Seibuen Yuenchi Amusement Park

Despite Tokyo being a rather chilly 11C, Yuki, Clara, and I ventured out of the house to visit Seibuen Amusement Park. Seibuen is only a short 15 minute drive from the house, so we did not have to endure the stress of a long and difficult journey.

Despite Seibuen showing a few wrinkles and quite clearly being outclassed by bigger and better amustment parks, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day - good idea Clara! Due to the cold and overcast weather, the park was not too busy and we were able to get on our preferred rides with usually no standing in line.

I must be getting old as I was more excited with the views from the top of the revolving observation tower and ferris wheel rather than the thrills and spills of the other rides. The ferris wheel offered excellent views and made me think back to around 16 years ago when my university friends and I rode the same ferris wheel when they visited me during my very first stint in Japan. The small cabin offered us some sanctuary from the noise of the park and it was especially satisfying to rise through the cherry blossom trees that were almost in full bloom

It was great to watch Clara having such a good time, although also a bit sad. In only a year or two, I imagine she will no longer be interested in some of the rides as she will be well on the way to becoming an adult. I took the chance to watch her and did my best to try and keep the memories locked up in my head. I must be turning Japanese as I have read that the cherry blossom also invokes such contrarian feelings within the natives.

With regards to photography, I was at somewhat of a disadvantage today. During my recent trip to Hong Kong, I dropped my camera on the ferry deck during a particularly rough crossing and broke the lens. These two photos were therefore taken using the rather feeble 3 megapixel camera of my aging iPhone 3. I was thinking of investing in a new Canon anyway, so perhaps I will have to bring forward these plans.

Over the last week or so, there have been a couple of sad anniversaries. Last week we visited the grave of Takashi, Yuki's father. Yesterday we visited the grave of her grandmother. It is now 1 year since they both died.

However, perhaps because spring is in the air, I feel a new sense of optimism and excitement. The cherry blossom should be in full bloom by next weekend, Golden Week (with approximately 5 days off) occurs at the end of April, and I am excited to visit Scotland with Clara this summer. I think that perhaps a new job may also be called for.....I have a lot of contacts in shipping companies around the world, so may now have to start seriously looking.

We are now about to put the icing on the weekend cake and head off to the local Italian (restaurant) for dinner. Till the next time.

The Wake and Cremation

Takashi was finally cremated yesterday - March 30th. It has been an emotionally exhausting period and we are all a bit fragile and will remain so for a while yet. The series of events have been a blur and I will not try and recount them in any detail. I tried to prepare myself for the process by searching online for information on a Japanese funeral and this link proved particularly helpful and allowed me to anticipate and understand each stage of the process.

As you already know, Takashi died early on Saturday morning. We all went to the hospital but did not manage to be with him at the end. He looked peaceful and it was comforting to know his suffering had ended. After various tasks were completed, Takashi was taken back to the family home to lie in front of the family shrine until being moved to the undertakers. The hospital staff treated Takashi with great respect and lined the corridor as he was taken from his hospital room down to the Chapel of Rest. Once the hearse arrived, all the nurses and doctors who had treated Takashi came down to offer their respects once again and to light incense. I guess that this is standard procedure for hospitals throughout Japan, but it really left me impressed.

Over the duration of Saturday and Sunday, friends and family visited to pay their respects. Each would light incense, ring a small chime, and pray for Takashi's spirit. A difficult couple of days. On a personal note, I have never been involved in a funeral or been close to death, so the whole series of events was a new and uncomfortable experience. I suppose that older one gets, the more experience you gain in dealing with these situations.

I saw Clara shedding a private tear when Takashi was taken from the house for the last time on Monday morning. The hearse pulled away and we all watched it drive slowly away down the street. Another end point.

Both Monday and Tuesday were difficult. I could feel my heart hammering away in my chest with the stress of the situation and apart from one of two lapses, I think I did well and I hope provided adequate support to the family. On Monday, perhaps the most difficult part was lifting Takashi into his coffin. I held his head and tried to lower it as gently as possible. After this, items that he loved or were closely associated with Takashi were placed in his casket. A suit, the clothes in which he wore to great success. A box of Kent cigarettes - he loved to smoke, but they ended up killing him. Some sake (rice wine) - he was never a man to turn down a drink. A picture of our dog Sora - he used to collect Sora from our apartment every day at 8am and look after him till 5pm each day. His wallet - I have a story about that which my brother, Mark, might remember. Once this was done, the lid of the coffin was put on, each one of us slowly lowering it down. The lid of the coffin had a small window at the top which could be opened so that we could see Takashi's face.

