Chuo-ku Tourism Association correspondent blog

 During the cold winter months, when water birds rest, they often see their heads and necks plunged into feathers on their backs.

Many birds have their head and face covered with feathers, but their beaks and eyelids have exposed skin.

If you plung your neck into the back, all exposed parts of the skin are covered with feathers, reducing the emission of body temperature.

In some cases, one leg is hiding on the feathers of the stomach by changing left and right.

The image at the beginning shows a calm afternoon during the cold and resting comfortably in the pool of the piers of Chuo-ohashi Bridge.

At first glance, he seems to be facing forward, and in fact he is turning his neck almost 180 ° and resting with his beak in his back wings.

A humorous and acrobatic posture.

Occasionally, I also show the gesture of mending the back feathers.

In general, birds cannot move their eyes very much, but they have more cervical spine than mammal, which is said to be able to move their neck flexibly.

Although it is generally difficult to distinguish seagull species, it is relatively easy to identify the three species of seagull, commonly found in the mouth of the Sumida River.

Seglocame> Larger than crows. His legs are light red. The beak is yellow and red spots at the bottom of the beak.

<black-tailed gull> Medium-sized (crow size). The legs are yellow. The beak is yellow and red and black at the tip of the lower beak.

Squirrel> Smaller than crows. The legs are red. The beak is red and the tip is black.

 January 11th is the day of mirror opening.

At Nihonbashi Eitaro Sohonbu, from 14:00 on the 9th, the first 500 people will behave the annual "mochi soup powder".

This year, since the 11th is the weekend, it will be advanced to Friday on weekdays.

At the store, the sound of the music of the Tokyo Metropolitan Intangible Folk Cultural Property “Edo Dai-Kagura (a popular performing art centered on lion dance and acrobatics, which is said to have a history of 400 years)” is played by Maruichi Senosha, enlivening the New Year mood. I am.

Kagamibiraki is an annual event in which kagami mochi, which had been offered to household miniature shrine and tokonoma as a New Year's decoration, thanks to Shinto and Buddha, praying for sound health, and eating with zoni or soup powder.

Inside the store, there is a fine "Edo" Omochi "<Gufoot decoration>".

"After the Warring States period, in samurai families, rice cakes offered in front of armor are called" armor mochi (decoration) ".

In Edo, the townspeople imitated this, and in merchants did not have armor, so they imitated them in lucky items and decorated them. Our shop has been following this shape since the old days of Edo.

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Once again, I felt the weight of the long-established succession of Japanese shop curtain, and I had hot soup powder.

  "Mini Garden Guided Tour" where you can stroll around the park with the guidance of a green advisor at Harumi Triton Square Pocket Plaza "Flowers, Water and Trees".

This month was held on January 8th.

①12:30～12:50

②14:30～15:30

deciduous tree drops leaves all at once during the winter and enters dormant.

However, if you look closely, the "winter buds" swell at the tip of the branch, and you can feel the breath of life prepared for the coming spring.

On the other hand, the green of the usually plain evergreen coniferous becomes relatively noticeable.

In addition, such as Naniwazu (same as Onishibari), there are species that fall in midsummer and produce new leaves and flower buds of the next spring from autumn. (also known as Natsu Bows)

Under the cold sky, I was taught the viewing points of the winter garden.

☆Enjoy a dignified color

In light of this season, I picked up white ones.

From the left,cyclamen, Snowdrop, Juugatsuzakura

☆Enjoy the unique shape of evergreen coniferous trees

Even though it is evergreen, there are some species that are brownish in winter, and the colors of green vary.

From left, Montana pine, Colorado jaccin "Blue Heven", Hinoki "Nana Grassiris", Alaska cypress "Pendura", Nioihiba　　　　　

☆Enjoy twice (for example, winter lilywood)

The fruit of the lily tree is a collection of wing fruit in a pine cone shape.

The wing fruit scatters in the wind, but the central axis and the outermost wing fruit remain.

The whole Kaho looks like a flower.

The reason why it is said that "Yurinoki gives flowers twice."

During this season, you can see the tree shape well.

 On January 7, at Tsukiji Namiki Inari Shrine, a "Seven herbs Shinto ritual festival" was held at 11:00, followed by seven herbs porridge to worshipers free of charge on the grounds.

This day is one of the five festivals, "Human's Day Festival", and at one milestone of the New Year's event, spring seven herbs (seri, Nazuna, Gokyo, Hakobera, Hotokenoza, Suzuna, Suzushiro) in hope of sound health.

It is a special herb porridge made using rice from the shrine's "Goshinden (a rice field that makes rice to be offered to God)" and has been established as an annual event. .

The opening time is from 11:00 to 12:00 (for the first 100 people). It will end as soon as the seven herbs are gone.

It is a custom of working on the stomach and intestines tired of the New Year's treat, not overlooking one aspect of nutritional supplement in winter, when green vegetables tend to be short, and feeling wisdom from ancient times.

Under the cold sky, we had a hot "New Year's Taste".

 On January 4th, at Nihonbashi Takashimaya/Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, the New Year's annual tradition, the technique of town fire extinguishing that has been passed down since the Edo period <woodworking, knitting, ladder riding, etc.> It was shown.

 10:00 Nihonbashi Takashimaya (front hall on the first floor, in front of the front entrance)

 11:20 Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store (Central Hall on the 1st floor of the main building)

 12:00 Nihonbashi Takashimaya (front hall on the first floor, in front of the front entrance)

Performed by members of the Edo Fire Memorial Association First Ward, the performances include `` woodworking '' sung as a shout or signal, `` wearing '' which shakes the symbol of the group and inspired friends, `` ladder riding '' that dances brilliantly on a ladder ".

There are many traditional crafts that feel the essence of Edo.

The biggest highlight is the "ladder riding" technique.

From techniques such as "Tomi", "Belly turtle", "Kir crush", "Back turtle", etc., to "Combination technique" in which two people perform at the same time, I enjoyed the feat of the Tobi profession up close.

 Tokyo Sky Tree shows a variety of lighting productions every season and commemorative time.

From November 1 to December 25, <limited lighting> of "Candle Tree", "White Tree", "Champagne Tree" & "Masa" and "Iki" according to the Christmas season.

After December 26 (~ January 31, 2015), "Winter Masa" and "Winter Seiki" are turning on alternately, but from New Year's Eve to the beginning of the new year, <New Year Special Lighting> is held to delight the eyes He gave me

Lighting time: 23:50 on December 31, 2014 to 1:00 on January 1, 2015

The five-color intersection lighting of red, yellow, green, pink and gold is lit based on white.

One of the four lighting techniques of the Tokyo Sky Tree (light-up, light-down, intersection lighting, clock light), the light emitted from the lighting fixtures installed at the intersection of the steel frame of the tower shines directly.

At the end of the year when the great cold wave arrived on the archipelago, the weather was worried and the glow with a strict atmosphere of the New Year can be seen over Eitai Bridge.

(Left: Fuyu Masa right: Winter style)