Never Doubt Obaasan!

I live in Oyama, one of the very congested parts of Ginowan which is sandwiched between the coast of the East China Sea and MCAS Futenma. At one point it used to be a large area full of fields (some of which are still in use today even though the city has grown up around them) but now this is no longer the case. Fortunately there are still a great deal of people who work in their small yards making the best of every available inch to grow fruits, veggies and flowers as I am sure their families did before them (although on a much smaller scale.)

At least four of these backyard gardens are immediately next to my house all being tended by older women (obaasan). Day in and day out they are out there working in their gardens waving to me and yelling out an occasional "konnichia" up at me while I am out on my deck. Like clock work they are out there tending, weeding and sometimes just watching their gardens grow.

Now that it's spring time, however, there has been a change in the attire worn by the obaasan. Rather than just a light covering over their heads they have started to wear their straw hats. These straw hats come in all different shapes and sizes. Some of them seem like easter bonnets where as others look like a traditional Japanese style hat with a point on the top. Seeing as how I have a garden now and will be spending a great deal of time out in the sun tending to it I figured I would take the leap and pick one up for myself. After all if wisdom comes with age then these women (easily on their way to 90 years old) have got to have something here right?

Then the other day while I was at my local DIY and Garden Center I spotted it there out of the corner of my eye. I almost missed it because it was on the bottom rack hidden behind the veils of a few other visors and hats that hung above it. I immediately grabbed it saw that it was about ¥500 and tried it on (thank goodness my husband had his camera phone handy lol). Yep this was for me because if nothing else I would at least look super kawaii (and probably a little silly but I'm fine with that)!

Unfortunately as luck would have it soon after getting the hat home I had a day of clouds and then almost 12 hours of non-stop rain. Needless to saythere was no chance to see my hat in action. . . until today. I was so happy to see that the sun had come out I couldn't help myself. I grabbed my folding chain, book, sunglasses and hat then headed out onto the deck. After spending much time on the deck under the sun I realized how nice it was to have a straw hat. Not only did the hat breath really well but it kept the sun off my neck and face. I knew those obaasan knew what they were doing!