Bike ride: 比奈知ダム or Hinachi Dam

Hinachi lake at Hinachi Dam

Quite a while ago, I posted a bike ride on my journey to Shorenji-dam in Nabari and I called it “Nabari Dam” despite there being more than one…never mind. The argument for Shorenji-dam being called Nabari dam is a weak one for one simple reason- it doesn’t feed Nabari river- unlike Hinachi-dam (no more names now I swear)!

The journey to the second dam started bright and early on a cloudy day- which was great for lighting but no so great for capturing colours- but that doesn’t matter as much since it is winter.

The location is a brilliant one- at least on google Maps. If you are interested in going to the dam on foot, arrive at Kikyogaoka station and walk towards the Mega Don Quijote and continue walking- eventually you’ll find your way to the dam. Additionally, there is a bus- but busses in Nabari are a bit inconvenient.

Advertisements

The journey to the dam

Do you love cycling? Do you love cycling on a bike that has seen better days? How about one that is not designed for life in Nabari going up a hill for several kilometres? Sound fun? No- but strangely it was.

The journey to the dam is entirely uphill – which makes perfect sense (it’s a dam) and most of the way there are dedicated footpaths (or cycle paths in my case) which were extremely helpful as Japanese drivers in rural areas love to speed.

As the ascent continued, houses became infrequent and forests started emerging- most signs of urban life faded away into vast open countryside- an escape that was completely needed.

Near Shimohinachi, Nabari

The journey at this point seemed a world away from Nabari- even with my slow ascent. The views were fantastic- but more importantly, it was brilliant exercise.

Upon arrival at the dam, you are greeted with the most fantastic views of the lake and of the surrounding countryside- with nay a person in sight.

The view from on top of the dam

The dam is slightly different from Shorenji-dam in construction but not use. The dam operates as a hydroelectric generation station in addition to providing water for household, industrial, and agricultural use. But the main selling point, similar to the other dam, is flood protection in times of heavy rainfall of typhoons. This is still a concern to many in Nabari which is one of the reasons for its constriction and for recent construction works happening along all rivers in Nabari- additionally a third dam is being built in the area set for completion by Reiwa.

The dam is 355 m long and 70.5 m high (or 14.2 Shinkansens long and 4.5 great Buddhas high according to the signs) and has a potential holding capacity for 20,800,000 m^3 of water but normally contains just 18,400,000 m^3 of water (or 1.84×10^7 m^3 of water- which looks so much better).

Similar to the other dam, the river it feeds goes through Iga, Nara, and eventually releases its’ load into Osaka bay- so it does help a lot of people by working.

Advertisements

It has the most fantastic road surrounding the lake and bridges along the way, with a car park and a small park- AKA a brilliant track for running and cycling (there were quite a few of us). The roads are brilliant and it is a fantastic journey- with few cars (except when I went through a tunnel and 5 appeared behind me) and a flat riding surface (the start notwithstanding!).

The journey back was a lovely way to cool down- it was mostly downhill again through the countryside. The signs of urbanization slowly seeped back into my journey until Nabari was unveiled- even with going a more scenic way along the river.

Final stats were a total journey length of 22.42 km, and an elevation increase of 280 m.

Thank you for reading and happy exploring.

Advertisements

Awareness: a changing climate

I have been thinking about the best way to go into detail about Japan’s changing climate. I do realize that this is a global issue, but sometimes an abstract idea like a global environment is a bit too hard to understand. So instead, please look at the picture below: it says more than I ever could.

The headline simply reads “there’s no snow”.

From the Asahi-Shinbun dated 22/01/2020

Japan is an extremely long country starting north of the equator and leading up to the Arctic- it has a vast and varied climate and each prefecture can almost be seen to be its own sub-climate. Hyogo Prefecture is known for snow sports- or should that read was known for snow sports? The long lonely strip of snow is not a ‘freak of nature’, it is an import.

Imported snow- in an effort to keep afloat an economy based on winter sports. Did you also see the ski lift? There’s not much use in that now is there. Imported snow not only moves resources from one place to another, but there are high economical and carbon costs associated with this as well.

