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: blog

  • ⛩️ Hoshikawa, Odawara 星川, 小田原市

    6th January 2026年1月6日

    🔵 I wake up in the middle of the night. My feet are freezing. Socks, that’s what I need now. Hiking socks 🧦!

    But why is my room so cold? I think of that photo I posted last week. Of the wooden framework of a new house being built. Japanese houses do not have central heating 🤔. When you enter a cold room you just flick on the air conditioning unit, which doubles as a heater in winter. And a very effective one at that. A completely different concept of heating compared to that in Europe. It makes sense.

    1月は寒いですが、晴れています

    🔵 Since New Years Day Japan has been in a holiday modus. Look: here is Japanese man enjoying his Austin Healey Sprite…….

    星川の古い英国製スポーツカー

    Everyone has time – to eat, to drink, to take a walk, to go shopping – to relax in other words. Time to wear a kimono,time to bring the children on an outing. Time for the family. And I notice how strong that latter tradition is.

    🔵 Let’s start with New Year’s Eve.

    At my host family’s house in Hoshikawa, relatives, guests and friends are all gathered………

    まずは大晦日から始めましょう。

    It’s a make your own sushi job…..first grab some Nori (rolled out seaweed)……add some rice and off you go…..yummy!

    I lost count of the courses……

    Yu-san seemed to be in charge of the sake, which flowed freely……

    酒はゆうさんが担当のようでした

    Whilst Bibi, Isabell and Lavi share a joke in one corner…..

    🔵 Before the stroke of midnight we all had to eat Soba noodles. It’s a tradition…….

    そば

    🕛!

    夜中

    Then it’s coats and shoes on and off to the Shinto shrine……

    Tachibana Jinja
    橘樹神社

    🔵 It’s at Tennocho, only about 10 mins walk from the house. We shuffle forward in the long queue, passing under the sacred Tori gateposts…..

    The moon looks down from above…..

    Photo: Misako-san

    🔵 We finally approach the shrine. Here, two by two, we shake the thick bell rope, throw in our offering, bow and clap hands together. We wish for good fortune in the coming year….

    🔵 At the stand nearby we collect a yummy (free!) sake from a tent and huddle around a big warm fire. I notice that the local Yokohama fireman have taken over the responsibility here. I feel privileged to be a part of this really rather intimate old Japanese tradition.

    🔵 The next day, New Year’s Day, the celebrations continued. With a very special meal, using tableware brought out only once a year…..

    ……and bearing the Kanakura family crest – a cross formed by two feathers….

    Photo: Isabell

    A special teapot…..

    Lavi helps by making a sweet brocade egg cake called Nishiki Tamago (錦玉子)……

    Photo: Isabell

    Thank you Misako-san for all the delicious cooking 👏👏👏!

    🔵 Yes, the nights are cold. But the days are bright, dry and sunny.

    I need to get out and take in the fresh January air. With a benevolent air of politeness, cleanliness and punctuality, the Tokaido Line train deposits me in the coastal town of Odawara. It is a charming place, with a pretty castle, a wide open beach and a busy fishing port. It also happens to be on the route of the Ekiden – an annual running event. Spot a runner…..😅

    小田原市. (駅伝)

    The castle is easier to spot…..

    小田原市

    You enter the inner ramparts via a bridge over the moat…..

    …….and pass through one of the imposing gates..

    🔵 Soon you can see the heavy toll that the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake  had on the place. At one point a whole section of rampart simply slide down the hill and has been there ever since…

    But thanks to restoration and rebuilding the clean lines of the Edo-era castle can be appreciated….

    Early plum blossoms near the inner moat….

    …a display of wattle and daub….

    …the impressive main keep rises up at the centre of the complex….

    🔵 Usually there is very little to see inside these buildings. There are lots of very steep stairs and slatted windows. You climb up to the top for the view of course. But today the holiday crowds had formed a long queue at the entrance, so I headed down to the sea instead.

    🔵 Whimsical manholes were set into the pavements……

    And even the drains received artistic attention….

    Ignoring google maps, I found a way under the main road to reach the beach….

    小田原市.

    …a beach not unlike Brighton in Sussex….

    ビーチはイギリスのブライトンを思い出させます

    With a Wiltshire touch..(bizarre!)

    ストーンヘンジ!

    ……someone had built little stupa to adorn the scene….

    ….and at one point, in one of nature’s flourishes, a fresh water stream meets the ocean…..

    小川が海と出会う

    I headed for the harbour.

    🔵 When I first came to Japan I had a naive image of a land where ladies played the koto or strolled in their kimonos under parasols. Of ancient wooden houses nestling in valleys, neon flashing cities and, and, and, and. All this is still there.

    But I was not prepared for the daring civil engineering – a necessary skill in a country where roads and railways have to use the limited space available, especially along the coast. There is beauty here aswell……

    私は日本の大胆な土木工学に感心しています

    …..which sits cheek by jowl beside the traditional…..here a fish restaurant …

    …a boat enters the harbour undeterred…..

    船が港に入る

    It is a day boat,. The fish market has already dealt with todays’ haul….

    今日の魚市場は終了です

    …and a young heron perches on the roof eyeing any available left-overs….

