Ajisai - Take two

After reading Rurousha's list of the top hydrangea spots in Tokyo I was inspired and toddled off to Asukayama with my camera (and iPhone macro lens!).

Not being a morning person it was mid-day by the time I got there, and there were plenty of others. There were older couples, pairs of middle aged women, mothers with young children, and men in suits. There were old flip-phone cameras, disposable camera, point-and-shoot digital cameras, and SLR with lenses longer than my arm. There was a young guy with a spray bottle of water setting up mood shots

and an older man with a mega camera on a monopod who had hidden himself in a gorgeous bush of hydrangeas to get shots of the trains.

But there were also gorgeous hydrangea - white,

and pink,

and blue,

and purple,

and even a mix of all of the above!

There were also all sorts of trains whizzing by

and even a spider enjoying the blossoms.

And, just for Rurousha, there was even views of Skytree to be seen (if you look really really hard...) with trains AND ajisai!

Skytree

From the shopping street by my old apartment I had a perfect view of Skytree as it was being built. Not surprisingly, with all of Tokyo between us now, I no longer have a similar view. But last night we were in my old neighbourhood and, after filling ourselves full of charcoal-grilled skewers of yummyness, found a bridge with a view of Skytree all lit up.

Ume syrup - Week 1

2 kilos of green ume, 2 kilos of rock sugar, three mason jars...

How long will we have to wait until it is yummy ume syrup to be mixed with soda water for a refreshing treat on a hot and muggy afternoon?

Ajisai

The depth and variety of colour of hydrangeas in Japan put the poor little bushes outside of my grandma's house to shame! Gorgeous.

Wordless Wednesday - Equal Opportunity Flower Enjoyment

I know the cultural importance and the idea of the impermanence of life and all that, but why should cherry blossoms get all the love when there are azaleas and irises and roses and hydrangeas to be appreciated too?!?

DIY

I am normally of the mind that if I can do it myself, why should I pay somebody to do it for me? Maybe this is the Girl Scout in me, or maybe it is having grown up with a mother who sewed, an aunt who knit and crocheted, and a father who fixed and built things. Every Christmas my mum gave me and my favourite doll matching dresses. And on my last trip back my dad and I used left over bits of cedar to make two flower planters that, while not perfectly symmetrical, were pretty good for a few hours of work!

But today I gave in and paid double to have somebody else do what I could have done myself. It was my annual employee health check at the big health centre. I got the general check and opted to add a couple of extras to check various female parts.

The menu was pulled out. Did I want a mammogram or sonogram? Did I want the doctor to conduct my pap smear or would I do it myself?

Wait, wait, wha!?!? My brain caught up to the barrage of questions being thrown at me.

That's right. I could pay ¥3200 for a mechanical ride and a doctor to poke around inside me (curtain hanging down to protect my privacy, of course, wouldn't want the doctor to see my face, now would we!!!) or I could pay ¥1500 and do it myself (minus mechanical chair and curtain, apparently).

Hmmmm...

It didn't take me long to make my decision. Despite assuring the nurses and desk staff that I could understand their rapid fire instructions and reams of paperwork, and despite the cutesy illustrations (this is Japan after all!) that would undoubtedly have covered the instructions, I decided this was one thing I would pay the expert to do. I don't feel so bad, I don't remember there being a "pap smear" badge in Brownies!