A Trip Back to Shimane-ken

I went back to Shimane-ken to attend my late father’s second year anniversary. I left Haneda airport on Saturday for Izumo airport. It took one hour and fifteen minutes by air. I stayed at my mother’s home for two nights then I came back to Utsunomiya on Monday night.

  My brother asked a monk to do religious ceremonies same as the last year. One was held in the temple and the other was held in front of my late father’s tomb in the cemetery. My brothers, mother, sister-in-law and relatives, about twenty people in all, attended the ceremony. You can see the Matsue castle on the background of the above picture.

  After the ceremony, we went to wonderful Japanese restaurant to have dinner together. The restaurant was such a nice place that it had beautiful paintings, an old SAMURAI armor and various antique displays. It seemed a museum. Every food was cooked elaborately and displayed on each dish beautifully. The foods seemed like artwork too. Needless to say, all foods were delicious. The restaurant made one seat vacant, even foods were placed. Do you know why? This seat was for my late father’s. My brother saw me off at the airport. Lake Shinji was very beautiful as usual seeing from the car and also from the plane.

What do you do on Valentine's Day?

Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day falls on February 14.
Same as the last year, my daughters spent a very busy week before the day. They bought chocolates, wrapping paper and cards to make gifts to their friends; I guess they gave more than ten boys and few girls. I don’t know the difference in taste, though they reshaped the chocolates. They chopped chocolates into pieces, melted them and poured them in small heart-shaped aluminum foil cups. Then put two tiny candy chips and wrote a mouth with white chocolate paste on the top of each chocolate piece.
Since the color of the surface on those chocolates had turned whitish, sigh, they did the very same work again in the late evening on one day before the target day.
It’s very hard work, but seeing them do the job with pleasure relieved me a lot. Anyway, how many years do they do this hectic ceremony in this season…lol?

Farewell Party to Patrick at Sakamaki-san's home

Goodbye Paddy. You did a great job in Japan. I’m sure you learned a lot here in Utsunomiya, faaaaaar away from Switzerland. One thing I want to emphasize is that you were the luckiest guy among all other home stay students because you could live for a year with super wonderful family or Sakamaki-san’s family. Sometimes, you felt lonely, missed your parents and had troubles with your friends but everything must be a very good experience.
You left Utsunomiya at the same day and same time when I left Utsunomiya for Daikura ski resort. Sorry not having seen you off at bus terminal. I was at the other side of your bus terminal across the Utsunomiya station. I did Kanpai for our ski trip with my friends and also did Kanpai for your departure to Switzerland thinking of your good luck.

Michel, Matt, Rina and I went to Daikura Ski Resort.

I went to Daikura Ski Resort with Rina, Michel and Matt. It was the first time to go skiing in this season. From my middle twenties to early thirties, I went skiing ten to twenty days in average in one season. Niigata, Nagano, Tochigi, Fukushima and sometimes I went to Hokkaido just for skiing. But I almost quit skiing after my marriage; I went skiing only four times in last fifteen years including yesterday. I bought these ski boards I was wearing twenty-two years ago, veeeeery old. No skiers wear such old boards anymore but they are still perfect conditions for me, so I can’t complain anything about them. I want to use them another twenty years! Which do you think will give up skiing earlier, I or the ski boards?
Michel left, Rina middle and Matt right are standing a little away from Shirakaba Triple Lift station. From that point, there are two beginners’ down hill courses.
We had a lunch in a restaurant near parking lot. Rina is wearing a ticket for lifts dated Feb. 4th, 2007. It’s two days before my birthday: smile.
It was snowing from the morning to the evening, but finally at the last moment, God cleared the sky for few minutes and gave me a chance to take pictures of nice mountain scenes.