In Japan we don't always have house numbers posted (though they are becoming more common in tract neighborhoods.) Someone once explained to me that houses are usually built one by one with other houses squeezed in between the older houses or a entryway walk to a group of houses squeezed in between carports. It is extremely difficult to find houses in Japan by just looking at a map because the numbers jump around from one street to another. And by the way, there are no street names either! The neighborhood is called the such and such neighborhood and all the houses will have nearly the same address...
Thanks to GPS and probably to the better GPS systems, it is somewhat easier to find an address though actually I don't know because our car GPS takes us only to the neighborhood and then says, "You are now in the vicinity" and then goes into silent mode. At least it could say "good luck".
But! Not all is lost! Most houses have name plates near the front door or on the outer wall of the house's yard. Just a couple of weeks ago Tetsu and I went looking for a house of Tetsu's old friend in Morioka. Neither of us remembered the exact house.
"Old... Two storied... a couple of houses down from the corner..."
Tetsu finally got out of the car and walked up and down the hill and back streets looking at all the houses' name plates. (He never found his friend's house... It turns out we were in the wrong neighborhood. So much for our memories.)
Anyway... back to the nameplates.
Nameplates are very convenient when looking for a house and nowadays there are such a variety of them with western writing as well as Japanese characters. I guess privacy is not an issue and I have even seen a map of a whole neighborhood posted near a community center telling the world the names of the families and the exact house they live in!
The trick with flowers is to buy those that thrive on neglect. Yesterday, as I was walking down the street, a neighbor stopped me to compliment me on my garden. Huh? I haven't done anything yet this year other than pull a few weeds. Whatever is there comes up by itself. And as to name plates, there are about five houses and two apartments on my block with the same address. If a letter is written in English, it comes to my box and I find the place it was intended to go.
ReplyDeleteIt would take someone hours to walk through the large neighborhood tracts here! The builder for our house had 8-9 phases of 20-30 house, that have 4 different home sizes with three different finishes for each size (brick, wood trim, windows, etc). Numbers are the only way to go :)
ReplyDeleteI’m not a green thumb either...
Why don't you ask Julie for advice? She knows a lot about plants and which will thrive without daily TLC.
ReplyDeleteThe approach to your house looks very inviting.
A lovely row of plants in pots, and the bright yellow pot, just right with its flowers.
ReplyDeletehow does the fire department find a house if someone has a fire - or if there is need for an ambulance?
ReplyDeleteHow interesting about streets and houses!! I love your name plate and the background on how it came to be. Always love coming to your blog and learning about you, your family and your customs.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful name plate! Love the flowers, very colorful.
ReplyDeleteKaren in South Jersey USA
Looks Lovely! I remember being a bit "shocked" just the other day while walking in a nearby neighborhood to see someones name plate on their gate! Last name only, but still. It's probably good Japan has some way to identify who live where!` Thanks for sharing this bet of Japanese culture.
ReplyDeleteWhat about seeds???
ReplyDeleteA beautiful welcoming entrance to your home. I love pots of flowers, they make a day so much happier.
ReplyDeleteYou can never have too many flowers! :-)
ReplyDelete