Philly Trip

Last week I visited my family in America. First I visited my brother and sister-in-law in the boondocks about and hour from Detroit, and then I spent time with them as well as my mother and father in Philadelphia. From start to finish(except the return flihgt which was delayed 3 hours) everything was great. Over the next few days/weeks, I will show you all some photos from the trip.

St my parent's house, there is a basketball net. When I was a child I used to play a lot of basketball on that court. So this time, I took a few shots (made all of them...swoosh) and reminisced. It was fun. Then, after shooting afew hoops, we went down to the museum in the city to say "Hi" to Rocky, the Italien Stallion. He looked fit, in shape, as usual.

This morning, it was like a monsoon outside when I walked to the classroom. I got drenched, from head to toe. My socks, jeans, long underwear...everything. But because I am smart, I brought a change of clothes today. Some new jeans which I bought in America. 2 pairs for 30$!! You can't beat that! What a great bargain/deal!! And, they fit great!

"Okuribito" wins the Oscar!

Finally my prediction was right!! It is practically a miracle. Right after I saw "Okuribito" last October maybe, I said, "This movie will win a Oscar for best foreign film." My predictions almost never come true, and most people who know me, know this. But this time, I hit it right on the nob. As I wrote in a blog about this movie before, the balance of the movie, the many stories intertwined in the movie, the music, the photography, the unique "japanese" scenes such as the bath house, all mesh well together. Plus the main character in the movie gets laid off, and has to look for another job. So, considering the recession around the world today, the timing is also perfect for this movie. If you haven't seen it yet, now you got to!

(The only bad thing about the movie is the english translation to the title. In English, it is called, "Departures." This is a mistranslation I believe. This translation doesn't depict the meaning of "Okuribito" accurately I think. If i translated it, I would translate it another way.)

Below are some more, better, more clear photos, from the special dinner the other which I wrote about before. In the photos, the food and people and condo all look much better than the blurry photos taken with my cell phone.

Philadephia

It aint the beach, but that's where I am headed from tomorrow to visit my family and eat some good Philadelphia food. Enjoy Valentine's Day, have a good weekend, and see you all when I get back! Adios~

Thanks for these photos from Hawaii Yo-chan. They are beautiful and remind me of my trip to Hawaii a few years ago...
Recently I think that I want to go to Hawaii again.
And thanks for that beer too! :)

Restaurant Review: Kawaramache-Blanche

The other day Miss e and I went out for a bite and some drinks. After a little deliberation(thinking about where to go) I chose a place in the neighborhood, Kawaramache-Blanche. It was a good choice. I had heard some things about this restaurant, both good and bad, so I wanted to try it out for myself. It was quite crowded...I think every table and all seats at the bar were full. About the size, it is not such a big place, but I didn't feel too cramped, and basically I felt comfortable. About ordering food, since I do not like to pick out things on the menu, I left that up to Miss e. And she did a good job! She picked 4 dishes. We both agreed that 3 were good, and one was just ok. And, we both liked the atmosphere of the restaurant, and the bill was quite reasonable. That night was a nice change of pace, different than the regular routine. If you are in the neighborhood and in the mood for some good food and some drinks, I recommend it.

On another topic, I heard that this friday will be 17 degrees Celcius! That's pretty warm for February...

Change and Cram school kids

Recently, I have heard a lot of news about "change" around me. Today I will tell you about one of the changes. My favorite lunch place closed at the end of January. The owner, the mother of my students, is a great woman, with a great smile, and also a long-time friend of mine. Her place was the only place where I could really relax, take a break, read the newspaper, and enjoy lunch. So, it was "special" for me. In the beginning of January, she told me that Jan. 30th was the last day. I was caught off guard, but I wasn't totally surprised. Sometimes, that is just the way business, life is...She took over the shop from her mother-in-law, and her family, her husband and 3 kids all lived above the shop. Even though she didn't have to, she explained the reasons why she decided to close her shop, and of course, I understood. On the 30th, I sent her and email and she replied by saying "Today, many many people came to the shop for lunch. It was crazy busy...I regret that I didn't have enough time to say a heartful THANK YOU to each and every customer...I will never forget today my whole life..." It was a "special" day for her, and a special" place for me. So to Ms. H, "Truly thank you, and great job!"

And, the other day, another different and "special" thing happend to me. Another friend Ms. I, who runs a cram school in South Osaka, invited me to her school to help out and teach the kids. It was a very rewarding and fresh experience. The kids are were so cute, and pure. it was great.
Enjoy the weekend everyone!!

"Setsubun"

Yesterday, February 3rd, was a special day in Japan. "Sestubun" is a ritual in Japan, and always held on February 3rd every year. In Japan, people do a few unique (and strange) things on this day.

First, you must eat soy beans on this day. And you must eat the same number of soy beans as your age. (Or maybe it is the same number of soy beans as your age PLUS one. To be honest, I forget which it is...but, who cares! :) And before you eat the beans, you have to throw many beans outside the house yelling "Get out of here bad luck!!!" . And at this time, someone=this is my role, must wear a demon mask and go otuside and all of the beans are thrown at and hit this masked guy. After that, you have to throw many beans inside the house saying "Come in good luck!!!" Then, when everything is all finished, someone has to clean up all the beans on the floor. Any volunteers?

The next activity is eating rolled sushi. There are many kinds of roll sushi to choose from, which one do you like the best? My friend prefers the "Thick roll"! How about you?
And here are the rules for when you eat the roll sushi.
First, this year you must face Northeast whe you eat it.
(while eating it you should say a wish, or pray for something, or if you want to many things...)
Second, you can not stop until you finish eating the whole thing!
(So if you are like my friend and choose the Thick Roll, you got a lot of work to do!)
Third, and my favorite rule, is you can NOT talk while eating it. That's right, Silence!

Truly a beautiful and fun ritual. I hope to do it again next year too!
How about you? Did you do it last night? Are you gonna try it next year? I wonder what the two little fellas below think of this ritual???..........

Snow, snow ball fights, snow man, and Volcano Eruptions

My friend the Doctor went to his wife's hometown last month for some old-fashioned snow fun! He went with his whole family. In the below photo you can see his father-in-law and daughter. I have never met his cute daughter but I really want to one day. On the other hand, I have met his father-in-law. He's a great guy and can really hold his liquor.

I have seen a little snow, some snow flurries, this year in Japan, but no big storm or anything. Around Osaka, there usually isn't so much snow. Just a few flurries a year.
In Philadelphia, my home town, some years there is a lot of snow...6 inches, sometimes one foot, even two feet. I miss havign snow fights and playing football in the snow. But I don not miss shoveling!!

Yesterday, in the Kanto region of Japan, there was a volcanic eruption. This is very rare, but there was a lot of news about it yesterday on tv (this was covered on the news before those stories about 8-time Gold medal winner Phelps and the other Sumo wrestler guy.)

Read here about the Volcano:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20090203a1.html