Eleanor Goldsmith's past comments

  • 2

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    this reminds of the 3 years I spent up in Tohoku. Every year Kanto would have a little snow fall like this and the region would descend into chaos.... Meanwhile, those living in Tohoku deal with it day in and day out.

    Same in Niigata, though there were the inevitable deaths due to falling off a roof while clearing heavy snow off it.

    On New Year's Eve 2004 we were driving down to Kyoto, having first driven from Niigata to Yokohama to visit a friend. It started to snow soon after we set off from Yokohama at lunchtime and they closed the expressway from one exit after the one at which we'd got on, all the way to Numazu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It was a comparatively small amount of snow and we were having no problems driving in it, because we had our snow tyres on (we did feel a little smug about that), but it took an hour just to get off the expressway onto the main road because all the Kanto drivers were sliding around on their normal tyres. We ended up seeing the New Year in with a can of Coke at a parking area just outside Nagoya and decided to spend the night at a hotel in Nagoya because it was still so far to Kyoto.

    Anyway, I digress. I would imagine that, for the population and authorities of Kanto, only having snow about once a year (and 8cm being the heaviest snow in 7 years) makes them feel that it wouldn't be economical to take measures to deal with it "just in case".

    Posted in: One dead, 900 hurt after heavy snowfall in Kanto-Koshin region

  • 2

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    My worry is the earthquake in Niigata, where there are nuclear plants knowingly built on faulty lines and with poor safety and security record.

    Just the one plant, but Kashiwazaki-Kariwa was the biggest in the world in terms of output until it was shut down after the Tohoku earthquake. And, as you say, it has a very poor safety record. I would have to admit to being very glad that I no longer live in Niigata, in that respect.

    Worth remembering Fukushima was damaged by a tsunami not an earthquake.

    I believe there is still some debate about this - I have a recollection of seeing a headline from a Japanese-language media story on Twitter recently that said that at least part of the damage was (or possibly was) caused by the quake, not the flooding by the tsunami.

    I don't know what the risk of a tsunami on the Sea of Japan is, since it's a smaller body of water than the Pacific Ocean, but with all of Japan's nuclear plants using the sea as their ultimate heat sink (other countries also use lakes or even the air), a tsunami is a risk for all of them.

    Posted in: Quakes jolt Nagano, Niigata prefectures

  • 0

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    I was just translating material today about sake from Aizu (in Fukushima) for a Tohoku food expo. Having lived in Niigata for 9 years, I'm obviously biased towards Niigata sake and think it's a cut above the rest. I can't help wondering, though, whether all these small artisan sake breweries would be able to meet demand while retaining the same level of quality if sake did take off overseas in a big way. At any rate, I shall be off to Tokyo Liquor in Auckland at the weekend to buy some Niigata-produced Uonuma (since we can't get our favourite - Shimeharitsuru - here in NZ).

    Posted in: Japan looks to sake as new economic growth tonic

  • 0

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    For those wondering about the names of the days of the week in Japanese, Wikipedia appears to have the answer:

    The Chinese transliteration of the planetary system was soon brought to Japan by the Japanese monk Kobo Daishi. Surviving diaries of the Japanese statesman Fujiwara Michinaga show the seven-day system in use in Heian Japan as early as 1007. In Japan, the seven-day system was kept in use for astrological purposes until its promotion to a full-fledged Western-style calendrical basis during the Meiji era.

    Posted in: Roman jewelry found in ancient tomb near Kyoto

  • 1

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    Thanks for posting that, Elephunk.

    Posted in: Russian consul in Japan dies in cliff fall

  • 1

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    Nigel is quite correct - it was halted for winter - I have my seasons/months mixed up since moving to the southern hemisphere!

    Posted in: 4 workers confirmed dead in Niigata tunnel explosion

  • 4

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    None at all, Wakarimasen - it was a tragic accident in entirely unforeseen circumstances.

    Posted in: Russian consul in Japan dies in cliff fall

  • 12

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    Apparently the ground was rather slippery and there was no guard rail at the edge of the cliff. It's a tragic accident and we're currently hoping that Roman, who's a friend of ours, has suffered no long-term spinal damage.

    Posted in: Russian consul in Japan dies in cliff fall

  • 1

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    Apparently construction had only just restarted, having been suspended in (IIRC) July last year.

    Posted in: 4 workers confirmed dead in Niigata tunnel explosion

  • 2

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    What they need to do is fund programs etc to encourage and help people to quit, govt subsidised meds to aid the thequitting process etc.

