The Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

Happy Autumn Solstice! Summer has finally, officially, come to an end. Tokyo still has hot days here and there, but the days now begin and end with cool temperatures, which makes a big difference.  

I went for a morning jog in Yoyogi Park. It was a little too sunny, but not too bad. Yoyogi Park is a pretty crazy park. On weekends when the weather is nice, there are what seems like fifty different exercise groups congregating all over the park. There are families, people doing fashion photoshoots, kids learning to ride bikes, lone joggers, and picnickers. There is a small dog park within the larger park. Unlike many other Japanese parks, there is also a homeless encampment. Since a lot of non-Japanese residents live in neighborhoods close to Yoyogi Park, you will find people of all different backgrounds. It is a very international park. 

Most of Japan is still in a state of emergency, due to expire at the end of September. Yesterday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Area logged 537 new Covid-19 cases. It is one of the lowest days in months. Everyone is eager to travel and waiting to see whether the state of emergency gets extended. It is unlikely that it will, but you never know with covid. 

Today is a national holiday to mark the autumn solstice. My husband, who is Japanese, claimed for years that the Japanese do not celebrate this. I found it interesting, since it is a major holiday in other East Asian cultures (Chinese and Korean). It turns out that people do celebrate the autumn solstice here in Japan, and in much of the same ways as in China. Namely, eating mooncakes and other round, moon-like things. My family was not the most traditional. We did eat mooncakes and Asian pears. I think the main thing for every Chinese holiday is to have a gathering and eat a lot. 

This year, we did not have a big gathering. but we did eat some round things, like mochi, meatballs, and this dessert made of glutinous rice and bean paste. The yellow one had chestnut paste. I think this is the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese mooncake. 

Even though it's been warm this week, temperatures are suppose to drop this weekend. I'm looking forward to getting in a couple of long runs. I am considering doing a half marathon. The longest race I have run is a 15K, and if it were just me, I would be fine sticking to this distance. It's my sweet spot - not too short and not too long. But my husband, who has also never run more than a 15K, is trying to persuade me to run a half with him. My running speed is at a low point at the moment because I haven't been running much during the summer. My longest run this past month has been a 10K. If I improve my endurance in the next few weeks, maybe it will motivate me enough to go for it. Marathon or not, I'm excited to spend more time outside!

Sunday Hike on Mount Takao

Before falling asleep last Saturday night, my husband mentioned something about hiking on Sunday. Something about an easy hike with a paved path. It sounded fun and easy, but I woke up Sunday morning having forgotten about the conversation. As I was pondering what we should do that day, my husband reminded me about the hike. So we made the usual preparations for the outdoors: mosquito repellent, water bottles, diapers, hats (no sunscreen, as it has been mercifully cloudy lately).

Mount Takao, or Takao san, is a sacred mountain located in Hachioji, Tokyo. From Shinjuku Station at the city center, you can take the Keio semi-express line, which will take you directly to the mountain in under an hour. We took a taxi to Shinjuku Station to "conserve the kids' energy," as my husband put it. 

Because it takes us a long time to get ready and leave home, it was 10:45 am by the time we arrived. I was hungry already and bought an onigiri, a small bag of trail mix, and yaki dango at the train station. 

There are several trails to the mountain's peak but only one paved trail. On this trail, it takes about 90 minutes to reach the summit. If you don't want to climb the entire thing, there is a cable car that goes halfway up the mountain. It is about $9 USD per person, round trip or $4.50 USD per person, one-way. We took the paved path the entire way because we had our stroller. The first half of the path, though paved, is quite steep. It is not too bad if you are just walking. With the stroller, it was a workout.  

Beginning our hike.

We replenished our energy with plenty of snacks along the way, including soft serve, more dango, and taiyaki (grilled wafer-like cake with sweet filling). The main areas for eating and restaurants are the base, the cable car station midway, and the summit. There is also a small shrine and a temple, where we explored and rested. 

A random but seasonal display of origami.

