The city, suburbs, or country...

Which do you live in, the city, suburns or country? In the future, where do you want to live, or what is the ideal place for you to live. When I was a child, I lived in the suburns, right outisde of the city. It was very convenient with supermarkets close by, and also there was a lot of green; trees, grass, and parks and stuff. My hometown city, Philadelphia, is one of the top 5 biggest cities in America I think. Many people say, "Philly is dangerous..." I disagree. Of course there are bad parts, areas, neighborhoods of Philly, but there are many good parts too. I think that the good parts outnumber the bad parts!
This is a photo of Tokyo, one of the bigest cities in the world. I have visited Tokyo a few times. I always get lost on the subway and when I walk around the street. I like Tokyo but I don`t want to live there. I prefer Osaka. My ideal place to live is in the country! I really like being outside and exploring nature. So near a river or the ocean, or in the mountains, or in the middle of many rice fields...anyplace would really be great. How about you? Tell me what your hometown or current house is like.

No words...Just feel.


Who is that Cowboy?

M-i-c---k-e-y M-o-u-s-e

Do you know the Mickey Mouse song? This cute girl got to meet Minnie Mouse during her summer vacation. Her parents took her to Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea. Her parents are also big fans of Mickey and Minnie and Donald and Goofie, so they had a blast!

But it must of been crazy hot I think...Out in the sun all day...waiting in lonnnnngggg lines! I hope the whole family drank a lot of fluids so they didn`t get dehydrated and even worse heat stroke!

I have never been to Tokyo Disney Land, but I want to go one day. Did you see the news the other month about the "fake" Disney land in China!! The characters looked thin and weak and not bright and colorful! That`s illegal!! I was surprised! And shocked! And disappointed! That theme park was not privately run!! It was run by the government!!! Unbeleivable!

Tonight and tomorrow there is an OBON Festival in Honmachi, at Kita-mido Temple. Next week, the 27th and 28th, there is another festival at Minami-mido Temple. Both of the festivals are great, but I prefer the one at Minami-mido. Anyway, if you have time, check it out!

"Chicken Beach"

Like the last two years, I went to Tottori for Obon vacation. The first day I went to "Chicken Beach." My friends and I call it "Chicken beach" because usually we go food shopping before and buy a lot of fried food, A LOT of fried chciken. It is very hot on the beach so fried food is the safest to eat I think. Sushi is a NO-NO! Also, anything with mayonaisse in it is a little dangerous I think. This "Chicken beach" is really small, like a private beach. You can go snorkling if you want too! It really secluded and a special place. The sunset is also really beautiful! I will post some sunset shots from "Chicken Beach" on the blog later this week. The below sunset pic is from another beach.
On the first day we arrived at the beach before 11am. There weren`t so many people there but I raced to get a spot in the shade! I can`t imagine staying out in the sun all day with no shade. If I did that, I would look like a boiled octopus, sunburnt and in pain and miserable. So I was very careful and used a lot of sunscreen and stayed in the shade and even wore a tee-shirt when I swam in the ocean (this is very NOT-cool!!) So I thought I would be Okay...but I still managed to get sunburnt a little. So the next day I took it easy and did some other sightseeing in the area and went to another beach to see the sunset only.

All over Japan, there were record high temperatures last week. The highest temp recorded was 40.9 degrees Celcius I think. In America, that equals 105 degrees Farenheit!!! Thats`s a BOILER! A SCORCHER! YOU COULD FRY TO EGGS ON THE PAVEMENT IN THAT HEAT!!!

And, fortunately, I could see my friends Grandpa again. How old do you think he is? He was the same as before, making many jokes about my bald head..he was funny and we laughed a lot. We drank and talked about many interesting topics. He also talked a lot about World War Two and MacArthur...encounters, destiny, farewells, and again my bald head ;)!! Hopefully I will be able to talk to him again sometime.

Have a good week and be careful in the heat! Drink a lot of fluids! Be careful not to get dehydrated! And defintiely be careful not to have a heat stroke!

Kawazoe is back!!!

