js20 Nearby Attractions

Most days I walked for about an hour in whatever direction the mood took me. One of the most common walks from our place was past the hospital and down through the apartment blocks of Nishiyama. Our closest temple was Shingetsuin, which we explored on our first stay. I often walked through the graveyard and then along the lines of smooth raked stones. Most often though I walked past the temple entrance on my way to the station or shops, for I particularly liked the curve in the road where a shrine lantern (pictured) stood at the base of some steep stairs. On the lower side was a cute-as-a-button church (such juxtapositions are of no concern to the syncratistic Japanese) while on the upper, a wood mason toiled in his workshop. I loved the smell of the just-cut wood, though less his eternally smoking fire. There are more photos of Shingetsuin posted at this site.

http://www.sanda.gr.jp/Shingetsuin/index.html

js19 Parks 1 Sandadani Koen

Sanda is a garden city and very proud of the fact. We were lucky enough to live very close to a pleasant little park (and baseball ground) called Sandadani Koen and within a short drive of several others. Whenever people told us that their experience in Japan was cheek-by-jowel urban, with grey the default colour, we understood (having spent time in the big cities), but had to admit that Sanda was anything but cramped or uniform.

Sandadani Park was many things to us. It was a regular through-route on the way to Flowertown shops. It was a walking and exercise track. It was a pleasant diversion on a Sunday afternoon when the local baseball team was playing. It was a place to meet people, especially the friendly retirees who sat nattering under shady awnings in summer. It was also our closest cherry blossom viewing site, where we could spread a rug, sip an asahi or two and nibble on inari while the fluorescent sakura danced overhead.

The latter photo shows a line of wintry cherry trees, the path winding in the direction of the entrance to our chome, while the former shows the circular walking track.

js18 Kippy Mall

Adjacent JR Sanda Station is the Hankyu Kippy Mall. Occupying what for a long time was just vacant land (though it must have been something once?) the shopping mall emerged in 2005, in what was supposed to be a major upgrade to the central commercial sector. The intersection of the bus, train and old shopping area was once rather decrepit and i think there"s little doubt the precinct has been improved. But perhaps it came too late, for the huge Aeon on the southern fringe of Sanda (actually North Kobe) has probably stolen a lot of the consumer thunder from Hankyu's venture.

I rather like Kippy Mall. The top floor is entirely dedicated as a community space with meeting rooms, a library and IT facilities. We had Nihongo Salon there, a Christmas concert and a couple of parties also. Downstairs there was good coffee and a great bakery. Nadia could always find a stationary nick-nack or two and it served as a waiting room for getting on and off trains. Oh and there is a great children's wear shop - Starvations!. Would you believe it?

js17 winter joy....hori kotatsu

One of the great innovations (though occurring less and less in new housing) is the hori-kotatsu. Most if not all Japanese homes have at least a kotatsu, which is a low table with a built in heater and a doona or blanket to retain the heat. The hori-kotatsu takes this principle further. There is a boxed hole in the floor, on which a table sits. A blanket slipped under the table and a round of cushions for sitting on completes the ensemble. On sits on the floor, legs danging in the hole, with the table at roughly waist high. There is an electric heater in the base of the hole.

I can't relate the sheer joy of hopping from bed on a wintry morning, popping on the kettle. and then sitting in the hori-kotatsu. Me, with the ubiquitous Daily Yomuiri spread in front, a cup of tea and a cream biscuit.. Or after classes, with a Sapporo or an Asahi, the NHK News At 10, any stresses seeping into the ground. It may well be my favourite thing about the house at Mukogaoka. At the end of winter, the unit packed up neatly and the floor became, well, the floor again.

In the picture, Nadia is sitiing in the hori-kotatsu and the infant Tom is apparently flipping through a book. You can see how his baby chair has been pushed up against the unit. In the background, the dining table has been moved aside, until the spring.