clear space
Out with the old, in with the new.
After about two years of trying to get our dishwasher replaced (it was so old, it was becoming a serious health threat), the landlord finally gave in. I am only adding the dishwasher to the memory archive as I’d like to keep hold of one particular memory regarding it. Continue reading “memory archive — day 53”
Cherry blossom (sakura) season has arrived in Tokyo, about a week earlier than usual. The whole spectacle is so fleeting that the full blooming period usually only lasts for a week. This year the weather forecast is splendid so people are out in the parks for hanami (flower viewing) picnics during the day or yozakura (nighttime viewings). I’ll also be doing just that for this week but will be posting again from April 2nd.
A pretty entrance ticket that I have purchased already quite a few times since moving to Tokyo. It gains you access to the Nezu Museum in Minami Aoyama. The museum hosts a fine collection of Japanese and Chinese art, however, my personal highlight and the main reason that I keep on coming back is the architecture of the 2009 building – designed by Kengo Kuma – as well as the museum’s lush garden. Entering the fairly dark space, looking straight on through large glass panels into the beautiful greenery makes me always feel relaxed at once. I actually rate this tranquil place so much that I decided to add it to my list of favourite, peaceful spots in Tokyo.
Recently we received a rather large and bulky envelope in the post addressed to my son. It was the invitation for his health-check up done by the city ward we live in. Besides a long questionnaire to fill out there were instructions included for a hearing and eye test to do at home with your child. For the eye test they’d sent the above mask to check both the left and right eye. Continue reading “memory archive – day 42”
This is an image taken from the self-exam sheet that you receive when you renew your driving licence in Japan. It was my partner who had to do the renewal and before disposing of the examination sheet, I asked him if I could add it to the memory archive. For a foreigner living in Japan and who doesn’t speak much Japanese the renewal process is hilarious, I think. Continue reading “memory archive – day 33”
Now that spring has finally come to Tokyo, I decided to pick an item for today’s disposal that reminds me of the warmer months in Japan. It’s a Ramune (ラムネ) bottle which we bought 2.5 years ago at a summer festival in Ueno Park. Ramune is a carbonated soda drink that is typically sold at Japanese summer festivals. The name Ramune comes from the English word lemonade which would have never crossed my mind prior to knowing how to read and use katakana. Continue reading “memory archive – day 29”
This morning when I was roaming around the house to find today’s item for the memory archive, my partner pointed out this tangled rainbow stick. Its temporary home was a jar in our kitchen which is holding a random collection of, currently, homeless items. It never crossed my mind to dispose of the stick; it’s beautiful. His reasoning was that he is constantly asked by the kids to detangle the stick. It’s a sisyphean task as less than a minute of playing with it, the kids always manage to get it all tangled up again and the fiddly work starts all over again. Continue reading “memory archive – day 28”
I am pretty sure that anyone living in Japan with young children knows this character very well. It’s Anpanman, the picture book and anime series hero with an anpan as head (anpan is a pastry filled with sweet bean paste). Even though me or the kids never read the books or watched the series, we were exposed to Anpanman straight from the beginning of time in Japan. It is just unavoidable to stay away from him. Continue reading “memory archive – day 25”
katazukete 