類似のリス Squirrel tendencies

二日間冷凍者の料理を作っていった。健康な食べること！

For two days, I have been cooking for the freezer. It's now packed with ready to defrost food for lunch! Healthy eating!

Tracking Santa on Google Earth

Happy Christmas Eve!

Some of my Christmas decorations in my room!

Track Santa

Happy Christmas Eve!

Go to this website on Christmas Eve your time and you can follow Father Christmas' route as he delivers presents to children all over the world:

http://www.noradsanta.org/

As I write this post, he is currently in Anadyr, Russia.

By magically slowing down time, he is able to deliver presents all over the world :)

Now he is in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskry, Russia.

秋の横町 Autumnal Lane

This lane is near my house, so I see it every day. I love the tree at the end - it looks more spectacular in real life! The colours in the photo are a bit dulled compared to what it really looked like yesterday. The orange fruit on the persimmon tree in the foreground looked really bright.

クリスマスツリーのイルミネーション Christmas Tree illuminations

昨日百円の品でこのクリスマススリーを作った！

I made this Christmas tree yesterday out of 100 yen stuff!

ダイソーギガ船橋 Daiso Giga Funabashi

大体百円店が１階だけだ。この店は７階がある！床面積をことごとくダイソーだ。新宿のトキュハンヅのようだが全部が安い！

Usually 100 yen shops (50p shops) are only one floor. This shop is 7 floors! All of the floor space is used by Daiso. It's like Tokyu Hands in Shinjuku, but everything is cheap!

Matsuyabashi Shopping Street

Yesterday, I went to Matsuyabashi shopping street in Osaka. It's a very old shopping street that sells wholesale, but also opens its shops to the public. It seemed to be predominantly Christmas shops, doll shops and toy shops. As the shops sell to other shops and restaurants, the Christmas shops were sadly rather tacky...! It was a very interesting street though.

Random bits and bobs

Well, I'm about at the end of my time here, and so this post is a mixture of things that I noticed and didn't write down... I've added lots more photos to the link at the left too.

• People stand on the right side of the escalator in Osaka and the left in the rest of Japan. Apparently it's because of the Expo in 1970 when Osaka was trying to become more international...
• As I've often raved, throughout Japan trains and buses are incredibly punctual. My journey to the school north of Kobe takes just under 2 hours door to door, including waiting time. However the waiting time is at the start of the journey, never between the train and the bus. There was a 6 minute connection time between the train and the bus, and a 3-4 minute walk. I don't believe there is another country in the world (and certainly not Britain!) where you would be happy that you would make that connection!
• I always felt safe where I was living, but the area by the station wasn't the most salubrious! Lots of dodgy bars and clubs! For example, next to the 24 hour supermarket there was a sign depicting a smiley nurse with not a lot on for an establishment on the 7th floor of the next building. I don't think it was a hospital...
• Food is good and cheap in Osaka as per its reputation. Not necessarily better than anywhere else in the country, but the combination of price, quality and variety is good.
• I often saw groups of old people sitting outside their houses in the late afternoon, so that they could watch the world go by.
• There was a stretch of main road near my flat, where the old people gathered, that had been planted with beautiful smelling roses and night jasmine. It was lovely coming past there.
• Along the same stretch of road, there was a dear dog that I used to talk to and ruffle up. He was obviously well-loved, but needed a good groom.
• My local supermarket here sold delicious brown rice bread. However, take care... Brown rice bread catches fire very easily... I took my eye off it for a second the other afternoon and flames were coming out my cooker. Don't panic, don't panic! Luckily, I sorted it out before the smoke alarm had a chance to kick in. I really didn't want to be that foreigner who burnt the toast...
• Osaka has some really interesting areas, and is very well-placed for visiting the rest of Kansai. It also has a big airport close by which means that it's easy to get to the rest of Japan. Who knows, maybe I'll move to Osaka sometime?!
• Why don't any of the subway lines start at number 1? Did they start numbering later in the sequence in case they extend the line?
  

Probably more things that I've forgotten...

Organic Building, Shinsaibashi

A rather interesting office building... Plant pots are built into the surface wall.

Weihnachtsmarkt at Umeda Wondersquare

Today was the opening day of the German Christmas Market in Umeda, Osaka. The German Consulate are hosting it. It was a lovely atmosphere, and I'm sure I'll go back!

It was funny to listen to the opening speeches in Japanese and German. Some of the stalls were being run by Germans. With some of the Japanese owners even, I wasn't sure if they weren't in fact Japanese-German.

