Samurai Girl

Penguin

2006-01-23T12:59:00.000+09:00

My mom went to the zoo, and took this penguin picture!!!
It is a routine event that penguins walk around zoo with their keepers, and visitors look at them. It is very cute that penguins walk with a waddle.
This zoo is the biggest in Japan and there are many rare animals such as sea bears, seals, capybara, tigers, panthers, and pongo etc.
It is famous for the unique way to display animals. They are displayed like they are living in nature as possible...
I haven't been there, but I wanna go there someday!!

Coming-of-Age Day

2006-01-10T12:10:00.000+09:00

You can see my cat, Pickey under my foot :D Hehe....

Yesterday, January 9th is "Coming-of-Age Day"!!!! :)
In Japan, 20 years old is identified as adults! This day, every year, people celebrate new 20-year-old people :D!!! This year, I am a one of new 20-year-old people!! (Actually, I am still 19, but people who were born in from April in 1985 to March in 1986 are new 20-year-old people! And I was born in March in 1986)
New 20-year-old people usually wear kimono on the day! This custom is very traditional ;)
Of course, I also wore kimono :) It is my first time to wear kimono because kimono is very expensive and it is difficule and troublesome to put on kimono :P My kimono is my mom's and very expensive!!! (Maybe I can buy several cars if I sell it)
My favorite part of kimono is obi! Obi means Japanese belt for kimono!
I wore kimono and participated in ceremony for us :) I saw many old friends there and it was very interesting.....but it was snowy and it was so cold :P
Anyway, I wanna wear kimono once again!!!!!

Rakugo!

2005-12-09T14:45:00.000+09:00

Do you know rakugo? Rakugo is Japanese traditional comedy style:)
A few days ago, I heard interesting rakugo on TV, so I'll introduce it.

........................

One day, a woman was walking on the street, and she found an exequies' line. The woman asked a woman who standed near her, "Excuse me, ma'am, but whose funeral ceremony is this?"
She answered, "It's my mother-in-law's....she was dead because my doggy bit her..."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that...She must have been loved by many people because I haven't seen such a long exequies' line.......by the way, could you lend me your dog?"
And then, she answered, "So you have to stand in the line."

Pickey

2005-12-04T14:35:00.000+09:00

She's my cat, PICKEY:) This morning, my cat came to bath room, and she sit down on sink when I washed my face. She seemed to want me to turn ont the water, ( I knew her feeling from her face) so I did so. Pickey started to drink water from bibcock. My mom and I laughed at her!! It's so cute!!!I looked at her, and then she started to fight with water. But she was beaten by water soon because cats hate getting wet so much, you know:) She cried and run away....It's so fuuny and cute:D!

I'm back:D!

2005-11-28T16:31:00.000+09:00

Sorry not for updating my blog these days:) I was busy at part-time job and I have a cold now....That's terrible!! OMG!!!
I feel in many places, that Christmas season has come:D There are a lot of pretty chirstmas trees...!! Very cute:) I wonder why Japanese people cereblate chirstmas....it is popular for Japanese people to be with boyfriends or girlfriends on Christmas Day. But I like being with my family;)!!!
By the way, I went to a theater near my house:D! There, I found monsters as big as life sizes of "Monster's Ink."!!! They were so cute:)!! I didn't notice that signs said "Don't touch them!", and I touched a lot:P
And then, I found a pretty Japanese mom-and-pop candy store!!! It looked old style;) I like Japanese *dagashi more than modern sweets such as cakes because I don't like too sweet food. Dagashi means Japanese traditional cheap and small sweets for children, and they can buy dagashi by only 10yen or 20yen. (10yen is about 10 cent) When I was a elementary school student, there was a passed-over sponge cake, and it was a whole!! My mother said "You eat it by tonight!", so I ate it at a breath.......finally I felt sick very much:( Since then, I don't often eat such cakes:P Dagashi is Japanese unique tradition:D!!

Naita-Akaoni

2005-11-16T20:33:00.000+09:00

My mom’s hobby is collection of picture books, so I really know a lot of interesting storybooks of Japan. Good storybooks are impressive even for adults. I’ll show you my favorite one, “Naita Akaoni.” It means that “Red demon cried.” It is very popular book in Japan;)
....... Naita Akaoni.......

