Vol.006 May 2018

4 | Kaleidoscope MEGURO May 2018

Friendship City with Kanazawa

CONTENTS
1.
2.

Registration and Rabies
Vaccination of Pet Dogs

3.

Festivals
Komabano Park, Private
recreational facilities
Rainy season,

4.

COOL BIZ, Interview
Information

The Rainy Season and Ajisai Matsuri(Hydrangea Festival)

picture #1

Kanazawa City and Meguro City have ahistorically and culturally close relationship.
For example, Marquis Toshinari Maeda, who
was the 16th head of the Maeda family (aformer feudal clan lord of Kanazawa), had amain residence, Kyu Maedake Hontei, inKomaba, Meguro.

picture #2

In Meguro City, if you start keeping a dog
aged 91 days or older, you are required bylaw to:Register your dog at the Meguro City Office
Health Promotion Section (once in itslifetime). The fee is ¥3,000. The city officewill issue a dog license tag (picture #1).

Take your dog to a veterinary hospital for aWith this important background in mind, the rabies vaccination shot. The veterinarian will
two cities signed a friendship city agreement provide a vaccination certificate.
on October 27, 2017 to further deepen thisTake the vaccination certificate to the Healthmutual relationship, to promote the local and Promotion Section. Upon paying a fee ofcultural characteristics of each city, and to¥550, you will receive a rabies shot tag
cooperate in a variety of fields to contribute(picture #2).
to the vitalization of both cities.
You must always keep the dog license tagand rabies shot tag attached to your dog’s
During the Hyakumangoku Festival, whichcollar.
will be held from June 1 – June 3 inEvery subsequent year, between April andKanazawa, the Meguro Kanko Machizukuri
June, you will need to take your dog forKyokai, the association of tourism and city
another rabies shot and provide proof of replanning, will run a booth to introduce
Meguro City and to strengthen our friendship vaccination to the Health Promotion Section.

In Japan, we have comparatively more rainy days
from spring to summer, than during the other timesof the year. We call this season, tsuyu (the rainyseason).
In Kanto area, June and July are the rainy season. InJune, we see the beautiful flowers native to Japan,
called Ajisai (hydrangeas). The color of the flowers
varies from pale green, white, indigo blue, to pale
pink. That’s why it has another name, nanahenge, or“seven changes”.
Hydrangeas that bloom during the rainy season are
special for Japanese people, so a lot of events andfestivals with hydrangeas as the theme, are held inmany places all around the country. In Kanto area,
one of the most famous sites for hydrangeas isKamakura. You can see the hydrangeas not only inthe temples and shrines but also in many places
within the city. The historical buildings and thelandscape of Kamakura match very well withhydrangeas.

Thanks to fashion magazine Marie Claire’s
cooperation, the Marie Claire Festival will be held
again this year near the south exit of Jiyugaoka
Station, on the fashionable streets decorated in thestyle of Southern France.
Please visit the four-themed streets, located in thearea around Marie Claire Dori-Ave. andKuhonbutsugawa Nature Path.

with Kanazawa.

Meguro City
News Letter
5 languages are now
supported on an e-bookversion!
Read in your own language!
Supports Text-to-Speech!

Life in Tokyo

Date and time:May 25 (Fri.), noon – 8:00 p.m.
May 26 (Sat.), noon – 8:00 p.m.
May 27 (Sun.), noon – 6:00 p.m.

Site for Foreign Residents of Tokyo
https://www.lifein.tokyo.jp/en/Foreign Residents Information Desk

Main Building 1F, Meguro City Office 2-19-15
Kamimeguro Meguro-ku Tokyo
http://www.mifa.jp/mifa2/gaikokujinsodan2/2E.htm

Published by Culture & Exchange Promotion Section, Meguro City Office
Edited by Edit Group in MIFA
Meguro City Office Annex 5F 2-19-15 Kamimeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0051
TEL 03-3715-4671 FAX 03-3715-4672 E-mail:info@mifa.jp URL:http://www.mifa.jp
The bimonthly newsletter Kaleidoscope MEGURO is intended to make a multi-cultural society embracing and diversity.

Marie Claire Festival 2018

If you visit some parks in Meguro or Rinshinomori
Park, you can find the hydrangeas so beautiful andfresh in the rainy season.
Let’s enjoy the rainy season when hydrangeas arebursting into bloom.

1. Music Street:
Chanson performance and other concerts
2. Job Street:
Refreshment booths, wine corner
3. Art Street:
Street performance.
4. Shopping Street:
Shopping booths.
http://shoutenkai.jiyugaoka-minami.com/news.html

2 | Kaleidoscope MEGURO May 2018

Meguro City Komabano Park

Kaleidoscope MEGURO May 2018 | 3Access:1 min walk from Keio Inokashira line Komabatodaimae station

Rainy Season in Japan・COOL BIZ
The coming season
called Tsuyu (梅雨) inJapan is between June toJuly. It’s also called therainy season. During thistime, it keeps raining fora long time every day,which often occurs in theThere are also a tennis court (reservation in advancenecessary) and an indoor swimming pool (reservationnot necessary) available at the park.

