The end of the year term

Today is the last day of the Japanese year term end, March 31.
New term of this year 2014 will start tomorrow April 1.
I went to the city office to hand in my paper.
It was incredible crowded and so many queues.
I had to wait for a long time with patience.
After the errand I found some herons nesting the regular top of the tree.
It tells that the season for their laying eggs soon.

Weekend quiz

Weekend quiz

Very warm

It's the same temperature here as in Perth now at 12:30.
When I stayed in Perth it was almost 30C every day in spite of the beginning of fall.
But it seems getting cooler and cooler there in the south hemisphere, while we are getting warmth as the sun approaching to the north.
But according to the weather forecast, it will get cooler here after tomorrow. We will have much changes warm and cool for a while.

Blossoms

Blooming has come in my garden!
They really celebrate children's new life, the daughter's in March and the son's in May soon.
The cherry tree is more than 25 years old when my daughter was born.
It has seldom born blossoms for 25 years.
This year is for the first memorial year since my father's gone.
I feel that his faith to love his grandchildren made the blossoms in bloom now.
I believe in the invisible spirit move the visible and send us happiness.
Thanks for the goodwill.
I'm deeply impressed with the heart of my loved ones.

Goodbye KIOSK

It's reported that JR west reform their shop in the railway station from KIOSK to Seven Eleven.
KIOSK is the name of the small stand shop in the railway station in Japan. The origin of the name is from Persian and Turkish, it means hut or small house in the garden.
Now is the convenience stand in English.
We will see 7-11 more everywhere in the railway station.
KIOSK

Departure

I left Perth in the evening yesterday and arrived at Narita in the morning.
It was 5 nights and seven days trip to attend the wedding.
Her Japanese friends from Japan were 5. They were more quick traveler than us, 2 nights 4 days or 3 or 4 nights. I appreciate their warm heart to celebrate her. But they helped and enjoyed my daughter's party really happily.
I was impressed her friendship very much.
I'm very happy she is really loved by her friends.

Good equipment

I went to the big shopping center mall which you can do everything.
Mostly similar to our outlet malls in some area in Japan.
But what makes me surprised is the wide slope escalator which you can carry cart with you to the 2F.
It's really cool we never have though.
It's really easy for you to shop around whole the floor.

Excursion

We went out to shop in the morning. I saw similar shopping center as Japan but bought something souvenirs.
We went for an excursion to the wild park. There were very different kinds of birds and animals in the farm.
The most famous are kangaroo, koala, alpaca and horse.

Fantastic wedding

It was very casual and heart warming wedding.
The ceremony was held in the garden regarded by the faithful mind.
There were more than 60 people attending. They were almost living in Perth but came from different countries including Japan.
We traveled from Japan, 6 daughter's friends and 3 my family.
I was very grateful for those who care and love my daughter.
I felt really proud of my daughter.
Happy wedding!

Bridal morning

It's a beautiful lovely morning on the bridal morning.
It would be a happy wedding!

Dynamic Aussie life

It's a lovely cool morning but getting shiny hot as time goes by.
We went for a walk in the neighborhood with two dogs, my daughter has.
Large sky, big space and huge nature.

Arrival at the tropical land

I've landed to the land where is beginning fall but still 30 degrees Celsius in Perth.
I left home in the evening from Toyama air port for Haneda. I had to wait for the midnight flight at the international by way of Singapore.
It was long flight and transit waiting for a whole day.
I'm going to attend my daughter's wedding after tomorrow.
We are so excited but tired now.
I have to recharge energy for the day tomorrow.
I will talk to you later.

A young girl "falconer"

It was very impressive video which I watched last night in the news program.
Fortunately I found it on the YouTube and thank it too much!
No need to explain it but if I make it into English, about lovely young girl falconer below.
Her name is Misato Ishibashi, 20 years old and she has raised hawks since 3 years old.
She started training hawks by herself and her skill is needed to repel crows where in problem with their bad deed.
She's learned that expelling crows is just a makeshift but the most important is to improve our bad deed to have destroyed ecology system. There is no other place for wild life to live.
We need to be careful about the solution to survive and get along with nature.
NEWS ZERO " What's falconer? "

Python swallowed a pet dog

It's so dreadful again that python swallowed a pet dog in the kennel.
The dog owner found a big snake in her pet dog having chain in the mouth.
Oh...what a pity! The small dog chihuahua was being hung by a chain in the kennel so he couldn't escape from there and finally found in the stomach of the python.

Python swallowed a pet dog

Diet in the brain

The brain scientist Dr. Mogi writes about "diet" who were 60 Kg when he was a university student but now over 80Kg after 30 years.
He is telling that you have to pay ¥100,000 per 1Kg to reduce weight if you ask the program these days.
It's more expensive to buy meat....kind of ridiculous.
Anyway try to read his essay.

Diet in the brain

Weekend quiz

Weekend quiz

三寒四温

今朝もとても寒く空気が肌に刺すように感じられました。
週間天気予報によると、明日から4日間は、気温が2桁に跳ね上がり暖かくなるそうです。しかし、5日目からは下降して、10度以下に落ちるようです。
まさに、「三寒四温」の様相です。気温の高低に、体調管理にはお気をつけください。
三寒四温

Four days warm after the three days cold

It's really cold this morning but it seems to get warm for the next four days. But it will turn down cold again according to the weather forecast next week.
It's obviously called " three days cold and for days warm" getting longer and longer of the warm days.
It changes so low and high temperature in a week.
So please take care not to get cold.

