No matter where you are in the world, the topic of weather is a popular one. Everyone has an opinion on the weather, so it’s a perfect conversation topic amongst strangers. We all plan our activities and clothing choices around the weather. One of the first things our various Japanese language lessons teach is how to say “It’s good weather today, isn’t it?” (今日は良い天気ですね).
Meteorologists are regular targets of death threats and harassment when their forecasts go awry. The forecast is so important in South Africa that independent forecasters can be fined or imprisoned for incorrectly predicting the weather.
Today’s high temperatures. It’s the first day over 30ºC (86ºF) in Saitama in 2015.
In Japan, a country whose citizens spend a significant amount of time navigating the day on foot or bicycle, the weather report is a big part of the morning newscast. From your run-of-the-mill temperature forecast to predicting the path of wild weather from Pacific typhoons, the forecast covers it all.
The daily wind forecast
The wind and tides forecast is part of our daily weather story. In addition to damaging storms, the daily breeze can help determine whether it’s a good day to wash blankets (and hang them outside to dry), air out the house (high winds bring in a lot of dust and dirt) or bring a light jacket despite warm weather. Fire danger is a big concern in Japan and the prevailing winds can alleviate or amplify those worries. The forecast is important to coastal fishermen as well.
The laundry forecast: Should I do laundry today? (きょうのお洗濯は？)
Then it gets fun. There’s a daily laundry forecast. Most Japanese homes don’t have clothes dryers (we don’t). Laundry is hung out on poles mounted over patios or outside apartment building windows using a variety of strategic drying gadgets. The scale goes from blue (hard to dry) to orange (dry well) depending on the day’s weather conditions. Today is a good day to do laundry.
The ultraviolet rays forecast (紫外線情報)
The ultraviolet rays forecast shows the strength of UV rays throughout the day. Many women wear large, floppy hats, arm-length gloves and carry a parasol to protect themselves from the harmful rays of the sun. I wish I’d seen yesterday’s forecast before my run. My shoulders were Barney the Dinosaur purple!
Kanto Heat Stroke Index (熱中症予防情報)
Finally, the heat stroke index. At first, I thought maybe this was the child tolerance index—how long your child will last before having a meltdown due to the heat. This one ranges from safe (ほぼ安心) up to danger (危険). Today in Saitama (さいたま), we’re in the caution (注意) to vigilance (警戒) range. All jokes aside, it gets hot and humid in Japan during the summertime. In 2013, nearly 40,000 people were hospitalized from June to August due to heat stroke and 78 people died from complications.
NHK’s current asadora (朝ドラ—morning drama) Mare, starring Tao Tsuchiya
Best of all, the weather forecast leads into the morning 15-minute soap opera miniseries. The current iteration—NHK’s 92nd asadora or morning drama series—is about a young woman who moves to Yokohama to become a baker, but finds that the cake just doesn’t taste right and sets out to create the perfect pastries. The previous miniseries featured Charlotte Kate Fox, NHK’s first American actress in a leading role, about the creation of the Nikka Whisky Distilling company.
Robert and I love traditions. And we go all out. Instead of focusing on Christmas activities this year, we set our sights on Japanese New Year traditions. We were in luck because Japan is steeped in traditions and we were on a mission to try them all. Here is our journey into 2015, Year of the Sheep!
Decorations
Sometime in early December, we started noticing that our local grocery stores started to put up these odd displays. What do round plastic disks, mandarin oranges, bamboo, straw, rope and pine branches have in common? They are parts of a shrine or decoration that is put out in the home to honor the gods. First, the “kagami-mochi” is two round rice cakes, usually with a real or plastic mandarin orange on top. This is part of a shrine placed inside the home. I asked a student if you’re supposed to eat these rice cakes and I guess the answer is no!
Clockwise from left: Large kadomatsu by Tokyo International University; Shimekazari wreaths; Kagami-mochi with sheep
Next, “kadomatsu” is made of three, large bamboo sticks and pine branches and are put in the front of the house. These are to house the spirit until January 7; after which they are burned to release the spirit. Last, the “shimekazari” is a straw and rope decoration that is hung on the door to protect from evil spirits.
