Pat's Blog

It seems that almost every time I look around the Tokiwa Gai Arcade there are new developments. The latest in the ne’r-do-well part of Takamatsu which was once a department store, then an entertainment center, on to another store, the OPA store, then dormant for years and now the Iroha Market.




The Iroha Market is based on a successful market in Kochi City and here’s a character I called ‘Beer Man’ from the same Kochi Market. Beer Man seemed to be a fixture in the place whose only purpose was to egg on we drinkers. As if I or anyone else really needed any extra encouragement on a Kochi summer’s evening…


Well, the Kochi market is a runaway success and I used the word ‘market’ but it’s not really. Rather a collective group of izakayas (pubs) and food stall vendors under one roof. That’s what the business people here in Takamatsu hope the Iroha Market will be also.



The atmosphere is nice and the food if not on a par with Kochi’s, not too bad.



The Kochi market is a runaway success and Kochi itself is a haven for we drinkers. The raw bonito (Katsuo tataki)
https://www.google.com/search?q=katsuo+tataki&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=HfTFT_7iMqPbmAXqhODKBQ&ved=0CFsQsAQ&biw=1241&bih=530
This is without a shadow of doubt my favorite food and served with a little ginger, good soy sauce a sudachi (Japanese citrus) for tang, flavor and fresh chopped green onion and a cold beer in a frozen glass with little shards of ice floating around the top is s-o-o-o good!


The Takamatsu Iroha market has of course, stalls selling this and gyoza, steamed buns etc.


Regarding levels of alcohol consumption in Japan, or levels of alcohol consumption per capita, in recent years this has reached a plateau at about 6.5 liters per person a year. Compared to this, in a study done by the government of Japan in 2002, the alcohol consumption in Kochi is at 7.4 liters per person per year which is well above the national average.



But wait? This blog is supposed to be about things in Takamatsu … back on topic.

So if you’re in town please drop in for some amber liquid refreshments as the place has a good atmosphere, if not quite Kochi’s


I’ll be back very soon in fact, as after a worrying telephone call from my boss this week I realized I had to write 2 blogs this month and I thought it was only one. See you all soon and keep those cards n’ comments coming in.

P.S Kochi Beat will bring up what’s happening in that city.
http://www.kochibeat.com/


  

Spring came suddenly this year, along with its customary false starts but now here it is with all its energy & color. And it’s great to see the people of Takamatsu out tending plants their own gardens, and often the public nature strips by the roadsides. It’s not unusual to see elderly men and women quietly pruning, snipping at nature strips near the roads and it says a lot about a love of nature.



Light, color and shadow … the interplay of the three are always a comfort for the eyes, mind and spirit. One cannot be world-weary when seeing the riot of colors, light and shadow speckled grass in the parks at this time. The zelkova trees everywhere in the streets and parks with fresh green leaves in their fan shapes providing a canopy against the sun and heat of the summer.



こもれび (komorebi) is the Japanese expression for light filtering through trees and Renoir’s ‘Le Bal au Moulin de la Galette’ captures both it, and the Paris café culture of the day. I can see myself sitting there enjoying the こもれび quietly frittering away time, francs, my whole life with nice drinks. Well if not that particular experience, one can go to a park and at least imagine the ambience of things past so easily right in the here and now.



The colors are … well, electric; deep cerises, vivid pinkish reds, white and most from my favorite flower in bloom now, the azaleas. This is very much their season as next month’s will be the hydrangeas.




All over Japan the azaleas are in bloom painting the roadsides with their distinctive pastel shades of pinks, reds, whites and the air everywhere if we care to take a whiff, is perfumed with their beautiful scent and just a hint of raspberry. So we’re all tired of winter and now there’s regeneration in the air. In the distance the sounds of children playing and the rebound of a bouncing ball. Spring has sprung indeed …


Now this bee really had me thinking. Just look. Tucking into pollen, pasting it all over himself & delirious with happiness. Smothered in it and didn’t care a hoot about my lens a few centimeters away. And so fat! How can it be aerodynamically possible to fly with this huge body and tiny wings I thought?
Such are the mysterious threads in life’s vast tapestry.

I’ll be back soon so keep all those cards ‘n letters coming in!
Until next time.