Happy birthday!

August 12th was my birthday, and I became 32 years old.

Several weeks ago, I planned my birthday schedule which was to go to a delicious bakery to eat lunch and buy a special birthday cake myself.

My husband originally wanted to plan my birthday himself, but I found 2 nice shops on the Internet by accident, so I planned my birthday schedule myself.

I know I’m not a precise person, so my research is usually not perfect.

The day before my birthday, I read a printout of the cake shop again, and I noticed that the cake shop closes every Wednesday.

I had to change my schedule to only go to the bakery.

However when we reached the bakery, We saw the sign on the door on which said they were closed due to summer vacation.

Oh, my god!

We had to change our schedule again. Therefore my husband started to search for information of nice restaurants near by on his cell phone.

However I recalled Hasegawa Machiko Art Musium was located in that town. Although we were very hungry, we walked there.

Machiko Hasegawa is one of the most famous Mangaka(Comic artist) in Japan.

Her most well known work is “Sazae-san“.

Sazae is the name of the main character of the comic and Sazae-san was originally published in a local newspaper in 1947 and after several changes of newspaper, finally the series reached 6,477 episodes.

I think Sazae-san is loved by all generations in Japan, because of it’s heartwarming and sometimes modern cynical story.

When we see Sazae-san on TV, we feel relaxed and we can laugh every time.

The museum is in Sakurashinmachi, Setagaya, Tokyo.

At first, the setting of Sazae-san was in Fukuoka in which Machiko Hasegawa was used to live with her husband. After Fukuoka, she moved to Tokyo, and the setting of Sazae-san also moved to Sakurashinmachi, Setagaya, Tokyo.

The main street from Sakurashinmachi station to the museum is called “Sazae-san street”, and in that street, you can see many interesting sign.

A small summer festival was also being held there.

All the activities were very interesting for us and I really liked the atmosphere.

The most interesting activity for me was the one in which we can buy a small house and the imaginary right of land which is in the setting of Sazae-san.

I draw “Tama” which is a cat character in Sazae-san on the roof of my house. I felt very excited!

The following image shows the house of Sazae-san. Some customers at the museum bought their land in front of the house of Sazae-san.

The real estate agent is also a character in Sazae-san.

By my turn they were into the third subdivision. This image shows the first subdivision. There are many houses on the map.

I really like such an interesting activity!

After the museum, we felt very very hungry, and on the way to the station, we found a ramen shop which seemed not bad.

A TV personality had opened that ramen shop, and later I knew by accident that his birthday  is the same as mine!

The ramen shop’s name is David, and the taste was good!

After lunch we moved to Komazawa Olympic Park, which is at the next station to Sakurashinmachi. We originally planned to go walking in the park, however it was too hot, so we gave up walking and just sit down on the bench and talked.

After the park, we rode a bus to go to Sangenjaya which is a small town near Shibuya, and is sometimes broadcasted on TV. I had been thinking to go there someday soon.

The atmospere of the town was quite nice.

I had seen a small batting center in Sangenjaya on TV, which looked very nice. Especially the owner of the center looked like a friendly and kind person.

We finally found the entrance of the batting center. Wow, it was amazing!

That batting center is located in the middle of a maze of streets, and is very old and small.

Some families were enjoying batting. Of course, we also tried it.

I really think I’m not good at sports, however I really enjoyed batting.

After the batting center, we rode the street car which is called “Setagaya line“.

Wow, how cute! It had only 2 carraiges.

The small street car went through a Setagaya residential area, and within 30 minutes, it reached the last station, Shimotakaido.

The Shimotakaido shopping mall seemed quite nice.

We enjoyed window shopping there and then moved to Meidai-mae station which connects to Kichijoji station. We thought to take the train from Meidai-mae to Kichijoji, then Kichijoji to Ogikubo, which is the nearest station to our apartment.

We finally bought 2 small cakes for my birthday in Kichijoji and ate a delicious dinner which my husband cooked for me.

It was a long long day, however I really appreciate my husband for following such a unplanned schedule.

I went to Tsujido and Yokohama

My private English teacher opened a Thai massage salon in Tsujido, so I went to visit his new salon last weekend.