Tuesday saw some more Buddhist ceremonies and then the coffin was opened for the final time. We placed paper cranes around his head, and then gradually covered his body with a selection of flowers. It felt like we were burying him, until only his face could be seen amongst the flowers. This really was a difficult time and to be fair, every last one of us was in quite a state.

I felt honored to be involved and supporting the proceedings. Once again, I was honored to be one of the men to carry Takashi's coffin to the hearse. He was slid in, and the mourners watched the formal hearse pull away. Once at the crematorium, the whole process was mercifully short. The coffin was brought into the cremation area, we looked at Takashi's face one last time, and then he was slid into the thundering roar of the furnace. One hour elapsed and the process was complete. The tray was pulled out to reveal bone shards. The hot fragments were placed on a stainless steel table and then bit by bit placed into a funeral urn by the mourners. Setsuko and Yuki used special chopsticks for the first bone. Clara and I were next and lifted a recognisable hip ball joint into the urn. Finally, after the family had performed this rite, the crematorium worker packed the rest of Takashi's bones into the urn.

Takashi's remains accompanied us all home and will remain in the house for 49 days until interment in the family grave, alongside his parents and sister. The remaining members of the family will now pay formal respects to Takashi at a predetermined number of intervals:

Interment at 49 days

Year 1 on 27th March

Year 3 on 27th March

Year 7 on 27th March

Year 13 on 27th March

Year 17 on 27th March

Year 23 on 27th March

Year 27 on 27th March

Year 33 on 27th March

Year 37 on 27th March

Year 50 on 27th March

I am not optimistic of being able to pay my respects to Takashi on the 50th anniversary of his death, but will do my best with all the other years. Now we are looking forward to the future once again, albeit without Takashi. Great times and a great man!

A difficult few days

Takashi was cremated today and we will all search for a new normality. I will try and post a some thoughts in a few days time regarding Takashi, the events of the last few days, and the plans for the future. Thanks to those who have left comments or have been in touch over the last few days.

RIP Takashi Myochin

Sadly Yuki's dad died early this morning after a long illness. Although we were prepared for this to happen, the confirmation of the inevitable is still a big shock to us all. The dynamics of our life in Japan will never be the same again. Although we are all heartbroken, we have a lot of happy memories. He was a man of many qualities and will be sorely missed by us all. Only 64.

The next few days will no doubt be filled by people visiting to pay their respects and also the wake and cremation service. I will take next week off work. The cherry blossoms are starting to come out in Japan - quite appropriate as the Japanese view the temporal nature of sakura as a metaphor for life itself. Thank you, Takashi.

Fishing - Okutama / The Tamagawa River

As I was working over Golden Week whilst every other person in the country was on holiday, Yuki and her family (plus friend Megumi) decided to have a day out fishing over the weekend, on Saturday 2nd May. We went to Okutama, about 90 minutes drive from our home in Tokyo. The countryside was surprisingly nice and reminded me of a cycle that I once done to a place called Kaneyama. I was expecting there to be hundreds of other people there due to our proximity to Tokyo, but it was not as busy as I had feared and it was generally a relaxing experience.

The only disappointment was that it was fishing Japan style. I was expecting the traditional battle of man against nature. The hunter against wily fish who knew the best places to hide and were discerning with the bait they went for. Not to be - every hour or so, a couple of blokes would come along with buckets of tiddlers and empty them into the river. I suspect that Japanese rivers have no actual marine life whatsover. Little wonder due to the damming of every single river in Japan (bar one in Shikoku) and the fondness for bulldozing river beds and covering them in concrete. Grrrrrrr!!!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, if you are interested in scenery, flora and fauna, there are plenty of other countries you should visit before Japan. Sorry Japan, that is the way I and many other foreign residents feel.

Despite confirmation that the only marine life in the river originated from plastic buckets, we did actually have a nice time. We had lots of food and drink, and relaxed in the warm sunshine beside the burbling Tamagawa River. Very civilised! The pleasant day was further extended when we stopped off at a popular noodle restaurant for some curry noodles and another glass of beer.A lovely day out, but a cloud was hanging over my head as I knew that while I would be working the following week, every other Tom, Dick, and Harry would be on holiday.

Summer Trip to Nasu - Part 2

As mentioned briefly in the previous post, we recently went to Nasu to escape the oppressive Tokyo heat and and enjoy a bit of respite in the countryside.

