That's one cute Cupcake!!!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!!

Takoyaki, or otherwise known as "Octopus balls!"

Recently I have eaten these octopus balls a few times. I hadn't eaten them for a long time, and when I tried them for the first time in a while, I thought "Wow, these are really good." Actually, now I think that I am hooked on them.

Speaking of food and restaurants, have you heard of the "Michelin Guide Tokyo"? It's a famous guide of restaurants, and rates restaurants all over the world on a scale of one to three. Three stars is the best! In Tokyo this year, I read that 9 restaurants received the 3-star rating! But one of them, the newest member of the bunch, had a little trouble with food poisoning the other day. Read more below if you are interested.
"3-star restaurant recalls beans"
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200811260071.html

Nishinomiya Gardens and more Foliage

A new big shopping mall opened in Nishinomiya. It is really Gigantic!! To be honets, it was much bigger and more grand than I expected. It takes about 1 or two minutes on foot from Hankyu Railroad Kitaguchi station. I heard it is the biggest mall in Western Japan. It has a movie theater(for sure) and also over 400 shops (I heard, but I am not sure.) It is a shopping haven!! If you like shopping, you should really check it out. Unfortunately, for me, who doesn't like shopping, well, it is not such a biggie. But, I plan to go there a 3 or 4 times a year to catch a movie, and I will probably go to the book store or CD shops sometimes too. There is also a big food court and many restaurants which looked good. If you ever go there, please let me know what you think.
This time, more foliage from Mr. Y. Thanks! He also said "MANY MANY PEOPLE=(it was REALLY crowded)." But the photograph is beautiful!!

This is an article about the economy and 100 yen shops. It is informative.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20081125i1.html

Foilage and Illumination

How was your 3-day weekend? Mine was really SLOW, but good! Sometimes a DO-NOTHING weekend is really good for the body and mine. In a nutshell, I watched 4 DVD's, slept, ate a lot, saw some beautiful Cosmos flowers in a park, and saw some nice and colorful foilage (fall red and yellow and orange leaves) near my house. All in all, it was a good weekend, with no major complaints.

Ms. N went to Kyoto to see some foilage. (See photo below.) She said that she had a great time, but as expected, it was really crowded. Ms. e went to Tokyo to catch a few plays and do some shopping and stuff. The illumination photo (also below) is great! In Kansai, in Kobe there is a famous and very BIG illuminatiomn event, but also VERY VERY crowded. I prefer a smaller and more "at-home" feeling illumination in Nakanoshima, with the BIG lit-up Christmas Tree.

This week is the last week in November...Soon December, the last month of 2008. Can't wait to go drinking with Santa Claus when he comes to town!!!

Many people often ask me "Where do foreigners liek to visit in Japan?" or "Where is a good place to take foreign vistiors when they come to Japan?"
In Osaka, I have a special course which is sure to be a WINNER with foreigners (ask me directly if you want to know.) About the rest of Japan, my image is that besides Tokyo, Hiroshima is one of the top 3 places for foreingers to visit in Japan. And this article proves my point:
"Miyajima visitors sets new record"
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20081125a5.html

Sunset man

...is not so happy today...BECAUSE it is freezing!!! Today is the first day this winter to wear long underwear and a winter jacket and gloves!!!!

Winter is here, officially!!

"You throw like a girl"

If you play baseball, and if you are a guy, this is usally not such a great compliment. But in this Japanese high school girl's case, she gives new meaning to the phrase!!
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8808092/Japanese-schoolgirl-drafted-by-pro-team

The above article gives all the details.
Basically, she was drafted by a pro-team, has a great knuckle-ball, and looks up to Tim Wakefield, a team-mate of Matsuzaka and Okajima on the Red Sox and a famous knuckleballer himself.

I am sure it was an uphill battle for her to get to the pros...(Look below.) Good job!!

Beach-man and "squid new year's cards"

That's me, on the beach on the coast of Taketomi Island!!! So lucky!! So fortunate!! It seems so long ago that I went, but actually less than one month. It is like a dream now that I think about it. The Taketomi beaches are definitely, truly, without a doubt, a MUST go to place in Japan.

November is going and going, and before we know it, it will be December again. And in Japan, December means the season for writing New Year's cards. This year I am going to do something different...but I haven't decided yet. I saw a good idea on the net today. A Squid "New Year's card." It is edible.
Read about it here, it is a small article:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20081117a4.html

Enjoy the week people.

7-eleven and convenience stores

I used to work at 7-eleven when I was younger. Did you know that? I worked the register and was a stock boy. I worked there during my summer vacations in high school. It was a very valaable experience for me.

