel</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-kMnUh7SuVQPYNtPDCadLjQPh2TSPxPf_L_WGOOz5LhwfXL7Q7pmzD0yYrI2t3krxVEypxeNUguYo0nGzli5qUb-jn3qcFfZg_cuO7NOwtZzXvAaqEMw6djfB3h8hybHBFiQyuUHL-MD/s1600/p1070067.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-kMnUh7SuVQPYNtPDCadLjQPh2TSPxPf_L_WGOOz5LhwfXL7Q7pmzD0yYrI2t3krxVEypxeNUguYo0nGzli5qUb-jn3qcFfZg_cuO7NOwtZzXvAaqEMw6djfB3h8hybHBFiQyuUHL-MD/s400/p1070067.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The panel was as wide as the box was tall, and nearly the same length as its girth</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO211oD5GaUO0I-CmCrHo53LmPY_V6JytNCU7WduT34_pBaDLNxqaV0yXt7o5cjGLf-LRsTU3VJcX6TmDZyVri8EFM1KROyqWejy_33sExz46vIHaSbhv0OAepKI-S1EMFLfYqsjZAPVCO/s1600/p1070072.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO211oD5GaUO0I-CmCrHo53LmPY_V6JytNCU7WduT34_pBaDLNxqaV0yXt7o5cjGLf-LRsTU3VJcX6TmDZyVri8EFM1KROyqWejy_33sExz46vIHaSbhv0OAepKI-S1EMFLfYqsjZAPVCO/s400/p1070072.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next came the frame for the bottom lid</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Cwh5I2n19aQt8Y4lhfNSu8H0zwRwIvKpBbQk0luWryUG6jPWZkamqtKAv6_dUKg2vSWMvT301ejSaSsbCIZXZrwqQKyOl5ECPmZtRZo3d7HvXHFiNzN3XPBqT4cUHFlxI_MHufuEkZfG/s1600/p1070077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_Cwh5I2n19aQt8Y4lhfNSu8H0zwRwIvKpBbQk0luWryUG6jPWZkamqtKAv6_dUKg2vSWMvT301ejSaSsbCIZXZrwqQKyOl5ECPmZtRZo3d7HvXHFiNzN3XPBqT4cUHFlxI_MHufuEkZfG/s400/p1070077.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Which we fitted with a screen to keep the bugs out</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1kW2SM06TNXT75lRG2e7HlKm27T-wZuLaU3yEco511W4Q7rBx7zUDJ-5BaOPvtWIMru6B0NmDhwvZ_9AkICsHvYvC3gUml2wKWI2pkyP8hpFFGalZAAG5xnLbQhaEynMw0oky4L_R7s0/s1600/p1070082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS1kW2SM06TNXT75lRG2e7HlKm27T-wZuLaU3yEco511W4Q7rBx7zUDJ-5BaOPvtWIMru6B0NmDhwvZ_9AkICsHvYvC3gUml2wKWI2pkyP8hpFFGalZAAG5xnLbQhaEynMw0oky4L_R7s0/s400/p1070082.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We added 100 yen hinges and...presto change-o!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgel9mLreOxq0dRhWoV1r7kxjMxa0tpjEGUHYia7Spo_9bEGWhTvrgF9oJmzI82ZfQtTsYZ11VQoH5RQuxk6fwaKPvJCgMhAqblo91ogDbdwdAHfgbqcqk_UUDX6h5erujq_96lguwL6ua6/s1600/p1070085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgel9mLreOxq0dRhWoV1r7kxjMxa0tpjEGUHYia7Spo_9bEGWhTvrgF9oJmzI82ZfQtTsYZ11VQoH5RQuxk6fwaKPvJCgMhAqblo91ogDbdwdAHfgbqcqk_UUDX6h5erujq_96lguwL6ua6/s400/p1070085.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next came the top lid that happened to be exactly as wide as the bottom lid</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DRLIzSp6Awepo65svTt46sv47sYTDhCZxBcQs6iznN4VByGyH_rY5kexbsynYPgJRVfUHYLm3Cc4eTAsVfzydU_NT5mNskO8m_J6L0niRKaPjrslRm2HhFsgnNjeoU6xppkv4jCd-9WJ/s1600/p1070086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DRLIzSp6Awepo65svTt46sv47sYTDhCZxBcQs6iznN4VByGyH_rY5kexbsynYPgJRVfUHYLm3Cc4eTAsVfzydU_NT5mNskO8m_J6L0niRKaPjrslRm2HhFsgnNjeoU6xppkv4jCd-9WJ/s400/p1070086.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Michie even tried her hand at sawing. She actually did most of the work!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqz0bOwK2FA1wwGSfdVa6H-a87pPMlJ0TbOfEzbUs_8r1_XUTSzrlJ25DVeQ9R9C6lcPNrd-1C3sk1vuHYFDOXdn_M1hYfZlwGpRc2EltriV5LXd1O3tNff0ijysz1c5JTTfB8FTHTym2/s1600/p1070088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqz0bOwK2FA1wwGSfdVa6H-a87pPMlJ0TbOfEzbUs_8r1_XUTSzrlJ25DVeQ9R9C6lcPNrd-1C3sk1vuHYFDOXdn_M1hYfZlwGpRc2EltriV5LXd1O3tNff0ijysz1c5JTTfB8FTHTym2/s400/p1070088.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Japanese saws are awesomely double-sided and make a fantastic 'whraowhraowhraon' sound</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzDH4Osz2elrFuJ5UkPgriEN_1smIsirauWTokX5_I_I6-Rjo2EV8t6R-gDvpiGLsH153Ad2gwprltuivs3X3oK_4qrzAehNrPZ9G6ndDdQEFHO0v5osxpQz7fxqdVk2qAsHZMsNj9dgDK/s1600/p1070092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzDH4Osz2elrFuJ5UkPgriEN_1smIsirauWTokX5_I_I6-Rjo2EV8t6R-gDvpiGLsH153Ad2gwprltuivs3X3oK_4qrzAehNrPZ9G6ndDdQEFHO0v5osxpQz7fxqdVk2qAsHZMsNj9dgDK/s400/p1070092.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The top lid was connected to the bottom lid</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfx4hhkA9Wn_E6-2Oqn3zNznBOnIWNLA2rDzlBoKlk3Ne4chgmpAFy56dr5MKqnSyoxJnpDNz3y-x2Z8jLyCUjL3DpmL2S2lxZgvlpOwJtnQlpJR7zROk49ICkbGV3sKJqSTNFobrPqDW5/s1600/p1070096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfx4hhkA9Wn_E6-2Oqn3zNznBOnIWNLA2rDzlBoKlk3Ne4chgmpAFy56dr5MKqnSyoxJnpDNz3y-x2Z8jLyCUjL3DpmL2S2lxZgvlpOwJtnQlpJR7zROk49ICkbGV3sKJqSTNFobrPqDW5/s400/p1070096.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next came 25 2-liter bottles of thermal mass (<i>i.e.</i> water)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPikHLu440t4CAXi6GaGVITQCkGyUJWrXg6gFfQ0O31OlIDDPH5aOrnSMUINvtvwaRxu2AEV506WtCIVUClo6sN1fStonoU3yQw8bkXEKSBNAOxmS8g-igtToDbop-hnRs3JqjtZBJBDM9/s1600/p1070098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPikHLu440t4CAXi6GaGVITQCkGyUJWrXg6gFfQ0O31OlIDDPH5aOrnSMUINvtvwaRxu2AEV506WtCIVUClo6sN1fStonoU3yQw8bkXEKSBNAOxmS8g-igtToDbop-hnRs3JqjtZBJBDM9/s400/p1070098.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Which we dropped in</span>...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdJ79O-VgULEy1j3D-NrWMe_G4n9jhCigJg16BET2tiOF1BLXiX4ivPiVObLRL3xBmKYbGfb_Q8STpRjDSOAkK6vbqxplmLOS5OS377gSCujRCk27tyVy-zp-8Whl0PBdb4HlILW8CiAv/s1600/p1070111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpdJ79O-VgULEy1j3D-NrWMe_G4n9jhCigJg16BET2tiOF1BLXiX4ivPiVObLRL3xBmKYbGfb_Q8STpRjDSOAkK6vbqxplmLOS5OS377gSCujRCk27tyVy-zp-8Whl0PBdb4HlILW8CiAv/s400/p1070111.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">...in no particular order</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8f2fskDXJYlJf2sAFd3J9d6pc_qVOt__vTsIPLH1LooFycp1m8PS-FcxQ3BqH03vbm9uCP1wMjKwqyaUoYsGSE-exgz2Jjt3ya2rUSleudeeZjBGVQNyFjs7fywlwHra7NF8uxf8h1N9q/s1600/p1070104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8f2fskDXJYlJf2sAFd3J9d6pc_qVOt__vTsIPLH1LooFycp1m8PS-FcxQ3BqH03vbm9uCP1wMjKwqyaUoYsGSE-exgz2Jjt3ya2rUSleudeeZjBGVQNyFjs7fywlwHra7NF8uxf8h1N9q/s400/p1070104.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then we insulated the top lid</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjY7ebGXfHft_5i5PeMfTePv31OY4psT8Bbrn8BdPT5sYLBMdlkAzfMqCZvMBrCch5OeTDtNPkkx8eCeZ1BSce4HIcOCpgSVRxH9TD4GFLmqhheOsTemZk1mh78Ph3I-P5oT_iBMYpKYt/s1600/p1070110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkjY7ebGXfHft_5i5PeMfTePv31OY4psT8Bbrn8BdPT5sYLBMdlkAzfMqCZvMBrCch5OeTDtNPkkx8eCeZ1BSce4HIcOCpgSVRxH9TD4GFLmqhheOsTemZk1mh78Ph3I-P5oT_iBMYpKYt/s400/p1070110.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">There you have it...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiF6pndRAqwEqJuR8KETWRlgSzpwYgaKHvRYNbmk_Pw6HDoVlruqyVvbr0wD-U8YLF8u1-vq1dJcr4lcIdbK1UYwTxbl5KODQ-q_aSqTBxDCSNUj3eoSFB_ZDmmhPtWa8rVgpLBc6cNrfi/s1600/p1070113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiF6pndRAqwEqJuR8KETWRlgSzpwYgaKHvRYNbmk_Pw6HDoVlruqyVvbr0wD-U8YLF8u1-vq1dJcr4lcIdbK1UYwTxbl5KODQ-q_aSqTBxDCSNUj3eoSFB_ZDmmhPtWa8rVgpLBc6cNrfi/s400/p1070113.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">...a non-electric refrigerator</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />That about wraps up the project, except for a driftwood wood handle for the top lid, which we found on the beach during a romantic stroll a few days later, and perhaps some kind of non-toxic paint job.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> It sits right outside our kitchen door under an opaque awning.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The idea behind this contraption is that at night you open the top lid and let the heat radiate out into space which in effect cools the contents and, most importantly, the water. You close the top lid in the morning and the insulation combined with the relative thermal stability of 50 liters of water keeps everything cool.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We monitored the temperature difference on the hottest
days of about 31 degrees Celsius and the internal temp came in between
25-26 all day long. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Maybe we could wrap the whole thing in foil or mylar to reflect more of the day's heat as well.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The contents can only ever get as cold as it is at night and they may even freeze in the winter. We will have to wait and see. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Aside from the fact that nearly every disparate scrap we salvaged and repurposed matched the exact dimensions of the other components, we had consumed exactly 25 2-liter bottles of water, no more, no less, before the water lines were restored. Those 25 bottles, no more, no less, fit into the box without any gaps</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Since we have chosen not to buy a regular fridge, at least we have a place to keep our produce cool, and it will work whether or not we have electricity flowing to our house. Plus, one more great advantage of this fridge is that we have an additional 50 liters of emergency water on hand now as well. If only it were 50 liters of beer...</span>
</div>
Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-48370953700762788062011-09-03T21:57:00.000-07:002011-09-03T21:59:19.244-07:00Guess What<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://makeagif.com/RXVTe1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="RXVTe1 on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs"><img alt="RXVTe1 on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs" height="300" src="http://makeagif.com/media/8-27-2011/RXVTe1.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We have a zip liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!!!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Just behind the old elementary school that was converted to the island's hospital there lies an abandoned playground...</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Sweet!!!</span></div>
Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-18358842852941799432011-09-03T21:48:00.000-07:002011-09-03T21:48:32.704-07:00The Source<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Late last week we received word that our water supply might run out. It seemed that the underwater pipeline from Ayukawa on the mainland might give at anytime, and our lifeline was further compromised by a looming hurricane. We stockpiled as much water as we could in the bathtub, thermoses and old fish tanks. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Almost a week and half ago we were warned that a hurricane was heading our way. Either it was the slowest moving hurricane I have ever seen or the monitoring systems have gotten much better at detecting and projecting their paths much earlier. It ended up sweeping inland south of Tokyo and is currently meandering towards the Sea of Japan, so we were spared the brunt of it. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We have had much less rain and wind than during previous hurricanes this season, but</span><span style="font-size: large;"> the sea has been choppy with five to six meter swells I watched from the port down the road. The twice-daily ferry was canceled last Thursday (grocery delivery day!) and has been docked in Ishinomaki since then. We have eaten everything from our grocery delivery two weeks ago, but thankfully we have some dry goods and a few choice veggies from our garden. It won't be gourmet, but we can definitely survive for a while. The best news, however, is that the island's water supply seems to be safe.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Our friends snapped this picture from their side of the island. The grey water pipe that winds out of that concrete service box used to be buried two meters underground. Ayukawa, a small village within Ishinomaki City lies to the north in the background.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPO9pa8uWkBL6iapJeG89IV1i2q-rr5_CWO8xqD_6hi4x-nWb0Cq52kyzIz5HcmGCXnesjl6mK1sdKjE5Kuo8qh6TG9cKqSBg2NSGCa8-l0oEOl9Ydw2ixMqweMcqpOvd1G9_p1lQU6Ak6/s1600/imgc1f8d5cdzik3zj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPO9pa8uWkBL6iapJeG89IV1i2q-rr5_CWO8xqD_6hi4x-nWb0Cq52kyzIz5HcmGCXnesjl6mK1sdKjE5Kuo8qh6TG9cKqSBg2NSGCa8-l0oEOl9Ydw2ixMqweMcqpOvd1G9_p1lQU6Ak6/s400/imgc1f8d5cdzik3zj.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/udoku369/">The Source</a> of the Source</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">After March's earthquake and tsunami, Ajishima sunk a
full meter into the sea. This brought the water line inland quite a ways
in the low lying areas. The past six month's worth of waves lapping at
the newly inundated shore have washed away the protective layer of earth
over the water line. I imagine they will be able to get it under
protective covering before to long.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This will be made much easier given that work crews have recently cobbled together a higher portion of dock on the main wharf. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SO-iYqIh3WE6Tju0r73Rlb0daEZsaLnGUPA15d2LdkiMaGj2ixvXUIGmvJlz1GhubuZkfBqujJt4beOhnziapp_A1vea4_uIW5tnnVQ5wmQ7kWLwYyRyJkgdJ-cYFAh4u-Q88EtaAZGW/s1600/img78896a98zik3zj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SO-iYqIh3WE6Tju0r73Rlb0daEZsaLnGUPA15d2LdkiMaGj2ixvXUIGmvJlz1GhubuZkfBqujJt4beOhnziapp_A1vea4_uIW5tnnVQ5wmQ7kWLwYyRyJkgdJ-cYFAh4u-Q88EtaAZGW/s400/img78896a98zik3zj.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The new approach atop the old sunken dock (pic: </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/udoku369/">our friends</a>, again!)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSn5GdKhqt-BJZQJvNCdN-MVY_LrS9oqLOlksNrXNd1pxRT0DPrpSvAitTf9PEN0utOVIBN-tfQ-BIZ14lQjYZk5a2PGA4MMRQQ0Iz32i-w5NiEU6xGoYV1TieviKY_0534Ew0zHQppUAH/s1600/p1070023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0r_mXdGymNByJU4bru9SCbqIlC5z3w-hal8nfVM_y92aEP-KZ4LsvzIyOVF8lJlXMwendrlx6YMHmkghSMZ6a9HkVb6GHbg98I1TaulQiE-ujS2FEc-STm8Uy5Z1DyXQeJatoAoiQdwL/s1600/p1070024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp0r_mXdGymNByJU4bru9SCbqIlC5z3w-hal8nfVM_y92aEP-KZ4LsvzIyOVF8lJlXMwendrlx6YMHmkghSMZ6a9HkVb6GHbg98I1TaulQiE-ujS2FEc-STm8Uy5Z1DyXQeJatoAoiQdwL/s400/p1070024.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">From the other side</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcS12eyfr8zs1s_g6gZUDfbNeKg0DYXvtn7e64xlm9bhbixqaqMbOpprEVL18KZQ7xThFZRO0K866VSVYXTORY8gXocvxHbiTjR5wafckrH-isxdbr4aKd0MQwvt2LXXaZXq2GQMJo1G-6/s1600/p1070025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcS12eyfr8zs1s_g6gZUDfbNeKg0DYXvtn7e64xlm9bhbixqaqMbOpprEVL18KZQ7xThFZRO0K866VSVYXTORY8gXocvxHbiTjR5wafckrH-isxdbr4aKd0MQwvt2LXXaZXq2GQMJo1G-6/s400/p1070025.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Basically just a concrete box with rock and sand infill</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4btNatBxnq4-Wa45FUSDvPjlrdD_yzUQozKPnTtI5lX0XQ7yaPU-gP0JMAgWB6hrUioV6r6dZoYiK-yQxMwgs0QQ5Pd1DewOrKwurSqcXgKCcEQFYpvgKKyTdmTEGQJcxbfIXy_rDPuq/s1600/p1070026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4btNatBxnq4-Wa45FUSDvPjlrdD_yzUQozKPnTtI5lX0XQ7yaPU-gP0JMAgWB6hrUioV6r6dZoYiK-yQxMwgs0QQ5Pd1DewOrKwurSqcXgKCcEQFYpvgKKyTdmTEGQJcxbfIXy_rDPuq/s400/p1070026.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Yup! The seagulls where here...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Before the hurricane <i>du jour</i> we even had road crews from Ishinomaki surveying the damage to the one road that runs down the center of the island. Things will eventually get back to a comfortable place for everyone here. In the meantime, what an adventure it is getting from here to there!</span></div>
Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-3435183735113018602011-08-27T06:40:00.000-07:002011-08-27T06:40:53.836-07:00Out of the Loop<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Howdy!</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://makeagif.com/2Dk6wL" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="2Dk6wL on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs"><img alt="2Dk6wL on Make A Gif, Animated Gifs" height="300" src="http://makeagif.com/media/8-27-2011/2Dk6wL.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">How are things?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, last month, after I summoned all the motivation I could muster and finally convinced myself to start writing about stuff again, my computer crashed. I had to send it off to get fixed. Since I got it back I have just been tickled pink, or maybe a fuzzy shade of lime green.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Anyway, expect more to come, as long as all the doodads and whachamajiggers inside this little plastic box cooperate with the program...</span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-1466132261543598812011-07-31T04:56:00.000-07:002011-07-31T05:03:05.355-07:00Breathtaking Views of Ajishima<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So...it's been about a month since my last post. We have been busy, but I have been lazy too. Plus, our internet connection is intermittent at best. I can promise that I have a lot to write about, but I cannot promise that I will get around to writing about any of it!</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We found the following pictures in the waiting area shelter at the docks in Ishinomaki City. They are of the main harbor and docks on Ajishima at various times throughout the tsunami back in March. They were taken by a one Mr. Shiraiwa, printed, laminated and hung in the shelter. We took pictures of his pictures and share them with you now: </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUf9FuXf3IPV0JuhqBKVmdqeKK3Xp4D7Z2qqxI_A5L2gCo0ZZWL9M5gvEb-As7t0TRWKINbHNTAepAFFNh2a7euZTU9GrO_NxXROMVFY9UrA4fPD7DNzStXm1WR3m9ACSvHFwGa37YPJeQ/s1600/p1050964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUf9FuXf3IPV0JuhqBKVmdqeKK3Xp4D7Z2qqxI_A5L2gCo0ZZWL9M5gvEb-As7t0TRWKINbHNTAepAFFNh2a7euZTU9GrO_NxXROMVFY9UrA4fPD7DNzStXm1WR3m9ACSvHFwGa37YPJeQ/s400/p1050964.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The entire harbor empties, feeding the tsunami as it hurls itself towards the mainland</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-a0updoew5u1eMbWq6NPXbKx1yHG-N59WTzr4DdBRu61RO0hzE8dsOBRmqvvr32HJqHpCtrTnqKc2Wg28yLsY-8XXp0TBhCMQJMiz8fsVj7WyZTqD7pKtnpfhdWGE406GM4EUo8wZb9B/s1600/p1050966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-a0updoew5u1eMbWq6NPXbKx1yHG-N59WTzr4DdBRu61RO0hzE8dsOBRmqvvr32HJqHpCtrTnqKc2Wg28yLsY-8XXp0TBhCMQJMiz8fsVj7WyZTqD7pKtnpfhdWGE406GM4EUo8wZb9B/s400/p1050966.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The water returns; this is when most of the damage was done </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrWtPPHi771SLlye2GczAumMWQTYe0gtFsdbdj8MycCJVnkwZI5gaF9dxuJweg5_87dwUzpBGrWX8c-5y4fv-o5iKNYBj5-8ZBn7s6qxYOEMg3cdU920yOVa4szkUQhBpUd6XBvKYCRpm/s1600/p1050965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrWtPPHi771SLlye2GczAumMWQTYe0gtFsdbdj8MycCJVnkwZI5gaF9dxuJweg5_87dwUzpBGrWX8c-5y4fv-o5iKNYBj5-8ZBn7s6qxYOEMg3cdU920yOVa4szkUQhBpUd6XBvKYCRpm/s400/p1050965.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A few days later all looks calm but everything has changed</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">These scenes are <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awful">awful in every sense of the word</a>. It must be about twenty feet from the dock landing to the bottom of the seabed. For all that water to be sucked out in an instant and vanish for who-knows-how-long must have been an incredible site to behold. The rushing water returned after laying waste to Ishinomaki, washed ashore and wiped out many houses in the low-lying areas of the island. </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The last picture doesn't hint to any of damage done, but just outside the frame, it looked like a war zone. It still does! With the exception of the debris that washed up on the beach having been collected and burned, nothing else has been cleaned up yet. While this entire region of the country is still reeling from the disaster, and while resources are spread thin, the main reason so little has happened over the past five months is that the whole island sank over a meter into the ocean! </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The tsunami undermined the very structure of the docks and washed away most of the substrate under the concrete pads, causing the main landing to collapse and sink into the harbor. Thankfully, a slightly higher but woefully narrow stretch of the dock survived, which is where the daily ferry docks and unloads its cargo (including all of our weekly grocery deliveries). The limiting factor to the island's recovery is that while the ferry can haul all the necessary supplies and even vehicles and heavy machinery, the dock is too narrow for them to drive off the boat.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There were already a few steamshovels on the island, and they have been put to good use rebuilding one small section of the dock. However, we learned today that they ran out of rocks to fill in under the concrete slabs. They have built</span><span style="font-size: large;"> a meter-thick concrete</span><span style="font-size: large;"> retaining wall that will get back filled with more concrete to form a new, higher dock. It will be wide enough to offload everything we need. But we need more rocks that require a wider landing to unload but the landing cannot be finished until we have more rocks...</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am sure they will figure it out eventually. In the meantime, some folks keep cleaning up the beach as little bits of debris wash up. I tried to pitch in with the cleanup operations, but I was not allowed to. As part of the recovery package paid for by the government, members of the local fisherman's union who lost their boats and their livelihoods get about a hundred dollars a day for their efforts. As a non-member and non-fisheatingman all I can really do is glean the few choice bits of debris that I fancy when no one is looking. They will just burn it anyway if I don't!</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">One good stroke of luck came two weeks ago when the repair crews were able to reconnect the underwater power lines ahead of schedule. We were operating on gasoline-powered generators for months. Now we have heavily chlorinated drinking water on tap and all the (very likely nuclear) energy we can waste. Things are <i>finally</i> getting back to normal!</span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-48051133386387355542011-06-30T07:35:00.000-07:002011-06-30T07:35:36.863-07:00Mein Abenteuer mit der Hugel Kultur<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Watch us brush up on our German and learn <i>'g</i><i>arten arbeit'</i> over at Dream Seed Farms...</span></a></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/06/hugel-kultur-hugel-kultur.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGLzVC_CGhCySLMb72buUCpikaGePVb13iz4gzM33mQpt1MBnE6WiZUGpTnfxnRJE3enb47ESsiGxEcmQubAnntQVqBi9hRVm1Ky2-X14ra_cSbi1wcKGQX-pndB8uH4qnCCT7wdxA8vy/s400/p1050947.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/06/hugel-kultur-hugel-kultur.html"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Es ist nicht was du denkst. Oder, ist es?</span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-81494758089930426212011-06-28T08:39:00.000-07:002011-06-28T08:42:31.691-07:00Seed Balls and The Lazy Man's Garden<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, it is not really all that lazy, it did take some time and a dash of physical exertion to make a boatload of seed balls. <span id="goog_532951394"></span><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/">Check out the process over at Dream Seed Farms...</a><span id="goog_532951395"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/06/adventures-in-seed-balls.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU_7YYzWzaQVrVHYPJI-Uca7Haq9LRQ1ia6bvpT9jr8gShsEtTJ1CZ8E_E7ETx-YwAKaGXIe46vI1iQx8PaQML37XFqDylWb-8MpCJMGT97bgUe8Kz08OpCWP-X0PRHyhBFm9eITMjxWYW/s400/p1050886.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/06/adventures-in-seed-balls.html">Heckuva lot easier than pulling sukanpo roots!</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-41058357908714829432011-06-27T05:09:00.000-07:002011-06-27T05:09:31.907-07:00Adventures in Raising an Earthbag House<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Check out the earthbag house we started to help build at our Permaculture teachers' place in Nagano Prefecture. <a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/">You can read more over at Dream Seed Farms...</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/06/earthbag-spiral-house-in-nagano.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://www.ultraman.gr.jp/perma/2011616perma.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/06/earthbag-spiral-house-in-nagano.html">Six days and more than half way to the roof...</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-55207606108027793322011-06-26T22:37:00.000-07:002011-06-27T04:40:26.423-07:00A Week of Work, a Week of Rain<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">I used to pay lots of money to go really fast on the <i>shinkansen</i> (bullet train) when I traveled around Japan. For my last trip to Nagano, I left about a week ahead of Michie, who would follow in a nicely appointed rent-a-car. I took the BUS! Many, many buses to be precise.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAOOUd5Sy7AJhLCrAVZpSrT7zmcIjP1ySAVrJ90p0xqrnTyIFkRQrk07dGuyVm3wAxK6E7D8FPPt6CAazFMsMAzIXQ8FlV304VSou86N2Be9AaRelWKPX6FV35ve1kFS4PIeYDbvFQ2m50/s1600/p1050387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAOOUd5Sy7AJhLCrAVZpSrT7zmcIjP1ySAVrJ90p0xqrnTyIFkRQrk07dGuyVm3wAxK6E7D8FPPt6CAazFMsMAzIXQ8FlV304VSou86N2Be9AaRelWKPX6FV35ve1kFS4PIeYDbvFQ2m50/s400/p1050387.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I only travel by extraordinary means</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">And I only take extraordinary snapshots at extraordinary rest areas.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WhWVeRlDCbTZIHHyRUPuLxJmYzwzTFJr4NUqL4_kc2Hn3UlIle_gxt34-uKbuGV5fLUfa06k-Mkddv5YFH5hLE6a2jFU5-1KaEcx9rMPP5FCICoBlyNJ-NW32rP2-aTP1DicInoLaL-D/s1600/p1050394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WhWVeRlDCbTZIHHyRUPuLxJmYzwzTFJr4NUqL4_kc2Hn3UlIle_gxt34-uKbuGV5fLUfa06k-Mkddv5YFH5hLE6a2jFU5-1KaEcx9rMPP5FCICoBlyNJ-NW32rP2-aTP1DicInoLaL-D/s400/p1050394.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yuu Hime, is that you?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMW8DqtZnN-1mMO1vGsP7zylgBgmtZ55OIh_OyVnisD20sqX67Mrpfiu2ngz2ufDhJavE0s8j6oAF6Ddmr-JRUTbqJLqvJ9SQJHFVveiNhOliqeocKBro807FVQykO3sUzEIE5TM07I8Bf/s1600/p1050395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMW8DqtZnN-1mMO1vGsP7zylgBgmtZ55OIh_OyVnisD20sqX67Mrpfiu2ngz2ufDhJavE0s8j6oAF6Ddmr-JRUTbqJLqvJ9SQJHFVveiNhOliqeocKBro807FVQykO3sUzEIE5TM07I8Bf/s400/p1050395.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">No. It's me, Yamamoto Kansuke. Duh!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">Once I overcame the inevitable roadblock that always pops up whenever I travel from Point A to Point B, the rest of my trip was pretty smooth: I rolled into Sendai around 7pm and had about 5 hours to wait for the night bus to Tokyo. I tried to check in at the bus counter but it had just closed minutes earlier. Usually, in Japan, you can pay for bus fare in cash on the bus, just before your stop. One of the employees was leaving the counter and locking up the front door, so I asked him if this was the correct bus stop, and he said yes, and then asked me if I had a 'reservation.' 'Great,' I lamented! </span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">I found a pay phone and called Michie at home and asked her to try to reserve a ticket online for me. She worked her magic, and when I called her back, she gave me with a confirmation number and very detailed instructions on how to redeem the number for an actual ticket at a nearby convenience store vending machine.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">I walked around for a while but could not find the right store. So, I went into a totally different store, that had a totally different ticket vending machine with totally different Japanese characters on it. I just started pushing buttons, not even knowing if I would end up with a bus ticket or an ice cold can of pop, which would have been welcomed too as it was rather warm out that evening. I recognized the two Kanji for 'number' and typed in the reservation number. Then I recognized the 'telephone number' prompt, and thought that Michie must have used our cell phone to get the ticket, entered those digits, and hit enter. Lo and behold, an image of the ticket popped on the screen and it had all the right info, as far as I could tell, and read from Sendai to Shinjuku Station in Tokyo and at the right time, etc. I even recognized the Kanji for 'passenger = man,' and knew that had to be me! I confirmed the whole thing and tried to print the ticket, but the machine could not accept cash at that moment. It printed a really long receipt and directed me to the cashier at the front of the convenience store.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">I handed the receipt to the cashier, and said 'please' with a great big smile. She must have been new, and if I had bothered <i>reading</i> (as if I could) the sign in front of her I would have pieced it together, so she had to ask for help from the manager. They were both super nice and asked me to wait while this old dot matrix printer churned out a four page bus ticket. With ticket in hand, I called Michie back, recalled my adventure, thanked her profusely, grabbed some rice balls and some beers, sat in the park and watched a movie on my computer until my midnight departure...</span><span id="goog_1747878856"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">I got to Shinjuku around 5:30am, and it was a bit eerie with almost no one about. When I used to have "business trips" to Tokyo, I wouldn't even leave the karaoke bars until later than that. Maybe that's where everyone was! Even the coffee shops were closed...</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1L7_Dzp8pLPs2MPGrC93WoXpmRO4oJBTZdTqBIu4cTbL15Z7PSiiwIERB_DwptzsXuf5k3YRrFbu4RaUH-u4JGlPa5WeX5iHKgbEXSt1xA67acr9hCwqDMRLSvWbT1cVPVfhKJbyKQXph/s1600/P1050378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1L7_Dzp8pLPs2MPGrC93WoXpmRO4oJBTZdTqBIu4cTbL15Z7PSiiwIERB_DwptzsXuf5k3YRrFbu4RaUH-u4JGlPa5WeX5iHKgbEXSt1xA67acr9hCwqDMRLSvWbT1cVPVfhKJbyKQXph/s400/P1050378.