After almost two weeks of rainy, cool and cloudy weather the sun has finally come out and it feels like spring - yeah!  I have been a little under the weather lately and haven’t kept my promise of checking out a new site each week lately so it’s time to pull out my map of Tokyo and figure out what I’m going to do this weekend…

I could go to the Sanja Matsuri Festival in Asakusa this weekend but about 1.5 million other people will be doing the same thing and I’m not so sure that I want to deal with the crowds?  I think that I can catch similar festivities on a much smaller scale a little later in the summer.

Instead, I think that I’ll head for Kagurazaka, or Iidabashi, with my camera to do some urban exploring.  I hear that the area is a great mix of old and new and used to be home to a lot of Geisha houses.  Kagurazaka-dori is a hilly areas with a modern main street that is in contrast to the many cobblestone alleys and old fashioned shops that can be found if you take the time to wander around.  Now that sounds like a better way to spend the day, don’t you think?  So if the sun is out I think that’s where I’ll be tomorrow…

Photo Credit:  Flickr, Kagurazaka #001

I am amazed!  In the last seven days this blog has been found 392 times utilizing various search terms.  Eighty-eight percent, or 345, of those search terms are a variation of “detergent suicide recipe” or “how to make hydrogen sulfide”.  This is the result of my post titled “Bloomberg Publishes Suicide Gas Recipe” where I, with some help from my friend Nick and fellow blogger Ken at What Japan Thinks, brought to light what we all agreed was irresponsible and sensational journalism by  Bloomberg on an alarming suicide trend in Japan which is injuring or killing innocent bystanders.

Bloomberg ultimately corrected the article to delete the ‘recipe’ and product links.  I purposely did not link to the article and it is no longer available for viewing online.

But back to the to search engine terms…why are people searching for information on hydrogen sulfide?

The Australian Government has produced a Hydrogen Sulfide Fact Sheet that states the following:

“Hydrogen sulfide is used in the manufacture of pulp and paper (digesting agent), in tanneries and in sulfide ores. Most man made hydrogen sulfide is produced as a by-product of industry, rather than for industry.

Hydrogen sulfide is found in coal pits, volcanic gases, natural gas wells, sulfur springs, and decaying organic matter which contains sulfur.

It is not believed that there are any consumer products that contain hydrogen sulfide. Some consumer products may release hydrogen sulfide, such as septic tanks and the burning of coal or oil.”

A couple of other sites confirm that there is no common use for hydrogen sulfide so I must conclude that this isn’t something the everyday person would need to know or would be curious about.   So now I am back to the question above….

Are these searches the result of broad reporting on this alarming suicide trend in Japan?

Or, are they people who, for whatever reason, actually want to learn how to make hydrogen sulfide?

What do you think? Why are people searching for information on “how to make hydrogen sulfide”?

Can you imagine being woken up by an earthquake and lying there wondering how bad it’s going to be? Well that’s what happened to us around 1AM this morning! It’s not like we haven’t felt an earthquake since we arrived in Japan - at least once or twice a week you get this feeling that something is not right and then look up to see the curtains or something swaying in the room. It’s an odd feeling, your equilibrium gets messed up for a second or two before you realize that the cause is an earthquake. The earthquake continues for a few seconds and then it’s over and you continue on as if nothing happened. Earthquakes are just a part of life in Japan.

But back to this morning….hubby and I are lying in bed sound asleep when we are awakened by the movement of the building. It’s funny and kind of silly but at that point one of us usually says “earthquake” followed by an acknowledgment from the other. Then you can feel the tension in the bedroom as we both wait for the quake to end so that we can go back to sleep. We weren’t so lucky this morning, it seemed as if when one quake ended there was a brief moment of stillness followed by another quake. This kept up for a while and then we both dozed off only to be awakened by yet another quake, the strongest yet! Not a word was spoken between us - we just reached for each other and lay there half asleep with a tight grip on each other’s hand, wondering when/how/if it would end. The earthquake was strong enough that something made a crashing sound as it fell off the counter in the kitchen!

Channel News Asia reports:

“A series of strong earthquakes including one with a magnitude of 6.7 hit the Tokyo area early Thursday, cutting off power to more than 2,000 homes and causing light injuries, officials and reports said.
The strongest earthquake hit at 1:45 am (1645 GMT) in the Pacific Ocean off Ibaraki prefecture, some 100 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Tokyo….

Japan experiences 20 percent of the world’s major earthquakes and has developed an infrastructure meant to withstand violent tremors….

Japan lies at the crossing of four tectonic plates and is constantly bracing for the dreaded “Big One” feared to inflict major damage.
A 7.3-magnitude earthquake in Tokyo could kill 4,700 people, damage 440,000 buildings and leave thousands of others trapped in elevators, according to a study published by the government in 2006.

