‘Le Metro’ is the name of a Café

I posted photos of neighbouring Café last two times on this blog.
Again, I upload another pictures of Café today.

‘Le Metro’ is the name of a Café just few blocks away from home. When my elder daughter Emi lived with us, more than a year ago, we went there to have dinner. 

The restaurant had a chic small rooms decorated with magazines, pictures and so on.

We had a table on the second floor and spent ample time together.

Cafe & Sweets ARTISTA

My email address list on the hotmail-web-site might have been hacked and unwilling emails were sent to the people in the list last week. Some of the emails were sent to my office including my colleagues and bosses. It was a terrible moment. I cleaned up my web mail address contents, shut down Facebook account and other miscellaneous works.

Anyway, aside from those works, my wife and I went to the Café ARTISTA in south of Utsunomiya.
We had lunch on the second flour of a shabby looking building: though it looked like a gallery inside.
Foods were delicious and the inside atmosphere was suitable for taking it easy for a couple of hours.

 

Aglio Olio Is The Name Of Cafe.

The other day, my wife and I went to a nearby Café called Aglio Olio for lunch, just five minute walking distance from home.

We didn’t expected the Café much but they had nice pasta dishes, fine aromatic coffee and delectable desserts. 



The atmosphere there was perfect with quiet music and a few customers.

Michel and His Family Comes Home

Michel and his family came home the other day. Time really flies: the last time he came home dates back to two and half years ago. His son’s grown bigger and his newly born daughter must be the cutest among all. A crystal clear his daughter’s eye looking at him and his wife Yoshiko reflected his family.

An Annular Solar Eclipse Took Place on May 21, 2012

I saw it at my office’s backyard at 7:34 in the morning. I had gotten up earlier on the day and dashed to my office by bike. I used a tripod and a camera with sunlight filters. It was a kind of a drama lasted only for five minutes. I truly enjoyed watching it.

Poppy Fields at 8:00 AM

I got up early even on Sunday, went to Shirasawa Green Park to see poppy fields.
They were just in full bloom.

Unbelievably, no one was walking except me in that huge park at 8:00 in the morning.

 I hung around there about half an hour.
 During the time, I just met one woman taking a walk with a dog.

'Dojyo Sukui Manjyu' is the name of a Cake

They seem like toys or something, but they aren't.
Those are sweets with bean paste inside.
Most people living in Shimane, my hometown, know those cakes.

Ichikai Town

It’s the last day of one-week-long-holiday or Golden Week in Japan, today.

I have been rather relaxed except for going on a short trip to Ichikai town.

My wife and I went there to see a spring flower field. The weather was not perfect but we enjoyed seeing beautiful scenery there.

On our way back to home, we dropped by a Café Hidamari to have lunch at a table near grass garden.

The taste of the lunch was not recommendable but it was reasonably priced.

carp-shaped Koinobori streamers 

My Hometown Matsue

My company gives a special five-day-holiday to every employee who have been working for 5, 15, 25, 35 or 45 years.
Since I had been working for 15 years this year, I was entitled to get the holiday.
So, I had a short trip to my hometown Matsue last week.

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