Japan
WELCOME TO JAPAN!
Welcome to Japan! We arrived in Japan around 3:30 Japan time. We are very excited to be here! How about some first impressions!
The weather id definitely different! We left behind the beautiful blue skies of Eugene and entered the cloudy skies of Tokyo's humid and hot and rainy season. Oh well!
In the Tokyo part of Japan, there are buildings everywhere! And boy are they built close to each other! Speaking of close together, I took my first Japanese bath tonight. The bathtub is very deep but not very long, so my knees were pushed right up to my chin. What a kick!
The good news? Lots of bicycle riders. The bad news? Very few of them wear helmets. Darn! I saw my first shrine today: the Okunetama Shrine! It was established in 111 AD. Pictures coming! We had a wonderful Chinese meal tonight of noodles and chicken and dumpling for $21! Yeah!
That's it for now as I am about to fall asleep on my keyboard! More to come! Thanks for reading!
CURRENT JAPANESE EXCHANGE RATE
10 USD 1420.6 Yen
100 USD 14206.0 Yen
1000 USD 142,060 Yen
500,000 USD 71,000,000 Yen
1 Yen .0070 USD
10 Yen .070 USD
100 Yen .70 USD
1000 Yen 7.00 USD
10,000 Yen 70.00 USD
50,000 Yen 350.00 USD
100,000 Yen 700.00 USD
1,000,000 Yen 7,000 USD
6,500,000 Yen 46,000 USD
10,000,000 Yen 70,000 USD
55,900,000 Yen 394,000 USD
Japanese news in English: Japan Times: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/
AVERAGE WEATHER IN TOKYO (on the left) and EUGENE (on the right)
https://championtraveler.com/
MONTH HIGH LOW HUMIDITY RAIN Eugene Rain Eugene Humidity
January 50 36 32% 2 4.1 84
February 51 37 39% 4 4.2 79
March 57 42 41% 4 5 73
April 66 50 48% 6.4 2.5 68
May 75 60 53% 6.5 2.1 64
June 79 67 65% 7.3 1.2 59
July 87 74 67% 4.5 .5 49
August 89 77 64% 5.3 .3 50
September 82 70 63% 10.4 1.4 56
October 73 60 57% 8.7 3.1 73
November 63 50 50% 4 4.9 82
December 54 40 40% 3.2 6.5 83
TOTAL 66.3 35.8
Dew Point Ranges
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/weather-stories/2020/06/06/dew-point-or-relative-humidity-
The general rule of thumb is that dew points in the 50s or lower are comfortable during the warm months. 60 to 65 and it feels sticky or humid. Dew points above 65 are downright muggy and even tropical when they reach the 70s.
More Dew Point Ranges
https://www.wunderground.com/history/monthly/jp/tokyo/RJTT/date/2023-5
May average = 57
June Average = 66
July Average = 75
August Average = 75
September Average = 71
October Average = 56
Humidity: https://weatherspark.com/y/143809/Average-Weather-in-Tokyo-Japan-Year-Round#Sections-Humidity
"We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.
Tokyo experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.
The muggier period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from June 11 (23% Dew Point) to September 29 (23% Dew Point), during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 23% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Tokyo is August, with 27.4 days that are muggy or worse. August 8th has a 91% Dew Point!
The least muggy day of the year is February 13, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of."
NUMBER OF MUGGY DAYS
What is not so gorgeous are the concerns raised in this article I found about the experience of a woman of color in Japan.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2023/06/19/voices/note-people-color-interested-living-japan/
"Long-term, if you can tolerate, dismiss or ignore being the object of constant stereotype-laced presumptions, irrational fear or untoward curiosity — you’ll probably have a great time in Japan. If you’re not that person, you can still power through and reach your objectives. The students understood, sadly, it’s familiar ground to many Black Americans. It’s not the first time they’ve had to choose how to respond to ignorance. But, how do you process these interactions in a way that doesn’t negatively impact your self-esteem? Figuring that out will be your key to success here."
That is some beautiful writing! At the same time, I am saddened by this state of affairs in Japan. I am certainly going to do my part to address "Japan’s pervasive xenophobic and exclusivity mindset."
BEST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY CAR FOR JAPAN
Ah, the world of decision-making! Hybrid? All electric? Gas and Electric? What's best???? What about the production of the energy for these different cars? Use of coal? Nuclear power? Other?
The following information is taken from this web site: https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/japan-transition-electric-vehicles
According to that article (written in July of 2021), "Japan is transitioning to 100% electric car sales by 2035."
ENERGY PRODUCTION
The following is taken from this web site: https://www.statista.com/statistics/745675/japan-share-of-electricity-production/
According to that article, written in January 4, 2023, the following is how electricity was produced in Japan in 2021.
- Natural Gas: 34.4%
- Coal: 31%
- Renewables: 20.3%
- Petroleum and Waste: 7.4%
- Nuclear: 6.9%
FEAST FOR THE EYES!
I was thinking that I needed to wait until I have my professional camera equipment. I forgot that I can take decent photos with my iPhone. So much fun!
These are all pictures from our first full day in Japan. Amazingly enough, despite the fact that it is the start of the rainy season, the weather is gorgeous today! The first picture is of the Okunetama Shrine, a very cool site that is five minutes from where we are staying in Fuchu. The second picture is of the entrance to the Tokyo Racecourse, the most famous horse racing racecourse in Japan. The third picture is of the Anyo-ji Temple in Fuchu.
We had quite the shopping experience today! We bought a high end photography printer, a microwave, and other appliances at K's Denki. I have never seen so many employees in one store! I swear that they had a employee stationed in just about every aisle of the whole store! At one time, we had four different employees helping us! It was probably the most responsive customer service I have ever experienced. How do they make any money when they have to pay so many folks?FINDING MY BEARINGS AT THE RACECOURSE!
The mix of older and newer architecture in the Fuchu/Tokyo area is quite impressive! This is a shot I took of the entrance to the Tokyo Racecourse during a nice run this morning. With the help of my iPhone, I was able to successfully navigate a three mile run. Progress!
The Tokyo Racecourse is quite an impressive facility. It is huge, to say the least! It was built in 1933. According to the source listed below, it has a capacity of 223,000 and seating for 13,750. Those figures make this the highest capacity horse racing facility in the world! The perimeter of the course itself is just over a mile. If you include the grounds, the overall perimeter of the facility increases to 1.5 miles or a little more.
To say the least, this horse racing is big
business. For just the Japan Cup, there is 6 million dollars tied to
that event! Catch this! In 2021, the betting turnover for the Japan
Racing Association races totaled close to 32 trillion Yen or 7 billion
dollars!
In addition to the facility, there is some wonderful landscaping and a beautiful garden. I would like to gain entrance just to see that part of the facility!
It is truly incredible to me
that there are so many people interested in watching horses go around a
track. However, given the facility and the number of spectators, one can
certainly feel the potential excitement! In addition, many people have a
love affair with gambling. This is one big-time way to satisfy that
desire.
https://www.gamblingsites.com/horse-racing/tracks-courses/tokyo-racecourse/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1239798/japan-turnover-race-betting-by-sport/
THE AMAZING IPHONE 14 PRO!
This morning I ran to Fuchu Park. What a wonderful Park! I feel so fortunate as our new house is just a short distance from the park. In addition, also within close proximity, is the Shogaigakushu Center, which has a fitness facility, tennis courts, an indoor pool, and table tennis! Lastly, Sengenyama and Nogawa Parks are also in that neighborhood. We will be in park heaven!
A NEW FRIEND!
I think the photo for "A New Friend" captures some of the tranquility and beauty of the temples and shrines in Japan. For my run this morning, I think I went to at least four different temples, all within a mile and a half of where we are staying. Amazing! Just as amazing is the combination of shapes and angles and colors and shades. Many of these temples have cemeteries next to them. The cemeteries themselves are quite photogenic!
Another blessing this morning was that it appears I found my first friend in Japan, besides family. I was running very slowly and another runner approached me and asked me where I was from. We ran together for a bit and then exchanged phone numbers. His name is Alkato. We are going to get together for a run soon! How cool is that!
One thing I am enjoying is the tranquility and peacefulness for the temple grounds. The early morning hours have been heavenly in that regard!
TOYOTA BREAKS CUSTOMER SERVICE RECORD!
We just had the most unbelievable customer service experience ever! Here is what happened.
We are in the process of buying a Toyota Sienta car.
We went today to do a test drive of that car.
The sales person agreed to allow us to go to our motel in the Sienta we were test driving and pick up my bike and take it to a local bike shop that my wife likes. We have been looking for a shop to put together this very expensive, high-end racing bike.
That shop said they could not set up my bike.
The Toyota sales person said he would keep the bike and help us find a shop that would put together my bike.
The Toyota sales person called five other bike shops! All five said no to setting up my bike.
My wife then called a shop called "RERIDE" and the owner said he would set up my bike.
As we speak, the Toyota sales person is delivering my bike to RERIDE. Unbelievable!
Toyota has certainly earned our service! I can hardly wait to start riding again!
All the best,
Bob
A FLOWER FIESTA
OK, I have figuratively died and gone to heaven! I cannot believe the quality of these photos for a hand-held phone! These were all taken at Kyodo No Mori Park in Fuchu, just 1.5 miles from our motel. The park has several ponds that are home to these water lillies,. The word got out as there were a number of other photographers taking advantage of nature's flower show. What a treat!
Speaking of treats, I am really enjoying exploring the different neighborhoods. In terms of a comparison with the United States, Japan has many very narrow pedestrian pathways that connect the different neighborhoods. When going in these pathways from the downtown areas, I feel like I am entering another world!
The Japanese are very strict about pedestrian crossings. It is a big no-no to cross the street if the pedestrian light is not green. This can be a bit frustrating when there is no car to be seen! However, I have been a good boy and have been obeying those signals!
THE EPITOME FOR TEACHERS!
What is the epitome for teachers? To hear from former students and to find out they are doing well and are living satisfying and productive lives. I had just such an experience today! I reconnected with Cam, a very fine young man whom I coached at Springfield High School from 2007-10. What a joy it was to again experience his contagious smile, his grace, his talent and intelligence, and his zest for life. This is what keeps teachers like me in the business of teaching. All the best of luck to you, Cam!
The other pictures are from a short but worthy excursion we took today to the Jindaiji Temple. What a captivating site to share with Cam! I am looking forward to another visit to this site as they have several botanical gardens. And so it is with Japan's never-ending beauty!
