Tuesday Then and Now

Ten years ago this summer I spent two months in Yokohama, subletting the apartment of a friend of a friend and attending a Japanese language program for North American grad students. I met a great group of people, a number of whom are still friends, and made a whole lot of amazing memories. The school was in a beautiful spot overlooking the water, right by Queen's Square and the Landmark Tower, only a few minutes from Sakuragicho station.

In the ten years since then Sakuragicho has changed - new shopping complexes, more stores, new developments... I hardly recognized it when I went last week. But looking at the Nagasaki University's Metadatabase of Japanese Old Photographs it has changed even more in the past 100 years...

What is now Sakuragicho station is on the site of what was the first Yokohama station.

The station is now dwarfed by the surrounding buildings and almost hidden, but the sky was a lovely shade of blue and I enjoyed doing a bit of reminiscing...

The station itself got in on the now and then - it is decorated with old photographs, maps, and descriptions of what the area used to look like.

Splash of Blue

More knitting, more pictures of knitting draped over colour-coordinating greenery in our garden. I'm really lucky with the colour-coordinating part as the hydrangea is juuust starting to bloom and it is the only thing that will be blue the entire year. Does this mean I have to spend the next few months knitting green before moving to brown and grey next winter?

This narrow decorative scarf/tie, turned out to be a super quick knit and I am hoping that the coworker for whom it is intended, who waited with anticipation for the red shawl to be finished and given to another coworker, will be surprised and pleased. She often wears silk scarves and pulls it off with a flair I've never been able to match.

She impresses me for far more than her ability to accessorize with silk, however, as she has successfully managed both family and career, something not so common among her generation in Japan. She had a home-based personal consulting type business on the side when her children were young, gradually working on more contracts as they got older and she could spare more time. Once they were in university (but not out of the house, of course!) she found herself a job outside of the home and has continued to acquire new skills and embrace new technologies as she goes.  Truly impressive and somebody I hope to be able to emulate!

Tuesday (Then and) Then and Now

We spent one day over the Golden Week holidays in Yokosuka. It was a gorgeous day - cloudless blue sky, sunny, and a light breeze in the air. Not too hot, but not chilly in the slightest. It was the perfect day trip - no crazy Golden Week traffic, silent greenery, shrines, a delightful quirky little teahouse, and beach combing.

One of the shrines was at the top of long long flights of stairs and gave a beautiful view of Yokosuka and the ocean. By the lookout point was a signboard with a copy of a Hiroshige image of the same view...

While not the same view, the Nagasaki University's Metadatabase of Japanese Old Photographs has a few photographs overlooking Yokosuka and the bay...

Tuesday Then and Now - Ochanomizu

More photos from the Nagasaki University's Metadatabase of Japanese Old Photographs...

Having spent three years at university in the area, I know the Ochanomizu area pretty well. Which is why I loved seeing an old picture of the area - one that I barely recognized! It took me a couple of tries to figure out where the photo was taken and when I went to take a similar picture I discovered I couldn't quite get it. But, here is Ochanomizu anyways!

The old photo, taken by A. Farsari:

Ochanomizu Bridge and Nikolai-do, both built in 1891, viewed from Juntendo Hospital. On the left (north) and right side of the artificial Kanda River are Yushima-dai and Suruga-dai, respectively. Ochanomizu Bridge was the first bridge constructed to provide access to the elevated land, which had been built for the protection of Edo. Even though the river was artificial, this area was renowned for its scenic beauty, and visitors enjoyed fireflies and Japanese cuckoos. Taken between 1892 and 1897.

Taken last month by yours truly:

From Ochanomizu bridge, with Juntendo Hospital behind me, looking towards Yushima-dai and Suruga-dai.

Just past Juntendo Hospital, looking towards Ochanomizu Bridge (hidden by the greenery).

Looking at Juntendo Hospital from the opposite side of the river.

Crazy Foreigner

Imagine if one lived in your neighbourhood, down the street or even, heaven forbid, next door! The strange things they do, the strange smells coming from their kitchens, the odd hours they keep, the fact that they hang their laundry out in the afternoon and... leave it out overnight!! (oh no! shock! horror!) 

Some are stranger than others. Some can be found in their driveway with a SLR over their shoulder, draping a small bright red shawl over the greenery and then taking numerous pictures of it... Very very odd! 

Harmless, but odd!

A mini-shawl knit for a coworker from one of the MANY balls of yarn she gave me after having cleaned out her mother's house. She apparently threw away most of the yarn, saving the "best" for me. I in turn passed most of what she gave me along to an NPO teaching women from areas hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami how to knit. One of the balls of yarn, however, was turned into this shawl (I'm calling it a "shawlette" because it is only just wide enough to tie around your neck). My coworker is a strong, opinionated, and brilliant older woman who spent much of her life working in a male dominated field. She dresses sharply in a style that has nothing of the feminine cute so common in Japanese attire. I was surprised just how hard it was to find a shawl pattern that was lace but not flowers/leaves/arabesques. I finally found this geometrical design and knit it with a straight border instead of the scallops in the pattern. Hopefully she thinks it is the perfect pattern for her too!

Knitting Bore

I realize I've been posting nothing but old photos and knitting, and I apologize, but I'm trying to use what writing abilities I have elsewhere currently and am finding myself tired and overwhelmed despite a lighter schedule at work. I know I'll get into the new groove soon, but until then it'll probably be just old photos and knitting...

Speaking of which...

I had two hanks of a beautiful dark green yarn that I decided to turn into a shawl for a coworker. I found a pattern I liked and got started. I hadn't gotten very far when the dreaded knitting self-doubt started up, however, and I decided it was too plain and ripped it out. I added a colourful boarder and started again - ripping out the border and redoing it a couple of times - before I realized I was not going to have enough yarn to finish the shawl as started. By this time I was so fed up with the yarn and the whole idea of the shawl that I quite violently ripped it all out again, muttering streams of unbloggable words...

So a new pattern was found, started, and deemed passible - just. But then I finished it and my overwhelming hatred of the yarn and the shawl was just too strong. I shoved it into my closet, with the intention of taking some pictures and then ripping it out to restart again once I had gained a bit of distance.

Nearly a year later I pulled it out and decided that while I still had issues with the shawl (piece of &#%*) and the yarn (*$%& $%#*!!), it was perfectly acceptable as a piece of knitting and I should just sew in the ends and wrap it up and give it away - quickly!

Thankfully I did just that and the recipient, more than a little surprised at the mini-shawl, declared it was the perfect thing to ward off the blast of cold air from the AC unit right above her desk.

I'm just glad it is gone!