Once upon a time, one red demon and blue demon lived in a mountain. Red demon was very kind, and he wanted to make friends with humans. However, people who lived near the mountain were afraid of him because they didn’t know or didn’t try to know that he was actually a kind demon. People run away from him and said, “Run, run! Cruel demon came to eat us!” when red demon approached them. He was always sorry that he was a demon.
He set up a sign in front of his house, and it said, “I am a kind and polite demon! Please come in and take a break with me! Don’t hesitate! I always prepare tea and sweets for you!” However, people said, “Demon will eat us if we go into his house! You know, he is a cruel demon.” Nobody came there, and red demon was very sad.
His friend, blue demon was also kind, and he was always sorry to see red demon. Blue demon said to red demon, “Hey, buddy! Don’t be sad! I think that you can make friends with humans someday.”
“Thanks, Blue demon. But I can’t because they run away from me!”
“Do you want human friends in any way?”
“Yeah! Yeah! Have you seen them play? They looked so fun. I wanted to join them…”
“……I have a good idea for you!”
“Really!? Tell me!”
Blue demon whispered his idea to red demon.
Red demon heard that, and he said,“Wow!! It is a good idea! Thank you so much, my best friend!”
“No problem! You are my friend, huh?”
Next day, they went to village that people lived, and they saw children play with a Japanese ball from bushes. Blue demon said,“Are you ready, buddy?”
Red demon nodded. Suddenly, blue demon burst from bushes, and shouted to children, “I’m from the mountain to eat you!!”
Children screamed, and tried to run away from him, but he caught one girl. She cried,“Somebody helps me!!!!!”
Blue demon said, “Nobody helps you. I’m going to eat you!”
At the moment, red demon appeared in front of blue demon, and said, “Release her!”
Blue demon said, “I don’t! Why do you disturb me? Do you also wanna eat her? She’s mine!”
“No! I want to help her!! If you don’t release her, I’ll fight you!”
Then, Red demon pounced at blue demon, and pretended to hit and kick him.
Blue demon cried, “Ouch! Ouch! Don’t! Okey! I’ll release her, so don’t hit me any more!”
“All right! I’ll forgive you. Go away!”
Red demon said that, and blue demon run away hurriedly. Children gathered around red demon and thanked him very much. The girl who were helped by red demon said, “You are so kind! Thank you so much! I didn’t know that there was so kind demon. You are my lifesaver! Could you come to my house and have dinner with my family?”
“Sure! Can I, can I go…?”
“Of course! Why not?”
Now, red demon was so happy, and he made friends with humans. He thanked Blue demon so much. The night, people held a party for him, and he enjoyed it very much.
After the party, it was completely dark and midnight. Red demon hurried blue demon’s house and wanted to thank him, but nobody answered although he knocked blue demon’s door. He wandered and opened the door. Soon, she found that there was a paper on a table, and it was a letter from Blue demon.
It said, “I’m really really glad that you made human friends. I have to go away from this mountain because people will become to hate you if they know that I’m still here, and I’m your friend. I’m okay, don’t worr.............. I’ll be your best friend forever...Good bye.”
Red demon read this letter, and started to cry. He cried and cried. He stopped crying, remembered blue demon and started to cry again and again.

Coffee:)

2005-11-14T18:12:00.001+09:00

I am working at coffee shop;) Looks delicious!!! My part-time job is hard, and I'm always exhausted, but I look forward to free drink and ice cream only for fellow during a break time!
Actually, I don't like coffee well, but I want this machine.....espresso machine:D If there is it in my home, I can make delicious espresso, mocha and latte at any time! I want it, but I don't afford to buy it because it is so expensive, 32000 yen! It is about 300 dollars! I don't have money to spend for it:P I'm waiting the day that someone presents me it:) lol! (Maybe nobady dosen't give me:D) I'm not so good at making coffee, and I need to practice more, but it is so enjoyable for me:)!!!

Playfood:D

2005-11-09T10:45:00.000+09:00

I took this picture in front of a restaurant of *soba. "Soba" is thatJapanese best-known noodle which is made with buckwheat flour! It is so yummy;) In Japan, people have to make sounds when they suck noodles because it is etiquette for cook. To make sounds expresses "This noodle is so delicious!!!" But too loud sound is rude....It's difficult:P

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Anyway, let's go on to the main subjest!! Can you belive that they are NOT real soba in the picture:)??? Actually, they are not real, but they are playfoods!! It means that they are fakes of food!! In Japan, such playfoods are displayed in front of restaurants, and they are very elaborate and they look like the real things:P One of my foreign friends were surprised by the amount of various playfoods including soba, parfait, hamburger steak, spaghetti, omelets, sushi, and many many things. I don't know that there are playfoods are popular in other countries, but Japanese playfoods are so on a high level:)!! There are key rings which have playfood, (of sushi or tempra, somthing like that) so you can get them, and your friends must be pleased if they get them as souvenirs!!
One day, I got playfood of garlic from my friend somehow, (I don't know why she have it. I wonder how and where she get it. LOL) and I tried to trick my mom. I gave her it, and I said, "Today, my friends gave me a garlic!" My mom were pleased and said "Really?? Wow! It looks yummy! I like it!" It was so funny, and I laughed at it! She moticed my trick soon after that, and she got angry....I'm soory, mom:P
Anyway, Japanese playfoods look like real things as much:P

Friends

2005-11-02T14:51:00.000+09:00

About a week ago, I went to karaoke with my friends:) Before Karaoke, we went to sushi bar, and we had more than enough!! We sang lots of songs all of the night:D It was drink free!! I talked about many things with them. I was so surprised because I found that my friends are own women although they are 20 years old yet. What I felt the greatest was they really respect their own parents, and they think about their lives and future seriously.....and they face to study properly. They know that they have to become independent from their parents, and to go their ways. I can't notice these aspects of friends in daily life, but I knew that they have their thoughts although they don't reveal that normally. There are a number of people who don't think their lives seriouly though. I'm really happy because I have friends whom I can respect;)
I thought that I had to apply myself:D

P.S. Sorry not for putting pictures of food, kirk:P You must be starving. lol

...............................

