Today (Dec 21st, 2008) is the winter solstice. That is, the length of the day is the shortest, and the length of the night the longest in the whole year.
In Japan it is traditional to have a yuzu bath. I love to eat yuzu in various ways, so I rarely have any left over to drop into the bath, but tonight I had an extra one :)
It is really interesting to read about many solstice celebrations and traditions from around the world, both past and present.
But the best thing is that from tomorrow, the days will be longer. That's important because last week it was REALLY hard to wake up on freezing and dark mornings ....
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Ishigaki Island
Have you ever fallen in love at first sight? Well, at the end of October I instantly fell in love with Ishigaki Island. (Map) "ishi" means rock, and "gaki" means wall, so the island gets its name from the typical protective walls that surround the traditional houses. The islands don't seem to get many earthquakes (so the walls don't fall down) but there are quite a few big typhoons each season, so I suppose the walls help protect the buildings from the wind. 
We hadn't been on a vacation in MANY years, and when I had the chance of a five day vacation from work, I decided that a tropical place would be nice to visit, because I had never been to anywhere like that. I'm not so interested in popular destinations like Hawaii or Guam, Australia is too far, and the Maldives too far and much too expensive. So I decided to go to Japan's own tropical paradise. 
Ishigaki is part of the Yaeyama Island chain and is very close to Taiwan. I'm surprised how many people I have spoken to that say they have never been. I'm amazed how easy (and cheap) it is to go to Hawaii, but how people forget the beauty in their own backyard :) We stayed for 4 nights, 5 days and it was so wonderful I really didn't want to come back.
There was still a chance of a late typhoon as it was the very end of October, but the weather was hot (about 30 C) and sunny. The sea temperature was still 26 - 27 C, so I could snorkel for the first time in my life. The island is great for beginners as nice reefs can be found right near the beach. There were so many fabulous things about Ishigaki, and it is difficult to do justice to it in words. Please enjoy my photos, and some day, be sure to go for yourself!
Mount Tsukuba
Tsukuba City is very unusual because it is a mixture of the very old and the very new.
The old is the original villages that merged to become a city more than 20 years ago. The new was the creation of the "science city" that made such a merger necessary. Now there is a very high concentration of research centers, international companies, and of course, Tsukuba University.
Even in the past 7 years that I have been here, the city is changing again. There are 3 shopping malls, the latest being IIAS (strange name!) that is the largest mall in the Kita-kanto area. And many new residential areas creating a property boom.
The stimulus for much change has been the Tsukuba Express Line that opened two and a half years ago. The line is so profitable that the company has applied for an extention of the tracks from Akihabara through to Tokyo Station.
But despite all these old and new things, the most defining feature of Tsukuba is its mountain. Mt. Tsukuba is not so high, 877 meters, but is very beautiful with an unusual shape. My favorite view is from due south, but many people like different views. And I think winter is best because the sky is so clear.
One of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen was last Sunday - very cold rain had been falling in the city all day, and the cloud finally lifted just after 4pm. Tsukuba-san, which had been hiding all day, was suddenly revealed in the glorious orange sunset. Capped with snow!
Mount Fuji is certainly a "must see" mountain of the world, but last Sunday, Mount Tsukuba was in a class of its own!
A big "thank you" to K-san who kindly sent me this photo. (I didn't have my camera when I went out last Sunday afternoon.)
The old is the original villages that merged to become a city more than 20 years ago. The new was the creation of the "science city" that made such a merger necessary. Now there is a very high concentration of research centers, international companies, and of course, Tsukuba University.
Even in the past 7 years that I have been here, the city is changing again. There are 3 shopping malls, the latest being IIAS (strange name!) that is the largest mall in the Kita-kanto area. And many new residential areas creating a property boom.
The stimulus for much change has been the Tsukuba Express Line that opened two and a half years ago. The line is so profitable that the company has applied for an extention of the tracks from Akihabara through to Tokyo Station.
But despite all these old and new things, the most defining feature of Tsukuba is its mountain. Mt. Tsukuba is not so high, 877 meters, but is very beautiful with an unusual shape. My favorite view is from due south, but many people like different views. And I think winter is best because the sky is so clear.
One of the most beautiful scenes I have ever seen was last Sunday - very cold rain had been falling in the city all day, and the cloud finally lifted just after 4pm. Tsukuba-san, which had been hiding all day, was suddenly revealed in the glorious orange sunset. Capped with snow!
Mount Fuji is certainly a "must see" mountain of the world, but last Sunday, Mount Tsukuba was in a class of its own!
A big "thank you" to K-san who kindly sent me this photo. (I didn't have my camera when I went out last Sunday afternoon.)
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