Old Warehouse These warehouse were the symbol of a rich house, but they got to be deserted house like this.

This is an old warehouse. It is a Japanese traditional storehouse, these walls are made from clay. I happened to see them after catching the cat with the camera. But whenever I go through that road on my bike, I was thinking I tried to take a picture of the deserted warehouse. I was lost after taking cat's picture, and I came out on the road along the Kitakami River. This area is between mountain and a broad river, so flat ground is not too much, there is only a narrow slender place there. Would you please click MAP if you don't mind? As you can see, a lot of high cedars are behind the storehouse, the warehouses looks like be covered with cedars. A traditional warehouse like these was sure to be seen in the rich house in Japan. But this area looked poor because flat ground is too shortage to make a field. And this is a region where it gets flooded often, so the house and fields should be easily under the flooded water of the Kitakami River. So it is too dangerous area to live, but why there is a storehouse of a symbol of rich house.
     
Actually, big the river of Kitakami in front of the warehouse was crowded with a lot of ship that passed through to carry freight, especially rice to Ishinomaki, at the mouse of the river until 100 years ago. And a lot of those rice bags were carried to Edo (Tokyo) from the port with a big cargo ship. Those ships came and went between Ishinomaki and Morioka for 200km(125miles) until the Tohoku Line of a railroad was built from Tokyo to Aomori, the most northern city on the same island. Some ruined houses are seen around there like them, but I like this area, but I think it was hard to live there for people, especially flooded water often from the river. It was hard to come there in old days until about 20 years ago unless not have a boat because the road is too narrow to drive a car, but a broad road was built about 10 yeas ago, the area got not to be a remote and lonely island at least after that. By the way, there is a forgotten gate in front of the warehouses, isn't it? I think there would have been cows in the gate in old days.

Face of the Jumping Cat This fat cat was walking slowly on the animal path just as if I was not, but look at its surprised face!

This is the cat walking on the animal path after jumping over the grasses, and the lower photo is the face of when the cat was surprised by my mewing just like a real cat. I think this cat is a kind of tortoise-shell cats. It looks like a fat cat like this, so I think it is a cat that has a home to come back to, I think it is had by someone near there. I heard  there was rarely male tortoise-shell cat by relation of cat-chromosome, so I think it is female cat. If there is a male of cat of the kind, it is unusual cat, I heard it was ridden on the ship as a god to protect the ship in Japan. This fat cat was going to walk over there just as if I was not there, so I tried mewing to make the face turn to this side to watch its face to took a picture for my blog's visitors. I thought it did not look back even if I called to the cat just as if I was not there, I tried to call it by mewing of my specialty just like a cat. The cat had known there was a stranger already, but the cat have not known there was a cat behind it, there was a cat why should not be behind it, so the face looked back to me quite quickly. and it gave me to show the surprised face easily, and I pushed the shatter button to take a picture of the face quickly, too.. It looks like a man who happened to watch a ghost, but there was a only standing a human who faced a camera on the face to it there But the cat walked away slowly after taking a picture by me just as if there was nothing there. I was watching after the tail of the cat until it got to be missing in the grasses. 

Jumping Cat There is a lovely cat, althogh it looks like a jumping rabbit. It is not running away from me, it wanted to jump to go to the path. MAP

This is a cat on the road I saw at first when I was riding my motorcycle in Hanaizumi. It was walked on the road in front of my bike. But when I stopped my bike to take a picture of the cat for my blog, it left from the sidewalk, and was walking by the warehouse. I walked to the cat slowly and carefully to take a picture not to make the cat be surprised. Then I had a good picture like this with the good timing. My digital camera also has a time lag to take a picture, so this picture cannot take if want to take. This cat was not running away from me who ran after the cat to take a picture. It happened to jump to the animal path directly from there not to go into the grasses. I took the picture by chance of very good timing. I think this picture is the best shot of about cat in all my digital photos. By the reason that my bike is 0.125 liters, so it cannot run fast, basically I always make it run slowly to take a picture, too. So I like riding it in the countryside, I do not like riding on the national road and so on that makes it keep high speed pace. It was too old machine, so the engine always made a mechanical noise whenever it runs, so I cannot run it hard compulsorily. Anyway, my motorbike always is overtaken by other automobiles like my life. Although I give the road, but nobody did not give me the road.  I wish I could occasionally run it to look at only front view without looking at a rearview mirror for them very often not to care of them in the future. 

Like Castle There is a red house, but it is bigger than ordinary house. It is seen well as farmer's in countryside.    