THE BIKE PRICE SHOCKER
The photos are of the Kokubunji Temple, a mile and a half north of our motel. Another interesting and unique site! I love the colors and the angles and the shapes! When I take shots from different perspectives and not just from standing front and middle, I get some very fascinating effects!
Interesting, but not quite so positive, is the price tag for having my bike put together. At this point, it appears that price tag is around $450. Ouch! We have not yet picked up the bike, so we do not have the details. The mechanic did say that there were some broken parts. However, I did not think it would be $450 worth of broken parts! Oh well!
I will continue to work on finding a bike shop with whom I can have a long-term relationship. I was definitely spoiled by Len, the owner of Len's Bikes in Springfield. He is amazing!
Speaking of amazing, I continue to be amazed at the intricacies of customer service in Japan. For a country that I think prides itself on efficiency, the customer service focus seems to be on relationships and extensive communication. In short, there is one heck of a lot of talking going on! Unfortunately, I cannot understand any of it! For all I know, they could be talking about the weather! I am going to try and use Google Translate to see if I can catch some of the meaning.
MY FIRST RUN TO THE TAMA RIVER
Today I went for a run with my new friend Alkato. He gave me a wonderful tour of the area, including a short stint along the Tama River. We also ran by a very nice garden park, Kyoudo no Mori Kouen. Exciting to see a new area! He was a very gracious host as he told me about his life and his travels and work in different countries. He retired from his job with Yamaha and now has his own business. He and I share a love of running and good health and good relationships. In addition, like me, he likes to have goals and finds motivation from working to achieve those goals.
LIFE AGAIN AND AGAIN!
So much of life is about repetition! Today was my third or fourth visit to the gorgeous Okunitama-jinja Shrine. Each time I go, I see something different! That is the way it is with serious high end photography. Those photographers go back to certain scenes again and again. They keep looking for that unique and perfect shot.
The red building is the Ono Shrine, another member of the Japanese unique structure club!
Tomorrow, our repetition and practice and execution moves us one step closer to the final stage of our move to Japan. We will be moving into our new house, although we will not have any furniture and other possessions until July 17th.
One of the reasons Setsuko and I make a good team is that we both have the discipline to continually apply and repeat the little steps necessary to make big changes. In many ways, the changes do not get much bigger than this!
A HOUSE, SOME TEMPLES, TENNIS, AND A LOT OF HEAT!
I cannot tell you how many times in life my first impressions turned out
to be way off base. Such was the case with these pictures. At first
glance, I was not happy with them. However, they have definitely grown
on me, especially with some editing! They are all pictures of temples
and cemeteries adjacent to those temples. It is fascinating to me how
elaborate some of those gravestones are!
We are in our new house with no furniture! All of the items that were shipped will be delivered on July 17th. The plot thickens!
Setsuko reserved a tennis court for today, so we had the pleasure of playing tennis when it was 99 degrees, with 75% humidity, and with a Dew Point of 75. Yes, it was toasty! Speaking of toasty, I decided to pick this day, of all days, to get lost in Japan for the first time. The vast majority of the time, Siri and the iPhone are extremely reliable. However, on this glorious scorcher of a day, Siri did not recognize my new address and had me going in circles until I finally put Siri to sleep and figured out the way by myself. So much for modern technology!WHO NEEDS STRENGTH AND ELECTRICITY?
CYCLING, TEMPLES, AND THE BLAZING SUN!
These are all pictures taken of the Seigan-ji Temple. Please check my "Temples Details" page for more details. This is another example of the aesthetic and geometric beauty of these temples. The Japanese sure do know how to create some gorgeous buildings and monuments!
I took my first longer bike ride today, almost 11 miles to and from the Tama River. Felt great to be back on the bike! I do need to be careful as I almost got hit going around a blind corner close to our home. It is going to take some time to get used to these narrow streets.
It is another warm day as it is currently 97 degrees and is supposed to hit 99! Call me a little crazy, but I have a different way of dealing with the heat. I try to use air conditioning as little as possible so that the heat is not as much of a shock when I go outside. That seems to work for me as the heat does not seem to slow me down. I just sweat up a storm and drink gallons of water!
All the best,
BobOne of the things I am enjoying the most about our move to Japan is
the time I have been able to put into strength training. Due to my busy
schedule in the US, I had not been as consistent with those workouts as I
would have liked. Below is the routine I have been following at the
city gym in Fuchu. I have been walking the .75 miles to and from this
facility. Nice warm-up and cool-down!
- Overhead Press
- Bench Press
- Upright Rows
- Leg Press
- Calve Raises
- Abdominal Pulls
- Roman Chair Leg Raises
- Back Extensions
- Lat Raises
- Rotator Cuff External Rotation: both arms
- Rotator Cuff Internal Rotation: both arms
- Oblique Rotation: both directions
- Hip Adduction: groin muscle
- Hip Abduction
- Hip Football Kicks
- Hip: Kick backward
This covers most of the major muscles of the body. I do one set of 10-20 repetitions for each exercise. The whole routine takes me about 40 minutes. Below are the guidelines for using this gym.
- The cost for Fuchu residents is about $1.50 per day.
- The locker rooms are spotless!
- Free lockers are available.
- The facility also has table tennis, badminton, tennis, an indoor pool, and other activities.
- You have to wear indoor gym shoes in the weight room. You have to leave your street shoes in a shoe box.
- They typically have 2-4 staff members in the weight room at all times. As with many stores and customer service operations, some of those staff members stand ready to serve the constituents. It is very impressive!
- Everyone is expected to grab a towel and wipe down machines after use.
- For the popular machines, there is a dry erase board. You are expected to record what time you will be finished with that machine. There are time limits for those popular machines. There is also space for one person to put their name down on a waiting list.
- They have an intriguing massage tool with round pieces that go round and round like a bike wheel. The person sits on the seat and then puts the desired body part over the moving round pieces. I am hoping to try this but it is very popular!
Today, I had my first bike ride in Nogawa Park, a huge park just a mile from where we live. I had a wonderful ride and was in lighthearted hysterics the last 20 minutes as Siri took me in circles. I think she decided to make the most of my ignorance of Japanese navigating!
All the best,
BobThe last of these six pictures is a shot taken at the top of the hill in Sengenyama Park, the closest park to our house. So cool to get a great workout and then finish at that display! The other pictures were taken at the Tamacho Cemetery. The Japanese sure know how to make their cemeteries look good!
If you have looked at many of my pictures, you may have noticed that I rarely put the subject right in the middle of the picture. Generally speaking, our eyes prefer to see the subject just to the left or to the right of center. More specifically, if we divide the photo into thirds, the eye wants to see the subject on one of those lines that divides the photo in thirds.
In addition, many photos are more interesting when taken from an angle rather than being taken from a position standing directly in front of the object or person.
I always appreciate feedback, so please let me know what you think!
All the best,
BobCYCLING WITH THE PLANES AND LOVING THE CALLIGRAPHY!
These are photos of a calligraphy display at the fitness center I have been using. The translations from "Google Translate" did not make much sense. I think the purpose of these is to advertise an upcoming class on writing calligraphy. These prints sure are gorgeous!
I continued my exploration efforts this morning by doing a nice ride along the Nagawa River. However, the path is narrow and there are a lot of cross streets, so it was hard to build up and maintain much speed. I returned to our house on the main roads. One of those roads went parallel to the Chofu Airport. I was also able to cut through the Musashino-no-Mori Park. I want to explore that route again as it had some nice cycling space!BULLET TRAINS, NASU, AND DEATH
Sorry, it's been a few days since I updated this blog. We have been busy organizing our new house and we took a short trip to Nasu, a beautiful area about 2.5 hours north of Tokyo.
The modern looking train is the Shinkansen Bullet train, the train we took from Tokyo to Nasu. We made the 106 mile trip in an hour! Some of these bullet trains can actually do up to 200 miles per hour! How I wish we could match this kind of versatility in the US!
The cool looking modern building is the Nasushiobara Station, the Bullet train station in Nasu. Once again, the Japanese have a way of designing very attractive buildings!
The temple pictured is just a five minute walk from the Nasu train station. Beauty and proximity!
The house amongst the trees is a resort house in Nasu that we are thinking about buying. Lots of trees and lots of solitude! Another plus is that the house is about 1.5 miles from Nasunogahara Park, an amazing park with 12 tennis courts, four pools, lots of trails, and plenty of other amenities!
Now let's talk about death. I believe that the first picture is the cremation facility at the Tama Cemetery. The Japanese tradition is to cremate the body and then to bury the ashes at the family site.
For an excellent introduction to how the Japanese approach death, please check out this web site: https://voyapon.com/japanese-cemeteries-traditions/
Another good resource: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1059282/Tama-Cemetery
"Tama Cemetery, opened 01 April 1923, is the largest among the eight Tokyo cemeteries, and covers 1,280,237 square metres. Redwoods and trees are representative of the Musashino region. Spring cherry blossoms, and autumn foliage accompany the gravesites of many famous historical figures. Appropriate for sightseeing or just walking, this was the first cemetery in Japan to imitate the forest cemeteries of other countries, particularly Germany."
I can attest to the "forest cemetery" reference as I have been blown away by the landscape beauty of that cemetery! It is very close to our house, so I have been using it for cycling and for running. What a treat!
THE ROYAL EXPERIENCE!
These pictures were all taken near the Imperial Palace, the Tokyo residence for the Japanese royal family. The bridge is the Nijubashi Bridge. The garden shot was taken in the Ninomaru Garden. I will be sharing a lot of photos from these gorgeous sites as I took almost 1400 photos in one and a half days! Photography heaven!
I took and used all of my professional gear. Including my water bottle and tripod, I hauled around about 30 pounds worth of gear. In the 95 degree heat, it was definitely a challenging workout! What was also challenging was my first solo excursion around Tokyo. I was able to get from our motel to the bridge with no problems. However, such was not the case for the trip back to the motel! I guess the spirits decided I needed more exercise as I proceeded to walk for six miles when the trip should have been just over a mile!
Unbeknownst to me, there was some glitch with the address Setsuko texted to me. Basically, I walked in circles for two hours! However, it got even more hysterical! I got to what looked like our motel. It had the same name and same appearance. I got in the elevator but my card did not work. A gracious customer helped with selecting the second floor. The door opened, but it sure did not look like our floor! Back in the elevator, with my card again not working, the elevator took me up to the 11th floor. Somehow and some way, I ended up back on the main floor.