    They already do that, but it hasn't had as big an effect as hoped. Not sure if this is going to make a massive difference either - I think it could well lead to crime and black market sales - but given that cigarettes are already about $15 NZD a pack (about 900 yen), it's bound to give some people the impetus to quit. I'm just glad that my husband quit a few years ago.

    Posted in: A smoke-free country? New Zealand aims for it with 40% tobacco tax hike

  • 0

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    That'll teach him to mess with an obasan!

    Posted in: Woman bites off bag snatcher's finger in Sapporo

  • 0

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    Nice to see a good news story. I kept a budgie when I was a child, but he refused to talk, despite my best efforts to teach him.

    Posted in: Stray parakeet tells Tokyo police where he lives

  • 0

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    "Ambulatory" is a recognised term in the medical field - it refers to outpatient care - see Wikipedia for more.

    I'd add a caveat to the article - private insurance will only cover medication/treatment prescribed by your doctor which is deemed by the insurance company's doctors to be medically necessary. So if your doctor refuses to prescribe a drug, chances are that your insurance company isn't going to spring for it either. Your insurance company won't cover treatment deemed to be experimental, so if you are diagnosed with some form of cancer, for example, you shouldn't expect to be able to get it to cover treatments that are not yet mainstream.

    If you aren't enrolled in one of the Japanese governmental health insurance schemes, you might find that hospitals charge you double what the full rate would be if you were enrolled in those, as a form of penalty. If your insurance company will pay the hospital directly, that's less of a problem (though you might be asked to enroll in the kokumin kenko hoken if you're having a particularly expensive treatment), but if you're having to pay first and get reimbursed later then be prepared to be quite a bit out of pocket.

    Be aware that the degree to which Japanese hospitals are willing to cooperate with insurance companies varies wildly. Most charge to complete the documents required to obtain preapproval, some refuse to deal with foreign insurance companies at all, and some will be cooperative, but might take a while to return the documents to your insurance company, even if your insurance company chases them up frequently.

    Finally, don't forget to check what type of insurance you have. Many policies require pre-existing conditions to be ruled out, and checking your medical history with your previous doctors might take a while. If you have private insurance, it would be worth your while to review your policy and put together the information about your previous doctors that you will need in the event of making a claim. It's better to do it in advance, when you're calm and conscious, than have the extra worry when you're already concerned about your health, or for your spouse, friend or parent to have to do it while you're unconscious.

    I used to deal with inpatient claims in Japan for a private medical insurance company and we dealt with a number of the hospitals mentioned in this article. The other thing you could do if concerned about where to go is call your insurance company and check whether there are any specific hospitals in your area that they've dealt with in the past or found particularly easy to deal with.

    Posted in: Medical care: Are you prepared?

  • 2

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    Oh dear, exactly the same fuss as when Tatu were kissing in school uniforms in the video for All the Things She Said nearly ten years ago (now I feel old!)

    It rather betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of how sexuality works....

    Posted in: AKB48 candy ad criticized for encouraging homosexuality

  • -1

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    Takuya Kimura, 39

    Mid-life crisis?

    Posted in: SMAP's Takuya Kimura fined twice for speeding since Sept

  • 1

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    My father-in-law had this surgery a few years ago and is back to his usual active self, able to walk several kms, including hills, without any problems. Angioplasty (stenting) is a possibility for arterial stenosis, but if it's too severe, then a bypass is the best option. This is a routine procedure, and as the Emperor has plenty of people to look after him, maintaining a good diet and driving him around, then I'm sure he'll recover well afterwards. Having said that, I would agree that it's probably time to let his sons take on more of his duties and for him to enjoy a more relaxed schedule, rather than an endless round of visits from one end of the country to the other.

    Posted in: Emperor to have heart bypass surgery next Saturday

  • -1

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    Fun article - I particularly like the drinking game :-)

    Article Unavailable

  • 1

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    I'm just jealous that clothes like this weren't really available when I was a teenager - I would definitely have been interested in something like this, which is far less revealing/annoying than "ganguro" style or even your average high school uniform....

    Posted in: Japan's 'Lolita' style: cutesy and disturbing

  • 0

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    while at the same time remaining discrete.

    The word I think you're looking for is "discreet". "Discrete" means "separate" (although you might also have meant that).

    Posted in: The story of love hotels

  • 8

    Eleanor Goldsmith

    @Elvensilvan - The child was 11 days old, not 11 years old.

    Sounds like puerperal psychosis....

    Posted in: Woman arrested for murder of 11-day-old daughter in guesthouse

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