In Japan, there was a big news. Move of every share price stopped a whole day becuase of a failure of machine that display share price....It was heavy loss for Japanese economy:( It was first-ever event in a long Japanese history:O!!

TOO MUCH FOOD!!!!

2005-10-25T01:20:00.000+09:00

Today, I saw my friends, Mayumi, and Maki;) They are my friends in high school, and we joined the same tennis club:D We are the best friends:) Mayumi works in mental hospital since she graduated from high school, and Maki studys to be a dental hygientist in technical school. We are spending time very hard and tired, but we had a nice time today:D We chatted a lot, shopped, and ATE TOO MUCH FOOD:O!!!
At first, we went to Italian restaurant, to eat pasta!!! We ate Japanese spagetti, and they were so delicious!!! I wanted to try large serving, but we finally ordered regular size.....but it's not a good choice:( Although we ate spagetti, we were still hungry.....and Mayumi said "I wanna eat more!!" So we decided to eat dessert:D
We found a Tailand-style dessert shop and unique juice:P Lots of tapioca are inside. This picture is my friend, Maki who holding tapioca juice:) She is so cute! I ordered coconut milk taste, and Mayumi tropical fruit taste, and Maki ordered matcha taste. My juice is the most delicious:D It was the first time to drink such juice, and we enjoyed them first, but those tastes were verbose, so we felt uncomfortable soon. After we finally finish tapioca juice, Mayumi said "I'm still hungry! I wanna eat ramen*!!"
So Mayumi ordered ramen, (ramen is chinese noodle soup!!) her second dinner... This picture is Mayumi who eating ramen. She is so cute too;) Ramen is "Chinese noodle soup" in English, but I think Chinese noodle and Japanese noodle are big different:O I love Japanese ramen, so you should try it before you die:) When I saw her eat it, I became to be hungry graduately...
So I bought a big pack of takoyaki*! I love takoyaki so much:D!! Takoyakis are burnt cakes like balls that are made from flour, and pieces of boiled outpus are inside:) People eat it with mayonnaise, sweet special sauce, katsuobushi*, (pieces of dried bonito) aonori* (green laver) as they like. It's so sweet and delicious!!!!! I love takoyaki as well as sushi of all Japanese food!!!!!!!!!
But after that, we were still hungry....but I didn't have money so much, so I gave up, but we found pretty clothes and bags there, and we bought them....We couldn't save money:( We ate food too much this night:P
Anyway, I had a wonderful time with them:D!!!! I wanna see them again as soon as possoble. I think that it's the best way and important to see friends if you're tired at daily lives:) I got vigor from them!!!!

Yakitori

2005-10-21T12:28:00.000+09:00

I love yakitori:D Yakitori is grilled chicken!! I went to yakitori pub with my friends, Yurie, Asami. We chatted for about four hours as eating yakitoris. We had a fun time!!! We also drank. In Japan, 20 years old is leagal to drink and smoke. We don't smoke, but like to drink very much!! I don't know how old is leagal age in other countries. I think that yakitori is so yummy, but unhealthy......but I wanna eat yakitori again as soon as possible!!! It is too yummy. I think maybe you should try it:D

1000th visitor:D!!!!!

2005-10-21T12:14:00.000+09:00

Conguratulations, Yurie!!!

You are a 1000th visitor:D

Thank you, everybody!

Thank you for coming my blog!!

...Tendon??

2005-10-14T11:47:00.000+09:00

Do you know tendon? I know it means "sinew" in English.....but tendon in Japanese is completely different meaning;D Tendon is "bowl of rice with tempura" like right picture:) Tempra is Japanese deep-fried food. Can you imagine that? Most Japanese people like tendon very much and eat it, but never eat sinew:P (Actually, I dont know if it's true...LOL) Tendon in English and tendon in Japanese are so different...If you come to Japan someday, and Japanese person says "Let's eat tendon!", don't make a mistake!! It doesn't mean sinew, he wants to say "delicious Japanese food!":)

Sadoh

2005-10-09T03:10:00.001+09:00

There is "Sadoh" in Japan:) I can't say it in English, but it's written "the way of tea" in Japanese. Without Sadoh, you couldn't talk about Japan. Sadoh means that "the sprit of entertaining guests by giving match." In old days, hosts entertain their guests by giving "matcha" like pic. Match is a kind of Japanese tea, and it's very bitter for people who drink it for the first time, but this bitterness is a nice point;) In sadoh, "the sprit of hospitality" is the most important point.
Most of Japanese people drink *otya (means "tea") nowadays, but match is a little special for them becuse there are a lot of *sahoh (means "manners") when drinking match, so many people (even Japanese) feel that it's formal, and they don't drink it in daily lives recently. However, lots of people drink it as hobby.