Fortunately for me, one thing did go right. The clerk spoke English! She looked at my card and said that I was at the wrong motel. My motel has a similar name but is down the street! After a total of just over 30,000 steps, I slept well that night!
All the best,
Bob THE RAINBOW BRIDGE AND A GOOD DEAL OF GOOD FORTUNE!
I realize I may be prone to exaggerations! With that in mind, I think our trip this past weekend broke all kinds of photography records for this kid! 1000 photos in one day! So, kick back and let me introduce you to the amazing Rainbow Bridge!
The Rainbow Bridge is a gorgeous suspension bridge in downtown Tokyo. It goes across Tokyo Bay to Odaiba. The name comes from the fact that lights on the bridge flash different colors throughout the night.
Our timing was impeccable as we got
to our motel before the light show started. Speaking of our motel, that
was our first bit of good fortune. I made the good move of asking
Setsuko if we could get a room with a view of the bridge. Although it
was a little expensive, she nailed that big time! In addition, from a
photography perspective, we sometimes have to pay a little extra to get
to the best locations.
We had a dinner reservation for 7:30. That meant we had an hour for my first round of photography. I had a ball! However, little did I know, Setsuko had discovered the real secret!
After good fortune number two, a fabulous buffet meal, I told Setsuko I was tired and ready to crash. She then showed me one of her pictures of the Statue of Liberty look-a-like. My third bit of good fortune! So much for being tired! I was back in action! I then spent two hours finding every angle I could find that included the statue and the bridge. I think the results are pretty stunning! That statue changes colors about every thirty seconds. I think I captured just about all of its colors and the various tints!
The other picture was taken the next day on the boat ride from Odaiba to Tokyo. Good fortune number four was that boat ride! I snapped a number of shots with my iPhone 14 Pro, including the one pictured above. Once again, I was blown away by the ability of the iPhone camera to capture sharp images while the boat was moving!
I cannot thank Setsuko enough for this amazing trip! You will be seeing more results as I have 62 images that I think could be published. A record setter!
All the best!
Bob HAIR, BIKES, AND EXERCISE!
You
might remember that I paid $450 to have someone here in Japan put
together my first bike. I certainly did not want to go through that
again with my second bike!
I had the good fortune of checking in with my friend Stuart. He is a genius at coming up with solutions! When I told him about my situation, he said he had just the fix. He has a friend, Mr. Hara, who has done a great job with his wife's hair. That friend is also a bike fan. He said that his friend would set up my bike at no cost. Stuart said that as a form of gratitude, it would be good for me to schedule a hair appointment. Wow!
Now, this all seems so simple, but.... I have cut my own hair for at least 30 years! We are talking some serious invasion of my space to let someone else mess with my head! However, it was truly a no-brainer, as I was not about to pay another $450 for this operation!
I have been a part of many different connections in my life. But, a hair cut and bike construction? That is a new one! However, all is well! Mr. Hara did a great job on my bike. He even came to our house to do the work! Then it was my turn. Little did I know that I was going to lose twenty pounds worth of hair!
One of my hair-cutting goals has always been to keep my big ears covered with hair. So much for that! Despite my hair loss, it was a great experience! He was very gracious and made the event very relaxing. He certainly has earned a new customer! The enclosed picture is the end result.
I honestly think I could now go undercover as I do not think my friends and family will recognize me!
And back to exercise! I have put the links to these machines at the bottom of this post. Two of the best and most important exercises are knee raises and back extensions. The knee raises exercise is very good for the abdominal muscles and is generally considered safer for the low back. The back extension exercise is one of the most effective exercises to help with the low back muscles.
We had similar machines in Springfield, but decided to not bring them to Japan. I just purchased these machines and put them together yesterday. My body is loving the reunion!
Here is to good hair, good cycling, and healthy muscles!
All the best,
Bob
https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B09W4ZXJPF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1
https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B06XCCDV49/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Let's start with the good fortune! A very nice friend
recommended that I go to the Nogawa Park Nature Observation Garden. When
I told her I would probably go next week, she said that the flowers may
be out of bloom by then. I am very glad that I went today! Thanks so
much to my friend!
All three pictures are from that Garden. Believe it or not, I took 2000+ pictures in 3.5 hours! I was a busy boy! The bird pictured is a Kingfisher. That is definitely my good luck bird! Here is the story. My previous trip to Japan was in 2007. I had the opportunity to do some bird photography close to the same spot as I went to today. Lo and behold, back 16 years ago, there was a Kingfisher that was the star of the photography party. The area was full of those big long lenses! Unfortunately, the shots I took were not that good. I guess I must be doing something right as I really nailed the photo this time around!
Now let's talk about another of my favorite topics, that of exercise! My three favorite machines include the back extension machine, the leg raise machine, and the leg press machine. We now have the first two machines, but the third is expensive and too big for our house. I recently discovered the "sissy squat" machines! These machines are definitely not for those with a fear of a good leg workout! I purchased an inexpensive version of this machine. The link is below. Make sure you check out the inspiring video. If only I could have muscles like those!
And now let's talk about good service! For those who think that good manners and good deeds are a thing of the past, think again. I have included below the link for this wonderful piece of inspiration! Some very thoughtful genius came up with the clever idea of starting a cafe that uses workers who are struggling with dementia. The cafe also employs support workers. My favorite line in the article? "At Japan's dementia cafes, forgotten orders are all part of the service." Just how cool is that? Now if I could just get going with learning the Japanese language, I could volunteer for them. Happiness personified!
All the best to you and your families,
Bob
https://staminaproducts.com/product/stamina-x-4-in-1-strength-training-system-2/
https://news.yahoo.com/japans-dementia-cafes-forgotten-orders-205546836.html
TREMENDOUS TENNIS!
It has been awhile since we took our trip to Wimbledon. It was time to re-join the world of sports photography! And what a cool world it is!
A big thank you to Setsuko for getting us tickets to the Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis Tourney! It was a fabulous experience!
After about 2.5 hours on a number of trains, we arrived at the Ariake Coliseum and Tennis Forest Park. The top picture is of the Stadium Court, the court with the retractable roof. Quite an impressive tennis court!
The rest of the pictures are from a practice session we watched shortly after we arrived. Amazing! The woman with the blue hat is Iga Swiatek, the number two player in the world. The woman in the red hat is Nadiia Kichenok, and the woman in the white hat is her doubles partner, Miyu Kato.
For all you tennis players, I hope you notice the concentration, the footwork, the use of their bodies, the preparation, and the flawless technique. These are some of the reasons they are some of the best in the world!
Being the space case I can be, I accidentally forgot to bring all of my memory cards. Shooting 12 frames per second, I maxed out with 3000 photos in an hour or so! I then pulled out my iPhone. I was hoping that I could use the "Burst" setting, which takes 10 frames per second. However, for some odd reason, I kept getting videos instead of still photos. Oh well!
I will be better prepared next year! In any case, it was a wonderful trip and a pleasure to see these great athletes up close!
All the best,
Bob
A TRIBUTE TO OUR SEATTLE FOLKS!
There are not many songs that pertain to Seattle. One of the few is a song titled "Seattle" that was written by Hugo Montenegro back in the late 60's. It was used in the television show "Here Come The Brides." My recording of this beautiful song is dedicated to my brother and his family as they live in that great city. Love to Drum and Monique and all!
These are again photos from our amazing trip to Kyoto. I took 3000 photos in 5 days! Glorious sights! The orange posts are from the world famous Fushimiinari-taisha Shrine. The stairs wind up for a mile as you walk through the passageway that goes between the posts! Amazing! It was a little challenging to get photos without humans in them as there were so many people. However, the further up I got, the fewer the people. Luck and patience!
The other two photos are from the Byodo-in Temple. Again, what an exquisite site! A fun story. I was photographing the Temple when I got a phone call from Setsuko. She was literally standing a few hundred feet away. However, she did not want to leave her spot as she had sighted the beautiful great blue heron that is pictured in this post. After getting over my petty frustration from being interrupted, I joined Setsuko and took 300-400 pictures of that bird as it was so close!
Thank you to Setsuko for making this such a memorable trip!
All the best,
Bob
TO THE COLORADO HECKELMANNS!
When I think of Colorado and music, I think of John Denver. This is a recording I did of one of my favorite Denver songs, Perhaps Love.
I would like to dedicate this song to my sister and her family, as they have lived in the Denver area for many years. Ty and family, I hope you enjoy this song!
The pictures were again taken during our trip to Kyoto. The picture with the bridge in it was taken at the Imperial Palace, the former home of the Japanese King and Queen. What a beautiful garden!
Another one of the highlights from this trip was spending time with Dana and his family. They used to live in Oregon, where we had the good fortune of working with Dana and his two sons in our tennis program. The younger son, Ryoma, is now an up and coming star on a university tennis team. Go Ryoma!
Dana is extremely bright
and has traveled the world doing corporate development work. In the
process, he has been at the cutting edge of that industry. I had the
good fortune of going for a long walk with Dana through the beautiful
countryside near their home, just outside of Osaka. In the process, Dana
shared some of his pearls of wisdom. What a treat!
All the best,
BobHere's To The Blooms!
This is a recording of "Try To Remember" I made on my Yamaha P-515. I would like to dedicate this song to the Blooms. This has always been one of my my sister's favorite songs!
These are more pictures from our Kyoto trip. What a gorgeous place!
All the best,
Bob
THANK YOU SETSUKO!
This song has a special place in my heart as I played this Neil Diamond classic, "Play Me," at our wedding. This is my way of saying thank you to Setsuko for such a wonderful Japan experience. Love you lots!
IT IS LUCY THOMAS TIME!
These photos were taken at a Festival we attended last Saturday night. The top photo was taken during a very cool live performance. I was mesmerized by the beautiful clothing they wore!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dXWmHR7pPA
The above link is to an amazing performance by Lucy Thomas when she was 13 years old. She has a voice that is out of this world! I dare you to not get goose bumps when you watch that video!
Lucy is now 19 years old. She just came out with her fifth album and is due to be starring in the musical "Rosie" in 2024. Without a doubt, she has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard!
She has also recorded some gorgeous duets with her sister. What a talented family! I love her song selection as she has recorded a number of songs from musicals.
One of the things that is so amazing is the passion she puts into her singing. She sings with a maturity that is much more typical of someone twice her age.
The good news is that you can access almost all of her music online. With that said, I just got the mp3 version of her first CD. I will almost assuredly be buying all of her music!
All the best as we head into the holiday season!
Bob
LET THE RACE BEGIN!
