Radiation

Today we saw our first really high radiation readings.   Although for now we think the most likely explanation is some problem with the geiger counter.

For a while we had repeated readings of up to 70 micro-sieverts per hour,  100x higher than our previous maximum.   

For comparison, one standard exposure limit for the general public is 1 milli-sievrt per year,  which is an average of 0.11 micro-sieverts per hour.  The Japanese government controversially raised their exposure limit to 20 milli-sieverts per year or an average 2.2 micro-sieverts per hour (and even higher for radiation workers).   So you don't want to be seeing repeated readings above 2, let alone 50-70!

After the initial very high and variable readings, our readings seemed to settle down for about 5 minutes in a range of 2-5 micro-siverts per hour, both inside and outside our apartment.    

Then Rika switched the device off to reset it, and we once again got readings down at our normal 0.1 to 0.3 range, including the same places where previously we had seen high readings.    

So perhaps there was some error with the device.    Or perhaps some local contamination on its case that was then wiped-off.   Still we'll be watching closely to see if this repeats, and for reports of other people in Tokyo getting high readings.

Kukai

Our local Ramen (noodles in soup) restaurant is called 'Kukai'.

Kūkai (空海), also known posthumously as Kōbō-Daishi (弘法大師 The Grand Master Who Propagated the Buddhist Teaching^?), 774–835, was a Japanese monk, civil servant, scholar, poet, and artist, founder of the Shingon or "True Word" school of Buddhism. 

Shuzenji claims a link to Kobo Daishi (in fact, many places in Japan do).   Local legend has it that Saint Kobo and his disciple founded Shuzenji temple in 807 AD traveling around Japan. While Kobo Daishi stayed only temporarily, his disciple Korin Taitoku stayed and built up a small Shingon temple called Fukuchizan Shuzen Bannnanzenji; the origin of present day Shuzenji temple.   There is a also legend that Kobo-Daishi, pounded on a rock with his Buddhist walking stick, called a 'tokko,' to bring forth the hot spring water, for which Shuzenji onsen is famous.

Anyway the ramen at Kukai is very good.

You might ask, "how should I order at a Buddhist noodle shop?".

The answer, of course, is  "make me one with everything"

One with everything.