Advertisements

The lack of cold temperatures has also been felt in Hokkaido especially in the run up to the Snow festival or Yuki-matsuri. Snow has been imported as well due to the warmer than usual winter. According to the JMA (Japanese metrological agency), Hokkaido has only received 48% of the expected snow fall a fall of 52% from the previous year.

Climate change is indeed happening and it is happening extremely quickly. This change has been reflected in the forthcoming Olympics as well. Due to exceptionally high temperatures in summer 2019, the marathon has been moved to Sapporo City, Hokkaido. On a more anadoctial front, I recorded temperatures as high as 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (ca. 38 degree Celsius) in the shade this summer in Iga- and I was not alone with seeing such temperatures.

Across Japan and even the world, record numbers of people were hospitalized due to heat related problems. Currently, one just needs to look at Australia- where they have at times run out of colours to use on heat charts due to the heat. If you need a bit more, conditions have been perfect for the wildfires which have caused complete devastation in places and the true costs of these fires (socially, environmentally, economically, ecologically etc) will possibly never truly be known.

There is a lot one can do but if business do not reflect personal effort i.e. a person becomes incredibly green but the business they work for either doesn’t change or becomes more environmentally damaging, nothing much will change. According to the wolves of Wall Street “Greed is good”, but what will greed do once the planet is uninhabitable?

Last quick note on this, there is an increasing difference on the amount of rice needing to be produced and the amount of rice being eaten. We are already seeing signs of troubles to come. Please do you part- even if it just a small action, it can and it does add up.

Thank you for reading and happy exploring.

Advertisements

Resolution: preparing to leave Japan

Sorry for my long hiatus, when uprooting your life (after taking quite a while to establish it), it is quite a stressful time and writing and blogging (even though I do love doing it) did fall be the wayside. But I’m Back!

Anyway, when preparing to leave Japan, one does need a checklist or an escape list that one needs to go through and I thought that for people in a similar situation, it may be helpful to go through my provisional one.

Advertisements

Money

Money means everything and nothing and this is the case when preparing to leave.

The main money worries that I am facing is an income in the UK (i.e. I need to find a job). But not being able to walk into a job upon my return does not mean that my money issues are just starting- I still have bills that I am paying (a credit card for example- hint for those leaving the UK, pay off your credit card before leaving) and I will be facing bills after I set up a new place to live.

After establishing myself, there are further bills to consider: rent, council tax, water rates, gas, electricity, food, and internet- these are the essentials. Following this, there is gym membership, insurance, buying a car etc- all of which I need to do seemingly yesterday but without the cash to do it.

Once I have set all of this up, even if it means getting a job that I need and do not necessarily want, I then will start to think of longer term ideas and plans- which again require money.

The leaving checklist

Photo by Content Pixie on Pexels.com

Once I have learnt just how much I have to do once I arrive- let’s consider leaving Japan. Now remember: just because you can jump on a plane and leave doesn’t mean things won’t follow you if unprepared. Starting from the top: apartment.

Apartment

Firstly is your apartment company leased or self leased? Did it come furnished or all self furnished and what about utilities? These are the first questions that you need to ask. If your answers were mostly company provided- rejoice your life is suddenly much easier. Here’s a quick OMG please help me guide:

Company provided

• Inform the company (if not already) of your intention to resign (if not already done so)
• ask the company if you will need to pay a termination fee for the apartment or utilities
• be prepared to pay the final bills on move out day in cash
• Ask the company about the provided furnishings: are they to say for the next person or are you to get rid of them?
• Ask about leaving anything for the new person e.g. rice cooker, cleaning supplies etc
• get rid of things early that are not wanted

Self-provided

• Contact the housing company about your intention to move- there may be a contract cancellation fee (usually 30,000 JPY) and a closing fee and cleaning fee (an extra 20,000 JPY+)
• Contact the utilities companies (there may be a cancellation fee in addition to the final bills)
• Internet: there may be 2 companies to contact if you have fibre. You will need to contact the line holder (e.g. NTT) and the ISP (e.g. AU) to cancel. There may be termination fees for both contracts.
• Find out how to get rid of everything that you do not want to keep- follow local garbage regulations- if you do this wrong, you will be fined!
• Clean the apartment to perfection to reduce the change of getting charged an extra cleaning fee

