Snow Observation in Nagaoka

Nagaoka City from a hotel

Nagaoka is a city where they have much snow in Japan. I went there for taking a course of snow observation. I stayed at the hotel just in front of the Nagaoka station.
 I went around the city in the morning. There were Hinamatusri exhibitions at some locations in the city.

Hinamatsuri Decoration 1

Hinamatsuri Decoration 2

 Hinamatsuri is a festival for girls. We pray that a girl have a good marriage. It is on March 3rd and also called "Momo no Sekku" which means seasonal festival of peach flower. We have two festival on the same day probably because a peach flower is a symbol of Spring.
At the tourist information, I asked about the place to stay only for one or two hours. Thesn, they recommended me "Tanita cafe" close to the station.

Tanita Cafe in Nagaoka

"Tanita" is a name of a company who makes scales. These couple of years, they make good health scales and promote healthy life. Their scale can measure the amount of fat and muscles with electric current. In the cafe, we can have an advice after we measure the precise value of body weight, fat and muscle.

Result of my measurement!

 This chart shows the amount of muscle (upper, blue) and the amount of fat (lower, green). If the value is higher, the color is stronger.　It means I have much muscles on my arms and legs, while I don't have much muscles in the center part of my body. And I have much fat on my arms. Totally, my body balance was not so bad. They calculated an Index of Athlete (how much you are close to an athlete??). For me it was 72/100. It means my body is quite athletic. Wow!!

However, I need strong muscle in the center part of my body because muscle of body trunk is very important for classical ballet. I am now thinking how I can train this part.

Anyway, it was very nice day with blue sky!

Snow Observation Course

I enjoyed a course of snow observation. In the yard of the institute, it was easy. However, it must be hard to observe snow layers and measure physical parameters in Mt. Fuji. OK, I don't need to worry too much for the moment. Let's just enjoy!

Field Work in Sakurajima

Sakurajima from Sakurajima Ferry (from Kagoshima city to Sakurajima Island)

We went to Sakurajima which is like a Island (but not really an Island because it is connected to Kyushu at a point), in December 2014. Sakurajima is in Kagoshima prefecture, which is the south part of Kyushu Island in Japan. This Sakurajima is quite famous as an active volcano in Japan.

What is our work? I cannot say our idea for the field work in detail because we haven't made any publication with this study. Anyway, our aim is to collect volcanic ash samples and their pictures.

My colleague making an special box for collecting volcanic ash samples.

At first, we waited for an eruption in the observatory. When the strain of volcanic edifice grows, we moved to the downwind direction. And there, we waited for an eruption again. Once it happened, we ran by a car to follow the volcanic cloud. Then, we collect samples just under the volcanic cloud.

My cap was covered with volcanic ashes.

It was nasty to work under the ash fall especially when it rained. The first eruption we caught was with a rain. So the samples were wet and it was very difficult to take good pictures.

Ash covered car.

Our car is coated by ashes. Though it is not clear because this car's color is silver, people were surprised with our car completely covered with ashes. Of course, we followed ash cloud!

Starting of the eruption.

 After two days, the weather became better. So I could see the eruption starting from Showa Crater. It was not such a big eruption, while it was exciting to see the volcanic cloud. Fortunately, it was not so scary this time.

Tonkotsu Ramen in Kagoshima city

My colleagues came back as they had other schedules. Finally, I became alone... I went out for eating dinner by myself in Kagoshima city where I stayed. I chose "Ramen" because Tonkotsu taste is popular in Kyushu. Tonkotsu means a bone of porc/pig. The soup of this ramen is taken by bones of porc. I like Ramen, and it was delicious!

Now, I am analyzing the data which we took in Sakurajima. I feel that these data are not enough and I have to come back to Sakurajima later again. It's my pleasure to come back!

Year 2014 to 2015

For me, 2014 was very busy year.

A summit of Mt. Fuji from helicopter

This year, I saw many aspects of this volcano. I worked for this volcano.

A summit of Mt. Fuji from Nanamagari parking lot of Fujinomiya (in Shizuoka) route.

Sometimes I saw it from Shizuoka prefecture, but mostly from Yamanashi prefecture as I worked for a Yamanashi prefectural government in Japan.

Mountain hut on the slope of Mt. Fuji. Many people visit and climb up to the summit of this mountain.

My work is to think about how to mitigate disasters of volcanic eruption around Mt. Fuji. So we searched evacuation route everywhere on the slope of volcano.

Lava tree with a professor of Akita University.

Our work is to educate people around volcano.  So there  were many events to show volcanic features of nature and give lectures. I met many people and many mysterious places of Mt. Fuji.