We hired a house for one night and took plenty of food and alcohol with us for the BBQ. I really appreciated the chance to get out of Tokyo for a short time and enjoyed the peace of the countryside. We ate and drank until quite late and then spent about half an hour lighting fireworks. After a couple of hard weeks at work, I could feel all the stress ebbing away.

The following day (Sunday), we were in no rush to return to Tokyo. At about 10am, we all hopped in the car and drove to a high mountain which was mentioned in the previous posting. Despite us being on a trip to the countryside, it took a long time to find somewhere to park as there were hundreds of other cars. In a valiant effort to completely destroy any remaining tranquility, the car park attendants needlessly shouted out instructions from their handheld loudspeakers. The noise pollution in Japan is one of my biggest bugbears. We got on the cable car and travelled a good way up the mountain before joining the hoards at the top taking photos and eating slush puppies. We all seemed to enjoy the small hike higher up the mountain and I felt a few pangs of regret for leaving the beauty of the countryside for life in the city. A short trip but some more happy memories to look back on.

Happy New Year - 2008

New Year passed relatively well and we continued to eat, drink, and be merry. I 'saw the bells in' in our apartment in Tokyo and then headed to my local bar (Bo Jangles) to continue the celebrations. The craic was good and all the customers were in party mood. I was left alone in the bar at around 2am when all the customers headed to the local shrine to pay their respects. I turned down their invitation to join them and relaxed in the empty bar drinking my beer. I staggered home at about 3.30am and tried to mentally prepare myself to be woken up at 9.30am so we could all join Yuki's parents for a special New Years brunch.

Everyone filed to the family shrine (in a spare room) to light incense and pay their respects to the family ancestors. I thought that it was a nice way to include those who have passed away in our thoughts during this special occasion. I suppose religion does have its benefits after all.... The photo is an example of a typical family shrine, although perhaps on the large side.

Once we all returned downstairs, we all sat at the large kotatsu table and had a short toast in Japanese and English. The Japanese family members all tucked into an expensive array of assorted seafood whilst I experienced the delight of a good old ham salad. I have never liked seafood so I was quite happy with what I was given. Sometimes I feel a bit of a liability at family dinner times as an extra dish usually needs to be prepared for myself. I have come to the conclusion that I will never come to like seafood - a big shame in Japan.

The early afternoon on New Years Day passed quietly and then I met up with an old Japanese friend to continue the celebrations. We headed to Yasaka Shrine, near my apartment, and I was able to watch the natives perform their rituals. We queued for about 30 minutes and then made a small cash donation, rang the temple bell, and clapped our hands twice to ostensibly pray. I was wondering whether the people who made the effort to visit the shrine actually had some religious beliefs or were there because it is 'the thing to do' at New Year.

Outside the shrine, there was a small bonfire that seemed to be burning the old fittings from 2007. I guess it's a kind of 'out with the old and in with the new' scenario. If anyone can enlighten me further, it would be appreciated.

Once we left the shrine, we found the only bar that was open and continued to enjoy ourselves.

So now it is 2008 and the year promises to hold many challenges. Hopefully I'll be able to regain some blogging momentum and produce a few more stories from my time in Japan. Happy 2008!!

The Nagasaki Wedding

The main reason for our trip to Nagasaki was the marriage of Kentaro (Yuki's brother) to Mika. The wedding took place at the Luke Plaza Hotel. The views from the hotel were lovely. We could see our hotel on the other side of Nagasaki Bay and all the comings and goings of various ships and boats. The weather was also pretty good. I was worried that the temperatures would be too high but it was a pleasant 23C.

The Luke Plaza Hotel must specialise in weddings as we counted about 5 other brides during the course of the day. I decided to keep myself to myself as I did not want to introduce myself to the wrong family.

We all sat around for a while and then headed into a side room where a group photo of the two families was taken. During that time, the families of the bride and groom formally introduced themselves to each other. After that, we were soon directed into the chapel which stood behind the hotel. The chapel looked very nice and had recently been renovated. There was a good selection of kimonos on display and Clara was very proud to wear her dress, along with a necklace and earrings. Joep and I both decided to fly the flag for Scotland and wear the kilt.After the ceremony and photos, we were directed inside for the wedding reception. Everything was done very professionally and seemed quite expensive. As is the case with all Japanese weddings, it was a mix of madcap and emotion. Kenken's friends from university bellowed out good wishes to the happy couple whilst performing an odd looking dancing ritual. On the other end of the scale, the bride and groom thanked their parents for all their care and support over the years. Clara was a little star and behaved very well. I was interested to see her thinking about the events and she became quite tearful at times during the day. I guess she is growing up fast as she was able to fully appreciate the significance of the days events.

