Quirky Japan: Children at Play Signs

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(photo – A sign at a nearby park cautions drivers that children are near)

This is another in my continuing series of “quirky Japan” which covers the little things about life in Japan that makes it distinct.

My brother and I used to joke about the “Slow Children at Play” (see below) that why are government authorities criticizing the speed of kids in a particular park. Did they take 40-yard dash times like in the NFL and deem them slow? I don’t think we consciously realized that they were meant as a warning for drivers to slow down because there is a high probability of children crossing streets or riding their bicycles in the vicinity. As a parent I am now very aware of the purpose of the signs.

 

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Japan takes these signs to a new level as you can see in the lead photo of this post. Mascots and cartoon figures are very popular here so it makes sense that they could be used instead of the traditional sign in the USA. I think it is much more effective that a street sign because it is so different. There are many different styles of these signs depending on the municipality or school. Below are warning signs at a pedestrian path in my neighborhood.

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The other aspect I want to feature is the ubiquitousness of vending machines. They are everywhere! There must be thousands of beverage vending machines in the Osaka metropolitan area. I will pay more attention to them and later do a more in depth blog post. I am curious about the economics behind them. How much money do they make? How often do they need to be re-stocked? Do they malfunction often?

My children cannot pass one with out asking me for change. They feature both hot and cold drinks and there seems to be a vast number of different drinks to choose from ranging from teas and coffees, to water, sports drinks, energy drinks, etc. The machine below is on a corner across from the park in our neighborhood. On the other side are rice paddies. They can’t have that many people patronizing the machine. Where does it get electricity from? So many questions…

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Brotherhood

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It was a delight to get spend some time with my brother again when he visited me earlier this month. We haven’t seen each other in person since my dad’s funeral in February of 2012.  We talk on  regular basis, but living far away from each other and my family not spending summers in  Michigan anymore, means that we don’t spend time together.

Growing up five years apart meant that I was always on the next stage of childhood or adolescence. When I was in high school, he was in elementary, when I went off to college, he was in high school, etc.  We have become closer in adulthood. It is special that I can maintain a close relationship with him and hope to continue to do so. Brothers have so many common memories and shared stories, that it got me reflecting a lot during his visit on my family. We had a nice childhood and my parents did a good job of raising us, including my other brother Jim.

It is also a chance to see my dad again, in a way. I am adopted and do not share any physical traits with my Kralovec family, but Andy is not adopted and has my Dad’s voice, eyes and some of his mannerisms. It made me sad that my father is gone and I wish he and my mom could see their grandchildren grow up and see us as middle aged men.

The old axiom is true that your brothers and sisters are the people in life you have the longest relationship with. They are there from the start, and even though we marry and have children of our own, there is a special bond between siblings that is always there because of growing up together.

Thanks Andy and Chantal for coming to visit us! The kids really enjoyed having you stay with us. You are welcome anytime!

Temples of Japan

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After our hike we drove across town just before closing time to walk the grounds of the Temple of the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto (photo above). This is another former villa of a rich shogun which upon his death, was turned into a Zen Buddhist temple. From the photos of the temple, it always looked like it is out in the countryside, but a busy street is in front of the grounds and property is in an urban zone. Arriving 5 minutes before the front gate to the complex closing was excellent timing for photos and lack of crowds. It is a thin coating of gold foil, not made of solid gold. The shoguns loved their ponds and gardens, which made for a stunning reflection in the setting sun.

Temples in Japan are similar to the monasteries in Serbia for me. They are usually located in bucolic settings, which is the attraction, as I don’t seek spiritual things. It is also an insight into the culture of a country and there is always a bit of history. They make for a good destination for a day out and a reason to get out of the house.

The biggest temple in Minoh is the Katsuo-ji  (in Japanese, “ji” means temple) which I’ve blogged about before. It is a nice hike we can do from our house and takes about 4 hours round trip. On my brother’s first day in Japan, we went up through the Minoh quasi national park forest to the temple. Despite the rain, it was a relaxing hike and as you can see from the photo above, the clouds made it even more mystical.

Temples also have attractions for kids. They love to feed the koi, or as I call them, colorful carp. There is also incense and candles to light and reflect on family members, both living and dead. Most have a gong or bell that can be rung and the kids can also get a fortune paper and tie it to the string. At katsuoji, you can also get the Japanese dolls, daruma. We have darumas representing our family under the biggest cedar tree on the property.

