It's snowing in Tokyo

 Snowing since morning in Tokyo.

In recent years, annual snowfall is increasing in Japan. A winter storm watch has been issued to many areas in Japan now. It is said that the reason of such a heavy snow is "bomb" cyclone. This is a kind of a extratropical cyclone, that cause the extremes of climate similar to tropical cyclone. The Japan Meteorological Agency says that global warming makes it happen readily.

This is "Yukimi-shoji"
Yukimi-shoji is a kind of Japanese paper door with a simple device for watching snow falling in the garden without opening the doors. We use them for just like today. The Japanese caracters for "yukimi" is "雪見". "雪" means snow. "見" means watching. When we want to watch snow scene, sliding the bottom part of the shoji up.

　Open "shoji" in a common way

　  (LUMIX GF1 with G VARIO14-45mm)





                                  Yukimi-shoji

Pet cemetery

I went to a pet cemetery with my niece because her ferret died of old age a week ago. The cemetery is in the Zen temple named Jikei-in in Fuchu, the suburbs of Tokyo, 

As there are only a few places including here for holding a memorial service for pets in Tokyo, many dead pets are brought into the temple. When we lost our cat which was hit by car some years ago, we put her rest here. 

Few people there because It is out-of-season for coming such a place now. In Japan, people have a habit of visiting their ancestors' graves at spring and autumn equinox. Normally, while they are at it, meeting their lost pets. The reason is that we shouldn't treat pets more respectfully than humans in a Buddhist rites by the teaching of Buddhism. However the Japanese are mad about their pets recently. They usually feed them high-class food and some people make big beautiful graves for them.

   The entrance to the temple

   Many cat and dog dolls offered before the stone pagoda in the front garden

   Quiet and shipshape cemetery

Row of beautiful cemeterial goods in the showcase

   (LUMIX GF1 with G VARIO14-45mm)

A scene in daily life

As I don't have a new things to say, I will show you our living room. I think this is a scene of the average Japanese living room. The green megaphone on the table is used when a family member talking to their elderly deaf mother. She has a hearing aid but hates it for some reason. So I made the one for her. The tiered food boxes on the bench are a "jubako (重箱)" which are a kind of Japanese eating utensils. We put special dishes for New Year in them. I have to put away them at once because the period of New Year's celebration ended. On the left side of the bench, there is an occasional altar for our cat who died of old age (23 years!) last summer. She used to love lying down here. 

(LUMIX GF1 with G VARIO14-45mm)