I called this house "FUKADA Kyoko's House" myself since when I saw it again, but you can call it "FukaKyon's House" too. FukaKyon is her nickname. I think SHIRATORI(swan) Reiko's house is as big as than Bill's(MS). By the way, I read a newspaper this morning, according to it, "Dracula's Castle" was returned to descendant after an interval of 58 years. The castle was in Transylvania, Rumania, but it was confiscated by communistic government. Sound of Pennsylvania, USA, is similar to it, but Pennsylvania is also from Rumania? Dominic F Habsburger of descendant who has living in N.Y. received the castle. The old castle was built in the 14th century, it was about 25 million euro as the value of its property. I saw the castle on the web page of the news paper, it was white castle like this mansion. "Dracula" was written by the author in Ireland in 1897, but they said the model of Dracula is the earl Dracula of the lord of the castle. I felt relieved about no Dracula in Japan when I was child because I did not have a cross. But there was only a garlic in even my house, so I felt relieved a little without any cross.   

Rural White House A mansion like this is seen hardly, but a straw-thatched roof house alike is seen hardly, too.

This is that white house in Hanaizumi that you might have seen here yesterday. I was surprised of the size of this house at first, but when I looked at it again after I passed through the house, I was more surprised of it again. As you can see, there was a house of straw-thatched roof next to the mansion. A kind of that house is seen hardly nowadays, but it was an ordinary size Japanese traditional house. So you could find how big this house is. The straw-roof-house is not small. It is bigger than our general house. Those straw-roof-houses used to be seen well in old days in countryside. And then this poor house has rusty tin roof. And it seems to be connected to the white mansion by the passageway of the rusty roof. The old house was a before house, and I think parents is living in the house even now, but its son with his family might be living in the mansion.

Anyway, this house is very huge, but the entrance road is quite narrow compared with the house, and around the mansion, too. Only the white mansion is gorgeous. So it made me feel strangely more. Anyway, I call this house "FUKADA Kyoko's House" after that. She is a detective, but she is called "Detective of billionaire." She is a lovely girl about at age of 23. It is not strange if she came out of the white house. But if this is ten years ago, we would have called this house "SHIRATORI Reiko's House." You might think Japanese policeman is rich, but Mr. Nakagawa, a young policeman was working in police box in downtown, who is a colleague with
Ryotsu is a grandchild of a billionaire grandpa, too. I might be too watching TV.  

Rural Mansion This is an only mansion in Hanaizumi I have seen in all my life. I was surprised of this house again. 

I think this is the biggest palatial mansion in this city. I have never seen a mansion like this in our city or our prefecture in my touring. I have known there was a mansion around here from before, but I have forgotten where it was, but I happened to meet it again a few weeks ago on my bike touring. It is a little strange, but this big house is around front of rice fields, and a small mountain is behind the house, too. I mean, it was in the really countryside when I saw it again. So I was surprised of the white house in the place like that, on top of that, it was a Western-style house that was not seen around here. I have known what this house was around here about 20 years ago, but it seems like a new mansion. I wonder if the house was redecorated these days.

So it makes me feel a strange. I seems like a person who goes into the restaurant, "The restaurant which gives many orders" by MIYAZAWA Kenji. When I was going to go to pass through in front of the house, I was on my motorcycle, but I made slowdown it to look at it carefully. Anyway, I could not believe it by my eyes despite meeting it again. It is a huge more than this picture's-looking. Anybody who is passing through before the mansion would be glued to this house by each eyes because all we are persons from the county, and have never seen a house called mansion. There is only a house like a tin roof's small house and a straw-thatched roof a little around there, although my house is a tin roof too. It is like the mansion of Rockefeller for us. 

Carnation Bouquet This is what my older sister gave our mother with cakes for Mother’s Day. It is so beautiful.

As you can see, this is a bunch of flowers of carnations with tiny white flowers, kasumi-sou (haze flower), that my older sister bought at store for mother for Mother's Day. She bought a bunch of this flowers and the cake for her. It is a beautiful flowers. A bunch of this flower in the vase is blooming beautiful in the living room even now. Carnations are popular, but kasumi-sou also is very popular by neat and clear looking in Japan. I wonder if Colin, woman ninja, sent a chocolate that was made from cacao in Ghana to her mother on Mother's Day of this year, because she had said "Let's send bright red Ghana chocolate to mother on Mother's Day" before Mother's Day. 

Strawberry Cake I like a cake. This cake is what my older sister bought and brought with her for us on May 19. MAP

This is a shortcake that my older sister bought for Mother's day at a cake shop, Malon, in this city. Actually, she worked in the head cake shop of that around the Christmas as a part time worker as a high school student. She bought three cuts of the cakes there, so I could also eat it. And this packed milk tea of Lipton beside the cake was given us, too. Off course, I took a picture of that for my blog before I eaten without forgetting. Basically we cannot eat a cake unless she bought for us.  

Mother Dog I think this dog is a mother dog for a guide brown dog, because they were very similar of each other.

When I was driving my car for my mother and neighbors to send a hot spring, when it almost got there, I saw there was a little big brown dog untied on the gravel road in front of my car. When the car was passing through the dog, it started barking to us, and it started running after my car that was running very slowly as it was barking. I looked at it on the rearview mirror, I went to slowdown to be caught it up to my car, and it got around the tail of my car, and the dog was running side by side with my car, and　then it was running in front of my car like a guide of the hot spring after that.