***When Drinking Match***

Host and guest usually wear *kimono, and they fold their legs under themselves. Host make match for her or his guest in special process. it's so difficult for amateurs to make match well, and they need to practice. Host put the powder of match in teacup and pour hot water in, and mix it quickly with special tools foam it. Meanwhile, guest eats *wagashi. (means "Japanese sweets") It's so sugary because match is bitter, so they can balance their tastes. When finishing to make match, host gives her or his guest match. Host shouldn't hand it directly, and should put it on floor once! Host and guest bow down to each other, and guest says "Otenami haiken itashimasu," (It means " I'll see your skill of making match.") and guest takes it. After turing teacup two and half times, (It's very important point!!) guest can finally drink it. Guest should drink all of it, and she have to make sounds when drinking the last drips. (Making sounds when drinking and eating is very important and necessary in Japanese.) After drink it, guest says "Kekkouna otemaede gozaimashita." (means "Your skill was so good. It was so delicious.") If guests are plural, they sometimes share one teacup. In that case, first guest has to say to second guest "Osakini shitsurei itashimasu." (means "I'm sorry to drink it first.") Ans first person leave some drips of it for second person.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In these ways, when drinking match, there are a huge number of troublesome manners. Today's post is only a part of them, and it's so long way to be a master of sadoh. But It's Japanese tradition, so I think that young peoples don't have to hate sadoh, and leave the culture of sadoh:)
In fact, my grandma is a teacher of sadoh....She knows about match very well, so I'd like to study about it, and to teach it to other countries' people when I go to foreign countries;D
Do you wanna learn it??

Green tea!!!!

2005-09-30T12:49:00.000+09:00

There are many kinds of tea in Japan. I especially like *Ryokucha:) It is "Green Tea." The above pic is the view in the shop!! Green Tea has a lot of tea catechin, so it is so healthy!! Even in other countries, green tea is remarkable because of catechin, and many people drink it:) Japanese live longer thanks to lots of healthy food and beverages like green tea. For women, it is very important point here if they can make a cup of Japanese tea with *kyusu ( like right pic) well, or not. Kyusu is a tea pot to make Japanese tea:) There are a number of pretty kyusu!!! There are other delicious tea here. Next time, I introduce "Matcha" ( Hiki cha, or Green Powdered Tea in English) to you!!! Matcha is Japanese tradition:D You can look forward to reading next post;)

Manga:D!!

2005-09-26T17:37:00.000+09:00

OMG!! My computer was broken!!!!!! I'm writing new post from the one of my school:(!! It's toooooo bad:P! I can't update my blog as I like....

Do you know Japanese *manga:)? It means "comic" in Japan. I heard that many people who are from other countries are suprised at Japanese people because children don't only read mangas, but adults also read and enjoy them!!! Japanese mangas are high quality and storytelling!!! They are like movies. Do you know why Japanese mangas are much better? I think that the most important cause is "Tezuka Osamu"!! He is the most famous cartoonist! He made many techniques of drawing mangas well. For example, he painted one page over with black ink to express main character's dispair. He also invented many other techniques, and a number of people imitated it, and, finally, Japanese mangas became developed. Tezuka Osamu was the first person who made animation.

In Japan, there are a huge number of interesting comics even for adults. If you come to Japan, you should go to a book store, and study Japanese, and read manga!!!

---Japanese word
*manga--comic

Long time no see:D

2005-09-16T11:15:00.000+09:00

I've not written my blog for a few weeks. But my summer vacation was over, so I can write it more from now on!!!：）I love animals:)! I often go to the Lake that is near my house, and enjoy looking wild ducks. They are so pretty!! One day, I went there with my mom, and I saw them as always. We fed a piece of bread to them, and many ducks came to us to eat food.
We found five baby ducks from them then!!! They were so fluffy, and small! So cute;D!! Those babies hung around their mom duck. We noticed that each of them had characteristic. The biggest baby was very naughty, and he always chased water striders to eat! The second biggest baby was naughty too, and he always headed their procession. The medium-sized baby was curious, and he always went somewhere, so his mom had to look for him any time. The second smallest baby was cleanly, and she always mended her hairs. The smallest baby loved her mom, and she imitated her mom's behavior.
They were very friendly, and they approached us. I wanted to touch them, but their mom watched me with a pierchin look, so that I couldn't. But I could watch them under my eyes:)!! To see them, I and my mom haunted the Lake once a week!!
They became bigger and bigger, but the number of them reduced after three weeks....we could only see two babies. I wondered why. I guessed that someone picked them up, and took them to their houses. I asked managers why. He said, "Oh, I think that some crows catched and ate them...that's terrible." I was shocked and I was about to become to hate crows!!! But I thought that crows ate them to live.....mmm....it's difficult problem.

