Spring Has Finally Sprung

Almost as though on cue, probably the most delightful time of the year in Japan–May, when it’s warm, dry, sunny and with the longest hours of daylight–has been generally bleak and glim by its usual standards in 2022.

This year has been subjected a bit to the rule of law: Murphy’s Law, unfortunately.

Still, amid a global pandemic when the vast majority of people around the world are feeling the pinch in some way or another, there have also been plenty of blessings.

When the sun finally started showing its face with a bit of consistency as May drew to a close, it also enabled Japan’s glorious spring to put on yet another one of the fine faces it displays in this season.

And Kangaeroo’s 2022 spring was a little bit special because it was the first chance the Aussie garden got to bloom.

And boy was it special!

Can’t thank the magical Alex enough. His work is bringing absolute delight on a daily basis!

Amazing Alex’s Aussie Oasis in Tokyo’s Tama

Alex’s Garden Party

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • Minding My Peas, and Queues

    In my Aussie plant grow from seed experiment, desert peas moved outdoors today, with more budding plants queueing to join them. Only three of 12 desert pea seeds germinated, but did so strongly. Nonetheless, having struggled with clumsiness when repotting everlastings last month, I was better prepared this time. By that, I mean Mrs. Kangaeroo stepped up to the plate. She would handle the task of gently shifting the seedlings from humidity pod to pot. As always (except in her choice of men), she was superb. We used a potting mix containing soil for Australian native plants, starter soil from growing flowers, peat moss, sulphur, perlite and dead leaves. Transplanting…

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    Why Do Japanese Zoos Know So Much About Kangaroos?

    なぜ日本の動物園はカンガルーにこんなに詳しいのか？ Kangaroos are popular exhibits in Japanese zoos. But their success didn’t happen by accident. It grew from decades of cooperation with Australian wildlife experts, creating one of the world’s most successful international partnerships in animal care. 日本の動物園では、カンガルーは人気者です。しかし、その飼育技術は偶然生まれたものではありません。長年にわたるオーストラリアとの協力が、世界でも高い水準の飼育技術を育ててきました。 More Than an Exhibit 展示動物では終わらない Kangaroos first arrived in Japan as remarkable Australian animals. Keeping them healthy, however, proved far more challenging than displaying them. Japanese keepers needed to understand their diet, behaviour, reproduction and social structure. 展示動物では終わらない カンガルーは、オーストラリアを代表する珍しい動物として日本にやって来ました。 しかし、健康に飼育することは決して簡単ではありませんでした。 飼育員たちは、食性や行動、繁殖、生態について一から学ぶ必要がありました。 Australia Shared Its Knowledge オーストラリアから学んだ Australian zoos and wildlife specialists worked closely with Japanese institutions. Veterinarians, animal keepers and researchers exchanged information on nutrition, enclosure design, breeding and veterinary care. The…

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    When Aussie Rock Went To Japan: INXS, Crowded House And The Music Videos That Captured A “Different” World

    In the 1980s, Japan offered international musicians something increasingly valuable: a visual world that audiences elsewhere could recognise as modern, mysterious and unmistakably different. For Aussie bands trying to establish themselves internationally, Japan was more than a place to tour or sell records. Its streets, temples, neon-lit cities and distinctive popular culture offered material for music videos that could make a familiar song look like something entirely new. Few examples illustrate this better than INXS, whose early-1980s videos used Japanese locations in strikingly different ways. A few years later, Crowded House would also bring a camera to Tokyo, producing a video whose location is still identifiable today. These productions reveal…

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    Chocka Quokka

    Quokka took center stage today as the Kangaeroos hopped over to Saitama Children’s Zoo to see the little marsupials. The zoo’s Quokka Island is chokka quokka, including a joey born in late January. Quokkas have become something of an Internet meme after a photo showing one of the little fellers with a huge grin went viral a few years back. The only place to see a quokka in Japan is at the Saitama Children’s Zoo. Mrs. Kangaeroo has a stuffed toy quokka and yearned for years to see one, so dragged me out of bed and off to deepest, darkest Saitama. It was a magical day and more will follow…

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    How Did Japanese Shellfish Help Aussie Harvesters Realize The World Was Their Oyster?

    日本のカキはオーストラリアのカキ産業をどう変えたのか？ Aussie oysters are famous around the world. Few people realise that one of the industry’s biggest turning points began in Japan. A tiny shellfish—and decades of scientific cooperation—helped reshape Australian aquaculture. オーストラリア産のカキは世界的に高く評価されています。しかし、その発展の大きな転機の一つが日本にあったことは、あまり知られていません。一つの小さな貝と、長年にわたる日豪の科学協力がオーストラリアの養殖業を大きく変えたのです。 An Industry Faces New Challenges 転機を迎えたオーストラリアのカキ産業 For generations, Australia’s oyster industry relied on the native Sydney rock oyster. It remains one of the country’s finest seafoods. But during the 20th century, growers faced disease, slow growth and changing environmental conditions. They began searching for new ideas. 転機を迎えたオーストラリアのカキ産業 長年にわたり、オーストラリアのカキ産業はシドニーロックオイスターを中心に発展してきました。 現在も高級食材として親しまれています。 しかし20世紀になると、病気や成長速度、環境の変化など、新たな課題に直面しました。 生産者たちは新しい可能性を探し始めます。 Looking to Japan 日本に学ぶ Japan had centuries of experience cultivating oysters. Its farmers had developed efficient methods for collecting oyster spat, raising young oysters and managing…

  • Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 8: Wakayama to Koyasan

    Japan, the land of the gods, threw everything at the Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto on Day 8, but the riders came up trumps, scaling the queen stage unscathed. Despite persistent drizzle, the tour made it to the World Heritage List site Koyasan without injury or incident. The tour’s first flat even still remains unclaimed! Following the previous day’s travelling exertions, it was back on the bikes from Wakayama. Almost half of the day’s ride was occupied on a beautiful cycling track with barely anybody else using it. The track ran along the Kinokawa River and offered some nice views of the waterway, as well as distant mountains. Looming over cyclists, however,…