Daimon-Ji Mountain Hike

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Above is the view from one of the fire platforms that make up the giant kanji symbol dai (great). Every August 16, the platforms are stocked with wood and ignited during the yaki – burning festival. A giant dai can be seen all over Kyoto. During the rest of the year, it makes for an beautiful hike and with my brother here, I took advantage of a gorgeous autumn day and went with him and his wife up the mountain. As you can see, the views over the city were breathtaking.

Taking a break at one of the many viewpoints over the city of Kyoto.

Kyoto has thousands of temples, shrines and historic homes. It was the the  capital of Japan for 1000 years, and unlike most of Japan, it was not destroyed in World War II (thanks to US Secretary of War Henry Stimson) and most of the history is preserved.

The hike starts at Ginkaku-ji or the temple of the Silver Pavilion. It dates back  over 500 years. It was originally the retirement villa of a shogun (hereditary military dictator) and it now is a Zen Buddhist temple. The Zen gardens of rock, trees and streams are serene and it would make a nice retirement pad. The main worship hall is not with silver anymore, but it is relaxing to visit if there are not too many tourists.

The trail is well-marked and we followed the description in the Lonely Planet’s “Hiking in Japan” which I highly recommend. The blue skies and autumn colors made it a glorious day that we will not soon forget.  We didn’t do the entire trail that leads to the “philosopher’s path” but made our way back to the starting point after getting a bit past the burning site.

Farewell to Bangkok and Lumphini Park

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I am partial to big parks in urban areas. In all of the cities I have lived in or visited, I always make a point to spend some time in them. I guess being from a small town, I have a need for the green of nature, or at least, to get away from cement, steel and glass. My all time favorite is Kings Park in Perth, Australia. I used to run in there often, but that was before the internet, so no blog posts 😦 .

My final post from Bangkok is about Lumphini Park. We stayed in serviced apartments down the block from the park, so I went for a morning or evening run/walk four times. A prime attraction are the large monitor lizards (photo above). One was crossing the running trail and going into the lake and I saw another swimming in the lake. It was quite tame and easy to approach and photograph.

There is a 2.5 kilometer paved and marked path that circles the park. Both in the morning and evening, there were many people walking and running the path, although it didn’t feel crowded. The artificial lake offers some nice views of the central business district, much like in Central Park. Many older people were stretching or doing thai chi exercises. It was like a village inside a big city, dotted with shrines, outside restaurants and playgrounds. It is a great place to people watch.

View of the city from the Hangover II Hotel

I really enjoyed my week in the city. I wouldn’t want to live downtown where we were staying however. Traffic is a big problem as it limits ease of getting around. We were endlessly waiting at traffic lights with hundreds of motorcycles and scooters weaving in and out of traffic lanes. I would guess that air pollution is quite high. The infrastructure is falling apart, with electrical wires loose on every pole, a poor sewage treatment system resulting in a polluted Chao Phraya river and odors wafting up from the city streets and sidewalks.

My morning commute

The Thais do have beautiful smiles and positive attitudes. The temples and shrines of Therevada Buddhism are ornate blasts of color and give such an exotic feel to the city. The hustle and bustle of the people of Bangkok also is lively, giving the city a good vibe. We had some really good meals and there were lots of cafes to choose from. Thai cuisine’s focus on spices, jasmine rice and vegetables makes it one of my  favorite cuisines. We avoided the seedy sex trade sections of the city, but we did see groups of older men obviously there for that. They are also set up for tourism and so going to the muay thai boxing, taking a cooking lesson or riding an elephant is quite easy to organize. Tropical cities remind me of my first posting overseas, Barranquilla, Colombia and walking through the city brought back fond memories of my time there.

Chao Phraya River at night

I hope to explore more of the country on future visits as well as the rest of South East Asia.

Muay Thai Boxing

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We attended a muay thai martial art match during our time in Bangkok. The sport is called the “art of the eight limbs” because the 2 fists, 2 elbows, 2 knees and 2 shins are used to strike the opponent. Elements of muay thai have made it into the mixed martial arts (MMA) which is currently popular in the USA. I am not a fan of violent sports like this, but I went for the cultural experience. As you can see in the video above, there is a pre-fight ritual dance. There is live music played during the pregame and matches. I think it is some type of Buddhist music and dance, but am not sure. The Thai people have fought for centuries, as the city-states and ports, wrestled for control over the vast forests and rivers of southeast Asia. It makes sense that they would develop their own form of martial art.