Amusement park of Gaspard et Lisa.

Mt. Fuji is a popular touristic spot in Japan. So there are many parks and sightseeing places around. Gaspard et Lisa is a book for children originally in French. These rabbits are so cute. I sometimes visit this park because it is free to enter.

Big things for me in 2014 are firstly, a visit of Hawaii in the end of September.

Mouna Loa from the parking lot of Jagger Museum.

I wanted to visit my boyfriend and my field in Kilauea, but I couldn't visit in 2013. So it has been one and a half years since I left Hawaii. I was very happy to enter the ocean as it was not so easy to get to the coast in Japan.

Kailua coast in Oahu Island.

I was very happy to float on the ocean. However, there were lava flow approaching to the residential area of Pahoa, in Big Island. Finally, this lava flow reached a house in November.

In Hawaii, I had a heartwarming dinner with my boyfriend's family. I thought like that his family is my family. It was wonderful evening. Just after I returned to my hotel, I got a call from my mother telling me a disaster of Ontake volcano.
So, one of the biggest things is an eruption of Ontake volcano. This makes me so sad, while at the same time, it made my motivation to work for disaster mitigation research.

Mt. Fuji from Kawaguchiko (lake).

I wish year 2015 would be a peaceful and nice year for everybody!!

Happy New Year

Mount Fuji Area, Introduction

Actually, I moved from Nagoya to Fuji-yoshida in April, 2014. I started to work as a researcher at Mount Fuji Research Institute of Yanamashi Prefecture, Japan. I have been very busy since I moved to Mt. Fuji area and I have not reported yet about this region.

Mt. Fuji from from the coast of Lake Kawaguchi-ko.

Mt. Fuji from a shrine gate "Kanadorii"

Our institute is at the north foot of Mt. Fuji. So I live in the town in the north region. Near my house, we can see Mt. Fuji from everywhere. One example is from "Kanadorii" which is a gate of the shrine "Sengen-jinja".

Mt. Fuji from a family restaurant "Gusto".

I often go to a family restaurant to have a breakfast (as it is cheap and I can read a newspaper there). From the restaurant, I can see Mt. Fuji so well.

Mt. Fuji from the 5th station in the end of April.

Mt. Fuji from the parking lot of 5th station in the beginning of July.

Mt. Fuji is often painted with snow on top,but it melts in summer.You can see the difference in scenery  of April and July.

Volcanic ejecta found around 4th station of Mt. Fuji.

I would like to add one comment that Mt. Fuji is a volcano. It's recent activity was in 1707 and the seismic activity was detected in the deep side of the mountain around 2000. So this mountain still has a possibility to erupt (active volcano!). This is a reason why we, volcanologists are employed to study volcanic activity of Mt. Fuji.

Atsuta Jingu

Atsuta Jingu is one of the most famous shrine in Japan. It is in Nagoya city but I haven't visited this place before. My friend visit Nagoya and so we went there together. Actually, our first aim to go to Atsuta is to eat Hitsumabushi. "Hitsu" means a wooden container of rice. And "Mabushi" means...? I am not sure. In some region (such as Kansai district) they call it also "Mamushi". I guess its origin is "Mammeshi" which means rice with eel. Yes, Histumabushi is rice with grilled eel on top.

A set of Hitsumabushi lunch! by Atsuta Houraiken

 There are three steps to eat this Histumabushi. 1st, Eat rice and eel simply. 2nd, Eat rice and eel with spices. 3rd Eat rice, eel and spice with hot soup called "Dashi".　Dashi is soup of fish or seaweed (In red pot of the photo above), often used for Japanese cuisine.

Next step is to visit the shrine. I was impressed with a gate of Atsuta Jingu because it was very big but not too shiny.

The gate (Torii) of Atsuta Jingu

With some woods around, it looked literally awesome. Especially,it looked nice on such pleasant day.

Hongu (Principle palace) of Atsuta Jingu

Here is a Hongu which means a principle palace. We pray just at the entrance of Hongu but we couldn't enter inside.

The entrance of Hongu where people bow and pray

We crap hands twice and bow. Then we pray putting hands together for a while. I am not religious person but I like this moment because I can be very quiet and calm. I often think about my family and someone who is very precious for me but not together right at the moment. I hope my wish reaches to the god and good things come true.

Inside of Hongu entrance

We cannot enter inside of Hongu. This makes us to feel the god of Hongu is so sacred. I imagine what is inside while it stays mysterious forever like this...

Ume (plum) tree with a lot of flowers.