However, I thought it was just like a cat of silver ingot color of Roald Dahl. I listen to the radio of reading aloud of the story in English on NHK every Thursday night, the unknown cat for them at the part of the begging of the story like the dog appeared just a week later after I saw the dog. The sliver cat is in the story "Edward the conqueror" by Roald Dahl. You might have known his name already, but he is a very famous in the world by one of his stories, "Charlie and the chocolate factory" as the author now. The cat in the short story was just like the dog near the hot spring. But the dog stopped running in front of one house that had a brown tied dog, we passed thought the dog. The house and the dog was a house and a dog on today's picture. They were very similar to each other, I thought the tied dog was the mother of the free dog. This picture was taken by me when I was going to go the hot spring again to pick them up before 4 p.m. In fact, there was a cage of the pity bear around below the house. I do not dislike the environment of around the cage. I might prefer it than zoo. However, the owner should give it for the bear. We hope the bear can get a broader cage　and cleaner environment.　

Poor Bear This is a brawn bear that came from Hokkaido. I think it was living in this cage all day long. MAP (HOKKAIDO)

This is the bear's house. As you can see, it was dirty and narrow. It was not like cattle, it seemed to not be interested in human. There was a drawer in the cage behind the bear, it seemed to get feed in the drawer. There was nothing around the cage, so there was nobody around that, so it was free to watch it. By the way, I have a single record of Paul McCartney, it was only for me "Junior's farm" by Paul McCartney and Wings. I think it was about 1974 when I bought it. An only English word in the song that I remembered was Eskimo only, because Eskimo was written "E" with capital letters. Then Paul and his wife also were like Eskimo on the ice in Canada to take a picture for the baby seal. Junior's farm must have been in the countryside, too. My older sister bought his album "Venus and Mars." I had kept even now, it was an only album by a foreigner artist for her. By the way, I got CD "Planet" by TOMITA Isao these days. He is a synthesizer composer. I bought it at LP record about 25 years ago, but I have thought I wanted to get it at CD for a long time. One of my dreams came true by that. I noticed now that polar bear was similar to poor bear.

Brown Bear This is a bear that has the name HERO, and was born in 1993 in Hokkaido, but was taken to this cage. MAP

I wrote a few days ago about what I sent my mother with two neighbors to a hot spring in the mountain, but I took this picture when we were on our way home. A neighbor on the back sheet began saying about it to us then "There is a bear in the cage below this gravel road, you know?" He said so, we looked at the bottom of the valley, and my car headed there to see the bear. This bear seemed to be taken to there from Hokkaido, northern Island, by the owner of the hot spring, according to him. He who was a old man seemed to visit the hot spring often to take a bath, so he knew well about the hot spring.

We got there soon, but his old wife did not get off the car from the back sheet whether she was not interested it, she was in the car while we saw the bear. There was the only cage for the bear on the wasteland there. There was not anything except for it, and only we were there. I noticed it when I walked in front of the cage that here was a bad smell around the cage. The owner might be protested by a group of kind animal treatment from all over the world who saw it on my bloｇ, such as by Paul's wife.. This bear came and went in the narrow cage. It faced to right side on this picture. My car is near to the direction that the bear looks at.

This signboard in front of the cage says like this in Japanese, "(this was) born in the Ainu museum in Hokkaido, (this is) a brown bear, HERO (name), born in 1993." I mean, it was 13 years old. Brown bears are only in Hokkaido. It would have been living in the narrow and dirty cage. I think it does not know outside world since it was born at all. But it seemed to get feed every day. I do not know which was better life for the black stray cat of yesterday or this bear. I noticed it now, there is a green hose in front of the cage, right? It would be used to give water to the bear.

Black Cat This is a cat that was looking at me carefully while I was peeing. I wonder why this cat was there.

I stopped my car on the country road to pee as I wrote yesterday, but while I was peeing there, I was looking at something like a black fur. It was on the wet grasses because it was rainy last day, I thought it was not an animal. Then I began thinking it was a dead body of animal or something. But I noticed it was a living black cat when about it finished. It was looking at mine in front of me while I was peeing. I did not noticed it there because it did not move at all. This cat is the only animal that looked at whole of mine despite not wanting to look at, and I also did not want to show it to the cat. I did not think there was any cat on the wet grasses at all. What a poor cat it was. It saw a thing it did not want to see it, but many visitors in the world of my blog see it that is living in the mountain in Japan. 