More photos at the left link.

CosmoTower, Osaka Bay WTCコズモタワー、大阪

It was a beautiful clear evening, with a full moon, so I decided to have a wander around the Osaka Bay area. I went up to the 55th floor of the Osaka World Trade Centre CosmoTower, and took this picture. And then I went down to the 51st floor which I had all to myself and phoned Mum and Dad. Phone call with a view!

On the way down from the 55th floor, the elevator was glass - strange feeling!

嵐山と嵯峨野 Arashiyama and Sagano

今日嵐山に行った。紅葉がすごく美しい。もっと写真が左リンクにある。

Today I went to Arashiyama. The autumn colours were absolutely beautiful. More photos at the left link.

Many of the pictures are of the landscape garden at Tenryuju Temple. The garden is known as the Sougenchi Garden, and is one of the oldest in Japan, retaining the same form as when it was designed by Musou Soseki in the 14th century. It was the first Special Historical Scenic Area named by the Japanese government, and was designated by the UN as a World Cultural Heritage site in 1994.

Sanda Shopping Mall

Just trying to show that this mall is in the middle of nowhere, but it doesn't give an indication of size, because there is not only a big 4 storey shopping mall, but also an outlet mall behind...

Not such a smart dog...

Really, it doesn't sound like such a smart dog if it meows...

早起き Getting up early

ああ、早起きがたいへんだよ！土日が早初めと長道程、だからちょっと疲れた！でも、三田の道程がとても美しい。仕事に行くがお休みのようだ！毎日山に葉がますます美しいなっている。

Oh, I'm telling you, it's tough getting up early! It's an early start and a long journey on Saturdays and Sundays, so I'm getting somewhat tired! But the trip to Sanda is absolutely beautiful, I might be going to work but it feels like a holiday! Every day, the autumn colours are becoming more and more beautiful in the mountains.

神戸 Kobe

今朝、神戸に行って、餃子レストランに定食をたべた。もっと写真が左リンクに有る。

This morning I went to Kobe and had a set lunch at a gyoza restaurant. More photos at the left link.

淀川 Yodo River

町に歩いて、日本語の試験本を買った。これは淀川。

I walked into town and bought a Japanese test book. This is Yodo River.

京都 Kyoto

今日、京都に行って錦市場と銀閣寺を見て哲学の道を歩いた。美しかった！
写真が左リンクに有る。

I went to Kyoto today, and looked round the food market at Nishiki, went to the Silver Pavilion, and walked along the Philosopher's Path. It was beautiful! More photos at the left link.

大日学校

This is the shopping mall that houses the Osaka Dainichi school. As you can see, the mall goes off the edge of the photo on both sides. It was very big, but actually smaller than the mall in Kobe Kita.

Wow!

Gosh, I'm working in a HUGE shopping centre!

First journey to Sanda

Today is my first day at work here. Sanda is the school north of Kobe, and a bit of a trek. Much of the journey was through whacking great tunnels - the Japanese attitude to building train lines is that if there's a mountain in the way, it's best to bore a hole through it...

In the respite between tunnels, the trees on the mountainside were starting to change colour, should be beautiful soon. At the foot of the mountains were rice fields. And of course, although the countryside, lots of houses still!

This being my first day at a far school, I left plenty of time. Good job as I just missed the half-hourly bus. Bit of a difference from Tokyo! Sanda seems to be a decent-sized town with a department store. I'm working at a school in an out-of-town shopping centre.

Now on the bus...

道頓堀 Doutombori

道頓堀が大阪の有名なレストラン通り。お昼においしお好み焼きを食べた！

Doutombori is Osaka's famous restaurant street. I had delicious okonomiyaki for lunch!

大阪のアパート Osaka flat

これは大阪アパートだ！私のアパートが４階に有る。ドアから梅田スカイビルを見れる。

This is my flat in Osaka! I'm on the 4th floor. I can see the Umeda Sky Building (two towers with a hole in the middle) from my door.

大阪の旅 Osaka trip

さて、今日新幹線で大阪に行っている。晴れから、ちょうどに富士山を見た！

Well now, today I'm on my way to Osaka by shinkansen. Because it's fine, I just saw Mount Fuji!

吉報 Good news!

先週にわかに、一月間大阪に働く機会があった。すごいね！もちろん、この機会をとらえた！だから、来月に、大阪に働く。週4日間制で働いて、3日間の休暇をとる。楽しみ！！！

Last week, completely out of the blue, an opportunity came up to work in Osaka for a month. How fantastically lucky is that?! Naturally I jumped at the chance, so in November I'll be working in Osaka! I'll work a four day week, with 3 days off. I'm really looking forward to this!!!