We had ringside seats and it was quite easy to arrange tickets from our hotel. Thailand is set up for tourists and the expensive, ringside seats were exclusively for tourists while the locals were higher up in the stadium. It was a regular Monday night card of 9 bouts at Rajadamnern Stadium . The first matches were young guys, probably between 16 and 19 years old. Thais are quite small and the weights for the fighters ranged from 103 pounds to 123 pounds. They were in peak physical condition however, and I would not want to fight them. Their chiseled physiques were evidence of years of intense conditioning.

Fighters in the first round and initial stages of the fight did a type of a rhythmic step while sizing up the opponent and delivering few kicks or punches. As the fight went on they became more aggressive. Bouts lasted from 5 to 9 rounds of 3 minutes each. I was surprised that it was a lot of clinching. They would hold each other around the shoulders and use their knees to deliver body shots.

In the featured match, Kuman Doy knocked out Phet Kriangkrai. It was an even fight until one shot to the head put down poor Phet, who had to be taken out on a stretcher.

It was fascinating to watch the trainers prep the fighters between rounds. They would douse the fighter in water and give vigorous muscle massages. Each fighter had two or three coaches who during the massages, would scream instructions and advice to them. Each fighter, especially the more experienced, had family and friends supporting them in a section behind their corner. In the crowd, people were betting with informal “bookies” who would be holding up two or three fingers. I am not sure what exactly they were betting on.

I wondered about the young men who participated in this sport. Were they poor and had to do it to try to get out of the cycle of poverty? It would be a tough life and I felt a bit sad for them. I would not go back again, but it was a fascinating evening.

It reminded me of the last time I went to a martial art event. When I was a child, my father took my brother and I to Brown County Arena in Green Bay, Wisconsin to watch professional wrestling. These were the 1970s, way before cable television and the WWF and on Saturday night, we used to watch the American Wrestling Association  a professional wrestling promotion company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There were some great characters like “Mad Dog” Vachon , Baron Von Raschke and Andre the Giant. As kids we loved the and I remember how exciting it was to go and see it live.

One Week in Bangkok…

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I am spending a week in Bangkok and am taking pleasure in getting to know better this busy, odiferous, sensual enriched massive tropical city. It is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world, with over 16 million foreigners visiting each year. Buddhism, brought to the Thais in the fifth century and strengthened in the thirteenth century, gives the culture a welcoming openness. Combined with inexpensive standard of living, warm weather and nice beaches/forests (rapidly being lost however), I can see why so many people come here.

The video above shows a bit of the Chao Phraya River, which the city was founded in 1782, succeeding the ancient trading post of Ayutthaya. It has grown to over 14 million people since then. The Thais are a distinct ethnic group, with influences from the Khmer (Cambodia), Mon (Burma) and the Chinese among other groups.

My view from a tuk-tuk

Mainland Southeast Asia is one of the most fertile, biodiverse biomes on earth because of the high temperatures and high levels of rainfall. The modern countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have had their cultures shaped by this. I would guess there are probably many similarities among the populations and I hope to visit all of them sometime during my time in Asia. I especially want to see Angkor Wat, which was once one of the largest cities on earth.

The view of the CBD from the shores of an artificial lake in Lumpini Park.

We are staying near Lumpini Park and it is my favorite part of the city. At dusk and dawn, there are hundreds people jogging, walking, doing aerobics and practicing thai chi. It is a SE Asian version of Central Park. I run the 2.5 kilometer loop in the evenings to get some exercise after sitting and eating all day at the conferences. My least favorite part of Bangkok is the traffic. It is very noisy and the stop and go traffic, with motorcycles zipping by, even makes walking on the sidewalk risky. It really lowers one’s quality of life here. It makes getting around a logistical problem and forget about running/riding a bike here. The pollution levels alone would make it unhealthy, let alone safe from being struck by a vehicle.

This our typical view from the taxi each morning on the way to the conference.

 I hope to get some more blog posts out this week as I get to know more about this fascinating city.

Geocaching and Small Moments

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A historic moment in the Kralovec family: our first geocache! We joined the world of geocaching this weekend. It is such a good family activity because it is outside, something we can all do together and it gets the kids away from the computer or TV. I highly recommend it. In our neighborhood of Minoh, there were three geocaches within a mile of our home. We found two of the three. The geocaches are small, about the size of a box of tic-tacs, with a log to write your name and date. With mobile phone technology, you can read about other people’s experiences and they also post photos if you are really stuck. There is a hint provided as well. My children were very enthusiastic and we rode our bikes to the three sites. The beautiful autumn weather continues.

