My spring trip in Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg



I have been thinking Holland has only tulip and rural area. But it's obviously wrong. That culture was highly advanced. For example, Gogh, Rembrant, Vermeer and Concertgebouw, etc.  I like Gogh's works. They are painted by short lines, not dots. So I feel strength ,passion on them. Also I like bright paintings in his French years. One of famous "Sunflower" here was weak impression than I expected. I have seen the other "Sunflower"  in Tokyo that a insurance company  bought before. It was painted by heaping up much amount of paints, especially the core of a sunflower. I felt it grotesque. It's painted one or two years before he killed himself.


"Cafe Terras aan Het Place du Forum" by Gogh at Rijksmuseum Kroler -Muller

 We could listen Dovolzak etc by Royal Concertgebow Orchestra at Concertgebow hall where has outstanding sound facility. Our seats were at the first row on the stage, just behind a horn player and side of timpani. So I felt as if I was a member of the orchestra.We could see that the conductor's eyes ( his name is Herbert Blomstedt and he is the honorary conductor in NHK philharmonic orchestra of Japan) become strictly or gently. When he signed to the  players ahead of us to do something,I astonished. It seemed as if he signed it to us. I could see the sheet of music of a horn player from just behind and could know the place on it he was playing. Also I could hear clearly those part that each instrument cover in the tune. So I was so excited. Thanks to it, I got to like Dovolzak symphony No.7 they played. Also they played "Tapiola" by Sibelius and "Nielsen's Flute Concerto" with Emily Beynon( when she comes to Japan she coaches for flute players). Her performance was vigorous. The ticket was 51.50euro over Internet. It's  worth much.
During intermission, we had a drink among tall people. They all were about 20 or 30 centimeters taller than I.
I have heard  average height of the Dutch is the tallest in the world. That's true.




before the performance




Concertgebouw--there was a harp on the roof

Bicycles are used on commuting. In Amsterdam, there were roads for bicycle,car,tram and walk. As they mix, it's dangerous for a careless foreigner like me. Almost those bicycle commuters  run with terrible speed in town.




a road and a bridge is going up---this is a bascule bridge. When a big ship pass through under a bridge, the bridge is open and close.



And thousands of canals are in all directions, canal buses  ply. I didn't know there were so many canals in Amsterdam. Canals taught me again that the land of the Holland is low. When we went though under a bridge at dusk by a canal buss, I saw silhouette of many bicycles and lovers on a bridge in the sunset, and I felt usual daily life of this town.



from a canal bus




canal of Amsterdam



commuters on the bicycle

 When we walked around a downtown near Dam plaza to look for the restaurant at about 7:00PM, but it's daylight yet ,we came across a coffee shop. This shop is not a usual cafe, but a drug store. Soft drug is legitimacy in this country. I heard that if we enter into the shop, drug's smell stick our closes and we may be stopped at a airport. So I glanced inside the shop from the open door. It's like a small bar. As a man behind at  the counter stared to me, we  left soon.

And we found the restaurant at last and ate some white asparagus that harvest is just now and herring Duch like very much. White asparagus were boiled quickly and they were crisp and tasty. I have eaten canned white asparagus but taste was different.  Also the raw herring were put on the tiny cube red  beet that are spread on the things like canape. Taste was average for me.







white asparagus




raw herrings








Tulip climax are limited in this season.----Het Keukenhof.
The park is so large. It takes for 20 minutes from side to side of the park by quick walk. Many kind of color or shape tulip are planted among pale green trees or streams. They continued and we were overpowered with beauty of the scene. Also magnificent tulip field like a large carpet expanded outside the park.





Het Keukenhof---visitors from all over the world are coming.





outside of the park---tulip fields expands



World heritage site-----Kinderdijk
Windmills were lining on the bank along the canals. Land here is lower than sea level so I felt water and land occupy on a fifty-fifty basis,and blue of water and sky was bright and spacious. This  became one of my favorite view.



Kinderdijk---19 windmills are lining--World heritage Site



Delft pottery
They are usually painted by blue color but there were variations. Indeed I was surprised  because I discovered the same big plate that are decorated  in my house. I got it from the late father-in-law a long ago and I have been thinking it's Spanish plate. As he liked to collect potteries he might have got it here.
Speaking to encounter, we accidentally met husband's friend and his wife at St.Baafskathedraal (cathedral) in Gent, Belgium.They are living in Nara city but I've never met them in Nara.


Delft pottery in my house


In Belgium, chocolate,beer, blue mussel etc are delicious. The combination of guild houses and canals were very beautiful in Brugge or Gent.
 