Adopted Chidren

2005-09-02T13:25:00.000+09:00

It's so cute, isn't it??

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In Japan, it is VERY RARE to adopt children because of some prejudices. Most people think that there are lots of problems of such family....Actually, adoption is sometimes severely criticized by the public here. I think that Japanese people have strong prejudices because they have lived in small and isolated island.
I met one family when I was 12 years old. This family's father is an American and mother is a Japanese. They lived in Japan, and they had five children. Two of them was their real child, but three of them was adopted by orphans' home in Japan. It was the first and the last time to see adopted children in my 19-year life in Japan.
They loved each other and treated just as they were. The couples said to me, "The most important thing is not blood, but love. Japanese people's prejudices are wrong. It is natural that couples who need their own child adopt children who need their own parents. Of course, there are a few problems, but no family have them."
The meeting with them affected and moved me. From then, I'm so interested in the problems of orphans. I'd like to change Japanese people's thought, and know about the situation of orphans over the world.
When I was a high school student, I said, "I want to adopt children in the future if I can."
My friends answered, "Why? It's so difficult!! I think that your own child is the best!!! Your future husband won't allow you to do so! You shouldn't!"
I know how difficult to change people's concept, but I'll do my best:)

Baseball...

2005-08-28T16:15:00.000+09:00

::::one baseball team story::::
I feel complicated now because there was an event in my hometown.
Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan. Every year, there is a big baseball game, "Koushien" for high school baseball players.
Each only one team of Tokyo, Hokkaido, and all the prefectures, can take part in Koushien. There are more than 4000 teams in Japan, but the number of high school team that go in for Koushien is only 49 teams!!! In addition, high school that can capture the championship pennant of Koushien is ONLY ONE team of all teams in Japan!! I am a big fan of Koushien. Every year, I am so impressed by it, and I fluctuate between hope and despair with players...it is a drama without scenario!!

Last year, my hometown's team, Komazawa, Tomakomai team attended the game, and won the first prize!!!!!!!!! It was so impressive thing because it was the first time that Hokkaido team won in long long history of Koushien. Hokkaido is north island. In winter, Hokkaido has a big snow, so teams of Hokkaido can't practice baseball as well as those of other prefectures. It is believed that Hokkiado teams are much weaker. But Komazawa team proved that it was wrong;D!!! They broke common sense of baseball!! Even if the ground was deeply covered with snow, they play baseball on deep snow. This team gives us emotion and courage. Players of the team were treated as like celebrities:)

This year, Komazawa took part in Koushien again, and fought against many powerful players to win two consecutive championships! Most people didn't so well expect that they won again. But Komazawa beaten favorite team and won the championship again!!! In my hometown, at the moment they won, fireworks were launched. We danced madly for joy!!!! Komazawa is the sixth high school that achieve two consecutive championship in the history, and it is in 57 years!!!!!!!!!! Don't you think it is great!??? There were a great number of people around special papers:D People made merry!!! My house is near to Komazawa high school, and it takes about 1~2 minutes from my house to there, and the dormitory of players is near too. A good deal of people come there to take pics;D!!

However, there was an scandal....it was found out that one teacher often hit one student of Komazawa team. In addition, Komazawa tried to hide those violence!! News picked up this scandal, and journalists rushed Komazawa high school....Such news fussed that the League of High School Baseball would confiscate their title as champion!! We were disappointed;( Their parade was postponed. Many people felt that it was unfair because wrong person was teacher, not students!! But the rumor went out of control, and we can't judge what is right and what is wrong. I thought that it was incorrect that the third parties stirred their honor. At a burst, we felt depressed, and wished the League wouldn't forfeit their title. Komazawa's achivement never change whatever happen!!!!!!

Yesterday, the League dicided that it was NOT necessary to return their championship cup and pennant because it was not students' false...When I heard it, I jumped with joy, and I thought it was a good judgement:D!!! Finally, Komazawa became real winner!!!!!
But the aftertaste of Koushien was a little bad due to such scandal. Besides, I heard many rumor, and I am losing what right things are. The opinions of victim and teacher were different. The League decided that the teacher who hit a student should quite his job. But I heard that the teacher was so nice person, and many students wanted him not to resign. Of course, there are a lot of faithful news, but I think that some news makes such scandal bigger, and it dosen't always tell us the truth....I want proper information...I don't know what is right even now.

Anyway, I like Komazawa, and I will continue to cheer the team;D!!!!
Go Komazawa! Go!!!

Shiretoko, the World Heritage!!

