A Salty Post (all photos in this post can be enlarged by clicking the small images)
I know some of you didn’t believe me about the salt in food in Japan. See the photos on the left, o ye of little faith! This is a restaurant in the Oyama area’s “Happy Road Oyama Arcade.” (jolly sounding, isn’t it?) Drop in when you’re feeling a bit low on the sodium. Go ahead! Salt it up!! HOWEVER, I did read in the Daily Yomiuri yesterday that people who have a high sodium intake are very likely to wind up bedridden when elderly. Your choice.
Jammed Camera Returns
My camera came back from the Canon repair shop today good as new. Whew! I figured the jam that oozed into the works would be the end of it, but the people at Canon take care of their own (for a price). One dollop of jam = 10,900 yen to fix (about $100). Such is life. Now we know the value of jam.
Philosopher’s Hall Park (Tetsugakudo Koen 哲学堂公園）gets new members
I walked over to Shinjuku from home to pick up my camera today. My route took me past the lovely park Tetsugakudo Koen (Philosopher’s Hall Park). (Japanese website) Lifesize statues of various thinkers from world history have been installed lately. It is an interesting selection that includes Ghandi, Shotoku Taishi, Confucious, Abraham, Jesus, Hamurabi, and others. Good for brushing up on your world history via visual cues. The route continued past the Nakano Station area. It was cold. How cold? Even bronze statues were wearing warm clothing. What else can one see in the park to station area? How about Ferret World and Ferret World 2.0? Two shops dedicated to ferrets and all things necessary to keep your furry friends happy (Japanese website).
Fun in Shinjuku
What’s there to do in Shinjuku? Depends upon your age and predilections. For photographers, it is a treasure-trove of interesting things to photograph + a tremendous area in which to shop for cameras and related items, both new and used. A few minutes walk takes one from the ultra-modern sky scraper district to a shrine to shopping areas to… well, you name it. No matter how odd it is probably here. Some things seen today:
And then there was Josquin…
This week on Tuesday and Thursday evening at Rikkyo University the Rikkyo Institute of Church Music sponsored a two-part workshop on the music of Josquin des Prez by Mr. Tetsuro Hanai. Mr. Hanai’s professional choral ensemble will be singing two masses by Josquin in the Rikkyo Ikebukuro Chapel next Tuesday (Jan. 19, 7:00 p.m., admission free). The workshops were an introduction to the style and notation of the music. We who participated were presented with the original notation of one of the movements, and were able to sing it with some confidence. Mr. Hanai’s presentation was done with humor and demonstrated a great depth of understanding of the music. It was one of the most enjoyable musical evenings I’ve spent for some time. The concert promises to be great – I suggest you arrive early if you plan to attend. Here is Mr. Hanai’s website (website in Japanese).