Autumn...

According to the weather report last night on NHK the weekend marked the start of winter under the old traditional calendar.
Certainly its getting cooler at night and first thing in the morning.Theres a refreshing bite in the air.














Many of the local trees,at least those that have escaped the attention of the local council workers,are shedding their leaves or displaying their autumnal colours.
I bicycled past this old building yesterday.Its harsh dirty exterior is softened to some extent by the creeping red ivy which seems to have gained a foothold.















On the opposite side of the canal to the buildings is what appears to be an old abandoned wooden shrine complete with altar.The doors are locked with a chain and heavy rust encrusted lock.The whole building is ringed with sharp razor wire to deter attempts to climb the walls.
As there is a lot building demolition and redevelopment in the vicinity I well imagine that the structures days are numbered.

Friday Flash...Matcha Latte and a Bento to Go

I recently saw this new Starbucks flavour available in many supermarkets and convenience stores.I found the green matcha latte quite thick and smooth.I was also surprised how sweet it was compared to other green tea products such as ice cream I have tried.














This fairly ordinary bento contains some autumn fare such as sweet potato and mushrooms.Nothing spectacular but typical of the seasonal bentos or lunchboxes that are currently on sale.

Strange Currencies...

Global financial crisis.Credit Crunch.The Japanese yen has been on a roller coaster ride over the last few weeks.Falling and surging against other major currencies including the euro,the U.S dollar,pound,and the Australian and New Zealand dollars.
Back in August the NZ dollar was trading at 80cents to 100yen.Late last week it fell briefly to 49 odd cents.Quite a difference if you are sending some money home.Quite a difference relatively speaking to your income earnings.
Its difficult to know when is the best time to send it home.Wait a bit and hope it falls further or send it back right away and hope it doesnt drop further.Hoping either way you arent left out of pocket.Laughing all the way to the bank.Unlikely.

Its the same delicate balancing act when it comes to deciding to convert yen into currencies for vacations.Late last month the euro was changing hands at 136yen while early last week it fell to 122yen.With such volatility its pretty much a matter of guessing and hoping it doesnt gain or loss too much once you have decided to sell and buy.

Friday Flash..Chocolate and Beer

The latest KitKat product Ive sampled is a tie-in with McDonalds.The KitKat Caramel Macchiato bars have an attractive marbled appearance and are very sweet.The caramel flavour envelops you as soon as you tear open the wrappers.I cant see myself eating these regularly as I found the sweetness too overpowering and prefer something a little more subtle.

Asahi's new Ginger Beer caught my eye recently after seeing it advertised on subway carriages.The alcoholic ginger beer has a smooth ginger aftertaste with an emphasis on the alcohol rather than being merely fizzy lolly water.I wouldnt drink it regularly but it has a certain novelty value.

The Perry and Harris Exhibition

The Perry and Harris Exhibition..The Dawn of U.S-Japan Relations..

The current exhibition at the Nagoya Boston Museum of Fine Arts looks at the start of the U.S and Japanese relationship and the US-Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce signed in 1858.
The exhibition concentrates on Commodore Matthew Perry who was responsible for the initial negotiations and Townsend Harris the first US Consul General in Japan.
On display are various books,reports,drawings and gifts associated with the meetings and negotiations between the United States officials and the Japanese bakufu or shogunate rulers.
While there appears an overabundance of books,scrolls and other printed matter particularly on the second floor of the display,there are enough flags,hats,swords and examples of lacquerware and porcelain to keep ones interest from wandering.
I was pleased that there are lots of English language captions explaining the history and process that led to the Treaty of Amity and Commerce being signed.I was also grateful for the absence of tinkling piano background music.
The exhibition runs until December 21st.Admission is 1,200yen per adult.The Nagoya Boston Museum is near the south exit of JR Kanayama Station in Nagoya.

Friday Flash..

This poster pasted on a nearby telephone pole caught my attention this week.
Its for an upcoming concert.Of that Im fairly certain.However more intriguing is whether the event is called Tokai Bullshit or this is the name of the band?
Whatever the case,using "bullshit" to promote something hardly suggests its going to be any good does it?

