LIFE DIGEST. OCTOBER 2024.
Autumn. Korea. Japan. Tough yoga and Turkish food.
A belated self-guilty attempt to start journalling of my life whilst trying to avoid genre specific egotism and making it a practical guide for the readers.
JAPAN. LIFE
Autumn and long weekends is the time when local communities organize small festivals in Japan. People take shifts cooking, cleaning, and pouring. A lot of beers and an affordably priced food. Huge prawn or a piece of chicken for just 100 yen. One such event just near my house.
Kanazawa -Hakkei is a quiet seaside town in Kanagawa prefecture easily reachable on Keikyu Line. There are a few parks nearby and a nice seaside promenade dotted with patient fishermen.
Historic buildings and walks for the interested.
I also like the bakery and cafe near the namesake station. Enjoy long hot dogs or avocado cheese buns. Australian version of Kirin beer which is VB is sold here for the home sick expats (a bit strange, as I don’t see many foreigners here, although Yokosuka Navy base is not far).
A small picket in the suburb of Ofuna drawing people attention to those who died of COVID vaccine. On the poster it says the number of perished being 2206. Not sure if true, but it took me a month to recover from the vaccine effects with a promise to myself to never allow it happening again.
LIFE IN KOREA
I had one working week in Seoul, so I decided to make a nice time sandwich wrapping the work week with two weekends, one on the top of the working period and another in the bottom. I climbed Cheonggyesan, roamed the suburbs of Hannam (“the Beverley Hills of Seoul”), Itaewon, Seongsu-dong (“the Brooklyn of Seoul”) and enjoyed peaceful reading near Yeouicheon stream. Posts to follow.
GOOD READS.
Reading the “Patriot” by A.Navalny. Half of the book was written in a prison. One of the most honest, brightest and strongest men Russia soil had ever produced. Unfortunately, the brightest and the honest don’t last there…
This is a good one from James Clear.
"Focus on your likes, not your wants.
- You may not want to exercise, but you like how it makes you feel.
- You may not want to write, but you like the feeling of accomplishment.
- You may not want to wake up early, but you like the calm beauty of morning.
Wanting is the desire you feel before doing something. Liking is the satisfaction you feel after doing something. Let your likes guide you." AGREE!
GOOD MUSIC
I think your favorite music can lead you to your future partner. Try it. Scorpions created a gentle but hard rock, rock ballades. It grasps you from inside, lifting then to the clouds of near nirvana. My favorite band at its best. If you listen “You and I” and a person in front of you sparks or go all attention, try to look at this person from a different angle. It might be your lifetime partner and/or a soulmate. Assuming you like this kind of music.
Although not a big fan, but this live concert by Sting is amazing plus only the songs I like. With all the drawbacks of amateur video, I liked this relaxed Sting a lot.
I spent a third of the month in Korea, and discovered this singer known under nickname Car, the Garden. Good background music.
GOOD WATCH
It is more a reminder to myself to watch those movies later. In October the New York Film Festival showcased many good movies. After reading short reviews of some I singled out “The Brutalist” with Guy Pearce and 323-minute long “My Undesirable Friends:Part 1-Last Air in Moscow”, about journalism in modern Russia.
GOOD BITES AND SWIGS. SAPPORO.
Always great to have nice Czech dtaft beer. In Manda (Sapporo) they serve Pilsner Urquell on tap. It is in a covered arcade Tanukikoji, not far from the “party- always” Susukino district.
Soup curry is a developing trend in Japan. And not cheap. In Sama (again Tanukikoji arcade) I paid 1650 yen for the version claiming to include 17 vegetables.
Could come again for sure! GOOD BITES NEAR TOKYO
It is Sanma (pike mackerel) season in Japan. Rub with salt and grill. Yum!
When I lived in Sydney, I often enjoyed Turkish food. There it is uneventful, many suburbs have little spots serving kofta, adana, ayran, gozleme and pide. For more in-depth taste you could travel to Sydney suburb of Auburn. Now, in Japan, not so many choices for Turkish cuisine around Yokohama, the nearest big city to my home. But one gem found. Ceyhan restaurant was utterly delicious. Especially I enjoyed guvec and ekmek (stew with freshly baked bread). Next time will go for shakshouka.
EXERCISE AND HEALTH
If you think yoga is easy, try this. A bit too much talk for my liking, but otherwise not bad. And yes, I read in the comments that many women like it as well. Or the guy? Yoga for men. Episode 26.
Thinking loud. Whatever you do in your fitness, change the regimes. I have 40 different HIIT programs on my comp , but when I add something odd like Yoga for Men, I feel the difference. The difference is “muscle pain happiness”. MPH. The way I define it. Slightly painful, asking you to stretch them, but at the end giving you the feeling of a nice workout done. If you are a novice, try 100 squats at a leisurely self-paced tempo, and feel the next morning the definition of MPH. MPH is both a great stimulant and a reward for an exercise if you need it. You feel like something is missing if you don’t do it. In a way …And probably not for all, but works for me.
