mlord comments

A 60 cm ridge can be challenging indeed. The danger is proportional to the steepness of the slopes on either side, and a 55 m fall indicates a very unforgiving slope. One, if not two, walking sticks is hugely helpful in maintaining one's balance and confidence when moving along such ridges, as voids are weirdly attractive to bodies. A momentary lapse of attention can be fatal. Even a gust of wind can throw your balance, so floppy attire is a definite no-no. A strong and stable core is essential, as are legs of steel and hiking shoes that provide good ankle support. Most septuagenarians I know are not up to the challenge... Take stock of your limits, folks!

Can't believe the amazingly poor choice of name, Torch Tower. Am I the only to be reminded of the movie "The Towering Inferno" (that dates me, I suppose). People will have fun with this one if it ever turns into a burning torch.

Wallace

Construction and farming are the most dangerous jobs and mining if they have that.

Fishing has the highest fatality rate of all industries, globally, and Japan is a major fishing nation.

OssanAmerica,

I am not mistaken. Tsuyu is described as a季節の現象. A Seasonal Phenomena. It is not a "Season" of it's own.

”梅雨は季節現象であり、その入り明けは、平均的に５日間程度の「移り変わり」の期間がありま”。

https://tinyurl.com/JPweather

Thank you for your reference, but it proves nothing and misses the point. The rainy season where I live (Tokyo) lasts roughly from early June to mid-July, thus a duration of approx. 6 weeks or 42 days. This is more than a passing phenomenon (although admittedly, in recent years, the "rainy season" is gradually becoming less rainy, with more interludes of blue sky in between). I think this bears repeating: Contrary to the stubbornly held belief among the Japanese that Japan is not being part of Asia and is inherently different from Asia (and thus does not have 5 (plebeian) seasons but 4 (classy) seasons like the temperate and civilized countries of the West), our country, Japan, is very much part of Asia. Pointing this out is rather heretical, admittedly. I will persist in the (fact-based) view that Japan does indeed have 5 distinct seasons and snicker when my dear compatriots declare that Japan, just like Vivaldi's famous concertos, has four seasons. In closing, were you a composer tasked with expressing Japan's seasons with orchestral music, would you compose four concertos, or five?

Those Japanese are mistaken.

OssanAmerica, it is you who is clearly mistaken.

The Japanese have an occidental complex, they simply cannot accept that they are part of Asia, and consider themselves brothers of the Europeans and North Americans. Hence they assert that Japan has four seasons, ignoring the fact that the rainy season is a full-fledged season of its own. I always snicker when I hear the term 四季 (shiki = 4 seasons) applied to Japan by my compatriots.

It was actually too hot to go on the loo during the daytime, I am afraid. Our toilet does not have A/C, and sitting on the second-floor loo for any length of time (without straining, mind you) on hot days means getting completely drenched in sweat. Anybody else experience this?

Would our Dear Leaders kindly submit to consuming seafood that has splashed around for a while in the contaminated water release area? That might be more convincing, esp. if their smiles were as bright. And could we perhaps make this a daily (televised) event? Pretty please?

I would not eat fish that has hung around or swam across the release area and thus become contaminated. Some fish move around a lot. The problem is that you cannot tell where the fish has been, can you? I guess it's the luck of the draw, but I would prefer not to have to play Russian roulette each time I have fish. Are we expected to meekly play Russian roulette every time we have fish from Japanese waters? And with a bright smile at that? Hah...

30% of mostly aging bridges in Japan

What does this mean? Poor writing.

So glad the perpetrators of such mischief seem to all be Japanese... What if they were gaijin? I dare not imagine.

Balding actor gone missing on Mt Baldy? You can't make this stuff up. Praying he comes out alive.

"astronaut Koichi Wakata reacts as he leaves the Operations and Checkout building" "reacts" to what? ? Weird choice of words...

"Japan's captain Maki Takada gestures" ?! Why not "gesticulates" while you're at it ;) I would go with "strikes a pause", but maybe it's just me?

Doubly shameful, first that this could happen, then that the courts of the land refuse to acknowledge the problem. Refusing medical care to this woman in spite of her multiple entreaties is a crime, pure and simple. I am Japanese, and I am ashamed.

Correction: gal/she

"it's more the vibrant", huh? Either this guy is not a native speaker of English, or he's been misquoted.

Criminal negligence in the pursuit of gain over safety. Oh the poor souls that trusted that boat company! That ship had a prior accident (about year ago) causing damage to its bow, necessitating repair. The safety record of tour operators should be a matter of public record. Buyer beware.