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This would have been quite <i>apropos</i>...three years ago! </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">I was meeting a friend to travel the rest of the way with in a few hours. In the meantime, I lurked about the neighborhood, bought some rations at a convenience store and found a small park plagued by lots of crap on the ground. There I ate my tofu which had cost 129 yen.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMO-yLUlIPfU80Tyq72HFi3n2vtUNm93yeuzfzQhjg1euo529foUGYFAzC8nMt9DZtNh94ZyYSUtsuYlwRmzg7nM8y4jlkXZyv5UcV6t4p1aiEmcovFo7fFi1jwiBfIxACuLPEfg8LZQxc/s1600/p1050386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMO-yLUlIPfU80Tyq72HFi3n2vtUNm93yeuzfzQhjg1euo529foUGYFAzC8nMt9DZtNh94ZyYSUtsuYlwRmzg7nM8y4jlkXZyv5UcV6t4p1aiEmcovFo7fFi1jwiBfIxACuLPEfg8LZQxc/s400/p1050386.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Uncanny, although no bread was toasted in the fabrication of this side story</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">From there it was another bus, with our tickets this time on my friend's cell phone...the wonders of technology. And, a few hours carpooling the rest of the way to Nagano with another guy volunteering just like us.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">I was volunteering my expertise in lifting heavy objects in exchange for learning how to build an earthbag house. All told there were over 25 volunteers at the Permaculture center throughout the week. <a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/">You can read more about it over at Dream Seed Farms.</a> Then, Michie came for our regularly scheduled PC class. Once the weekend came, the volunteers left, and we 20 or so PC students got a couple hours of work in on the house which brought us to this point:</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffp4ZF16VUD76SlcXJVvLWTY5wjwzSJDJm1MLvv8wZ8MP0XILFulRYJmDDtki1n-XD38CNhHkiWoNMQhqhcLGZSnRzT473YYSEZQZRDwu8TjVG7tShw7mrOFpb1K5iw9e7glY4j7pcxhX/s1600/p1050824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjffp4ZF16VUD76SlcXJVvLWTY5wjwzSJDJm1MLvv8wZ8MP0XILFulRYJmDDtki1n-XD38CNhHkiWoNMQhqhcLGZSnRzT473YYSEZQZRDwu8TjVG7tShw7mrOFpb1K5iw9e7glY4j7pcxhX/s400/p1050824.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Six days, twelve courses, and a few sore muscles later</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">So, that was last week. This week it rained. All week. Every day.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">Back in our garden, during a brief respite from the rain, Michie and I worked on clearing the rest of the weeds from her mandala. Thankfully the rain refreshed all of our crops and also softened the soil enough for me to pull out meter upon meter of intact sukanpo root.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWqw_l62InJ41BmcYwd_LFt31tPVQ8FClFb1MAAxuGx2yHENXl8TQZJAP6ndC2PYNsbj7RUBaewu_MngHGDkjJIiziAIBNhu4yzCeV8TbR_oYLIz9tH74Z6Q3SzG_tEEdkOMvw4vwmPMU/s1600/p1050866.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWqw_l62InJ41BmcYwd_LFt31tPVQ8FClFb1MAAxuGx2yHENXl8TQZJAP6ndC2PYNsbj7RUBaewu_MngHGDkjJIiziAIBNhu4yzCeV8TbR_oYLIz9tH74Z6Q3SzG_tEEdkOMvw4vwmPMU/s400/p1050866.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">6ft or 2m? Who cares! It's on the burn pile now!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">We did get a little break from the soggy weather, well more of a break from cooking and doing the dishes at home: The Japanese throw official parties for just about any occasion, which I totally support and condone. </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">Thankfully, Michie had her welcome party for the hospital this week. It was held at our friends' guest house, and there were speeches, music, singing, raffles and eating galore.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856"><br />
</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRGgRaEQW1h5ofGJixEz-aMWgSR5eqYCWUZSyguFqkGUCzbubPSNHLVRqfcYAVkVppBvNpFzs5Nsq8ISzAdwdi5Lb_yIAQ2dYHL5usK7eIggXRjXG_Fyx7Ru34nyGSKqRDF5P7fGGT82j/s1600/p1050836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHRGgRaEQW1h5ofGJixEz-aMWgSR5eqYCWUZSyguFqkGUCzbubPSNHLVRqfcYAVkVppBvNpFzs5Nsq8ISzAdwdi5Lb_yIAQ2dYHL5usK7eIggXRjXG_Fyx7Ru34nyGSKqRDF5P7fGGT82j/s400/p1050836.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And tasty adult beverages too</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1747878856">After the back breaking work at the earthbag workshop, I was totally raring to go on a laundry list of projects around our home and garden. The rainy season is upon us, though, and will last about a month if not longer. The trade off is fabulous produce from the garden later in the year, cool days now for stifling humidity later, pest free living for swarms of mosquitoes, and lots of time to refine ideas in our minds for projects we can implement once the sun shines again...And it will shine again...</span><span id="goog_1747878856"></span><span id="goog_1747878856"> </span><span id="goog_1747878856"></span><span id="goog_1747878857"></span></span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan35.665664690028485 138.5640351333007635.478638690028482 138.49523063330076 35.852690690028489 138.63283963330076tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-28609436078838628732011-06-12T20:57:00.000-07:002011-06-26T19:05:08.433-07:00What's Happening Now<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We have been <a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/06/busy-and-not-so-busy.html">busy and not so busy</a> over at Dream Seed Farms. Click <a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/">here</a> to see what we have been up to...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I also got my first freelance gig working with our friends on the other side of the island. One of their neighbors, a nice little old lady, had her roof crumble during the earthquake 3 months ago. Someone must have replaced it with a new sheet metal roof, and tossed the broken roofing tiles to the side. Our job was to pick it all up and haul it off to the junk yard (<i>our</i> home improvement center!) in the middle of the island. </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OLlOkMBhW7SHdR8cX-9W4wJyxJy7zfj5FKg7zmxtgs_ou-4-4cL-oy3W4EDyhWCg34fhGYuOIugj_lCEV6RylNdXW3eQC9QXn7qaO-vnEGprYLiAp1PkgW7u1BAEoRNTQAlCHe4AEi7_/s1600/P1050369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3OLlOkMBhW7SHdR8cX-9W4wJyxJy7zfj5FKg7zmxtgs_ou-4-4cL-oy3W4EDyhWCg34fhGYuOIugj_lCEV6RylNdXW3eQC9QXn7qaO-vnEGprYLiAp1PkgW7u1BAEoRNTQAlCHe4AEi7_/s400/P1050369.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Cement roofing tiles, nails and lot's of sun</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We worked for just under three hours with most of that time spent driving to and from the junk yard. It took us 6 loads in the toy pick-up truck. Actually, we only had two shovels, so my friends used them, and I scooped of the fragments with my hands! </span><span style="font-size: large;">Thankfully we had the baskets, or there would have been a load more shoveling all around.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was rewarded handsomely, and had lunch with them too. Our friend's mother-in-law dug up about half her garden and gave me all kinds of veggies and herbs to transplant to our garden. I also scored an old aquarium from my friend. I plan to disassemble all the glass panes and use them in various things like a solar oven, solar dehydrator, and maybe even a cold frame for starting veggie seedlings and/or </span><span style="font-size: large;">extending the growing season. Stay tuned for those adventures...</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the meantime I am heading to Nagano Prefecture later today to volunteer at the Permaculture center where we are studying. Michie will be joining us later in the week. They are building an earthbag house, and will hold a work camp all this week on laying the foundation and building the first courses of the stem wall.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwPrIfLT8AUYsjAhvP34FltnFzWuCWijvla1nEd62buaEvJ32YzIJZcppzb1PQLDRmmVp-BaV7lZ1DVL4XJrzBmpfLK9is-PDPDb6Q8LIB8yPvOmPc7GRbvfNuhUW0iH0tdNwsKD6vGXt/s1600/P1050165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwPrIfLT8AUYsjAhvP34FltnFzWuCWijvla1nEd62buaEvJ32YzIJZcppzb1PQLDRmmVp-BaV7lZ1DVL4XJrzBmpfLK9is-PDPDb6Q8LIB8yPvOmPc7GRbvfNuhUW0iH0tdNwsKD6vGXt/s400/P1050165.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Absolutely awesome design, incorporating my spiral wall and others' ideas too</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I plan to write a bit more about the house design later on, but the coolest thing is that it was designed by all 20+ participants, the teachers and the carpenter, all in concert with each other. We were in sub-teams and presented our ideas (my group settled on the spiral concept, and <a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/05/homework.html">I built a miniature model</a>). The various sub-teams presented their ideas at the beginning of the weekend seminar and before we left, we were presented with a unique design that incorporated all of our various ideas.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
The living roof with herb spiral idea they synthesized is exceptionally brilliant. They even included my ideas for a spiral shaped wall and a rocket-stove-heated-cob-bench inside. I am excited to start working on it tomorrow! Hopefully, I can learn a ton, and apply it later to our own home...when we finally get to building it. At least up until the roof, the design is practically identical to mine, so this will be a good blueprint and practical experience in building a structure just like one in which we will, in all likelihood, wind up living.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-81711831258413433782011-05-31T05:40:00.000-07:002011-05-31T05:44:13.005-07:00Road Trips, Gardens & Hurricanes<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We came back from our Permaculture class in Nagano Prefecture earlier last week. The drive was much better this time, 8.5 hours driving time one way (not counting naps or pit stops) instead of 19!</span><br />
<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zG5nkW2ZN4rubxEjrReUvvLHa_Cmi8QUXDhdKSusNrYgj3VK2q7ih3b16IJU_hTaTE0IHt8LnbWHGYQWjp1LgXDAHG_v8-_5Z6g7H1t2cluFHtdvPLm9Nv1_vA89k0a2Xj5ROcPVq28-/s1600/P1050084.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5zG5nkW2ZN4rubxEjrReUvvLHa_Cmi8QUXDhdKSusNrYgj3VK2q7ih3b16IJU_hTaTE0IHt8LnbWHGYQWjp1LgXDAHG_v8-_5Z6g7H1t2cluFHtdvPLm9Nv1_vA89k0a2Xj5ROcPVq28-/s400/P1050084.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We were totally stoked for this road trip!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDjP4CkaDuTSjHXQa0mtbWfluaHqxFccsRm9SpmuheRNQL38_hUeFXBU5HIDSMeIIakqdpJppIAjI0wgw2WujA6Iida-jwks2RaMeU6gcrgU_cSkkvX9j_WuUuJ2L8omaJGjzpp0DBC_f/s1600/P1050086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDjP4CkaDuTSjHXQa0mtbWfluaHqxFccsRm9SpmuheRNQL38_hUeFXBU5HIDSMeIIakqdpJppIAjI0wgw2WujA6Iida-jwks2RaMeU6gcrgU_cSkkvX9j_WuUuJ2L8omaJGjzpp0DBC_f/s400/P1050086.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well...at least one of us was! Cool rest area nevertheless.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After our first trip in April we learned that the toll-highways we had been avoiding are only 1000 Yen (about US$10) per direction on the weekends. So we waited until midnight Friday night and hopped on the highway and drove as far as we could until we fell asleep, after stopping at a rest area of course. We finished the trip the next morning and made it to the workshop just in time. As long as you do not exit the highway you could ostensibly drive the entire length of Japan for 1000 Yen over the weekend. If you did it any other day, it would cost hundreds if not over a thousand dollars to do so. Outrageous, like so so many things in this country...</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The cool thing, though, is that as long as you start driving before Sunday midnight, you can drive into Monday morning and still only pay another 1000 Yen when you leave the toll booth. So, we rented a huge one ton six wheeling diesel cargo van. It had ample room to stretch out in when we slept, plus we were able to drive a extra few hours to Michie's mom's house to pick up almost all of our remaining belongings to bring back to the island with us.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Once we got back to the island, everyone was talking about the hurricane that was coming our way... </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6NmO-NlvaukKTmDKwrvgKBNoMkaQxg1Huu6Spihyphenhyphen-yH1uJyk9-tg8lPMYo7-szT2SJgXe8n3wYVhLx1hevwowmvdAyBjUaP4o9XoLk096LGK0Kg8_tQ-i-fbpgwk9nXOcGNlQA9Hl8ka/s1600/asia_sat_440_dmy_y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK6NmO-NlvaukKTmDKwrvgKBNoMkaQxg1Huu6Spihyphenhyphen-yH1uJyk9-tg8lPMYo7-szT2SJgXe8n3wYVhLx1hevwowmvdAyBjUaP4o9XoLk096LGK0Kg8_tQ-i-fbpgwk9nXOcGNlQA9Hl8ka/s400/asia_sat_440_dmy_y.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">See that yellow spot to the right of Japan? You cannot miss it!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
The hurricane, or typhoon, season has started, and what an opening day it was. Actually, it did most of its business south of Tokyo. Up where we are near Sendai, we had rain practically all week, with the last three days in particular raining continuously, amid some of the strongest winds I have ever experienced personally. The wind was looping up around the whole country and blowing down on us from the north, even though the typhoon was coming from the south. That is how massively expansive this thing was.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I made it outside, on the worst day, of course, and was jostled about by the wind. I went to the coast about a two-three minutes walk from our house, nestled into a nice windbreak in a small grove of bamboo and watched the waves pound the shore.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9u9b6Hu7ofVhHA5kTtq2PfFm7F1UJAktSNzEQs165uCNqDf08BdvYjh4Kn636WGQlW5dEMMswv75P2bZFTAMM-IDX70Y3JLStxov7Cb7dFi0kfsB03D-Wv_rBvL6K1OCyoXAJgtFA8LN8/s1600/P1050201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9u9b6Hu7ofVhHA5kTtq2PfFm7F1UJAktSNzEQs165uCNqDf08BdvYjh4Kn636WGQlW5dEMMswv75P2bZFTAMM-IDX70Y3JLStxov7Cb7dFi0kfsB03D-Wv_rBvL6K1OCyoXAJgtFA8LN8/s400/P1050201.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cresting at about 3 meters during a calm spell...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After getting thoroughly drenched from all sides and angles, I squished my way over to our garden to see how all our little seedlings were doing, with my fingers crossed that our compost bin was still there. The four nails and four screws holding the roof on put forth a herculean effort, and it survived, at least up until I saw it yesterday...</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirx1arxAfkZ2CPhOcBRsirgo7CJLiK7XF-plCnRKGr0a3Gry82OvxbVgWoG2Yq5Y5B5TRn4bPPo1dEnIBOeWCxhnrp-aleKeb6WuuNt0pKNigBECwYyso9aQwjuhRRc9O_fjerYjf3KIvl/s1600/P1050207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirx1arxAfkZ2CPhOcBRsirgo7CJLiK7XF-plCnRKGr0a3Gry82OvxbVgWoG2Yq5Y5B5TRn4bPPo1dEnIBOeWCxhnrp-aleKeb6WuuNt0pKNigBECwYyso9aQwjuhRRc9O_fjerYjf3KIvl/s400/P1050207.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The path to our garden looks like a bubbling brook.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rUaiQJLkXYuxtmVl2jS7yLwewqs1Nvka9-tXn5UkDeK4mmyltte_IEeQ-5JOAPjKn612r01A6R3a_90Hb3bq3T9R5AsIp-xIykHY8E-ANuUbw3jNe-LJdy8ACDc1sUVogYQxtJN1gfaJ/s1600/P1050208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rUaiQJLkXYuxtmVl2jS7yLwewqs1Nvka9-tXn5UkDeK4mmyltte_IEeQ-5JOAPjKn612r01A6R3a_90Hb3bq3T9R5AsIp-xIykHY8E-ANuUbw3jNe-LJdy8ACDc1sUVogYQxtJN1gfaJ/s400/P1050208.