及ばずながら頑張ります！ I'll do my best!

この間勉強から忙しいだ。だから、ブログに書けない。成功を確信している時、また始める。でも、今試験前に余りの一か月半が有る。今、全部がまだ難しいから、練習の試験に及第点だけ取れる。

I'm really busy at the moment with study, so I can't write the blog. When I feel confident of passing, I'll start again. But now I only have 1.5 months left until the exam and, because everything is still difficult, at the moment I can only just reach the passmark...

子供の新聞 Newspaper for children

さいきん、友だちが子供の新聞をくれた。意味は振り仮名がある。そうかと言って新聞を読みなのにJLPT3が成功してない。でも、子供の新聞やマンガや勉強を読んで楽しい。 これまでは一週で新聞の扉しか読まない！

Recently, a friend gave me a children's newspaper. This means that it is written in kanji with the furigana (Japanese reading) alongside. That said, even though I'm doing lots of reading, it won't help me pass the JLPT3. But it's enjoyable!　So far, I'm only reading the front page each week!

エッシャーの展示、佐倉市 Escher Exhibition, Sakura

日曜日に佐倉の美術館に行きエッシャーの展示に見た。楽しかった。

Went to Sakura to see an Escher exhibition - very enjoyable!

新H&M New H&M store

ああ、ヤッダア！今日新銀座H&M店を見たかったけどすごく長列があった。じゃあ、祝日だよ！

Youch, no chance! I wanted to look at the new H&M shop in Ginza, but there was a VERY long queue. Well, I suppose it is a public holiday, of course!

御宿、月の砂漠 Onjuku, Desert of the Moon

(The camel statues are Onjuku's symbol. They were built in 1969 to commemorate a children's song composed in 1923. They are called 'Desert of the Moon' 月の砂漠

In 1609, a ship en-route from Mexico to the Philippines got shipwrecked and the crew was rescued by the village. This led to Onjuku now being twinned with Acapulco.)










今日早起きだって御宿に行った。

御宿に0830着いてビーチに歩いた。電車で二時半間くらいだった。早くて疲れたけど気持ちがよかった！仕事がない、うれしい！

でも、御宿がまあまあと思った。。。千葉県の海岸は銚子のほうがいいと思う。あちらにきれいで荒海がある。
されでも、御宿でサーファーとか波を見れたからリラックスさせられた。

I got up early today and went to Onjuku. I got there at 0830 and walked to the beach. It took about 2 and a half hours by train including changes. Although it was early, it was a nice feeling to be up and out. No work today, it's good!

However, I did feel that Onjuku wasn't anything special... Within Chiba, I think Choushi is better - more wild and beautiful. Still, watching the surfers and the waves made me feel relaxed...

東京の丸の内の牛 A few cows from the Cow Parade, Marunouchi, Tokyo

Just a few cows from the Cow Parade that's in the Marunouchi area of Tokyo this week (see link to the side). 左リンクを見て下さい。

おはよ！ 'Morning!

さて、約束したから今日日記に書く。今日が休みだ、確か少し勉強をするつもりだ。
今週が会合で満ちて。明日は社長が学科を観察する、そして木金曜日で朝会合がある、めんどくさい！

Well, I did say that I would write more in the blog! Today I have a day off so I'm going to do a bit of study. This week is full of meetings - tomorrow I have a lesson observation and then Thursday and Friday a couple of morning meetings, which is going to be a bit tiring...

Update 最新

Right... It's been way way too long since I posted on this blog properly, so just to let you know that I'm going to start again! これから日本語の勉強新たに始める！ほんとに！(このポストは日本語が終わった、ごめんね！　Apologies, that's it for the Japanese in this post, I have too much to write!)

I had a fantastic time in England with my family in August. It was very relaxing, but as usual, because it was so nice to see everyone, the time went by much too quickly. I also spent a couple of days in London so managed to see a few friends who live in or near London.

To my shame though, I've been far too lax with the blog, and yes, also with the study... It was a mixture of getting side-tracked with the holiday, bogged down with work when I got back, a little run-down, and discovering I could watch Australian soap operas on mobile youtube (should I really admit to that one...!) I've signed up to do the level 3 exam in December, but really am not very confident that I'll pass. I really need to knuckle down to studying again!