Have you ever worked in a convenience store?
Do you use convenience stores often?
If yes, what for?

Now, in America and in Japan and all over the world, there is a financial crisis. But recently I read that in Japan, because people want to save money by not going out to dinner, they have been using convenience stores more. Also, smokers also prefer to buy cigarettes in a convenience store rather than use a vending machines which requires a the registration of a special "smoker's card." And, these smokers tend to buy some food or a drink when they buy the pack of cigarettes. Therefore, as a result of the two above factors, convenience stores profit has actually risen recently. Can you believe that?

Read this article for more:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20081113a2.html

Boat-man

What puppy do you think President-elect Obama is gonna get his daughters? I think he and the White House staff are going to put plenty of thought into this one. I saw an interesting article on the net. It said that some people in Peru offered to send a dog from there which doesn't give people allergies and is hairless.
You can find this grey and hairless dog on the net easily if you try. It`s easy!

It's not the cutest pup in the world, but I guess it is OK.

Below is "Boat-man." He always smiles when he is on a motor boat. Sometimes on a ferry or yacht, if there is rough waters, he gets sea sick. But on a fast and exciting motor boat, "Boat-man" never gets sea sick. In my next life, I think I want to be the captain of a big ship, like the famous Captain of "The Love Boat." (for your information, "The Love Boat" was a famous TV show in America when I was a child.)

Enjoy Wednesday night everyone.

The final game...

Last night was the final baseball game of 2008. I watched it and was excited because the Lions won! I am not a Lions fan, but I really didn't want the Giants to win. It was a nice climax to a great season which included my team, The Phillies, winning the World Series.
(I don't understand why they will play the WBC=World Baseball Classic next year in March, because the World Chamions, =The Phillies, are already decided!) Anyway, last night was fun.

"Lions come from behind to win Japan series"
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/sb20081110j1.html

On another note, yesterday was the first day this year I used the heater. This means that it is officially winter. I hate the cold, so for me, this is a bummer, but I will buy some warm winter clothes and mentally prepare myself to battle though this winter. You should do the same.

Hope everyone has a good week!

(Below are some scenes from the 2008 Baseball season at Koshien and Kyocera Dome)

Trekking Man

Good morning!! and TGIF===Thank God it's Friday!!! The weekend is almost here!!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!

I bet many people don't know this...In Fukui Prefecture in Japan, there is a small town. The name of the town is Obama. Since President Obama declared he was running for President earlier this year, this town got behind President Obama and his campaign in full force. This article is about this story and this town:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20081106a3.html

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

"Water bull Man"

If ya go to Taketomi Island, you gotta try the water bull ride. It is a riot! It lasts about 30 minutes, and is VERY SLOW. It`s not gonna be the best experience of your life or anything, but it will make you laugh and also you can see the dirt streets and stone walls and old-style houses as the water bull SLOWLY pulls the carriage. In addition, the carriage rider, a "country-cowgirl" type taketomi girl, sings two nice Okinawan songs with the shamisen (an instrument like a banjo.) She also has a good voice voice, so it is soothing. But the beaches at Taketomi are much better than the water bull ride> They are really really worth seeing!!! They are like a dream, something you see in the movies or in a magazine...I can`t believe I went there.

p.s. This water bull was on his way to retirement. He will retire in a few days because he is very old. He barely made it to the finish line of the 30 minute course. He stopped in the shade many times...I thought we would never get to the finish line. He walked almost as slowly as my brother, Mr. H1, and Mr. H2. Those are the three slowest walkers that I know, but this bull was good competition for them I think.

It`s a little early, but...

it looks like the new President of the United States is...Obama.

Well, he is not actually the President from today. Obama will officially become the new President of the United States after the inauguration ceremony when he is sworn into office in January.


Check here for detailed coverage of the voting:
http://edition.cnn.com/

Finally, it`s election day...and Europe

Yes, after all the wait, and all the debating and tv infomercials, finally it is election day. In a few hours, when everyone wakes up in Japan, we will know who the next President of the United States is...
There are basically two possibilities:
1. Obama will win by a landslide. (He will win easily.)
2. The election will be a close(tight) race.

Which do you think will happen?
Here is some trivia info. What car do you think Obama and McCain drive?
Click here to find out:
http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-presidents-cars-pg,0,258054.photogallery

And, oh yeah, the rest of the world still does function on this day too. Below are some photos from Mr. Yu`s one month adventurous trip to Europe.

Kayak-man

Hey, how was your 3-day weekend?