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bend, don't break.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Everything was having a hard go at staying upright. Our neighbors' gardens were totally flattened, but ours fared a little better despite being buffeted about by the wind, due in largest part to the fact that we built raised beds and mulched them over with cut weeds and left substantial swaths of weeds standing as a boarder and natural windbreak instead of clear cutting everything.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This has been quite a year already, here and around the world, and we are not even half way through it yet. I guess the reassuring thing is that no matter what happens, life finds a way to persevere. Life in some form or other goes on, even if it is not exactly the way it was before.</span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-60346659739760834332011-05-19T17:14:00.000-07:002011-05-19T17:14:15.048-07:00Permaculture Galore!<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Great news from the little island that could...water service was restored a couple days ago. This means more showers, though any amount is greater than zero! I still find myself heading to the well to draw up water, but then remember I can just flush the toilet and get this, it refills itself...who would have thought!? One great thing from this experience is that it has shown us the necessity of a rainwater harvesting and greywater system. It has also really reinforced the idea for us that reducing consumption is the best way to live within one's means. This applies to water, energy, food, entertainment, etc, and is suitable for individuals, families, communities, countries and beyond.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Click on the headers or pictures below to see what else we have been up to at <a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/">Dream Seed Farms</a>... </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-compost-bin-parts-2-3.html"><span style="font-size: large;">We recently completed our drift wood compost bin:</span></a></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/05/diy-compost-bin-parts-2-3.html"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkU07aIRhO0uWnr3AuJfmVCR9LH8skFDQYnGB5UB6TzSfBsNamOA-uNYVmdSj1g-CIncE7PMX_KlA-pru_91yiT9Gj7RJCF1u-qCwpJ71eOb3YPSZSzSHLc7SZ-Allz3eTlQSNm2kZd5xX/s400/P1050062.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/05/sheet-mulched-mandala-garden.html"><span style="font-size: large;">And began our first sheet mulched mandala garden:</span></a></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/2011/05/sheet-mulched-mandala-garden.html"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZYlTjdET0bqdjMY1HKlWOdX1nNrz4IjTXlnJEMTPGULr65v6D_jvG0tjxPKnwuPeANgIY59DRvZZfaTiJSrUlnBPpwUDUAeCYoFSHATjghgNocJOJlTyWxd3IYKjdjYZ7yOKEWlE9t9dD/s400/P1050077.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
We are heading to the mainland for our next Permaculture class later today. We haven't even finished our homework yet, though we have no excuse, a month is ample time to do one assignment, I am sure!</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">More to come when we get back, hopefully with new ideas for the garden...</span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-61396018512822794602011-05-16T05:18:00.000-07:002011-05-16T05:18:16.031-07:00Drift Wood Compost Bin<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/">Click here to find out about the compost bin we are building on Dream Seed Farms</a>.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQvFExCouLGeGD86rPlG-jmTwPyNgHq4aTo4JOVMaEnjBBgHQJwelfVgcSAStiq48aN2VOHmyikrCGv-eoiJke15znxwD-YY3Ee5Tq9tVIy1wzH6X7meI1EIkvCF0cLOprSc1FNVgM463/s400/compost-4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-35758444701131583172011-05-15T05:21:00.000-07:002011-05-15T05:23:36.243-07:0011 Days in 11 Pictures<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We have been on the island for about a week and a half now. So much has happened but today was the first real chance for us to take stock of it all.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The island still has no running water. We have received relief supplies of 10 liters washing water and 5 liters drinking water twice. We scavenged buckets and pails from the beach to catch rain water and have been using that for washing and gardening. There is a well behind our house with fairly murky water that we haul up daily to flush the toilet (I see the benefits more and more of using a composting toilet instead!), and there is a much cleaner well near one of the ports that our neighbor draws water from with an electric pump. He delivers that water around the neighborhood and even to the hospital for bathing. We have received two bath-fulls which ended up as laundry water and finally going down the toilet.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
We have electricity from a generator truck a few hours in the morning and then again at night. It just went black here a few minutes ago. Thankfully, there is a cellphone signal roughly a half hour after the power goes out, so hopefully this gets posted!</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We heard the news this weekend that the water line from the mainland should be fixed in a couple days. Plus, they will increase the hours we get power so it lasts all day from 6 am to 9 pm. We do not have a fridge, and we basically turn in when the lights turn off, so the lack of electricity is not so hard to deal with. I will be much happier and much less stinky, though, once the water starts flowing. We have only had to get by this way for a few days, but the islanders have been in survival mode for two whole months, so we are so happy to see them getting the tools they need to get their lives back in order.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Anyway...on to the pictures...</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjbWQ4g_3D8JxCEwwbv7VI84iAi5_i8wdQdA4kFZQsDmsrXXly1TfS4bHorDMisOci79ZHPyEUiRBiMdC1GCyUEHRWJyrjsMRYq6AXVfCiNxOmLa3rIxSTLzkXnXrrLG6jmGOVOmGROdm/s1600/P1040869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjbWQ4g_3D8JxCEwwbv7VI84iAi5_i8wdQdA4kFZQsDmsrXXly1TfS4bHorDMisOci79ZHPyEUiRBiMdC1GCyUEHRWJyrjsMRYq6AXVfCiNxOmLa3rIxSTLzkXnXrrLG6jmGOVOmGROdm/s400/P1040869.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Moving Day 2.0: The Last Load for a While</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPjj7NAJ1mIk241j6zgJ1LDm6uNPUP_82V5p0DkswON2DSu8KfuUM7b_IXyE_8_B_xMTBEMXepk0FFMKcusPQXmjKyHJ3iggcZEXtL3i7-cqWIf6fKceSTTX9e7CpYJ2pLnvfLzWvx2Ex/s1600/P1040876.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPjj7NAJ1mIk241j6zgJ1LDm6uNPUP_82V5p0DkswON2DSu8KfuUM7b_IXyE_8_B_xMTBEMXepk0FFMKcusPQXmjKyHJ3iggcZEXtL3i7-cqWIf6fKceSTTX9e7CpYJ2pLnvfLzWvx2Ex/s400/P1040876.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meet the Neighbors and Get a Pile of Veggies!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhksyB1j302GBFOQib8aTjs6Lygv-mcTEkk_ClCH_8hsylrGGxyUt8ANJJkRDgMSqaLwKOKMx-dWOS5o7s_wteIaAja31_HuwKwc-M1j7rqB1nJ8dD_xeRl1NjX59pkKjHnFH7hl5gyEgd1/s1600/P1040887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhksyB1j302GBFOQib8aTjs6Lygv-mcTEkk_ClCH_8hsylrGGxyUt8ANJJkRDgMSqaLwKOKMx-dWOS5o7s_wteIaAja31_HuwKwc-M1j7rqB1nJ8dD_xeRl1NjX59pkKjHnFH7hl5gyEgd1/s400/P1040887.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shopping at the Lumber Yard </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3pUbrqDCVTDGnGA8OMJiDBZyPOlnJM5KvHKG0ihLHUlsddv_mxypAcDUCHjI8rknBF5B8p3Jhgp9X6c8f49OaFAuNxsjpbqTcRR8CiuOHOnfx-6f-jp6Tlz5zGcvn46e3E0h9ve96CkO/s1600/P1050027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3pUbrqDCVTDGnGA8OMJiDBZyPOlnJM5KvHKG0ihLHUlsddv_mxypAcDUCHjI8rknBF5B8p3Jhgp9X6c8f49OaFAuNxsjpbqTcRR8CiuOHOnfx-6f-jp6Tlz5zGcvn46e3E0h9ve96CkO/s400/P1050027.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Pathway to Our First Ever Garden </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDJQS6hfbXZS4w-K53j_MzfR22bIJYbIqOUocLIu7SFpqUwtxiVLq4kkGs66h9EhPAzpPyg8xeiLjqC2lCPk-bdDplHaghZ08jfIavhH4aMPGpFhAH2lnZNMDQEeil9hyV6sO1dKvaOJG/s1600/P1040906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWDJQS6hfbXZS4w-K53j_MzfR22bIJYbIqOUocLIu7SFpqUwtxiVLq4kkGs66h9EhPAzpPyg8xeiLjqC2lCPk-bdDplHaghZ08jfIavhH4aMPGpFhAH2lnZNMDQEeil9hyV6sO1dKvaOJG/s400/P1040906.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">We Were All Ready to Start Farming, but then...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSm1ssIxV1qomOvgOWW0JqZ19myQWcmpAo9sMJoR-CD6W0SHyGyzzLC3UMpt9h67eeCacN85tZ2sEsCHnSyRDY1rMK2PQjtbcPWiqcsf8pjXGb2KBZx5nMdBg2T6ksSeo-niuOkgDnLm1M/s1600/P1040939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSm1ssIxV1qomOvgOWW0JqZ19myQWcmpAo9sMJoR-CD6W0SHyGyzzLC3UMpt9h67eeCacN85tZ2sEsCHnSyRDY1rMK2PQjtbcPWiqcsf8pjXGb2KBZx5nMdBg2T6ksSeo-niuOkgDnLm1M/s400/P1040939.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">...Our Friends Took Us Wild Veggie Picking!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpY7RvNCtcbyd5Ylg1VrUGqkbvUpEDLWDNLNDGKAfhKcx2PohUU1O_zL37niBijQ8xi7ouuhAV4PqvxH5aKVuqMTtxY2JPOegqdQ2SX7wCMXhwqYbfi0oCl0pMM2gdmpHTxdpQSHvmr_YK/s1600/P1040963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpY7RvNCtcbyd5Ylg1VrUGqkbvUpEDLWDNLNDGKAfhKcx2PohUU1O_zL37niBijQ8xi7ouuhAV4PqvxH5aKVuqMTtxY2JPOegqdQ2SX7wCMXhwqYbfi0oCl0pMM2gdmpHTxdpQSHvmr_YK/s400/P1040963.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wild Orchids + Bamboo Shoots + Fiddlehead Ferns = Dinner!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzoBbvB9Uzdxs7JiM-rmLIlSL1L-qbQUsltxSiI5zGTwSJPvxsl17vioodZhApP-hiBGxv1jLQmzwtrQiRXt-knAIxNRFXNzhEJyAPrdcF2JFFYrlYoprFWdLNv8T8q9QTUfFHJlNvke7/s1600/P1040969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzoBbvB9Uzdxs7JiM-rmLIlSL1L-qbQUsltxSiI5zGTwSJPvxsl17vioodZhApP-hiBGxv1jLQmzwtrQiRXt-knAIxNRFXNzhEJyAPrdcF2JFFYrlYoprFWdLNv8T8q9QTUfFHJlNvke7/s400/P1040969.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, the Next Day We Got Down to Farming.</span>..</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcGibVl4tuGU2551nROPLwL0e-61SU9G7j9U75kZpkxajgMKJ6Nff3Z2ANoYvXNzHBDffIFQLoFnmlqCqIpuz3GNhb7kf_dfApgiWT3RpJY9G3xNorbSakn6mx0DbNvWMFDguNYnaL8CF/s1600/P1050038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcGibVl4tuGU2551nROPLwL0e-61SU9G7j9U75kZpkxajgMKJ6Nff3Z2ANoYvXNzHBDffIFQLoFnmlqCqIpuz3GNhb7kf_dfApgiWT3RpJY9G3xNorbSakn6mx0DbNvWMFDguNYnaL8CF/s400/P1050038.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">...and I Met My Arch Nemesis: SUKANPO ROOT!!!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqrNJW1weovLUttswfXJrl2P6H5GRyUgAADtIvxiE37tnkl4YLAOorpjSArhtWjOX_wrI24a3Vbm_-NXGH97yPUKAUNJDmK64qL4VJUteJaWjFdfBHm33UJdzE2XjeVBDJ8UJo7qWAsMQ/s1600/P1050041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqrNJW1weovLUttswfXJrl2P6H5GRyUgAADtIvxiE37tnkl4YLAOorpjSArhtWjOX_wrI24a3Vbm_-NXGH97yPUKAUNJDmK64qL4VJUteJaWjFdfBHm33UJdzE2XjeVBDJ8UJo7qWAsMQ/s400/P1050041.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My Motto: Work Smarter NOT Harder!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdaqwnQtPxTJKbWzs_eWKRda4z17GS2K7LC5frBFxc2KrBUVc8r9qCU6QXXI-ckM8p0P1E8Wj9PdMuj4tJCtq_BLcRlNfedtSak09FEW8pl5LV6JaGBXU2ZQeXPfpCSyP9chImf-5Earso/s1600/P1050033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdaqwnQtPxTJKbWzs_eWKRda4z17GS2K7LC5frBFxc2KrBUVc8r9qCU6QXXI-ckM8p0P1E8Wj9PdMuj4tJCtq_BLcRlNfedtSak09FEW8pl5LV6JaGBXU2ZQeXPfpCSyP9chImf-5Earso/s400/P1050033.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Relaxing on a Bench I made from Drift Wood</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There will most certainly be more coming from Ajishima, time, electricity and sukanpo roots permitting!</span>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-61609541539310266982011-05-01T01:51:00.000-07:002011-05-16T04:09:00.904-07:00Almost There!<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Only one month behind schedule...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Michie and I finally moved the first load of stuff to Ajishima yesterday. We had planned to go earlier last week, but there was a severe thunderstorm and none of our boxes would have survived the hour-long ferry ride in those conditions, if it even sailed at all. Thankfully, our patience was blessed with a bright sunny day and only slightly choppy waves! By the time we got on the return ferry, it was raining, so we lucked out there as well.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNT95w9Q5auiR7n1Pxe61q8VoOb2hZobWx-5-GC7pMYta8Nf7zEdcVMQj4t6p_yf-RbdGVX2OsHEU4YggL97fWXdsEK-TwE4HYF8qe_G98uF_wO2J-rd9z5ZWBdKrIw4MvVo9gpXjF7WdA/s1600/P1040124.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNT95w9Q5auiR7n1Pxe61q8VoOb2hZobWx-5-GC7pMYta8Nf7zEdcVMQj4t6p_yf-RbdGVX2OsHEU4YggL97fWXdsEK-TwE4HYF8qe_G98uF_wO2J-rd9z5ZWBdKrIw4MvVo9gpXjF7WdA/s400/P1040124.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ishinomaki City in the Background</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6afC9E3-V81JH045-Ywguar87PfG09vXYTYALwLExQKpug8cSPcypWEaIIosJutLF-SOav6HApKYWB3kVCAe6oua0VbPmYhGgLdBUgit2dFJUpURviL54YbuUABOpvhcFsbYQcyoj7ZqK/s1600/P1040122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6afC9E3-V81JH045-Ywguar87PfG09vXYTYALwLExQKpug8cSPcypWEaIIosJutLF-SOav6HApKYWB3kVCAe6oua0VbPmYhGgLdBUgit2dFJUpURviL54YbuUABOpvhcFsbYQcyoj7ZqK/s400/P1040122.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Half of Our Worldly Belongings under One Tarp</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCiJHxOWgAYGRLEOdbFGPtRCgt6XmLjjINNR4C9GXWQlOPkqcczEWRAKgHxODi-UV81spxwy7KE17o3hpZ7maRmJkM1uSaVwu3RLRRZ6p65GfAj2UCkBr_pnWS-kB4zXV27VIpAvybNtu/s1600/P1040120.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVCiJHxOWgAYGRLEOdbFGPtRCgt6XmLjjINNR4C9GXWQlOPkqcczEWRAKgHxODi-UV81spxwy7KE17o3hpZ7maRmJkM1uSaVwu3RLRRZ6p65GfAj2UCkBr_pnWS-kB4zXV27VIpAvybNtu/s400/P1040120.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ajishima in the Distance</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Once we arrived at the island, our friends were waiting for us and helped us load our stuff into several of their vehicles. We drove across the island to the other side (about 2 miles!) and unloaded everything into our new house:<br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi85e0TAOKqsqqkPrkLDNx26l7Psg5hINkh5XBwZ-71DD4dBxmXYhu2NOECJWlDCaI7FhyphenhyphenRQpq-n_JowhPeK6YGzyZ7YAhTv8fDcoHN_6uuqIobd06j21rLZMjtu_tMlvJVt20_TuOJ-1OQ/s400/house1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not Bad for a Rental!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDqxTBFdyGO33kCHQsvJKj2bwitH9CwbLptBtSy5uvMoHI6dTjt6-Z-BA3-XHmabxPedU2WV-Y-lguVs6DoFWihYhaUH_ovtFXGxA_hHXijlRSniuo4rVckF6kOjbZk_MxVRB5sbcRgEw/s1600/house2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHDqxTBFdyGO33kCHQsvJKj2bwitH9CwbLptBtSy5uvMoHI6dTjt6-Z-BA3-XHmabxPedU2WV-Y-lguVs6DoFWihYhaUH_ovtFXGxA_hHXijlRSniuo4rVckF6kOjbZk_MxVRB5sbcRgEw/s400/house2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Seven Tatami Rooms, Kitchen, 2 Half Baths & Sun Porch</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">Well, it's not really a porch, but there is a an outer hallway that wraps around the inner rooms separating them from the outside. The row of sliding glass doors in the picture of the house above conceals the hall way and leads to the toilet at the far end. The bathtub (kerosene heated) is off the kitchen, and both are floored with linoleum. The rest of the rooms are laid out in tatami mats (woven rice straw) and the hallway floor is hard wood.