Nagoya City Art Museum October 2008 Exhibit

The latest exhibition opened last Saturday at the Nagoya City Art Museum located in Shirakawa Park near Fushimi.It runs until December 14th.
The exhibition consists of 64 paintings and collages from 23 artists from the first half of the 20th century.The items come from the K20 collection of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen in Dusseldorf,Germany.
The bulk of the art on display are works from Picasso and Klee though other painters who also feature include Chagall,Magritte and Miro.
Apart from the opening statement at the entrance there are no English language captions.
There are a number of "isms" on display in this exhibition including "expressionism", "cubism","surrealism"and one I'd never heard of"fauvism".
Consulting my dog-eared copy of "Art for Dummies" "fauvism"is described as paintings ...."in which the landscape and human figures had become a riot of conflicting colors -flesh tones and purple combinations"pg169.
"These works were derided by critics as "Fauvism" a French word for "wild beasts"p165 Matisse is one artist who used such garish and dissonant colours but his painting in this collection,"The Gulf of Saint Tropez"didnt strike me as being particularly garish.Maybe it was in 1904 but the passing of time makes it seem quite conventional now.
There are some nice bright Picasso cubist paintings with the usual jumbled figures I associate with his work."Art for Dummies" defines Cubism thus"Cubism is essentially the fragmenting of three-dimensional forms into flat areas of pattern and colour, overlapping and intertwining so that shapes and parts of the human anatomy are seen from the front and the back at the same time.The style was created by Picasso in tandem with his great friend Georges Braque".pg165
There is a Braque still life included in the exhibition and its interesting to compare it with a similar work by Picasso.You'd swear the two pieces were by the same artist.

Other than Picasso,Paul Klee contributes the majority of works on display.Theres a good selection of his work here from 1909 to 1940 and materials he used including pen and Indian ink,watercolours and pastels.Some of his works with its dots,crescents and geometric shapes seemed to hark back to early Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Finally I shouldnt forget to note the earlier surrealist paintings of Magritte which just had me scratching my head.Nor the annoying tinkling piano music that accompanies a video of the German gallery.

Id recommend this exhibition if only for the fact there is an absence of Impressionist painters and paintings which seem to be the bread and butter of galleries here.
To my simple mind its beneficial to see and appreciate other forms of art that are less accessible and more challenging from time to time.
The exhibition as Ive typed above runs till December 14th and costs 1,300yen per adult at the door.

Friday Flash..Autumn Desserts

A couple of seasonal desserts.The first one is obviously aimed at the Halloween crowd.The small orange pumpkin container is filled with an appropriately coloured custard and bulked up with small fragments of shortbread.



















This second dessert is more traditional fare.A thin biscuit base supports a small jelly like cake topped with various berries.

Nagoya Autumn Festival

The Nagoya Festival held last weekend October 11th and 12th is the largest autumn festival in the area.
The biggest attraction is a parade led by the big three local heroes Nobunga Oda,Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Ieyasu Tokugawa along with their courtiers all dressed in period clothing.Various floats,marching teams and other groups also take part in the parades which take place round Sakae and central Nagoya.























In my neighbourhood of Osu Kannon there are also various events and performers who appear over the two days.Jugglers,comic duos,dancers and musical groups are scheduled to perform throughout the day and into the early evening.























One of the more crowd pleasing,eye catching attractions was a group of gold painted dancers.Covered from head to toe in shiny gold paint and wearing skimpy bikinis,both the male and female members of the group were mobbed by people trying to get a photo of them.It was the first time I'd tried using my new camera at night so the results arent that good.The light reflecting off the dancers bodies plus their continual movement and the hordes surrounding them meant it was a challenge to get a good shot.























After the dancers had finished performing on the steps of the Osu Kannon Temple they descended into the crowds below armed with donation boxes.Even then it was difficult to get a reasonably clear view and get close enough to allow for a photograph.

Its Been One Year or Thereabouts....