Advertisements

Apartment advice

• Hold a “sayonara” sale either on Facebook or on other apps to help provide a little extra money for your journey back
• Sell things to a second-hand store e.g. Hard-off (for electronics), book-off (for books, CDs, and DVDs), Off-House (for anything household) or another thrift store.
• If all else fails, try giving things away to friends, colleagues, acquaintances etc.
• If that fails, bin it!
• Regarding apartment cleanliness: would you be happy to move back in if you walked in now? No, get back to cleaning! Yes, go for a walk and ask the question again? No, clean and yes move on.

Finally, ask your company the following questions:

• When is my last work day?
• What items do I need to return?
• How much vacation time do I have and how/ when can I use it?
• Is there anything that I should focus on during these last months?*

*The usual resignation period is 3 months notice. Contract termination must be at least 1 month prior- unless other arrangements have been made (severance package etc).

City hall

City halls or 市役所 are at the heart of every Japanese town and city that there is a lot you must do there. Firstly, you must give your moving notification at least 1 month before moving (I’ve not yet done this), additionally you must cancel your “my number”, your health insurance, your pension plan and find out how much tax you owe. Finally, you need to get the forms to appoint a tax representative. To put it another way:

• Moving out notification
• cancellation of health insurance
• cancellation of pension plan (KEEP THE BLUE BOOK)
• appoint a tax representative (a native who you trust or a tax lawyer)
• cancel your “my-number”
• find out how much tax you owe- if possible
• get extra paperwork to apply for a police certificate (better to have it…)

Got it?

Note on tax, if you’re staying in Japan for 1 year or less, your tax rate is set at 20%, if you stay longer than 1 year, your tax rate is set at 8%. Please set up a way to pay- it will follow you no matter where you go.

A police certificate is proof that you were very good during your stay in Japan. If you are looking to go into a job which requires the handling of certain data, it is a very good thing to get before you leave.

Shipping

Now you have some idea of what you need to do- what about sending things back? Japan post have a few different options and to keep costs down, start ASAP!

The most cost effective way to ship thing back to your country is via surface mail i.e. ship. A typical box will set you back 5000 JPY and takes at least 2 months to get there- but during your move out process, it’s nice to have the extra space.

If you have the money, or need to have these things back with you, a typical box via airmail will set you back 13,000 JPY- this is for the cost effective solution. If you want it to send a lot back, it may be cheaper (depending on how much you want to send back) to get a company ship everything back to you. Typical prices are 4000 USD+ and while there are many options, please do some careful research and do it ASAP.

Airport

Fun fact: even though airplane is spelt aeroplane in British English, Airport is still airport not Aeroport (like in French).

Moving on, you need to book your trip back and I highly suggest you do it sooner rather than later. Even though there is little evidence to suggest that you get a better price, it does allow one to plan one’s life that bit more.

Please get the best flight you can! I say this because even though there are some extremely cheap flights to the UK- they have downsides e.g. 35 hours journey time or self transfers (think arriving at London City and the next flight leaving from Heathrow) or airline companies which offer no baggage etc.

Once checked in there is security and immigration. When leaving, Japanese immigration officials will ask are you sure you want to leave? This will be asked multiple times before the visa is cancelled- at thing point Japan has washed its hands of you.

Quick note, don’t forget that you may have to stay at a hotel for a few nights and that you still need to travel to the airport- budgeting is key!

Finally, healthy living

Just because I’m leaving does not mean that any current resolutions/ plans have stopped- it just means that I have to be more aware of everything I do and be aware how much time I have to do it in.

2020 is a leap year which has given me an extra day in Japan and I simply cannot waste it. Simply put, a usual New Year’s Resolution puts pressure on one to start on 1/1 and while may fail (doing too much too soon), you have to realize that it is a marathon (not the chocolate bar) not a race.

