Wisteria 藤

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In keeping with the spring posts this week, I thought I'd share a photo of the lovely wisteria that is blooming at the end of my street. Earlier in the week it was emitting a heavenly scent, and has since continued to bloom and leaf out, covering the twisted branches that made the plant interesting even in its wintertime form.

Spring 春

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The weather in Yokohama has been unseasonably cool as of late, but this week it seems that spring has finally come for good. Yesterday I spent the afternoon at the Yokohama Newspaper Archive, working on some research. When I left the archive I walked back to Kannai Station through Yokohama Park, where I was surprised to see sprawling beds of tulips, a lovely sight on a cool and rainy spring day, and one which added some much needed life to my afternoon. So beautiful!

Laundry Detergent 洗濯石けん

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April 22 is Earth Day, and as the day approaches I've been thinking about little changes I can make to lessen my environmental impact. One thing I like about life in Japan is that certain environmentally friendly behaviors are built into daily life. For example, when we purchase new detergent or soap we buy these thin plastic pouches and use them to refill a thick plastic bottle. At the store you can choose between the regular bottle (pictured on the pouch) and the slightly cheaper refill. Why isn't this simple switch made in the U.S.? By using a thin plastic pouch a significant amount of weight is saved in both plastic consumption and in the Co2 used to ship the detergent. As a bonus, it is easier to carry home a plastic pouch than a heavy bottle. Also, it is required of us to recycle just about everything (we can receive a fine if we don't recycle properly), and the thin plastic pouch goes into the recycling with all other mailable plastics (think potato chip bags, etc.), so the environmental impact is lesser still.
Also on the topic of laundry, it is generally rare to have a dryer here, so all of our laundry is hung out on our balcony to dry. When we first moved here I had a hard time adjusting to this, but after almost two years of clothespin drying, I intend to continue this habit when we move back to the U.S. First off, you use 4 pounds of carbon each time you use a clothes dryer!! Second, I think that using a dryer is hard on your clothing, and I dislike the way my clothes shrink and expand with drying and wearing cycles. Hanging laundry to dry is a really easy change that I would encourage everyone to make, especially as in a typical U.S.-sized home there is plenty of room to dry clothing indoors. I'm sure that not using a clothes dryer would make a dent in the average gas or electric bill as well.
For other ideas to help save the Earth, and to see what your carbon footprint is check out the US EPA Emissions Calculator. I hope everyone can make at least one change in their habits this year! :)

Google Japan keyboard

Google Japan keyboard CNNGo.com

The article doesn't state if this will have all 1,945 joyo kanji... Well, Happy April Fools to the Japanese language nerds out there!