Life In Japan: Winter Storm

I was born and lived in Michigan, for over thirty-four years. I lived that entire time through Michigan winters. They were both brutal and beautiful. We had snow on the ground two to three months out of every year. It would typically snow once or twice a week. 1” – 4” was the routine. Since the temperatures in late December up through March were usually well below freezing, the snow remained.

Obviously, that all changed dramatically when I moved to Los Angeles, California. The only “snow” I saw was on the inside of my freezer. It was hardly enough for a snowball, much less enough to make a snowman.

When I then moved to Portland, Oregon, then finally where I now permanently live in Japan, on rare occasions the white stuff fell from the heavens — three or four times a year — but then usually melt either the same or the next day. I still find it amusing that there’s so much drama when we get so little snow. Granted, people neither are used to it, as I was in Michigan, nor is there any of the necessary equipment and staff to deal with it. But only the slightest thin blanket coats the roads and sidewalks. And since it’s gone within 24 hours, it’s hardly a worry.

Well … this past weekend, I was transported back in time four decades! We got hit with a real blizzard! When the storm subsided, we had over 30 cm (12 inches) of snow to deal with, along with three days of sub-freezing weather. I have to say, while I sympathize with the locals who have little clue how to drive in this, I’m nostalgically ecstatic! I feel like I’m back to my original home.

I even made a couple snowballs and gave them a good toss!

It sure is good that this doesn’t happen very often. I don’t have snow tires for my bike!

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

Life In Japan: Winter Storm | John Rachel

Life In Japan: A New Crown!

Last week, I got a new crown!

No . . . NOT THAT type of crown. One for a tooth that fell apart. It had a crown from long ago but that fell out leaving a jagged mess of a molar.

Now, we have in Japan what most Americans would call “socialized medicine”, a one-payer, government health insurance program, strict controls which prevent profiteering, and national standards for everything medical.

Uh-oh! Socialized medicine! That means long waits to get help, crowded waiting rooms, inferior service, all the problems that come with massive bureaucracy.

Well, I got an initial appointment within 48 hours, and only waited about ten minutes to get in to see the dentist. He took an X-ray, an impression, then filled the exposed area of the tooth with a temporary filler. One week later, after maybe a five minute wait in the reception area, he cemented in the new crown — which, by the way, fit perfectly and didn’t require any grinding or adjustments — and sent me on my way.

Two appointments, a total of less than 40 minutes in the dentist chair, and I had a new crown!

Now some research (here and here) tells me this: “Typical prices in the U.S. for a molar dental crown range from about $800 to $3,000 per tooth before insurance, depending on factors such as the material used (metal, porcelain‑fused‑to‑metal, zirconia, etc.), geographic location, and any additional procedures required. With dental insurance, out‑of‑pocket costs often fall between $400 and $1,200, but exact amounts vary by plan.”

Here are my receipts for the two visits:

According to XE Currency Converter, 1340 yen = $8.55 and 2560 yen = $16.33, meaning the total cost for my new molar crown was $24.88. Of course, I used the “socialized” one-payer national health insurance, as I do for all my medical care.

$24.88 … vs. … $400 to $1200.

Do you think that the bad rap that socialized health care gets in the U.S. — as with anything remotely suggestive of SOCIALISM — might just be a big pile of propaganda, to keep the gravy train of bloated profits for the broken system in America rolling along?

Some time ago, I wrote a similar article about a visit to a local clinic to get a thorough heart examination: Life In Japan: A Morning at the Clinic.

Draw your own conclusions about “socialized medicine”.

______________________________________________________

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Carpe diem!

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

Life In Japan: A New Crown! | John Rachel

Life In Japan: Building a Catio | John Rachel

A catio is a cat patio. It offers an outdoor space for kitties that are mostly kept indoors.

