How do I spend this summer?

I made it a rule to take a week off and go back to my hometown Shimane with my family members from the end of July to early August. But, I gave up doing so this year. Because, I took already two weeks off last April for traveling in the States and my elder daughter is busy to study for a high school entrance exam. She goes to a cram school twice a week. But, during summer vacation of her school, she goes five times a week.
I love spending summer season in Shimane very much but I can’t do this year. I should decide an alternative way to spend this summer… Maybe, it’ll be a camping or swimming in Tochigi.

Today is the day of upper house election. After voting, I went to company’s tennis court with Rina who was my younger daughter. Though she joined an athletic club in her junior high, she is still practicing tennis at neighbor tennis school once a week. I rarely play tennis with her. Maybe, last time I played with her was more than a year ago. We had a good time and I think it could be a good practice for her today.

Browsing on the Web; YouTube “Ken Tanaka”

I found an interesting series of YouTube videos few months ago. It has attracted me very much since then. The story goes like…
A man whose name is Ken Tanaka was born in Los Angeles in 1973. Later, a Japanese family in Shimane Prefecture adopted him. He has been brought up in Japan and is now looking for his real parents, Jonathan and Linda Smith in Los Angeles.
The videos are about his journey looking for his real parents and happenings around him.
How did I find it? Yes, I was brought up in Shimane same as Ken. One day I was looking for videos on YouTube with a search keyword “Shimane” and hit them.
There are 16 sets of videos, so far, and most of them are numbered. If you have time ,please watch them in order. I promise you can enjoy them.
URL follows,
http://www.youtube.com/user/helpmefindparents


When I was browsing on the web, a bird was looking at me. I took his picture.

Earthquake Strikes on Marine Day

Today, the 3rd Monday of July is Marine Day, one of the national holidays in Japan.
This consecutive three days holiday became a terrible one for many Japanese.
First, we had a typhoon on Saturday and Sunday. I booked my company's tennis court but canceled it again. I think many had to give up their well-planed schedules.

Furthermore, a big earthquake struck in Niigata area today. Many TV programs have been rescheduled to news programs reporting earthquake distressed area since this morning. I feel sorry for the victims.

How have I spent this weekend? I was doing netsurfing for long time lazily. The only good news is that one of my friends Michel living in Canada will have a baby in the end of this year. Congratulations Michel and Yoshiko!
I took these three pictures in Atami two years ago. I looked for pictures of the sea commemorating for Marine Day, but I don’t have many. Do you know why? ... Since I live in Tochigi… lol

Even In the Rainy Season...

It’s drizzling in the morning. A bunch of morning glory in the balcony keeps growing in the rain. Its vine has grown more than one meter so for.
I planed to play tennis with my colleagues, Yuzu Tennis members and my drinking friend Anthony at my company’s tennis courts. But, due to the bad weather, I had to cancel the plan. I sent cancellation mail to my friends in the early morning.
After that, the drizzle had stopped and the weather turned better. The feeling I wanted to play tennis grew bigger and bigger, then I asked Ms. Kaneda if they play tennis at indoor tennis courts or better condition outdoor courts today. My company’s courts are next to tall trees, so once it rains it takes a whole day to dry up the surface.
My goodness, she answered YES. So, I called Anthony again and rushed to join Mr. and Ms. Kaneda’s group or Smile Tennis Team. Thanks Mr. and Ms. Kaneda very much again! We had a wonderful Sunday.
I knew that Anthony kept practicing tennis for long years, but it was the first time to play tennis with him. His shots are pretty fast. He hits a ball with a small quick motion. His play style is rare among my friends. Sometimes, he loses the game by missed shots. I think that it's because he doesn’t practice regular basis after coming to Japan. If he keeps practicing regularly, he’ll become far strong a player than he is now.
Right: Anthony

Congrats on One Year Anniversary!

I began updating my blog on July 1, 2006. Today is the one-year-anniversary.
I wanna say greaaaaaaaaat thanks all of you for visiting my blog.

I show you pics of the coziest Pub in Utsunomiya. I can’t get away from here.