Cherry Blossoms

 Unlike rainy Saturday yesterday, it’s wonderful sunny Sunday today.

I went to Igashira park today.

Tennis courts in Igashira park are surrounded by many cherry trees. It is the best season today both for watching cherry blossoms and playing tennis.

Tennis Tournament in Mohka City

I participated in a tennis club tournament with my friends today.
One team consisted of two doubles and one single. In the beginning, we had a preliminary league.
We became the second among four teams in our league. So, we could not proceed further to the winners tournament.
I got very tired today.

This picture was taken at Kinu Green Park yesterday.

High Energy Accelerator Research Organization

Rina took part in a science seminar camp at High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Tsukuba city last week.

About twenty would-be scientists who had passed paper screening beforehand gathered there from all over Japan.

Rina carried out experiments, had discussion with professors and other members and made a presentation.

Having high level education with prominent college professors before entering college could have been a very good experiment to her.

Café Ka Non

 Since my car's seven-year-old GPS didn't have latest info, we lost our way to Café Ka Non.

I pulled over our car just in front of an office building.

I got out of the car and without hesitation went into the office to ask if they knew where the Café was.
They didn’t know it.

While calling to the Café, a woman I met at the office kindly came to us with a map. She said she looked for it on the Web and printed it out.

After saying Thanks and Good Bye, we turned around and headed for the destination.





Just five-minute-drive brought us there. The owner of the Café was waiting for us outside, in fear of our passing through the shop.

The atmosphere of the shop was superb. Homemade bread and beef stew were delicious. We spent a peaceful lunch time at the Café in a rural suburb of Utsunomiya.

Doll Festival

Doll Festival or Girls' Day is held on March 3.

At the Orion square in the shopping mall of Orion street, many Hina dolls were displayed and dancing shows were performed on the stage.

We also displayed dolls at home to wish for our daughters' healthy growth and happiness.

ONE YEAR AFTER THE TSUNAMI DISASTER

 Everywhere in Japan, people offered a one-minute silent prayer 

to mourn the victims and wish for world peace.

Unseasonable Snowfall Caps Over My City

Futara-yama Shrine (futarasan)

An unseasonable snowfall capped over our city Utsunomiya last week.

On a day of snowing, I’m always asked by my friends or colleagues if it’s possible to go to office and back from it by bike.
Some of them seem to be very worry about my 13km-bike-ride (about 0.8 mile) between home and office.


I know that I should say to them, “Thanks” for their kind words, but, to tell the truth, I’m enjoying every minute of my bike ride even on a snowing day; it’s exciting and thrilling. ha-ha

No falling down, no traffic accident so far, …knock on wood.

What's This? How Should I Eat It?

When I went to Hong Kong last December, I found a strange food at a street market. It seemed an egg and actually I found it an egg later at the hotel I stayed. 

I didn’t know it was a chicken egg, a duck egg or else. 

It was in a plastic bag written something in Chinese. When buying, I didn’t ask what it was and how to eat it. 

The egg was covered with black clay and ash like powder. It didn’t smell at all. 

At the hotel, I took it out of the plastic bag and washed off the clay and powder carefully. Then a white egg appeared.

I broke the eggshell. … It was a just a normal raw egg.

It still remains in my mind as a question of Hong Kong.

Does anyone know how I should eat it?

A final Flower Brought Its Friend.

I bought a pot of cyclamen in the beginning of December.

The flowers have been blooming and brightening our living room over two months.

Once it had twenty to thirty flowers and as many flowers buds.

But as days go by, especially this month, the number of flowers decreased a lot.

The day before yesterday, only one flower was left.

Surprisingly, at the time of sunset today, the remaining flower brought me her friend, though the color of it was gray.

The final flower has gone, right now.

My Birthday

Birthday cake; The cookie letters mean 'Congrats.'

My birthday Feb. 6th fell on last Monday turned out to be one of the most terrible birthday in my life.
I caught the flu, influenza type B, on the day and fell in bed for full five days.

My body temperature rose up to almost 39 centigrade for two days. Now, it has become normal. But, I'm still suffering from a bad persistent cough.