Its been one year or thereabouts since Nova Corporation,then one of the biggest language schools with branches throughout Japan,bit the dust.
Old vacant shuttered premises,faded rabbit flags and twisted rusted metal signs still bear testimony to its demise.
How long its mutant bastard child GCom-Nova remains in the game is anyones guess.

Friday Flash..Some Random Photos

One of the signs that autumn is here in Nagoya is the appearance of cosmos flowers.






















Another edition to the KitKat range spotted earlier in the week.Bite sized down sized KitKats.

















Another shot of cosmos flowers.You can see them blooming in garden plots and vacant lots.

Some Green Polar Bears and Long Necked Geese,Some Humpty Backed Camels and

A small article in The Japan Times newspaper September 24 page 3 caught my attention.
Apparently visitors to Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens here in Nagoya are "shocked by the colour" of the polar bears.The polar bears are no longer white after swimming in a pond this summer with an overgrowth of algae.The bears are expected to return to their natural colour when the algae growth subsides in November according to a zoo offical quoted in the article.
Curiosity aroused I went along to the Zoo yesterday morning.
I must state from the outset Im not a great fan of zoos and this one in particular I find depressing.I can block out the howls of some distressed feline creatures or the cringing,cowering birds that sit in the shadows of their cells.But its hard to ignore the general down at heel air that pervades the whole area.Closed,under repair toilet blocks,missing tiles,faded,chipped paint.
Once at the polar bear enclosure I notice that staff have put up a folder of photos and an explanation as to why the bears are green.Certainly the green tinge is less evident today than earlier in the year if the photos are anything to go by.And the animals themselves dont seem to be suffering because of the algae.

















However I cant understand why this issue came about in the first place.How did the situation arise that the algae grew.Wasnt the pool being scrubbed or even drained on a regular basis?And why once the algae bloom started wasnt something done?What measures were taken to stop the algae growth?Is there a water filtering system in operation?Are procedures in place to ensure that the water quality doesnt cause other health problems?
You have to bear in mind that adult admission is only 500yen.Compare this to the 2000yen admission charge for the Port of Nagoya Aquarium.I would quite happily pay double the current zoo entry fee if it meant that the bare essentials could be provided and the place given a much needed facelift such as a lick of paint and larger extended cages.

Buying Bentos

It seems to be getting harder and harder these days to find a reasonable bento or lunch box around the 500yen mark.Instead of increasing the price,some shops opt not to fill one of the sections or partitions in the boxes.Or they choose to use cheaper ingredients and provide less in each section.Either way I find it discouraging to buy a half empty box or one that wasnt as generously filled as before.
My only choice then is to spend a little extra in the hope I can be satisfied.The lunchbox above was in the 600-700 yen price range.
In the top middle section one can find a few shrimps while directly below are some spicy chicken pieces.To the right of these chicken nibbles are two small Chinese like dumplings filled with minced beef and vegetables.Two small offerings of rice help to bulk out the box.
What it lacked in quantity it made up for in variety and to my mind was reasonable value for money.

Halloween Cookies

A big shout out and thanks to Halli for sending me these homemade Halloween cookies.Im pleased to say that they survived the attentions of the Japanese Customs officers who zealously unpacked and inspected the box.I dont know what they must have thought was inside the half metre or so of bubble wrap and oven foil.Cheers again and dont forget to check her website www.kawaiinyc.blogspot.com

Friday Flash..A Few More Dream Car Show Shots

A few final shots from the Dream Car Show 2008 held at Port Messe Nagoya last weekend.
The first one shows a couple of "kangaru" or campaign girls posing beside a motorcycle.
















Not my dream car but given the driving habits of drivers in Nagoya it seems a good choice of vehicle.Im just not sure where I could park it. This armoured vehicle along with two or three others was part of the Self Defence Force display at the show.















This bright shiny racing car was displayed by a custom paint company.Many specialised companies had their products on display including car stereo,car television and audio firms.Body trim and paint companies as well as hubs,tyres and wheels were on show.