2005-08-20T23:11:00.000+09:00

Today, I have too many pics to show you.
I went to Shiretoko with my family:D Shiretoko was selected as the World Heritage recently!!! It was long long way from my house. It took about seven hours!!!! I was exhausted, but I saw many beautiful and spectacular views, and I had precious experiences:)
I ran across, say, wild deer!!!!! They were very cute! It is my first time to see such wild deer! They weren't scared people at all, so that I could take some pics;) I was very exciting so I got off my dad's car and approached deer. They were eating grass. They were used to people very much. When I said to them, "I wanna take your pic!" they turned their faces toward us;) So cute!! But many deer are killed by cars because they approach people's cars without hesitation. I want them to be more careful!

We went to Oshinkoshin waterfall. It was a magnificent view, and I was impressed by it. Oshinkoshin means "Three waterwall" in an old Ainu language.
And, I saw other waterfalls. In one small waterfall, fish were trying to overleaping it to go to the place to lay their eggs. I saw much fish jump. Some of them succeed in jumping over waterfall, but most of them couldn't do it, and died. It is very sad story, isn't it?

I went to a farm, and there were many horses. There, visitors could ride horses, but it was very expensive. In fact, I fell from a horse when I was about seven years old, so I don't like riding, hehe;P

I went to Mashuko. It is famous lake in Japan. Normally, a dense fog lay all around Mahuko and it is rare for people to see the clear view of it. I was very lucky and there were no fog!!! I heard one boy say "I should release the shutter of my mind." Wow! Cool!! LoL:)

I went up a big observatory and saw a beautiful ocean!!! This observatiry was a huge monolith! I had to climb a long stairs to go to the top of it. Many people who were older than me overtook me. I realized that my strength began to decline...I must play sports more!! I have been very exhausted when I was in the top:( But the view from there was very beautiful.

At the end of our trip, I ate a delicious *kaisendon like pic:D There were *uni (urchin) and *sashimi on rice!! In Japan, uni is a very expensive food. It was very good!!
I had a precious and nice time anyway. It was very nice place! Japan can be proud of Shiretoko:D

---Japanese words
*kaisendon--a big bowl, that there are many seafood on rice
*uni--sea urchin
*sashimi--sliced raw fish

Natto!!!

2005-08-11T01:10:00.000+09:00

These days, I am really being crazy about one Japanese food;) It is *natto!!!! Do you know natto? I don't know if it sells in other countries, but I think that it may be strange food for non-Japanese people....but I like it!!!! ;D
*How To Make A Natto*
1, People steam soybeans.
2, They put bacteria that are called *nattokin (the bacteria of natto) into those soybeans.
3, Soybeans are fermented.
To put it shortly, natto is fermented soybeans!!!
Natto is stringy very much , and it smells bad. If you see my pic, you can see how stringy natto is:) Besides, the taste of it is unique and strange. Of course, some people (even Japanese) hate natto very much due to its strong and strange smell, but others really like it and eat it preferably!!! Can you belive it;D!??
Maybe you are thinking now " Is it food who people eat??" Yeah!! I like it and I eat three pack of natto everyday:) Japanese people eat it in their own way. They mix it with chopsticks and make it more stringy. These strings are said to be good for bodies. The more, the better. And then, they add soy sauce (*syoyu) and mustard (*karashi) to it and maix it again. They pour it on rice (*kome), and they eat!!! In my case, I add cayenne in addition:)
It is very yummy~!!! Besides, it is very helthy for our bodies.
Finally, It makes us smart:D It's definitely true!!! Researchers said so!! I heard that a genius boy who entered a university when he was 12 years old (Wow!) ate natto everyday!!!
I think Japanese people like strange food such as natto;)
If you are brave, I'd love for you to try natto, when you come to Japan someday:D!!!

---Japanese words
*natto--description is above
*nattokin--the bacteria of natto
*syoyu--soy sauce
*karashi--mustard
*kome--rice

Tanabata, the Star Festival

2005-08-07T20:45:00.001+09:00

Today is special day;D!! *Tanabata!!! It is "the Star Festival" in English...Actually, in Honshu (the main island of Japan), it is on July 7th, but in my hometown, Hokkaido, tanabata is on August 7th;)!!! It is very romantic day today:)
Once upon a time, *Orihime (Altair) and *Hikoboshi (Vegar) loved each other very much. However, they were separated when the banks of *Amanogawa (the River of Heaven, or the Milky Way) parted. Since then, they have been able to only meet once a year on tanabata day!!! It's romantic, isn't it!?
On tanabata, person writes his or her wish on a piece of paper that is called *tanzaku, and hangs it on the bamboo leaves like the above illustration. If we do so on tanabata, it is believed that our wishes will come true;) People make sweets and offer them to orihime and hikoboshi:D
When my sister was 5 years old, she wrote her wish on tanzaku. "I want to be a pink candy because it is so cute!!!" lol!!.....I read her wish and I said, "Me too!! Me too!!" I can't understand why she and I wanted to be such a pink candy:P I want to stay human!!! But I wrote stranger wish than hers. When I was about 5 years, I wrote "I want a shining gold tooth like my grandma's!" When my mom laughed at my wish, I shouted "Why are you making fool of me?" as I was crying, so my family had to hear my stupid wish seriously without laughing. It's very strange:P lol!!