Fortress-Luxembourg city





Villeroy &Boch--in Luxembourge



flower market of Aalsmeer



Amsterdam station under construction



Amsterdam from a canal boat



National museum at Amsterdam



Grand Place in Bruxelles



Brugge from a canal boat

Let's walk.

I don't like walking but after reading this book, it seems that I have to change my this custom.
This book (よみがえる脳 )--{a brain continue to change=my translation}　was written by Dr. pharmacy ,Satoshi Ikuta.(生田哲).
Let me introduce this book.

According to this book......

Formerly people believed that the aging people's brain doesn't produce  new nerve cells. But even the brain of the age from 50 to 70 makes from 500 to 1000 nerve cells per day. They are produced at hippo campus or cerebral cortex and move to the proper place and become mature nerve cells and are set in the network of the brain.





Nerve cell,or neuron.



Hippocampus in a brain and sea.


Do you know how to make a clever mouse?
The answer is to make them run. After running, their hippo campus volume increase.
Human is same as mouse. By excise, blood carries lots of nutrient and oxygen to make cells to a brain. And new nerve cells are born in area of frontal lobe hippo campus, temporal lobe.
And signal (learning, experience etc) have to reach that area to make cells survive and to make them set in the network of
a brain. Because brain cells are not used die.
So the way of the effective studying :
Excise is the first ---------to make lots of new nerve cells.
Studying is the next ----to set nerve cells in the brain network.


Not a mouse, many mice are running----this is better environment for brain.Animals use their brain to survive.



When we excise, four peptide hormone( BDNF, IGF1, VEGF, FGF2 ) are emitted in our body. These enter the brain and become nutrient to raise nerve cells. BDNF makes a brain memorize what we learned.

The others work similarly. When we are aging, the emission of BDNF decrease. So excise make the speed of death of nerve cells slow.

As excise, it's proper to walk of 30 minutes/ day or jog of 1.6 km/day.
It seems that I can walk for 30 minutes or so if it's ok to walk slowly.

Jogging, swimming, cycling, walking etc are good for anti-aging way.

Also, excise is good for depression. Because when we excise, the brain emits noradrenalin, serotonin, endorphin, dopamine etc that are good for depression.

The brain assigns much section to a field that we use a lot in the cerebral cortex. Soa  brain map expresses our life. When one of our ability rises by physical-training, our brain map change. Then does it also occur by mental-training?
When we excise piano lesson in our mind, we can change our brain map.  Having interest and concentrating make our brain map change. But we need training to concentrate mind. This mental training is meditation.
Buddha got "release from worry or stress"(enlightenment) by mental training. The area control feeling in the brain of people who meditate expand. This may be reason they think positive or have stable feeling.



Buddah is meditating

 Thank you for reading a long sentence.

Early Spring

Last week, we had heavy snow in Nara,too.



How tall of the snow on the red plum and the sparkle of ice- diamond on the next day in my garden

  This year, it's snowing heavily  particularly  around the side of Japan Sea. So migratory birds can't get food there and they visit the side of Pacific Ocean for food. At that time they also spread germs of bird-flu,and a lot of chicken in Wakayama prefecture,for example, had to be killed ,I heard. While the number of  human  with  flu in Japan is getting decrease but the amount of patient have a hay-fever will rise dramatically in this spring, according to a newspaper. Please be careful everyone! The cause of hay-fever may be in your garden.


Red plum covered with snow is getting  more flowers day by day



A couple of Hina-doll in my house. I like their Japanese-like face



Flower of peach usually accompanies The dolls'  Festival


 And spring is coming to Nara surely.
The sunrise time became at 6:39 and the sunset is at 17:45 today.
Two weeks ago it was at 6:54 and at 17:31.
The Dolls' Festival( or The Girls' Festival) will come soon.
We decorate Hina-Dolls and wish our daughters' happy or growth. Also we have a party in front of the dolls on 3rd March. The table will spread with Chirashi-Sushi, Hamaguri-clam soup, salad seasoned with vinegar miso and sweet white sake or hina-arare for sweets etc, as usual.




Ichimatu-ningyou . We decorate this together with Hina-dolls.



Kamakurabori was curbed by aunt-in-low before 33 years ago

  And I thought I will add also makarons for sweet this year. Because  I ate pretty colourful makarons  in Paris last Autumn and I wanted to make them on my own.  Happily I happened  to watch  makaron cooking  on TV .



At last I succeeded  makaron have jugged. This indent calls "pie" in French.


So I tried to cook makaron, watching a cooking book.
At  the first, I failed because I mixed dough of makaron too much. I made it too much soft.
At the second,The surface had cracks because I baked them just after I squeezed dough on the oven plate.
At the third, I succeeded at last. I could watch lovely pink makarons.