Scary scene

It happened to be taken photos on the internet that a big snake ate a crocodile in somewhere in Australia.
I didn't know such a battle in the wild life but they are always struggle to survive. It's their natural life not playing to kill lives.
It's sometimes said no killer like humans in the nature. We kill lots of life not only for food.
The snake didn't eat anything for a several months after the last meal.



Snake eats crocodile

The first spring storm

It was reported that the first spring storm had blown yesterday in Hokuriku area quite earlier than usual. It tells spring has come and season for blossoms are here and there near soon.
It's very strange irregular low pressure from South coast appeared and caused much snow fall in the east Pacific Ocean area in Japan. It was really rare. They say it might happen the low pressure from the South coast bring snow again in April.
It comes early spring but winter slowly starts to leave.
They live together, don't they?

To survive from the confusion

I've watched a drama which told about the survivors from the disaster of North East Japan Earthquake three years ago.
They were isolated from the land rescue because tsunami water filled with the building, made flood until the 2 floor. More than 400 people including mothers and babies, who took refuge after the shaking.
They spent hell cold night and suffered from fear and hunger.
It was very significant why they could survive after the disastrous panic is how much they care about someone else and desire to help others not by themselves.
It was the ultimate mercy and human love in the bottom of our heart.
I really admire those who dedicated to save life and altruistic mind.

The China yellow jacket

It's reported that very violent yellow jacket from China has spread to Tsushima in Nagasaki as well as Korea and Europe.
It's really causing serious problems to have killed people and destroyed ecosystem.
Last year I found a giant bee outside of my window and tried to keep it out. It was really dreadful.
I observed and knew it was a yellow jacket. I asked my neighborhood leader and let it shot by the killer spray.
I don't want to see it any more.
So I cleaned and cut branches of the trees to avoid the nests which they were trying to inhabit.
It's time to trim and cut trees before the season.

The China yellow jacket

Cat training

It's a cute video that a kitty is learning a basic command.
To be a good training owner, should be orderly and patient. You can't spoil too much if you want really make your pets disciplined.
Cat training

Weekend quiz

Weekend quiz

Katakana and native English

It's hard to pronounce those words for Japanese, 'buffet, virus, theme and so on. They are used into Japanese katakana and their pronunciation is familiar only for Japanese. It often happens that Japanese English doesn't make native speakers understand.
It's a bit problem and it causes Japanese to hesitate speaking English.
What is the best way to improve the problem for us?
It's told that speaking out what you hear or keep trying to repeat words after words until you recognize it.
You don't have to make it perfect but just establish English intonation as it sounds.
It's the most important point not to be afraid of making mistakes and don't be shy when you really want to communicate in English.

Above us only sky...

Imagine....
No heaven
No hell
No country
No need for greed or hunger

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
(Quoted from John Lennon "Imagine")

Though it's cold back here
Bright sun light is near.
I rather feel joyful than shut down.
We are given life equally under the sun and I came to accept that " Live where you live" like the phrase
" Bloom where the planted ".

I will never complain about my life, giving thanks however.
Recently I've heard "Bit-coin", which was hacked and lost much.
I'd like to choose "Thanks-coin" by myself. It's real saving happiness and joy in my life than money.
I'd better giving thanks every moment to the end of my life.

Hard time

It was terribly hard for the people, especially for mothers who had to send their sons to the battle field.
I was really sorry for that to watch "Gochisosan" this morning.
Nothing is worse than the War.
It's absolutely the ultimate sorrow caused by stupidity of human, the evil destroyer.
I'd like to say "No war any more!".

A handsome Japanese woman

I happened to find out the article about Masako Shirasu, who is well known as a wife of Jiro Shirasu.
Jiro Shirasu was called "a country gentle man" very different from those who worked for the government but a great secretary for the prime minister, Shigeru Yoshida.
But his wife Masako seemed also not a typical Japanese good wife.
They were both progressive and knew the value of the life.
I'd like to quote some important points from the article.
----------------------------------------
Masako was born on Jan. 7, 1910, in a mansion at Nagatacho, Tokyo. Both of her grandfathers were admirals in the Imperial Japanese Navy. Just 2½ years before the death of Emperor Meiji, Japan was on the cusp of monumental change both domestically and internationally.

She was a superb dresser drawn to the craft of fabric making, in her later years favoring clothes designed by Missoni. She traveled extensively around Iran, France, Spain and Hungary.

She was a lover of Japanese cuisine who said, “Eat what you feel like eating all the time. Those food connoisseurs and gourmets who glow with self-satisfaction give me the creeps.”

“Being faithful to yourself and becoming engrossed in your work, that’s culture.”

“Looking back, it seems that I’ve spent my whole life dawdling by the wayside, from one road to another. . . . I may have lost something on the way, but I think I have gained more.”

Masako Shirasu fromJapan Times

Slow spring

Spring is late coming this year in my garden.
I wondered why buds of flowers didn't come out yet.
It seemed like mono tone and silent spring in my garden.
But finally I find the a few buds in the planter as well as on the land are appearing their sprouts,
I'm really happy now and on for their flowers coming out.
I hope they will bloom to their heart content.



By the way I remember the first buds in my garden last spring in February. They came out even in snowy land.
This film was taken before last year in 2012.
Tulips came out

Useful expression using "heart" 2

Useful expressions

Weekend quiz

Weekend quiz

Expressions using "heart " 1

There are some interesting expressions using "heart".
Please enjoy them.
The expressions "heart" 1