We did not put up any of these in our home, but it was fun to walk around our neighborhood and notice the varying ways our neighbors practiced this tradition.
Postcards
We also started noticing that while there were some Christmas card displays, they were largely outnumbered by stacks of postcards with 2015 and its Chinese zodiac sign, the sheep. “Nengajo” are cards you send to loved ones wishing them Happy New Year. We decided to send a handful to relatives and those who sent us a Christmas card. The Japanese Post works overtime to ensure that the cards are delivered on January 1.
Clockwise from upper-left: Our nengajo; tempura and sushi stamps; a selection of nengajo at the local store; our local mailman hard at work
The postcards have lottery numbers on them. The winners are announced in mid-January and include prizes like washers, dryers and TV sets. Maybe a Cascadian Abroad reader will be a winner?
New Year’s Eve Variety Show
New Year’s Eve (NYE) is called “omisoka,” which means the last day of the month. We started our NYE by watching a famous talent show, “Kōhaku Uta Gassen,” on a public broadcasting channel called NHK. It’s a great honor for entertainers to be invited to perform on this show. It’s similar to Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, or whatever the current iteration is.
The 65th Kohaku Uta Gassen on NHK
I thought the show was really entertaining. It’s a Who’s Who of Japanese actors and musicians. We spotted our favorite soap opera (the show is called “Massan”) actor, who happens to be an American. We saw some mascots like Funassyi and Jinbanyan (orange and white cat). We tried to avoid getting the Japanese version of “Let It Go” stuck in our head.
Soba Noodles
New Year’s soba and vegetable tempura in Kawagoe
After watching a little TV, we headed out to Kawagoe in search of a meal. “Toshikoshi soba” is a traditional meal eaten around midnight to ward off evil spirits before the New Year. We found a lovely restaurant that made its own buckwheat noodles near the shrine we were planning to visit. I’ve heard that sometimes the soba is one long noodle and sometimes it is in smaller pieces. We were given a little pot filled with the water the soba was cooked in to drink at the end of the meal. And hot tea and sake to warm up. Delicious! Oiishi!
First Temple Visit
“Hatsumode” is the year’s first visit to the shrine/temple. We thought about going to Tokyo, which has many large, famous shrines and temples. But with Tokyo NYE crowds projected in the millions, we thought it would be better to see what locals were up to!
Clockwise from left: Us at Kita-in; Daruma dolls for sale; nearby Senba Tōshō-gū Shrine
We walked to two local shrines, Naritasan Kawagoebetsuin and Kita-in, alternating our time between both. We stood in line at the former to ring the bell at midnight. The latter was bigger and had many festival food and vendors of good luck charms and “Daruma” dolls.
After midnight, the crowds started to multiply and line up to say the first prayer of the year.
Ringing the Bell
“Joya no Kane” are purification bells. If one listens to or rings the bell 108 times, evil desires may be destroyed. It can’t hurt, right? Shortly, before midnight we climbed the bell tower and each rung the bell. It was definitely one of my favorite experiences in Japan so far. We were the only white people and, while I was nervous that we would be thrown out as nonbelievers, no one seemed perturbed by us participating in their religious traditions.
A joint effort to ring in 2015 at Naka-in Temple. Photo credit to Minnesotan Lindsay.
Before midnight, we heard a group count down “shi, san, ni, ichi” (four, three, two, one) and a few “Happy New Year” exclamations in English. The main temple bells started to ring. It was a subdued, but happy reaction.
We ran into friends at another temple later in the morning and rang the bell again with them. Doubling the purification of our evil thoughts, perhaps?
Money Envelopes
It’s a custom to give children money as a present for the New Year, called “otoshidama.” Similar to the Chinese custom you may have heard of, children are given money in a small envelope that can be red or decorated with designs appealing to children.
I asked some of my college-aged students whether they would still receive money and the answer was a resounding, YES! As long as a “child” is enrolled in college, they still receive money from parents and relatives. Popular amounts for children range from about $10 to $50 and for teenagers, upwards to $100.