So let me talk how to cook makaron.

[ ingredient for 20 makarons ]
the white of egg          65g
granulated sugar         25g
almond powder          50g
powder sugar             90g
cocoa powder or soybean flour or powdered green tea or color powder etc you like  .                 a little



Look this thickness. I heard this shop made them at first. Many men made a line to buy them at the shop when I went there. I think men in Japan don't buy such sweet. So I was surprised to see the line.



[how to cook ]
(1)  Whisk egg white by a whip-machine, putting granulate sugar  three times till horn of  form  is made.
(2)  Sift almond powder,powder sugar,cocoa or other you like and enter it into (1) and mix them softly by a rubber spatula and then  make the forms  fine .   Don't do it too much. Lax of dough lead to failure

(3) Enter it into squeeze-bag  with 6mm mouthpiece and squeeze it to a circle 3 cm in diameter on the oven-      paper. And leave it for about 2hours to dry the surface.-----This is a secret of success.

(4) Bake them in the oven 170c  between from 1minute to 4 minutes( till the jagged  bottom(pie)  appear to makaron)

(5) After that, bake it 130c for 18 minutes.

(6) Sandwich  something (choco-ganache or butter cream of green tea or jam etc.) between two.




Makaron shop in Paris. I knew its good taste and many  lovable  colors for the  first time at last Autumn.


 




Scatter parched beans in cosy Nara

 Setsubun events were held at some places  in Nara city  on 3rd February. Setsubun means the day before of  beginning of spring according to the calendar. When I was a child we pierced a head of sardine by a stick of holly and placed it at entrance and scattered parched beans to avoid evil on the night of that day.



A owner of rice paddy put on a mask of Tamukeyama-hachimangu performed a rice planting event(from web-site)



Setsubun-mantoro at Kasugashine(from web-site)

 I visited Gangoji-temple before going to Todaiji-temple.
A lot of talismans covered with hinoki's leaves were piled in the square at Gangoji-temple and were waiting to be burnt.  And  two Yamabushis, several priests and several holders of Kendo grade surrounded the pile of talismans. Opening performance was introduce their skills  by kendo grade holders.


Some holders of Kendo grade performed


Next, a Yamabushi released an arrow from his bow to five ways for exorcism. The appearance was amusing to us. We expected the arrow would fly highly. But only the first arrow flied over our heads but after that, he pretended to aim at sky and soon released the arrow  on the ground, maybe for safety.





A yamabushi shoot an arrow to some direction




A yamabushi blew a triton to notice the show





the climax of Saitougoma-yamabusis walked on the fire( from web-site)

I've known about "Omizutori at Nigatsu-do in Todaiji-temple. But I didn't know about scatter parched beans at Nigatsu-do in Todaiji-temple.
A lot of people were gathering under Nigatsu-do's balcony. But the number of people can enter in the ground of under Nigatsu-do's balcony was limited and other people couldn't enter in there were waiting in line around Sangatsu-do. The ground of under Nigatsu-do's balcony  is slope.
Before scatter beans, a policeman warned from the balcony of Nigatsu-do "Please don't push other people because if someone injured we can't do this from next year. The number of beans is limited so people waiting in line can get  but people outside can't get, so heed this -especially people around there." This speech evoked audience's laugh.  we were standing outside.


Many people were waiting under the balcony of Nigatsu-do



People who scatter beans on the balcony of Nigatsu-do.  Beans wrapped in paper are flying.

 Scatter beans was over  in only some minutes. When I was taken aback and disappointed at that shortness, a good luck came down.  Some people who scattered beans  came down to us from the balcony with beans,bells,breads,peanuts etc. Many people around me gathered round those distributors to get beans. I thought I can't get anything but a young woman in front of me turned around to me and handed a bell to me. " I could get two bells so I want to give you  one of two." she said.
"Thank you very much." I didn't expect things like that. I was surprised to her honesty.
I should have finished up to get something at this point. But What a greedy person I was compare to her! Another distributor came near me and I got two bags of beans and four bells. So I wanted more good luck or happiness.


I got these bells ,a bags of peanut and beans at Nigatsu-do

 This time, I discovered cosiness of Nara that is  maybe not sophisticated but warm. For funny speech, amusing performance, honest person, conscientious distributor, culture surrounded by big scale temples,gradual slop and so blue sky.
On that day some event of Setsubun were held in Nara.



A red demon and a blue demon at Tsuinasiki of Kofukuji-temple(from web-site)



How about hot spring, delicious crab in snow holiday ?

