February | 2024 | Addams in Kyoto

Akemashite Omedetou!!! A little late, but hey. I hope everyone had a lovely New Year’s Eve and that this year is going well for you, so far. We are currently having a much-needed break, and although we had two guests in late January, our time off will amount to nearly six weeks. Having said that, we spent a large part of the first three weeks off doing catch-up, much needed and makes me feel much more on top of things now, so we can more fully relax. We have some guests booked in for later this month and come March, the proverbial substance will really hit the fan.

Today is Setsubun, the day before the traditional beginning of spring in the old calendar of Japan. Later today I will perform the mamemaki (bean throwing) ritual, which is meant to cleanse any ‘evil spirits’, which bring mis-fortune and bad luck, out of the house. Subsequently, I then have to eat some of the remaining beans, one for every year of your life (to date) plus one for the coming year, to help bring in the luck. That’s a lot of beans…

Oni – evil spirit!

Weather-wise, it has mostly remained warmer than usual, and I’ve noticed that the average temperature each week has been at least 1.5°above the usual average for the same time period. We have also been having a lot of overcast days, which is equally unusual. As a consequence of this, the forecast peak cherry blossom time is a lot earlier than usual – again. For Kyoto they are estimating 23 March as the peak. To check whether this was likely, we stopped in at Chishakuin to see how the plum blossom trees were going on the 22^nd of January and were amazed to see some already open!!! Another consequence of the warmer-than-usual weather is very little snow, with only two nights where enough fell that we could see it early the next morning – but only a few centimetres.

Going back in time to December, we had a lovely day with a family friend I have known since I was very young and her grandson. We went to Nara, then came back to Kyoto to visit Kinkakuji and Nijojo. Thankfully it was a sunny day, though it was cold. It really is wonderful to catch up with friends and share some of the beauty and history of Japan with them.

Just before xmas day, there was an influx of guests and as a result we didn’t have the time to do any cooking for a xmas meal. Instead, when we went out to pay some bills (it’s not a public holiday here), we stopped at Silverback’s on our return journey for a late lunch/early dinner, which was very nice.

Similarly, we weren’t able to go out on New Year’s Eve or go to a temple for the midnight bell ringing, as we had a full house and we had to be up early for breakfast service on New Year’s Day. January 1^st was a memorable day for us, as at 16:10 that day there was an earthquake here. It was around magnitude 4.2 and a real swayer. I was standing at the sink rinsing out a bottle when it started. A strange sensation which I didn’t realise was an earthquake at first, but I had to grab onto the sink to stop myself from moving. Then I realised what was happening and turned around to see our light over the breakfast bar swinging back and forth. Craig came in and said the paintings on the walls were swinging around, too. I knew as I felt it that there was a large quake somewhere else and was not at all surprised to find out it was centred on Noto Peninsula, as there have been literally hundreds of smaller quakes in that area over the last two years, almost daily.

What did surprise me was how strong the quake was here in Kyoto, which is around 290kms away. I found out that what I call a swayer earthquake, is in fact a ‘long-period’ earthquake, which is characterised by a longer duration of time for the earthquake wave to travel back and forth compared to what happens during an ordinary quake. So, a long-period quake feels like the ground is swaying, whereas an ordinary quake shakes things around, what I call a rattler. For me, I much prefer the ‘feel’ of a swayer because it feels much more gentle and there is less noise. What I have discovered, however, is that swayers are actually much more dangerous, and the effects travel further – hence why we felt it, and so strongly, here. It is particularly much more dangerous for tall buildings, as it can cause higher up storeys to sway very significantly. Sadly, it has caused a huge amount of damage in the Noto area.

A 6-storey building laying down

A couple of weeks later, we finally had time to take a trip to Osaka to see an exhibition which we had free tickets for. The exhibition was called Light and consisted of paintings and other works from the Tate gallery. The Tate curator working on this exhibition, as it was travelling around Japan, stayed with us during October while she was working on the Osaka installation at Nakanoshima Gallery. The exhibition opened late October and finished on 14 January and we managed to get there on the 13^th!!! Interestingly, there were a lot of people there, even on the second to last day. It was an fascinating exhibition, with some amazing works, and the focus on the use of light in each.

One of the paintings showing the theme very well

One other event to highlight is Burns Night, which we did have time to cook for – vegan haggis, tatties and neeps (Japanese turnips) served with whisky sauce, and a dram or two of single malt…bliss. Interestingly, Burns day was one of the two days where there was snow on the ground in the morning, and it snowed on the same day last year! Slangevar to Rabbie.

Well, that’s all for now. Craig is currently in the warmer climes of Adelaide and I am sitting here rugged up. I am continuing with various chores that need doing but have been left because they were not urgent, but thankfully I finished the ironing a couple of weeks ago. It took about five days to get through and my hand is now grateful for the break 😊. My main chore now, though, is looking after the six masters of the house – and they are hard task masters. Zowie is insisting on me waking up at 6:30, as per our usual working routine – I have pleaded with him for a slight sleep in, but…