Happy Holidays!
I made this recording of "The Impossible Dream"
back in 2011. That song has always been one of my favorites as it
beautifully captures my life philosophy. In addition, I sang that song
at my dad's funeral service. I miss you dad!
A big thank-you to Tai, one of our wonderful employees at the American School. He warned us about some road closures due to an upcoming bicycle race. I had heard about that race but did not know any of the details. Thanks to the heads-up from Tai, I photographed the race and had a great time!
I am so fortunate as the race passed within a mile or so of our house. How convenient! The first two pictures of the tandem racers were taken with my professional gear and the rest were taken with my iPhone 15 Pro Max. I still cannot believe the capabilities of that iPhone camera!
Speaking of not believing, it was incredible to me that as best as I could tell, the course set-up work was all done the morning of the race. That is an incredible amount of work to be done in such a short period of time!
As seems to be a Japanese tradition, there were hordes of workers monitoring the race course. Heaven help anyone who got on that course!
As a serious cyclist, it was so inspiring for me to see these expert riders in action. In particular, the tandem riders were competing in the "Para" event, an event for those with a visual impairment. How cool is that! What an exciting but scary thrill it must be to ride 20-40 miles per hour with little or no eye sight! I guess you hope the rider in front is really paying attention!
I can hardly wait for my next ride!
All the best,
Bob ReedA CELEBRATION OF HUMANITY AND LIFE!
Happy Holidays!
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! I made the recording of "With You I'm Born Again" back in 2011 on the grand piano we had in Oregon. What a beautiful song!
I finally got my first group of nice pictures of Mt. Fuji! What a thrill! My friend Stuart and I did a wonderful hike to the top of Mt. Takao. I will never forget when we came through the trees and walked out into the observation area and were presented with this memorable view. What a treat!
While I have had some nice views of Mt. Fuji, this was the first time I had my professional equipment. Nothing like that zoom telephoto lens! I am definitely convinced that I can get better photos with that professional gear. I also just purchased a lightweight tripod for hiking. Using that helped me get the clarity in these photos.
Inspiration is a big part of my life! It is interesting to me how that inspiration shows up. I remember when I was thinking about doing my last blog update. I was tired and really not in the mood to work. However, I then thought about how I had promised a friend that I would get the cycling photos on the blog as soon as possible. That thought then inspired me to get the job done. In the process, I totally forgot about how tired I was. Thank you to all of you for inspiring me!
Marcel Schwantes
makes this point in a different way in the article, "The Ultimate
Measure of Success Comes Down to a Few Simple Words." The web site
address for the article is below.
What are those words?
"Your success depends on the cycle of caring. When you practice care, kindness, and generosity throughout life, it comes back to you ten-fold."
I love those words! One of the commitments I made when moving to Japan was to put more time and energy into developing and maintaining friendships. I realize now that due to how busy I was, that was not a priority for me when I lived in Oregon. With that said, I do feel like I have always done my best to be a caring and kind human being. Ongoing work in progress!
All the best to you and your family and friends,
Bob Reed
I made this recording of Let It Be on my Yamaha P-515. Now if I could only more consistently follow that advice!
This was the trip of many firsts!
- This
was my first major attempt to focus on Mt. Fuji. What a gorgeous sight
it is! I went to the 5 Lakes area and spent 4 days photographing Mt.
Fuji. 1500 photos!
- I cannot ever remember missing a bus for a major trip! I went to the bus stop an hour early. The sign said that the bus stop was "across the street." Given that I was standing "across the street," I thought I was in the right place. However, upon further investigation, what the sign neglected to say was that the bus stop was the other side of the overpass and up the stairs! By then the bus was long gone! Fortunately, Setsuko was able to get me on a later bus.
- This was my first major Japan trip by myself. Quite the adventure when it came to ordering food!
- This was my first major photography trip with a bicycle as transportation. Except for the fact that this mountain bike rental desperately needed a tune-up, the cycling all went well!
- This was my first photo/hiking trip on which I suffered a pretty tough injury. I was almost at the end of a rugged hike on the second day. I was not paying close enough attention and I slipped on a strip of slippery mud. I was wearing running shoes, which did not help. I fell backwards and landed on my photo backpack and my bike helmet. I felt a sharp pain and immediately thought I had ruptured a disk. Alas, it was a bad muscle bruise. I was stiff and sore for the rest of the trip, but still managed to do the photography I wanted to do.
- This was my first time getting kicked off a bus! When I tried to get on the bus to go home, the driver asked for my seat number. Given that my ticket was written in Japanese, I had no idea. The driver then told me to get off the bus! I tried to show him my electronic ticket, but he was adamant! Fortunately, after I left the bus, I found a worker who found my seat number. Homeward bound!
- This was the first time a hotel worker asked to
take my picture. I stayed at the Hotel Camelot, an older place with a
first floor devoted to music rooms and studios. The customer service was
out of this world! As I was getting ready to leave, the hotel front
desk worker asked if they could take my picture. Three staff members and
the owner then joined in for the picture. Very touching!
Happy New Year to all!
BobNEW YEAR'S GREETING!
I recorded this version of Born Free on my Yamaha P-515. This song has always been special to me for a number of reasons. I love the message and loved reading the book and seeing the movie. I have always loved the lyrics and the melody. Lastly, it was the first song I learned on the piano.
In 1976, I rode a motorcycle from Seattle to San Francisco. Each night, I camped on the coast. Before losing the light, I would practice this song on a melodica, a flute-like instrument with a short piano keyboard. My mom inspired me to try this instrument as she used to play one on our sailboat.
After I returned to Alaska, I took piano lessons. I will never forget when I hit my first chord to match the first note of this song. I fell in love with that harmony!
The
pictures are from a recent day I spent with my friend Rohan in the
Shinjuku area. Thank you to Rohan for your guiding! The Godzilla figure
is perched up high on a building. The other two photos were taken at a
very photogenic cemetery.
I am doing double-duty with this message. I am putting it on my blog and am sending it to my email data base. For those in the data base, feel free to let me know if you do not want to subscribe to these updates.
Given that it is now 2024, it seems appropriate to reflect on this past year and think about 2024. Here are my thoughts.
GRATITUDE
- I am so thankful for so many things and so many people!
- First and foremost, I am thankful for all the people in my life, including all of you. Thanks for your messages! Please keep them coming! I will respond to all messages!
- I am thankful for my good health. I know that many people are struggling with a variety of health-related issues. My heart goes out to them.
- I am thankful for Rohan, Stuart, and Dana, three friends I have spent time with since moving to Japan. You have been wonderful!
- I am thankful for Setsuko, my amazing wife. She has made the move to Japan one of the best things I have done with my life. While I miss all of you who live in the US, I am enjoying this new adventure.
- I am thankful for the resources we have. While Setsuko and I have worked hard to get where we are, I also know that we have been very fortunate.
- I am thankful for the technology that enables me to do so much, including staying in touch with all of you!
- I am thankful for the organizational skills I have developed that help me stay on top of my many responsibilities.
- I am thankful for the discipline I have to make good choices and decisions. It is not always easy!
- I am thankful for the ability to read and for the access I have to so many great books. What a treasure!
- I am thankful for forgiveness. I have certainly made my share of mistakes. I fee fortunate that people have graced me with some slack!
- I am thankful for the opportunity to live in Japan. I realize this is an opportunity that is not available for many people.
- I
am thankful for the opportunity to continue to work in the special
education field. I am loving my job at the American School in Japan!
HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2023
- Sending two North Eugene High School singles players and a doubles team to the state tourney.
- Another successful year as a special education teacher at North Eugene High School.
- Leaving the US knowing that I did my best for the community in the areas of tennis and special education.
- The sale of our home in Springfield, Oregon. This enabled us to move to Japan.
- The move to Japan.
- Putting time into friendships here in Japan.
- Helping Setsuko realize her dream of returning to her homeland and living close to her daughters and grandchildren.
- The consistent cycling and strength training and photography in Japan.
- Sharing music and photos and updates on this blog.
- Joining the Japan Citizen's Climate Lobby group and putting more time into environmental studies.
- The
satisfaction that comes from knowing that I am doing my best to live a
productive and meaningful life and that I am living according to my
values and principles.
CONCERNS
- I am concerned about the environment. While I understand this is a controversial topic, it seems to me there is some substantial evidence to suggest that we need to make some major changes, especially when it comes to the use of fossil fuels. I plan to continue to study this topic and learn as much as I can and then take steps to act on my conclusions.
- I am concerned about the divisiveness and lack of grace in the United States, especially as it relates to politics, social justice, race, guns, and other controversial and sensitive topics. I desperately hope we can improve our capacity to have difficult conversations in a respectful manner.
I hope 2024 is a great year for all of you. May we work together to make this world the best it can be!
All the best to you, your families, and your friends,
Bob
CLIMATE CHANGE SUPPORT
I recorded this version of Sounds of Silence on my Yamaha P-515. As you will soon see, by coincidence, the timing of this recording is right on!
These pictures were taken at a fire burning event at the Tama River, about two miles from our house. This is a New Year's tradition in Japan. The idea is that people will pray for a good start to the new year.
One of the blessings about moving to Japan has been having
the time to read and do research. One of my favorite but complex and
emotional topics is that of climate change. One of the things that has
made that topic so difficult to deal with is the lack of conversation
about climate change. This is just not a topic that has been discussed
much if at all in my social circles. As the song suggests, it seems we
have "Sounds of Silence" when it comes to talking about climate change!
With this in mind, I am hoping to set up some climate change forums. My idea is that I would host these forums by Zoom. Anyone with the link could attend. The purpose of these forums would be to give folks a chance to share their thoughts and concerns and questions and actions related to climate change. What do people think about climate change? Are they concerned? If yes, why? If not, why? What questions do people have about climate change? What actions are they taking or do they want to take related to climate change?
The goal would be to support each other and listen to each other and work to understand each other as we share our thoughts. The goal would not be to argue or debate or solve any particular climate problems.
Please reply by comment or email me at reedrobert77@gmail.com I will then get back to you with possible dates and times for this forum.
I think many of us are feeling pretty isolated when it comes to dealing with climate change. I am hoping we can support each other as we move forward to tackle this immense issue.
All the best,
BobSMOOTHIES, THE CASTLE, AND CCL!
IMPORTANT! For some odd reason, the music formatting has changed on these Blogger posts sites.. To listen to the song, click on the small box with the arrow in it that is in the upper right corner of the post screen. That will open up another window with a box in the middle of the screen. Click on the "play" arrow and the song should start. Please let me know if this does not work. Sorry about this!