I haven't worked since last Tuesday. So, I'm sure, I'll find tons of works tomorrow in the office.
I guess, in this case, every work is commented on with a yellow post-it “the most important and urgent.”  ...  Sigh.

Birthday card attached with a present from Emi

Setsubun Festival

A cactus, dolphins and a killer whale at home today

Still it’s freezing cold outside.
Our elder daughter Emi has gone to Tokyo and been living alone since almost one year ago at the time of her entrance to her college.

When the two daughters were living together with us here, we used to have Setsubun ritual in this season, early February.

But, this year our younger daughter Rina was too busy for her club activity and study to celebrate Setsubun. Another reason, of course, is we are just too lazy to do it. lol

Wearing Oni masks in 2009

 Setsubun literally means "seasonal division" or "the day between two seasons."

It's celebrated yearly on February 3 or 4 as a part of the Spring Festival.

Setsubun was accompanied by a special ritual called Mamemaki.

Holding Oni masks and soybeans

Roasted soybeans are thrown at a member of the family wearing an Oni (demon or ogre) mask.

The beans are thought to purify the home by driving away the evil spirits that bring misfortune and bad health with them.

Then, as a part of bringing luck in, we customary eat the same number of soybeans as our age.

Cafe Ochanoma in Utsunomiya

I'm standing in front of the Cafe Ochanoma entrance.

The other day, when I got a day off work for the first time this year, I lunched out with my wife Kiyono at Café Ochanoma.

The Café is located in a very quiet place near Kamagawa river, just five-minute-walking from our condo.

They provided well-balanced meals with ample seasonal vegetables.

Those dishes were not spicy, not too salty nor oily. They tasted like traditional Japanese grandma-homemade dishes.

Cyclamen Flower Blooming in My Home

I bought a pot of cyclamen in the beginning of last month.
The flowers have been blooming and brightening our living room since then.

They look really lovely, aren't they?

My wife Kiyono went to ballet class, my daughter Rina went to Ekiden(long-distance relay road race) practice and I went to tennis practice this weekend same as usually weekends.

Yes, nothing special has happened today.

OTARIYA "Between Winter and Spring" Festival in Futarasan Shrine

Kibuna toy fish are sold for1500yen, US$20, in front of Futarasan Shrine.

As legend goes, a long time ago in Utsunomiya city, a bad disease or a smallpox had spread across the city.

When people didn't know how to cope with it. A guy living in the city fished a yellow carp in Tagawa river.

He gave the fish to a sick person. The sick person after eating it  got over the illness immediately.

After the incident, people in the city buy a toy fish with a yellow body, a red head and green fins and decorate it in their house to prevent contracting diseases in the new year days.

The yellow toy fish is called Kibuna in our city.

Nooks And Crannies in Hong Kong

Night scenes in Hong Kong were beautiful as I had expected 


While, looking around small mom-and-pop shops or having a bite at an eatery in off-streets mesmerized me very much. 

Shop keepers were all in all friendly. 


Foods served at those eateries were sometimes seemed as delicious as at top class restaurants.

Spending 2011 year-end holidays in Hong Kong

Center: Wax Doll of Bruce Lee

Leaving Macau, stayed only two nights though it was very meaningful, we headed for Hong Kong. 

It took just one hour by express ferry. We turned in disembarkation cards again, then we stepped in on Hong Kong island. 

We took a taxi at the ferry terminal and went to the hotel in which we would stay for three nights in the early evening.

Throwing all our luggage into our hotel room, we took a free shuttle bus from the hotel to the nearest station and got on the subway to the center of Hong Kong downtown.

At first, the center of downtown seemed like Ginza area in Tokyo to me. Big department stores, jewelers and famous designer shops were disappointing us a bit.

But, we found later that the scene from the harbor area to the river and the scene from the top of Victoria Peak were awesome.

We waited for a tram car going to the top of Victoria Peak over one hour though, it was well worth for waiting.

At Harbour City Ocean Terminal

View from a Ferry Going to Hong Kong Island 

View from Victoria Peak at Night