    サギ

    🔵 Being a tourist can be hard work, and sometimes you just need to sit down, open your rucksack and enjoy whatever it was you bought at that convenience store……in this case a dorayaki…mmmm….https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorayaki

    But the boats never rest…

    whilst the birds circle above….

    Time to head home…..

    家に帰る時間です

    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🏯

  • 🎍 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✨

  • 🐈‍⬛ Purrrrfect practise 完璧な練習

    🐈‍⬛ Purrrrfect practise 完璧な練習

    Dec 27th 2025年12月27日

    🐈‍⬛ …….

    ミロちゃんはここにいる猫の中で一番速いです…

    👉 Miro-chan is the sharpest one of the bunch who roam Misako-san’s house in Yokohama. To be honest, I enjoy them all, if they want your company or not.

    A cat’s bigger relative is the lion, so we now go over to our lion correspondent down on the coast……….猫（ライオン）の親戚が報告します：

    👉”…… I used to have a quiet life guarding this shrine. It’s got a bit battered by sea winds in it’s time, but it’s still there….

    かつて私はこの神社を守りながら静かな生活を送っていました。

    …along with my neighbouring Buddha….

    私の隣人、仏陀

    But look down there! All these humans came and started to stack these boats up. It wasn’t like that in the old days….

    昔はそうじゃなかったのに…。

    And they spend half their time in or out of the water. I mean the’re not fish are they?…..”

    👉 “……You should try being a poodle, mate. I mean, I knew that foreigner was taking my picture, but he didn’t ask me did he? only my owner….so I turned away didn’t I?…

    プードルであることは違う

    …..all these humans do is leave their junk around. I mean, that was a perfectly good post van once….

    人間はゴミを放置する

    Not to mention the postbox…..I suppose it’s all texting these days…

    👉 Mind you, they respect a good designer when they see one…Here’s an Alec Issigonis I saw the other day……lovely job…

    しかし、彼らは優れた自動車デザイナーを尊敬しています!

    worth a second pic if you ask me…..

    👉 But come on. It’s Christmas. Never had that in my day though. It’s all this western influence. Mind you, some do it well. Like that choir in Rikkyo. They know how to do a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. Sounded great under maestro Shaw-san. And didn’t all those students get so excited?…”

    立教大学ではクリスマスです

    👉 “……At least I managed to compliment the violinist who played in the Wexford Carol. That was lovely – In all the choir was accompanied by three guitars, violin and flute, plus the organ…

    Needless to say I couldn’t get a word in….🤣

    Here’s the view outside: Rikkyo University chapel, Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

    👉 I even found myself singing “Adeste Fideles” in Japanese. Lucky I know the harmony off by heart, so I could concentrate on the words….

    👉 Look mate, you poodles just spend your time being poodled around. We cats choose our own spots…. Mugi-chan, that’s me. My owners actually live next door, but I like it here. Better company.

    私の名前はムギちゃん。どこに座るのが一番いいか知っています

    We arrange ourselves tastefully around Misako-san’s living room according to seniority and availability of sunlight…

    👉 Christmas was actually pretty yummy, because Misako-san’s husband provided this outrageous creamy stawberry cake….

    トシさんがクリスマスケーキを切る

    Christmas Eve, Hoshikawa – all guests present….

    👉 Now I didn’t put those hiking boots into my suitcase (max 23kg!) for nothing. With the help of my hosts’ walking book ….

    逗子周辺をハイキングします

    …..and google maps, I find myself on my third day in Japan in the hills near a town called Zushi, (no, not Sushi) about an hour south of Yokohama….In the distance you can see Enoshima Island, which is beside Kamakura (The place with the really big Buddha)

    The camelias were still making a brave show. Amazing flowers these…

    👉 One thing I like about walking through the woods in Japan is seeing strange birds. Ok, this guy looks like a pigeon, but with that subtle brown shaded plumage he comes under the name of “Streptopelia orientalis” or Oriental turtle dove…..lovely !

    👉 So much for my bla bla about sunny days here. The rain decended at about 2pm, just as I had reached the Zushi marina. As luck would have it I spotted a modest little eating joint. Out of the rain, into the Ramen. Wow!

    小さなラーメン屋を見つけました

    This was a new one. Two different types of seaweed with a pickled plum in the middle. It was delicious, though I had a few problems with the consistency…sort of slimy 🤣

    👉 Later on, as I was waiting at the bus stop I turned to a lady standing beside me >

    “Can I use a Suica card * on this bus?” I asked. (*travel card)

    Although I had spoken a sentence of correct Japanese, she instantly deflected my question to her daughter (a teenager). This is a typical reaction I get here. The parents seem to asume that their children are better at English. However, I was having none of this and continued

    ” I can speak a little Japanese you know”.

    The mother then relaxed a bit and asked me what I was doing here just before Christmas of all times. Fair question. But they would probably would never understand that one of the reasons I was there was to flee a European christmas 😉and….to play the ‘cello.🎶.

    I tracked down ‘cellist Aki.san at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan – the Metropolitan Festival Hall, where she was playing in the Fauré Requiem.