My Car This is my car Mitsubishi on the winding road of the mountain. I stopped it to want to pee on my way home. MAP

I drove my mother and her friends in neighborhood to a hot spring last week, but it was taken when I was going to go back home after dropping them off there. I stopped my car to pee here. I peed behind the car, but I looked at it over peeing. I was talking about it and showing the picture to you tomorrow. This is my car, Mitsubishi Lancer 1500(1994). We bought it as a used car in 1997, and have kept using it until now. But it has had mechanical trouble at all. We thought we got a good condition's car despite the mileage 86,000km (54,000miles) already when we got. By the way, this is a typical winding road in the mountain in the countryside in Japan, but I heard a news about Paul McCartney on the radio last morning. It said that he was going to divorce his wife. Do you know one of his famous songs that I also like "The long and winding road"? The song was made with John and sung and recorded on a disc as the last Beatles number by himself before when the Beatles was just going to break up. I wrote about him and that song on 14th four days ago of that. I saw on the web news that Paul and his wife who laid himself herself down on the ice were looking at a white seal's baby that had been just born on the ice in Canada. It seemed a performance by them to protect seals, but they were on the ice side by side and his camera faced to the baby seal, so they seemed like a close friends each other then. The cute white seal also did not think this couple of human in front of that would divorce in the near future at all. I thought so, too when I saw then on the article.  

Gently Dog I was interested to this dog, but the dog also seemed to be interest to me. Then we looked at each other.

This dog is a dog that you saw yesterday on my blog. When it was passing through beside my car, I took this picture to show it my visitors of my blog. There was a red collar on the neck, wasn't it? I think this is a dog that has a house to come back by that. It was a gently dog. I like a gently dog. It looked at my car after my car passed through him, and saw my car for a while, I kept seeing it by a rearview mirror for a while like the dog, too.

Free Dog Can you find a free dog? You should see standing ears and tail of dog at least. I tried to take a picture.  MAP

What? There was a dog walking coming here in front of running my car on the country road. I took a digital camera out of the soft case to take a picture for the dog. I should have taken it on the picture clearly, but it was not on it that I wanted to be taken on it, but only the standing ears and its rounded tail on it. My hand in the red shirt that was taking a picture for the walking dog was on it instead of the coming dog.　It got to be a funny dog by my fault. A walking dog was seen rarely these days, but no tied free dog was in the deep county side yet like this. (MAY/17) 

Paper Safetybox This blue box is a box for an energy drink, but it is used to keep a good condition of the display.

I put this cable into this paper box because these electrical contacts were not good a little to keep a good position to use it under the good condition, so I did not want to touch it except for a need to touch. Left cable is IBM original display cable, and right one is a used cut cable. As you can see, this connected part of these cables was wrapped by tin foil, because these original cables were so, too, a lot of cords in the vinyl hose were bunched under the steel mesh hose, but they were bound round aluminum film under the mesh hose. Basically aluminum does not make electricity pass through. There are two connected cords, brawn and black outside, but they are to connect each mesh hose for ground. This box is a box of the energy drink. My mother drink it a bottle a day. Anyway, I am supposed to be able to keep using the display until the display breaks by this fixing. (MAY/16)

Thunderbirds in Brazil (1966)  Click HERE  (2.5MB)
I wonder if Zico, famouse Brazilian football player, watched this, too. 

4 FOR EVERYONE (UNAIDS)  Click HERE  (YOMIURI)
I wonder if Naomi Watts, famous actress, has not watched this movie.

Fixed Display Cable This is a fixed display cable. Two cables became one. Thanks to this fixing I could use it again. 

These white cables are fixed display cables by me except for a black cable that is for keyboard maybe. That right cable is an original cable for IBM 15 inches CRT display, 2236-3DN(1999). I bought it as a used one at yahoo auction at $5 and the postage cost ($20) in 2004. It is heavy. He, who sold it, was a good guy, I asked to give me a code if he had extra one, he put a new power cord into the box with the display for free. But I have used it with some PCs, so the cable began to break little by little. I should have used KVM switch from the first time. It broke the other day at last, and I dared to cut the cable with a nipper after deciding to repair it. This left cable is a half cut cable. I got it at yahoo auction. At first, it was not a cable to sale, it was a sample to show us inside of the cable, but I asked him to give me at some price if his mind would give it to me. He answered me that he could give me it at a half price, $1.5. It was put on the body directly. You know, it was not a generic cable. If it was a generic one, it could solve very easy. I was looking for the cable of IBM display in the auciton site, but it was not on the site anywhere. So it was not changed easily, it seemed to be difficult to solve the problem.