I made this recording of "Hello Again" on my Yamaha P-515. This has always been one of my favorite Neil Diamond songs. It beautifully captures the feelings that come with falling in love.
These pictures are all from our recent trip to Odawara. The castle is the Odawara Castle, which is gorgeous at night as it is lit up by some impressive spot lights. The water shot and the brightly lit up building were both taken right outside our resort room. A very attractive location!
As my climate change perspective has continued to change, my lifestyle has also changed. After many years of a love affair with beef products, I have decided to give up beef. As best as I can tell, the climate impacts related to beef are substantial. I am also doing my best to not consume dairy products, primarily milk. I have replaced that habit with soy milk.
The good news is that in the process of making this change, I have discovered the joy of smoothies! Here is my current favorite.
3 bananas
1 cup of blueberries
I cup of pineapple
1 cup of strawberries
2 large Kale leaves
1 bunch of spinach
2 cups of soy milk
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
A bit of ground pepper
Put this all in a blender and enjoy this tasty and nutritious treat!
Shortly after we arrived in Japan, I joined an international climate change organization titled Citizen's Climate Lobby. I initially joined the Japan chapter, but realized that the language barrier was too much of an obstacle. I recently joined the Eugene/Springfield chapter. Despite the time change, I am very much enjoying my interactions with that group. Here is the web site address: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/
I
am also excited about joining some "Climate Circles," meetings that give
people a chance to share their concerns about climate change. Here is
the link,
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/climate-psychology-alliance-29918075735
All the best,
BobNINE MONTHS IN JAPAN!
I made this recording of the Cat Steven's song, Father and Son, on my Yamaha P-515. This has always been my favorite of his songs. I love the melody and I love the lyrics!
These photos were all taken with my new Canon RF 100-500 lens. I am particularly pleased with these photos as the conditions were pretty tough. When I started photographing early in the morning, it was in the high 30's, with winds ranging from 10-15 mph. Chilly!
I thought it would be fun and interesting to do a review of my first nine months in Japan. This is going to double as my email message that I will send to folks in my data base.
GREETINGS!
A special greeting to the North Eugene tennis players and their coaches as they embark on the spring season. I wish I could be there to cheer you on!
Another special greeting to the staff at Willamalane. I hope your tennis programs are going well!
A third greeting to current and retired staff at North Eugene High School. I miss all of you!
Lastly, to everyone else, I hope you are doing well! Please email me at reedrobert77@gmail.com with updates!
SETSUKO:
I once again need to thank Setsuko for giving me this opportunity. It
has been a great experience! Setsuko's recovery from knee surgery is
going well. She is hoping to be back on the tennis court in May. Yeah!
It has been really cool to see how happy Setsuko has been living so
close to her two daughters and two grandchildren. They are all doing
well!
SCHOOL WORK: I have continued to enjoy my half-time special education teacher assistant position at the American School. Not only have I loved the work, I have also appreciated the welcoming I have received at that school. I have been cycling with some of the teachers and I played the piano at an open mike event.
CYCLING: I have missed the more tranquil cycling from Lane County, but have loved my cycling opportunities here. My regular ride of 13 miles takes about an hour. The 20-30 mile Sunday rides take 2-3 hours. Excellent workouts!
FITNESS: I have had more time for strength training and stretching. My body has appreciated that commitment!
HEALTH:
Setsuko is a wonderful cook! Primarily for environmental reasons, I
have been cutting back on my consumption of beef and dairy products. I
have turned into a real fan of smoothies and have been making some very
nutritious minestrone soup. There is yet still hope for my cooking
potential!
FRIENDS: As I have mentioned before, I did not
have much time to put into friendships when living in Lane County. Since
moving to Japan, that has changed, for the better.
PHOTOGRAPHY: This has been one of the biggest changes I have made. Generally speaking, when I lived in Lane County, I did one major 7-10 day photo session during the summer. Since moving to Japan, I have been doing photography at least once or twice a month, if not more. In terms of bird photography, my new lens is making a huge difference! It has been very gratifying to be able to share my photos on my blog. To say the least, the photo opportunities here have been amazing!
TRANSPORTATION: I have loved not driving! I have loved being able to get around by foot, bike, bus, and train. What a joy!
MUSIC: My change in this area has been the same as the change for photography. Now that I have increased my standards for my piano playing, I am practicing 3-6 times per week. In addition, I have re-started to play the guitar and sing. I use an informal finger picking style that makes for a nice accompaniment to my voice.
ENVIRONMENTAL WORK: This is another area of big change for me. Although I have been committed to recycling and other individual steps, I had not previously invested any time in being part of an organization. Since joining the Citizen's Climate Lobby, I have become much more involved in taking collective action. Every little bit counts!
THE CHALLENGES: I certainly miss the people from Lane County! I miss the ease with which I could find things I needed and the ease of shopping. I miss the easy access to beautiful natural settings and I miss the lack of traffic and the lower population density. I miss the school teaching opportunities. I miss being surrounded by people who speak English! Because I am not willing to fly, for environmental reasons, I will miss a family wedding this September. Darn! I miss the opportunity to attend in-person meetings and other events in Lane County.
In short, it seems there are almost always pros and cons to the major choices we make. Despite the challenges listed above, I am happy with this choice I have made. I feel very fortunate to be in a financial position that affords me the opportunity to spend time doing what I love to do. Given the incredible gift of Zoom and texting and emails, I am still able to stay in touch with folks from Oregon and with my siblings and with others who share some common interest.
I think I have shared that one of my "big" goals is to live to be 100 years old. So far, so good! I feel like I am doing the right things and living in the right place to make that happen. One day at a time!
All the best to you and your families!
I hope you have a wonderful spring season,
Bob
Bring on the Guitar and Let's Sing!
Happy Spring!
Sorry to be out of touch! It has been a busy spring! Several people have asked me to record my singing. Here we go! Although I certainly am no pro, I have really enjoyed working on my guitar and singing skills. More to come!
The cherry season has come and gone in our area. However, the good news is that I was able to capture some of the incredible beauty of the cherry blossoms. What a treat!
The top photo was taken at Rikugien Garden, a gorgeous garden in the Tokyo area.
The second photo from the top was taken from the entrance to the American School, the school where I work.
The third and fourth photos from the top were taken in the Tama Cemetery. I have the good fortune of walking through that cemetery on my way to work. A real joy!
The three photos at the bottom were taken at the Jindai Botanical Garden, one of my favorite gardens close to our house.
I hope you enjoy the music and the photos.
All the best,
BobA NEW JOB!
Hello again!
I hope you enjoy my recording of the classic, "Leaving on A Jet Plane." That song has always had special meaning to me as it was the first song I learned on the guitar. I only wish I could match the wonderful recordings by John Denver and Peter, Paul, and Mary!
These photos are from Jindai Botanical Garden, such a gorgeous place!
As I think I may have mentioned, my current job at the American School is over at the end of this year. While I could stay and work as a substitute teacher, my preference is to have a regular position, so I get the joy of working with the same students on a consistent basis.
There is a wonderful web site that lists most of the top international schools in the Tokyo area: https://www.international-schools-database.com/in/tokyo
Call it luck or call it persistence, I recently hit the jackpot when I discovered an amazing gem, The Tokyo International Progressive School, or TIPS, https://www.tokyoips.com/
This is from their main page: TIPS is an international school for grades 4 - 12 that provides alternative education for students with mild learning differences and with academic, emotional and/or social challenges. Founded in 2000, TIPS is proud of the expertise of our staff and the results of our programs.
For those of you who know me, you can see that this is a perfect match for my skills, experiences, and educational interests and pursuits. I will be teaching a language arts class, a humanities class, and will be assisting with two PE classes. This part-time position is about fifteen hours per week.
I did a sample lesson as part of the interview process and had a ball! I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity! To make matters even better, it is a very nice 9 mile bike ride along the Tama River to go from our house to the school. It takes me about 40-45 minutes, a perfect amount of time for peace and quiet and reflection!
Lastly, this will give me the opportunity to delve into reading comprehension, one of my favorite subjects in education. While this will not match all the highlights from my position at North Eugene, it will give me the golden opportunity to do work I dearly love. Yeah!
I hope you enjoy the Spring!
All the best,
BobLIFE IN THE FAST LANES!
I hope you enjoy my recording of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel hit, Sounds of Silence. I just watched the iconic viewing of that song in the classic movie, The Graduate. Dustin Hoffman is still going strong!
The pictures were taken at the Rikugien Garden. I photographed during the day and then stayed for the evening, when various parts of the garden were highlighted with flood lights. It was stunning!
Yes, life in the fast lanes! As I previously mentioned, I accepted a teaching position for this coming school year with the Tokyo International Progressive School, otherwise known at "TIPS."
What I did not know when I did my last update was my teaching assignment. I will be teaching 10th grade language arts, grades 4-8 reading comprehension, and helping with two PE classes. Please keep in mind this is a part-time position. Just to keep me truly on my toes, they added 7th grade science. Wow!
Between the science planning work and my increase in reading volume, I have been going full speed ahead! Below is a list of books I have read in the last two months.
- Wonder
- Counting By 7s
- The Secret Garden
- Catcher in the Ry
- 1984
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- A Kind of Spark
- Oh The Places You'll Go
- Out of My Mind
- Poet X
- Fault in Our Stars
- I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
I
have to say I am thoroughly enjoying the reading, the studying, the
learning, the thinking, and the planning. I have a flexible schedule,
so, why not??!! I would highly recommend any of the above-mentioned
books. In particular, Wonder and Counting by 7s and Out of My Mind and A
Kind of Spark all highlight young people with very challenging
circumstances, some of which are related to disabilities. Very
inspiring!
It is truly ironic that Setsuko asked me two months ago what my dreams are. I told her that one of my dreams is to again teach reading comprehension. Who says that dreams do not come true????!!!!To prepare for that class, I have been picking 1-3 paragraph excerpts from the books above and other sources. I will then use those excerpts to model comprehension tools and techniques and help students improve their reading comprehension skills. I will adjust the reading levels as necessary. It is so amazing that with artificial intelligence, I can put a passage into certain web sites and the related software is able to increase or decrease the reading level. So cool!
I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity. It will be great to get back in a regular classroom! As any good teacher will tell you, there is nothing like challenging one's students, providing an effective framework and environment and instruction, and then observing the progress and success. Beauty in motion!
