Snow

I could see snow on 26th of December 2008 in Japan.I thought it was rain.It is a little wet snow but I like to see snowing.
In the morning it was cold.

My grandmother passed away on Sunday.I remembered her when I saw the snow in the sky.I feel she watches me.

Candle Night in Umeda

Candle Night in Osaka city 2008 winter
1,000,000 people's Candle Night

Date:11th December,2008
6:00pm-10:00pm ,Light off 2 hours(8:pm-10:00pm)
Place:Nishi-Umeda
http://candle-night-osaka.jp/

FADIG Lecturer Debut NHK

FADIG Lecturer Debut NHK!
Dear FADIG members and lecturers,

Mr. Duane Levi will be appearing NHK "Eigo de Shabera Night"
(英語でしゃべらナイト）.
This program will be on air 11:00-11:30pm Monday, December 8th 2008.He gave us lectures twice this year and his third speech will be about English Rakugo on February 14th 2009 at FADIG.
Please don't forget to tune in.

FADIG:
FADIG stands for "Foreign Affairs Discussion Group" and is called 'Kokusai-Rikai-Kondankai' in Japanese.It is a very friendly and informal English speaking group in Osaka.

Manyoshu

Manyoshu is the oldest collection of poems.It was made in about 760.Many poems were selected in Japan.There are 20 volumes and about 4500 poems.Many kinds of people in every status composed poems.Someone edited them.Manyoshu means "a collection of ten thousand of leaves".People wrote their feelings and beautiful natures.They didn't use Hiragana and Katakana.They still only use Kanji for it.We call "Manyogana".
Manyogana is the phonetic use of monosyllabic Chinese graphs to represent syllables of the Japanese poems in the Manyoshu.Hiragana and Katakana were made from Manyogana.
In 2003 one narrow strip of wood was found at Ishigami ruins in Nara.
Takashi Morioka, an associate professor of Tsukuba University,read these words on the wooden strip and found out it is a part of a poem in Manyoshu.This strip is believed to be oldest of its kind.
He said"It's become clear that composing poems in kanji in the phonetic Manyo style was popular among people of a certain social class in the Asuka period.The wooden strip provides clues to understanding how people of that time tried to compile poems and how they decided which characters to use to write them."

Rakugo in English(Osaka)

15th Ofuku-Yose "Rakugo in English"

Welcome to English Rakugo World!Have you heard English Rakugo?
Rakugo,comic story, is one of Japanese traditional speech.
It is fun. This group have a show once a year.
(http://ofuku.wisnet.ne.jp/)(http://ofukuyose.blog9.fc2.com/)
Admission Free.You do not have to make reservations
but the number of seats is only 150.

Date:November 16th(Sun),2008
Time:Open 1:30pm Start:2:00pm (Free)
Place: Municipal Life Long Learning Center 5F
http://osakademanabu.com/umeda/
（at Daini-building in Umeda）
1.This is Rakugo by Shima & Juen
2.Monkey by Hasshow
3.Tsuru by Sinocchi(debut)
4.Myogaya Inn by Koito /(intermission:15minutes)
5.The raccoon and the gambler by Kanan(debut)
6.Kouzu Shrine by Showto

autumn sky

Beautiful autumn sky.

The law of attraction

・The Great Secret of Life is the law of attraction.
・The law of attraction says like attracts like, so when you think a thought,
you are also attracting like thought to you.
・Thoughts are magnetic, and thoughts have a frequency.As you think
thoughts,they are sent out into the Universe, and they magnetically attract all like
things that are on the same frequency.Everything sent out returns to the source-you.
・You are like a human transmission tower, transmitting a frequency with your thought.
If you want to change anything in your life, change the frequency by changing your thoughts.
・Your current thoughts are creating your future life.What you think about the most
or focus on the most will appear as your life.
・Your thoughts become things.
(Secret)

clouds

Clouds were moving and changing the form a little by little.
I could feel the wind in the sky.

Summer and the moon

Modigliani

Modigliani et le Primitivisme
Date:1st July (Tuesday)-15th September(Monday),2008
Close Mondays (15th Sep open)
Time:10:00am-5:00pm (Admission 4:30pm)
(on Fridays open -7:00pm,Admission 6:30pm)
Place: The National Museum of Art(http://www.nmao.go.jp/)
Modigliani was Italian,lived in Paris.（1884−1920）


Ce que je cherche
ce n'est pas le
reel,pas l'irreel non
plus mais I'In
conscient le mystere
de l'lnstinctivite
de la Race.
A.Modigliani

Chinese food

Yodogawa Fireworks

Date:2008.August 9th 7:50pm-8:40pm
Place:Yodo river
http://www.yodohanabi.com/
06-6307-7765

The 20th Naniwa Yodogawa Fireworks display From 7:50pm-8:40pm
On 9th of August.
The big fireworks will be held in Yodo river.
Many people are looking forward to seeing this fireworks every year and this is the 20th times of this event.
If you want to see the fireworks from good place you'd better go earlier.
The people wait for the event for long time on the river bank.
Some people sit on a leisure sheet to keep their space from the day time.
Some people can see this fireworks from their house or office too.
On this day, this area so crowded with viewer.
There are many shops along the river for the event.
You can buy some food or play there.
Some people wear ※Yukata.They look pretty.( ※kimono for summer,you can also try to wear in Japanese style hotel,Ryokan)
Enjoy the fireworks.

