~Loves Come To Those Who Believe It...~

I love Japanese culture. I found out Japanese way of life is unique, fascinating and interesting if I compared it with other culture. I always take part if I have any opportunity regarding to Japanese culture and religion. I have once attend a Japanese festival that been held near my states which is in Penang. It was such a great experience that I have treasure it in my sweet memory valley.

I have a cousin who stays in Japan from 2001 until 2007 and she always told me what Japan and Japanese are all about since she knows I love Japan so much. With her knowledge, I learn a lot about what makes Japan mesmerizing in the eye of the world.

This time, with the idea of my good friend, Ina-chan, I would like to share to you my knowledge about Japan and Japanese way of living with point of view of my cousin, Nur Zairin Suriani who used to study, live in Japan and manage to adapt the Japanese life of living. She’s now living in London, England and happily married with 2 adorable children. 

My cousin, Zairin Suriani with her family

Since almost everybody in Buzznet is experiencing summer at their place, let me start this topic by telling you how Japanese people keeping themselves cool.

The summer heat in Japan is unbearable as they can climb up to above 35°C in many prefectures in Japan. There were reports that over 200 people had been taken to hospital and a few elderly people had died due to heat stroke.

The Japanese have ingenious traditional ways to divert their minds away from the muggy summer – using sound, taste and visual sensations.

A wind chime is one of the trick, making their minds perceive a cool breeze when they hear its tinkles.

Before summer month, crowds of people will flocked to a wind chime bazaar at Kawasaki Daishi Heikenji temple in Kawasaki for the soothing sound of artistic wind chimes from various parts of Japan.

The glass, bamboo, ceramic and metal wind chimes came in different shapes, designs, colours, and with decorations, too. And out of your imagination, there are diamond-encrusted wind chimes made of 18-karat gold (¥1mil or USD10,000 each) producing high-pitched sounds were displayed there!

Kakigori (shaved ice), icy cold drinks, ice cream, parfait, mizu yokan (red bean paste pudding), jelly and watermelon are welcome cold treats in the summer.

My cousin said, kakigori are widely sale only during summer and she had bought her first kakigori during summer festival. She also said, she felt nostalgic to see the ice-shaving crank machine when she was there for six month (homesick ^-^ )

She remembers the first time she taste kakigori. As she dug the bowl of kakigori, her euphoria evaporated. Then she started questioning, what’s this, only strawberry syrup? And it didn’t have real strawberry flavour either, just red colouring!

(Sometimes the seller is not honest, they only have the colour but no flavoured at all)

Kakigori syrup comes in many flavours, such as strawberry, melon, lemon, blue Hawaii, or plain, and some have azuki (red beans) or condensed milk added. Some shops and restaurants have since improvised with matcha (powdered green tea) syrup, azuki, ice cream and shiratama (small glutinous rice balls).

Beside that, during summer, Japanese also enjoy eating typical somen, hiyamugi (thin wheat noodles) or soba (buckwheat noodles) served cold with tsuyu (a soy-based dipping sauce), a little wasabi (grated horseradish) and sliced leeks for a refreshing respite.

Hiyashi Chuuka (Chinese-style cold noodles) is a popular summer food which originated in Japan. Garnished with cucumber, ham, chicken breastmeat and omelette strips, this one-dish meal is served with either vinegary soy sauce or sesame oil-based dressing.

Hiyashi Chuuka or Chinese-style cold noodles (left) and cold soba (buckwheat noodles) make a refreshing meal in summer.

While for home deco, they will have rush mats (goza) in their home to provide a cool appearance and a restful feeling. Other than that, they will decorate their house with bamboo blinds (sudare) which helps to  shade the rooms from direct sunlight. Sprinkling water (uchimizu) on the roads in front of homes or shops helps to cool the ground. Wearing mugiwara boshi (straw hats) and carrying handbags made of light materials impart a cool sensation.

Children love to splash in the fountains at some parks. Many people go to the pool or the beach for a swim, and picnic under a shed or parasol. However, cases of drowning, especially in the river or sea, are common in summertime.

According to my cousin, her neighbour told her, before electric fans and air-conditioners were invented, people coped with the heat using natural, means, sitting on verandas or on wooden benches on the street with a fan in one hand, or strolling by the river to enjoy the evening breeze. Summer was probably not so sultry then.

There is also a promotional article during summer at Tokyo Midtown. Tokyo Midtown always hold a series of events called “Midtown Loves Summer” by applying the conservative concepts of greenery, breeze, water and sound to beat the heat.

In the evenings at Midtown Garden, while visitors bathe their feet in the stream in an event known as ashimizu (literally meaning “foot water”), the murmuring water and the refreshing breezes soothe away the heat and fatigue of the day. Power-saving LED “fireflies” illuminate the bushes on either side of the stream for a relaxing, magical ambience.

Midtown’s Garden Theatre Café is another attraction. The Lawn Plaza is transformed into an open-air café in the evening. At night, the café becomes an open-air theatre with different zones, where recent and classic movies are screened.

Watching the movie under the night sky, catching a whiff of the fresh grass and feeling the gentle breezes take away thoughts of being in the centre of a sweltering metropolis...

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That is some of the activity that Japanese did to ‘survive’ the summer as been told by my cousin. I hope all of you enjoy reading this journal and I might write some more in the future if there any good respond on it. Thank you for being a good reader….