The second snowfall in Tokyo after more than one year

The snowfall expected on February 20 did not turn on as expected at the early morning. I pinched my cheek. That would have been a rare opportunity to witness the second snowfall for me in Tokyo. Unfortunately the snow turned rain.

It was not unexpected today as there was a forecast for snow after 10:00 hrs in Tokyo. It was an amazing scene for me to watch through the window glass the snow falling outside. I could not resist asking my boss to go out to watch the snowfall.

Memories travelled back to childhood when we sat at the stairs in front of our ancestral home to watch the monsoon rain. That was just rain, the plain water drops showering from heaven. Then we could hear the elders at home discuss about the snowfall at countries where the temperature dip lower than the freezing point. Did they mention ‘Japan’ when they talked about snowfall? I am not very much sure. I remember, they sure mentioned the name Siberia. Subsequently, what they told was due to Japan’s proximity to Siberia, snow fall is usual in Japan too. Then the mind imagined a place called Siberia, where people wear many thick leather dresses to protect themselves from cold wind and snow. Not sure whether I really could imagine a snowfall but really wished to experience a snowfall. How thrilling it will be! The heaven throwing down the white cotton bundles!

The elders were talking about the science behind the rain and snow. When the ground temperature is below the freezing level, the snow falls from the sky as it is with out getting converted into water drops. If the ground temperature is above the freezing level, the snow will be converted into water drops well before it reaches to our visible range of height in the sky. This transition from snow to rain happens at a midpoint in the sky. It was something like this that elders at home discussed and wanted to convey to the little ones.

The monsoon rain slanted along with the wind and touched our feet. We pulled back our feet to play with the rain drops. There was fun while playing with rain, but the nature’s mysterious sequences excited us to explore further. We were not allowed to sit more time with our feet outside to let the rain drops fall. The elders at home were strict and they allowed us to play with rain five to ten minutes. Then the call from inside will come first for everyone as a group, then for one by one repeatedly till everybody of us get into the rooms.

I am free now to enjoy the full snowfall outside. Not only I can show my legs to the snow, but I can also go out and have a walk around to allow all the snow to fall on my head!. Why I need umbrella? Snowfall has just started at around 10:00 hours. While going for lunch, we could take some snaps. Most of them are inside my friend’s camera. Hope I can post them soon to share with all of you.

Today's (27/02) snow did not pile up to form a thick layer like the one happened last year. The snow was melting immediately once it touched the ground.

I was half wet while taking the photo. Even though the snow was melting, it remained on the dresses for sometime.

NAMASTE FOODS - A Home away from Home for Indians in Tokyo

Namaste Foods at Higashi Ojima – Indian spice, grocery and food shop

I was an occasional customer at Namaste foods at Higashi Ojima when I was staying at company apartment at Kiba. Bala-san used to help me to get the Apa Kabar? International prepaid telephone calling card and tell the number over phone. Higashi Ojima was not so far away from Kiba. It is only a 30 minutes by Tokyo Metro trains. I need to take Tozai line from Kiba to Monzen nakacho then from there change to Toei Oedo line up to Morishita. From Morishita, I will move to Toei Shinjuku line to reach at Higashi Ojima. Since Balasan’s apartment is near to Namaste foods he did not mind to help me.

The meaning of ‘Apa kabar’ is ‘What is the news’ in Indonesian language. Apa kabar card is an attractive selling item for many of the Asian expatriates in Tokyo. The cost of one Apa kabar card is 2400 Yen at Namaste foods. With one apa kabar card I can call to my home at India for 6 hours 40 minutes (to mobile phone) if I use the Yahoo BB landline phone. When I moved to Higashi Ojima on September 2008, one of my problems, the availability of Indian food is almost solved. The Namaste foods at Higashi Ojima have many Indian food and snack items at their store.

Namaste foods is owned by a Japanese man who like India and Indian Culture. Running a grocery stores like an Indian shop at Higashi Ojima is not only a business for him. More than business it is his passion towards India that interests him to help the Indian expatriate society in Tokyo. It is a service he does to the Indians living in Higashi Ojima and the near places.