It`s already November, can you believe it? Time really goes by fast...

Tonight Japanese time, the voting will begin in America for the Presidential Election. I already cast my absentee ballot. Who do you think I voted for?
Whoever wins, a big "change" is sure to come to America.

"Obama, McCain both promise change on eve of election":
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081103/ap_on_el_pr/campaign_rdp

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...below is the "Kayak-man"...

The Phillies are The World Champions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Read all about it...

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8721314/A-long-time-coming:-Phillies-win-the-World-Series

Scuba-man

As I said yesterday, scuba was really fun! It is kinda cool to put on all the gear and equipment and stuff. The tank is really heavy!! But in the water it is alomist weightless!! Do you know why? ;)

The boat is also really fast and it is fun to feel warm sun and wind and ocean spray! But sometimes the waves are too rough...
And, it is also fun to steer the boat like the Captain! In my next life, I want to be a Captain of a big cruising boat or a big fishing boat!

A lot of (insignificant) sports news happened recently.

1. Hara, the present manager of the Giants, was appointed the manager of the Japanese National team for the World Baseball Classic next March. "Hara Japan".
2. Nomura, the present manager of the Eagles, released a CD of all the stupid and intelligent quotes he said during the "after the game interviews" this year. (Actually, I look forward to watching his comments every night...)
3. Takahashi Naoko, whose nickname is "Q-chan," announced her retirement from professional marathon running. Below is and article about her retirement press conference. She inspired many Japanese people when she won the Gold medal in the Sydney Olympics. And she has a great smile. I think she is a Japanese hero...

"Q-chan retires"
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/sp20081029t1.html

Okinawa (Part 1 of many...)

I got back from Okinawa yesterday. Over the next couple of weeks I will put up some pictures from the trip and write all about them. Today, just briefly, I want to tell you about my dive experience. I haven`t been scuba diving since I lived in Australia about 15 years ago (when I was in my junior year in University and did an internship in Sydney for 6 months. ) At that time I did about 15 dives over a few days in the Great Barrier Reef and got my "advanced open water" scuba license. It was an eye-opening experience for me. Anyway, I decided to try it again off the shores of Ishigaki. The ocean and coast was absolutely magnificent!! I did two dives, and one snorkel. Because it had been 15 years since my last dive, of course I was a little rusty. But after a few minutes, I got the hang of it again and remembered bascially what to do.

I saw tons of beautiful fish and other sea creatures and the coral reef was also really interesting. The cruising on the boat was also a lot of fun! But the water was a little rough at some times, and I almost got sea sick...But luckily, very luckily, I managed to somehow NOT get sea sick. That was a plus!! Anyway, because of "K-Tours" my trip was perfect! On a 10 point scale, it was an 11!! Below, are two pictures which another diver took and emailed me. The manta ray!! Wow! This fella is quite a monster!! Much bigger than I expected!! I will continue more about Okinawa later, and for the next few weeks. Hope you look forward to the stories!

Fly away...

Recently there is a big diet in Japan. "The Banana diet." There was some tv show or something on tv or in the newspaper, and after that everyone raced to the market to buy bananas. It was just like what happened with Natto (feremented soy beans) earlier this year. It is so absurd and I can't believe it. I don't understand how people didn't know that bananas are healthy in the first place. I thought that everyone knew that bananas were healthy...but I guess I was wrong. Sometimes I can't understand why some people are so gullible and quickly believe something just because it is on TV or in the newspaper or on the Net. I have known that bananas were healthy since I was about 5 years old!!!

I think it would be interesting to fly away in a hot air ballon one day...and not decide the destination. Just fly...let the wind blow the balloon wherever, in whatever direction, the wind wants to blow it. And then wherever the balloon lands, get off.

What do you think?
Have you ever ridden in a Hot Air Balloon?

I will be out of town for a few days, so talk to ya again sometime early next week. Enjoy the weekend!

"Lovely"

I think that many British people and European people often use the expression "lovely." Americans almost never use this expression.

I am not British so I don`t know for sure, but my image is that they say things like:
"What a lovely day."
"Ah~ isn`t it lovely tea."
"Oh~~ that would be lovely."

Sometimes different English accents and expressions make me laugh. But all of the different English accents and expressions in the world is interesting I think.

Recently Ms. K went to England to check out the sites. She said that she really enjoyed herself, but unfortunately, she got a cold on the back end of the trip, so that was a bummer(=downer, depressing thing) for her. All in all though, she said she had a swell time.

Her on-line photo album wet my appetite for England..."Cricket anyone!?" ;)