    私はチェロを借りるためにこのコンサートに行きました

    The place was packed ……

    The (Waseda University) student choir was incredibly disciplined, most of them singing from memory I noticed! And thanks to the excellent acoustics I could hear every word.

    Nightime rendezvous in Ueno Park…..the handover…..😅

    チェロのランデブー 😉

    👉 Ueno to Yokohama on the Keihin-Tohoku Line takes about an hour, but it’s a straight run. You just have to hold on to your cello ….

    京浜東北線

    The next day Tomoko booked a rehearsal studio in Tennocho….

    天長リハーサルスタジオにて

    👉 With time for that all-important FOOD slot on the schedule……..You know, sometimes I feel I could just eat my way through Japan 😋 with a spot of chamber music now and again.

    リハーサル後の食事！

    p.s don’t be conned by the signs in English – they are just there for show. You see that word “Royal” ? ….Well I dunno what that was about. Like this train which I saw yesterday….

    Kamata Station. 王族の人は見かけませんでした😂

    No idea. Better not to ask. Just go with the flow. With or without the Royals.

    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🍱

  • I skidaddle..逃げ出す

    I skidaddle..逃げ出す

    December 21st 2025年12月21日

    ▷ First the wonderful news: I have a new digital….electricity meter. Wow!…..🤣 the Langen company have promised that now it will be some much more convenient to calculate my bill.

    新しい電気メーターはあまりにも巧妙なので、誰も理解できない

    ▷ Fast forward a few weeks and there is my landlady and myself peering at the ever-changing information on the monitor. For heavens sake. Which display is the right one? ☹️

    ▷ The latest: A young man in a hi-viz jacket arrives. Oh. Apparently so many people have submitted the wrong information that he is going round reading the meters. How about that for progress…….

    ▷ I know you are just as excited 🙄 as myself to see “my” building site. Last week I caught a good schnapps moment for you. They work hard. But when I see the crane almost disappearing into the gloomy mist I know it’s time to skidaddle…..

    この暗い天気にはもううんざりだ

    ▷ So I have skidaddled. With a little help from the SAS flight out of Copenhagen…..no guesses where to.

    Mid-flight I went to the galley to ask for a glass of orange juice. On handing it to me the purser commented on the colour….”here’s you urine test sir…!” Trust the Danes. Merry bunch.

    ▷ For the first few hours we have to wiggle around conflict zones…notable Ukraine….

    私は逃げた………

    Let’s hope that little cabin pressure light never turns on…time for Spotify...”…….ground control to Major Tom…..” seems suitable….

    ▷ I love the way that, as the aircraft tilts, evening sun moves over the cabin….

    夕方の光

    ▷ Although it’s only marginally warmer than Europe, the big difference you notice when arriving in Japan at this time of year here is the light. There is lots of it…….

    日本は涼しいですが晴れています。青空が広がっています

    And it’s blue. Ginko trees in Yokohama……..

    横浜のイチョウ並木

    If you are not blinded by the sun, you will be dazzled by the clean floors of the train…..

    太陽で目がくらまなければ、電車のきれいな床に目がくらむでしょう…..

    ▷ Crossing the charmingly dilapidated bridge over the Tsurumi river…..to reach Yokohama…..

    ▷ I am befuddled by Jisa Boke – jet lag – on my first day. So the first place to go is the steamy, timeless world of the onsen – in this case the mineral spring baths of Hoshikawa……for just around 1.500 yen ( 8€. ) you have a wide variety of pools of different temperatures, indoors and out. Or you can lie in the water massage. Wonderful🫧

    天然温泉 満天の湯 Kamihoshikawa

    Every onsen has a rest area……

    Today is a lemon-floating day….

    ▷ The visit to the onsen is followed by a walk through Yokohama’s Chinatown. As well as the 250-odd Chinese shops and restaurants, there is a magnificently gaudy temple….a wiff of incense wafts across the street….

    横浜中華街

    ▷ The next morning it’s a walk on the promenade. My Whatsapp pings 💥My daughter has passed her Masters’ exam. Whooppee!

    ▷ Breakfast is pancakes, blueberries and cream accompanied by coffee…

    山科公園での朝食

    The coffee is“Koi”, which sounds the same as “love”, but when you write it you use a different Kanji Chinese character. Just one of the ways Japanese trips up Chatgpt et.al. Ha ha!

    ▷ Japan is safe, they all say. Yes it is, but there are some other challenges which are not in the travel brochures. Let’s say you want to park your bike and go into a restaurant. Park your bike? Try again. There is nowhere. Literally. Unless you are lucky and find a paying slot……it clamps your bike and then notes the time….

    レストラン街に自転車を停めるのは難しい

    But it’s worth the effort……The menu in the Izakaya is curious. No, I did not choose this….

    ▷ but this……

    Grilled pork, washed down with a nice beer…

    ▷ But there is more to life here than just skewered pork. There are are so many art venues in the whole area I would challenge anyone to visit them all. I decided to investigate the Tokyo Station Gallery. It’s actually above one of the grand entrances, and celebrates the restoration of the station after the bombing of WWII.

