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

A Happy New Year! / Spending 2011 year-end holidays in Macau

 I left Utsunomiya for Narita International Airport by car in the early morning on December 24th.

It took five hours from Japan to Hong Kong by air.

After arriving in Hong Kong, we took an airport express train, a taxi and an express ferry.

Finally we got to Macau in the same day evening.

We spent our Christmas in Macau eating Chinese food, looking around ancient town streets, historical monuments and several World Heritages.


Macau had been a Portuguese colony in China and handed over in 1999.

It lies on south-western China, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the south.



We visited Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral.
The cathedral was built in 1602 and destroyed by fire in 1835.
The picture taken there follows.

At Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral

Every Chinese food perfectly suited our palates.

An Alpaca Baby Was Born in Bell Mall.

 When I went to Bell Mall Shopping Center the other day, I found a new alpaca baby there. One of Bell Mall staff who was in charge of taking care of alpaca family said the baby was just born one month ago and her name was not decided.

At first, I felt strange that there were alpacas in Shopping Mall but now I never fail to see them every time I go shopping there.

Now, the family consists of dad, mom and two sisters.

Fudan Café

The other day, I went to a cool restaurant called Fudan Café near our condo with my wife Kiyono. 

We enjoyed delicious food and a comfortable atmosphere in the late afternoon. 

We live in the center of downtown in my city. So, there are quite a few restaurants within walking distance. 

Maybe it’s impossible to visit even one-tenth of them in a few years.

Mt. Fuji and The Tokyo Sky Tree

On the contrary to a cold rainy day yesterday, it’s crisp clear and sunny day today. On a day like today, the first thing I do in the morning is taking a look at Mt. Fuji from the south west window of my condominium. It’s there today as usual.

So, what’s different today from a usual sunny day? … I found the Tokyo Sky Tree at the time of sunset. Yes, it can be seen from Utsunomiya!

The Tokyo Sky Tree is currently the tallest tower, 634.0 metres (2,080 ft), in the world.

Tennis Tournament and Foggy Morning View from My Condominium

I took part in the Kiyohara Singles Tennis Tournament with my five tennis friends today. The result was terrible. I got beaten in the first round and other two guys did the same.

While thinking why I got beaten and how I had to cope with the opponent, I left the tennis courts before knowing the results of the rest of my friends’ matches.

Spending much time in practicing, I know, could be an answer but It’s not so simple for me. 

Spending too much time in practicing means, at my age, injuries of knees, shoulders or elbows. 

How should I practice effectively within a limited time?  That’s the key.

Maybe, … I haven’t had enough pieces of advice since my tennis club had closed almost two years ago.

I may have to find a good tennis coach or should ask a lot of advice from well-skilled players.

That could be an answer in my case, couldn't be? 

I have decided myself to ask advice from now on. 

The 25th Utsunomiya Marathon

Rina and 351 female runners took part in the 5 km women's long distance race of the 25th Utsunomiya Marathon at Kiyohara Industrial Park (K.I.P.) today.
She won the race.
The Utsunomiya Marathon holds 2 km, 3 km, 5 km, 10 km and 21.1 km races for both men and women.
Congrats Rina! Great job. I'm proud of you!

To tell you the truth, I didn't go to K.I.P. to watch her running. I practiced playing tennis as usual. My wife Kiyono went to Tokyo to meet her parents and elder daughter Emi.
I guess that her two friends, one of them finished 3rd, and her field and track club coach of her high school watched the prize awarding ceremony.

I wish I could have seen the ceremony.

Kikusui-Sai Festival

The other day, I happened to meet an autumn festival called Kikushui-Sai near my condominium. I’ve lived in Utsunomiya city for more than fifteen years, but it’s the first time for me to see the splendid autumn festival.

Many people wearing traditional samurai clothes marched with horses in the central Utsunomiya city. It’s very beautiful and they held mind boggling Yabusame practices.


Yabusame is a traditional Japanese mounted archery in which an archer on a running horse shoots wooden targets.


Why haven’t I seen the festival for years?

Twenty Roses

November 3rd ,three days ago, came to us a bit different from usual year, with this year marking our 20th wedding anniversary.

I married Kiyono at a small church in Chiba prefecture on the national holiday(Culture day in Japan), November 3rd  in 1991.
It’s not too long ago, just twenty years or two decades ago.

We had a party to cerebrate the anniversary at a small restaurant called ‘AG Café’ on the top of a hill viewing Utsunomiya city.
On our way back home, we dropped in a local flower shop and bought big size red roses.

How will 30th anniversary come to us? What will I be thinking of? Where or which country shall we live in?

Maybe, I don’t know. The answer is blowing in the wind.