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.

Track And Field 800-Meter Race

Rina won the women’s track and field 800-meter race the day before yesterday.
Congratulations Rina!
But, she told me that some skilled athletes did not come to the race and that’s the reason why she was able to win the race.

Judging from the time record, it seems true in certain way. She earned the time record of 2 minutes 33 seconds this time, but she ran at the record of 2 minutes 27 seconds one year ago.

She has become taller, bigger and heavier these days. As many female teenage-athletes feel, I guess, Rina feels it hard to beat her own time record at her younger age.

By the way, the third Monday of September is a national holiday ‘ Respect-for-the-Aged Day’ in Japan. We should honor and show respect to the aged today.

But, forgetting everything about the respect-for-the-aged day, I played tennis with my friends in northern resort area of Tochigi prefecture today.

I was happy to be able to play tennis in such a beautiful mountain resort and refresh myself.
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Making Red Beet Salad

I ate red beet salad the other day. It’s very delicious. So, I tell you how to make red beet salad today.

1. Sow seeds in rainy season in a plant pot on the 4th floor of your condo.
2. Forget everything about sowing the seeds and wait just for one month.
3. Remember that you sowed seeds a month ago.
4. Watch the grass carefully everyday till the roots become red and bigger enough to eat.
5. Prepare black sesame dressing for the red beet.
6. Eat them with smile. That’s all.

We Won The Tennis Tournament.

We won the Kiyohara Industrial Park (KIP) tennis tournament 2010.

KIP holds a tennis tournament on the first Saturday in September or on the last Saturday in August every year.
A team consists three doubles, all members should be working in KIP, can attend the tournament.

We participated in the tournament last year, but we became runner-ups.

I asked five brave colleagues who were very good at playing tennis to join my team and to win the tournament together.

Some of them were the same as the last year's team members, the others were newcomers.

We won the tournament, then got a trophy, a certificate and a prize (about 90US$ wroth coupon) for the winner.

One of the team members, Mr. Ikeda accidentally broke the trophy.

Hinomisaki Light House

I went to Hinomisaki light house when I stayed in Shimane prefecture.

It took me an one-hour train ride and a forty-five-minute cycling from Matsue city to the light house via Izumo Taisha station.

It’s amazingly beautiful. The wonderful color contrast between the blue sky and the white building and the view of the ocean made me forget everything of a tough 8 km bike ride in the scorching sun light.

I've Come Back From Shimane, My Hometown.

I had spent Obon holiday season in my hometown Matsue city, Shimane prefecture for ten days and just came back the day before yesterday by airplane.
I met my mother, my brother and my sister-in-law living in Matsue city.

Obon is a Buddhist festival to recognize ancestral spirits in Japan.
It is believed these spirits return to their families during the period.

We invited a monk to the house and asked him to recite a religious sutra for ancestral spirits.

Before my father passing away, we had never invited a monk for Obon ceremony, nor had we been such a religious family at all.

During this Obon season, I took a ten-day-off from my office, adding a five-day-paid-holiday to my company’s predetermined five-day-Obon-holiday for every employees.

I stayed there so long that I could have really been relaxed.

Left: my mother, Center: my sister-in-law, Right: my brother

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Miya Matsuri Summer Festival in Utsunomiya

Miya Matsuri Summer Festival is held in the center of Utsunomiya city in early August every year.

Many people, young, old, men, women wearing Yukata come to the center area of the city to watch parades of decorated floats, eat and drink street foods.

My elder daughter Emi is too busy for studying to go to the festival. Younger daughter Rina went there wearing Yukata with her friends.

I didn’t have a chance to take pictures of Rina in Yukata but took some pictures of decorated floats and young guys carrying a Mikoshi or portable shrine.

Piano Concert

My wife Kiyono has started taking piano lessons once every two weeks since January this year.

Last week, she participated in a small piano concert with other piano learners and a teacher.

The concert was arranged by the piano school to which she goes.
It was the first time for her to play the piano, Chopin Nocturne Op.9 No.2, in front of the audience.

Most of the participants of the concert seem to enjoy their opportunities to play in a concert hall, just as I enjoy opportunities to take part in local tennis tournaments.

I’m not cut out for classical music though, it’s fun to listen live music. Kiyono and other eager learners did great jobs.

Lavender Field

A couple weeks ago, I went to a lavender field in Shirasawa Green Park near Kinu river.
It looked beautiful and smelled nice.

People working for Shirasawa park maintain various beautiful flowers, for example, lavender, poppy, field mustard, cosmos, cherry blossom, …

I’ve never met people in charge of gardening in the park but I know the work must be hard.
Thanks guys there for keeping beautiful flowers all the year around.
I really appreciate your efforts.

A Summer Festival Season Has Come In Utsunomiya.

Rainy season has been over here in Tochigi and a summer festival season has come.
Ten-nou-sai summer festival is the first summer festival in the year in Utsunomiya city.
We had it yesterday and the day before yesterday.