The second geocache in Kita Senri park.

It was a nice family weekend. Owen played his first basketball games of the season. His team won both games quite easily. I have been thinking a lot about capturing the special small moments of family life. It seems life goes by so quickly and by stopping to document or note those special, not milestone moments, it gives you a chance to relive them. They would otherwise just pass by. Anyway, Ocean bought a pair of plastic glasses at Daiso, her favorite store in Japan. They came with a big nose and mustache. She took the nose/mustache off and was following me around the house, saying she looked like me. I snapped this photo below. Ocean is so loving, smart and has such a sparkling, positive personality. I feel so blessed to be able to raise a daughter.

Harvesting Rice

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Owen operating the Mitsubishi VMS 11 rice harvester

On a perfect autumn morning we got to harvest rice in the nearby Shukonoso neighborhood. Our suburb of Minoh is dotted with paddies and rice is such a central part to the Japanese culture and diet, I always wanted to help out in the harvest. Our CAS coordinator arranged the opportunity through one of her neighbors, Kubo-san. His family have been harvesting rice for the past 800 years, so to say it is a family tradition, is an understatement. Osaka, like many metropolitan areas through the world, has grown immensely to overtake what was once a quiet village, Shukonoso is now part of the city. The families of Shukonoso continue to harvest rice, although, it is not a necessity today. Kubo-san is an expert garden and landscape designer, and told me his family does not make much money from their paddies, but they do it more for tradition than anything. Japan is not a big exporter of rice and the government subsidizes its production. Japanese prefer the short grain, glutinous rice that is good for sushi and chopsticks. My children prefer the this short grain rice, especially when we add the rice vinegar. I prefer the long grain jasmine variety, produced in Thailand.

Kubo-san shows us how to cut the rice bundles.

Kubo was very kind to put up with us wanting to “help”. He showed us how to harvest in the traditional manner, with a sickle. Rice seedlings are planted in bundles and 3-5 bundles are cut and laid on the field at a time. They would then be hung and dried before the grains are pulled. Instead, we fed the rice stalks into the harvester. Kubo then allowed us to drive the harvester along the rows. It was like mowing lawns, slowly going down the rows.

Spending time in the field also gave me the chance to look at the irrigation system. There is an intricate system of reservoirs, damns and canals like a spider web going from the Minoh hills down through the city to the Osaka bay. It makes it easier for the rice seedlings to combat pests and weeds to have them grow in a few inches of water. That system must have been developed over the centuries. I am not sure how it works, but everyone must work together to get the water where it needs to go to at the proper time.

We counted between 44 to 62 seeds per stalk.

The experience gave me a better appreciation of rice and brought me closer to Japan. Thanks to Lyn and Kubo san for allowing Owen and I to participate.

It is funny to me that I eat so much rice now. Growing up in 1970s  rural Michigan in the pre-globalization era, my mother never served rice and we didn’t eat at ethnic restaurants. I really didn’t eat much rice until university and my first international posting in Colombia. Rice is as popular in South America as Asia. We were strictly a “meat and potato” family growing up. We eat rice on an almost daily basis and the staples of my youth, bread/butter and potatoes are rare at the dinner table for the Kralovecs.

Shinsaibashi

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Last night we ventured downtown Osaka to the neighborhood of Shinsaibashi. The goal was to pick up money sent by Nadia’s father (thank you Popa!) through Western Union. He likes to send money to his grandchildren occasionally.

Shinsaibashi is one of the main shopping areas in Osaka. The word bashi means “bridge” and it is named after a bridge over one of the many canals in the city. It was the first western-style stone bridge built in 1909 and it became an icon of the city. In 1964 the canal was reclaimed and turned into a road due to increasing traffic and some of its parts were used in the construction of a pedestrian overpass.

Lots of high-end shopping to be had in Shinsaibashi

We walked around the streets for a bit, soaking up some of the vibrant urban scene and then had a nice dinner at Brooklyn Parlor . It is easy to get to by taking the Midosuji train line from Senri Chuo to the Shinsaibashi stop.

Unusual columns in front of a hotel in Dotonbori.