education

New Year’s Bells (online)

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Normally lots of people in Japan go to shrines and temples on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.  But this year due to the COVID-19, most shrines and temples will be closed at night.  Some temples have decided to broadcast the New Year’s bells online so that we can all watch it live via Facebook, YouTube, etc.

幸先詣 – Saisaki Mōde

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Japanese people usually visit a Shintō shrine or a temple at the beginning of the year.  That is called Hatsumōde.  However, this year in order to avoid a large crowd due to the COVID-19, shrines are asking people to come out before the New Year as a good omen visit or Saisaki mōde.

変わり種ラムネ – Odd Ramune

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Ramune is a carbonated soft drink in a unique glass bottle (please click here for more details).  More than 50% of all the ramune in Japan is produced in Ōsaka.  They are making the ramune bottles the traditional way.  It is not easy to make those bottles since it requires accuracy and careful inspections.  Ramune is popular in many foreign countries, but instead of producing them in factories outside of Japan, ramune is produced in Japan according to each countries’ food regulations and then exported to 44 countries.

Besides the original and other traditional flavors, they are now making many odd playful flavors, such as kimchi, curry, stew, cream of corn soup, etc.  The president of a major ramune production company says that there were flavors that they had to stop producing due to various reasons.  For example, eggplant flavor cost too much to make, and onion flavor made workers cry too much while making it.  lol

メロン – Melon

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Melons grow all year around in Japan, but the primary harvesting season is from May through July.  In a grocery store, melons can sell for as low as $5 apiece, but especially nice ones can cost $50~$200 and are often used as gifts.  In May, 2019 a pair of melons were sold for 5,000,000 yen (approx $45,500 USD).  These melons broke the record of the most expensive melon ever.  This year the same type of melons were sold for just 120,000 yen (approx $1100 USD) due to the coronavirus.

箱根 – Hakone

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Since I mentioned “Hakone” in my previous post, let me introduce it more completely.  Hakone is a well-known resort area located about 30 miles from Mt. Fuji.  It is popular for its hot springs and for having nice views of Mt. Fuji.  This photo shows Mt. Fuji, and was taken from Hakone.  It also shows the system of scenic ropeways that is normally available from Hakone although this is currently out of service due to the Coronavirus outbreak.  During the Edo period Hakone was one of the government checkpoints.

From Hotel Green Plaza Hakone

Hakone Utsugi

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Hakone Utsugi （ハコネウツギ）or Weigela Coraeensis is a flower that is found near beaches in Japan.  Its blooming season is May~June.  This flower is white at first, but after pollination it turns itself pink.  Because the insects that pollinate the flower see white better than pink, the white unpollinated flowers stand out and that increases their chance of getting pollinated.  Nature is amazing.  This flower’s Japanese name includes the word Hakone (a well-known resort area in Japan), but actually you don’t see many of these flowers in Hakone.