Another kangaru posing with her sponsors product in hand.













This last shot shows a car with its gleaming paintwork including a bikini clad model featuring prominently on both sides of the car.On the hood or bonnet of the car the said model is sprawled suggestively and seems to have problems keeping her top on.
The vehicle drew many admiring glances.Im sure would be a distraction to other drivers if driven on the streets.

Dream Car Show 2008

The Dream Car Show 2008 was held at Port Messe Nagoya over the last weekend.
Companies involved in the automotive industry such as audio and body kit firms had stands and vehicles on display showcasing their products.
A couple of luxury car clubs had their members cars on show.
There was even an area where you could see some Self Defence Vehicles on show.
I didnt have the courage to confront the friendly soldier near one vehicle and tell him they had incorrectly spelt a word on their display.Vehicul.
Rather oddly,there was also a wrestling ring complete with Japanese WWF style wrestlers in one of the exhibition halls.Team Makehen wrestlers,both male and female performed a number of bouts on both days.
















Apart from the cars,vans,4x4s,motorcycles and racing cars,the other attraction at such shows that seem to pull in a particular section of the crowd are the models who languidly sprawl and pose over the vehicles.
There was a dearth of such models on Saturday which made those who were there even more in demand from their camera and video touting male admirers.
As soon as one appeared it was like a feeding frenzy.Imagine a school of piranha armed to the teeth with the latest and largest photographic equipment purchased by man.
A great seething,jostling mass of elbows and flashes as each competed to get their snap.Its not often one sees such impoliteness and lack of consideration on public display as they vie to get a good photo.














As well as the standard luxury cars that had been pimped up with expensive stereos and glass like polished exteriors there were a couple of hot rods that caught my eye.I was impressed with the size of the engine block on this one.Basically its a rocket on wheels.














Several thoughts crossed my mind as I took this shot.Firstly,do any of the people taking the photos even remotely care or have any interest in the car?Secondly a bit Freudian but can you gauge the interest the photographer has in his subject by looking at the size of his equipment?
It seemed the younger guys taking the photos were using cellphones or entry level SLRs.On the other hand,the older(and to my mind slightly creepy) enthusiasts were brandishing top end Nikon and Canon gear with huge telephoto lenses.
Then again,why would you want to video such a thing as a couple of punters were doing.Its not as though theres much in the way of action or movement taking place.















The final shot shows a customised Bentley Contintental GT with its custom grille and front bumper.It was also sporting side skirts,rear fenders and exhaust tips.

Friday Flash..New Haagen Daz Ice Cream Flavours

Two more new Haagen Dazs flavours that hit the shelves this week in Nagoya.I spotted them in various supermarkets and convenience stores throughout the city.
The first is Cafe Mocha,obviously a coffee flavoured icecream.Its fairly light with dashes of chocolate sauce liberally mixed in to boost the amount of caffeine.
The second is English Milk Tea and like the Cafe Mocha tastes exactly as described.
A thick milky creamy sweet tasting ice cream.It reminded me of the canned Royal Milk tea available here in virtually every corner vending machine.
Both these flavours have a certain novelty value but personally I cant see myself going out of my way to buy them again given the other flavours available.

Toothless in Nagoya

There was a loud rendering crunch.I started eating lead.Blood.The apple flavoured stick of KissMint I was masticating had prised off one of my fillings.I spat the dull gray metal onto my desk.
Borrowing my co-workers pink Hello Kitty makeup mirror I gingerly inspected the damage.A small cavity.No.More like an abyss or a chasm.Not good.
What to do.Saturday.I could trek out to one of the three places in Nagoya that offered dental services over the weekend.Or bide my time and wait two days and find a local dentist.
As the pain was bearable due to the numbing effects of alcohol I decided to delay my visit to the dentist a little longer.I mean..not having been to a dentist for five years what harm could another two days do.
Luckily a friend gave me the name of an English speaking dentist so with some apprehension I went along this Monday morning.
For those familiar with Nagoya,Kimura Dental Clinic is almost opposite the entrance to the FreeBell Building.Freebell seems to house an inordinate number of foreigners which is probably due to its central location near Nagoya Station.
Theres a large pink neon sign with the words Kimura Dental Clinic,overhanging the footpath,which is hard to miss.Unless you happen to be standing directly underneath it.Cursing my inability to read a map or speak Japanese well,I bounded up the stairs.
I explained my problem to the receptionist,"koko ga itai desu"(it hurts here) while pointing to my mouth.And also explained I didnt have an appointment but that didnt seem to be a problem.