 IBM cable: 3 thick cords (a kind of coaxial cable) for three primary colors, so there was a bunch of copper wires inside of that each and a steel mesh hose under the vinyl hose as grand. So there were six cords despite three cords already, and thin 6 cords. Total were 9 cords to connect and a mesh hose for ground. And cut used cable had 3 thick cords that had a copper wire inside each alike, and 10 quite thin cords inside. So it had 16 cords as total of that to connect and the grand steel mesh. It was not easy work to peel the vinyl of the eash cord outside. But I had to do. I checked each cords and pins of the connector with a circuit tester that I bought by mail as a junior-high student about 30 years ago, and then I connected each cords with a soldering iron and they were put plastic tape on them not to touch naked cords each other. But thanks to the fixing, the display did not have to get to be a large-sized unwanted article. It was about to be the poor result.(MAY/15)

Thunderbirds in Japanese (1966) Click HERE (14.8MB)
sing by HONEY NIGHTS

Country Road This is a country road by John Denver, or this is a long and winding road by Paul McCartney in Japan. MAP 

This is a typical Japanese country road. It reminds me there is a winding road in the UK. I wish I could drive a car on the long and winding road by Paul McCartney in the UK. I know a song, "Country road" by John Denver, or Olivia Newton-John from when I was a student. I used to sing the song very often outside in those days, such as on the bicycle or motorcycle. I was longing for a backpacker by John Denver's song when I was a high school student. So I have it even now, although I bought his EP record at that time, "Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy." It is my only his record, but it is the best song of him for me. I used to sing the song very often outside on the bike. I wanted to try to get on a freight train for free to travel in Japan at that time like backpackers in the US. But it was difficult in Japan unlike the US. Japan is very narrow than the US, and the train was short than US, and there seemed to be a lot of workers around the train in the switchyard than US. But I used to walk on the rail often to get a freight train. By the way, I wrote about it before, I saw there was a walking wild raccoon dog near the broad road from there. (MAY/14)

Thunderbirds in French (1966) Click HERE (701KB)
I wrote Parker seemed Indian, but it might be Ceylonese. He was similar to Anton Wicky. I think he is the most known Sri Lankan. He was well known as an English teacher for over Japanese middle-aged people. We watched he appeared on the TV every morning for 15 years from 1979. We could not forget "Have a nice day!" that he was sure to say to us every morning at the ending. By the way, in fact I have driven my car, Porsche Carrera 911, on the country road around Bretagne near Le Mans in France, but I am afraid that it was on the PC game.

Running Cat This cat was running away after it was taken a picture, although I did not know the reason of that.

The cat is running away from me. I think it was a shy cat. But your picture is seen by a lot of people in the world, because it was taken a picture by me. If I would have had dried fishes, I could not give them for it. On the road was one of its beds of its favorite, wasn't it? As you can see, there is a striped pattern on the body like a tiger. I like touching four bit meatballs and a big one of cat's sole, and I like smelling cat's forehead too even though it has bad smell usually. I think it was by washing face always. Cats like washing their faces by their hands. They were always washing their face after meal, so I think it was bad smell. And cats raise its leg to lick its bun often, so it is good smell. (MAY/13)

Thunderbirds in Hindi (1966)
Because I think Parker came from India. Click HERE (684KB)

Tiger Cat This cat is called tora-neko(tiger-cat) in Japan. There is a striped pattern on the body & face like tiger.  MAP

This is a cat that I happened to meet when I went out on my motorcycle. There was a cat on the road 100m ahead. When I found it, it was on the straight road in the countryside around rice fields. It lay enjoying on the asphalt like it was tossing about in bed. But as soon as the cat noticed the noise that my motorcycle was approaching, it moved out of the road quickly. I stopped it around there to look at the cat to take a picture for my blog, then it was in the grass like this picture and was looking at me carefully. These cats are called "tora-neko (tiger-cat)" as a kind of cats in Japan. Certainly, there is some striped pattern on the body like tigers. By the way, there was not tigers in Japan, almost all Japanese people had never seen it in old days, but they had seen it on the drawing, so I think they were called tora-neko from old days. My best favorite kind of cat is this.  I returned to the subject, but it did not seem a stray cat. It seemed a cat that was kept at home, because there were some houses of farmer along the road at left side. There was a lying cat on the road, because cars and bikes hardly were on the road except for mine then. Cats are one of my models for my picture. I tried to give small dried sardines, the most favorite food for cats, that I bought at 100yen shop as its model charge, I was afraid it was not in my waist bag then. It was a short touring. My mind did not want to go to long touring because it was too old. It is not strange if it broken on the road. It seemed a happy cat from me. (MAY/12)

Lovely Scooter This is my lovely scooter at home. It is tough. It has never gone to a garage to fix even once. 

This is my scooter. Yamaha JOG Aprio Type-2(50ml). I bought it as new one unusual for me in Tokyo in April, 1995. And I rode on it to come back home from Tokyo to my house for 500km (310miles) in the winter in January, 1997. It ran for 2500km (1560miles) for 9 years after coming back home. The meter said 5500km (3450miles) now, so it run for 3000km (1870miles) in Tokyo for 2 years since I bought it. It was taken in front of the entrance of my house. I was going to put the wheel on the scooter. It was a shabby rusty wheel, but as you can see, it got to be a lovely wheel like this. (MAY/11)

After Make-up These wheel are what I would put for my scooter. Both wheels were put black spraying on them. 

