What Do You Do In The Morning Everyday?

The first thing I do in the morning in summer is to pick up a newspaper at the mail box, then go out to the balcony to count the number of flowers blooming everyday.

I read the newspaper and take a glance at morning-glory flowers once in a while before my wife gets up. I like doing that.

I feel the summer is passing when the number of flowers decreases.

Recently, the number of flowers has decreased very much and the size of flowers has also become smaller than that in the top season.

Yes, autumn is coming in my town Utsunomiya.

Scorching Summer in Utsunomiya, Japan

It is said that the Utsunomiya castle was burnt down in 1868 as a result of the war between the government forces at that time and the anti-government forces. Recently, a group of citizens were driving the reconstruction of the part of the castle and it was finished this year.

As I haven’t visited there so far, I decided to go to the newly reconstructed castle with Rina.

I had thought it would be crowded since most of Japanese companies and schools were in summer holidays this week. But luckily it was not.

I took pictures and enjoyed walking in a burning hot day. We stayed in the castle park for a couple of hours and, on our way back home, we ate cups of ice candy together.

I love this burning Japanese summer!

This hole is for shooting arrows.





I guess this hole is for gun shooting.







Yummy, ice candy. It's the "Summer delight!"

Miya Matsuri Summer Festival in Utsunomiya

The Japan Meteorological Agency said that the rainy season in the Kanto region ended on last Wednesday. My long waited summer has finally come!
We have exciting summer festivals everywhere in Japan. The summer festival called Miya Matsuri was held today and yesterday in Utsunomiya. The first Saturday and Sunday in August are the days for the festival.
I haven’t gone to the festival for nine or ten years, because I always went back to my hometown, Shimane during the festival. This year, daughters are excited to be able to go to the festival.

Do you know what’s the most fun for young girls in summer festival? Most of young girls love to wear traditional clothes, “Yukata.” They are kind of summer version of Kimono. My two daughters wearing Yukata, went to the festival with their own friends separately. They bought sweets, frozen pineapple, candy and goldfish. After that, they took Purikura pictures. I asked them what they did and what they bought. Believe or not, things they bought and did were amazingly the same.

Before going to the festival, Emi prays to the small shrine next to our condo.




Rina has a dark suntan, since she attended an athletic competition today till four o’clock.
A hectic day, wasn’t it?

Upper Purikura pictures: Emi and her friends. Those of Rina and her friends follows.

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.