But there is still a lot I want to do before I leave, so perhaps time management has become even more important than before- including making time for blog posts (and I do have a lot to post). What I am trying to say here: life does continue even though are leaving. You still need to clean, to cook, to work, to live: it does not matter the eventual outcome- life continues regardless.

Thank you for being so patient with me. As always: thank you for reading and happy exploring.

Advertisements

Lucky Maruda or Daruma

A lucky Maruda on a Kintetsu train

Daruma or Maruda are a classic symbol of luck and they are simply Japanese. But have you ever wondered how they came to be or even what they are?

These delightful charms are initially designed on Bodhidhama or the founder of Zen Buddhism, the Japanese sect of Buddhism. With regards to what the Maruda looks like, each artist can do as much or as little as they like.

The benefits of this are simple: if you can think of a character there is a Maruda for it. The example above is distinctly cat shaped, a purrfect example.

How do they work?

Maruda are usually bought without pupils and you need to paint them on yourself. You first paint one pupil while wishing for something and once it comes true, you paint the other.

This does mean that there are many accross Japan with only one eye as the wishes never came true.

Nevertheless the less, a lucky charm can certainly never hurt!

Thank you for reading and happy exploring.

Review: cycle pro shop reco

When I say the bike I have is not designed for what strain I regularly put it under, I am unfortunately not joking. The bike I own is referred to as a ママチャリ or mothers chariot and it is extreamly common in Japan.

The bike has only 6 gears, front and rear brake pads, a basket on the front handle bars and a place to strap something down behind the rider. The bike is designed in such a way that you must sit up straight to ride it and the handle bars curve inwards in a loop shape- got all of that? Now ride for 30+ km in mountainous terrain and off-road- that is what I put this poor thing under.

Recently, I discovered I had a rear puncture and even though I could have bought everything I needed to repair the bike, it would have been a bit expensive. What is a person to do in this situation? Enter cycle pro shop reco based in Nabari.

This bike shop offers everything you could wish for from trikes for toddlers to the latest racing bikes- it covers every cycling need- including repairs. There are 2 prices on the website one for basic bikes and one for sports bikes and luckily basic bike repair prices are extremely cheap!

A further cherry on top as the shop’s location- it is just a 2-minute walk from Nabari train station- you can’t get much better than that!

My bike went in for puncture repair and not only was this done extremely quickly, but the repairman also re-oiled everything (something I had been too lazy to do), not only had he re-secured the bike stand (something I had completely missed), but he also realigned my brakes all for the cost of a puncture repair 800 JPY.

Don’t worry I tested his work by immediately going for a 25 km bike rider (post to come) and it all works brilliantly.

The repairman’s wife was extremely helpful as well. Imagine the inside of this shop covered in English terms and posters and the wife turns around and says: I cannot understand a single word of this, but she did have some good recommendations about where I should go to next.

She did say that an hour by bike is a bit far- which I don’t agree with. But then again, I am a bit mad at times.

Advertisements

The important question: will I be getting a bike designed for what I put it under? Yes- but not in Japan. The costs for such a bike are about the same in Japan and the UK- and you get what you pay for! But, it is currently low on my priority list- no matter how much I would like one.

If you visit Nabari, they also offer rental bikes for day trips, and they do have some visitors’ information available and a fantastic range of bikes- but this is a Japanese only shop- but not by desire they just had no need to use English.

Thank you for reading and happy exploring!

---

Please check out their website for their full offerings and pricing at:

https://cycle-pro-shop.com/

初詣: First shrine visit of the new year

While living in Japan, it is inevitable that you will pick up some good and some bad habits- it’s just how it goes. One habit that I adore, and will miss, is Hatsumoude or visiting a shrine at the beginning of January.

A Shrine worker stoking the fire

Hatsumoude is held at most if not all shrines across Japan and each shrine offers a different benefit such as business success, transportation safety, academia etc.

The main shrine in Nabari city is Urufu Shrine, located in the Hirao district of Nabari. The main benefit of performing Hatsumode at this shrine is transportation safety (交通安全) and charms (お守り) can be bought (and were bought) for 500 JPY to help ensure your safety.

