summer – Diary of a Norwegian in Japan

Summer is coming

We had our first mosquito in the house and I wasted no time in going online to find insect repellent. They have «anti-mosquito coils» here, or katorisenko. I also wanted the pig. You can use the coils with the holder that comes with it, but these pigs are very popular here (and cute!).

I had to cut back a lot of my plants (violets, roses, sanchu) due to these little bugs and some mold, and they are slowly coming back to life. I hope the bugs will stay away this time.

I also got some lavender from my mother-in-law, and I bought another one myself after a trip to the dentist. I must admit, I never realised that lavenders actually bloom! My image of lavender was just of the purple buds.

I also experimented putting a potato that had gotten a bit old in a pot and it is growing impressively! I might have to get a bigger pot for this, though I am not sure if this will even yield any new potatoes. I often go into things without any thought or research, it’s a weakness.

My little garden makes me happy, though I worry about the oncoming heat of summer, if my little plants will make it.

After deleting twitter and instagram off my phone, I have started a bit of a new morning routine. It consists of getting up as early as is possible (for me; 6am) and putting on the kettle. While waiting for the water to boil I out in a load of laundry (if the weather is nice) and then I go and clean off all the cat hair from my arm chair. After putting the hot water in the tea pot with the tea, I take out my dry mop and sweep over the apartment, and afterwards I use a brush on the carpet. Even with doing it every day it is amazing how much hair I get. Keeping a long-haired cat is no joke.

If it is a nice day I will also go out on the balcony and check over my little «garden» and water if necessary. Once the tea is done, I sit down in my newly cleaned armchair, put on something on youtube and knit. Or read, depending on the mood.

I have also started seeing hydrangeas around the neighborhood, signaling that the rainy season is close. Before coming to Japan I never paid much attention to the plants and seasons. It mostly was like, if the leaves were changing colour then it’s autumn, if it’s snowing then it is winter, if the snow is melting and dandelions are popping up it is spring, and if it is green and sunny and hot it is summer.

But here; hydrangeas (I wouldn’t even know the name of these flowers back home) mean it is rainy season, then comes summer with cicadas and sunflowers, maple leaves and cosmos and bright red spider lilies are autumn, violets and plum blossoms and camellia in winter, early spring with magnolia blossoms and full spring with its cherry blossoms followed by nemophila and wisteria.

Also wouldn’t be May without plums! Last year I made plum syrup which I enjoyed (more than when I made plum wine) so I got some plums and rock sugar to make again this year. I am thinking of doing it this weekend.

Summer vacation

Obon vacation came and went by in a flash. I wouldn’t have minded having another week or two.

I was supposed to go home this year, using my vacation days, and fly back to spend some quality time with my friends and family, but because of the pandemic these plans have been overturned and I’ve had to stay here. But I did get out of the house for a bit.

The first day was spent cleaning and organizing a bit in our stock closet, thanks to (finally) reading this manga by Yururi Mai, I wanted to turn out the whole apartment, but satisfied myself with the closet (for now).

I got this in December last year as I had just moved in with someone for the first time, but it took me until now to actually get to reading it.

Day 2 we went on a drive over to Gunma prefecture to see this beautiful old historic house, a dam, and to eat some himokawa udon (which I have found that I love!)

Day 3 I went on a date with my friend, and she let me drag her out to Daikanyama (where I had never been) to see a bookstore that according to a google search is one of the top 20 most beautiful in the world! It is called the Daikanyama T-site and it is spread over three connected buildings. They had a pretty big English selection too and the interior was gorgeous.

I took more videos than pictures unfortunately, one day I’ll have to make a video I think.

We also went to the Rikugien gardens for a nice (super hot) stroll.

Day 4 we celebrated a birthday with eel, cake, and fireworks.

Day 5 was spent just relaxing.

The last day, Sunday, we got up early and drove to the beach! I took my favorite novel with me, Jane Eyre, but it was too hot to do anything but cool off in the water. It was so hot that the glue must have melted because pages started coming out and I had to try and attach them with washitape when I got home.

It was a good little vacation, a breath of fresh air, before going back to work. Having gotten a day at the beach, I feel like summer is complete for me and that autumn is more than welcome to take its place. Dreaming of hot chocolates and scarves and sweaters and a chill in the air. Wrapping yourself in blankets and knitted socks. What a dream. A dream that feels oh so far away.

Sayonara rainy season

Last night, the night going into August 1st, I lay awake and listened to the rain. It came on suddenly and furiously, the winds whipping it against the windows, hitting the ground sounding like hail. Looking outside I saw the world enveloped in rain. The humidity was almost suffocating, even the air was turning into water.

Waking up on August 1st I was greeted by the sun and blue skies. Any trace of the previous night’s rain gone. Last night was the rainy season wrapping itself up, presenting us with summer nicely tied in a bow to be opened on the first day of August.

It feels like the cicadas have spring to life overnight as well. An endless chorus of their chirping, blending into the background until you barely notice it, forgetting almost the source of the noise. The sound of summer.

I’ll admit it is bittersweet to say farewell. The rainy season isn’t all bad. I don’t mind a rain shower here and there, preferably at night with accompanying thunder, but constantly feeling wet and clammy gets tiring pretty quickly.

With summer incoming, while it does bring a certain lightness, brighter days, sunshine, and not to mention vacation, it also brings a heat like no other. As a viking I am not equipped to handle temperatures above 25 degrees celsius. Japanese summers bring temperatures well above 30 daily. Me and Japanese summers do not go hand in hand, but unfortunately we can’t skip them. I enjoy some summery things, but I am looking towards autumn to soothe me after what will surely be another sweltering summer.

Summer reading

For me, summer meant summer vacation, (we had two whole months), which meant lots of time for reading. Sitting outside in the garden or on a friend’s veranda or at the beach with a book in my hand enjoying life.

Now that I am working here in Japan I effectively have no summer vacation, but I have noticed that my appetite for reading has gone up considerably the last month and I am finishing books at an almost alarming rate (I am not complaining though).

Here in Japan it is mostly autumn that is closely associated with reading. They say 読書の秋 (dokusho no aki) which means something like “the autumn of reading”. They actually have this thing called 〇〇の秋 where you input a two-kanji compound word to reflect what autumn is about to you. So another popular one is 食欲の秋(shokuyoku no aki) which is “autumn appetite” as autumn vegetables are so delicious here so people spend a lot of the autumn just eating (and reading).

Anyways, for me it’s summer, so I guess it’d be 読書の夏　(dokusho no natsu) instead.