The most important thing is the owner of the Namaste foods ‘Katouno Tatsuhiro-san can speak Hindi apart from his mother tongue Japanese. He is also good at his English skills. One day I was surprised to hear him talking in Hindi to one of his customers over phone.

Namaste Foods have many Indian food items like Ready to Eat brands from MTR, Priya etc. MTR is one of the largest selling Ready to Eat brand in India and outside India. Sambar Rice (Curry Rice), Kesaribhath, Channa masala, Dal fry, Palak Paneer, Rasagulla, Mixed vegetable curry, Muttar paneer, are some of them I used to buy.


The snacks from India like the murukku, mixture, moong dal, Raita boondi, Shahi garden, Nylon sev, Haldiram’s masala peanuts, masala channa, etc are also available from Namaste foods. Maaza mango juice is really cheaper in Namste foods. One liter bottle of maaza mango juice costs only 200 Yen at Namaste foods.

Katouno-san told he will soon start home delivery service and this will help many Indian expatriates and Japanese people who wish to try Indian food to order the items from home. This will enable the Indian people living away from Higashi Ojima to get the Indian food delivered at their door step. The shipping charge is free if the total purchase is more than 10,000 Yen. The margin for free shipment is very attractive as the food items purchased at home for one month will generally cross this amount. The delivery will be through Fukuyama Transporting Co., Ltd. The payment as per the information from the website can be Cash on delivery or Bank transfer. Please check from the website for the details of bank for bank transfer.

Namaste foods at Higashi Ojima is easy to access. The Indian store Namaste foods is near to the Higashi Ojima station in Toei Shinjuku line. After getting down at Higashi Ojima station you have to pass through the Ojima exit. It is near to Shin Ohashi street. Stepping down the staircases of the railway station, Namaste food is just less than one minute walk. The store is on the ground floor (First floor in Japan) of the building No. 9-3-12. The address and telephone numbers are given below:

NAMASTE FOODS
Higashi Ojima Metoroad 18
1F, 9-3-12, Ojima, Koto-ku, Tokyo.
Tel: 03-5836-6638, Fax: 03-5836-6639
Email: shop@namaste-foods.com
Or info@namaste-foods.com
Website: www.namaste-foods.com

Contact for Indian foods now!

I highly recommend shopping at Namaste foods, Higashi Ojima. Katouno-san is very kind and well mannered gentle man who possess good knowledge about India, Indians and the culture of India. He had visited India many times and is fascinated by Indian culture.

Snowfall in Japan - exquisite and mysterious as the name Yuki

Today it is 4 degree Celsius now in Tokyo, but feels like less than 1 degree. Snow fall is predicted in the midnight in Tokyo. When Balasan conveyed this message that snowfall is predicted in the midnight, I remembered the 3rd February 2008. Almost more than one year now. It was on my fourth day in Japan, I saw the first snow fall.

I was staying in Day nice hotel in Koto-ku. Day nice hotel is near to the Monzen-nakacho Tozai line exit. Initially for around 5 days I stayed in Day nice hotel before moving into the apartment. Balasan invited to visit his home on 3rd February 2008. When I got ready and came down to make a phone call to him, I saw the pure white cotton like snow falling on the road. Balasan told it is snow rain in Higashi Ojima too. The snowfall was there in the whole Tokyo. We could not meet, but I could witness the snowfall for the first time.

Our program got cancelled as it was difficult to go out. The temperature was too low and walking outside was really difficult. It was the first time in life I witnessed a snowfall. When I visited Switzerland and went up all the way near to the Alps mountain on April 1996 also I missed the snowfall. It remained a desire in me to enjoy the snowfall.

On the fourth day in Japan I could watch and enjoy the snow fall. I went outside and walked on the road here and there without any purpose only to experience the snowfall. There were children playing on the road with full body covered with jackets. Their face was only visible and they were fully clad with sweaters and jackets. Small bushes on the roadside were fully covered with snow. Top of the buildings got entirely covered with snow and it looked amazing!

