IKEBANA

Ikebana, or the Japanese style flower arrangement, has more than 600 years of history. It began as part of the Buddhist ritual and developed into a disciplined art form independent from its religious origin. It is distinguished from decorative flower arrangement for its philosophy, different styles and methods. In short, ikebana is about creating the universe where nature and humanity coexist harmoniously. Sounds difficult? Though it is a full-fledged art, it is not esoteric. There is plenty of room for amateurs to enjoy it. If you are interested, Asahi Culture Center Yokohama is offering Ikebana class of Sogetsu school in English for two days:

Asahi Culture Center Yokohama

2-16-1, Takashima, Nishi-ku, Yokohama-shi 220-0011

– 8th Floor of LUMINE building adjacent to Yokohama station.

Time/Date: 6 – 8 PM, September 11th & 25th

Fee: 7,770 yen for two sessions

Bookings can be made online, by telephone or at the school registration office.

Office hours: 9:30-17:00

Telephone: 045-453-1142 (10:30 – 17:00 , Mon – Sat)

Click here for more info.

International Women’s Marathon

It has been announced that Yokohama is going to host a new international women’s marathon. Annual sports events like this one are expected to generate tourism and other commercial revenue. So, it is good news not only for the sports fans but also for the local community. The first race will take place in November 2009. It is to replace the Tokyo International Women’s Marathon scheduled to end after its 30th race in November this year due to the problem of road closure permission in the urban area. The official name of the new race and the course have yet to be decided. The race will be a selection event for nomination to the major international competitions such as the Olympic Games. They expect close to 150 elite athletes to participate. I will post further news on this when published.

IE, Firefox or what else?

Sleipnir, a browser developed by a Japanese software company based in Osaka a few years ago has been gaining popularity among the computer geeks for its high level of customization. Noticing rising demands not only from Japanese users but also from international users, the company, Fenrir, is reinforcing the international promotion of their service, and has released the global websites. I am not an advanced user, so please check it out yourself if it offers new and unique features.

Hayama Seakayak School

A day could be spent in numerous ways. The key to make it fulfilling is starting early, especially in summer time. If you get up late in the morning, the sun is already up high and your mind will just focus on where to seek refuge from the heat all day. You don’t want to go too far, not to feel exhausted at the end of the day.

Here is an idea of one day excursion from Yokohama area. Seakayak at Morito Beach in Hayama, the northwest region of Miura Peninshula, The area is famous for its beautiful coastline stretching about 5 kilometers. I have recently learned about the seakayak school there from one of my friends, who took part in one-day beginner course (more like a guided tour) early this month. I am not a water sports lover, but her story almost prompted me to make a call for booking right away. The safety and course instructions are all given in Japanese, so, this is more for people with basic understanding of Nihon-go OR some experience of kayaking. They also operate Hayama Sailing College & Yacht Club and a retail shop of yacht/kayak gears.

Hayama Seakayak School
939-13 Hayama-cho,
Miura-gun, Kanagawa-ken
TEL:0468-77-5399
Website: http://seakayakschool.com/ (Japanese)

Go to “map” from the following webpage for location.
Hayama Sailing College (English)

S for Summer! S for Slurp!

Summer has come. People gravitate toward cold and light food naturally. Soba, the thin noodles made from buckwheat flour, is one of the most popular summertime foods in Japan, and a prime choice for a quick meal. Here is how to prepare cold soba at home.

What to buy:

• A package of dried soba. 100 to 120 grams serves a moderate eater.
• Men tsuyu (Dipping soup for noodles) Concentrated type, like the one shown in the photo below is recommended. The letters say “Noh-shuku 2-bai” meaning that you need to diluted it with the same amount of water as the soup. Mentsuyu is very handy. You can use it not only for soba or other kinds of cold noodles, but for making soup for hot noodles or cooking meat and vegetables.

How to prepare:

1. Bring generous amount of water to boil in a big pot. Put soba in and boil for 5 – 6 minutes or as instructed on the product package.
2. Take noodles out into a strainer (ideally bamboo strainer), rinse and cool it immediately under running water. Drain very well and put soba on a plate.
3. In a small bowl or a cup, put the same amount of mentsuyu and water. It’s ready to dip and slurp!

The traditional condiments such as chopped negi (spring onions) or wasabi add sharpness to the taste. For occasional luxury, you can get a few choices of tempura to put on the side of soba. More to learn.

Shin-Yokohama station

The picture here is not the construction site for the Olympic Games in Beijin. It’s in front of the north side of Shin-Yokohama station. I don’t know what they are building. A huge dumpster for scrap metal??

Shin-Yokohama has been turned into a more passenger-friendly station recently. Although it is used by quite a few people every day as there are two JR lines, Tokaido Shinkansen and Yokohama-line, and the City Subway serving, there weren’t many services available before, and it was really just a station to pass by. Now a 19-storey commercial building rises above it. It contains a mall called CUBIC PLAZA, with more than 80 shops and restaurants, including a big bookstore, a mid-range hotel, HOTEL ASSOCIA with 203 rooms, and offices. The concourse is bright and spacious, the escalators and elevators are smooth, all the signs are in big letters and easy to follow. It’s only 12 minutes to Shinagawa, or 20 minutes to Tokyo by Shinkansen, and of course, you have easy access to any part of Yokohama from there. All things considered, it could be a good base for business or even pleasure trips.