I like massage, so sometimes I receive some kinds of massage, such as Indian and Aromatherapy, when I feel tired. However I had never tried Thai massage.

Now, Thai massage is 30% off during August at his salon, so I planned to go to his salon for a massage and an additional English lesson.(My English lesson is usually on weekdays after work.)

Although it was my first time to go to Tsujido, it was not so difficult to reach his salon.

From Shinjuku to Tsujido I only needed to take 1 line, the Shonan-Shinjuku line(JR). It took about 1 hour, and it was not crowded, so I relaxingly read a book.

From Tsujido station to his salon was not so far. Please check this web page for access to the salon.

By the way, I know his passion for health and healing, and I also know his personality, because he has been my teacher for about 2 years.

I think the important thing for a therapist is not only their technique, but also personality and atmosphere.

His character makes me relaxed and open minded.

His technique was also very nice so I was very surprised. After the massage, I felt my body became light.

I think that having an additional English lesson before the massage was a great idea.

I highly recommend you to go to his salon, if you want to feel relaxed or want to experience an international atmosphere.

It may also be a good idea to go sightseeing in Enoshima, Kamakura or Yokohama etc after your massage.

On that day, I also met my friend after the massage in Yokohama. She asked me to go to a N.Y style cafe there.

The cafe’s name is Bubby’s Yokohama. It originally started in N.Y in 1990 as a specialty pie shop.

My friend’s home country is the US, so she talks to me about American food very passionately especially every time she explains about American local food.

We shared some delicious food.

At that cafe, we talked about some topics, and after lunch, we walked around the Yokohama area.

The 150 year anniversary event is being held in some areas in Yokohama now.

Unfortunately, it was not so interesting for us, so we just enjoyed shopping and chatting.

Oh, I need to tell you about one delicious bakery near the massage salon.

The menu was original, and the bakery’s staff was very kind.

The best bread at that shop is “curry bun”, which uses white bait. The white bait is one of the specialties in the Shonan area.

I bought some breads for my teacher and my friend, and I ate one at the bakery before going to have a massage.

I enjoyed my weekend very much.

What is traditional Japanese culture?

I have been a member of Shamisen group for about 5 years. The Shamisen is a traditional Japanese instrument.

Today, I want to explain about such a traditional Japanese cultural organization.

Do you know the Iemoto system? Iemoto stands for the head of such a traditional organization or sometimes it means the system itself.

There are Iemoto systems in not only the Shamisen world, but also in the Japanese art of flower arrangement, Koto, Shakuhachi, Nihon buyo(traditional Japanese dance) , Japanese tea ceremony and other traditional Japanese cultural activities.

The members of each group need to use the same family name as it’s leader.

There are clear hierarchical structure in such groups, so we generally start out at the bottom class of the group.

Some years later after joining the group, our teacher will recommend us to move into the second class level.

At that time, we are allowed to use the same family name as the leader of our group and we also get a stage name.

I got my stage name about a year ago. However I payed about 300,000 yen to the headquarters of my Shamisen group to proceed to the next class level. It included a fee to my teacher’s teacher.

To tell the truth, I had refused my teacher’s recommendation to proceed to the next class level, because I felt it was a waste to pay such money just to get the family name.

I like traditional culture, however I dislike such a traditional system, not only because of the issue of having to pay big money, but also because there are some strange rules in our group.

Therefore I had originally refused my teacher’s recommendation.

However I finally accepted it, because the next pupil in line was waiting for her turn.

It’s natural to proceed to the next class level in turn, and I was the first pupil under my teacher.

I want to explain about such a hierarchical system again.

The order that we became pupils is very important in our society.

We need to call our senior members “Ne-san” which is polite and which expresses our respect.

However my teacher is a very friendly and kind person, so I couldn’t  learn about such a strict system very thoroughly.

We have yearly joint concert with my teacher’s teacher’s group.

My teacher’s teacher is quite important in the Shamisen world, because he was one of the pupils of the head of our Shamisen organization.

So his views are very conservative and I didn’t like his views or his group.

Last weekend, our group had a joint practice, and my teacher’s teacher was invited as an instructor.

At that time, I was shocked.

His technique was marvelous and his way of teaching was also great.