Upon arrival, I was greeted with a massive bonfire, which had the delightful job of keeping me warm while I waited for midnight to welcome in the new year. A tent was set up which offered sake, sweet sake and dried fish (all of which were delicious!).

Everyone was enjoying the fine heat and looking at our phones to see when the clock struck midnight. Suddenly many people seemed to quietly erupt with the phrase “あけおめ” or an informal happy new year. There was quite a queue to pray and thank the kami for the previous year and for help with the coming. Naturally, I took lots of photos, but they were terrible- so I had to visit another shrine.

Advertisements

積田神社 or Sekita Shrine

Sekita Shrine is an ancient shrine with a 1250 year-old history and it is dedicated to the Shinto Kami Kashimaookami (鹿島大神). It is said that in ancient times before the opening of the heavens and the earth, Kashimaookami was appointed by Tenso Tenjin and descended from the heavens to earth (or from Takamagahara).

Kashimaookami is particularly known for their protection of the Tohoku region (northern man-land Japan) and has been worshipped as a god of military arts and equal to the god of thunder (war). More modern depictions include the phrase “鹿島立ち” meaning to set off on a journey and as a god who will protect you on your journey- or a perfect kami to ask for protection when travelling back to the UK.

A bonfire is still burning 2 days later

When entering a shrine, you are expected to purify yourself with hand washing (post to come) and when coming up to the shrine, make an offering of saisen (賽銭) or donations into the donation box or offertory box (賽銭箱- the kanji is a bit literal). Luck donation amounts are usually considered to be 5, 50 , or 500 JPY(the ‘best’ donation is 9 5 JPY coins- a good fate from beginning to end). But why 5 yen coins?

5 yen in Japanese is pronounced go-en (五円) and guess what this is the same as? If you guessed Pulmonary aspiration- 誤嚥 (swallowing the wrong way) go try to brilliant medical Japanese skills but I meant ご縁 or luck/ fortune.

After praying or asking a kami for a wish, it is traditional to get an Omikuji or fortune for the year ahead. Fortunes cost 100 JPY and it is either a ‘lucky dip’ or shaking a wooden contained until a wooden rod emerges with a number which corresponds to a fortune.

If your fortune is bad, you have the option of keeping it- it is an option- or tying it to a rope at a shrine to keep the bad fortune enshrined there instead.

Omikuji will give you a complete fortune and advise on matters from academic success, financial success, matters of the heart, travel, health etc- in much more detail than a horoscope (AN I did write “horror scope” but that would be a bit morbid now wouldn’t it).

Finally, I would like to wish you all a very happy new year from Nabari and Japan or in Japanese: 新年あけましておめでとうございます.

Thank you for reading and happy exploring in 2020!

Nabari City

Advertisements

The month ahead: resolutions

Photo by Breakingpic on Pexels.com

It’s been quite a month- even if you disregard the 2 weeks when I was unable to post.

I hope awareness month did prove to be useful and don’t worry- I’ll continue to post topics that I believe need more attention but this will also include global topics- not just Japan.

Now January, and as said in the “goodbye Japan” post, I will be leaving Japan this year which is not something I planned for but is something that I must do. But don’t worry, you will only see this change in April. So, in the meantime, please expect some posts about leaving Japan.

Now resolutions: for many people the new year is a time for change and renewal but most people fail their resolutions as they try to do too much, too soon. What I will post will be a step-by-step guide to being health in Japan. It’ll start small and build up and I will be following this as well.

Resolution 1

For January 1st, the first step is simple: get up at the same time most days. A steady sleep schedule is required as a foundation for a healthy lifestyle. What I have discovered during my life in Japan is simple- Japan operates on Japanese time and most places are open during the day with few things being open outside the 9-5 life.

Additionally, a sleep schedule allows a regular sleep pattern and reduces the chances of some NCDs (non-commutable diseases) such as high blood pressure, diabetes (if you saw my previous post I’m not diabetic woot!), risk of heart disease etc. Furthermore, sleep deprivation can contribute towards loss of balance, mood changes, loss of libido (sex-drive), weakened immunity, and memory issues.