Don't you think that soaking in a hot spring in Winter and eating something delicious comfort us if you are a Japanese. So I went to  Misasa- hot spring in Tottori prefecture  in this heavy snow season, of all  things.




monkeies likes a hot spring,too.

 We went there by a tour bus but its passenger were only four people. So I could sit down just behind a driver to see  the scenes better. Our bus run on the Tottori-freeway. I heard they call it Ishiba-Rode. Previous minister Mr.Ishiba comes from Tottori district. Between Kansai and Tottori was linked by this fine road.



After a tunnel, snow country was there

 After that, we run on the route 9 along the Sea of Japan.   The bus driver said that 1000 vehicles were traped by heavy snow at a point on the Route 9 on the New Year holiday  and they could not get out of that for a long time. One of them was his tour bus so he came back to Osaka by going through Hiroshima district. It's an unusually snowing heavy in the district along the Sea of Japan this year.




Hakuto-white rabit-coast line along  the Sea of Japan in winter
This point is famous for the myth "a white rabbit in Inaba"

 The village of Misasa hot spring was covered with white snow in the mountain. It's very calm and there were few people  walking on the icy snow road also there were few shops to have lunch or buy something. Most of shops were closed. Some big hotels and small retro inns for visitor of therapy harmonized with snow soundlessly.  Public hot spring baths, some place to drink hot spa's water or to soak feet beckoned us mildly. Here is a hot spring village with a good old Japanese sight.





Japanese style inn

 



a row of  inns





Misasa bridge and Misasa river in the snow

  According to a handout, this hot spring has a little radiation and is good for our health and some disease. So many visitors for therapy may come. I didn't know about hot spa including radiation. Its  hot water was no taste , scent, color.The Ningyo-Pass is famous for uranium mining is near here so I'm wondering if they link under the ground about radiation.





We can drink this hot spa's water

 When I was walking on the bridge over Misasa-River, I found one woman and two men were bathing or washing their body in a open-air bath in the river among white snow landscape. Steps from the bridge reaches to the open-air bath. What a brave people they are!

an open-air bath under the bridge

Snow disturbed our way so I hopped spas in town enough. Misasa hot  spa was discovered more than eight hundred years ago and it has  continued to spring.

Hallowed ground-- Koyasan

Koyasan in December was very calm. There were few visitors and I could hardly believe the crowd  in Summer.
Thousand of gravestones were filled with moss and a lot of  big cedars have been making a tranquil, still space for a long time.I wonder how many years these cedars are living. Their diameter were pretty large. There were a lot of warrior's tombstones we know. While some of them were alive, they might have fought each. Now they are resting in the same site.


Near Okunoin

 Matuo Basho came here and sang a haiku that "父母の　しきりにこいし　雉子の声” (my translation: When I listen to a pheasant crying, I miss my parent. If this translation is error, please correct this.) This is included in 笈の小文. This is based on "山鳥の　ほろほろと鳴く　声聞けば　父かとぞ思ふ　母かとぞ思ふ”(my translation: When I listen to a copper pheasant crying , I take it for my parent voice. I miss my parent.) This  tanka was made by Gyoki at Mt.Yoshino. Basho might have miss his parent ,seeing gravestones,I wonder?


protecter  there

 When we go though here, we come to a place that we purify our hands and mouth. And beyond a river is holy place. There is Okunoin of Kobo-daisi's mausoleum in that holy place. People comes Okunoin to place the ashes of the dead.  It's dark inside the house and I could only see  orange lights of countless  lanterns hanging from  the celling. Those silent , warm lights make atmosphere of esoteric Buddhism. While a priest recites a sutra for an hour, my eyes were used to that darkness then suddenly I became to be able to see a picture of Kobo-daishi on the wall in front of us. I was a little bit surprised and I prayed its picture irresistibly. It seems  like a magic. I wonder how people  think of it in the old days.

Kobo-daisi

A priest in Yakusiji explained one day that they say about wabi-sabi when they say about  temples in Kyoto ,on one hand ,temples in Nara are standing heavily, peacefully at big site and they don't say about wabi-sabi. That reminded me that number of suicide in Nara prefecture is the lowest in Japan.(by a magazine "President") Things in Nara are not so nervous, I wonder? If so, it's good for me to live in Nara.
By the way,how about temples in Koyasan? Koyasan was founded by Kobo-daisi  and it has accepted  people in all sects or all classes and has developed as people's spiritual home or rest and now became a Buddhism capital of Singonsyu, according to a guide. Surely I felt somehow elusive tense because thousands of spirits are resting in the grave and a repository. May their soul rest in Heaven.

three cedars connect each other