I'm now planning a new trip - I want to go back to Okinawa again for some sun and cycling, so probably planning to go there in December again. Probably the Yaeyama Islands again just because they're easiest to get to by plane and ferry and Ishigaki is cheap to stay on as a base. I have a real draw towards Okinawa, even more than the initial draw towards Japan. I think it's because it's so laid-back and unspoilt in many of the places that I've been. It's just a pity that it's too hot most of the year to live there! Planning a trip like this though makes me aware of how much my Japanese has improved over the last few years - still not that good, but it does at least enable me to Google for events, places, restaurants, hotels etc in Japanese - thereby actually getting useful results. But boy, can it mean sometimes that internet browsing takes a lot of time!

When I think about it, I do a lot of internet shopping (including booking hotels) these days in Japanese. When I get to the stage of not having more than a little smug grin at things actually arriving, I will know that my Japanese really has come on!

Talking of lengthy internet browsing in Japanese... I remember my last trip to Okinawa... My hairdresser lived in Naha for a couple of years and had a restaurant recommendation, I know... talking to my hairdresser... Actually, he is the first hairdresser to get me over my fear of hairdressers - I no longer feel that I'm sitting in an electric chair! Anyway, he recommended a restaurant on the outskirts of Naha City, it sounded really nice as it had a garden and the dishes sounded really nice too. But of course, he only knew the name of the restaurant, and it's impossible to search for a restaurant in Japan in English. Moreover, not only are there are many kanji for the same pronunciation, Okinawan Japanese has different pronunciation, so it took some considerable time to find the address of this restaurant on the internet. But, of course, once done, my phone's GPS could take over so that the friend that I went with and I could easily track it down...

Next time I go back to Naha City itself I want to go to this tree house restaurant in Naha that I found whilst 'stumbling'...
http://damncoolpics.blogspot.com/2008/05/tree-house-restaurant.html
In fact there are so many places I want to try or go back to...!

My study of Japanese Doraemon-style is coming on a treat - it's the one thing that I didn't give up over the holiday - but I am very aware that kiddy comic book Japanese somehow just isn't polite enough... I've also been watching Japanese films - not sure how much it really helps my Japanese, but I do get really into them and at least get the gist and feel as if I've understood it by the end...

Next time, more Japanese... ... ...

東京のさる Wild Tokyo monkey

http://www.japantoday.com/mobile/view/wild-monkey-leads-tokyo-police-on-city-chase

Kobe photos

I've just uploaded my Kobe photos to the link at the left Kobe July 2008. There are also photos of Kobe in the folder Kobe December 2006.

激しい雷雨 Electrical storm

昨晩きれいな雷雨でた。空がすごく赤いなった。電光がすごい。

Last night there was a beautiful storm. The sky turned such a deep red, and was lit up by amazing lightning, like a flickering light for about 1 hour continuously. It was incredible!

Interesting...!

http://www.japantoday.com/mobile/view/stress-most-recognized-loanword-in-japan

Good news! Another Miyazaki animation!

http://www.japantoday.com/mobile/view/miyazaki-releases-first-film-in-four-years

ああ、蒸し暑い！ Hot!

このごろ、すごく蒸し暑い！今ゴヤがまだ育だない。悲しい！

先週、神戸に遊びに行った。楽な気持になった。もうすぐ写真来る！

These days it's really hot and humid! My goya plant still hasn't grown, it's very sad!

Last week I went to Kobe for a short break, very relaxing. Photos to come soon! In the meantime, I've put up some photos of Kobe from 2006 when I went for the first time sightseeing.

よかった！ Success!

じゃあ、とてもうれしい！今ドラえもんが日本語で読める！毎小説は20分をかかるが達成感がすごい！上達かな。。。日本の本また安いからいいだね。

Yes! Now I can read Doraemon in Japanese! OK, so it takes me about 20 minutes per chapter, but the sense of achievement is enormous! I'm making progress! And of course Japanese books are cheaper which has got to be good!

Beginning to understand...

...why the Oxford Circus plan will take 9 months!

http://www.japantoday.com/mobile/view/london-looks-to-shibuya-for-ideas-to-remodel-central-shopping-district

オックスフォードサーカスか渋谷の交差点 Oxford Circus/Shibuya crossing

これはいい考えだらしいが9月間かかるの、なぜ？

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/england/london/7498662.stm

This seems like a good idea... But why will it take them 9 months to complete?

蝉がない！ All quiet on the cicada front!

