BEE Japan

As I type, the team, under the careful guidance of Eri-san, is currently busy making the very first batch of BEE Natural Soap!

Eri-san guided us through the process of using lye to saponify vegetable oils (along with some essential oils — orange and rose — for that extra nice smell).

After about 40 minutes of stirring, the batch is ready to dry and set (unfortunately, the soap won’t be ready before we bike on tomorrow, but Eri-san was kind enough to provide us with some ready-made natural soap we can take along).

Hey everyone!  We’re only a couple of weeks away from Wakkanai!  We’ve been concretrating a lot on plans for the 2009 ride recently––making sure our bikes are in tune, jerseys, visa & insurance in order––but I’m here to let everyone know about BEE’s final pre-ride event for 2009: the “Love Earth, Love Music” themed Halo Halo Summer Festival.

BEE jersey designer, Eddy Tang, has invited us to join him and some friends to promote BEE Japan’s 2009 Ride.  Their group will be heading the “English Avenue Art & Cafe” at the festival, and in addition to hosting BEE and helping us sell BEE T-shirts, MYhashi, and hand out BEE pamphlets, they have offered to donate 50% of their earnings to BEE!  Amazing!

If anyone is in the Fukui/Shiga area on July 19th, please come and join us.  “Love Earth, Love Music,” and Love BEE!

Details:

~July 19th (Sunday, but Monday is a holiday Umi-no-Hi)

~Ichinose Sansou, 〒919-0131 福井県南条郡南越前町今庄鹿蒜二ツ屋119-2

(The nearest train station is Imajou 今庄, and the venue is just a short walk from the station)

~Entrance is 2,000 if you order ahead of time, 2,500 day-of (please visit website to order tickets)

Hope to see people there, and please contact us for more information!

Want to do something good for the environment, but aren’t sure what to do?  Like drinking?  Well, everyone’s favorite Yab’s Sport Bar and BEE Japan are going to help put your two favorite activities even easier!  This is a combo the likes of which the world has never seen!  Mayo and pizza, mayo and yakisoba, mayo and mayo!  Stand aside PB & J!  Deko-boko conbi (Salem’s band), Yab & Co., and YOU are going to do something good for the environment by doing what you do best–having a good time with good people!

Introducing “Green Drinks”, a fundraiser for BEE Japan.

Details:

~We are going to get this thing started at 7:00pm!
~There will be a 2000 yen cover with 3 drinks included (alcoholic or non-alcoholic)
~There will be two bands following Deko Boko Conbi: Batomoti and Fucking Toyo’s Band.  (How can you say no to a name like that?)
~In addition to this, we’re also going to have donation boxes for BEE Japan, and will be doing additional games and stunts to help raise money for BEE.  When you buy a drink, please throw us your change and we’ll put it to good use on our Cross-Country Environmental Awareness Cycling Tour!
For more info, directions, etc, please contact Salem at teamleader{at}beejapan.org, or call 077-558-0977.

Hope to see everyone on Friday, June 12th!

BEE Japan Hosokawa Clean-up & Vegetarian Cooking

In an effort to get people together to clean up their waterways, I’m attempting to take this clean-up event tour to the next level.  With home-field advantage and the wonderful help of many of several friends here in Ritto, BEE Japan is going to host another clean-up contest on Saturday, May 30th.  Afterward we will have a vegetarian cooking experience/lunch.

Step 1:
*Meet at 9am at the Konze Community Center to clean the Hosokawa.
The Hosokawa is a tributary to the Kusatsugawa, which flows into Biwa.  I ride along the Hosokawa on my route to Kusatsu High School, and I’m getting a little tired of seeing so much junk (Styrofoam boxes, cans, furniture).  So with the generous help of my inaka neighbors and Ritto city we’re going to give the Hosokawa a much needed make-over.

*Like the Nagahama Clean-up,  BEE will give away a prize package from our sponsor Alishan Organic Center to the team (3-4 people) who collect the most gomi!

Step 2:
*Vegetarian Cooking at Nakai-san’s workshop.  Nakai-san is my friend and neighbor who makes delicious natural, stone oven breads at the Aguri Michi-no-eki in Moriyama.  (She and her husband also are the ones who own the rice fields we’ll be planting on May 23rd.)

*Menu: Everyone can enjoy making their own vegetable and tofu croquettes, and grilling their own seasonal veggies and bread over the fire.

Participation Fee:
500yen

RSVP Deadline:
Wednesday, May 27th  (send an email to teamleader@beejapan.org)

Things to bring:
-clothes for picking up garbage in (if you are feeling particularly adventurous you can go into the Hosokawa)
-plate, hashi, cup (we have some, but try to bring it if you have some)
-boots (optional)
-gloves (optional, I have about 10 pair)

Other Details:
*We’ll do the event in light rain, but if things get bad the make up date is June 6th (the following Saturday)
*Please contact me for more info about directions, etc.  I live about 5 minutes away, so my futon is always open if you want to come out the night before!

I hope anyone who wants to have fun with some of my Konze neighbors and I will come out to join us!  It’s going to be most of the same crowd who’ll be at the rice planting the week before.  They’re a wonderful bunch, talented farmers, cooks, and singers, so please come out and have fun with us!

Hosokawa winter

Hosokawa Spring

COP 15

Many people may already know, but this December the COP15 – United Nations Climate Change Conference – will take place in Copenhagen to discuss post-Kyoto policies for industrialized nations to adopt in order to combat global warming, CO2 emissions, and the gamut of environmental dangers lurking in the near future.  This is especially crucial as some of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gasses are predicted to come nowhere near meeting their promises in Kyoto over ten years ago.  And with Japan’s prospects of meeting it’s own proposal to reduce CO2 emission to 6% below 1990 levels looking grim, getting the message through to world leaders this year in Copenhagen couldn’t be more vital.

For more information about this, please check out the official website: COP15 Copenhagen.

COP 15 Cycling Tour:

To remind us that this isn’t just a problem for us to leave to our governments, The Embassay of Denmark in Tokyo will be hitting the streets to promote individual participation in the reduction of harmful greenhouse gasses, as you may have guessed, by bike!  “Cycling is friendly to the environment and participation in this tour highlights your personal efforts and support to combat climate change,” is the message that the Embassay has posted on it’s website for the upcoming COP-15 Cycling Tour around Japan.  9 cities (Tokyo, Anjo, Fukushima, Sapporo, Miyazaki, Hiroshima, Imabari, Shimanami, Wakayama, and Kyoto) will host ride for people of all levels, from mama-charis to cross-country marathoners.

Registration is 2000 yen, and I strongly urge everyone to sign-up and take part in the events!  Space is limited according to each event, so don’t delay!  I have already registered for Kyoto on May 31st, if anyone is interested in more information please email me at teamleader@beejapan.org.

Peace,

Salem