A visit to the Umezono House
I checked out the Umezono House yesterday for the first time since last summer. There are always some brand new clothes, plates, and other whatnots, but you don’t see a big, brand new Doraemon talking alarm clock there that often. I don’t think you can get it for 800yen anywhere else, so please visit the Umezono House next week if you want to take a look at this Doraemon. It was quite big.
Other “unusual” findings are a black elementary school bag (probably the same one I saw last summer), a karate uniform, bicycles and tricycles, and brand new frames for commendation certificate.
If you are going to stay in Japan for a short period of time and are planning to visit local secondhand shops, please look into the Umezono House first. It may not have a lot of stuff, but please remember that this shop is for a good cause ;-)
Asian Friendship Association’s information in Japanese
http://www.tsukuba-swc.or.jp/circle/ajia-yujyo-kai.html
The Umezono House’s new store hours http://blog.alientimes.org/2006/07/the-umezono-houses-new-store-hours/
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Buying Tickets to Dispose of Large Items
Large garbage items, known as "soudai gomi" (壮大ごみ), have to be disposed of separately from regular garbage items.
Anything that cannot fit in a regular 40L garbage bag is considered "large". If you have a large item that can be broken down into small enough parts to fit into a 40L bag, you can put the parts in the bag and dispose of them on the appropriate day. If you can't break the item down, you have to make arrangements for its disposal.
The instructions are included in the "Oversized garbage" section of the Garbage Sorting Guide on the English version of the city hall website. There is a link to the places where you can by your "large garbage tickets", but the list is in Japanese. If you can't read Japanese and you want some ideas of places to try, here is a list of some possibilities.
- Coco
- Family Mart
- Homac
- Japan Agriculture (JA) Branches
- Kasumi
- Lawson's
- Ministop
- Sankus
- Seven Eleven
Not every branch of these stores may carry the tickets, so if you want a surefire way to get the tickets, go to Kasumi (in Takezono, LaLa Garden or Sakura Technopark, for example) or the 7-11 by Doho Park. What you need is called "sodai gomi shori ken" (粗大ごみ処理券).
Before you dispose of large items, be sure to try to find new homes for them, either by trying to sell them or give them away through the TAIRA, Tell and Sell Japan, or Freecycle Japan mailing lists, or by giving them to a recycle shop.
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Making Cloth Zori ( nuno-zori, 布草履)- a perfect gift for Respect for the Aged Day, or for anyone who appreciates fine traditional foot-wear!
Beautiful cloth zori sandals ( and the strips of fabric they were created form) made by my zori making teacher- Asako Seo
They are attractive, comfortable, nostalgic, and are said to help prevent the onset or progress of senilty. Zori ( traditional Japanese sandals) made of cloth. What could possibly be a better gift for an elderly parent or grandparent on Respect for The Aged Day ( this year on Sept. 20th)? Especially if they are handmade by the giver, with plenty of love and affection!
When I heard that some of my friends would be getting together just for that purpose ( making zori as gifts!), I jumped at the chance, and asked if I could go along as well ( despite the fact that I am ALL THUMBS!). And amazingly, a couple of hours later, I was admiring a beautiful pair of cloth zori that I had made myself ( with plenty of assistance from my skillfull and patient teacher Asako Seo!)
A view of the tops and bottoms
Zori are a type of traditional Japanese footwear which were usually made from some sort of plant material- straw, reeds, corn husks, bamboo bark, etc. ( as Buddhists, most Japanese did not have shoes of leather). However, zori were also made from strips of left-over or used fabric.
In farming families, women probably spent most of their free winter hours, weaving zori ( and other things) out of various materials.
Its an amazingly simple concept- all you need are strips of cloth, some rope, and a little perseverence! We used a small board with nails in it to hold the ropes in place, where in former days women would fix the rope with their toes!
As I mentioned before, zori are believed to have a stimulating effect on the brain as they put pressure on certain TSUBO ( traditional pressure points) at the bottom of the foot ( they are not completely flat soled, as they have a braid which runs down the center of the sole- like the blade of an ice-skate, and thus exert a unique pressure on the feet!), and interestingly, they are said to be best when they are too small for your feet and your heals hang out over the back end.
twirling and winding rope to make the zori straps
When I got to Asako-San`s workshop, she had already prepared variously colored strips of fabric which we could choose from. These pieces of cloth would make the soles. We then picked out our choice of rope which would be the sandal straps.
When Asako-San showed me the technique- so cleverly simple- I was reminded of the technique that Yoshiro Yaguguchi-San used to weave his straw O-Bon decorations ( which I have written about in an earlier post).
Two loops are formed with rope, and the fabric is then woven tightly through. When one strip of fabric is finished, you just wrap a new strip onto the end of the old one and carry on.
Three quarters of the way through, you set in the strap, which has been made by twisting some rope. When you`ve reached the length you want you then pull on the open ends of the rope loops to tighten it all up.
After about 20 minutes, I got this far !
Of course Im making it sound too simple. I would never been able to make such a nice pair without the help of Asako-San who made sure I didnt make any major mess-ups and put on the final touches.
a WHILE later I was this far! Almost ready to pull the rope a the bottom!
I left Asako-San`s workshop feeling that not only were zori good for the wearers brain, but that the process of making them was good excercize ( both for the hands and the brain!), as well!
I also decided, looking at my handiwork, that I would be back to make some more NUNO-ZORI- one of Ibaraki`s (and Tsukuba`s) living traditions- that are good for the brain, to boot !
eE voila! I finished one zori ( with plenty of assistance from Asako!
My zori making teacher- Asako Seo
Here is more on Yoshiro Yaguchi`s hand-woven O-Bon decorations:
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No More Free Bags in Tsukuba
In a country where you are given a plastic bag for your box of popcorn when you are at the movie theatre (which I witnessed at the Cineplex last night), I thought there was no hope of seeing the use of plastic shopping bags decrease in my lifetime. I am an enthusiastic user of cloth shopping bags (I have two in my purse at all times and several in the trunk of my car), but I haven't seen much proof that the "my bag" trend has caught on in Japan in a major way.
All this may start to change on September 1, 2008, at least in Tsukuba, where several major supermarkets will stop giving out free plastic bags with purchases. So far, eleven companies representing 25 individual stores have signed on for this program. The stores will sell plastic bags, but the profits will either go towards point card systems or environmental projects.
Here is a list of participating stores.
A Coop (Katsuragi)
Fresh Yaokane
JA Tsukuba (Yatabe)
Jusco (Tsukuba)
Kadoya (Toyosato, Yatabe)
Kasumi (Tsukuba, Gakuen, Oho, Tsukuba Asse, Technopark Sakura, Umezono, Gran Plechef, Midorino Ekimae)
Marche
Marumo (Gakuen)
Masuda (Kukizaki, Namiki)
New Quick (Tsukuba)
Torisen (Kenkyu Gakuen)
Uomatsu (City Market Uomatsu, Kamigo, Takamihara)
Yamauchi (Takezono, Matsushiro)
Source: Tsukuba City Hall Website
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Tsukuba Recycle Market
Sunday, March 11, 2007 from 10am to 2pm at Chuo Park (the one with the rocket, just north of Seibu, Jusco, and Q't, near the public library).
The market will be cancelled if it rains.
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