This year's wish of mine is "I would like to improve my English skill;D" (Wow!! I'm a hard worker!! lol:)!!)

---Japanese words
*tanabata--the star festival
*orihime--altair
*hikoboshi--vegar
*amanogawa--the Milky Way
*tanzaku--oblong cards, and people write their wihes on them

Very Japanese Day:)

2005-08-03T12:31:00.000+09:00

I went to Otaru with my family. Otaru is popular city in Hokkaido, Japan. There are many traditional buildings there:D
I had *sushi with my family!! This is the pic of sushi bar!! It was so delicious:D I was sooooo happy to have sushi because sushi is very expensive food even for Japanese, and it is rare to have it:)!!
He is the man who makes sushi for us. He is not my friend:P I ate *basashi too!! Do you know basashi? It is a sliced raw horse meat (Oops!!) like *sashimi;) It was the first time to eat it!! It was so sweet, but the aftertaste was so oily:P Maybe I won't eat it again:(
I think the first person who made up his mind to eat raw horse meat was very brave;(!! I wanna give a warm hand for his courage:) LoL!!

After sushi bar, we went to traditional *sake shop. Sake is a Japanese alcoholic drink made from rice;) There, we can't only buy sake, but also can see how people make it... We looked around there, and we had much fun time. My dad tried some sakes (they were free!!) and he looked happy:D The right pic is the appearance of the shop. It is beautiful, isn't it?? Very Japanese style:) I like it!! I wish my house was like this too(o^^o)

The third pic is the uniform of workmen who make sake:D
Today, they don't wear this uniform when working, but they wore it in the old days;) Looks airy. I wanna try it:D

And then, they are beautiful casks for sake:) They are beautiful!!
These casks are made from straws, not woods:D

I like drinking, but I haven't tried sake ever before because tey are strong drinks. They smell like the room sauna bath, lol:P I had strong trouble of sake odors when I was in the sake shop:( But my parents said "Oh good smell!!" Mybe my palate for alcohol is still childish:P!! I wanna be an adult who enjoy sake soon!!!!

---Japanese words
*sushi--Japanese food that raw sliced fish on the small ball of rice
*basashi--sasimi of horse
*sashimi--sliced raw fish, Japanese traditional food
*sake--the description is above

YUZU!!

2005-07-28T17:46:00.000+09:00

It's one of my illustrations:) I drow this not with pencil but mouse. It was very difficult:O I want pencil-shaped mouse ;9!! If I get it, I would drow my illustrations much easier:D!!!
I like making picture books for children, and this is one of those;D I like illustrating, and I like to give my friends the books I made on their birthday:D!! My mom is the collecter of picture books... I like writing interesting tales:)
This character's name is *Yuzu. Yuzu means "citron" in Japanese. Citron is a kind of citrus fruits, and it is important and well-known for Japanese food. Did you notice that "citron" is a part of my web address? :) I love citron!!!! I love yuzu!!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It's the pic of mine and one of my friends(o^^o) I am standing at left side:P We wear our high school uniforms although we have already graduated from our school because we expect to look young ;P LOL ( It'S important!!!)
We have the same hobby....It's MUSIC!!
In Japan, there are popular singers whose name is YUZU!!! (not means just a fruit, citron, they are duo singers, and they sing very nice songs:) )They are pioneers of history of street musicians in Japan:D
More people sing songs on the street because they want to be like yuzu. (and I am one of them:P)
In Japan, yuzu is very popular and all people know them and their music regardless of age. Both we are crazy about yuzu, and this pic was taken when we go to their concert together. We can sing all of Yuzu's songs and we have all of their CDs....:O!! When we go to *karaoke together, we only sing their songs... Their music is very Japanese style, and It makes us happy. I want many people even in the other countries to listen to their music!!! Their music is unique and their words are sooooo good! Very touching:)
....Did you notice why I like citron?? It's understandable, huh?

---Japanese words

*yuzu--citron

*karaoke--people sing songs with a machine that plays only the music of popular songs

To be a Ninja:D

2005-07-26T17:05:00.000+09:00

It's my sweet cat, pickey;)
soooo cute!! right?
She was a wild cat once.
But my sis picked her up from a garbage station seven years ago, and we started living with her:D
Now she is a precious member of my family.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Do you know ninja:D??

I wanted to be a *NINJA when I was a child. I thought Ninja was so cooool!!! They can use special arts (*ninjutsu in japanese) and tools. Ninja does not exist in Japan today, but I was just about 10 years old, so I believed it and I thought that I would be *kunoichi (means female ninja) someday!!! hehe:)

One day, I encountered the book, "How to be a ninja."
I read the book and practiced the training to improve the ninja skill. I memorized the special complex code of ninja, and I made special tools with *origami;D I trained everyday as the book said.

The book said,
"Good ninja must jump high at any time to run away from your enemies or jump across the wall of castles, so you have to practice doing it.

