Spring, In Disguise

It's officially spring tomorrow in Japan, but I really wouldn't have known it. My heater is still used daily, as well as my heavy coat and hot beverages. The one sign of spring has been all the pollen in the air, which has the ability to screw up my eyes and nose so much that I find myself to be barely functional. So I venture out of the apartment and into the pollen-filled wind, my face covered by a cough mask or glasses, depending on which I want to protect. If I use both, the glasses fog up and I can't see a thing. I have been taking an antihistamine before bed, which knocks me out well and good, but sometimes they don't last throughout the next day. For some reason I think this is my first experience with seasonal allergies, so it's all trial and error at this point.

Local History

Since moving to Gifu I've become a lot more interested in Japanese history. This is central Japan after all, an area where a lot of major events occurred throughout the centuries. Outside the JR Gifu station is a statue of Oda Nobunaga, a tribute to the leader who started the process of unifying Japan four centuries ago. His castle is on top of Mt. Kinka, a short bus ride from the station. If you take the JR Tokai line west, you'll pass through Sekigahara, the location of the historic battle where Tokugawa Ieyasu gained control of Japan and finished what Oda started.
The articles for Japanese history on Wikipedia read like a drama, despite consisting only of simple facts. With it being Wikipedia the accuracy of some of the facts is of course debatable, but I find that the general sequence of events is accurate, and often very compelling. Naturally, the pages written in Japanese have a lot more content than their English counterparts, but that is all the more reason to study up, in my opinion.

How I Dealt with the Morning

Snowing over the past few days, with freezing temperatures overnight and in the mornings, something had to give out. This morning I found out my hot water pipes were the first. Waking up in an icebox and finding that out isn't too pleasant, so I had to improvise and use my water boiler in the kitchen. I did however wash my hair in the freezing shower, reminding me of what I heard about a part of Shinto monk training. Getting bucket after bucket of cold water poured over them in the dead of winter. Based on my experience this morning, I think I have a way to go before I get there.

Welcome Back Colder

The cold returned to Gifu last month, hovering just above freezing most of the time, with a few subzero early mornings and days of snow. Luckily it hasn't snowed too heavily overnight, meaning I've been able to make the morning drive on clear, safe roads. Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to snow, though not very much.
I've been staying warm in the apartment by alternating using electric space heater and my kerosene fan heater. The fan heater is the stronger of the two, but is also more expensive and gives off an odor that I am unfortunately used to. Since it's gas (hence the smell), I try not to use it for more than a few hours at a time. Mornings would be nearly impossible without it. I wake up to an icebox of an apartment, turn on the heater immediately, and after twenty minutes of morning hygiene, it is usually warm enough to have breakfast in comfort.
Though there hasn't been as much snow, it still feels every bit as cold as last year. Luckily, I'm a little more prepared for it this time around. I have enough jackets and under-layers  of clothing that I don't freeze, even when I'm teaching with a teacher who doesn't want to turn on the heater.
I took a nice walk to the grocery store today, the sky was clear and the sun was out. I was dressed in a few layers of course, but the freezing wind battered against my face every step. It's really not that bad though. I stay inside a little more, drink a lot more tea, have a lot more noodles and soup for dinner, and it's actually nice. I definitely prefer the cold to the hot. I remember the Twilight Zone episode where the earth was moving closer and closer to the sun, and I was on edge the whole time.

Soccer in Gifu

Thanks to the generosity of nice co-worker, I went to see our city's professional soccer team last weekend. It was a cold, windy night of entertaining soccer, filled with scoring chances, fan chants, and some diving. It ended in a 1-1 draw, which was a plus for our bottom ranked team. The season is wrapping up as well, but it'd be fun to go see another game sometime next year if I get the chance. Here's a photo of the stadium.

Heavy Duty Heater

In the past few weeks, it hasn't been too uncommon for me to wake up to an apartment hovering around 10 degrees celsius. Creeping across my creaky cold floor, having to step out the shower door wet into the hall, the temperature is a cold, hard fact, unchangeable until now. Two days ago I picked up a portable heater, capable of warming up my place in the amount of time it takes to wash and shave. Winter has only just arrived, and based on this year's January temperatures, it will only get colder. I know this heater will be a lifeline if there ever was one.

More local vegetables

These were courtesy of the elementary school. The giant white radish (daikon) came from the school garden next to the office, and the persimmons (kaki) came from the orchard next to the school, and was given to us by the family of one of our 3rd graders.