Spring is the best season in Japan (I think). We can enjoy seeing flowers. It was too early to see cherry blossoms but we could enjoy plum flowers. I prefer plum as a symbol of my elementary school was plum. Plum is called "Ume" in Japan. Ume stays in cold weather during the winter and when the spring comes, they start to bloom at once. So with such cold winter, Ume can be beautiful. That was a way of teaching how to endure hard occasion to Japanese elementary students... When I was a child, I am honestly impressed with this story. I started to like Ume. In fact, the aroma of Ume is much better and stronger than cherry blossoms.

We see a couple just married by accident. They looked very happy and beautiful in the spring sunshine!

Just married couple

Then, at last... Sweets! This is a Japanese parfait with Marcha (green tea) ice cream, Dango (rice cake with a stick) and Anko (red bean paste). Also, there were some grains of rice at the bottom.

Dango parfait in Osu.

We had moved to Osu town in the center of Nagoya city from Atsuta. In Osu area, we can find many sweets shops and funny stores. It is very fun to walk around. I think Nagoyan (people in Nagoya) like Japanese sweets. I could find many sweets shops not only in Osu area but all over Nagoya.

Oh, I will stay in Nagoya only two weeks more. Next destination is not a bad place, but maybe I will miss Nagoya a little bit. A reason is... yes... Japanese sweets!

New Year's Custom in Japan (Part 2)

I would like to introduce some more events for a new year.

Hatsumoude （初詣）is to go to the shrine/temple for the first time of a year.

Iseyama Koutai Jinguu (Yokohama, Japan) on January 3rd

It is a custom for our family to go to the shrine near our house. I don't know the reason why my parents chose this shrine but it is quite big and many people comes. This year, I went there on new year's day and January 3rd. The picture above is the shrine on 3rd. So it was not too crowded. On new year's day, there are so many people that we can't move quickly.

Why did I go there twice? because... I needed a special pray for my Yakudoshi. Yakudoshi is bad/unlucky year and we have to be careful during the year. And so we try to remove bad luck which is called "Yaku" in Japanese. Yakudoshi is defined by the age (please refer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakudoshi). For me, this year is "Ato-yaku" which means unlucky year after the mainly unlucky year "Hon-yaku". In the shrine, "Kan-nushi"(priest of Shintoism) gives us a special pray called "Suzu-harae/harai" or simply "Harae". It is purification by removing bad things around me. I couldn't take a picture of this ceremony, but it is not too complicated. We were just standing in front of the god and bowing. The priest (Kan-nushi) say something (Norito) and did the action of cleaning us with white tool looks like a duster or broom. After the harai, we got a Ofuda (plate of lucky charm or bad-luck removing charm) with each name.There are some stalls for selling lucky charms. It is fun to see such colorful luck charms with various shapes. Some of them are in the shape of farming tool.

My Yakuyoke fuda (Ofuda)

Stall for selling lucky charms

 Another thing we always do in the shrine is to buy "Omikuji". It is a piece of paper with some words for predicting things in a year. There are some kinds; "Dai-kichi", "Chu-kichi","Sho-kichi", "Kichi", "Sue-kichi","Kyo" (from good to bad). This year, I got a "Kichi" which means good. Even with Atoyaku, I maybe have a nice year!!

Nanakusa-gayu （七草粥）
I ate a Nanakusa-gayu, this morning because it was January 7th. "Nanakusa" means seven herbs or weed. We memorize seven kinds as "Seri, Nazuna, Gogyo, Hakobera, Hotokenoza, Suzuna, Suzushiro" Haru-no Nanakusa. It is like a poem. "Haru-no nanakusa" means seven herbs in Spring because we also have "Nanakusa" in autumn. I thought we eat this as our stomach is so tired with many big meals during a new year's holiday. However, it seems that there is another meaning. Nonetheless we do not know the original meaning exactly.

Nanakusa-gayu which I cooked by myself

Mochi-tsuki （餅つき）
Mochi (Sticky rice cake) is indispensable for our new year's holidays and so we often have this event of making Mochi before the new year. Anyway, we had Mochi-tsuki in the campus of our university on 8th January. We could try beating Mochi with a Kiné (a big wood hammer). This hammer is heavy and so we need young power for making Mochi! In this event, we ate Mochi just after we made. Mochi is very soft and delicious when it has been just made. We ate with Kinako (powder of soy bean), Anko (red bean paste) and Oroshi (ground radish with soy sauce). I like sweet taste of Kinako and Anko. Oroshi was  also good with Mochi.

Mochi-tsuki of a girl

Mochi-tsuki of a young guy! We need  power for Mochi tsuki. 

New Year's Custom in Japan (Part 1)

Kagami-mochi

Flower at the entrance hall

New year's preparation starts from cleaning the house. Then, we decorate in our house with Kagami-mochi (rice cake) and flower arrangement.  We oftern include Senryo (red fruit plant) and Matsu (pine tree) in the flower arrangement.

