The View from the Towers 塔からの眺め A web log by Nigel Ruddock of life in Germany as an expat, with excursions to Japan and the UK.

Tag: akemashiteomedetou

  • 🎍 Happy New Year from Japan 🍶

    日本から新年あけましておめでとうございます!

    2026年1月1日🎉 January 1st 2026

    👉 You see this picture? It’s the stereotype of Tokyo isn’t it? The glittering glam city on the Eastern edge of the world…..

    新宿

    👉 Well, it was the film that brought us here. A newly released Japanese drama directed by a Sang Il-Lee, a Korean director. It’s called Kokuho, and deals with the world of Kabuki Theatre and the Yakusa (Mafia). Well worth the 3 hours! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6k9Y-irvOE

    新しい映画「告白」を見に行きました。最高でした！

    👉 That’s if you can bear the thought of a cinema on the 9th floor in the Shinjuku district……

    👉 It’s a crazy time to be in Japan. “Christmas” has promptly been dismissed, and everybody is on holiday for the New Year. The decoration has already appeared on the gate of “my” house…

    日本人ならご存知でしょうが、私にとってはとても興味深いです😉

    👉 It’s not as cold as it should be. Climate change no doubt. The gingko fruits are scattered on the ground…….

    銀杏

    …and the sun is really quite warm….

    ….filtering through the late autumn leaves…..

    地元の公園で…素敵

    and onto the ground……

    There are tasty things in the shops……

    このたい焼きが大好きです！

    👉 I had one of these Taiyaki (a waffle shaped like a sea bream and filled with sweet beans ) with a coffee….having got lost in the local mega store.

    Looking for a thermos flask, I found myself in the wheelchair department for some reason…..may need one of these some day……!

    私たちは皆、いつかは年を取ります…..

    …Do I need a shrine?….er….no…..

    …or maybe a tasty fin?………

    美味しい？よく分からないけど…

    👉 As you know from my blogs from Langen, I am fascinated by building sites. I am sure you share my enthusiasm…….ahem……well….what’s this then? On a very steep slope in Hoshikawa they look like they have built parking spaces…I couldn’t work it out – especially the little trees….

    家が建てられているのを見るまで、私はこれらの空間が何なのか理解していませんでした

    👉 but oh no….of course….you dimwit….they will construct wooden houses in these spaces. Like the one down the road…..perfect high quality woodwork….very impressive…!

    👉 Whilst we are looking at what Nigel can see from his bedroom window we can pause and look at the fantastic evening light the other day…..The View of the Towers

    塔の眺め

    Not appreciated by all. Miro-chan has other priorities…..

    ミロちゃんには他に優先事項がある

    👉 You will remember* that last week I mentioned playing music (* I expect you to read all my blogs diligently of course) .

    Portrait of a ‘cello at Senzoku-ike railway station….before…..

    智子さんとの音楽…….🎵

    ….and after….

    👉 Well, this week Tomoko and myself finally got it together…..(no, I am not inserting the recording here. Nobody wants to hear two amateur musicians scraping away 😅)

    👉 So if you are not playing chamber music or sitting in the luxurious seats of a Tokyo cinema, what can you do here in December then? Well, go to the beach of course. No, not to swim. They are horribly crowded in summer, but in winter?…….let’s have a look at Muirakaigan – only 45 mins south of Yokohama……

    ビーチに行こう………

    👉 Hello Japan in winter.……yes, it’s a kite….

    凧が見えますか？

    ….and there are horses….

    and pretty shells…..

    きれいな貝殻ですね…。

    ..and odd things….like radishes drying in the sun…

    天日干しされた大根

    and….well…what’s this?…..

    これは何ですか？

    …..a fish left high and dry…poor thing !

    彼は海にいるはずだ……

    ………a fishing boat that didn’t make it home….

    この船も港にいるはずだ

    …and always that seductive sound of the sea…..

    海の音は魅惑的です…

    👉 I love to see what efforts have been made in the past to haul boats out of the water. Either with muscle power….

    or with the help of a motor……

    古い機械…。

    But the sea always wins in the end…..burying the boats…..

    最後は必ず海が勝つ

    or carrying nutrients to the rock pools….

    海は栄養分を岩のプールに運びます…

    or by it’s mere presence….See those people? They were collecting shells, and had a little saucepan of water to clean them.

    blue is the colour……

    青、青、青……。

    👉 So there you are. No Kimonos, no cosplay, no temples…..but I did find a few Buddhas…..They crop up in mysterious places….like in Oppama further up the coast….

    …some are even coloured……….

    追浜の近くには岩に彫られた仏像があります

    Some are too big to be coloured….

    👉 Sometimes you find an old book of Sutras to pray with……However, the elements or the ants have got to this one …

    👉 No Japan blog is complete without this scene is it? I was of course photographing the power lines when I noticed that volcano in the background….

    この風景なしでは日本のブログは完成しませんよね？もちろん、電線を撮影していた時に、背景の火山に気づきました…。

    Well, that’s all for this week. Take care everybody. Try and avoid the ‘flue, and again …🎍あけましておめでとう…akemashite omodeto…Happy New Year!

    Thank you for reading, and feel free to forward on to anyone who might be interested.

    読んでくれてありがとう！。ご興味がある方にはお気軽に転送してください。

    See you またね 🍾

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    https://www.instagram.com/nigelruddock/

    The End

    終わり✨