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">With seven rooms, I think we will sleep in a different one everyday. And the quasi sun porch will make a great place to start seeds before we take them out to the garden leased to us by our friends on the island for a few vegetables' recompense.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The island is still without water service as the pipes washed away in the tsunami. Ishinomaki city sends a tanker truck twice a week with drinking water. There is a diesel generator truck parked in the middle of the island jerry-rigged to the power lines that provides a few hours of electricity in the morning and then again at night. We have one of the few flush toilets on the island, and just so happen to have a small water well behind the house. We will have to draw up a bucket and carry it inside and fill the tank for every flush, but it is doable. I still might do a composting toilet down the road.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I would rather be without electricity than without water, but I am certainly happy we have some conveniences. We can still use the washing machine with the morning's installment of electricity and a few buckets of rain water, though only until the rinse cycle since there is no more water or way to pump it in further. Then in the kitchen we have a propane stove standard in most Japanese homes, so cooking should not be a problem.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We are thinking of a couple designs for a non-electric fridge and even an outdoor rocket stove for boiling rainwater for drinking and cooking. All along the beaches mountains of debris have floated up with each successive tide. There are heaps of wood and other building materials to build just about anything we could want...even a whole house! Now, only if we had our own land...That will surely come down the road...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">For now, Michie and I are so happy to finally take the next steps in moving to the island. Her mom will probably take us to the port so we can sail to the island later this week. After that we are on our own! We will have to leave some stuff at her mom's house for a while, but I will be back for the rice harvest in the autumn (since I won't actually be there to help her family with the rice planting in a couple weeks...bummer).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">After all that has happened, what's a couple more days' wait, right!?!</span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-42233221121254792432011-04-30T20:24:00.000-07:002011-04-30T22:39:37.735-07:00First Permaculture Workshop<span style="font-size: large;">We've been back a few days from our first Permaculture workshop in Nagano Prefecture. It took us about 19 hours to drive there with a little nap, and 22 hours to drive home, with a little longer nap the second time!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There are some pictures below, and <a href="http://www.ultraman.gr.jp/perma/20114pc.htm">more here at this link</a>. The whole page is in Japanese, but if you click on any of the thumbnails, it should produce a larger image.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6EeDWlVvLG7h2K3FRYd1fODt8LxXDPRRqhnWMIoEUKz5_mNbTqsWH_aE-X0cx6t_AJiUsb_8GtA5XA9jdJlcPyXt_SJwViNAm-kL11gTxFwH1DD2bu2O0SjTEwYCKeCBAZap-9AdZBEk/s1600/2011423pc07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs6EeDWlVvLG7h2K3FRYd1fODt8LxXDPRRqhnWMIoEUKz5_mNbTqsWH_aE-X0cx6t_AJiUsb_8GtA5XA9jdJlcPyXt_SJwViNAm-kL11gTxFwH1DD2bu2O0SjTEwYCKeCBAZap-9AdZBEk/s400/2011423pc07.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pass the Hula Hoop Icebreaker</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIMGNLX6bvybQoFKb_uozqqrXeKVK22rSYR8vUTKgun9I01G7yKcEReHKmeP43HmIT8c6wmCBC0GQvlPLRTBQ-HwzYtKjwPJHm4TzmscdoYf5unlMjTUwBo3hyphenhyphengdoMcjNts8FsIQESayK/s1600/2011423pc48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIMGNLX6bvybQoFKb_uozqqrXeKVK22rSYR8vUTKgun9I01G7yKcEReHKmeP43HmIT8c6wmCBC0GQvlPLRTBQ-HwzYtKjwPJHm4TzmscdoYf5unlMjTUwBo3hyphenhyphengdoMcjNts8FsIQESayK/s400/2011423pc48.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Michie's Self Introduction with Her Homemade Rain Stick</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10Fu2ouyjf2vHKhaaATuQ45G52HWgsTN30da4yiR2uki6KxtJJUiMDYxEJG5H0eqxYhISovwOtFS6ZqGfBrHNrlWkaEUjmAILl5eXlV_BMdHUjJDRkMq3sNxmD01Dib9LbkoWFtshuh0I/s1600/2011424pc30.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10Fu2ouyjf2vHKhaaATuQ45G52HWgsTN30da4yiR2uki6KxtJJUiMDYxEJG5H0eqxYhISovwOtFS6ZqGfBrHNrlWkaEUjmAILl5eXlV_BMdHUjJDRkMq3sNxmD01Dib9LbkoWFtshuh0I/s400/2011424pc30.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">This Year's Permaculture Group in Nagano Prefecture</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">This first workshop was just what I needed right now. It was great to be surrounded by a group of like-minded, creative individuals. It is a challenge to find anyone, let alone a group of twenty, in Japan willing to go against the grain, against the norm. But the fact that we had so many participants is testament to a greater revelation felt in Japan and the world over: the status quo is broken, irreparably, and it is up to each of us to create a new way forward.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Permaculture does not purport to have the answers, to be the revolution the world seems to seek right now. It does, however, suggest a few tools and ideas to help individuals and communities find the best way forward. There are three tenets that self-fulfill and self-perpetuate one another: Earth Care, People Care, Resource Share. The focus is on relationships and the interactions among everyone and everything. If we live sustainably on the Earth, the Earth takes care of the people, and we have enough to go around, which in turn helps us live more sustainably and justly, so forth and so on...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This is like a virtuous circle, but even more so like a pattern of dynamic renewal as in the flow of one season to the next. It is more a spiral through space and time, as we never really end up back at the same place we were before. It may look similar and familiar but each time around we have a new set of paths to take, with our decisions informed by an ever expanding bank of previous experiences.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I truly believe we are on the precipice of taking our greatest steps forward. Where we proceed next could have us stumble to our our greatest defeat, or ascend to our greatest achievement. The choice really is ours, be it condoning the status quo through inaction and suffering everlong, or manifesting so many individual revolutions culminating in the creation of a new and just world where we intend to thrive.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I got this inkling from more than just a two-day workshop this weekend. There is chatter of imminent change on the horizon. This could be as apocalyptic as the silver screen would have us believe, but I prefer to affect real change towards the enlightenment so many of us seek. This collective and universal shift in consciousness is ours to make and mold. I believe this change starts with each us, individually, and that it will spread like wildfire.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-6142424512133402212011-04-21T08:49:00.000-07:002011-04-21T08:51:28.773-07:00Dream Seed<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Es ist so weit!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We have finally found the inspiration for bestowing our dream with a name:</span><i><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></i><br />
<br />
<i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Dream Seed</span></b></i><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The first of our many planned undertakings will fall under the auspices of "Dream Seed Projects" and include "<a href="http://dreamseedyoga.blogspot.com/">Dream Seed Yoga</a>" and "<a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/">Dream Seed Farms</a>." We added links to both sites on the right hand side of this page for your perusing pleasure.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Check out the first post on </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://dreamseedyoga.blogspot.com/">Dream Seed Yoga</a> which details the yoga sessions Michie is holding next week as a fund raiser for those still struggling with the aftermath of the recent disasters here in Japan.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Also, we discuss our upcoming plans to attend a year-long Permaculture program on our </span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://dreamseedfarms.blogspot.com/">Dream Seed Farms</a> page. Permaculture is the umbrella idea we subscribe to for designing and building our farm, Bed & Breakfast and all the relationships that go along with it.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We will be posting whenever we get a chance and will try to keep things organized by the relevant topics on the relevant pages, so please check them all out when you get a chance.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In other breaking news, we have set a time frame to finally move to Ajishima Island. After we get back from our first PC workshop this weekend, we will be taking several trips to Ajishima while Michie hosts her yoga classes in between. We have to do it in installments because the docks in Ishnomaki City and on Ajishima were either washed away or laid to rubble by the tsunami, and there is no ramp for vehicles to board the ferry. So, we will have to hand load all our stuff box by box, then unload it on the island. Hopefully, we can borrow a truck from our friends or the hospital where Michie will work. Once we get to the island, we will have a little over an hour to drive to the other side (only a mile or so) unload the stuff into our house and drive back in time to catch the only return ferry.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The plan is to have the essentials moved in by the end of the month. On the last trip, Michie will stay on the island and start working at the hospital the first week of May. I will come back to Oshu City and stay at her mom's house for another week or so. The first week of May is called "Golden Week" in Japan, as there are three federal holidays. Most people travel to their hometown and partake in various ceremonies. It is also a time to start planting rice.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I am going to stay and help Michie's uncle plant several rice paddies. Last week they set rice in trays of dirt to sprout in an incubator the size of a garden shed. Early this week they placed several hundred trays on the ground inside long green houses. The rice will continue sprouting until it is about 20-30cm tall. When the weather is right during Golden Week, we will take the trays to the paddies and load up a planting tractor that can maneuver the flooded and muddy paddies while pinching off a half dozen rice sprouts, clumping them together and poking them in the mud. The fun part comes when we get to jump in the mud and fix all the parts the tractor messes up, especially the rounded corners of the paddies where the tractor cannot fit. We will plant a bunch of sprouts by hand. It will be hard, but fun. I have helped out before both with rice planting and harvesting, but always with Michie there to translate, so this should be a great experience if not a bit comical, what with all the gestures, miscommunications and vacant stares...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There will be a nice spread for lunch, but dinner every night will showcase the best rice grown last year, all the seasonal veggies from grandma's garden and ample supplies of beer will flow unabated into my mug!!! Nice!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Once the rice is in the mud I will head back to Ajishima and get started on our own garden. I am not sure what I will be able to plant this year, as we are about a month behind our planned schedule. But, it will be a refreshing change for me to just go with the flow. Michie will be able to jump right in and start helping the patients and residents of the island. I will have to seek out our friends help. I have asked them to invite me along and to have me help out with what ever they end up doing on the island. Our friends father is the island handyman and the son-in-law's family was born and raised on the island. </span><span style="font-size: large;">This will help me introduce myself to the islanders as we help with the rebuilding of the island. About forty houses were destroyed and others were damaged, including our friends', so there will be lots of work to do for quite some time.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We had good news that the officials will test the water line next week to see if the flow from Ishinomaki is ready to resume service to the island. This would be amazing if it is up and running sooner rather than the projected six months plus! The electricity is still out, but we can live with out electricity. We just bought some water jugs at a second hand shop to fill from the well for drinking, cooking and cleaning. My mom just sent us two solar camp showers, so at least we won't stink too much!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The only other thing to contend with is the toilet situation. With no water to flush, and the thought of hauling buckets half way across the island (literally) without a vehicle just to flush it away is not appealing in the least. So, we are considering a compost toilet, where you basically do your business in a bucket and deposit it later on a compost pile. The compost, or 'humanure' in this case decomposes and cures for one to two years and can be applied to crops and trees as fertilizer. This concept is really quite something. You can <a href="http://www.weblife.org/humanure/">read the <u>Humanure Handbook</u> by Joseph Jenkins online</a>, <a href="http://www.weblife.org/humanure/pdf/humanure_handbook_third_edition.pdf">download it here</a>, or <a href="http://humanurehandbook.com/">buy it here</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I digress...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">So, we will be living exactly the life we had envisioned ten years down the road: no mains utilities, just what we could harvest and produce ourselves. The only catch is that we will not have had the chance to build and tweak all of our systems (greywater, solar & wind power, food production) gradually over time. I am somewhat of a perfectionist and a procrastinator and have an all-or-nothing personality, so perhaps this is the best possible way to begin: start at our end goal and reverse engineer how it all works as we go along!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This dream has been the driving force that brought us to Japan and specifically to Ajishima. We are here to cultivate a brighter future for ourselves and everyone around us. There is no time like the present, and the present time is planting time! We take this seed, our dream seed, and plant it with love and intention. We nurture it while it grows and it will in turn provide all we need. This symbiotic, synergistic, virtuous circle is the ebb and flow of life, death and rebirth itself. We cannot help but be glad to be a part of it all right now.