Although it was only slightly after 9:30am the place was buzzing.There were four chairs for patients.All occupied with people in various stages of discomfort.The dentists modus operandi seemed to be one of darting between the chairs doing a bit of drilling and filling and moving to the next chair.
I had no trouble understanding him.Even behind his clear protective plastic face mask he had much better language skills than my feeble Japanese.He explained the treatment and the cost of restoring the filling.Both were reasonable.I left three quarters of an hour later much relieved.

Bento
The lunch box below has two helpings of rice.The one on the left has some small nuts and wheat like grain mixed through it.The rice on the right is the more usual white rice.
The lower two sections contain a selection of meat and salads.The right hand side includes a salad containing pumpkin and grilled pieces of lotus and other vegetables.

Friday Flash..Autumn Tea

You can always tell which season of the year it is by looking at the products on sale at convenience stores,supermarkets and the like.Gradually over the last few days the local convenience store has been filling its shelves and coolers with autumnal fare and drinks.Typical of the products available are these bottles of tea adorned in the orange reds and browns of fall.

Sumo...Up in Smoke

The first day of the Autumn Sumo Tournament began yesterday set against a drug scandal that has been capturing headlines and television coverage over the last month.
The drama began following the arrest of a Russian wrestler Wakanoho after police claimed a small amount of marijuana was found in his wallet.After an emergency meeting on August 21 the Japan Sumo Association dismissed him and handed down a lifetime ban.
He has the dubious honour of being the first active wrestler to be given his marching orders.
Wakanoho,whose real name is Soslan Aleksandrovich Gagloev,has subsequently filed a lawsuit to nullify his dismissal.
Following on from his arrest the JSA tested all 69 wrestlers in the top two divisions. Two other Russian wrestlers,Roho and Hakurozan,who are brothers,tested positive for the drug.A second test conducted by an internationally certified lab apparently found the presence of the drug.Both wrestlers have denied using the drug.
Like Wakanoho they were dismissed and are also considering filing lawsuits against the JSA.
The final act in the current saga came on Monday September 8th when the Japan Sumo Association Chairman Kitanoumi resigned over the current scandal.He is Hakurozan's stablemaster.A former yokozuna,Kitanoumi was replaced by Musashigawa as Chairman and gave a speech at the start of the first day of the basho outlining his plans to revitalise the sport.
As to the actual results of the first days bouts in Tokyo they pretty much went to form.Hakuho won over Asasekiryu while in the penultimate match newly promoted Baruto lost against Asashoryu.Hopefully if Asa can stay fit he can challenge Hakuho and make this tournament more competitive and exciting than the previous one in which he withdrew early through injury.

Friday Flash..Additions to KitKat and Haagen Dazs

Two new items I spied on the shelves this past week.
First up is the new KitKat flavour,Muscat of Alexandria.As the illustration on the box indicates these are grape flavoured KitKats.The photo shows a somewhat lighter green KitKat stick as I had put the box into my fridge prior to taking the photo.Straight out of the box,off the shelf,the KitKats are a more vivid green and also more sticky as the outside layer melts in the late summer heat heat.
Nonetheless straight off the shelf or out of the fridge these have quite a pleasant taste.














Another addition to the Haagen Dazs range is Maple Cookie.The ice cream has a maple flavour which greets you as you open the plastic lid.Mixed through the ice cream are small fragments of cookie dough.Very sweet and cloying.Im not sure I could get through more than one mini cup.Good if you are a sweettooth or need a sugar rush.