I hope you have a great summer!
Bob
BACK TO WORK #2, OR 3, OR 4 OR ?
Nothing like this good old classic Home on the Range!
The pictures are all from a recent trip we took to the Urabandai Resort. We had a great time!
Who was talking about retirement? If I talked about it, I totally forgot about that idea! I will be back in the classroom, starting this coming Monday. 15 hours a week. 10th grade language arts, 7th grade science, grades 4-8 reading comprehension, and helping with the PE classes. Plus grading and more planning. Definitely a labor of love!
Speaking of labor of love, I have really enjoyed the 300+ hours of planning I have done this summer. I certainly have never put so much time into school class planning! I know those efforts will pay off as I feel really prepared to tackle these classes!
There have been so many highlights when it comes to my planning efforts. At the top of the list have to be To Kill A Mockingbird and I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I am super excited about teaching both of these wonderful texts. The quality of the writing is superb, they are very engaging, the historical information is fascinating, the characters are fascinating, the racism is heart-breaking and eye-opening and enlightening and tough to swallow, and the lessons for life are powerful. It is hard for me to believe that both of these texts have been on book banning lists. Ouch!
Setsuko has made me promise that my school teaching career will come to an end in two years. I plan to enjoy every minute of that work while it lasts!
I will be cycling 9 miles each way to the Tokyo International Progressive School. It is a very nice ride along the Tama River. I plan to continue my basic strength training and some time playing the guitar. That and a few trips with Setsuko will fill the days!
I hope you have had a great summer!
All the best,
Bob ReedTHIS TIME THE MEN!
I hope you enjoy my version of the Rolling Stones class, "As Tears Go By."
I also hope you enjoy these photos from the ATP Tour event in Tokyo, the Kinoshita Group Japan Open.
These are some of the best of the 5000 photos I took in one day!
The event was amazing!
It was held at the gorgeous Ariake Coliseum.
Last year we saw the women play at the same facility.
What a treat!
As always, Setsuko did an amazing job of being the travel agent and making all the arrangements.
Thank you Setsuko!
Not
only was I able to photograph the tennis tourney, I was also able to
photograph a number of very cool buildings in the area. More on that to
come later!
It was a great trip!
I hope you have a great fall season!
All the best,
Bob ReedWHAT A TRIP!
THE TRIP REVISITED!
The photos are all more shots from our recent trip to Green Hill Yatsugatake. And what a trip it was!
- The area where we stayed is gorgeous as it has nice trails that meander around the beautiful property.
- Stuart and I did an amazing hike that climbed up for a mile or so with expansive views of the surrounding countryside.
- As mentioned earlier, we went to Heidi's Village, a unique set of buildings with a very attractive and extensive rose garden that has paths that make for easy exploring.
- A wonderful Swiss style village with attractive shops and the most amazing music box museum titled "Hall of Halls."
I have got to go back to that music box museum and relive that experience! Music boxes have a special place in my heart as my mom have me a number of music boxes as gifts when I was growing up. I was thinking about my mom as I traveled through the museum. Little did I know that I would soon be in for a special treat. I was in the large room with all these amazing old keyboard instruments, including some huge organs. All of the sudden the door closed and the music started. A number of those keyboards are "player instruments" that can be played automatically. And what a concert it was!
Happy Holidays and all the best to you and your families!
BobUENO PARK!
What an incredible day of photography in Ueno Park! Oh, my gosh! Thank you Setsuko!
That place is truly amazing! What is also amazing is that there is more to see! The park has some fabulous museums in addition to the museum that houses the beautiful paintings I captured. There is also the Ueno Zoo! Next time!
Just as amazing is the fact that these were all taken with my iPhone 15 Pro Max. What is the world coming to????
As
I think I mentioned before, I never cease to be amazed by the array of
gorgeous sites in Japan. From the gardens, to the shrines, to the
animals, to the buildings, to the colors, to the angles, to the statues,
to the grave stones and to the shapes, this is truly a country made for
photographers!
We were fortunate as the weather could not have been much better. I guess we are living right!
All the best!
BobUENO ZOO!
I hope you enjoy these photos taken at the Ueno Zoo. What a great day of photography! The weather was gorgeous and the birds and animals were a pleasure to photograph.
For many nature photographers, the ultimate challenge and experience is bird flight photography. It is definitely a numbers game as it takes me a lot of shots to get one or two that are really good. Mission accomplished as I think there are some good ones!
While most of the animals are in contained areas, the birds in flight are wild birds. Many of those pictures were taken of the Japanese Cormorant. There is a huge pond in the zoo where the Cormorants are building nests. As they flew back and forth, I did my best to capture those birds in flight. So cool!
This was my first
significant opportunity to use my new 200-800 lens. Wow! For some of the
shots, I used that lens with the 2x extender. That took the lens power
to 1600! Both of the shots of the two Cormorants together were taken
with that combination. As much as I love shooting with the convenience
of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I need the pro gear power to get shots like
those!
We have two more trips planned for the year. I will keep you posted with photo highlights!
Although
I was disappointed with the election results, I am willing to accept
those results and hope for the best for all of us. I feel so incredibly
fortunate about the life I live and the privileges I have. I will
continue to do what I can to inspire others and do what I can to improve
our world.
I wish you and your families a happy holiday season.
All the best,
Bob Reed
BRING ON THE MIST!
Yes please, bring on the mist!
Once again, a never-ending thanks to Setsuko for taking me to the absolutely gorgeous Chinzanso Motel and Garden.
It is truly out of this world!
For us, the treats started after dinner with the evening illumination.
Rest
assured that this is not a treat we will be able to do very often as
this adventure was quite expensive, but worth it for the photography!
That is one spectacular light show!
As if that is not enough, the powers that be added a mist that typically rolls in at 10 minutes and 40 minutes after the hour.
I felt like I was in the London fog!
The fun continued the next morning with a 7:10am mist showing.
That was something else as it was so thick I could barely see more than 1-2 feet in front of me.
A true white-out like those I have experienced on the ski slopes!
Now Setsuko is never one to rest on her laurels.
For the grand finale, she took me to the Bunkyo Municipal Hosokawa Garden that is adjacent to the Chinzanso Motel.
The really colorful plant and water pictures were taken at that garden.
The amazing thing? Bunkyo is free!
Something tells me that I will not be running out of photography sites for a long time!
Another amazing fact about this wonderful trip.
All my 500 photos were taken with my iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Without a doubt, that was my best iPhone photo series ever! So much fun!
Happy Holidays!
Bob
A NEW SERIES FOR THE NEW YEAR!
Happy Holidays!
I hope you have been having a nice holiday season!
To celebrate a wonderful year in Japan, I am going to do a five part series on this blog. The five parts will include the following:
- Information about our most recent trip.
- Photo focus: animals.
- A summary of the reading I have been doing.
- Photo focus: landscapes.
- An update on my job and my plans for the future.
- Photo focus: Water and sunrises and sunsets.
- My current perspective on climate change and the environment.
- Photo focus: Osaka Castle.
- A summary of the personal development areas that are my current priorities.
- Photo focus: Hikone Castle.
All of the photos for this five part series were taken during our recent trip to Lake Biwako.
It is the largest freshwater lake in Japan, with a circumference of 146 miles.
It is a beautiful lake that offers many interesting sightseeing places. Highlights for us included Hikone Castle, the Prince Hotel in Otsu, the Osaka Castle, Ishiyama-dera Temple, and Nara.
All of the animal pictures were taken with my professional Canon gear. The evening pictures and some others were taken with my iPhone 15 Pro Max. I took close to 4000 pictures in 5 days!
It is not very often that a trip will include all of the different types of photography I enjoy: animals and birds, gardens and landscapes, mountains, sunrises and sunsets, and water. This trip truly had it all!
The first two nights we stayed at the beautiful Otsu Hotel right on Lake Biwako.
The next two nights we stayed at the Hilton Doubletree in Osaka.
The last night we stayed at the Nara Hotel.
I did not realize that Japan is home to two of the largest cities in the world.
- According to Wikipedia, Tokyo is at the top of the list with a population of 37,468,000.
- Osaka is number 10 with a population of 19,281,000.
- Portland, Oregon: 652,503.
- Otsu, Japan: 344,00.
- Eugene, Oregon: 176,654.
- Springfield, Oregon: 61,851.
I do miss the lower population density of Lane County!
Again, Wikipedia lists the following populations for these countries.
- China: 1.4 billion
- India: 1.4 billion
- US: 340 million plus
- Japan: 124 million
All the best,
Bob
READING AND LANDSCAPES!
This is the second in a five part series. The first part was posted on 12/27/24.
This may very well have been my best photo shoot ever.
All
of these pictures were taken during our trip to Lake Biwako and Osaka.
What a treat! Such a great variety of scenes! I also loved the range of
challenges, from the moving birds to the still landscapes.
Some people have asked about my editing. I make adjustments in Adobe Lightroom. Key areas include shadows, highlights, sharpness, contrast, and exposure.
Now let's talk about reading! I have found that after working all day, I do not have much mental energy left after 5:00 or so. With that in mind, I have experimented with many forms of entertainment. Back in the late 90's, I watched a lot of action movies while doing strength training workouts. I then moved to watching fictional and non-fictional crime shows, such as NCIS and the First 48. Next up was reading fictional crime and horror novels by authors such as Dean Koontz.
In 2013, I decided I wanted to do reading that had more redeeming value. It was at that time that I started reading books that had benefits other than straight entertainment. With this in mind, here is a summary of some of the books I read this year. The first list just includes titles. The table below has more information on the last ten books I read.
I would first like to share some general comments.
First, it feels really good to realize that I read 31 books this year. Yeah!
Secondly, you will notice that five of the books deal with the topic of schizophrenia. I had previously seen the wonderful movie, A Beautiful Mind, so decided to read the book. As I read that book, I became fascinated with the topic of schizophrenia and...!
I read two books that we will be reading this year in the 10th grade English class I am teaching, To Kill A Mockingbird and I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Nothing like these extremely well-written classics!
The books with the (#) by them have protagonists who are special and unique. Some of those characters have disabilities. As a special education teacher, I have been very pleased to see these books highlighting the lives of people who have overcome a variety of challenges and struggles.
To
say that I love to read is an understatement! There is nothing like
plunging into a great story and then living life vicariously through the
eyes of the author. In addition, virtually every time I am faced with a
challenge in life, I pick up a book or do some research. I feel
extremely fortunate to have such easy access to a wealth of knowledge!