Mr. Kawazoe is a friend of mine. About a month and a half ago, he broke his collar bone in a freak accident. He is a "2-dan" blackbelt level in Akido. He was doing some routine Aikido practice and he slipped and fell awkwardly on his shoulder. After that he went to the hospital, had surgery, and stayed in the hospital for a few weeks. He said that the pillows were too hard and the food was terrible. But he said "There are many pretty young nurses, so it is like heaven! ;) "

"Ma-chan", Mr. Kawazoe`s nickname, has a restaurant in Kitashinchi. The restaurant`s name is very original, "Kawazoe" :) He works there with one or two other employees. One of them you can see above! But because he got injured he had to close his restaurant for almost 2 months. He will re-open August 17th!! I really want to wish him success and say "welcome back!!"
The restaurant`s atmosphere is very simple. Just a bar with about 10 seats. There is no music in the restaurant. The focus is on the food. And the food is truly delicious! It is a little pricey though, about 10,000 yen per person plus drinks. If you are on the mood for a night out on the town, and really want to taste some delicious food, I highly recommend "Kawazaoe"!! Check it out if you can!!
A wonderful assorment of raw and cooked fish
raw whale meat
Some Americans get all fussy abotu whale meat...you shouldn`t eat it because it is an endangered species, blah blah blah...but I like it and it is a traditional food of Japan. It used to be served in the school lunches in all the schools in Japan. The above dish was really a delicacy. I have also eaten raw whale sushi which I like too. But my favorite sushi is still yellow tail! How about you?

Have a good Obon vacation!

It`s ungodly hot outside!

It feels like a sauna outside. I just heard on the radio that today is the hottest day of the year...34.7 degrees Celcius. How hot is that in Farenheit, America`s measurement of temperature? (I don`t know...) But also strangely, according to the old Japanese calendar, today is the first day of fall. Now I understand what it is called the "old" Japanese calendar! Because it is way too out of date!

Today I want to talk about haircuts. Yesterday I went to the hair-cut place to get a hair cut. I have a shaved head so sometimes I just do it myself, but in the summer it`s really hot and my head is sweaty, so it is easier to just go to the barber. Besides, it only costs 1000 yen and it is very convenient for me, close to the classroom.

Believe it or not, I used to have hair!! In high school and university my hair was normal length for a guy. After I came to Japan, I grew my hair out and it was shoulder length. I wore it in a pony-tail. But then my hair began to fall out, and quickly I began balding, so then I decided to just shave my head. I usually get a hair cut about twice a month, or once every two weeks. How about you? BTW, I think a shaved head fits me ;)

Some people tell the hairdresser what to do, for example "I want to cut my hair short/long/shoulder length." For girls, "I want to get a perm/highlights/extensions." (Maybe!! I am not a girl so I don`t know for sure because I have never done it!) Also, in America, you should tip the hairdresser!!! Some people tip a few dollars, but big spenders might tip 10 ro 20 dollars per hair cut. Now my head is shaved, BUT it is NOT GOOD because it is so sunny outside, so I have to be careful not to get sunburnt!! Or else I will look like a tomato head!
There are many different kinds of festivals in the summer in Japan. Of course firewokrs, and also many interesting festivals in Nara, like you can see in the deer photo above. Obon Vacation is coming! What plans you got?

Soft and cuddly!

The stuffed animals below really look soft and cuddly! It has been a little while since I last wrote because I was busy showing my parents around Japan. I needed one of these stuffed animals last week to rest my head on and go to sleep. Because of a number of factors, I was wiped out!

My parents visited Japan for about 9 days. We did a lot, like visiting the local spots as well as going a little far to a hot spring in Tottori. It was not my folks first visit to Japan, so they were familiar with some things. But many things are still very different from America, and combined with the heat, and jet lag, both of my parents must have been tired too. But they did a good job. Also, like I thought, food can be difficult.

At the Japanese ryokan, as usual, very unique and original food is served. Unfortunately, this food isn`t the best for most Americans. But this was expected! The whole experience of a traditional japanese hot spring was worth it I think. I will post some pictures from their trip in the near future. Please check them out! Have a good week!