Printed Temptations..

Printed Temptations is the title of an exhibition currently running at the Nagoya City Art Museum.Odd title.Odd exhibition.
The blurb reads.."Published art isnt just limited to standard printing.Printed art can be found in a diverse range of medium-from photographs to postage stamps."
So its a pretty loose brief and thats my primary problem with the exhibition.

There appeared to be no focus.One expected to see printed material but other medium are also on show.Sure there are prints and photographs.There were even posters of previous exhibitions which seemed no more than an attempt to fill out the show. Nothing spectacular.Nothing even particularly tempting.Lots of nondescript black and white photos.Theres a series of photos taken of winding towers.Nothing a good amateur weekend camera buff couldnt take.
There were some swirling black and white prints with lots of bold strokes that wouldnt be out of place in a kindergarten fingerpainting class.

I didnt expect to see non printed medium on display.One wall is given over to two huge brown paper wrapped parcels.Each about the size of a futon.Hardly printed material.
Nor was it the first time they have been on display if you looked closely at the posters of previous shows.Several other non printed material items were also getting an airing.One looked like a coat lying on a full size single bed while another was a self portrait collage made out of material such as silk and other fabrics.

I just the feeling that it was a hotch potch of old permanent collection items that have been dusted off with no real thought given to the relationship between the items or even if they fell under the definition of printed material at all.

The exhibition runs until September 28th.Admission was 1,300yen for adults and the only temptation I felt was to ask for my money back.

Friday Flash..Irish Iron Merchandise 2008

Some of the new merchandise available from Irish Iron,the official supporters club of Scunthorpe United Football Club based in Ireland.Proceeds from sales of their merchandise and membership fees go to the club as players kit sponsorship.Check out the website for more details of their range of merchandise at www.irishiron.blogspot.com.
Above is a shot of the new Irish Iron supporters scarf complete with green shamrock.














An Irish Iron polo shirt.There are currently three Republic of Ireland players at Scunthorpe and one player from Northern Ireland hence the Irish connection with the club.






















An Irish Iron baseball cap in an attractive,fetching green complete with wide brim to protect the wearer from the elements.

Houjicha KitKats

Another addition to the KitKat confectionery range.The actual spelling of the main ingredient seems to vary.Ive seen it spelt as "houji","hoji" and "hoj" but Im sticking with "houji" having consulted several Japanese friends.
Whatever the proper spelling,houji is a kind of green tea.It differs from other green teas because it is roasted over charcoal.This apparently not only changes the leaf colour from green to brown but also produces a less astringent,milder light to reddish brown tea.
In fact the taste is so mild that I thought it was pretty average when I sampled one of the mini bars straight from the pack.It was difficult to distinguish it from other chocolate products.It was only after I put the pack into my refrigerator and ate one later that I could detect the houji taste coming through.A mild,nutty slightly caramel like flavour.Nothing world shattering,though I do recommend that they taste better chilled than straight out of the packet.

Nippon Domanaka Festival

Billed as Japans largest dance festival with over 200 teams and some 23,000 dancers the Nippon Domannaka Festival was held over last weekend.With Saturdays torrential rain I saw many dancers who looked like drowned rats in their soaking wet costumes.Fortunately the weather cleared on Sunday.It was impossible to go anywhere in central Nagoya without seeing a group of colourful performers going to and from one of the many venues dotted around the city.





















Many groups also had their own unique transport and support vehicles including this unusually decorated vehicle that not only caught my eye but also that of many other passers-by.

Two More Delicious Treats

Two more treats from the local bakery/patisserie.
The first is a a thick sponge with a creamy lemon flavoured interior.It had quite a sharp zesty,refreshing taste despite its somewhat bland appearance.Topped with a couple of raspberries and a sliver of white chocolate.























The second photo shows a circular blueberry sponge topped with a sweet glaze and two blueberries.On cutting into the interior of the thick brown sponge one is greeted with a bluish,purple interior of blueberies.The small round sponge sits atop a chewy caramel biscuit