Do all of that sound like a fun time to you? No, well get some sleep! The practise of getting enough sleep is called “sleep health” and getting enough sleep is a global problem- mostly in HDCs (highly-developed countries i.e. the US, UK, Germany, Japan etc). Some things you can do improve your sleep health is reducing screen-time before bed-time, exercise daily, and have a relaxing bedtime ritual.

It is something I am working on as well- don’t worry I’m no where near perfect either!

Advertisements

2019 a year in review

2019 has been a hectic year for me and a lot has happened. It was the year I came back to Japan as a working professional instead of an exchange student- which has been an interesting experience, and I am very happy I did so. However, my ambitions for my future lie beyond Japan- so it is also the year that, in some respects, I must forget about Japan.

Coming to Japan, I was a smoker and extremely overweight (read obese). When I came to Japan on the 4th of January, I was 128 kg and at time of writing I am 97.5 kg- a definite improvement but there is still a lot more work to be done!

With regard to smoking, again at time of writing, I have not smoked for 6 months, 5 days and 1 hour- and I don’t miss it. It will take a lot of time for my body to recover from the abuse I put it under, but I’m going in the right direction.

The other resolution that is popular is exercising more and again I accomplished that. Exercise has become an important part of my life because strangely, it is when I do my best thinking- about my future, about my life currently and about future posts and plot points for my stories I write.

Alas, 2019 also brought about challenges including the deaths of my Uncle Kevin and my Grandmother. I knew before coming to Japan that I could be unable to say goodbye if someone died- but facing this reality was completely different. Additionally, my last remaining grandparent, my Nana, has been diagnosed with stage 3/4 Parkinson’s disease (which is the reason for my repatriation in April).

Furthermore, there was a period of time that my father and sister faced challenges that I have been unable to help them with including hospitalization, medical emergencies, problems with hosing, social isolation and depression- things that I would have been able to help with. Finally, I would have been able to help my cousins (or at least offer help) when their father died.

While I have experienced some brilliant things in Japan, I feel I have also experienced hardships as well. So please be aware of this if you are coming to Japan- there will be positives and negatives as well.

My final note on 2019: it’s been a mixed bag but I think many other people also feel this way as well.

How was 2019 for you? Good, bad, or indifferent?

Thank you for reading and happy exploring in 2020.

What’s on: World Masters Games

Image from https://wmg2021.jp/en/faq

If you have been looking at your available vaction time in 2020 and have come to realise that attending the Tokyo Olympics will remain a dream, don’t worry Japan still has your back!

In 2021, the World Masters Games will take place in the Kansai region. This event will start on the 14th of May 2021 and will finish on the 30th of May 2021.

What is it?

The world masters games is the largest international multi-sports event which is open to anyone of “masters” age or 25 years old and older. Anyone can enter any even if it is NOT a world championship for that sport.

There are currently 59 events to take place in 35 locations in the 9 prefectures of the Kansai region, which is said to be the cultural heart of Japan.

What is the point?

Like any sporting event, the main 3 winners (first, second, and third) get a “beautifully crafted custom designed medals” and also and more importantly, the IMGA (the International Masters Games Association) state that “the real prize is exploring beautiful new locations, playing the sports you love and making lifelong friends!”

In other words, this is the Olympics that anyone can take part in.

How to take part?

The athlete is responsible for travel expenses, personal expenses, accommodation, spending money and participation fees. Included in the participation fees are “world class venues, officials and equipment in a number of sports” or everything you need to peform!

You may be wondering- why am I promoting this? As it is the start of 2020, many people will be looking to start a new challenge (or resolution) and many people become disheartened that they have no way to show how far they have come- and this is the perfect ‘measuring stick’ to show exactely that.

2021 is far enough away to become good at a new sport but close enough to be something to motivate you to get there.

Costs

There is a base entry fee which will allow entry in up to 5 disciplines. From the 6th onward, there is a fee of 2000 JPY per discipline. Additionally, some sports will require an additional fee for either more specialized equipment or for World Championship entry.