By infrastructure they mean that the foundations of the building include a sort of shock absorbing system that allows the building to rock and roll during an earthquake without damaging the structure itself. Since we live on the 12th floor all of the rocking and rolling is intensified quite a bit and I often wonder just how much stress the building can handle before it literally cracks.

It is a helpless feeling to know that you are at the mercy of Mother Nature during events such as these and this morning my hubby and I agreed that you just never know when your number is up. I know that I’m glad we were together and when my number comes up I want to be holding my hubby’s hand, but I’m just not sure I want my number to come up while I’m on the 12th floor during an earthquake - but I guess it’s not my call!

This week I am posting a quote from Secrets of Sant’Angelo, a novel by Jeff Shapiro.  “Prendila con filosofia” is Italian that translates into English as “Take it with philosophy” .  Secrets of Sant’Angelo opens with an explanation of this philosophy:

“philosophy meaning patience, perspective, a pinch of humor…..philosophy takes the edge off everyday mishaps: flat tires, railway strikes, food that burns and sticks to the cooking pot.  When love affairs run out of passion, when disappointed dreams die, philosophy eases heartache”

Merriam Webster defines philosophy as a search for a general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means.

In general I believe that we jump to conclusions about events in our lives and clump them in categories of good or bad, fun or tortuous, pleasant or unpleasant.   This categorization lacks the foresight of what the event may be trying to tell us or how it will impact our lives in the longer run.

I’m going to try and remember this quote the next time something ‘bad’ or ‘unpleasant’ is happening in my life - I am going to try and “Take it with philosophy”.  What about you?

Photo Credit:  Flickr, Philosophers Club

Today while surfing the web I came across an article on Bloomberg that was reporting on a recent trend of suicides utilizing a gas called hydrogen sulfide. This is a serious concern in Japan as innocent bystanders have been injured by these gas fumes. As a matter of ethics I will not provide a direct link to the article but here are two excerpts that together concern me:

“Japan’s National Police Agency called on Internet service providers to remove information on the subject.”

This statement was followed later in the article by the following

“The gas is made using around four liters….” again I will not continue with the quote due to ethical concerns. Suffice it to say that they not only provided the recipe but also provided links to the product pages! I was horrified and appalled!

I have sent an email to Bloomberg via their online contact form and have emailed the authors of the article the following:

I am appalled to see that Bloomberg published the article “Toilet Cleaner, Bath Liquid Spark New Wave of Suicides in Japan” by Sachiko Sakamaki and Stuart Biggs.

While this article notes that “Japan’s National Police Agency called on Internet service providers to remove information on the subject.”, referring to the recipe for the poisonous gas utilized in these suicides, it goes on to publish the recipe in the name of reporting. Links are even provided to the web pages for the products required to create this suicide gas.

This is nothing short of sensational journalism and I consider the publication of this article by Bloomberg to be completely irresponsible!

While reporting on this suicide trend is appropriate I would suggest that you review your editorial policy that allows for the “how to manual” to be included in this article.

A disappointed reader,

Shane Sakata

I am not an social activist in any sense of the word and this is not something that I would normally do but I feel very strongly about this and would encourage anyone who is reading this to do some research and let Bloomberg know what you think about what they consider newsworthy and their editorial process here: Bloomberg Feedback

If you need assistance finding the article in question please leave a comment and I will send you the link privately.

More (reputable) news on this trend:

CNN Article : Spate of ‘detergent suicides’ hits Japan

Commentary from 7:10 To Tokyo:

A Legacy of Self-Brutality - Latest Japan Suicide Trend

FOLLOW UP POST: Searching for Answers or Following a Trend?

Yesterday I had my hair cut in Japan for the first time since our last time living here over ten years ago.  It was the best haircut ever, well, not the hair cut exactly but the whole experience.

My appointment was at 11AM and I was scheduled for a cut and color.  The staff spoke a little bit of English and it turns out that my stylist, Sanae, and her husband own the salon I went to in addition to another one nearby.  I arrived a bit early and was greeted by the receptionist.  So far just like at home right? 

The next thing the receptionist did was take may coat and ask me to remove my earrings.  She provided a cute little ceramic dish for me to place them in and a mini zip-lock bag to store them in - how cute!  She then hung up my coat and took my backpack and earrings so that she could put them in a locker for me.  She then escorted me to the stylist’s chair where an assistant stylist covered my lap and neck with a towel and then wrapped a cape around my neck.  I still haven’t seen Sanae yet.

Sane arrives and I tell her that I basically want a trim and we agree on the color that my new do will be.  Now is when you would get your hair washed at home but not in Japan.  In Japan they spritz your hair and cut it first.  Sanae was very precise and took a lot of care in making sure the cut was just right.