These wheels with tires of my scooter has just made-up. They wear heavy make-up to get beautiful again. They were $40 as I got at auction, and added cost, the postage, was $15. They were like rubbish when they got at home. Are you putting your face on? I prefer a woman who does not need thick make-up. Off course, I do not make-up at all as you thought. Shaving myself is once a couple of days. And I am washing my teeth after every meal. But my teeth is like JAWS in 007. I saw the article on the paper a couple months ago that the scriptwriter of JAWS died. I got Thunderbird DVD by mail yesterday. It is one of the stories of TV series (1966). It was new one unusual for me, but it was only $15 (postage is for free). By the way, what is Miss Penelope called by her butler? Whenever he calls Miss Penelope, "B Lady." I hear so. I think Parker was come from India. Is it correct of my guess? My DVD is vol.14. I bought it for teaching materials of listening to English, because children watched them in English every week in those days. Off course, including me, although it was on NHK in Japanese for me. The voice of Lady Penelope was by Miss Kuroyanagi. She was in NHK. Off course, it was in Japanese all, but she can speak English fluently. She is active in UNICEF to protect children from illnesses all over the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and her favorite animal is giant panda. I heard her TV was the longest life TV program in the world on the Guinness Book now. You cannot miss her in　Japan, if you watch TV in Japan, because her hairstyle is very funny like onion on her head. 

Spraying Work This is a used scooter tire I got at yahoo auction. It got here from 1000km(1600miles) away.  

Do you know what this is that I am doing? As you know, there is a small tire on the concrete, isn't it? This tire with the wheel is a used one that I got at yahoo auction. But the black steel wheel had rust in places like the picture on the web side as I saw and as I thought. So first I started removing those rusts from the surface of the wheel with sandpaper. And then, I started putting a black spray on the wheel. It was by this can spray that I bought at 100yen shop on this picture. I thought it was very useful spray despite only 100yen($1). But before the work, the tire was covered with an old newspaper and a packaging tape not to put black-ink on like this. I put the ink on that again and again whenever it got to be dry. Then it got to be lovely wheel. But it was windy this day. These papers was hit by the gust of wind often. So I had to be at the windward. I used to make a plastic model when I was a young, especially they were models of motorcycle(1/12), sometimes cars(1/48), too. So my spraying skill was very useful to put spray on it. Those models I used to make were almost TAMIYA in Japan. I wish I could make motorcycle plastic models again. If I got some money and a free time in even daytime, I would get some models at store. I think I prefer making plastic model to playing video game. (MAY/9) 

My Lunch These were on the desk in my room as my lunch this day. This is a bun as the first developed in Japan.  

This is a ban. This is one of Japanese general buns. No, this is the most traditional Japanese bun. It is called "an-pan" in Japan. An is bean jam" in Japanese. It is filled with bean jam inside. It is by Mr. Kimura that it was made for the first time around 100 years ago. In those days, bread was not usually by almost all people. So he was samurai before, but opened a bakery after quitting his job of the castle, but bread was not sold so much. And then, he developed the special bun for general all Japanese people that had eaten only rice almost at last. He got a big hit by the bun. This bun on the picture is not by his company, but his bakery became one of big bakers in Japan that had a factory after that, the bakery name got to be well known to Japanese people as the baker for an-pan. As you can see, there are a lot of bit grains on the bun, do you know what it is? I heard they were poppy seeds. But eating them is okay, because they are being sold at almost all supermarkets in Japan. It is about $1. And this bottle of milk by the bun was made by Morinaga. We take a bottle of milk a day, it is delivered around 4 a.m. once an every other day from 30 years ago. I heard from mom I grew with powder milk as a baby, but it was goat milk for my older sister. So my parents was given the goat from the house they had lived before and had it to be given milk from the goat for growing my sis. I did not remember I did not remember that the goat was at the garden at all. I think the goat would have come back home because it got no job here of growing daughter up. I thought a little I wanted to see the picture if it was taken a picture at that time. I remembered that there was a can of Meiji Milk for baby at home when I was a child. But I did not think it was drank by me then at all. Kimura's an-pan has the navel at the center, you find it easily.  (MAY/8)

Dead Leaf Cookie This is not dead leaf. This is in the plastic bag, but it is not an ancient fossil sold at a store.  