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">What a time to be alive!</span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-6890819501527588812011-04-21T01:23:00.000-07:002011-04-21T02:40:00.528-07:00Seeds of Hope, Seeds of Change<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Howdy!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Michie and I have been working out all the details of our eventual move to Ajishima Island next month. More details forthcoming...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In the meantime, here is a message Michie found on <a href="http://ameblo.jp/tentsuku-man/entry-10866720606.html#main%20">a Japanese blog</a> encouraging everyone in the world to plant some flower seeds on May 3rd. There is an English translation interspersed amidst the original message, so be sure to read until the end.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Any flowers will do; just plant whatever you have or can find easily! We will plant sunflowers because they are of course beautiful and they also do a fairly decent job of remediating soil poisoned by radiation.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DEzTC9-HT74/Ta_oDW6G0DI/AAAAAAAAAWM/ThYsjCck2XQ/s1600/2629sunflower.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DEzTC9-HT74/Ta_oDW6G0DI/AAAAAAAAAWM/ThYsjCck2XQ/s400/2629sunflower.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image Source: <a href="http://www.faqs.org/photo-dict/phrase/396/sunflower.html">Shutterstock</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">5月3日</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">同じ日に、復興の祈りを込め</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">て世界中で希望の花の種を植</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">えましょう!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">希望の花咲く地球</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">『SEEDS OF HOPE~希望の種~プロジェクト』</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">■被災地が一日でも早く復興しますように</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">■世界中の気持ちが一つに繋がりますように</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">■笑顔と希望がいっぱい増えますように</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">■亡くなられた方が安らかに眠れますうように</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">各国のみなさまへ。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dear friends of the world</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">今、世界各地で大地震、火山の噴火、暴動、インフルエンザ、動物達の感染病など大きな</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">変化によって不安が世界を覆っています。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Large earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, riots, influenza and diseases etc. are now happening</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> everywhere in the world. These big changes build up anxiety in all of us.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">僕たちが住む日本では3月11日に地震が起こり、地震と津波の影響で1万3千人以上の</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">方が亡くなり、今も尚、行方不明の方が1万4千人以上います。</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">On the 11th of March, a huge earthquake hit Japan.</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> The earthquake and tsunami killed more than 13,000 people and more than 14,000 people are still</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">missing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">そんな中。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In such a difficult situation,</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">【PRAY FOR JAPAN】</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">世界から祈りのメッセージがたくさん届きました。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We received many prayers and warm messages from all over the world.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">みなさまからのメッセージは、日本人の心に灯りを灯しました。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">They have lightened our hearts.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">ありがとうございました。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We appreciate the warmth. Thank you very much.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">僕たちは、今緊急支援部隊「め組JAPAN」というチームを立ち上げて日本の復興に全力を</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">注いでいます。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now we have set up an emergency support and relief team "MEGUMI JAPAN", and we are doing</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> our best to reconstruct the country.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">もっとも被害の大きかった、岩手県、宮城県、福島県の街は、がれきでいっぱいです。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, the most damaged areas, are still full of debris.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">それはまるで戦争で爆撃を受けた街のようです。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">They look as if they were attacked by bombs in a war.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">それを見ながらこう思ったのです。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Looking at these sites we thought,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">「この瓦礫がお花畑になったらみんな元気になるのに...みんな不安や心配を忘れて優しい</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">気持ちになるのに」</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"If there were fields of flowers instead of debris we could cheer up, forget the worries and feel</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> happy and warm.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">そこで【世界同時 花の種まきプロジェクト~SEEDS OF HOPE】を考えました。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">That is why we came up with a project called "Worldwide Flower Seeding Project ~SEEDS OF </span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">HOPE".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">思うだけじゃなく、動こう!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Let's not only pray but also act!!</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">動く事が最高のポジティブな祈りだと思いました。</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Acting is the most positive praying.</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">そうだ、花の種を植えよう。</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yes, let's plant flower seeds.</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">花に力を貸してもらおう。</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ask the flowers for help.</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">花は人の心を癒してくれるでしょう。</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Flowers can heal our hearts.</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">癒された心が大地を癒してゆくでしょう。</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The healed hearts can heal the earth.</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">そこで、みなさまにお願いがあります。</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">So, here we would like to ask you one thing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">あなたの国や街、あなたの家の庭で5月3日、花の種を植えてもらえませんか?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Would you please plant flower seeds in your garden, in your town, in your country, on the 3rd of</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> May?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">こんなイメージをしています。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here is the picture.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">5月3日、世界中で花の種が植えられる。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">On the 3rd of May, a lot of flowers will be seeded all over the world.</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> そして、SNS(ソーシャル・ネットワーキング・サービス)のFACE BOOKではこんな書</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">き込みが。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">And you will find comments like the following on Facebook.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">「今日、僕も学校の花壇にひまわりの種をまいたよ。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Today I seeded sunflowers in the flower beds at school.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">「私が出来ること、それはいっぱい人を笑わせること。笑顔の花を咲かせます。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">What I can do is to bring smiles to people's faces; smiles like flowers."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">(イラン マハメド○○○○ 大学生)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Muhammad from Iran, university student</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">「私はマンション に住んでいるからペットボトルに土を入れてそこにひまわりの種を植え</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">たわ。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"I live in an apartment, so I put soil in a plastic bottle and put sunflower seeds in it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">マンションのみんなにも声をかけたら、みんなも参加してくれるって、</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">I told my neighbors about the project and they were happy to join us too.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">数ヶ月後、 外からのこのマンションを見たらお花だらけかも、</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The apartment will be full of flowers in a few months time.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">想像したらワクワクしたわ。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">I feel so excited.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">私に出来ることはこのマンションをお花だらけにすることよ</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">What I can do is to cover this apartment building with flowers."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">(中国 郎平 主婦)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">rouhei from China, housewife</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">数週間後・・・</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A few weeks later…</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">「世界中のみんな元気?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"How is everybody in the world doing?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">今日、アメリカのニューヨークの僕のマンションの植木鉢から、この前、植えたひまわり</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">の芽が出たよ。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The sunflower seeds that I planted the other day came into bud in the flower pot in my apartment in</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> New York today.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">その双葉はまるで土 から手がニョキっと出て来てピースサインをしてるかのようだよ。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The bud coming out from the soil looks like a peace sign.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">世界の平和を僕も祈るよ</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">I pray for world peace."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">(マイケル○○○○ 役者」</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Michael, actor</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">さらに数ヶ月後</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">A few more months later…</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">「世界中のみなさ ん、僕は日本のプロサッカー選手です。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">"Hello everybody in the world, I am a Japanese professional football player.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">三ヶ月前にこっそり練習用のグランドの横に植えたひまわりが今日、花を咲かせました。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The sunflowers, which I secretly seeded by the training ground 3 months ago, are now in bloom.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">僕に出来ること、それはサッ カーというスポーツを使い、人に元気を与え、世界中の人</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">と繋がり友達を増やす事です。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">What I can do is to raise people's spirits through football and to make friends all over the world and</span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> bond with them."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">(日本 Jリーガー 三浦カズオ」</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Kazuo Miura from Japan, football player in the J league</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">瓦礫の街がお花畑に変わりますように。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">May the areas full of debris change into flower fields.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">戦地がお花畑になり、争い事がおさまりますように。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">May the front become a flower field and all the struggles come to an end.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">コンクリートの都会の街が花でデコレーションされますように。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">May the cities constructed with concrete be decorated with flowers.</span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">「SEEDS OF HOPE」</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">地球を花でデコレーションしよう。</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Let's decorate the earth with flowers.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">そして、世界に優しい風を吹かせよう!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">And let's cover the world with warmth and happiness!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Originally posted by てんつくマン Tentsuku-man <a href="http://ameblo.jp/tentsuku-man/entry-10866720606.html#main%20">http://ameblo.jp/tentsuku-man/entry-10866720606.html#main </a></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></span>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-38465841012407495062011-04-06T16:19:00.000-07:002011-04-08T19:29:03.477-07:00Ajishima in Pictures<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, here we have a few pictures from Ajishima, our possibly-soon-to-be-home-again. Our friends on the island took these over the past couple weeks and posted them to <a href="http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/udoku369/">their blog</a>. The first five are from the Ajihama (Aji Beach) side of the island. We have not seen any images yet from the Futawatashihama side where our place is (although we learned it survived unscathed).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8biGYSebRv9kd_ABpXreCXvTO-Exbz4hSmIAc6Dm7eqAZ06OhPFtaug8xdBT_jNCCf432G-psnhQunbKq2XSeNYzGWpgEQi1DCbC_jKe9OqasbMc7wdpkEYVKHvf0triZBJL8-OEj85Pw/s1600/imgee060e10zik8zj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8biGYSebRv9kd_ABpXreCXvTO-Exbz4hSmIAc6Dm7eqAZ06OhPFtaug8xdBT_jNCCf432G-psnhQunbKq2XSeNYzGWpgEQi1DCbC_jKe9OqasbMc7wdpkEYVKHvf0triZBJL8-OEj85Pw/s400/imgee060e10zik8zj.jpeg" width="400" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Debris on Ajihama Beach near our friends' pension.</span></div></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIu0ra9Xolctk5lW2hccGod5S5CbVqOGKftRCyLyohihnb_8PpirPUR3AAdf3tD2-VRijTXKBf1JOSSb49hcLkFj4u6OJQlKOrU2-4R-MASJ59XoJNxkCSlR0r5HpM4myFlOsjJbFPxpSr/s1600/img00ab5043zik5zj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIu0ra9Xolctk5lW2hccGod5S5CbVqOGKftRCyLyohihnb_8PpirPUR3AAdf3tD2-VRijTXKBf1JOSSb49hcLkFj4u6OJQlKOrU2-4R-MASJ59XoJNxkCSlR0r5HpM4myFlOsjJbFPxpSr/s400/img00ab5043zik5zj.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Concrete wall in background is wharf covered in water.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ujQBcLdTfUf67n4sZ5SOCyLjhMu5co0MZTEo4lzbGtzeLFz3U4qn54wsKJmpWbAxAVzRY3Qma8kWjn2u6ClVdPSI8Oudpi22xNvtDBJ6A1RV_14cwzPsb7-iWVypAOh7rVEgvAAI8bM0/s400/img0cb2e9ffzikazj.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Our friends' boat torn from its moorings and washed ashore.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNY9clefsC_PeaNLVLbphvPW_ltrM73Yr0uPPxO9Kekuzm3GNReArrRZMOL50Ie-70AYAeQuQBLwQJySu4J7p9awdrUUGphonrbUDKvtWJSbXvUnuMnKL2Qnuv0HPtJhI0qK58niq7P43g/s1600/imgc0179918zik9zj.