The closer we got to the top, the more difficult it became to climb with the stroller. We had to choose between the main paved path with steep stairs or the very rocky but stair-less path. We chose the rocky path. My husband used the Ergobaby carrier while I carried the stroller. M, who is not even two years old, is the height of a three year old, so carrying her in Ergobaby was no easy feat. Luckily, the path ended quickly as we reached the summit. 

The hike was doable with a stroller but would have been ideal with a hiking carrier. For an older toddler like E, walking, though slow, was the easiest. It took us over two hours to reach the summit. In retrospect, it would have been easiest to use the cable car. But then again, reaching the peak is all the more sweeter when you've done it on your own. I was impressed by the number of small children hiking by themselves. E managed to climb over two miles up and one mile back down, motivated by snacks and the promise of soft serve. There was a little grumbling, but she loved it in the end. 

The view at the top

The higher you go, the fewer restaurant options there are. Plan to eat at one of the numerous restaurants at the base if you want a nice dining experience. The cable car station midway up has a handful of options, including a soba restaurant. There is one soba restaurant at the summit. It is rustic and small with a limited menu that is nevertheless quite good. By the time we sat down for lunch, it was nearly 2 pm, so the restaurant was not crowded. But as the sole eatery, I expect it gets very busy at peak lunch hour. A lot of people were eating their own bentos - a great option if you have time to plan. I don't know what it is with soba and mountains. Or maybe it is soba and shrines. Or maybe all three. Every Japanese mountain I have climbed has a shrine and soba. 

On the descent, we took the paved path with stairs, carrying the baby and stroller. This felt slightly shorter than the stair-less route. And this time, we took the cable car the last half down. 

Back at the base, we explored food stalls selling "local" items. We bought some dried soba. They had fresh ones to be cooked within a week and semi-fresh ones to be cooked within a month. We also bought - my favorite - roasted chestnuts. I have had roasted chestnuts in a lot of countries, and nowhere are they as perfect as they are in Japan. You usually get a few duds in the pack, either rotten or ones where the skin does not peel off nicely. Every single one of the chestnuts we bought here were deliciously perfect. 

E, who still occasionally naps, was excited about the prospect of not having to nap, since the trip took all day. And of course, she promptly fell into a deep sleep on the train ride back home. In fact, half the train was sleeping (it was another semi-express, so most passengers were also riding from Mount Takao). 

I want to return later in autumn when the leaves start turning colors but have heard that it becomes unbearably crowded on the weekends. We might try squeeze a hike into a weekday, or maybe explore another mountain. 

An Early Autumn

On September 1, the weather in Tokyo changed abruptly. All of a sudden, the sweltering heat and oppressive sunshine were gone. It felt like I had traveled to another season in another city: gray clouds, a light breeze, and a slight chill. Everyone says that Tokyo remains hot until mid-September at best, so I thought this cooler weather was just an aberration at first. But looking at the forecast for the next ten days, it seems like it is here to stay. Autumn has arrived early in Tokyo. 

Last autumn was the first one in which I walked the kids to and from daycare every day due to our new pandemic schedule. Although it was a pain at times, the walks made me appreciate the beauty of neighborhood. 

Early September in Bucktown

Glorious autumn.

The autumn air has made me feel nostalgic. It reminds me of listening to podcasts while taking long walks with my dog. It also reminds me of stepping on dog poop, covered and camouflaged by leaves. I don't miss that. 

Last year was the first year that E became fully aware of each season and all its celebrations. "Happy Halloweeeeen!" she began chirping, as soon as the neighborhood decorations went up. She would continue saying this until she finished the last of her Halloween candy weeks later. I disliked Halloween before kids and now with kids, I love it. My husband said that it wasn't really celebrated in Tokyo when he was a kid. It seems like things have changed, because as of September 1, you can find Halloween candy displayed prominently in grocery stores. 

A more conventional autumn food here, as in many other places, is chestnuts. Chestnut and mont blanc themed desserts are cropping up everywhere, like these mont blanc flavored KitKat bars. The actual dessert is better, but it was interesting to try. 