We have a handful of small children living in our apartment complex so we decided to give “otoshidama” a try. No harm in fostering good will with neighbors, right? We presented the children with their envelopes (our name is written on the back so they know who it is from). I think our neighbors were shocked and embarrassed, which is a normal reaction to anything we do.
Lucky Grab Bags
Fukubukuro from the bakery of the local grocery store
Otoshidama money can be saved for serious ventures or spent in stores promising New Year’s deals and grab bags called “fukubukuro.” Shopping is a popular Japanese hobby so we weren’t surprised by this tradition. And anything to jump start the economy, right? We decided to “grab” this bag in our local bakery filled with a cute blanket, a huge loaf of bread and some sweet breads. It was about $9.
Mochi Rice Cakes
“Zōni” is a traditional soup eaten for the New Year that has blocks of “mochi” rice cakes floating in it. We purchased a huge bag of mochi, which are small square blocks of rice flour. They are as hard as a brick and look like soap. We noticed long ago that our toaster oven has a mochi setting so in they went. You wouldn’t think so, but after a few minutes, they emerge as melty, chewy little cakes. They can also be cooked over a grill.
Mochi grilling in the middle of the festivities at Kita-in
These rice cakes are so popular in the New Year festivities that sometimes people choke on them. Every year, a warning is issued, especially to the elderly. Chew your mochi carefully, y’all. There’s nothing really to compare mochi to in the states. It’s like a gooey, melty block of carbs. Yum!
Oh, how fun. Thanks for a great New Year, Japan.
Cascadian Abroad :45—Omisoka
Watch the video below for footage from the NHK New Year’s special and the ringing of the bells at Naritasan Kawagoebetsuin.
Growing up near the Columbia River Gorge, strong winds and rain are a part of my DNA. As kids, we’d play catch in those winds and pretend we were fielding fly balls at Wrigley Field in one of those 23-22 final score games. Maybe that’s why the recent string of typhoons—starting with Phanfone last week and Typhoon Vongfong rolling through today—don’t get my heart racing much. I certainly won’t be venturing out this afternoon when winds will range between 25-50 MPH, but the forecast shows the storm weakening to tropical storm strength by the time it reaches us in Saitama. It’ll be no worse than a December day back home.
Typhoon Vongfong as photographed by ISS astronaut Reid Wiseman
The images have been spectacular considering the danger that lurks within. Photos from the International Space Station show Typhoon Vongfong engulfing the entire planet. Vongfong reached Category 5 strength at one point last week and is the strongest typhoon of 2014… so far.
Sadly, not everyone went unaffected by Typhoon Vongfong. The typhoons have taken a predictable path through the Pacific Ocean. Okinawa takes the brunt of these storms for Japan and Japan’s national network NHK is reporting several serious injuries and damage in the area. Flooding and potential landslides have resulted in more than 90,000 households in Okinawa being evacuated. If there’s a bright spot, it’s that Vongfong weakened to a Category 1 status by the time it made landfall.
ThinkProgress has a story today about future storms and how the damage and resulting financial impact will continue to grow if we don’t decrease the carbon emissions that cause global warming. The report estimates Japan being impacted the worst, facing $4.4 trillion in losses by 2090, nearly four times that of second-place China.
Ironically, today is Columbus Day on our calendar. In 1962, the “Columbus Day Storm” hit the Pacific Northwest as Typhoon Freda made its way across the Pacific Ocean. When everything was said and done, the strongest storm in a century killed 46 people and can still be recalled vividly by those who experienced it (my family included).
The tower of Campbell Hall on the Western Oregon University campus crumbles in the Columbus Day Storm of 1962 (Wes Luchau)
One of the most indelible images for me is the destruction on the campus of the Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon University) in Monmouth. WOU is my alma mater and photos of the damage were part of our heritage. Campbell Hall‘s bell tower collapsed during the storm. Student Wes Luchau captured the moment with a photograph that would be used by local newspapers and later appeared in LIFE magazine.
For now, we’ll sit and wait. It’s been raining for a couple hours, but the worst of the storm will roll through overnight. Hopefully the wind and rain will bring nothing more than a few childhood memories.