This is in the clear plastic bag, but it is not a dead leaf that I found and picked up at the garden Off course, not the fossil of ancient leaf that was sold at store, too. In fact, you will believe it, but you can eat it. I happened to see it that was on the table in the kitchen the other day. This is a kind of sweet, I wonder if it is called cookie (biscuit) in the US. But if it was on the road in the fall, anybody would not think it was a cookie, even a dog taking a walk. By the way, I wonder how he did if when Chet Baker happened to see this leaf on the table in his house. I wonder if he picked it up from the table, and would hum that tune, Autumn Leave. I know he was a famous jazz trumpeter, and a singer. He was not only on the list of jazz popular trumpeter on Japanese jazz magazine, but also on the jazz male singer each month, too. He was the first place in the male singer department anytime. Well, I remembered of his singing with whisper voice just as if it suited fall. He was a handsome. So he was popular from women in Japan, too. I have drawn him on the paper over playing his trumpet by the picture of a magazine when I was young, and it has put on my web page. (MAY/7)

The Iwai River This is around at the mouse of the Iwai River. The water level is going high by melt snow as usual.  MAP

This is the Iwai River. I was a little surprised of the quantity of water, because this water level in the river was quite high than usual. I think it was by melt-water from over the mountain you saw. The snow-water is flowing to come until here from Mt. Sukawa (1628m/5300ft). The river flows together with the Kitakami River at 100 meter lower. The length of this river is about 50km(31miles). There is a hot spring near the source of the river. It is sulfur spring. Its smell seems rotten egg. Sukawa means, Su is acid/vinegar, Kawa is river in Japanese. (MAY/6)

Please look at his shoes. They are what are called "geta."  They are Japanese traditional shoes. As you can see, a pair of wooden clogs are, but they are one of his weapons,  flying geta.  Other weapons are his wearing  vest with  colored yellow  and black, flying vest,  and his hair that  stands up as an antenna when evil-air is approaching him. Probably I think John Gathright knows Kitaro. John came from  Canada to Japan 20 years ago,  and has been living in  Aichi since then. I heard he thought he wanted to go to Japan when he found geta for the first time at the seashore near his  house  when he was five years old.  "What is this, dad?" But at that time, he and his parents did not know about it  at all. I heard he thought it was a bookstand for the fitst time.  But he started  being interested in Japan from that time.Maybe, it would be what was washed ashore  of Canada from Japan. So he comes to Japan by geta. As you see, his dad of eyeball  and him are living at a tree house, but John also  likes living at  a tree house by chance. It is not almost known generally in Japan,  he thinks he wants to like to spread  it in Japan, too. 

This comic artist, Mizuki Shigeru was born in 1922, so he was an old man, but I wonder why he knew it.He was one of soldiers of  Japanese army in the Second Would War, but  when his unite was staying in New Guinea, he lost his left arm by bombing there in 1942. However, he can say that  he  survived as sick  and  wounded  soldiers by that, too. He loved people there and that place than  war. He became a cartoonist for rental comic books after  he came back to  Japan.  Of  course, he has been  a cartoonist in active service even now. 

The Kitakami River This river's length is about 300km. Highest Mt. Yakeishi height is about 1550m(5070ft.)  MAP

The Kitakami River This river's length is about 300km. Highest Mt. Yakeishi height is about 1550m(5070ft.)

This anime is one of the most favorite  anime for me. When I was in childhood, I used to watch this anime on TV. When my older sister travels to Hokkaido as school trip, I asked for her to get those comic books as souvenir.  I could draw only his face.  Japanese tradirional monster is called "yokai."  This title means "Kitaro of ge ge ge" Kitaro is his name. I think "ge ge ge" is a part of his name. "ge ge ge" is frog's croaking sound in Japan. "Ki"  that is included to "Kitarou" is Japanese ogre.  But he is  a champion of justice who fights with yokai of evil. Japanese girl, Miho who is living in Paris now was called "Kitaro"by classmates as a chird because her hair style looked like his, she said.

Kitaro boy is one of youkai (Japanese ghastly apparition), but he is a champion of justice, and a hero who fights evil.  His father is an eye ball called  Medama-oyaji (eyeball-dad).  I'm good at mimicking him,  "Hey, Kitaro!" His voice is high tone like ultrasonic waves.   But I can do his voice despite 44 years old. But he might  be  about the same age  with me,  so it might be natural.   One of other member in Kitaro's group is "bi bi bi no Nezumi-otoko (mouse-man). "That man who  is covered  with a cloth with a food to his head,  he was catching  Kitaro's dad in his hand and  was hit a falling ball from the sky to his head  in this anime. He is uncleanliness anytime. His weapon is what his breath by pyorrhea breathes out.  His bad breath is really foul breath.  He is so greedy he will do anything for money. But, finally. Kitaro allows him. And Neko-musume (cat-girl). Nezumi-otoko is weak to neko-musume.  You can see her in this anime. She is standing on the right with other yokai members together in rank.

Blue Sky All these cows face to the East, so all their tails face to the West. They only see rump of their friends.

