…and the best laid plans…

I had planned to write this next post on the weekend, however, we had some unexpected work we had to attend to – making preparations for the community meeting we have to have as part of our hotel application, trying to decipher a form we have to complete parts of and preparing multitudinous attachment documents. Apparently the procedure to apply for a hotel licence has recently become more complex, mainly due to citizen complaints about minpaku(s).

You may remember that a minpaku is where private lodging space is rented out to tourists, generally through AirBnB. This may be in the form of a room or rooms in a family home, a whole flat or small building/house. The majority of difficulties have occurred where the minpaku does not have any owner/manager on-site, and I think this is reflected in other areas world wide. The renters can be loud, or dispose of rubbish inappropriately or cause other issues for neighbours.

So the new procedure includes neighbourhood consultation, even though we are applying to run a ‘supervised’ facility. It also includes consulting with all schools within 500 metres, because there will be strangers coming into the area. We had thought our builder would run the community meeting, however, it has been handed over to us. So we had to create and distribute flyers advertising the event on the weekend, and will have to take the details of attendees and run the meeting.

A recent complicating factor in the whole minpaku saga has been a case of an American staying in a minpaku in Osaka who met up with a young Japanese woman he had been corresponding with on social media. He then proceeded to murder her, dismember her and distribute her body parts around different areas, including in the ward (suburb) next to ours, in Kyoto prefecture. We knew something was up when five police helicopters started circling over the hills very near to our house about a week ago. They continued this for over an hour. Evidently her legs were found there.

In relation to the Customs hold-up of our personal effects, we are still waiting to hear the final outcome. We received a seven and a half page list of the offending items, which included an estimated value assigned by the people from Crown. So, we didn’t have to do it ourselves, although we had to go through it to see if we agreed with their estimated values. I’m not sure on what basis they did this, but for the most part the values were reasonable. So we did agree and asked them to proceed. This was a week ago, so when we hadn’t heard anything as of Monday we sent an email to enquire about the outcome – and they told us that Customs have now sent our effects to be checked by quarantine…When will it end and why didn’t they start that earlier?

On a lighter note, we actually took some time out during this period to participate in a guided tour around the Nishijin district, which is the famous textiles area in Kyoto. A series of ten tours had been organised by the Kyoto government as trial to see if they were popular enough to continue on an ongoing basis, and for a fee. A friend of ours here, Sara, was one of the tour guides and she contacted us to see if we would be interested.

  Sara

Nishijin weaving originated in the Heian period, over 1,200 years ago, and the district is where the very spectacular textiles for kimono and obi have traditionally been created. The tour included a factory with old hand operated looms where they still make many Noh costumes and a museum named the Orinasu-kan which has displays of some restored Noh costumes, some wedding kimono and other examples of the traditional textiles. We also walked around the district looking at the machiya and the temples and shrines built by the people of the Nishijin district. It was a very nice distraction, especially as I love textiles, particularly Japanese textiles. I bought an antique obi many (many) years ago and still have it (well, Customs currently has it; not that I’m fixated) and I hope to have it displayed here eventually.

One thing we noticed as we walked around, is that the plum blossom is opening everywhere now – mainly the very intense pink and dark pink/purple varieties. So, it won’t be too long until the cherry blossom starts. They have said it is going to be early this year, so will be in bloom by the end of this month. Definitely something to look forward to.

(The last two photos are of a Buddhist temple where you go to get rid of pain or suffering, hence the symbolism of the pliers for removing things)

We continue to enjoy living in our new home, with different things really standing out. The heated floor is a particular favourite, both with us and the kids. It is set to come on a 4:30 at the moment, and the kids certainly are aware of this and take their positions to enjoy the warmth at around that time. Another thing that is very apparent is the difference the double glazing makes in keeping the inside space warmer.

(Ziggy also tried out the bathroom basin)

One other thing that has become apparent – there is a local ginger cat which seems to have this block as part of it’s territory. Initially, it just sat outside the back fence and looked in, but on about the third day of this behaviour we suddenly heard cat growling noises and found the ginger cat on our back deck, right outside our back sliding doors. Ziggy was not impressed. Serena has also had her turn at facing off, as it has been coming here every day, generally in the morning. Zowie hasn’t shown overly much interest. I think he is happy to not be involved in the kinds of spats he used to have when he was an outdoor cat in Adelaide.

On a final note, I came across an article in one of the Japanese papers we read about the love of mascots that pervades Japan. Mascots are known as yuru-kyara (“loose” or “relaxed” characters), and are ubiquitous in Japan. They are used to promote everything from soap, food and train lines, to regions of Japan and even prisons. They come in every conceivable shape and size, including some very bizarre creations, such as Jimmy Hattori, a ninja with a large pink condom on his head…

In some areas there are perhaps too many, so much so that in Osaka they have proposed a cull of some of the local yuru-kyara. This has spurred a public outcry and intense debate over which mascots should have their lives spared. Competition between yuru-kyara is fierce. While some mascots may be approved and promoted, their livelihoods depends on their popularity. It’s a challenge to win the public’s heart by finding the perfect balance between cute and memorable.

 Funassyi – a pear…

 Katakkuri chan – a prison mascot

This is why some yuru-kyara creators have started making characters kimo-kawaii (gross-cute). The strategy seems to work, as both media and tourists alike can’t get enough of these gross-cute characters, such as Meron-kuma a bear with a melon head:

One mascot, however, became very well known for all the wrong reasons:

For my money, a ninja with a condom on his head beats them all!!!

Cheers for now 😊

Photo for our website of the large guest room

Attached to the outside wall of a house nearby