He taught us not only about the way of handling a Shamisen but also the reasons why we should handle a Shamisen in such a way.

I was very surprised, because I didn’t know such reasons.

Also on that day, there was negative shock for me.

I met some new members on that day, and some members lacked courtesy.

The thing I was most shocked by was a woman who seemed to be the same age as me, stepped over my instrument, and talked to other members too casually.

She also said that she didn’t bring the fee for our teacher and also didn’t prepare money for dinner.

Why?

The fact that most members didn’t put their fee into an envelope also shocked me. It was disrespectful.

Now I’m re-thinking about what traditional Japanese culture is.

When we are learning such traditional cultural activities, we also need to learn about etiquette.

Although I was not a good pupil, I need to know the spirit of traditional culture more deeply.

Walking in Machida

My husband and I went to Machida squirrel park during the three holiday.

It took for about 1.5 hours from my nearest station, Asagaya to there. At first we went to Machida station, and transfered to a bus.

It was my first time to go to Machida, and I felt very excited.

I checked a lot of information about not only that park but also the surrounding area, and good restaurants in Machida on the Internet.

The information about restaurants is always very important for us.

I usually use “Tabe log” to search for restaurants. Tabe means to eat, and log means a list of restaurants.

I found some restaurants which looked delicious near Machida station, and I talked to my husband about lunch so we decided the restaurant which we would go to.

After 20 minutes, we got off the bus in front of the park.

Wow, I really like such a local atmosphere.

To tell the truth, my husband’s colleague recommended him to go there, and he also recommended that it’s better to go in the morning, because in the afternoon, the squirrels are not active.

The main place of the park is a square in which the Taiwanese squirrels run wild.

To my surprise, we could give them feed which we bought for only 100 yen.

They were very very cute!

But to tell the truth, they were too active. When I made eye contact with the squirrels, they jumped and climbed on me.

They were used to human beings, however their nails were too long, and my skin was scratched by them.

It was very difficult to take nice photos of them, because they were moving too fast.

It’s only his tail.

There was also a big tortoise there, and families, especially children seemed glad.

We bought some cute magnets for our souvenirs.

After Machida squirrel park, we moved to Yakushi-ike park, which is next to Machida squirrel park.

The atmosphere was very nice, so we felt relaxed.

Unfortunately, on that day, we couldn’t see many flowers , but I found nice some photos on flicker.

On one member’s pages, you can see a lot of beautiful photos of Yakushi ike park.

In the morning, we finished walking around the park, and we went back to Machida station by bus.

We chose a Cambodian restaurant, which was called Angkor Thom, for our lunch, and quickly we noticed that our selection was good.

All dishes were very very delicious, and I was impressed by some articles about the history of that restaurant and the owner’s profile, which I read while I was waiting for the food.

She originally came to Japan to study at the expense of the Cambodia Government.

However unfortunately, the war started soon after in Cambodia, and she couldn’t contact her family in Cambodia.

With some help, she could contact some of them, but the brutality of the war shocked her.

She was determined to become a bridge between her home country and Japan.

The food was not only delicious but also reasonably price! If I have a chance to go to Machida again, I want to go that restaurant again, and order another lunch set.

After lunch, we walked around the central area near Machida station.

My husband and I talked about how that area had a mixed atmosphere, somewhere between Shibuya and Shinjuku.

Machida is one of the bigger local cities near the metropolis of Tokyo. It seems to be very convenient for shopping and living. It was very lively in that city.

After window shopping, we went to a very famous stand which is called Syouyou-senchin-manju-ya to buy soup dumplings.

My husband and I were already full, but did our best to eat them!

They were too delicious!!! I highly recommend you to try them.

At first, you need to break the skin of the soup dumplings, and second, drink the hot and delicious soup. Finally, eat the dumplings.

It was our first time to eat such delicious soup dumplings. I think I will never forget the taste.

After eating them, we walked around that area again.

Beside the narrow alley which is called “Machida Nakamise Shotengai“, there are some interesting restaurants and shops. I really like such a town in which the old and new atmosphere is mixed.

Please see this website for more photos of the area near Machida station.

I recommend you to go to Machida, which can be reached by the Odakyu-line from Shinjuku within about 40 minutes by rapid train.