    東京駅では駅舎の修復に関する展示が行われている

    You get a fine view of the entrance lobby…

    With its Art Deco lighting…

    The gallery space has been left with curiously chipped brickwork….

    …and some of the original girders have been transformed by some deft iron cutting….(a half moon – of course – how Japanese!)

    The station today…..

    東京駅の現在 Photo: By Maeda Akihiko

    The actual exhibition was from about a young Showa-era painter……

    ▷ Later, on leaving the station I headed to the Imperial park complex, surrounded by the old moat of Edo Castle .

    ….

    ▷ Although it is December, people are sitting outside. Time to appreciate one of the many modern water features….

    …..and examine the purchase of the day…

    ▷ I’ll leave you now with with one of my Japanese icons. No, it’s not a Samurai warrior or a Manga figure. It’s a bottle of green tea. Thirst-quenching, ubiquitous and guaranteed to give you a lift….

    私の日本のシンボル：緑茶！

    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🍜

  • Who is Jack? ジャックって誰ですか？

    November 26th 2025年11月26日

    It was a day when it would have been probably better to stay under the duvet.

    👉 It was cold enough….

    寒い朝だった。布団の中は暖かかったのに。どうして起きなきゃいけないの？

    👉 But I had a violinist coming first thing. I had given her instrument the full make-over, so was interested to hear how she would react. Of course after two or three notes I could tell she was not happy with something. It was the strings. Not her taste. Ok, so I changed all the strings. Result? A happy smile. Good. Now it was time to pay. This is usually dealt with pretty quickly, thanks to my card terminal…..

    今朝はすべてがうまくいかなかった ☹️

    👉 However when I activated it, for some insane reason it wanted me to log in and identify myself….bla bla bla…What, whilst a customer is waiting? Oh, give us a break. “I’ll give you the bill and you can do a bank transfer ” I said. I reached for the printer. Great. Today of all days it decided to run out of toner. …….☹️

    カードリーダーが動作せず、プリンターのインクが切れました…。……..🙄

    My customer saved the day by transferring the money immediately on her mobile. Phew!

    Ah, at last, now I can go for that morning walk. I glanced out of the window to check the weather….What the.…⁉️…the nearby tower block was emitting black smoke…..

    助けて！あそこで何が起こっているの？

    You feel very alone at moments like this. Are you the only person to have noticed this? All was quiet. Quick! call the fire brigade!…..but where is my mobile 🤳???? whilst frantically searching, the reliable, solid landline caught my eye ☎️.

    I was on to the fire department in seconds. The man at the other end didn’t ask me anything. He just said: “Weserstr. Wohnblock on fire, yes….is there anyone on the roof?….” (luckily not). Seconds later I heard the sirens. Phew 😮‍💨.

    That’s quite enough for one morning I thought. Ignoring everything else I pulled on a winter jacket and walked out into the freezing, but glorious sunshine.

    Winter has hit Europe. My Italian correspondent, Ciara, is driving to Rome to sing in a massed gathering for St. Cecilia’s day….

    ヨーロッパに冬が到来。イタリア特派員Mzは聖セシリア祭のためにローマへ向かう途中です。

    And whilst sunlight filters through the trees in Tochigi…Komorebi { 木漏れ日 }…….the next day in Hessen is far from bright….

    栃木とヘッセン!

    But wait. All is not lost. Blue skies are possible, and the pigeons in Darmstadt know where to enjoy it – under the gaze of Ludwig I, Grossherzog von Hessen und bei Rhein….

    鳩はどこに座るべきか知っています…ダルムシュタット

    When he came down from his pillar he looked like this…

    He was quite an open-minded fellow, and supported the arts. The opening up of Japan was a bit after his time, but I think he would have appreciated Japanese culture….

    フランクフルトの日本蚤の市でティーポットと本を売りました

    Even if it was only a Nomi no ichi – a flea market….

    https://japanisch-kulturzentrum.de/veranstaltungen/

    Yes, I’m back in my old haunt – the Japanese Cultural Centre in Frankfurt….🎏

    It’s a nice opportunityto chat.

    “Who did you fly with on your last trip to Japan?” 🛬 Finnair? Lufthansa? JAL?

    How many yen did you get for your Euros 💴( a lot!)

    “so on return you also find Frankfurt dirty and loud? 💩

    “so desu ne……🙄” ( *so it was, yes….)

    👉 Jack. Not a name you often hear these days. But when I was little the adults would talk about someone called Jack Frost. He seemed to be a rather spiky, mischievous character who came in the early hours of the morning and disappeared as soon as the sun rose…..

    イギリスでは「ジャックフロスト」(Jack Frost) が霜をもたらす……..🥶

    He’s still around….

    leaving a trail of spiky beauty……

    Anyone for frozen toadstool, accompanied perhaps by a crispy Chardonnay?…….

    What? You’re going hiking in this weather?

    こんな天気でハイキングに行くんですか？

    👉 I remembered the old adage……”There is no such thing a bad weather, there is only unsuitable clothing”

    And anyway, I have a nice warm winter jacket and a woolly hat……and I knew that the walk Yorgos had planned for Sunday would include a warm meal at the end.