Just as my husband's grandmother made takenoko gohan (bamboo rice) to celebrate spring, she made kuri gohan (chestnut rice) to celebrate autumn - alongside an impressive plate of gyoza. 

All this, and the leaves haven't even begun changing their colors! Japan really loves seasonal foods and celebrating each season. 

There is a word in Japanese to describe summer malaise. It is natsubate. "Natsu" means summer in Japanese and "bate" is fatigue or tiredness. Japanese summers are not the hottest I've experienced - temperatures reached 100 Fahrenheit only once or twice - but the heat and humidity are unrelenting. Even at night, the temperature would stay in the 80s. Every day was the same: baking sun, humidity, high 80s to low 90s. I avoided going outside, and exercising was difficult. It felt like a quarantine. 

With the temperature dropping and clouds providing sun relief, I feel like I am shedding natsubate. With weather like this, we have renewed energy to go forth and explore. 

5 More Unique Features of a Japanese Home

Of all the features below, air conditioning has been the biggest difference we have experienced the past few months. Because the a/c is not constantly on, we have experienced summer more acutely than ever before. Here is a full list of home features you will find in Japan:

1. Gas/Hot Water

In our home, and in most Japanese homes, you have to manually turn the gas on to turn the hot water on. It is simply a matter of pressing a button, but it is nonetheless an extra step, so we use hot water far less often than we did in Chicago. Before showering or bathing, I turn on the gas, and can use hot water right away. After I am done, I turn it off. Gas, electricity, and water all costs significantly more here than it did in America. It's possible that this is a way of limiting use. 

On a related note, Malcolm Gladwell's podcast Revisionist History aired an episode on the most eco-friendly way to do laundry, which is to do laundry with cold water. So the most eco-friendly detergents, therefore, are those that work most effectively with cold water. I recently listened to this episode and wondered if using less hot water in general is also more environmentally friendly. I suppose it uses less gas (i.e., energy). 

Another interesting feature is that the control panel for the gas and bath is in both the bathroom and the kitchen. Although the hot water becomes available immediately, the bath tub takes some time to fill. This way, you can start filling the tub with hot water after dinner, right from the kitchen. 

2. Balcony

Laundry is usually line-dried in Japan, so balconies are a necessity. You can always see people's clothes drying on their balconies. 

Our balcony is unique in that clothes-drying is prohibited. I'm not sure why this is, but it is a pain because balcony-drying is surprisingly effective. We have a powerful dryer fan that converts the shower room into a clothes-dryer. It is very loud, and I imagine it uses quite a bit of energy. It sounds like an airplane engine. While it is nice to have this option on rainy and very humid days, balcony drying is, surprisingly, just as effective on most days. Never underestimate the power of crosswinds. 

It is a rainy day, so there is no laundry drying, but you can see plenty of balconies. 

3. Room Air Conditioning

Central air conditioning is rare in Japan. Our apartment building, though a new building, has no central a/c. Instead, we have room air conditioning. It took getting used to, but I prefer having this kind of unit a/c. This way, we can customize the temperature of each room at night. And when you have to turn the air conditioning on in every room, you naturally become more aware of using air conditioning and use it only when you need it. 

We have an open concept living and dining room. Since it is a large room, there are two air conditioning units in that room. 

4. Dedicated Toilet Room

Besides the multi-functioning Japanese toilet, the toilet room itself is a unique feature of a Japanese home. Toilets are separate from the shower room and main vanity sink. For example, we have one bathroom (with shower and vanity) and two toilet rooms (with a small sink but no shower). This makes sense for Japanese people, who love soaking in the bath at the end of the day. This is a family affair in the sense that everyone takes their turn soaking. With a separate toilet, all that soaking can continue uninterrupted. Also, multi-bathroom homes are far less common here. 

5. Floor Heating

Just like the air conditioning, floor heating is not centralized. Each room has its own floor heating system. Large rooms like the living room are divided into two sections with their separate controls. It works well. And since we don't wear shoes indoors, it keeps your feet extra cozy. I imagine my dog would have loved this feature. Here is the control panel for floor heating: