The 28th (and the evening of the 27th) of Each Month is the day for prayer meetings at Tsukuba`s ( and the surrounding area`s) Fudo-Halls (不動尊)
It was the 27th, and July is an odd numbered month (the 7th), so I knew where I could find Mrs. Okamino. I built up the determination to s....
26 Sep 10:07 am  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The Japanese Custom of O-Higan- Remembering Ancestors Are On and Around The Equinox Days (O-Higan)- Revisited
The Japanese never go very long without taking care of their ancestors or departed loved ones. In fact, there are many who pray and make of....
25 Sep 12:18 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The Japanese Custom of O-Higan- Remembering Ancestors Are On and Around The Equinox Days (O-Higan)- Revisited
The Japanese never go very long without taking care of their ancestors or departed loved ones. In fact, there are many who pray and make of....
25 Sep 12:18 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Japan`s Prehistoric Staple Food – The Chestnut ( KURI, 栗), Is One of Tsukuba`s Most Outstanding (and dangerous!) Features- revisited
My neighbor, out early in the morning with boots, basket, and tongs! Sept 2010 Kuri on the tree in September. This year`s (2010) chestnut cr....
22 Sep 2:00 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Getting Ready For The Big One- The Great Ishioka Festival (Ishioka no Omatsuri, 石岡のおまつり) this coming Saturday, Sunday and Monday
  One of the several shops in Ishioka City which specialize in MATSURI wear and paraphanalia. These establishments were doing brisk busines....
17 Sep 10:07 am  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Teshirogi`s O-Washi Jinja (手代木の大鷲神社)- Its Tachibana（立花) Fireworks Festival and its Mysterious Straw Snake (大蛇)
the The curious straw snake which can always be seen hanging atop the torii gate at Teshirogi`s O-Washi Shrine in Tsukuba Thanks to their e....
15 Sep 2:33 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Rude Awakenings! Today`s Early Morning Explosions Explained- Tsukuba`s AIZU NO HANABI (合図の花火)
  I found this fireworks launcher, set up and ready to go, by the ruins of the old Konda Castle at 5:45 AM. The technician was getting read....
11 Sep 9:53 am  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Extremely Hot Summer In 2010 Leads to Slightly Disappointing Rice Harvest
Harvesting the rice in Tsukuba- September 3rd 2010 In Tsukuba, since it hardly ever snows, we rarely get to experience the thrill of waki....
5 Sep 3:53 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
With Japan`s Abundant Spider-life, Do Not Forget WEB-SEARCH before you near your front door
Some of the spiders, and their webs, around and inside my house in Konda, Tsukuba After a hard day at work or play (or both!) you are exhaus....
3 Sep 3:37 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The Anniversary of The Great Kanto Eathquake (Sept. 1st) is Disaster Prevention Day in Japan- and the connection between eathquake prevention and the Kashima Grand Shrine
Tokyo`s Shita-Machi burning after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923- note Mt Tsukuba on the right There used to be a cannon, located in the....
30 Aug 4:53 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Tsukuba`s Very Own (?) Nebuta Parade- At this weekend`s Matsuri Tsukuba Festival
Last year`s Nebuta procession as part of the Matsuri Tsukuba Festival I have always thought it CURIOUSLY inappropriate that the center-pie....
26 Aug 1:45 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Tsukuba`s Very Own (?) Nebuta Parade- At this weekend`s Matsuri Tsukuba Festival
Last year`s Nebuta procession as part of the Matsuri Tsukuba Festival I have always thought it CURIOUSLY inappropriate that the center-pie....
26 Aug 1:45 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Hand-Held Fireworks (Te Hanabi) Make Japanese Summer Nights Sparkle!
Kids playing with fireworks in the family garden I have said it before- In Japan summer means fireworks. I forgot to mention, however, that ....
24 Aug 1:11 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Last Night`s Full-Moon was the Bon-Moon (Bon no Tsuki, 盆の月), for those who still celebrate the ancient O-Bon Festival in its MOST AUTHENTIC way
Bon no Tsuki- The Bon Moon, on the night of August 23rd, 2010- with my cell-phone camera I have already told you in the pages of Tsukublog....
24 Aug 12:45 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Tsukuba`s Indefatiguable Bird-Chasers are Back Again! This Time in Force ! Come Watch ( and hear) Them in Action, as they keep our groundscapes safe!
  Using amplified distress calls to drive away the starlings that come to roost at Tsukuba Center ( Aug. 18th 2010) Summers  have always....
19 Aug 3:04 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The Last Straw? Yoshiro Yaguchi Keeps Unique O-Bon Traditions Alive in Tsukuba`s Shimo-Hiro-Oka Neighborhood
A tray for offerings (O-Zen) made from Makomo grass by Yaguchi-San on Aug. 12th 2010 Traditionally, the summer O-Bon Festival, in which Jap....
13 Aug 1:19 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Kakuo-Ji Temple in Tsukuba is a SITE FOR SORE EYES each year on August 11th, with the Yakushi Mando Ceremony
At dusk, the stairway leading to the temple is lined on both sides with lit candles During the summer, many of Japan`s ( and Tsukuba`s) Shi....
12 Aug 6:20 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The Kakuoji Temple ( 覚王寺) In Hanamururo Will Be Lit Up ( by candles) Tonight For the Beautiful Yakushi Mando Ceremony
 After dark every August 11th, residents of Hanamuro, one of the  traditional Hamlets which lies within the borders of what is now Tsuku....
11 Aug 2:32 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Tobacco- One of Ibaraki`s Most Important Traditional Crops ! The Tobacco Shrine on Mt Kaba ! And, why the Tokugawa Shogunate Tried to Ban Smoking!
Tobacco growing in Tsukuba`s Matsushiro Neighborhood (July 2010) Though I am right here in Japan`s Ibaraki Prefecture, sometimes, lost in t....
10 Aug 5:04 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Remembering August 1945
 August is a time of remembrance in Japan. Not only is there the traditional O-Bon festival, in which the spririts of deceased ancestors ....
9 Aug 10:07 am  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Imperial Visits Have Almost Become A Regular Part Of Life In Tsukuba
Seeing off the Imperial Couple at Tsukuba Station- August 2nd, 2010 For Japan`s Emperor Akihito and his wife Empress Michiko, Tsukuba is s....
4 Aug 12:47 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
For Getting a Look At One of Japan`s MOST AMAZING FLOWERS (the karasu-uri no hana) a Flashlight comes in handy- again
The karasu-uri flower photographed using my cell-phone camera and a flashlight. Just before midnight on August 1st, 2010 in Konda, Tsukuba O....
2 Aug 1:38 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The Ancient Rite Of Chinowa Kuguri (passing through an upright circle of straw at certain shrines) Explained!
A straw ring (chi-no-wa) set up for tomorrow`s rites ( July 30th) at the Hie Shrine in Tanaka, Tsukuba Has Japan`s summer heat got you beat ....
29 Jul 3:29 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
What`s the Buzz About ( yet again!)?- The Cicadas (semi) of Japanese Summer
Newcomers to Tsukuba are usually taken aback by the intense and inescapable chirping of cicadas (semi) in late summer. Though some find i....
27 Jul 6:24 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Lightning ! Hide Your Bellybuttons! (Thunder and Lightning in Japanese Culture)- again
We just had a terrific thunderstorm here in Tsukuba. For those of us celebrating the Gion Matsuri Festival in the neighborhood of Konda (金....
25 Jul 10:32 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Rude Awakenings! Early Morning Explosions Explained ( once again, for the Gion Festival season)
One of the annoyances of country life in Japan is occasionally being awakened abruptly by a series of thunderous blasts, the origins of whic....
16 Jul 9:48 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
The Gion Festival Season Has Begun! Its Gion Galore- and not only in Kyoto! (again)
The Gion Festival in my neighborhood- Konda According to A. Takahashi’s impressively comprehensive TRADITIONAL EVENTS IN AND AROUND TSUK....
16 Jul 9:42 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
O-Chugen (お中元)- Summer Gifts FOR THE LIVING!
Beautifully Packaged ( but exhorbitantly overpriced) box of mikan oranges for O-Chugen Living as a part of Japanese society, one is obligate....
16 Jul 9:16 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Gone With The Dew- The tiny, blue blossoms of TSUYUGUSA (露草) Appear Before Dawn and Vanish by the Afternoon (again)
Close-up of a tsuyugusa (dayflower) in Konda Tsukua It was thanks to having a dog, that one summer years ago, I first noticed the TSUYUGUS....
12 Jul 9:23 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
Its Raining Yamamomos ( YUMBERRIES) in Tsukuba! (again)
A yamamomo tree on The Tsukuba U. campus Leaving the offices of the Tsukuba University Medical School, I crossed over the pedestrian bridge ....
6 Jul 9:19 pm  from  alientimes   [Profile]  [Recent] 
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