Otto's blog

Spelling Challenge

6月

11日

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`Rotee` is a kind of sweet, Thai-style pancake.

Anyway, can you see the 2 spelling mistakes in this sign?

Ichinomiya Tower River Festival

5月

8日

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During the week there was a festival at Ichinomiya Tower. There was a flea market & lots of stalls [yatai] & activities, especially for kids. One of the most popular activities was catching `ayu` fish in a long pool, then cooking them over hot coals.

People also had a chance to release small buckets of young fish into the river, which is a nice idea. Several stalls also had various kinds of river animals such as fish, crabs, shrimp, snails & dragonfly larvae [tonbo no yousei], which I found interesting. I`m looking forward to catching some of them this summer!

Model Train Exhibition

5月

8日

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On Monday I took Owen to Marue Department Store in Sakae, in Nagoya, to see a model train exhibition. When I was a kid, we had a small electric train set, but of course the ones at the exhibition were much bigger - MUCH bigger.

It was pretty interesting. After four hours Owen still didn`t want to leave. Four hours! Can you believe it?!

Anyway, we had a good time.

Thanks Minoru (student & train freak) for telling me about it!

Baby Photographs Exhibition

5月

4日

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Chiemi Matsunaga is another of our very talented students. She is a photographer, and now she is holding an exhibition of her baby photos at Ichinomiya Meitetsu Department Store, in Ichinomiya Station.

It`s from May 2 - 5 on the 6th floor, then May 6 - 8 on the 7th floor. If you have a chance, pop in and have a look.

Well done, Chiemi - I was impressed with your work!

Ichinomiya Local Election

4月

27日

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On Sunday there was a local election in Ichinomiya. I can`t vote in Japan, but if I could vote, I would definitely NOT vote for any candidate [kouhosha] who drove around in a small van with a big megaphone on the top. Argh - what a terrible noise!

Did you vote? Can you guess which of the above candidates is my favourite...?

2011 Iwato Shrine Festival

4月

27日

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The festival on Sunday was good. There were a lot of people and the weather was mostly fine.

Owen was especially interested in a stall [yatai] which had small rubber balls & toys floating around a small pool. For 400 yen, you can scoop up as many as possible, one time, with a ladle. I think Owen was happy just to watch the balls go round & round, but I paid & scooped up 4 toys for him.

LIttle by little, our bathroom is starting to look like that stall...

We had a good time.

By the way, please don`t ask me about the horses. Especially the one wearing the purple mask. I don`t know anything.

Iwato Shrine Festival

4月

21日

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If you`re interested, this Sunday (April 24th) is our local festival here in Iwato. There will be lots of stalls [yatai], & 3 traditional wooden floats [dashi] will also be pulled down the street in front of the shrine. There will also be some decorated horses. These events happen in the afternoon.

There isn`t much parking for cars nearby, so I recommend coming by train, & walking from Iwato Meitetsu Station (between Ichinomiya & Gifu).

For more information, here is a Japanese language site:
http://www.petile.com/matsuri/iwato-c.html

If you`re free, please come!

Cherry Blossoms at Kiyosu Castle

4月

13日

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On Sunday a friend invited us to a hanami [cherry blossom viewing] party near Kiyosu castle. The weather was great, and it was fun & relaxing to sit under the cherry blossom trees, chatting, eating & drinking.

These are some photos I took afterwards.

Have you ever been to Kiyosu castle? It`s quite small, and it`s not original (it was rebuilt in 1989) but it`s easy to get to by train or car, & you can take a nice walk beside the Gojo River. I recommend it.

Also, the Kirin brewery (where you can take a free tour) is nearby!

Cool Cows in Ichinomiya

4月

12日

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Near my house there is a shed full of cows. It`s kind of unusual for this area I think. Anyway, today I went there and took some photos of them. I also took some photos of some of the flowers that were around the shed.

In Australia, cow sheds are pretty smelly [kusai], but this one doesn`t smell much at all.

Are there any cows near your house? Have you ever fed grass to a cow by hand?

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

Iwato Shrine Cherry Blossoms

4月

10日

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I took Owen to Iwato Shrine on Thursday morning to look at the cherry blossoms there. They were almost completely open.

There was a group of men there having a picnic under one of the cherry blossom trees. I really wanted to join them, but unfortunately I had to go to work.

The pale color of the flowers contrasts nicely with the dark wood of the shrine, doesn`t it?