The base entry fee for overseas participants is 24,000 JPY which includes a Kansai travel pass and for domestic participants (including foreign nationals living in Japan) is 15,000 including a Kansai travel pass.

The 2 quick notes I’ll add on are: there is limited insurance coverage during the event for participants and all events will conform to World Anti-doping code.

What’s on?

Early entry opens on the 6th of January 2020 and will close on the 31st of January 2020. General entry opens on the 1st of Febuary 2020.

The list of events and locations have not been finalized but the current list, as printed in the Asahi newspaper on the 30/12/19, are listed below. Please note, dates are not listed- for further information, please check out the official website at: https://wmg2021.jp/en/

Please note, I have not listed all events

Tottori Prefecture
	Tottori City	Archery (indoor and outdoor)
	Kurayoshi City	Ground golf
	Yurihama	cycling (track and road race)
	Yonago City	Jyudo

Okayama Prefecture
	Okayama City	clay shooting

Advertisements

Hyogo Prefecture
	Tando, Yabu, Hyogo	Forest orienteering
	Shiso City	Professional cannoing
	Kasai City	Tennis
	Himeji City	Taekwondo
	Miki City	Tennis and baseball
	Kobe City	Basket ball, swimming, baseball etc
	Amagasaki City	Swimming
	Minami-Awaji City	volleyball

Fukui Prefecture
	Takahama City	life saving

Osaka Prefecture
	Osaka City	Closing ceremony
	Higashi-Osaka City	rugby
	Sakai City	Soccer/ football
	Kishiwada City	BMX
	Senann City	Swimming

Wakayama Prefecture
	Wakayama City	Volley ball, sailing etc
	Kainan City	Shooting- rifle
	Tanabe City	Long distance relay race
	Kamifukuda Town	Half marathon

Advertisements

Tokushima Prefecture
	Naruto City	Golf and weight lifting
	Tokushima City	Bowling and golf
	Ishii City	Bowling
	Awa City and Kamiyama-cho	Golf
	Naka City	canoeing
	Minami City	triathlon

Shiga prefecture
	Nagahama City and Maibara City	hockey
	Hikone City	track- 10 km road race
	Higashiomi City and Moriyama City	baseball
	Kusatsu City	Soft ball
	Otsu City	Canoeing and boating

Advertisements

Kyoto Prefecture
	Kyotango City	Canoeing
	Fukuchiyama City	Soft tennis
	Kyotanba Town	Gate ball
	Nantan City	triathlon
	Kyoto City	Opening ceremony, Track and field, Karate etc
	Uji City	Frisbee, Handball
	Kyotanabe City	Handball
	Wazuka Town	Mountain biking

Nara Prefecture
	Katsuragi City and Kashiba City	Tug-of-war
	Yoshino	Canoeing

Are there any events that you would like to take part in?

Thank you for reading and happy exploring and training!

Japanese and UK helpline numbers

Photo by lalesh aldarwish on Pexels.com

As the year draws to a close, many people feel like they are unable to cope or have severe difficulties at the dawn of a new year. Below is a list of helpline numbers in the UK and in Japan.

UK helpline numbers

Please note, some of these helpline numbers are for Lancashire only. For more local helplines, please google your county along with what service you need.

Children’s social care	0300 123 6720
Health Visitors	0300 247 0040
Police	101 (non-emergency) 999 (emergency)
National Domestic Violence healpline	0808 2000 247
Harv	01245 879855
Women’s centre	01254 871771
Samaritans	116 123
Job Centre	0800 169 0310
NHS direct	111
NSPCC (adults concerned about a child)	0808 800 5000
Childline	0800 11111
Food banks Maundy Relief Our food bank Accington and Rossendale Churches Together food bank (St. mary’s)	01245 232 328 07594478093 01254 389933 01245 232433
Mindmatters	01254 226 037
Calm (suicide hotline for men)	0800 585 858
Papyrus (under 35’s suicide prevention)	0800 064 4141
Lancashire Wellbeing Directory	0300 123 6701

If you are at all concerned with the well-being of a friend or family member, please ring 999 and ask for a “welfare check” to be performed. I have spent New Year’s Eve with a friend at A&E for physiological help and they are still here!