When I was walking through the corridor, enjoying the new look of the station in a cheerful mood, the sign of a doughnut shop, “DOUGHNUT PLANT NEW YORK CITY” caught my eyes. Next moment, I was holding two doughtnuts in a paper bag, which cost me 770 yen, with a taint of regret for my adventurous and spontaneous shopping. Well, it tasted great and I was happy after all, but the 40-yen mini-doughnuts from a bakery close to my place is as good as those fancy ones.

G30

”Yokohama G30” is the slogan for the action plans of waste reduction launched by the municipal government five years ago. You probably have seen “G30” or this mascot called “Mee-Oh” on the right somewhere at least once.
What it stands for;
G : the first letter from Gomi =(garbage, trash) and Genryo (=reduction in volume)

30 : the target set for waste reduction by 30%

How you read it;

G (gee as you read the alphabet) 30 (san-ju)

Or go mi-zero (= waste-zero)

Just recently one of my acquaintances, an American guy who has been living in Yokohama with his Japanese girlfriend for 5 years, received a warning from the waste management bureau in mail. They obviously ignored the garbage collection rules, and did not separate trash properly. Now, how did they find out his name and address? Perhaps there was a direct ad mail in his garbage bag. So, you really have to be careful what you throw in your trash bin.

For details on the waste disposal rules, click here. It’s available in 9 languages.

Hikawa-maru

Hikawa-maru, the 78 year-old passenger boat permanently moored at the edge of the Yamashita park is a familiar landmark of the waterfront area of the city. Due to the change of management, this floating museum was closed around the end of 2006 and underwent major renovation. Now reopened with pride as a ship once called “Queen of the Pacific,” she has new interiors embellished much with art deco designs If you know how it looked before, you will be surprised at the significant difference. The lobby that welcomes visitors right after entrance has a large screen where a video about the history of Hikawa-maru is shown with English subtitle. After the input of some information, you are ready to set off on tour, simply following the arrow marks. All the explanations given are both in Japanese and English, and sufficient to satisfy your curiosity. Interesting anecdotes, such as Charlie Chaplin’s voyage on Hikawa-maru, are also presented. Much larger areas are now open to the public than before, including the heart of the ship, the engine room. I refrain from telling more detains here, since I would rather recommend you to see it with your own eyes. If you are interested in the maritime history of Yokohama, also visit NYK Maritime Museum near Bashamichi Station on Minato-Mirai Line.

Open: 10:00-17:00 (closed on Mondays)
Admission: Adult 200 yen, Youth & Senior 100 yen
Further Info. (click)

Kamigo Mori-no-Ie

When you hear of “Yokohama,” many of you may immediately think of the port area, the modern buildings with a peaceful ocean-view in the background, lively Chinatown, or neighboring areas with many shops and restaurants. However, there are actually other interesting places in the suburbs, away from the water.By visiting those places, you will get a full picture of what Yokohama has to offer.

One that I am going to introduce is a public park & facility called Kamigo Mori-no Ie in Sakae Ward in the southern part of Yokohama City. The main building houses accommodation, a bath house, meeting rooms, a music hall with 150 seats, and two restaurants. The bath house can be described as a simply designed spa. It is not very large but natural light coming in from the big windows and green of the trees outside creates very relaxing atmosphere. In the center, there is a round bath which can be used for water-walking exercise, and they also have a few more different types of baths and a sauna. One of the baths is filled with water filtered through “Togoal warm-tite,” a mineral-rich conglomerate. This special water enhances your metabolism and sooth your body. For getting in, you are required to wear a bathing suit, which means that men and women are not separated like they usually are in sento or onsens. Drop-in aqua exercise classes are held in the morning a few times a week at only 200 yen per time. Great deal!

Since I haven’t had a chance to stay overnight here, I don’t know what the accommodations are like. According to their brochure, the guest rooms look just the same as those in Japanese ryokan. They have 18 tatami rooms and two twin-bedded rooms. The whole place is clean and well-maintained, so I am sure that you can expect reasonably good services and comfortable stay. Depending on the season and the number of guests sharing the room, the rate ranges from 6,300 to 10,000, per person, including two meals. If you are a tax payer living in Yokohama city, you’d better make use of these public facilities.

There are also picnic and BBQ areas and a workshop where some craft making classes are offered. For those who are interested in nature walks, it offers easy trails for enjoying variety of trees, plants, flowers and birds. These trails extend further to the adjoining dense forest, also preserved as a nature interpretation park by the city. When I visited there early May, I could see lots of tadpoles in the small patch of swamp along the way.

You could easily spend a day there with your family or alone and return home all refreshed and energized.

Website: http://www.kamigou-morinoie.org/index.html (Japanese only)
Address & Tel / Access by Public Transportation

1499-1 Kamigo-cho, Sakae-ku, Yokohama-shi 247-0013

045-895-5151

Take Kana-chu bus from Ofuna Station on JR line or Kanazawa-Hakkei Station on Keikyu Line, and get off at Mori-no-Ie-mae. Park entrance is approx. 3 minute walk from the bus stop. Bus Route No. 24, 25, 26, 28, or 08

PARKING SPACE: 71 lots @ 500 yen per day

THE BATH HOUSE

Open hours : 10 AM – 21 PM

Admission : Adult – 500 yen

Elementary school children – 200 yen

Pre-school children – free