    It’s wonderful 😊to be up in the Taunus hills, crunching through the frost but feeling warm inside…

    冬のジャケットとウールの帽子を着て暖かいです……😊

    The sheep looked quite comfortable…

    羊たちは暖かいですね！☺️

    “Guten Tag…”

    こんにちは!

    However, not a day for a dip in the pool ……

    私たちは泳ぎに行かなかった………..

    no, no….

    👉 In these hills you will always find a hut for walkers. There will be somewhere to sit down and the floor is dry…..

    ハイカー用の小屋

    But hang on….. this doesn’t look too friendly…..

    Photo > Phe ここは友好的な場所ではないようだ ………😯

    This is what physicists do on their days off. When they get tired of particle acceleration they go to see some tangible white particles – snow. To find them you have to go up to the Grosser Feldberg (the highest hill in the Taunus range)….I’m glad she didn’t get lost or eaten by a Grizzly bear…….🧸

    Photo> Phe

    👉 Well, that’s all from the Towers this week. As I write this my friends across the road have decided to dig another hole. They are good at that……..

    家の近くでまた穴を掘っています。穴掘りが本当に上手ですね🙄

    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

    The End

    ⛄

    終わり

  • 🎹 “And that’s where the piano comes in” 「そこでピアノが登場するんです… 」

    November 18th 2025年11月18日

    As is typical for this season in Germany, the day starts with that drippy feeling….

    11月の朝に水が滴る..💧

    …..but the goods must be delivered…….

    列車は商品を運びます…..

    …and the buildings must be built (they start at 7am every day)……

    ….そしてビルダーは午前7時に開始します…!

    And the Gingko must make a blaze before the winter…..

    素敵なイチョウ

    This wild rose has not yet given up….

    このバラは11月でもまだ咲いています！

    A flash of defiant colour …..

    暖かい色

    Meanwhile, far away, in the warmth of a city hall in Kanagawa, 友子 san is playing in a community orchestra….

    神奈川で第一ヴァイオリンを演奏する智子さん

    Back in Langen. Here’s me waiting for the next customer……no time to tune up, just sit down and play an Irish 🍀 tune. Simply doing something that makes me feel good that’s all……………..

    🎧recommended….

    お客様を待っている間にアイルランドの曲を演奏しています 🍀 ヘッドフォン推奨 🎧

    I can’t find my kindle. Yes, it’s in my flat somewhere, and I’ve been looking in every nook and cranny for it. Ironically, instead of finding this state-of-the-art device, I stumble across a small catalogue picked up in a second-hand bookshop in Cardiff many years ago. It was printed in 1870, and lists the musical instruments in possesion of the “South Kensington Museum”, aka the V&A .

    Kindleを探しているのですが、皮肉なことに、このとても古いカタログを見つけました

    The loan record has one entry: the “S (?) of Art Cardiff. Date of issue: 21.2.71 (ie 1871). Date of Return :When recalled ( never….)

    1871年2月21日

    Amongst the copper plate engravings of instruments of Asia, I found this plate of a Koto…(the artist doesn’t seem to have seen many Japanese women in his lifetime!)

    このアーティストは日本人に会ったことがないと思います！

    …..and one of a Biwa “a kind of lute”…(bought, Paris Exhibition 1867). This must have been during the “japonismus” fashion that gripped Europe in the 19thc.

    Imagine my surprise then, when almost on the same day, Scott posts this picture on Instagram….

    He is accompanying a Biwa player on the organ!

    Enyo-san is giving a recital next Thursday, Nov. 20th, at Rikkyo University in Tokyo. In Chinese this instrument is called a pipa, apparently. Well if you’re in Tokyo just now…..

    One last curious note on this museum catalogue. The list of donors and lenders…….At the top we see His Highness The Viceroy of Egypt. Heavens, who was that? Well, as the British hadn’t taken over Egypt yet at that time (they did in 1882), this must be Is’mail Pasha of Egypt, Khedive (Viceroy) of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879.

    このコレクションのためにエジプト総督が楽器を寄贈しました。

    Known as Is’mail the magnificent, he led Egypt into such severe debt with his economic policies that he was forced to sell off his shares in the Suez canal (to the advantage of Britain of course, the canal being the life-line to India)…

    The other names would not be out of place in an Agatha Christie novel…..(!)

    I still haven’t found the kindle. But what also came to light was some early Japanese revision notes. On the subject of counting. Now counting in Japanese is not easy, as it depends on the shape of the object which you are counting. Thus apples and small compact objects have their own system – ” there are 2 apples” is : Ringo (apple) ga (particle) nikko (specifically 2 apples and not bottles of beer) arimasu (there are).

    日本語の数え方に関する復習ノートも見つけました!

    Many moons ago, when I first came to Germany as a violinmaker, a rather eager young journalist asked me that classic question “und was hat Sie hierher gezogen?” (what brought you to Germany?)