Then, the biggest work is cooking Osechi which is new year's meal. For us, three days of new year are holidays. And so, we try not to cook at home for three days. Especially, it is meanigful for housewives, that they can have holidays only this period in a year. However... it is a big work!!
Although it is common to buy the Osechi from the department store or restaurant, my mom and I make Osechi as much as possible because it is a traditional cooking of Japanese cuisine, we think.
Here are some photos of preparation of Osechi.

Kuri-kinton

Namasu

Tazukuri

First one is Kuri-kinton which is chestnut and paste of sweet potato. This means financial good luck because the pronunciation of "Kin" is also for gold and money in Japanese. Namasu is vinegared white radish and carrots. As red and white is celebration color in Japan, this color contrast of Namasu means good luck in general. Tazukuri is small fishes with sweet sauce. It is also called Gomame. This is for wishing a rich harvest of rice.  Actually, sardins were good fertilizer of rice field.

New year's table with Osechi, Ozouni and Otoso

Oseshi foods are put into a box called Oju which is a red lacquered box. Oju consists of three boxes. We call Ichi-no-Ju, Ni-no-Ju and San-no-Ju.  There is a rule of putting foods into these three boxes but my family do not think too much about it. So I put them together without following strict rule. (please refer wikipedia or somewhere else about this rule). New year's meal is not only Osechi but also we have Ozouni or simply Zouni. Zouni is a soup with Mochi (rice cake). This soup and ingredients vary with location and family. Each family has each tradition. For my family, it is a soup of Dashi (soup of fish and seaweed) with chicken, carrots, Shiitake mashrooms and spinach. Yes, my mom put boiled egg for making it colorful! Then, the first thing we put into mouth on new year's day is Otoso.  Otoso is actually Japanese Sake (alcohol) with Toso-san. Toso-san is medical spices.This is for wishing good health.

 

As you see, there are many meanigs of new year's meal. I will tell you another custom for new year's day in a next blog...

For now,

Happy New Year!!

to you.

  

Fuji volcano workshop

Scenery from the hotel room (Hotel Noborizaka in Kawaguchiko town)

"International Workshop on Strategy of Volcanic Disaster Mitigation 2013" is held at Yamanashi Institute of Environmental Sciences(YIES). I went to the institute which located near Mt. Fuji because I am interested in the risk assessment of volcanic disaster.
I arrived at the hotel near the institute the night before. It was very dark and I couldn't see the scenery. Next morning, I opened the curtain of my hotel room and I was surprised with the beautiful scenery.  Wow, Mt. Fuji is very very close!!

Workshop at YIES

The workshop was interesting with active discussions. We raised many topics such as effects of volcanic ash, lapilli, collapse of volcanic edifice etc. Personally, I was happy to see my friend from New Zealand and talked about our collaboration. And I could see many important people for the risk assessment field in Japan and in the world.

After the workshop, I had a chance to go to the restaurant around. I found a Fuji-shaped croquette. I think that they are trying to make "Fuji-shape" products, for example cookies and cakes, after this area is registered as a World Heritage Site.

So, we have many tourists from various countries now. We went to the 5th station of Mt. Fuji next day. And we saw many tourists even though we can not climb up to the top during the winter and it was very cold there! (-4 C =24.8F).

Fifth station of Mt. Fuji (half height)

I heard Chinese and other languages. Nature guides told us that variety of tourists countries are increasing. Especially, Asian and Arabic people are coming more and more. Hmmmm, I think that it is very important to put some explanations in different languages. Actually, there have been already some guides and staffs who speak different languages at the 5th station and the visitor center. I was very impressed. The nature guide whom we talked with is a retired diplomat for foreign services and he speaks Arabic. I am so impressed!! 

Entrance  of Fujiyama Onsen

Finally, I was alone to wait for the bus to get back to my city. I had five hours and so decided to take a bath in Fujiyama Onsen. An entrance fee was a bit expensive, but it was good place to stay. They gave me towels and wears only for inside of this building. They gave me also a wristband with a bar code.  It means that we can store our luggage and clothes in the locker and only take a wristband. We can buy things with a bar code and pay everything when we leave.

Houtou of the restaurant in Fujiyama Onsesn

There is a restaurant inside and I ate "Houtou" there. You can find what this is in my old post (http://kaes-diary.blogspot.jp/2013_05_01_archive.html). This is one of my favorites!

It was tiring to come back to my home with four hours of bus + 30 minutes of subway. However, these two days were precious for me as a volcanologist and as a tourist.