When she was done another assistant approached to prepare my hair for the color.  She put a protective lotion on my scalp and around the edge of my face and put these cute little bags over my ears.  They were sort of like mini saran wrap bowl covers with elastic around the edge.  Sanae then returned to apply the color and, again, was very precise, and quick!  When the dye was applied I expected Sanae to leave me to wait for the allotted time but she stayed and combed the dye through my hair for another five minutes or so before telling me that it would take another five minutes.  Yet another assistant came back and combed through the dye again before Sanae came back and agreed that the process was complete.  They then switched out my cape and shipped me off to get my hair washed.

The room where they wash your hair is softly lit and you sit in a very comfortable recliner while they wash your hair.  They covered my eyes with a tissue and proceed to wash my hair three times but the best part is that it isn’t just any normal hair washing.  While they are washing your hair they are giving you the best head and neck massage that you have ever had!  I almost fell asleep I was so relaxed and regretted when she was finished, but she wasn’t finished yet….

Back I went to Sanae’s chair where the gal who washed my hair and gave me the head and neck massage began to work on my shoulders and down around my shoulder blades on my back.  I thought I was in heaven!  When she finished she dried and styled my hair and Sanae returned to check to make sure everything looked good.  She made some final adjustments to the cut and I was done.

I was walked back to the receptionist who was ready to help me put my coat on and hand me my bag.  I paid my bill and made hubby an appointment for his next off day. He said that he would rather go to a barber and I told him that the massage alone would be worth every penny more than what he would spend at the barber shop! 

Sanae walked me to the door which was being held by yet another assistant and after thanking them I slowly strolled down the street toward home feeling oh so relaxed and confident with my new do!

I can hardly wait for my next hair cut…

As most of you know, I have started to write for other blogs.  While I want to share everything here it just doesn’t make sense to create posts that just force you to click onto another site.  I hate those kind of posts and I don’t want to subject you to them any more that I want to be subjected to them!

So what I have done is create a new page on this blog titled Links to Other Stuff by Me! which is where I will included highlights from The Tokyo Traveler (I write almost everyday over there) and 7:10 to Tokyo where I will be contributing a couple of articles a month.  It’s on the sidebar right below “About me”.  I will make sure to update it periodically so you can see what I’m up to elsewhere on the net!

So check out the Links to Other Stuff by Me! and you’ll see a link to where I wrote about Jabusame (Japanese Archery on Horseback) and see some of the shots that I took at this event.   It was a great day and will probably be on of the highlights of my stay in Japan!

Today I’m going to let you in on one of my not so well kept secrets!  I LOVE BUTTER and I’m not ashamed to say it!  I don’t need an intervention I just need to figure out what I can do to fix the butter shortage in Japan.

Due to the shortage, I have been on a mission of late to find butter in my two local supermarkets and the excitement in my life is that I found some the other night!  I now have two packages waiting for me in the freezer - but I am considering selling them to the highest bidder since that’s the first time I have seen butter in about a week! 

I wonder if it’s a crime to deal in black market butter?  I could buy some milk, there is a lot of that around, and set hubby and I to churning while we watch the baseball games at night? 

But then we might end up looking like Popeye, with one bulging bicep, which wouldn’t be a good look….

Photo Credit:
Flickr, William Heck, a stockman

There’s not a lot new in my world lately. I haven’t been out and about very much this week for no particular reason except that the weather hasn’t been cooperating. It’ hasn’t been too cold or too rainy, just rather overcast and with a bit of an overall haze/smog which is a bit depressing and not conducive to sightseeing and picture taking.

So, today I decided to I walk with my hubby to the train station. On the way, we made a detour through the park to see what looked like a whole school of children out for recess.

. It was quite a sight! All the kids wear hats in a color assigned to their class or age group and there was a sea of colorful caps in the park with the joyful sound of children playing in the background. It just made me smile!

Here are some of the kids just hanging out.

Tomorrow is a Showa day, a national holiday to commemorate the birthday of a former emperor and part of Golden Week in Japan, so maybe the teachers decided to give everyone a break for the morning. The kid’s were sure having fun!

….when you have Kleenex sticking out of your nose!  But that’s just how Hideo Higashikokubaru, a one-time comedian using the stage name Sonomanma Higashi, and currently the Governor of Miyazaki prefecture in southern Japan, is portrayed on this tissue box cover.

I found this product while browsing through my local mall and just couldn’t stop laughing.  I thought it was hilarious even before my friend told me who he was.   He ran for governor on the slogan “dogenkasento ikan,” or “something must be done” and I know just what he should do - get them to stop selling this product.  He just looks silly!

If you don’t believe me check out his photo on the Miyazaki Prefecture website.