    “Kaffe und Kuchen” I replied. I am still at it, over 30 years later…..

    photo: Olexandra. フランクフルトのボッケンハイムでコーヒーとケーキ

    I am smiling here, but an hour beforehand I was furious. Furious at the Shirn Art Gallery. I had arranged to meet up with a friend there. On arrival at said Art gallery (Just near the cathedral) I was met by metres of high metal fencing. Only when I found the entrance to the Music school (who share the same premises) did I notice a rather pathetic A4 notice stuck to the door informing me that the Schirn had temporarily moved to the other side of Frankfurt at Bockenheim. Wow! Thank you Music School, but not the Schirn, who had left no sign as to their whereabouts. I checked the website. The first thing you see is this:

    As a mother-tongue genuine article Englishman, I took this headline at face value. (” so where is that then, please?”) But the dropped pin symbol and the co-ordinates where just there for decoration. Useless 😡. I later discovered that this was the name of an Exhibition, not a helpful signpost. I have since written a letter of complaint to the Museum Director. When I actually got to the new site the confusion just continued (there are two entrances). We eschewed the musuem café for a local one nearby ☕.

    The exhibition is all about Suzanne Duschamp, a rather neglected figure in the Dada movement. This arose at the beginning of the 20thc. as an anti-war, anti-art, anti-a lot of things movement. Here are just a few impressions….

    Dadaism was probably also anti-the-heavy-solidity of Jugendstil. I had walked past a classic example in Darmstadt the day before…The obelisk in memory of Princess Alice, who was, incidentally, British.

    The full inscription reads “Der Unvergesslichen Großherzogin von Hessen und bei Rhein / In Verehrung Liebe und Dankbarkeit / Gewidmet von Frauen und Jungfrauen Hessens / Errichtet im Jahre 1902.

    From the base of the monument you get a view of the Staatstheater Darmstadt, which was unkindly nicknamed the petrol station (or words to that effect in German) by those who work there. I like it, but it’s going to need a facelift soon…

    ダルムシュタット劇場は、意地悪くガソリンスタンドに例えられてきました…。

    Petrol station or not, it is the home of some fine opera and regular chamber music recitals. That’s why I was there. For Brahms’ string sextet 🎵 Sublime……It reminded me of how much I miss playing chamber music…..Thank you Sarah, 1st violin, for the invitation 🙏

    ブラームスの弦楽六重奏曲を聴きました。崇高な音楽です！

    So, before I leave you, I have to finish off my rant. In English it’s called letting off steam ……..

    Living in Germany, It is a regular source of irritation for me to see English being used just because people think it’s cool, eye-catching or whatever. you can’t avoid it……here are some common ones…..

    • Download (Downloaden or Herunterladen)
    • Event (Veranstaltung)
    • Team (Mannschaft)
    • Oh my God (Ach mein Gott)
    • Streaming (Strömen)
    • Highlight (Höhepunkt)
    • Sorry (Entschuldigen Sie bitte)
    • Online-deal (Geschäft übers Internet)
    • TV-Box (Fernseher Kasten)
    • Upgrade (nachrüsten)
    • Grumpy old man (haven’t seen this one yet 😄)

    Well, that’s it for this week.

    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 🙋‍♂️

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

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    The End

    🍰

    終わり

    p.s. Stop press……this Saturday…..get your bargain…..The Japanese Fleamarket / Japanischer Flohmarkt (蚤の市) in Frankfurt

    👺 https://japanisch-kulturzentrum.de/2025/10/02/japanischer-flohmarkt-3/

  • 🍴 Fancy a bite? ちょっと食べたい?

    October 10th 2025年10月10日

    Fancy a bite? Someone does in these woods, but I assume they know what they are doing….

    お腹が空いていますか？誰かが……..🤤

    Because they always leave these guys alone….

    Perhaps the black and white pattern is a warning sign…

    誰もこれを食べない…..🤮

    Of course none of this is noticed by the passengers sitting in the cosy seats of their Inter Regio train which roars by…..

    乗客はこれらの小さなことに気づきません!

    I’m on a little walk between Neu Isenburg and Langen. Right beside the railway. My archaeological training is spurred to life by the sight of this bronze age artifact….a weapon of some sort maybe?…..It is well preserved I must say…….

    奇妙な物体

    However, on reflection…..hmmm. Has a rather late 20thc. aura about it.

    Back to those mushrooms. I prefer the fruits of trees. Like this one. The fig tree outside my door. The sensation of biting into that soft flesh – ever so slightly grainy and subtly sweet- so soon reduced to the mere stalk and then the need for the next one….

    イチジク！美味しい！

    Preceded by some Gyozas and a Kirin and I am in heaven…or at least in Takumi….(Mendelssohn Str. Frankfurt)

    天国

    Autumn………I must have been in an “flowing” mood when I drew this Kanji character…..

    まあ、ここでは翻訳は必要ありません！😅

    The turn of the season seems to affect different trees in different ways..The Acacia looks like it is getting a disease….

    …and reminds me of the time I once drew the Kanji character for tree (Ki), but realized after the first stroke that I didn’t have enough ink in my brush……😮

    ああ、まずい。インクが足りなかったんだ😐

    It is also easy to get too much ink on the brush. The ink itself has this extraordinary tendency to create forms – here the silhouette of a man’s head (?)………

    奇妙な形….

    Being confined to home this weekend with some bug or other I turned my attention to my calligraphy efforts. Of which there are many…..(!)