Ukulele and Pianica

Let's play the Pianica and the Ukulele!
Please click the Pianica and the Ukulele.You can hear the sounds.
It is interesting.

Okinawa food

Okinawa live,the owner sing Okinawa songs and we can dance there!Rafuthi:(pork stewed in miso, soy sauce, sugar and awamori.)Soba,Umibudo

Osaka Minami

Salsa party

Salsa Party at Kobe HarberLand Mosaic
"Salsa de Salsa"

Date:July 25th (Fri)
Time:7pm～11pm
place:Tomi's Bar
Fee:seat: 5250 yen (with all you can drink)
※standing: free of charge,please pay for drink
Mosaic:Seaside Commercial Park in Harborland.
Amuse yourself with restaurants, shops, cinema and Mini-amusement Park.

Hawaii in Umeda

Hula!

Aloha!

I enjoyed Hawaiian Hula and music today.

Hawaiian Festival 2008

Aloha Summer Festival in Osaka 2008
You can enjoy Hula & Hawaiian Music!
Many Hula dancing groups are coming and have some live music too.
Please come and enjoy Hula dance, nice music and Hawaiian food!!!
Date:May 30th(Fri)4:00pm-9:00pm
31st(Sat)10:00am-9:00pm
June 1st(Sun)10:00am-9:00pm
Place:Umeda Sky building
Fee:Free
http://www.mauloa-hawaiianclub.com/index.html

Salsa House Osaka

SALSA DE CUBA:May 25th Osaka:
STUDIO ACHE /SALSA DE CUBA PARA Ti (9th)
Date：May 25th,2008 (Sun)＠SALSA HOUSE
OPEN:4:00 pm START:4:30pm-11:00 pm
ADV￥2000（１drink) DOOR￥2500（１drink)
MAIL ivan.9666@topaz.ocn.ne.jp/Ticket：STUDIO ACHE
SALSA HOUSE OSAKA:(http://salsahouse.jp)

the moon and meteor showers

It is full moon tonight.It was really beautiful.
2008 one of the Meteor Showers,the next meteor shower is the Lyrids on the night of April 21st and 22nd,2008.
The moon almost full at the night.Bright moonlight makes it difficult to see all but the brightest meteors.

La Sora

I went to the Osaka International Airport.
I like to go to the Airport and see the airplanes.
I go to Itami Airport(Osaka international Airport).
They have two big buildings and the one is for ANA and one for JAL.
and have a nice view from the Airport at night.
The colorful light are so beautiful there.
People can see a big sky and feel relax.

lunch box

This is a Japanese style lunch box.Many kind of food are in a same box.I also like to enjoy the colorful plates.

sumi

Date:April 9th(Wed)-15th(Tue),2008
Place:Hankyu Department 7F,Osaka
Mr.Bakuzan Sakaki
Mr.Sakaki is 82 years old,a professional calligrapher.

a wild boar

sakura

place to smile

sakura

Spanish

My first Spanish lesson at C Flat was interesting.I enjoyed it.
I went to C Flat to help an event today.I joined one of the speaking group.
They studied Spanish in a group and the members talked about a lot things in Spanish.
I couldn't understand what they were talking about but little by little I could catch some words which sounds like English.I just listened to them carefully.
Finally I got that they said how they study Spanish.
It was really interesting and I really want to know Spanish words.
Some members also told us about their life in Spanish speaking countries.

Flower

Ikebana:Misho-ryu
Iemoto Mr.Sekiho Hihara
http://www.misho-ryu.com/english-index.htm
http://www.hanshin-dept.jp/dept/s_mishoryu_index.html
Date:13th(Thur)-18th(Tue) March ,2008
Place:Hanshin Department store,Osaka

winter

shopping center

Alaska

Hoshinoyouna Monogatari
Date:6th(Wed)-18th(Mon).Feb.2008
Place:At Daimaru Museum Kobe
(Daimaru Kobe department store 9F)
(078) 331-8121
5-min. walk from JR Motomachi Station
Michio Hashino
http://www.michio-hoshino.com/index.html
http://www.michio-hoshino.com/morito.html

beans

Mamemaki,I throw roasted soy beans at home and from the windows every year on this day.
I say "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!"
People eat uncut Makizushi called Eho-Maki on Setsubun while facing the yearly lucky compass direction.I like Makizushi very much.

Pan-heated soybeans

rain and the moon

It's been very cold these days in Japan.
It's good time to see the moon but it is rain and on the night of the full moon.
I like listen to the rain. I think I can know how much rain from the sounds.
Tomorrow I can see a river near my house is swollen after the rain and I also like to see the river.

If I Knew It

I found this on my friend's diary. Please read this.

"If I Knew It Would Be the Last Time"
by Norma Cornett Marek

If I knew it would be the last time
that I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.


If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.

For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything right.

There will always be another day
to say our "I love you's",
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget,

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
that you love them very much and
you'll always hold them dear.

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "thank you," or "it's okay".
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.

The earth

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

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

(IMAGINE /John Lennon)