1, you have to buy hemp seed, and you plant it in your garden.
2, you have to jump over the hemp repeatedly everyday.
3, hemp grows quickly, and it will be taller and taller in a moment.
4, while jumping over it everyday, you will become to be able to jump over tall hemp even if it becomes several meter tall."

The moment I read it, I thought I had to buy hemp!!! So, I asked my mom to buy me it (when I was a child.) My mom was angry and said, "Do you know the meanig of hemp?? Are you serious??" I couldn't understand why she was angry.....and I cried:'(

Yes, you know. Hemp is a kind of drug...In Japan, planting hemp without permission is illegal....(other countries too?) if my mom gave me a hemp then, I would have been caught by the police..... LOL:P

To be ninja, illegal things and dangerous things are always with you.
Be careful, if you want to be a ninja.....The way for being ninja is difficult...LOL
If you have some question about ninja, ask me anything:D

---Japanese word---
*ninja--you know ninja is a person who works for japanese lord of castle to battle against their enemies.
*ninjutsu--the art of ninja
*kunoichi--female ninja
*origami--the Japanese art of folding paper into attractive shapes

I was not confident for above English...If I make a mistake, tell me:)

WA NO KOKORO

2005-07-21T17:18:00.000+09:00

Hurray!!! Today is the last day of first semester of my school:D!!
From tomorrow, *natsuyasumi starts!! I am so happy!! Natsuyasumi means "summer vacation" in Japanese. I have some plans for natsuyasumi;)
On 29th, this month, I will go to fireworks festival with my friends:) We can see many *hanabi there. Hanabi means firework. They are beautiful... I like it!! It is a necessary thing for Japanese summer. Most Japanese feel summer when they see hanabi.
And, I wanna go to *Onsen with my family:D Onsen is Japnese hot spring;)

BTW, I like Japanese traditional words. I think that they don't only sound great but also meanings of them is very very good!! Today, I'll show you my best favorite word of Japan.
My favorite word is "WA". Wa is very short word but it has many good meanings;D
It is very difficult for me to translate it to English, but if I force to do it.......um.....:(
Wa means "Japan" "good relationship" "peace" and "mild feeling".......Something like that;D
Don't you think it is a good word:D??

My policy is *wa no kokoro* means "the spirit of Japan."

And Also, I'll tell you the difference between kimono and yukata:)

The difference is very difficult:(

Ah...well, kimono is very formal clothing and we wear it when we have a graduation celemony, wedding celemony and Coming-of-Age Day celebration like that. It is very rare even for Japanese to wear kimono. And it is troublesome and difficult to put it on:P We never be able to put it on by myself and we need specialist's help:O

But, yukata is informal clothing and we wear it when we have shrine festival, fireworks, etc. Yukata's cloth is very thin and we wear it only in summer. Comparatively, it is easy to put it on.

Do U make a sense;)?

---Japanese words---
*natsutasumi--summer vacation
*hanabi--firework
*onsen--hot spring
*wa--Japan, good relationship, peace, mild feeling
*wa no kokoro--the spirit of Japan

Nice To Meet You:)

2005-07-20T05:42:00.000+09:00

Hi! I created my blog to study English more;)

Yesterday, there was a little big Japanese shrine festival near my house:-)
Japanese shrine festival is one of the most traditional events. Japanese people wear yukata ( a kind of kimono) and go around many kinds of stalls such as *kakigori, *watagashi, *ringoame, *yakitori ( all Japanese delicious food). Also, we can play with *kuji and *kingyosukui while eating sweets. At the end of festival, we can see beautiful big fireworks in the sky.
It is very romantic so many people go there with their boyfriends, or girlfriends. It is very interesting!!

I went there yesterday with my friend. I wanted to wear yukata but I couldn't because it is difficult for me to put it on by myself, and I need some adults' help....but at the time, there was nobody. I wanted to wear yukata------!!!!!I plan to wear it at the next festival, August. I'm looking forward to wearing yukata even from now. I love yukata! I love Japanese culture:)

And, I wanted to play kingyosukui;-) kingyosukui is a game that people scoop a goldfish with special tool. If I scoop some goldfish, stall owner will give me them. It is one of the most popular and traditional games in Japan. But I haven't tried it ever before, so I wanted to try it! But it was a little expensive, 300yen. So I abandoned.

At the festival, I and my friend were suprised because people who attended the festival were young....Almost all people might be less than high school students....They looked happy and had a fun time with their boyfriends and girlfriends... I felt strong young powers from them.
Oh!No! I am already 19 years old...!! I was a little tired only to go around festival area^^

Anyway, Japanese shrine festival is very interesting and traditional event. I like it!!!

----Japanese words----
*kakigori--a shaved ice with syrup on the top
*watagashi--a candy like cotton
*ringoame--a sweet that an apple in a candy
*yakitori--grilled chicken on a skewer
*kuji--a draw
*kingyosukui-- discription is the above