Frankly, it breaks my heart that our three cats can’t run “in the wild”, doing things that are quite natural for them to do: chase butterflies and birds, crawl through undergrowth, roll in the grass, smell flowers. But our house backs up on a forest. There simply are too many predators. We have foxes, raccoon dogs, Japanese badgers, huge hawks which can pick up a full-size cat and fly away, snakes, occasional wild boars.

And then there’s the monkeys!

Yes, we have several large families of Japanese macaques living all around us. Sometimes they just look for food, sometimes they are aggressive, as when one jumped on the hood of my step-daughter’s car and ripped off her windshield wiper.

The catio will let them enjoy the outdoors without fear of being attacked or otherwise terrorized.

I can’t say that building it was a simple, straightforward process. Without blueprints or any model to work off of, the only option was to make it up as I went along. So I did. Aside from creating an enclosure which kept the kitties in and predators out, I had to make it typhoon proof. Even though we’re pretty far inland, two or three times a year we get serious typhoons with steady winds of up to 80 kmh (50 mph), gusts even higher. My catio is secured to a cement foundation. So in a worst case scenario, it might collapse but it certainly will not blow away.

Anyway, here are a few photos of putting the catio together, and finally the kitties enjoying it.

Next we’ll do some interior decorating: plants, ground covering, ladder, shelves, maybe a hammock. Fountain? That would be nice!

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

Life In Japan: Building a Catio | John Rachel

Life In Japan: Mount Fuji

Life In Japan: Mount Fuji | John Rachel

Over a decade ago, my wife and I were on a road trip. We spent a few days in Nagano and then headed for Tokyo. Mount Fuji was conveniently on the way. Unfortunately, all we saw was a giant gray cloud which completely shrouded the famous landmark. We couldn’t even discern an outline of the peak.

Just recently, we tried again, spending three days in the Mount Fuji area. The weather was totally on our side, with clear blue skies every day, and hardly a cloud in sight!

There’s so much going on there, you could easily spend a month and not do it all. Museums, shrines, temples, sky trains, hikes, lakes, water falls, onsens, dairy farms, many excellent restaurants and hotels, even a safari park. We chose to drive all the way around the huge mountain, viewing it from every possible angle, doing what we could along the way.

By the way, back in 2013 I wrote a very short story called “Climbing Mt. Fuji”, though I had never climbed or even seen Mount Fuji. I guess you’d call that ‘literary license’, eh? Anyway, the story was read at a literary get together in Chicago. Here’s the video . . .

Next time we visit the area, I promise I’ll attempt to climb the mountain, at least to the lower base camp. Hopefully, that will make me an honest man. Until then, let’s keep my little secret just between you and me.

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

Life In Japan: Mount Fuji | John Rachel

Life In Japan: Taiko

Taiko is traditionally not the highly stylized drum performance we think of nowadays. Taiko actually refers to a wide variety of drums and approaches to rhythm embraced by Japanese percussionists, going back as far as the 6th Century.

However, in 1951 Daihachi Oguchi, a jazz-trained musician based in Nagano Prefecture, transcribed into modern notation several traditional Taiko pieces, adding his own touches. He formed his own ensemble — Osuwa Diako — and performed these modernized works. The new performance style, known as kumi-daiko, quickly grew in popularity, and soon many other ensembles formed and continued to popularize the musical form.

Taiko performances are common both in Japan and other parts of the world. We recently had such a performance at the castle grounds located in the heart of downtown Tambasasayama.

As a songwriter/music producer, I love taiko music! There’s the drama of the choreographed drumming making a riveting visual statement. But it’s the power and energy of the layered rhythms which most captivate me. The first layer is the towering tribal warrior beat which drives the entire performance. On top of that and weaved throughout are some very interesting counter rhythms. It’s impossible to stand still and not smile at one of these performances.

Hey! You want to really surprise your friends? Hire one of these taiko groups for your next birthday or anniversary party. A good time is guaranteed for all!

And you might make a new friend . . . like we did.

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

Life In Japan: Taiko | John Rachel