I thought about why cows faced to the same direction after that. As you can see the MAP(MAY/2), there is a big road to East side that cows face to. I think they do not see the road, but they should hear the noise of cars anytime there. On the other hand, there is woods behind them. So I think they tend to focus on East side. There is a road at this side that I was, but it was a narrow road. A car rarely come to, to head for this side by them, their postures are not easily to stand on the slope and eat grasses. That's why all of cows face to the same direction to East, I think. (MAY/4)

Ge Ge Ge no Kitarou (1.9MB) Click HERE

The opening theme song of "Ge ge ge no Kitaro"

ge ge  gegege no ge
asa wa nedoko de gu-gu-gu
tanoshina tatoshina
obakenya gakkou mo
shiken mo nannimo nai
ge ge  gegege no ge
minnnade utaou  gegege no ge

ge ge  gegege no ge
yoru wa hakaba de undoukai
tanoshina  tanoshina
obake wa shinanai
byokimo nannimo nai
ge ge  gegege no ge
minnnade utaou  gegege no ge
(Japanese)

(Please leave from TV and light up to watch.)

"z-z-z" at bed in the morning.
It's fun fun fun. Fun fun fun.
There is not a school or an exam or anything for bogy.
ge ge  gegege no ge.
Let's sing a song everybody together, "ge ge ge no ge"

ge ge  gegege no ge
a sports festival at grave in the night 
It's fun fun fun. Fun fun fun.
Bogy does not never die.
There is not illness or anything.
ge ge  gegege no ge.
Let's sing a song everybody together, "ge ge ge no ge"

(translation: me)

Lyrics: Mizuki Shigeru
Composition: Izumi Taku
Singing: Kumakura Kazuo (voice of Nezumi-otoko)

(DEC/14, 2004)

 

Cow Farm I notice it just now, most cows face to the right side. Why? The direction of East that is to the US.

My uncle, my mother's biggest brother, had a cow at his shed when I was a child. When I visited his house, first I used to go there to see a cow. And I tried to stroke its forehead with my hand timidly. So I am used to touching with cows, I was good at imitating cow's voice. But I was sad to the cow, because it had to be in the shed for all its life. We were given school lunch, but until when we were a second grade, I could not drink a bottle of milk on the lunch at school. We had to drink skim milk. I hated drinking it, but I thought I had to drink it, I used to drink it every day. I heard we Japanese people tended to not drink milk from news these days. We seems to prefer green tea and so on to milk. In this March, I heard the agricultural association of Hokkaido, northern Island of Japan, decided to abrogate 1000tons of milk for overproduction. But the Minister of Agriculture, who came from Hokkaido, said that he thought we should give overproduction milk such as powder milk to abroad as our aid not to abrogate. (MAY/3)

Please Don't Push! They were about 50 cattle. Thumbnail picture is when I just got there, but 1minutes later... (SEP/28, 2004)  MAP

Cattle Farm This is the nearest cattle farm for me. They were enjoying outside to eat grasses under the sun. MAP 

I think this is the nearest cattle farm from our central city. When I was going through on my motorcycle here, I could meet them again as I thought. I think about more than 20 heads of cattle were there. Usually cattle are interested in human, according to my experience, but they were not interested in me very much, they concentrated eating grasses just as if I was not there. It is rare case. You might not know about it, but cattle are very friendly animals. But I did not know about it until I took a picture for them. I had an image to cattle that it was scary bull, or not friendly. But they are the best friendly friend for me now. They were not upset by me on the bike at all, and noise of engine, too. They looked quite unconcerned to me. At one cattle farm before, when I tried to take a picture for cattle, all the cattle, more than one hundred heads of cattle looked at me at the same time, and they started walking to come this side to me like they tried to get together in front of me, like they wanted to be taken a picture by me. I guess they should not to know that I had a web site with picture already then, but I showed their some pictures for my visitors there as they thought. It was about two years ago. It was like that they said, "Would you take a picture for me?" I will put the pictures tomorrow if you want to see them. Cattle are my best models for my pictures. (MAY/2)     

Dango Dumpling This is a special food in the spring especially for us. We call it dango.  They are baked a little.

This is a dumpling with sauce made of soy sauce. The taste is one of popular tastes for Japanese dumpling. These stuck small balls with bamboo sticks are made from rice powder.  It is very soft like baby cheek. We call it dango in Japanese. It is one of traditional Japanese sweets, it is a food that is needed at cherry-blossom viewing party outside. But they say, "Dumpling is better than blooming." In fact, most people under the cherry blossoms do not look at their blooming, generally their eyes focused on the food or beer and so on around them on the blue sheet despite being under the beautiful blooming in Japan. You can see a lot of drunken men at park at this season in Japan. Off course, their aim is not dango there, it is to drink a lot for them. Sitting men on the blue plastic sheet who does not look up the beautiful cherry blossoms are them. They say their first work is to get the good place and keep it until the party in the night is held from morning colder outside after work for a new employee. Off course, I did it about 20 years ago. It looks a kind of job, so we just were sitting on the sheet under the cherry blossoms all day long, but it was allowed from boss, we were paid salary as usual. It is a special Japanese custom. (MAY/1)