LIST OF BOOKS FOR 2024
- The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness (Schizophrenia)
- The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness (Schizophrenia)
- I Never Promised You A Rose Garden (Schizophrenia)
- Dante's Cure: A Journey Out of Madness (Schizophrenia)
- A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar (Schizophrenia)
- Whistleblower by Amy Block Joy
- Diamond: The Memoir of a Lost Daughter in Japan
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
- The Poet X
- 1984
- The Fault in Our Stars (#)
- The Catcher in the Rye
- The Secret Garden (#)
- Out of My Mind (#)
- Wonder (#)
- The Diary of a Young Girl
- A Kind of Spark (#)
- Counting By 7s (#)
- Golden Scissors: Tales of Resilience
- The Pale-Faced Lie: A True Story
MY TEN MOST RECENT BOOKS
|
Title |
Topic |
Short Summary |
Notes and Comments |
|
American Soldier |
Non-fiction story about the life of former General Tommy Franks |
Franks describes his life growing up and his life in the military as he literally moved up the ranks to general. |
Although
I am not a fan of violence, it was fascinating to read an insider's
view of the military and the decisions that have been made prior to and
during battle. The book did help me appreciate the sacrifices the
military have made to enable us to live the way we do. |
|
The Forgotten 500 |
Non-fiction story about a WW2 rescue mission |
The rescue mission happened behind enemy lines in Yugoslavia. |
Scary
to read about how politics can play such a strong role in
decision-making. It is a minor miracle that this rescue mission even
occurred! |
|
Coming Back Alive by Spike Walker |
Helicopter rescue mission in Alaska |
Describes the rescue mission |
It
is hard to imagine the challenges these helicopter pilots faced during
these rescue missions. Without a doubt, this is one of the most
dangerous jobs in the world! What a service these pilots provide! |
|
If I Live Until Morning |
Non-fiction book about how a woman survives a horrible fall in the mountains. |
The author does an amazing job of capturing the details. |
The book takes quite a turn as the author discovers Buddhism and goes through significant personal changes. |
|
The Best Minds |
Non-fiction story about two friends and the tragic end for one of the friends. |
The author describes how his best friend falls prey to schizophrenia and ultimately goes to prison for killing his fiance. |
Tragic. Interesting to compare the lives of the two friends. |
|
Title |
Topic |
Short Summary |
Notes and Comments |
|
Miles From Nowhere |
Non-fiction bicycling story |
Woman and her husband take a two year trip cycling around the world. |
Wonderful
descriptions! Very sad that the author died from a bike accident due to
head injuries shortly after returning from this trip. As best as I can
tell, she did not ear a bike helmet when riding. |
|
A Day To Die For |
Non-fiction story about the 1996 Everest tragedy |
Author describes his research into what caused the tragedy |
Fascinating!
The author discovered evidence that the guides knew about the bad
weather forecast but that those guides did not share that information
with their clients. |
|
Into Thin Air |
Non-fiction story about the 1996 Everest tragedy |
Jon Krakauer was one of the clients on this tragic climb. |
Exciting! Somewhat controversial as his version was challenged by others who were part of the climb. |
|
Into the Abyss: An Extraordinary True Story. |
Non-fiction survival story about a plan crash. |
Four
out of the nine passengers survived. The author not only describes the
crash efforts of the four survivors, but also how the crash impacted the
survivors as they aged. |
Well written and very interesting! |
|
Unbroken |
Non-fiction story about a WW2 survivor |
Luis
Zamperini was first a world class runner, then joined the military, his
plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean, he survived 48 days on the water
and was then captured by the Japanese, and survived two and a half years
in a POW camp. |
Quite incredible! The author, Laura Hillenbrand, also write the great book Seabiscuit. Laura has had significant health problems. It is amazing that she has been able to write these books. It is truly appalling that human beings can treat any living person or thing the way that some of the American POW's were treated. |
SUNRISE AND THE FUTURE!
This is part three of the five part series. The first part was published on 12/27/28 and part two was published earlier today.
I am fascinated with water! As a photographer, there are so many possibilities when working with water and light and reflections and different objects and shapes. With the exception of the top Osaka Castle photo, the others were all taken at sunrise on Lake Biwako. It was gorgeous!
I recently spent some time estimating how many years of full-time work I have done. My estimate is very rough as there were years when I worked part-time and/or went to school. Ball park estimate? 40 years! I guess I have earned the right to semi-retire, at least when it comes to full-time work!
I have really enjoyed my special education and teaching work. That has included 14 years at North Eugene High School, 1 year at the American School in Japan, and 1 year at the Tokyo International Progressive School. Prior to that, I worked at least part-time as a tennis teacher and coach and administrator and trainer.
Here is a list of most of the other jobs I have had!
- Washing dishes in Alaska and Hartford, Connecticut
- Construction work in Alaska
- Day care work in Alaska
- Restaurant work as a waiter in Alaska
- Lifeguard and swim instructor: Alaska
- New Games specialist: Alaska
- Played piano for a day care center: Alaska
- Teaching skiing in Alaska
- Recreation program director: Alaska
- Newspaper delivery: Alaska and Washington
- Waiting tables at Bob's Big Boy in Washington and Alaska
- Teaching/coaching tennis in Tacoma, Seattle, Anchorage, Olympia, Portland, Eugene, Junction City, Springfield, Creswell, Cottage Grove, Fuchu-Japan
- Directed the Wizard of Oz for homeschoolers: Washington
- Mowing lawns in Washington
- Publicity director: athletic department: The Evergreen State College, Washington
- Basketball and soccer and flag football official: Washington and Oregon
- College resident director: Lewis and Clark College, Oregon
- Personal trainer and fitness specialist: Oregon
The bottom line? Like many who get to my stage in life, I am ready to pursue other pursuits. I promised Setsuko that this would be my last regular consistent year of working. My plan is to be a substitute teacher at the American School, which is just a mile from our house. I am also planning to really go to work on learning Japanese. In addition, I would like to do the 120 hour TEFL certification class so I can teach English as a second language to people here in Japan.
I am very much looking forward to returning to my climate change work as I really miss working in that realm. I will continue to cycle or run or walk every day and will continue to do my stretching and strength training exercises. Exercise keeps me sane! I will keep doing my photography so I can share gorgeous Japan sites with you!
Osaka Castle is one of those places that looks good morning and night and in any kind of weather. It is just a very scenic building with great surroundings!
I feel badly that due to the demands of my current teaching job, I have not been able to devote much time and effort to climate change work. I am looking forward to getting back to that work this coming summer!
Below is a summary of some of the information I have found about where we are at this point with climate change.
On the United Nations news web site listed below, the following five issues are highlighted
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1158446
1) Keeping the average global temperature within 1.5 degrees of pre-industrial levels.
According to this article from the Japan Times, (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2024/11/12/climate-change/global-warming-already-15c/), we may be failing that goal even now.
"A newly proposed method for calculating the global temperature suggests that countries may have already failed their main climate goal: to limit warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Scientists using the method say the world was 1.49 C hotter than in pre-industrial times by the end of 2023. Conventional accounting puts that number at around 1.3 C."
2) Protecting Nature. (From the UN website cited above)
"Holding COP30 in the Amazonian rainforest region of Brazil is of symbolic importance. It harks back to the early days of international attempts to protect the environment: the pivotal “Earth Summit”, which led to the establishment of three environmental treaties on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification, took place in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in 1992."
"The location also highlights the role that nature has to play in the climate crisis. The rainforest is a massive “carbon sink”, a system that sucks up and stores CO2, a greenhouse gas, and prevents it from entering the atmosphere, where it contributes to warming."
"Unfortunately, rainforests and other “nature-based solutions” face threats from human development, such as illegal logging which has devastated huge swathes of the region. The UN will continue efforts begun in 2024 to improve the protection of the rainforest and other ecosystems, at biodiversity talks due to be resumed in Rome in February."
3) Who Is Going To Pay For All This? (From the UN website cited above)
"Finance has long been a thorny issue in international climate negotiations. Developing countries argue that wealthy nations should contribute far more towards projects and initiatives that will enable them to move away from fossil fuels, and power their economies on clean energy sources. The pushback from the rich countries is that fast-growing economies such as China, which is now the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, should also pay their share."
"At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, a breakthrough of sorts was made, with the adoption of an agreement to triple the amount of climate finance paid to developing countries, to $300 billion per year, by 2035. The deal is a definite step forward, but the final sum is far less than the $1.3 trillion that climate experts say these countries need in order to adapt to the crisis."
"Expect more progress to be made on financing in 2025, at a summit in Spain at the end of June. The Financing for Development conferences only take place once every 10 years, and next year’s edition is being billed as an opportunity to make radical changes to the international financial architecture. Environmental and climate concerns will be raised, and potential solutions such as green taxation, carbon pricing and subsidies will all be on the table."
4) Laying Down The Law (From the UN website cited above)
"When the attention of the International Court of Justice turned to climate change in December, it was hailed as a landmark moment with regards to States’ legal obligations under international law."
"Vanuatu, a Pacific island state particularly vulnerable to the crisis, asked the court for an advisory position, in order to clarify the obligations of States with regard to climate change, and inform any future judicial proceedings."
"Over a two-week period, 96 countries and 11 regional organizations took part in public hearings before the Court, including Vanuatu and a group of other Pacific islands States, and major economies including China and the USA."
"The ICJ will deliberate for several months before delivering its advisory opinion on the subject. Although this opinion will be non-binding, it is expected to guide future international climate law."
5) Plastic Pollution (From the UN website cited above)
"UN-convened talks on getting to grips with the global epidemic of plastic pollution edged closer to a deal during negotiations in Busan, South Korea."
"Some key advances were made during the November 2024 talks – the fifth round of negotiations following the 2022 UN Environment Assembly resolution calling for an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment."
"Agreement on three pivotal areas needs to be ironed: plastic products, including the issue of chemicals; sustainable production and consumption; and financing."
"Member States are now charged with finding political solutions to their differences before the resumed session begins, and with landing a final deal that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics and delivers on the growing global momentum to end plastic pollution."
“It is clear that the world still wants and demands an end to plastic pollution,” said UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen. “We need to ensure we craft an instrument that hits the problem hard instead of punching below its potential weight. I call on all Member States to lean in.”
