Springing Into Action

After an interminably long wait, it finally got warm this week, prompting me to spring into action.

It was hard to believe that just last week Tokyo got blasted with heavy snow.

Short sleeves and shorts were the watchword, even for typically well-covered types such as Mrs. Kangaeroo.

Even though she notoriously feels that anything under 35 degrees Celsius is cold, even Mrs. Kangaeroo was walking around on Friday night in short sleeves due to the delightfully warm weather.

My aches and pains eased a little with the warmth, too, which made it a bit easier to be mobile.

It allowed me to work in the garden a little. Mrs. Kangaeroo made an amazing bouquet centered around wattle flowers, and I took this in to delight the office.

I also go to explore the neighborhoods near my workplace.

I’m working in the area very close to Nihonbashi, which what was once the core of old Edo, the city before it was renamed Tokyo in 1867 to usher in the new era of modern Japan. To this day, all distances in the country are measured from this point.

There are so many historical mysteries in the area.

I am taking great delight in unearthing them and spending my lunch breaks on the lookout for these exciting glimpses into centuries of yore.

I spent this week searching for the memorial to the Edo home of William Adams, the first English person to arrive in Japan.

He served as the model for John Blackthorne, the protaganist in Shogun, a multimedia tale created by Aussie James Clavell and recenrly back in the news for an acclaimed, award-winning TV revival starring Hiroyuki Sanada.

I couldn’t find the memorial, but got to look at the glorious Mitsukoshi Department Store and its sublime rooftop garden.

And I was also blessed with a view of the early cherry blossoms popping up outside the Bank of Japan.