    今週末は体調が悪くて家にいなければならなかったので、書道を見つめ直す時間になりました…。

    With a well-loaded brush you can make music…🎵..The first character means “sound”, the second one “fun/enjoy”. Nice!

    🎵

    In the meantime I have found another little “bit of Autumn” ちいさい秋みつけた [Chīsai Aki Mitsuketa]…..This maple leaf has drifted graciously to earth…..

    ~

    What shall I cook today?

    Certainly none of those mushrooms near the railway…..Maybe some hearty European stew…? after all, the parsnip was a rare find in Aldi…

    Aha….let’s add a bit of Asian pep…..mmmm….

    In fact a warm vegetable stew was just right for the chilly downturn of the weather this week….

    寒い日には温かいシチューがぴったりです…

    ~

    The other day a Chinese friend of mine called round to pick up a ‘cello case. With her 3 yr- old son bounding about with far too much energy, I decided to dig out some childrens’ books 📔📚 as a distraction. Of course they were all in English, but this didn’t seem to matter. However, later on I found the book which I had been looking for the whole time.

    Lao Lao -🐉 is an old Chinese folk tale about a simple good person being maligned by a greedy emperor. The poor woman is forced to sit in a cold tower and produce paper cuttings ad infinitum (rather like the girl in Rumpelstiltskin who has to weave gold thread). However, in the end good conquers over evil through the intervention (Deus ex machina – rather like a Handel opera) of the dragon who roams the earth, who sees and hears everything.

    子供向けの本当に素敵な本

    The text is in Chinese and English and is beautifully illustrated…

    …..following the main theme of the story – paper cuttings…….

    切り絵

    …with the chance at the end to have a go yourself. This is a very special children’s book. I thought the story was probably an old Chinese classic, but my friend had never heard of it. One wonders what they teach children in China these days….

    ~

    Well, I’m told a typhoon is approaching Japan this weekend. And I see I once tried to paint the character. Not a good example of brushwork, but very fitting to the current season! Literally “great wind”…….🍃

    あまり上手な書道ではありませんが…

    And it also seems to be the season for that home-made plum wine…………..☺️

    Photo> 友子

    ~

    👉 Well, thank you for reading this, and feel free to pass it on to anyone you think might be interested. These days you can translate a web site instantaneously with A.I. or Google translate.

    さて、これを読んでいただきありがとうございます。興味があると思われる方に、遠慮なくお伝えください。

    See you またね 😉

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    The End

    終わり

    🍄‍🟫

  • 🌤️ Castle in the sky 天空の城

    12th September 2025 年9月12日

    Welcome back to another episode of The View from the Towers in the UK…☺️

    👉 I have drunk 3 bottles of very nice Whitby Bay Craft beer 🍺 since arriving here in Somerset. So what should I do with the empty bottles? Without much thought I bring them back to the local shop for recycling. There I am met with a blank look of incomprehension. “Don’t you recycle them at home?” they say. I had forgotten. You can’t bring bottles back to shops in the UK. This is just one example of: It’s a funny feeling being in the UK.

    👉 I notice little things. UK instead of GB on the back of cars 🚘, impatient drivers in London, overseeing the fact that I am driving a foreign car. The fact that my 20 pound note is out of date.

    私の20ポンド紙幣は期限切れで無効です

    A lot of flags. Beers I have never heard of. And of course: I don’t have to use a foreign language to communicate, and people (who are generally very friendly) assume I live here.

    👉 But let’s move on……writing as I do rather like H.V. Morton in his 1929 book “In Search of England”. Except that he drove a bull-nosed Morris, and myself a 15 yr-old Audi…..and that “England” has changed beyond recognition – or has it?

    👉 Dunster castle is not for purists. Yes, It towers magnificently over the eponymous village, but all is not what it seems. It’s not just a medieval castle. Over the centuries the Luttrell family added to and changed the original structure, culminating their work in the 19th century with a vast comfortable Victorian residence.

    From the rooms you get great views…..

    ダンスター城は中世の城を改築した、快適な19世紀の邸宅です。素晴らしい景色が楽しめます！

    In the dining hall the table is set for the Indian polo team, with a place set for the Maharajah of Jodhpur……this is all very British Empire stuff……

    食堂にはインドのポロチームのためにテーブルが用意され、ジョードプルのマハラジャのための席も用意されている。

    While the clock still keeps the time……

    時計はまだ動いている

    You can flaunt yourself on the grand staircase….

    この階段の上であなたはとても大切な存在だと感じます

    …or play a Victorian game…….

    ビクトリア朝のゲーム

    Or be grateful you don’t have this plumbing any longer…..

    モダンな蛇口があってよかった

    You can visit the horse stables…..(if you like that sort of thing). However there is no muck or smell here…..or horses for that matter….(you’d have thought they would have a token horse🐴 munching hay….?)

    馬小屋

    (but I loved the cobbled floor……)

    床が気に入った

    The house is all a bit gloomy inside. However, The National Trust are at pains to point out that this is due to the UV filters on the windows – there to protect the fabrics.

