What's New in January and February, 1999
"Hatsuhinode(first sunrise in the year)" at San Francisco
The family spent a new year holidays in California. In the early morning of the 1st day of January, they went to Twin Peaks in San Francisco to see and pray to "The first sunrise of the year". They assumed there had been no such a custom in this area, but they surprised actually there were many people gathered even before the dawn. Finally, after the sun rised, they noticed and understood that almost all peoples were Asian including Japanese.
Japan Town & China Village(?)
The family went to Japan Town in San Francisco. "Go-juu-no-tou"(5-history tower) shown in the left photograph is a mark. In the right photograph, it is written that " Japanese town " inside a red round circle on a tower. There are "Ki-no-kuni-ya" Book Store, which is the largest store, store that sells Japanese CD, store that sells incense and "Kimono"(Japanese clothes), and Japanese restaurants. This is the place for Japanese when he/she is long for Japan.
Junko heard that there is a delicious "Yamucha"(Chinese Lunch Menu) restaurant in Cupertino, so that family visited there. The restaurant was located in the shopping mall named Cupertino Village, the village was the very "Chinese Village". As it is shown in the left photo, the restaurant was so crawded that even outside of the restaurant people was awaited. They could be seated after 1 hour waiting, but the taste was delicious and the family was satisfied. "Yamucha" here, like Japanese rotating sushi bar, waitress walk around every table with cooking wagon, a guest take a look and pick up if he/she want. By the way here in bay area, rotating sushi bar is different from that in Japan. In Japan shushi is served by a belt conveyer, but in this area sushi is served by the boat on the water rotating around the table. Further more in the store the family stopped by as far as being awaited, they sold Chinese version of Japanese cartoon, video and television game. As they sold " Final Fantasy 8 " (That was Japanese version) which was momentarily sold out in Japan and a equipment to make American version PlayStation possible to play such Japanese version SoftWare. Haruka bought " Final Fantasy 8 ", Takeshi bought the equipment in order to play American game software on Japanese version PlayStation(such a reversal way to use is also possible for the equipment). It made the lunch expensive to the father. Further more, at the supermarket "99" in this Cupertino Village, fresh fish cheaply can be bought(to tell the truth, everything is cheap in this store).
California Academy of Sciences
Inside golden gate Park, there is California Academy od Sciences. It may be an aquarium to be the most enjoyable in the Academy. Especially the corner of amphibia and reptiles is rare object not to be elsewhere, though Junko didn't see. The crocodile in right photo also takes a large space. Across the street of this building, there is M.H.De Young Memorial Museum where interesting Chinese statues of Buddha are displayed. When the special exhibition of Hokusai Katsushika and Hiroshige Ando was held at the museum, the day Junko and Toru visited first was rainy with long line outside, so that they stopped to enter and were able to enter next day with the person of business trip from Japan on the way back they received him at San Francisco Airport. With super-full filled by visitors, it was understood that American people also have an interest against such Japanese traditional art.
It was an ashamed matter for Jpanese, Toru learned that a well-known "Tsuki-ni-Kari"(Wild goose in the moon) with a postage stamp was a work of Hiroshige for the first time with this exhibition.
Moving Sale
The dining table of left photo was got cheaply from a resident researcher of a Japanese Medicine Company when he return to Japan. In this area such a Moving Sale(Garage Sale) is commonly held and you can see the guidance for that place from the car. When you visit there, there are various things to be sold are displayed certainly with opening the garage. Also a person who would like to sell his car drives the car with the sticker "For Sale".
In Japanese society, through Internet and membership club magazine, such information can be got. There may be a sensibility for a furniture for Japanese and it seems to be saying that a negotiation can be done easily among Japanese. In Yamasaki family's case, they often utilized such a moving sale that accompanied with returning to Japan for Japanese resident when they needed to purchase things in use for the houses.
More examples. The right photo shows a part of the kitchen in the family's house. In the front, there is an island on which an electric stove is loaded. All cooking here is done by electricity, that is different from Japan. Though there is not anxiety of fire because of not using gas, as the pot is heated by sticking its bottom to the stove, the pot that they used in Japan can hardly be used. They purchased almost all pot from moving sale. And, a television/video stand can be seen in the photo, this set was also purchased from a moving sale. Japanese television can't receive a American frequency and doesn't correspond to closed caption( English subtitle ) which becomes a help for understanding American movie. Anyway, there is a Japanese channel in cable televisoion, which broadcasts a popular program of NHK and a commercial broadcasting with a time delay. There is English subtitle for a general drama by the way. Further more, a sofa can be seen in the left of the photo, which has a bed for a visitor use, this was also purchased from a moving sale.
By the way, some experiences about the kitchen are written. There is a disposer besides the sink, which breaks the garbage and wash away to sewer. However, sometimes sewer pipe is stuffed therefore. It happened in the family's house( it seems to have been especially bad that rice was in the garbage together ) and Toru mended, buying a tool of metal made called "Snake" that turns long and the head is screw like wine opner. It was put into the pipe from the mouth of sink with rotating the head, when the head reached at the portion stuffed, the head sticked into the portion stuffed and made a hole. The disposer has not been used since then. Another experience is like this. There is a tableware washing machine used with a special detergent. But, they were wrong to use a general detergent, so that a bubble generated, juts out from the machine and made the floor wet. As differing from Japan then, ants occur large in rainy season in winter here. As they came in from a gap of a wall, Toru closed all the gaps in the kitchen. It took whole day long. However after a while, they started to come in from the mouth of a central heating system. It couldn't be closed. So they were forced an honest effort to put the garbage in to a vinyl bag as soon as possible(The ants in this area eat not only sweet objects but common food).
Spring is coming
Though a squirrel comes well, taking their picture were so difficult because they move arround considerably quick in the backyard. In the intervals he is enjoyning the sun on the wall at the border of neighborhood, this picture was taken by a telescopic camera. Since a stripe pattern isn't on the body, with a gray hair, and said to have a disease germ, it is more correct to be called as a "rat" with a haired tail. But anyway it gives a pleasure to an eye with a pretty gesture. Also various kind of bird visit the backyard. Further more, as being rainy season in winter, a lawn is fresh and green. It is contrastive with Japan in winter.
Fame cherry blossoms of Washington, I didn't know that there are trees of cherry blossoms so much in the Silicon Valley also. This photo was taken near their house, in the last ten days of February, trees of the cherry blossoms that came into such full bloom are become aware of in many places. Flowers are as Japanese cherry blossom, the wooden trunk differs at all. By the way, it may be understood that a round sign stands at the right end of a road in the photo, that is a stop sign. Here, at the place of a stop sign there are 2 ways to be followed. For the case that there isn't a stop sign for the crossing road( 2 way stop ) we must wait a stream of a wheel become disconnected. The crossing road is wide for this case. For the case that there is a stop sign for the crossing road also ( 4 way stop ), the rule of "First in First out" is applied, that is the wheel departs in the order of entering the intersection. In Japan, it is complicated like left turn priority or left side priority in case of both right turns. It is simple here. However there is cases that it is difficult to judge which wheel entered intersection formerly. After all, spirit of a compromise may be important for both countries.