Basement area to an office block

or – Great Excuse to Review the Wardrobe

The air is cooling, leaves are turning from greens to reds, and I’m starting to think again about turkey and the associated trimmings. Before then though, it’s Halloween. Like in Hong Kong, it seems to be a festival that many local people take quite seriously.

Decorations adorn office blocks, supermarkets and apartments. There are even themed nights in some restaurants.

I’m not really into Halloween itself and have tended to think of it as more of an American celebration than being a neat fit into another country. Except when I was younger in Australia and wanted an excuse to collect lollies / sweets from the neighbours. Not many of them were aware of the occasion back then so trick ot treating wasn’t particularly lucrative.

I’ve been told that has changed now.

In my own Tokyo apartment block, each household can register with the reception area that we are fine with people knocking our doors that evening and we’ll have something to give them. I haven’t decided what I’ll do yet as I think I have some work colleagues in town to entertain.

One of the 974 things I like about Japan is the seasons and the way that people appreciate them. Foods changes, clothing changes, even home decor changes based on the time of year. It’s been so long since I’ve experienced four seasons in a year, this is really a novelty. Even the window displays in clothing stores make sense unlike seeing long wool coats in Hong Kong before summer is even over and winter begins. HK being a place that thinks have two additional seasons would be inefficient so it makes do with summer and winter with roughly a three day transition between the two.

Bottom is Kansai cut, top is Tokyo

In Hiroshima for work on Thursday (it was a whirlwind trip), I asked the taxi driver when would be the best time to visit. Early November to see the maple leaves a stunning shade of red, scattered over the ground. Hiroshima is well known for its maples and also their own version of okonomiyaki which they make with noodles which no other prefecture seems to do. Those in Osaka would definitely not be thrilled with this idea.

I’ve also found that people from the Kansai area cut their okonomiyaki differently to those from Tokyo. Tokyoites cut it as though it were pie whereas the sliced approach, resulting in rectangular pieces, seems to be the favored method in the supposed homeland of the food (this title is contested with those from Hiroshima).

I’ve been told they also have a different style of ramen which I will need to go back and try since that is my favourite Japanese food. I associate it with winter though so it’s not quite cold enough yet. If there was the tendency to have the air-conditioning set similarly to that of HK or Singapore, rather than trying to conserve energy, the season itself wouldn’t be such an issue for me. It would be freezing inside and out. I think it’s also because I tend to associate ramen with skiing so eating it while I’m hot doesn’t seem quite right.

Each area seems to have its own speciality food and something specific for which it is renowned. I find it amazing considering Japan itself isn’t that big a country especially when I compare it to the size of Australia. While landscape differs across various areas of Australia, and the football / rugby codes followed, the food is remarkably similar.

What changes is the beer.

* Thanks to Vivaldi for the title to this post. From priest to this.