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNY9clefsC_PeaNLVLbphvPW_ltrM73Yr0uPPxO9Kekuzm3GNReArrRZMOL50Ie-70AYAeQuQBLwQJySu4J7p9awdrUUGphonrbUDKvtWJSbXvUnuMnKL2Qnuv0HPtJhI0qK58niq7P43g/s400/imgc0179918zik9zj.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The wharf from above, once the water receded.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89f1M_0p4DTfLnpi6cJq9WpR9t_C_2fjovs6SBz559HWxsI2lo1EZXkKesrmDbzgND0vkZiw9Fry3uhHdh7JpRGqYwOs889Azuu5yzAtNRdjQ7ZNvqQEGeL9oOp88jsTGRCSOVmsUoZjO/s1600/img5cc357b7zikazj.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89f1M_0p4DTfLnpi6cJq9WpR9t_C_2fjovs6SBz559HWxsI2lo1EZXkKesrmDbzgND0vkZiw9Fry3uhHdh7JpRGqYwOs889Azuu5yzAtNRdjQ7ZNvqQEGeL9oOp88jsTGRCSOVmsUoZjO/s400/img5cc357b7zikazj.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Several houses destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ujQBcLdTfUf67n4sZ5SOCyLjhMu5co0MZTEo4lzbGtzeLFz3U4qn54wsKJmpWbAxAVzRY3Qma8kWjn2u6ClVdPSI8Oudpi22xNvtDBJ6A1RV_14cwzPsb7-iWVypAOh7rVEgvAAI8bM0/s1600/img0cb2e9ffzikazj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody></tbody></table><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRPRRJxxKR55xkX171XF6bhcn7DTGGPZf4IMtFwhVKoqtMzOuuJpKDtQfnnl-ht2Wri0XtoHikjro7m0-8ECMY74uVktegOcCAdsR0JcmxU-bRQi6ETlUGXM4HAQxTXmj3YBC9dfDjaNk/s400/imgfbb8aa78zik3zj.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;">Japanese Self-Defense Force and utilities workers arriving.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRPRRJxxKR55xkX171XF6bhcn7DTGGPZf4IMtFwhVKoqtMzOuuJpKDtQfnnl-ht2Wri0XtoHikjro7m0-8ECMY74uVktegOcCAdsR0JcmxU-bRQi6ETlUGXM4HAQxTXmj3YBC9dfDjaNk/s1600/imgfbb8aa78zik3zj.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4QFbBEzBZm_p-e4U0olXPjoOpkqIaMQw1MXBfdH7FCmtYaOheK9BuRnnKukzS1LPTNosF5yQPSHUblimeyY0TOWo_ak7L_3GSconQ2WSIor3NbkIa-N5Ltz3Oz4i-jWqWZGMyvgiKz_h/s1600/img3b2d0d52zik4zj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4QFbBEzBZm_p-e4U0olXPjoOpkqIaMQw1MXBfdH7FCmtYaOheK9BuRnnKukzS1LPTNosF5yQPSHUblimeyY0TOWo_ak7L_3GSconQ2WSIor3NbkIa-N5Ltz3Oz4i-jWqWZGMyvgiKz_h/s400/img3b2d0d52zik4zj.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Supplies loaded on an island-bound ferry in Ishinomaki City.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLQF2s0lC6d3zXB9PjNS40HM8d4t-7pRIGzT8vRwPpDjGvovHjP1weOXvYXH8lxP4lVHwBVe00ujmsYW8rnuXgQZQqFzIDl85EDFgsEko24tv-LpTP6WmeuXISJqxa34KgF5QbwcMxNVc/s1600/img05132769zik1zj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLQF2s0lC6d3zXB9PjNS40HM8d4t-7pRIGzT8vRwPpDjGvovHjP1weOXvYXH8lxP4lVHwBVe00ujmsYW8rnuXgQZQqFzIDl85EDFgsEko24tv-LpTP6WmeuXISJqxa34KgF5QbwcMxNVc/s400/img05132769zik1zj.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Elementary school kids donated these relief supplies. </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-Fxtf202QRKw_p-yNqEj4xmQuUzdMCz2SzYKkcegdu4RUFqSMvgXn9ka3pupQT-iOzitk-z7nNPAiIhwaA6sWQf2ngm5Ra1c9gE2HdG5yAwOXdnE-e-s2e4a5K8iEXlCQ8UI-NPsGrS6/s1600/imgf042404ezik0zj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-Fxtf202QRKw_p-yNqEj4xmQuUzdMCz2SzYKkcegdu4RUFqSMvgXn9ka3pupQT-iOzitk-z7nNPAiIhwaA6sWQf2ngm5Ra1c9gE2HdG5yAwOXdnE-e-s2e4a5K8iEXlCQ8UI-NPsGrS6/s400/imgf042404ezik0zj.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A group of Canadians delivers a water filter for the well.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdU5vUnFwk5NA6pSt0UQ2tHwhXmxsFwqQsf7Wqqiib2_NINQ3YsYhiOFr0lnH0MsIbG9inhimU4ziUd9FBgEm-vwrBBUCOFYV7vjnzxJ8zwE_rge9takj2_6sBj7DZ-sqDGIN5wQBpAnn/s1600/img08edc065zik2zj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWdU5vUnFwk5NA6pSt0UQ2tHwhXmxsFwqQsf7Wqqiib2_NINQ3YsYhiOFr0lnH0MsIbG9inhimU4ziUd9FBgEm-vwrBBUCOFYV7vjnzxJ8zwE_rge9takj2_6sBj7DZ-sqDGIN5wQBpAnn/s400/img08edc065zik2zj.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The filter will have to last 6 months until new water lines are laid.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfob-8l9pxe8z1k1W6XBb9jeInAdyBE52IguM2CjV0ZGAElt_m6S6lE0ziVzLf1vWu8a_P_8JR6WMSUCqnj3HHP9lorq1EbFw4dqFVmlcxqJzMA4kC4eaRqnFXxuBAkWWf6q_9q33PLve/s400/imgd5736e8bzikczj.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A </span><span style="font-size: medium;">photo from years ago: a </span><span style="font-size: medium;">reminder of more peaceful times, but also a glimpse of what is yet to come.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfob-8l9pxe8z1k1W6XBb9jeInAdyBE52IguM2CjV0ZGAElt_m6S6lE0ziVzLf1vWu8a_P_8JR6WMSUCqnj3HHP9lorq1EbFw4dqFVmlcxqJzMA4kC4eaRqnFXxuBAkWWf6q_9q33PLve/s1600/imgd5736e8bzikczj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfob-8l9pxe8z1k1W6XBb9jeInAdyBE52IguM2CjV0ZGAElt_m6S6lE0ziVzLf1vWu8a_P_8JR6WMSUCqnj3HHP9lorq1EbFw4dqFVmlcxqJzMA4kC4eaRqnFXxuBAkWWf6q_9q33PLve/s1600/imgd5736e8bzikczj.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-72224143838330564792011-04-01T09:33:00.000-07:002011-04-02T05:49:24.280-07:00It must be all over now!<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Whew! Thank goodness this whole triple disaster thing is over in Japan. Well, at least that is what I gathered from the headlines, or rather, the lack of headlines about Japan. In the past four days there have been only three headlines (two on Wednesday and one yesterday) and none today on the news sites I frequent. And many have already taken down their “donate” links. So, in this 24-hour news cycle of ours, this whole triple disaster must be over now, right!?<br />
<br />
But, three weeks to the day since all this began we are reminded to “<a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/rebecca-solnit-what-to-pack-for-disaster">keep in mind that disasters start suddenly and end slowly.</a>” This means that while the media, pundits and fear mongers have moved on to the next disaster <i>du jour</i> an entire nation is left to fend for itself amidst a set of disasters it is ill equipped to handle. Was this Japan’s <a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/deaths-of-20000-japanese-afford-planet-solid-15-mi,19785/">fifteen minutes</a> of fame? If so, and if it is truly over (<i>read: no longer newsworthy</i>), then perhaps we have the dubious distinction of being the most callous, self-absorbed, petty and complacent bunch to ever slither over this Earth. <br />
<br />
This would not be the first time, nor likely will it be the last, that as a global community we turn to a local crisis for our own amusement, and on a whim discard it like a passing fad. We display a certain fetish for permitting ourselves to be scared silly by anyone with a tasty soundbite. Once the rush of that thrill fades, we move on to our next fix, forever jonesing for a bigger and bigger hit to overcome our desensitized souls. Just look at New Orleans, Haiti and New Zealand, even the Gulf of Mexico. And, whatever happened to <a href="http://golongitude.org/uncaste-india">India</a>, Indonesia and Southeast Asia after the Sumatra Tsunami at the end of 2004? Burma is probably next. At least we can always count on our pushers to provide us with the most innovative and <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110331/ap_on_re_us/us_missing_cobra">stimulating smack</a> the market has to offer.<br />
<br />
Things are a little different in Japan. We cannot avoid the turmoil here as this is where it happened. We cannot turn the channel or click on a different link. Fukushima is our ground zero. This is what we live with now. The media, however, has played into corporate and government hands, unsurprisingly, and basically repeats what it is told by the government, which in turn is a rote reiteration of whatever faulty facts TEPCO deems we should all be privy to at that moment. It sounds disgustingly corrupt when it is put that way, but is this not the way it is everywhere else as well? With the power to reach millions, the media might do well to advise about the dangers of radiation or even how to limit exposure (as there is no preventing it now), but instead they quote TEPCO’s fudged numbers and go on to quote the government’s regurgitation that those levels pose no immediate threat to human health. This results in the general public believing that there is no threat at all. So, we have people, families, entire cities acting as if nothing has happened. The news said it was safe, so it must be. <br />
<br />
Even our own family members here in Oshu City do not really comprehend what is happening, and we watch the news together every night and let them know what is being omitted and what is actually happening! The best we can do is limit our exposure. There obviously is not as much radiation in the air where we live compared to Fukushima, but people are wantonly going about their lives. Michie and I have sequestered ourselves and have only been out twice in the past two weeks to buy groceries. Michie had to turn down her grandmother’s request to work in the garden last night because it was raining. It was heartbreaking for her to say no to her grandmother, who played the overwhelming roll in her upbringing. Michie explained what was happening and why she would not go out in the rain (it pulls more radioactive particles out of the air and the moisture facilitates speedy absorption into the body) but her grandmother still did not understand it.<br />
<br />
Perhaps, though, the people going about their lives know that some fallout from this disaster is inevitable, and that they do indeed have lives that need to be gone about. I just do not know what to do myself. I believe that there is no safe level of radiation exposure. It may not kill us immediately, validating those claims from above, but it will have some negative effects on us. Is it simply a calculated risk to go out and get on with our lives? Is that a risk we can afford to take? In a world of absolute relatives, we are safer than those closest to Fukushima. But are any of us really safe; safe from ourselves; safe from the faults of our own species?<br />
<br />
In light of all this, our island paradise still awaits us on Ajishima. The dream we built up for ourselves is so enticing right now. Our dream did not include several nuclear meltdowns. This is something we live with now. We want to get to Ajishima, to move in and move on with our dream. The island has already started its recovery. <br />
<br />
We received our first direct call from the island this morning. They secured a mobile generator that provides electricity for five hours in the morning and five at night. The phone lines are still down, and the power and water lines laid on the ocean floor from the nearest city were stripped away and washed out to sea by the tsunami. It will take over six months at the minimum to reconnect. Five hours today gave our friends enough time to charge their cells phones and find a signal. There is one small tank of water for drinking and cooking, and for all other uses water must be drawn up by rope and bucket from a well.<br />
<br />
We also learned that forty houses were destroyed by the tsunami on the island. One elderly man died soon after, but not before rescuing his grandchildren and taking them to higher ground. He was on a constant oxygen supply, but without electricity for three weeks, he was not able to breathe. We coincidentally met his daughter on the ferry to Ajishima when we visited at the beginning of March. We were late for the ferry and almost missed it. We did not have time to call ahead to be picked up at the port, so Michie sought out the friendliest face and asked to borrow her cell phone. We tried to pay her 100 Yen (about a $1.20) and we ended up laughing over the paltry sum. Michie talked with her at length, and we even helped deliver some packages to her family once we arrived.<br />
<br />
Long before even leaving for Japan a month or so ago, Michie and I discussed ways for us to get involved in the island community. As a nurse she would have direct contact with a majority of the islanders as most were aging and seeking treatment or home care. This was her way in. A plan we devised for me was to reach out to our neighbors and offer to do odd jobs <i>pro bono</i>. I had designs on helping weed gardens, cleaning out the gutters, even harvesting seaweed; but in my greatest fantasy I would help deconstruct dilapidated houses, saving the doors, windows and bent nails to straighten out later as my only fee. These were the things we planned to repurpose into our own home and eventually into our Bed and Breakfast.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> We intended to build a home with the very dirt under our feet. A cob (earthen walls) or even a straw bale structure with a few locally salvaged trimmings would fit the bill nicely. We planned on a modest solar and wind power system and even simpler energy needs, as the most effective form of conservation is (<i>gasp!</i>) actually using less! We were fond of the idea of a greywater system that uses captured rain water several times in sinks, indoor vegetable planters and other fixtures before being flushed down the toilet or better yet filtered outside to a lush garden pond. Our permaculture fixation would have us incorporate a design mimicking nature into our need to provide our own sustenance from gardens and a food forest.<br />
<br />
Yet, there seems to be a silver lining in all of this. And, there seems to be a pattern developing in my posts here: I get really worked up, vent it out, and then see the brighter side. Would it not be great if I could just skip all the trouble? Less headaches, less hassle in typing, less drudgery in reading all this mess...But, I digress. The fact is that Ajishima holds even more for us now. We can be of real service to the islanders. We have already seen our plans to fruition in our dreams. We have even planted fantasy trees we know will not mature until our grandchildren are old enough to clamber up their limbs and pick the choicest of the bunch. <br />
<br />
The realtime situation on Ajishima may seem more a superimposed deficiency than a self-imposed conservancy, however, this is the situation for which we have already prepared ourselves. In our heart of hearts, we know this is where we are supposed to be. Now, we just have to get there...</span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-74203282859663798132011-03-27T10:34:00.000-07:002011-03-27T10:35:58.688-07:00A quick pick-me-up<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Just after I finished the last post, I was feeling down. I came across this <a href="http://greenjapan.com/featured/2165/">quote</a>, “Please believe in Japan so that we can overcome this crisis and start walking, not the same as before but as a wiser community.” I think this answers my previous question, and it does give me some hope<br />
<br />
The little bit of good news we can offer is that the island of Ajishima appears to be doing ok, all things considered. We got word from the island indirectly (from the the main hospital branch in Tochigi Prefecture). The head nurse on the island called the main branch and left a message for Michie that she was still welcome, and much needed, to start working on April 1st, or whenever we could make it there.<br />
<br />
We heard that a news report would air last night after 10 pm with a clip about Ajishima. Actually, all it was was a few frames inside a military helicopter and of the passengers it brought along, utilities workers. It was only about three minutes and they showed nothing from the island nor of the people there, although the news crew obviously took time to land first, set up a nice frame and direct the military chopper dramatically in over the hospital. At least they got a good shot!<br />
<br />