My parents seemed to enjoy themselves, even if they were slightly bemused by some of the days events. The wedding finished at around 3pm, so we took the hotel bus back to the New Nagasaki Hotel to unwind. For me, the biggest difference between a Japanese and a Scottish wedding is that in Scotland, the partying lasts until around midnight. In Japan, it always makes me feel a little odd to leave at 3pm in the afternoon, sober and in daylight.

Nagasaki Arrival

Hello to all. I'm really sorry about the delay in writing up the details of our trip to the island of Kyushu, southern Japan. I've been quite busy recently and have not had much spare time.

Anyway, we flew down to Nagasaki on Friday the 12th of October. We were all in good form as we had many things to look forward to during our time on Kyushu. I was especially happy as I would be off work for a total of 4 days.

Once, we arrived at Nagasaki Airport, a bus was waiting to transport us all to the Hotel New Nagasaki. As this is Japan, all the travel details ran like clockwork - no problems and no fuss. The hotel was supposed to be of a high standard and was supposed to be the best in Nagasaki. However, it seemed to me that the hotel was living on its former reputation. Perhaps it was a good hotel in its heyday, but it seemed tired and in need of investment. Don't get me wrong, it was fine, but a bit of a disappointment after listening to all the hype beforehand.

We checked in and I was immediately given cause to grumble. We were all looking forward to a swim in the hotel pool but were upset to discover that: (a) swimming would cost an extra ¥3,000 per person. (b) Children are not allowed in the pool at any time. Not exactly family friendly!! Poor Clara was very disappointed and I can't blame her.

Once we found our room, we got organised and relaxed for a while before we went for a Chinese meal on the 14th floor. The Chinese restaurant (called Torin) is "the best Chinese restaurant in Nagasaki".

The room was fine, but as I said before, it was tired looking. The fixtures and fittings were well worn and the wallpaper was slightly discoloured and beginning to become unstuck from the wall. We were happy enough, but I was starting to wonder what the worst hotel in Nagasaki was like. However, I was content with the view from our room on the 11th floor and pleased with our proximity to the famed Mitsubishi Shipyard.

At around 6pm, we made our way to Torin for our Chinese food. I guess the food was ok, but not what you would expect from the best Chinese restaurant in Nagasaki. There was a good deal of seafood (which I hate) and more disappointingly, no sign of beef with black bean sauce, a long term favourite of mine. Despite, my silent grumbling and griping, I refused to be bullied into a bad mood and enjoyed the building excitement for the days to come. By the time the meal was over, I had the wind in my sails and was unwilling to call it a night. I had read in a hotel brochure about the Moonlight Bar. The naming of the bar conjured up images of lofty views over Nagasaki, with city lights blinking invitingly at me from a distance. When I searched for the bar, I was puzzled to discover that it was not on the top floor, but on the second floor. Despite being a little disappointed at the realisation that I would not after all be lording it over the population of Nagasaki, I was still looking forward to viewing the comings and goings of people on the streets outside. Amazingly, the Moonlight Bar had no chance of ever seeing moonlight as it was a room without any windows!! I was led to a small child size seat and waited for my parents to arrive.

We all ordered a small beer (300ml) and were given a bowl of nuts to nibble on. Mum, Joep, and I discussed the days events and talked excitedly about the wedding the following day. After 30 minutes or so, my parents asked for the bill. ¥4,300 (about GBP21)! Any thoughts of staying for another beer evaporated quicker than the money in Joep's wallet.The folks returned to their room while I ventured out onto the streets of Nagasaki, determined to find a place that sold beer at a reasonable price. I initially went to a restaurant across the street but soon grew tired of watching the fish swim around in their tank. I asked a few people where I could find a bar, and none of them knew. Nagasaki is a pretty small city and I decided that the people I asked were either extremely ignorant, or were not long term residents of the city.

After wandering around and watching the trams pass, I hailed a taxi which took me on a 5 minute journey to the Nagasaki nightlife area called Shianbashi. I went to a pool bar which was large, but virtually empty. Two customers were playing 9 ball and I watched their progress (or lack of) as I supped my bottle of Kirin. After a short while, they kindly asked me if I wanted to play them. No quarter was given and I wiped the floor with them. They left after the bar after a 40 minute whitewash. The old magic is still there.

After chatting to a few other customers and bar staff, I came to the conclusion that I probably knew more about Nagasaki than they did. Eager not to feel a hangover on the wedding day, I walked back to the hotel at about midnight, looking forward to the wedding the following day.