Japanese helpline numbers

Service	Number	Language
Police	110	Japanese*
Ambulance/ Fire	119	Japanese*
Tell Japan (Suicide and general help)	03-5774-0992	English and Japanese
Befrenders Japan	06-6260-4343	Japanese
Foreign Residents’ Advisory Center	03-5320-7744	English/ multilingual
Health and Medical Information Center	03-5285-8181	English/ multilingual
Emergency Translation Services	0570-099283	English/ multilingual
Tokyo Employment Service Center for Foreigners	03-5339-8625	English or Chinese
Legal Counseling Center for Foreigners	0570-055-289	English, Chinese , or Spanish

*English may be available in major cities

If any of these numbers are useful for you, please do use them. I hope that they will not be needed but better safe than sorry.

Thank you for reading and happy (and safe) exploring.

Awareness: Parkinson’s disease in Japan

Parkinson’s disease is quite a common NCD in Japan with over 150,000 people who suffer from the disease in Japan. But what exactly is it?

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive nervous system disorder is caused by the loss of dopamine production in the part of the brain called the substantia nigra- part of the midbrain.

Parkinson’s disease is not a life shortening disease alone but many sufferes also develop dementia separately which can be life-shortening.

Advertisements

Early symptoms

Parkinson’s is comprised of 5 stages and early symptoms of the disease include:

• A tremor in a hand, leg, finger
• stooped posture
• stiffness
• difficulty walking
• small handwriting
• Bradykinesia: sudden stiffness with often a ‘mask-like’ expression

Later symptoms

• Loss of balance
• sleep problems
• problem with swallowing
• memory issues including dementia

Basic treatments for Parkinson include medications which when taken convert to dopamine and help the body cope with loss of production, a healthy and balanced diet. However, as the disease progresses, patients will often decline physically.

Loss of independence

Late stage Parkinson’s patients will likely require around the clock care as they become unable to complete simple household tasks such as cooking, cleaning or washing.

About 40% of stage 5 patents will have a form of dementia as well as more common symptoms such as loss of bladder control, frequent mood changes, respiratory problems, less responsiveness to dopaminergic medications (dopamine replacement medications), dysphasia (inability to understand language), dysarthria (the inability to speak) etc.

Some late stage patients have described it as being a “drooling vegetable” but each person with the disease is different- and each treatment plan is different.

In Japan

Many universities in Japan are studying Parkinson’s disease and are running clinical trials including Kyoto University (who have transplanted iPS cells [induced Pluripotent Stem aka non-specific stem cells] to supplement dopamine-emitting neurons), and Tokyo Metropolitan University of medical science (looking at the effects of adiponectin [a protein produced by fat cells with many effects] on neurodegeneration).

The costs of PD in Japan is high. Curative care (treatment which looks towards a cure- even if not possible) is around 500 USD a month. Palliative PD care or PD care requiring a care home is significantly higher and estimates are hard to find in Japan.

With a monthly cost of around 500 USD and an annual cost of around 6000 USD, it is estimated that 90% of this cost is from PD medication- but this is mainly for earlier stages. For patients in later stages and for patients who have had PD for more than 10 years, the costs are between 550 and 600 USD a month. Costs do change with symptoms. If a patient requires pain medication, the costs are higher; if the medication is “wearing off”, the costs are higher.

One problem with PD costs in Japan is that there is very little research. One article I used (see further links page) doesn’t consider long term care home costs. But the costs are comparable to the cost of PD in the US, UK, or Germany.

Basic care home costs in Japan are around 40,000 JPY a month for basic care needs which is 446,000 JPY a year. This would be in addition to direct PD care costs. Please note, the care home cost is for a basic level of care only- PD would require a lot more care and thus expense.

In order to combat this costs, it is estimated but the JT that around 470,000 people left their jobs between 2007 and 2012 to help care for elderly relatives which does reduce costs but by how much is yet to be determined.

Thank you for reading and happy exploring.