Now the season of fresh green has come.
We would like to introduce to you Komabano Park
where you can enjoy in the mother nature. InKomabano Park, there are many tree species
gathered from all parts of Japan, various types ofcherry blossoms, a pond where you can play with yourchildren, a bird sanctuary and a day camp site where
you can enjoy BBQ. Five BBQ furnaces with acapacity of eight people. You can use all five furnaces,with a maximum capacity of 50 people.
Tables and chairs are available near the furnaces andwater supply is also available.
Citizens living outside of Meguro are also welcome touse the day camp site!
Time:Open 9am to 4pm throughout the year
(except December 28th to January 4th)
Might be closed due to windy weather condition

Private Recreational Facilities
at Discounted Fee
There are some private recreational facilities that
residents or workers of Meguro City can stay at adiscounted fee. If you want to take a break, please
use these facilities.
To book, you only need to contact the facilities overthe phone. For further details of each facility, such as
location, phone number, or price, please refer to theMeguro City office website. The URL for all facilities(in Japanese, Multilingual translation available):www.city.meguro.tokyo.jp/shisetsu/shisetsu/hoyoshisets
u/index.html

The following is a portion of the private recreational
facilities.

Hotel Kagetsuen:
Sengokubara Hakone-machi Kanagawa Pref.
Located on a hill in Sengokubara where Lake
Ashinoko and Mt. Fuji are nearby.
Guidance for usage :HotelDankoen:
1. Alcoholic drink, musical and sound instruments
Takenouchi
Ito-shi Shizuoka Pref.
which produce loud sound are prohibited becauseLocatedinthecenter of Ito-shi, it is convenient tothe park is located in the middle of a residential
travelaroundtheIzu peninsula.
area.
Newell City Yugawara:
2. Bring all the garbage back with you.
Atami-shi Shizuoka Pref. A big hot spring hotel
3. Parking slot exclusive for the Komabano Park is
located in Yugawara, surrounded by Sagami Sea
not available. Park in the neighboring parking isand Sagami Mountain.
recommended.
Hotel Sanmi Club :4. Tools rental service(free) : grill, hot iron plate, fire
Atami-shi Shizuoka Pref. Grand Pacific Ocean view
chopstick, broom and dustpan for cleaning
and beautiful night view of Atami-shi.
5. Goods to be prepared by the users: Fuels (onlyNew Hakkeien:charcoals and solid fuels are permitted. Liquid
Izunokuni-shi Shizuoka Pref. A view of Mt. Fuji
fuels and burners are prohibited), foods,
from the outdoor rooftop spa, guest rooms andseasoning, cooking devices, table wares,restaurant.
detergent and sponges for cleaning
Fees :
FreeHow to apply and reserve the BBQ site :Date:
Please apply between 2 months to 3 days inadvance before the actual usage of the camp site.
Administration office is open between 8:30am to5pm. Reservations are accepted on first come firstserved basis.
Inquiries:
03-3485-7760 (Japanese only) Komabano Park
Administration OfficeAddress:
2-19-70 Komaba

southern area of Japan.
Tsuyu season changes its period depending on theyear and doesn’t have an exact date when it starts
and ends precisely.

I have just begun to really see. One example is Tea
Ceremony. I like how it makes me feel in the moment
and connected to the other participants, the beauty ofthe objects used, and the physical movement of thepreparation.
There is so much great art in Tokyo! Kengo Kuma
buildings are beautiful, so modern and warm, Iadmire the work ethic of Yayoi Kusama and of course
the drawings of Hokusai. I have taken a beginner
workshops in Ukiyo-e for carving at Adachi Foundation
for the preservation of Wood Carving and a printing at
Mokuhankan. I’ll never be an Ukiyo-e master, but I
have a deep respect for the artist and craftspeople
who spend their lives to improve their vision of whatis beautiful.

Mold really likes this season. It prefers warm andhighly humid environment. That’s why Tsuyu season
is perfect for it. It’s very important to prevent
humidity and ventilate regularly to keep mold away.
Also ‘COOL BIZ’ starts around this season. It’s one of
the ideas proposed by the Ministry of Environment in2003 targeting against global warming. It indicates‘Comfortable life style at room temperature 28 ºC(82.4 ºF) even with air-conditioning’. It recommends
NO tie, NO jacket.
COOL BIZ is a coined *Japanglish
phrase consisting of two words:
COOL (meaning superb,refreshing) and BIZ(abbreviationof business).
COOL BIZ period is between June
1st and September 30th; thisperiod might vary depending on
the location and climate.
*made-in-Japan EnglishInterview with Our InternationalResident
We have the wonderful Janette Maxey here fromConnecticut, USA. She has been living in Meguro City
for 7 months and is learning Japanese from scratch atMIFA. She friendly accepted our request for theinterview.

Q2.
Have you found some particular foods that weresurprising to you?
What surprised me is how beautiful Japanese food is,and the high quality of eggs. Japanese eggs are thebest I’ve ever had.

Q1.
You studied art at university,right? So how do you feel about Q3.
Do you have a favorite shop around Meguro City?
Japanese culture?
Do you have any interest inI enjoy the second hand stores here in Meguro. TheJapanese art or craft?
things I get from these stores have a history that I
Yes, I have a B.F.A. in Painting want to know. Where did it come from, who owned it,
where was it made. It makes me feel more connectedwith a minor in Western Art
to the people of Japan.
history. I paint daily life andculture around me; people,places, and things.
Japan has a rich, deep culture.