After practicing tennis with my colleagues as usual on Saturday, I went to the center area of Utsunomiya city and took some pictures.

Upper House Election in Japan

We have an upper house election today.

According to TV news, the ruling Democratic party of Japan appears to have suffered a major defeat. The ruling coalition is said to lose its majority in the chamber.

I think most Japanese don’t seem to be satisfied with today’s politics.

Then, which party, or who can change Japan to the right direction that we hope?

We need a powerful politician having a strong leadership and knowledge.

A woman is entering a local elementary school gym arranged for a voting station.↓

Flowers Blooming By The Roadside

It’s still in the middle of the rainy season in Tochigi prefecture.

I think it takes more two to three weeks before we have hot summer days.

Even these sultry rainy days, just short walking near my home brought me a nice discovery or tiny flowers blooming by the roadside.

Sheared Alpacas and Their Five-Day-Old Baby

I went to ‘Bell Mall,’ the largest shopping mall in Utsunomiya city with my wife Kiyono to see alpacas today.

Luckily, we happened to see their newly born baby. The staff said it had been born just five days before.

The father is pure white and the mother is dark brown. Mysteriously, the baby is not light brown but is exactly the same color as its mother.

Poppy Field

The local meteorological agency declared last week that this year’s rainy season in Tochigi prefecture had started.

It was sunny and sultry day today.

I went to a poppy field located northern part of Utsunomiya city with Rina today.
It took us about thirty minutes by car.

The top season of the flowers seemed to have passed, but still we could enjoy seeing colorful flowers.

After coming back home, Rina immediately went to a shopping mall alone to buy her favorite serial comic book scheduled to sell today and a small father’s day present to me.

The present was frozen sweets. That was delicious. Thanks Rina.

But, the main reason she instantly left home for the shopping mall was, doubtlessly, the comic book … lol

Kiyono Published A Book

My wife Kiyono published a book again about English cool phrases with two other English teachers.

This is a second time for her to publish a book. One of coauthors is Mr. Matsuno who was also my English teacher about twenty years ago.

Congratulations Kiyono and Mr. Matsuno on publishing the new book.

I’m very happy: Kiyono did a great job and my English teacher still vigorously keeps publishing new books like two decades age.
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“What Am I?”

“What Am I?”
“A dog, a rabbit, a sheep, a camel or a goat …”

“No, no, I am an alpaca.”

An alpaca came to Banba-Hiroba open space, the center of Utsunomiya city, from Nasu Animal Kingdom with dogs, rabbits and other animals yesterday.

I had nothing special to do yesterday so I went to Banba-Hiroba and took some pictures.
Isn’t it cute?

It is said that alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights at an altitude of around 4,000 m in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Chile.
Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items including blankets, sweaters, hats and gloves.

Nasu Animal Kingdom in Tochigi is at far lower an altitude than that of those countries.

Alpacas attract maney tourists in Japan these days thanks to their increasing popularity by TV broadcasting.

Kiyohara Industry Park Tennis Tournament

A tennis club I belonged to for twelve years closed in the end of March this year.

After the closing, my weekly tennis routine has changed a little. I used to play tennis on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the club.

I couldn’t do that any more, so I looked for colleagues who play tennis. Then, I found a group of people who practice and play tennis on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Without hesitation, I asked them to join in the group and I have become a member of the group.

Two weeks ago, I attended to the Kiyohara Industry Park Tennis Tournament with one of the members and got a prize of doubles consolation tournament winner. The prize was about 18US$ wroth coupon.

It’s fun to practice in a new group and with new members.

Unchanged Scenery of Matsue City

I’m posing in front of a bus stop in the downtown of Matsue city. ▼

Downtown of Matsue city has changed drastically in the past few decades but scenery in the suburb, near my mother’s house, has not changed a lot.

Rice fields, birds, the view from the hill top where I used to go and a small shrine seem almost same as those in the decades ago.

Above all, unchanged spirit and kindness of my mother, my brother and my sister attract me and make me come back to my hometown even such a hectic itinerary.


A small shrine near my family home. ▼

A bird, heron in a rice field. ▼

A view from the hill top where I used to go. ▼

‘Dance Of Dragon’

On our way to my hometown Matsue city, we stopped over Yokokawa Service Area for taking a short rest.
 I found a guy who was making sweets in front of the people there and selling them.

‘Dance Of Dragon’ is the name of the sweets.

The way of making the sweets seemed like a way of making noodles in China.

Chinese make hand-pulled noodles using a flexible dough that can be stretched easily.
The dough is stretched until it looks like a long, thick rope.
The rope is folded in half, and stretched back to its original length, again and again.

The man in Yokokawa SA used special dough with honey and made fibers far thinner than Chinese noodles. Then, the man wrap up a variety of ground nuts with the honey taste fibers.

Are you asking they were delicious?


Sure, they were. I had never tasted like them before.