winter

  • Beware The Rides Of March

    By the Australian reckoning, where seasons change on the first day of the month, I am always a sucker when I get on a bike in March and suddenly expect spring conditions. No amount of experience seems to change the way I approach this. And it only happens in March, really, where I await the transition from winter to spring, which seems to drag on for an interminably long time. Every year, the gap between winter and spring seems to linger longer than ever before. Of course, each year is a relatively shorter period of life, so all things considered, it’s actually shorter. Japanese has a saying to describe this…

  • Hey, Hey, You, Get Off Of My Cloud

    For a few minutes this morning, cycling along the Tama and Asa rivers in western Tokyo was sublime as the sun started to rise and mists rising up from the water formed clouds. There are a few periods in the year when this phenomenon occurs, usually in the autumn and spring when the water and air temperatures diverge to a large degree. This year had, to me, seemed to be an archetypically Tokyo winter; the first in years. It has been chilly, sunny and windy: all phenomena I associate with the coldest part of the year. It hasn’t happened like that for the past few years, though, especially last year…

  • Velodramatic!

    I’d love to say I’ve done something exciting on my bicycle, but I mainly thought of a snappy word that should go down in posterity as a snappy blog title. I’ve been cycling, but not nearly as much as I would like to have done, but then again, perhaps too much. We have had a really cold snap the past week or so, and getting out and about on a bike while riding into the icy winds is not the greatest fun. But I have been rewarded finely for some of the efforts, with delightful skies and some wonderful photo opportunities. And I have managed to stay safe so far.

  • ‘Sno Business Like Snow Business

    March in Tokyo always feels like a bit of a tease as expectations of immediate warming are invariably let down, which is a feeling probably stemming from childhood in southern Australia where there is a clear demarcation in the transition from summer to autumn. And today we got snow, albeit little more than a spattering that will probably be washed away in a couple of hours. But more snow is expected on Friday, too. To be fair, the cold lingers way longer than I expect it to every year, only because I want the warmth quicker. And I am well aware through daily cycling that it’s not really until the…

  • Warm in the Winter

    Dino the dinosaur is no slouch in finding a warm place in the winter, which is a handy trait when you’re a rosy faced lovebird. She huddles up next to her heaters, on the nest she builds out of the strips of paper she so dexterously rips off with her beak, or nestles in the nape of Kangaeroo’s neck, or in the sleeve of his cardy. Rest assured, though, where it’s warm and comfortable in Kangaeroo Corner, there’s a good chance you’ll find Dino. It’s reassuring to have her in the cardigan sleeve as I type, to be honest (even though she’ll probably poop there, too). She laid eggs recently:…

  • Not Everything About Winter is Cruddy

    Winter sucks….for the most part. Winter is cold, dark and seemingly endless and colorless. For someone whose daily routine involves rising early and cycling, winter is not exactly the pleasantest time of year. And the cold mornings start from November and linger on until deeply into April at least, and sometimes even May, so more often than not, it’s chilly at least. January ends today, so on the calendar the winter doesn’t have much more time to eat away at us. Winter can’t end soon enough for the Aussie garden at Kangaeroo Corner. Many of the plants are feeling the pinch, most notably the jacaranda, whose leaves have turned brown…

  • Back on the Bike

    For a variety of reasons decent riding hadn’t been possible yesterday, but today it was back on the bike. Apart from the theft and vandalism, Kangaeroo also had an appointment. And worry about impending punishment from work had kept him awake nearly all the previous night, mustering a depressive low that thwarted crawling out of bed and plunging in the cold and dark to ride. Should have done it anyway, so the later regret also had a compounding effect on the low. Kinda living in fear, anger and resentment at the moment. Thank God for cycling! Getting on the bike provides a lift. There’s a lot for Kangaeroo to be…

  • Getting Off to a Good Start

    So far, the winter of 2022-3 has been fairly kind to Tokyo. Unlike 2022, when the early days of January saw snow and generally gloomy weather, this year has been warm and sunny on the whole. Kangaeroo got on the bike early today and headed downtown to meet some mates near Tokyo Tower. It’s Coming of Age Day in Japan, a national holiday, and the first when legal adulthood in Japan is designated as 18 years of age instead of 20, as it had been up until this year. The holiday is also one of those made flexible a few years ago to give people more time off. While it’s…

  • Tower of Strength on an Icy Morning

    Today started with a pre-dawn trip to Tokyo Tower. A quick get-together with some mates over coffee and chockies followed. And then it was a ride back home. Now it’s on to familial duties. It was cold and dark heading into town. Just about every traffic light seemed determined to earn its keep by making Kangaeroo stop. Still, Kangaeroo got to ride in with a reasonably quick time. The get-together was over pretty quickly. It was nice to see some old faces for the first time in a while. It also reaffirmed how much the pandemic has changed things. Yet another running race had taken over the Tama River cycling…

  • Bumping Into the Candyman

    Today was supposed to be a day for a new beginning. It was: just not the way it was meant to turn out. After today, Kangaeroo will be bigger and bolder. Rather than in a metaphorical sense, though, it will be a literal increase in size following a day of comfort eating to try to feel a bit better and then to compensate after gorging. An early rise was supposed to spark a trip downtown, but instead saw a return to bed. A day dedicated to seeking professional options was utterly fruitless and ended in a bitterly depressive downward spiral. Eventually, Kangaeroo built up enough motivation to get out on…