We also learned from our friends on the island through their blog that the island just got electricity back yesterday, but still no water. Forty or so houses were destroyed, but thankfully they were all uninhabited. One ferry started operations again, but bad weather and an ocean port full of debris have caused many cancellations. Once the ferry started, the military stopped flying supply runs to the island. The people there must still be struggling over two weeks into this disaster. </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Our shipment of (200 cubic feet of) stuff we sent from the US arrives tomorrow at a port south of Tokyo, and will take a week or so to clear customs and get delivered. We thought we would be able to have it shipped to the island directly, even now, although the intermittent ferry schedule would be tough to negotiate. So we are going to have to have it shipped to Michie’s mom’s house. It will all barely fit in Michie's old room, but that will leave us with no living space at all.<br />
<br />
We are free to go to the island and start moving in anytime, contingent upon the ferry actually being able to set sail. At this point, though, we do not know when that will happen.<br />
<br />
About the only other bright spot we have right now, is the Permaculture Design Course Michie signed us up for. The first class is at the end of April and it goes for a year, with monthly classes, seminars and hands on training. It is in Nagano Prefecture, south of us and east of Tokyo. It will take us well over nine hours to drive there if we rent a car, or a small fortune to take the train. Nothing is cheap in Japan, never has been, except for bean sprouts that sell for about 12 cents a bag! But not now because the supermarket shelves are literally half bare.<br />
<br />
There may be plans afoot to raise donations to help the people of Ajishima. My family in the US is looking into this possibility. If it works out, we hope to procure resources here locally that we can then deliver to the people who need it. We want to focus on food and water for the Ajishima islanders first. If we can raise more, then we can extend that help to others. And if we raise even more, then we were thinking along the lines of something more sustainable and long lasting, like materials to build a simple solar/wind energy system or water purifier on the island to help them cope with possible future utility disruptions. <br />
<br />
I will keep you all posted on the progress of this possible fund raiser.<br />
<br />
In the meantime<a href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201103260400/COLUMNISTS09/103260314"> here is a link</a> to an article my step mom helped get into the Lansing State Journal about our experiences thus far. <br />
<br />
Thank you all for your support!!!<br />
</span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1272365698832519493.post-58099023312974948992011-03-27T09:43:00.000-07:002011-03-27T20:53:12.524-07:00Wait and See<div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>(Many thanks to all those who have sent us well wishes and encouragement. It means a great deal to Michie and me, and to the other folks in Japan with whom we have shared them.)</i><br />
<br />
I have been guilty of doing something I really cannot stand, and that is emulating a debilitating penchant the Japanese display to just “wait and see.” I haven’t known what to say or write, and in many cases, what to do, for the past week, because I do not know what is going on...<br />
<br />
About five years ago I was driving through the mountainous passes between the coastal town of Kuji, where I taught English, and Morioka, the prefectural capital. My passenger was a fellow English teacher from Scotland. We had passed through several kilometer-long tunnels, popped out of one and headed into another on our way to a gathering of English teachers and adult beverages. As we approached the tunnel exit at about 80 km/h, I noticed a set of brake lights ahead, though they were stacked vertically instead of horizontally. I slowed down and ended up stopping behind the car in front of us. Over the hood of that car I could see a minivan rolled over on its side.<br />
<br />
It was the tail end of winter and while the outside roads and the interior stretches of the tunnels were dry, the openings where icing over now towards dusk. The rolled over minivan must have hit an icy patch about a hundred meters before the mouth of the tunnel, lost control, flipped a few times and skidded almost up to the very opening. After several seconds of assessing this all from behind the wheel, my friend and I jumped out of the car. By this point a dozen or more vehicles had stopped behind us, idling their engines and gawking forward. A few cars and big trucks swerved around the rest, flew by inches from me, maneuvered around the minivan and sped away. Thankfully, the rest just stopped. <br />
<br />
This was not something we covered at our three-day orientation when all of us English teachers had arrived in Japan seven or eight months prior. After a second’s look at all the cars behind us and no one getting out to help, I walked towards the minivan. Just then I remembered the road flare under my glove box, required by Japanese law, and asked my friend to grab it and as many others from the cars behind us as he could get. He threw me mine and I ignited it and blocked of the other lane so no other cars could speed by. Seconds later I approached the minivan from the chassis, rounded the back end and was able to peer in through a middle sunroof. Thankfully, there was no sign of anyone having been in the back seats. I noticed a slight movement in the front seat and came to the windshield. I think I startled the old man inside more than the crash itself! The look of surprise on his face to see a “gaijin,” or a foreigner, instead of another Japanese person gesturing through the windshield, was unmistakable, and a bit comical. <br />
<br />
He stood up inside the car, essentially standing where the passenger side window had been ground into the road. He motioned that he could not get out and I directed my attention to the driver side door over his head. The driver’s side was caved in and the door was collapsed, but the window was intact. I tried once to shimmy the door open a bit but it wouldn’t budge. Just then I made eye contact with the man inside and his face turned from worried to terrified in an instant. In that moment a simultaneously cool and hot wave rushed over my body, I leapt on top of the driver’s side, yanked the door free and open with my left hand and pulled the man straight up and out with my right. I jumped down and caught him as he descended. </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> My friend had gotten a couple more flares by this point. I asked him if anyone else was going to help and we looked down the line of cars and still no one had gotten out of their car. While we scanned the line and hoped that someone who spoke Japanese might help us and the driver, I made eye contact with several people, who immediately looked away. There was a timid look of shame shared across all their faces. So it stayed until the emergency crew arrived. At the very minimum someone had alerted the authorities, but they had done nothing else. In the end, the driver was no worse for wear, and he even sent me a thank-you cake a few weeks later!<br />
<br />
This leads me to another anecdote that I hope will shed further light on the subject at hand: That of the kid who almost fell out of a speeding Tokyo subway car.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">While on a business trip to Tokyo for a teacher’s conference, I had some down time and was taking in the sights. I hopped on a fairly crowded subway car, and waited to take off. As the doors were closing a final passenger ran from the platform and jumped on board. The failsafe on the doors did not trigger and the doors continued to close, catching the teenage kid by the shoulders and backpack. The train pulled away from the station just then. This whole event lasted merely a few seconds, but so much did and did not happen. <br />
<br />
The kid was terrified as were the rest of the passengers. Those around the door looked away or hurried away, as the gears in the doors struggled to close. The gears slipped a few times, the doors would open a few inches, the kid would slip out and the doors would slam shut again around him, all in the matter of a second or two. From the other side of the car, after noticing no one else doing anything to save this kid, I leapt forward. Grabbing the shoulder strap of his backpack and a fist full of his shirt with my right hand I strained to pry the door open even a little with my left. As the gears slipped another time, I caught a chance to force the doors open. As the door released its grip, the kid fell slightly back towards the tracks below, but I was able to pull him in while still propping the door open.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As soon as he was inside, the door closed and he thanked me many times. The other passengers glared at us and immediately looked away. They shuffled as far away as they could get inside that packed car. <br />
<br />
After this second event I had to ask my Japanese friends why no one stepped up to help. I hadn’t told anyone about either experience up until that point and when I finally did, my friends were thoroughly embarrassed. They apologized profusely first that I had to go through all of that and then for the fact that no one had helped. The more we talked the more they revealed that this was actually the standard operating procedure for life in Japan: WAIT AND SEE.<br />
<br />
They further admitted that they had been bystanders is similar events and did nothing. They waited for someone else to solve the problem, but no one did. They then said that they would probably do the same in the future, because that is the only thing they knew how to do. <br />
<br />
It was been well over two weeks since the earthquakes and ensuing tsunamis decimated the northeastern coast of Tohoku. There are survivors in and around emergency shelters in the worst hit areas that <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2060773,00.html">still do not have the resources and necessities they need</a>, like food, water, blankets and fuel oil for the heaters that stave off the bitter winter cold. There are, however, donations made the day of the disaster still sitting in warehouses in Tokyo. The bureaucrats do not know what to do with them. Doctors without Boarders sent a contingent of physicians to assist in the tsunami-struck areas, but were held up upon arrival and finally told later that they could not do more than basic first aid because they did not have Japanese medical licenses. Japan has a singular expressway system into the northern part of the country, Tohoku. It narrows to one lane in either direction along hundreds of kilometers, and costs the equivalent of hundreds of dollars in tolls to get from where we live up north to Tokyo. The expressway was closed on the 11th, and despite little to no damage, took more than two weeks to reopen. Some emergency vehicles headed up north initially via this vital connection, but food and fuel were scarcely permitted. The local roads were open, so concerned citizens, family members and a number of the Japanese mafia, the “yakuza,” unbeholden to rubber stamps, loaded up cars and semis and headed north. <br />
<br />
Most recently, at the Fukushima nuclear reactors one or two days ago, a couple emergency workers waded into a pool of water inside the reactor building on their way to fix some part. The water registered at 10,000 times the legal limit for radiation. They were severely irradiated and had to be evacuated. TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company, which runs the Fukushima plant) it turns out, knew about the spike in radiation from the water two or three days before the workers went in. But they told no one. Today we were told on the news that radiation levels had reached 10,000,000 times the limit at the 2nd reactor (<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110328/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_earthquake">UPDATE: as of approx. 11 am Monday morning TEPCO announced that the 10,000,000 number was "not credible," and that in fact it was <b><i>only</i></b> 100,000 times the limit! What difference do a couple zeros mean at that magnitude anyway, right!?! Oh, and they still refuse to allow any outside, third-party to take independent measurements</a>). We do not know if this was from today, yesterday or a week ago. Incidentally, TEPCO has contracts to soon run, in partnership with American companies, nuclear power plants in California and Texas.<br />
<br />
The first two sets of examples above, the cowering public and the ineffectual bureaucrats are explainable, though in no way condonable, through an understanding of the cultural and societal norms that prevent and punish individual action. <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-03-18/japan-disaster-caps-decades-of-faked-reports-accidents.html">The decades of willful misinformation, withholding of information and straight out lies</a> on the part of the Japanese government and corporations, especially TEPCO, is criminal. In an arrangement that leaves their <a href="http://www.thedailybell.com/1884/Do-Western-Elites-Really-Care-About-Fukushima-.html">American and other international counterparts overly envious</a>, all Japanese industry is regulated by singular government ministries, whose bureaucrats upon retiring receive cushy high paying jobs in the very industry they were just overseeing. <br />
<br />
Wait and see, the modus operandi of an entire country? I do not mean to discount <a href="http://www.go-naminori.com/kirbyfukunaga/index.php?e=5205">the courageous actions</a> of so many facing this disaster head on nor the civility with which the people have comported themselves. What Japan needs but <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42114871/ns/world_news-asia-pacific/">does not have</a> are strong individual leaders. Leaders who can identify a problem, utilize available resources and take actionable steps to swiftly bring about resolution. Now that I think about it, though, Japan is not the only country struggling with this dilemma. However, I do not know <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/why-we-revolt">if Japan is capable of revolution</a>. I felt this way seven years ago when I first came to Japan, and have fomented for change since. This is not just an outsider trying to impose an imperial view on the native population; <a href="http://www.thedailybell.com/1884/Do-Western-Elites-Really-Care-About-Fukushima-.html">that has happened numerous times already</a>. <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/17/prominent_japanese_environmentalist_keibo_oiwa_urges">The Japanese people themselves have said they want a change</a>, but they have doubts about their own abilities. Can they do it? Or will they succumb to the oft spoken adage that keeps everyone here in their place: “the nail that sticks up gets hammered down?”<br />
<br />
I am sorry to ramble so. I wanted to share some background on why little is happening here, and why I too have done little to help. I am a great procrastinator, but this is different. I am waiting because I cannot see.</span></div>Rick and Michie Dreaming Big in Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16276729536630955977noreply@blogger.com1