In Japanese language, snow is Yuki. It is a lovely name for many Japanese women too. Yuki – beautiful and mysterious like snow…pure and white in heart….Yuki gave poets in Japan enough food for imagination.

Snow is rare in Tokyo, but a common at the northern prefectures of Japan. The heavy snow area of Japan is probably the Hokaido. Visiting Hokaido is till now realized for me, while many of my friends visited there they say it is a place to see and enjoy. Japan is a land of snow. Japan due to her proximity to the Siberia get the colder wind.

The climate reports say the heavy snowfalls of Japan's snow country are caused by moisture-laden clouds bumping up against the mountains along the backbone of Honshū and releasing their moisture under the influence of easterly winds blowing off the continent or down from Siberia. As a result, the region includes some of the world's snowiest spots at the same latitudes, as well as the northern hemisphere's southern-most ski resorts.

Life does not come to a standstill due to snowfall. Nobody stops walking or take a leave in the name of snowfall. The life continues just in the normal way in most of the cases. If the snowfall is too heavy and disrupts the rail transportation, then it becomes a trouble. I could see even old people walking on the road which was filled with snow. Ward authority staff were engaged in removing the snow from the road which blocked the vehicle movement.

Even though I could not take the snaps of last year snowfall, Balasan had taken some nice photos. The date on the photos says the snow remained on the 4th morning also. I requested him those photos to share them here.

Fully Automatic Hi-tech Japanese Toilets – Ultimate human engineering skills!

At first I was really baffled and thought to use the old manual way of business in the toilet of the Hotel room at Katsutadai. It was the first time I encountered a Japanese hi-tech toilet after I landed in Japan. Confused and bewildered I tried pressing on the buttons randomly to know what happens.

When pressed a button at the keypad provided near to the arm rests, a nozzle like thing looking like a squirt gun came out from the bottom of the flush and started jetting water all over the toilet.

Even though embarrassing at the first experience, the hi-tech toilets in Japan is really convenient. People who are used to it will never like to do their daily morning business in any other old fashioned toilets. I could not see this much automation in any of the toilets used so far in any of the luxury hotels at places I had chance to visit and stay. Japan is home to the real hi-tech toilets.

Virtually the toilet will do almost everything for us. The only thing we have to do is to do the thing properly for what we can in!

There is a control pad with many buttons on the side. The sitting pad can be heated to make it warm during winter. The sprinkling or Jetting speed of the water which will squirt water beam to clean the backside once the business is over is also controlled. There is low pressure, medium pressure and high pressure. As we like we can control the speed by pressing it. Also the warm water and normal water options are there in the control pad.

The toilet senses once the business is over and even if we forget to flush, the toilet will do it. Japanese toilets are also self disciplined!

In public toilets, there is provision to place kids which is very convenient for mothers who carry their kids to the toilets. The safe use of toilet and the baby seat is also displayed inside the toilets through instructions. It is amazing that Japanese care even minute details of every walk of life. It is beyond words to praise those genius minds who planned and implemented all these conveniences to the common people in Japan.

Japan is the world leader in producing automated hi-tech toilets. Japan’s biggest automatic hi-tech toilet maker Toto sells their toilets for a price approximately at US$ 2000 to 4000. There are some toilets which will chemically analyze the urine of the user and tells the medical problems! I am not sure, just heard about it.

Toto have their market in the United states. They sell the automated toilets at a lower price in US as per information I have, which I am not sure to comment. Please check with Toto USA for prices and related inquiries.

The use of tissue paper is also almost eliminated in Japanese modern toilets, but the option is still there. The work instruction for use and change of tissue paper is also displayed in the toilet.

Japanese hi-tech toilets are good example of ultimate human engineering skills. First embarrassed though, once get used to, people get addicted to use these hi-tech toilets even though it is a few minutes business. Some models display the time too. The clock will say how much business we did inside! Wow!