このごろ蝉がない。今年は天気が少し涼しいから、かな。今週天気がのほうが暑いなる、だから今日はまた蝉聞いた。 久しぶりだ！

Recently there haven't been any cicadas. Maybe it's because the weather has been cooler this year. This week the weather got hotter so I heard the cicadas again today. It's been a long time!

新リンク New links

左側で英語で新リンクがある。便利なインターネットか店かを忘れることがあるから、このブログに加算した。

There is a new link in English on the left side. Because there are times when I forget useful websites or shops, I've added it to this blog.

懐かしい！ Nostalgia heaven!

ああ、インターネットで時間をむだにしているが楽しい！　このページでhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/animalmagic/videoclips/video3.shtml
この歌を見つけた！

この歌がブライアンアダムズで「Everything I do, I do it for you」だ。「Robin Hood - Price of Thieves」のテーマ曲だった。一番縫上16週間1991に16週間のヒットチャートだった。ほんとに綺麗な歌だ。そして、勉強しなきゃ！

Ahhh, the internet is a great time waster, but fun! From the Animal Magic webpage, I found this song. This song is 'Everything I do, I do it for you' by Bryan Adams. It's the theme song from 'Robin Hood - Prince of Thieves'. It was a UK Number 1 hit for 16 weeks in 1991. A really beautiful song.　And now, I really must get on with some study!

Rentaghost

こちらへ「Rentaghost」のテーマ曲の短いフィルムだ。とても懐かしい！

Here is the theme tune clip from Rentaghost. Very nostalgic, and very seventies!

たくさんのテレビの記憶 Lots of TV memories!

さあ、今たくさんのテレビを覚えっている。。。！

こちらへ「The Wombles]の短いフィルムだ。

OK, now I'm remembering lots of TV programmes...!
Here are a couple of clips from The Wombles.

'It's five to five, and it's Crackerjack!'

さて、昨日幼時の友にメールをもらった。それに今朝ちょうど０４５５に起きたから、好きな子供のテレビを覚えた。はい、「Crackerjack」だ。確かにそのはやり言葉が大勢を覚えた。こちらへ短いフィルム。

Well, because yesterday I received an email from an old childhood friend and then this morning I woke up at exactly 5 to 5, it got me thinking about favourite children's TV programmes. Yes, Crackerjack. I'm sure that lots of people remember that catchphrase. Here are some short clips.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/crackerjack/videoclips/index.shtml

Japan ranked 5th most peaceful country in the world

http://www.japantoday.com/mobile/view/japan-ranked-5th-most-peaceful-country-in-the-world

1st tropical day this year

See!

http://www.japantoday.com/mobile/view/1st-tropical-day-this-year-marked-in-tokyo

30C!

今日今年の最初のときは気温が30度に上昇した。それに蒸し暑い！

Today the temperature hit 30C for the 1st time this year. It's also very humid!

派手なイケア電車 Colourful Ikea train

It seems a new Ikea shop opened earlier this year in Kobe, and so to advertise it they decked out the monorail Portliner with Ikea furnishings. I'm sorry to have missed that - it finished in May...

Copy and paste the link to see pictures...
http://www.cluster.eu/2008/04/17/colorful-ikea-kobe-train/

本土時、北小金 Hondoji Temple, Kita Kogane

今日友だちと本土時寺に行き紫陽花を見た。綺麗だったよ。私は本土時に行くことがうれしかった。北小金に住んでいたとき、本土時に行かなかった。しかも三年間ぐらい千葉に住んでいるが本土時に行くことがない。4度目の正直！　昼ご飯においしそばを食べた！　

もっと写真が左リンクに。

Today I went to Hondoji Temple with a friend to see the hydrangeas. It was beautiful. I was really pleased to go there. Even when I lived in Kita Kogane, I never went to Hondoji. What's more, in over three years of living in Chiba, I've never got to Hondoji during opening hours, and not during hydrangea season. Fourth time lucky! And we had delicious soba (buckwheat noodles) for lunch!

More photos at the link to the left.

吹上しょうぶ公園と青梅 Fukiage Iris Garden and Ome

日曜日青梅に行き吹上しょうぶ公園を見た。家から2時間ぐらいかかって土砂降りの雨が降ったが骨折りがいがあった。綺麗だったよ！

でも、携帯から写真をうつすことがとても長い間かかた。

もっと写真が左リンクに。

On Sunday, I went to Ome to see Fukiage Iris Garden. It took about 2 hours to get there and was bucketing down, but it was worth it. It was beautiful.

It's taken a long time to transfer the photos from my phone.

More photos at the link to the left.