    To be honest, I found all this heavy emphasis on conservation and preservation a little oppressive at times. It was at moments like this when I was reminded of the Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi – 侘び寂び – the beauty of imperfection and impermanence. A world view, an aesthetic and a way of life so distant from Western ideals. Both have their merits, but not when pushed to extremes…

    👉 However there is a bright conservatory…….

    家は少し暗いですが、明るい冬の庭があります

    …and a fun hat and costume room…..

    帽子を試着しました

    ……..and then the gardens. Well that’s a different story: ……..we are at a castle, so why not float into the sky with Laputa?

    p.s. I hope they bring this piano in when it rains….

    天空の城

    …In the grounds a climbing project had been set up . Needless to say I was happy to remain a spectator…….Not so my tough Japanese companion….

    私の日本の友達は私よりも健康です！

    A short walk down the road is the water mill with its picturesque wheels and packhorse bridge…..

    水車

    which of course led us to the…..

    二人でお茶

    👉 The classic National Trust tea shop. But oh what was this…..? “Sorry the dishwasher is broken” said the girl serving….”we are using disposable cups and plates today….” Now what would H.V.Morton have made of this? The coffee and cake were fine….it’s just that I had had this fantasy of a traditional English afternoon tea….not a McDonalds-type beaker and a cardboard plate……😢 We had charming company though…..

    好奇心旺盛なコマドリ

    Dunster Castle. Don’t miss it if you are in the South West of England…..https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/somerset/dunster-castle-and-watermill

    Apart from the castle, the village is a pretty place but not designed for those hulking fat SUVs which people feel the need to drive these days. We had a look into the church with its fine medieval screen……

    地元の教会

    ….somber monuments trying to look permanent despite our impermanent lives….

    古代の墓

    …..towering arches……

    …..and some rather tasteful Victorian stained glass…

    素敵なステンドグラス

    Well, that’s all for now. 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

    The End

    🪶

    終わり

  • 🖋️ The View from the Desk 机からの眺め

    August 9th 2025 年8月10日

    👉 The view from my desk can sometimes be rather distracting. I don’t remember, for example, having ordered a coffee table……

    コーヒーテーブルを注文した覚えがない😂

    So I must retain some fudoushin ふどうしん( 不動心) and remain imperturbable . I read this word in Japanese today and didn’t know what on earth it meant. But seeing that character 心 at the end should have prepared me for something deep. 心 means mind, heart or spirit, and I even have it on my wall at home as a calligraphy exercise!

    心

    I would probably never use imperturbable here in Germany because I know I would have to explain it. Here is the Oxford English Dictionary…

    難しい言葉 🙄

    So there you go. Pearls of knowledge from a building site.

    👉 There’s nothing quite like a spontaneous hike with friends. But with such a hot weekend a cool route is called for. So no to the open vineyards of the Rheingau or ruined castles baking in the heat. What we needed was a route almost entirely in the shade.

    東京ほど暑くはないけど、十分暑い！

    Those who can’t come offer you a colourful range of situations they find themselves in. The globetrotters: “I am in Brazil and flying to Chile tomorrow, otherwise would definitely join! The thinkers: “I am thinking about it”. The organized: “Sorry, I have a prior arrangement”. The unfortunates: “I feel worse and worse” (all sympathy here). The stay-at-homers: “I need a day at home”. The mysterious: no reply.

    Well, in the end there were only two of us left. But there are advantages to that – flexibility is one of them.

    👉 The route took us through the shady woods south of Darmstadt. It was very quiet – only the odd dog walker or jogger trudging by. Maybe everybody was doing their shopping. It was a Saturday morning after all. Nature stood still. Not a breath of wind :

    レストランのある静かな池

    At times the luxuriant vegetation was higher than myself….

    花は私よりも背が高かった

    One area of the woods was devoted to art installations. An imaginative “rain machine”……

    アート。「雨の機械」

    A dome which teased the eye – was this art or trees? It seemed especially designed to be photographed to produce a deception in your camera…..

    欺瞞的な芸術

    ………….chiming, tinkling, boat-at-harbour-like tones……

    フェーさんが「サウンドインスタレーション」に挑戦
    これは港の船の音のようだった

    👉 Climbing up a steep path, passing an observatory, we arrived at the Ludwigsturm (Ludwig Tower) on the Ludwigshöhe. From here you get a panoramic view of Darmstadt, and on the horizon, Frankfurt.

    展望台からはダルムシュタットとフランクフルトの景色が見える

    The rather impressive 19thc. tower has never been open all the times I have been here. And the adjacent restaurant was shut because the owners were on holiday (The summer holdays are a sacrosant period in Germany. My customers don’t pick up their violins, the Opera houses and schools don’t pay their bills…all because it is Ferien (holidays). Let’s not worry about that violinmaker who still has to pay his overheads. There is even a word for it: The Sommerloch (The “Summer hole”)).

    👉 I forgot to mention one piece of art poised between two trees. It was made up almost entirely of oyster shells……curious….

    カキの殻

    Is this art?

    それは芸術ですか

    👉 Well, thank you for reading this, and feel free to pass it on to anyone you think might be interested. These days you can translate a web site instantaneously with A.I. or Google translate.

    See you またね 😉

    nigelwruddock@gmail.com

    The End

    🚶‍➡️

    終わり