The following report gives these figures for the sources of global emissions in 2023.
file:///Users/rrr/Downloads/EGR2024.pdf
- Energy
- 26%: power
- 15%: transportation
- 11%: road
- 2%: aviation
- 2%: other
- 11%: industry
- 10%: fuel production
- 6%: buildings
- Process
- 9%: industrial processes
- Agriculture and Forestry and Other Land Use
- 11%: agriculture
- 7%: forestry and land use
- Waste and Other
- 5%: waste
I wish that I had some easy answers, but I do not. The best I can do is to read as much as I can, research the different issues and opinions, collaborate with others, and then do my part to contribute to meaningful solutions. In addition, I believe that the following steps are ones that I can take to reduce my carbon footprint.
- Use my bike.
- Walk and use public transportation.
- Minimize and/or eliminate my use of airplane transportation.
- Shop locally.
- Eat lots of vegetables and fruits and minimize dairy and meat consumption.
- Dress warmly to reduce reliance on heating.
- Use a fan instead of air conditioning.
- Live a healthy lifestyle so I can continue to be productive.
I sincerely hope that with all of our efforts, we can turn this around so that our planet survives this crisis!
All the best,
Bob
HIKONE CASTLE AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Japanese love their castles! These castle shots are all from Hikone Castle, one of the highlights from Lake Biwako.
This is the final part of my five part series. The best for last? You decide!
Those
of you who know me well know that I am very committed to becoming a
better and better person. This is definitely a work in progress as I
will be the first to admit that I have a long ways to go! Below are the
primary categories for my ongoing efforts.
RELATIONSHIPS
In many ways, this may be the most challenging area for me. I recently started re-reading the engaging book, Atomic Habits. The author, James Clear, has started an app that helps with the development and implementation of habits. One of the habits I am working on is keeping my cool when I get frustrated, especially when interacting with those closest to me. Sound familiar?
BODY FAT PERCENTAGE
With all the exercise I get, you would think I would not have to worry about what and when I eat. No such luck! I have had a tendency to each some rich late night snacks just before going to bed. I have made an Atomic Habits goal to change that tendency.
Funny story! Back in 2019, I told Setsuko that there were no scales that could measure body fat percentages. She disagreed with me. Unbeknownst to me, she was right! I bought the Tanita Body Fat Scale and have used it ever since.
I was shocked at my first readings. Almost 26% body fat! I was able to reduce that to 17% in 2021. Unfortunately, my recent readings have been 21-22%. My goal is to get that below 20%. No more late night rich snacks!
ACCEPTING ADVICE
Many years ago, my mom made an interesting comment about me. She said that I was just like my father in that I had a way of taking the difficult and challenging pathway through life. Put differently, she was insinuating that I was fiercely stubborn and independent. While that has its advantages, it can be easily become a weakness when it comes to accepting help and advice. Yes, this is another Atomic Habit in process!
READING AND RESEARCH AND CURRENT EVENTS
This is a real success story. It all started when Yahoo put out the word that my Yahoo customized home page was going to disappear and I should try their new format. I took a look at it and did not like it! That pushed me to investigate new possibilities. I hit the jackpot!
I discovered a company titled protopage: https://www.protopage.com/
I was looking for a home page that would be user friendly for accessing a variety of new sources. It does that and so much more! Here is a summary of how I have customized these pages.
- Home page: to do list widgets that are categorized
- A link to my climate page that has 6 different climate new sources.
- A link to my News 2 page, which includes widgets with links to 7 different news sources, including The Christian Science Monitor and NPR.
- A link to my News page, which includes widgets with links to 6 additional news sources, including the New York Times and the Washington Post.
- A link to my World page, which includes 3 different news widgets, including The Japan Times.
- A link to my Sports page, which has 4 different sports widgets.
- A link to my Interesting/Nice page, which includes 5 different widgets, including "All That's Interesting" and "Heroic" from Brian Johnson.
- A link to my Reference/Personal Development page, which includes my personal development goals and the weather.com site for Fuchu.
In
short, this has given me a way to list and track many of the important
areas and interests in my life. I cannot say enough about the quality of
this site! Please let me know if I can answer your questions about this
great site!
LONGEVITY AND HEALTH
So far, so good! I will turn 69 this coming August. Below is a list of the steps I am taking to try to get to 100 years of age!
- Exercise daily.
- Weight training 3-7 times per week.
- Consistent stretching.
- Consistent weekly workouts that get my heart rate out of the "comfortable" zone for 5-10 minutes.
- Attention to my diet and related habits.
- Consistent mental challenges from teaching and my climate work.
- Regular
reading that expands my horizons and challenges me to think about our
world as it exists today and and as it existed in the past.
- Social time with Setsuko and with my friends.
- New challenges, including learning Japanese and obtaining my TEFL certificate for teaching English as a second language.
- Continuing to develop my music skills by playing the guitar and singing and playing the piano.
- Continue to work on improving our marriage by supporting Setsuko and her efforts.
- Give back by volunteering and donating to worthy organizations.
- Go to bed early and get at least 8 hours of sleep.
- Continue to work on becoming a better and better person!
Well, I guess I have my work cut out for me!
On that note, I wish you all a Happy New Year and a great start to 2025!
All the best,
Bob
OSHIMA ISLAND AND THE NEW BIKE!
These are some of my favorite photos from the recent trip I took with my friend Stuart to Oshima Island.
A big thanks to Stuart as he made all the arrangements. Thank heavens he speaks good Japanese!
It truly was an amazing trip!
Highlights included going to the top of the crater and getting the most amazing panoramic views of the water and Mt. Fuji and some gorgeous islands.
We rented electric assist bikes two days and used those to go to the Oshima Zoo and hot spots around the island. What a treat!
The pictured boat is the same model as the boat we took to make the two hour trip to Oshima Island.
Although it was chilly with temperatures getting down into the 30's, it was very sunny and warmed up during the day.
The last morning I got up early and was out the door by 5:45. The views from the top of the crater were out of this world!
This experience gave me an opportunity to jump into the world of electric assist bikes for the first time.
The day I returned from this trip, I picked up my new Trek Domane+ SLR 7 bike.
This is a high-end high-performance bike with electric assist.
It is truly incredible! It has three levels of assist. The computer technology is mind-boggling!
I bought this to help me with big hills, windy conditions, and long rides.
In addition, I got 40mm tires that can be used for gravel riding.
It is an absolute joy to ride! I still have to pedal as it will not operate with no pedaling.
However, it gives varying levels of assist, which can be easily selected.
This bike will give me all kinds of new opportunities to expand my cycling horizons!
It still forces me to work as the assist will only work to 15 mph.
Once I push past 15 mph, I am on my own!
I hope all is well with you and your families!
Have a great spring!
All the best,
Bob Reed
ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?
These are all photos from my recent trip with Stuart to Oshima Island. It really could have been more gorgeous!
I continually remind myself how important it is to have a sense of humor! When I am struggling, I love to ask myself, "Am I having fun yet"? Last night gave me plenty of opportunities to apply these lessons!
The evening started innocently enough as I was thoroughly enjoying the bike ride home on my new bike. Despite the very strong headwind, I was making good time using the electric assist. That was until I felt the dreaded feel of a tire going flat. Sure enough, in no time at all, I came to an abrupt stop with no air in the back tire.
Well, no problem! I had a spare tube and I have changed plenty of flat tires. I proceeded to remove the back wheel and then spent 30 minutes pulling my hair out as I tried to remove the damn tire! Unfortunately, the tire was so tight up against the rim that I was not able to remove that tire, no matter what I tried to do.
OK, round two. I Googled bike shops near me and found one a third of a mile from my position. Great! I will put the wheel back on and roll my bike to that shop. That would have worked if I could have put the wheel back on! I spent another 30 minutes trying to get that damn wheel on! No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the shaft to catch. Are we having fun yet? Maybe, not so much!
I then started to carry my bike to the shop. Oh, I forgot to mention that I was doing this with a sore back and a pinched nerve in my neck. Are we having fun yet??!!
I got to the bike shop, only to find it was closed, despite the fact that Google said it was open. Darn that Google! Fortunately, there was a phone number to call with instructions in English. I called the number, but the person who answered said he does not speak English. He said he was sorry. Are we having fun yet??!!
I returned to Google and found another bike shop another half mile away. I hustled as it was going to close in 35 minutes! All of the sudden, out of nowhere, this man walks up to me and in broken English with gestures, asked me if I was the person who called about a flat tire. What??? Where did this angel come from? I responded by saying yes! He motioned for me to follow him to the same shop I had just been to.
He took one look at the bike and then said he has never worked on a bike like mine because he focuses on BMX bikes! Fortunately, he said he was willing to give it a try. It was not a good sign when he asked me what size hex wrench he needed to take off the wheel. Are we having fun yet???!!
Being the considerate person he is, the shop owner, Nari, asked me if I wanted him to patch the tube or put in the new tube I had. What a gentleman! Many mechanics want to save time so they take the easy route and toss the tube in favor of a new tube. However, I voted to save the tube. Nari then spent an hour meticulously patching the tube while we chatted away using Google Translate!
At one point, he asked me why I was so polite in comparison to other Americans he has met. Thanks mom and dad!
For all of this, Nari charged me the ridiculous amount of less than $10! I offered to pay more, but he refused my offer. I hope I will have the chance to treat him to a nice meal.
If you ever get to our neck of the woods, please pay a visit to Bonz Bros, Nari's shop. I guarantee you he will treat you well! And who says good deeds are a thing of the past!
Happy Spring and my best to all of you!
Bob Reed
TRULY OUT OF THIS WORLD!
New approach!
I am now going to do my best to include Japanese translations for all of our Japanese-speaking guests who do not speak English. I hope those translations work well!
I do not think my command of the English language is sufficient to describe the resplendence of the shrines and temples at Tosho-gu in Nikko.
There were so many times when no matter what direction I turned, there was a scene of exquisite beauty.
I just cannot imagine the hours and days and months and dedication it took to construct object after object of such immense aesthetic quality!
We left our home early Friday morning and were home by 4:15 on Saturday. It was a day of unbelievable photography!
We stayed at the Nikko Kanaya Hotel, which is amazing in and of itself. Their list of prior guests include Frank Lloyd Wright and Albert Einstein. I guess we traveled in good company!
In future posts, I will include additional photos and details from that trip. Believe it or not, there were other scenes that were equally gorgeous!
As
always, a huge round of applause for the greatest tour director in
Japan. I do not think Setsuko could have done a better job of putting
this trip together. She even managed to arrange for picture-perfect
weather! Wow, what a woman!
All the best and have a great spring season!
Bob Reed
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