2 years ago I made this bird-house from beach driftwood. I put it in a tree, but no birds came to live in it. I moved it to another tree, but later I checked it & wasps (hornets?) were living in it! I got rid of them, and last autumn I put it in a new place. I hope that this spring some birds will move in.
The creek near my house is not very pretty to look at, but even in winter, you can see a variety of birds & animals there, which makes it interesting to me. Today I decided to take photos of them to show you.
As you can see, there are LOTS of turtles in the creek, but most of them are red-eared sliders, which are not native to Japan.
Nutria are not native to Japan either. They are originally from South America, but were brought to Japan & farmed for their fur. I read that they are a big problem in Tottori Prefecture, so the local government there pays ＼2000 for each one killed. Hmmm... I think I just decided my next holiday destination!
Are you familiar with the animals in these pictures? Have you ever seen a Nutria? Do you or your parents own any Nutria-fur items? Would you like to go to Tottori with me & make some fast money?
My birthday is also in February, on the 24th.
To celebrate, staff & teachers at Teragoya Ichinomiya bought me a birthday cake. Thanks, guys!
No thanks Parren for telling students to ask me how old I am...
This year I turned 40.
February 7 was Owen`s Birthday. He loves the cartoon character Anpanman, so we got a cake with that design on it. He also likes strawberries, so he got some of them too.
Happy Birthday, mate!
After my last blog post, I thought you might like something more pleasant to look at. These are some plum blossoms near my house. Nice, aren`t they?
Spring is coming!
![Konomiya Shrine Hadaka Matsuri]()
On Tuesday my Japanese friend & I joined a team from his hometown of Haruhi for this year`s Konomiya Shrine Hadaka Matsuri.
After polite introductions & a discussion about the day`s schedule, we all changed into our loincloths (fundoshi). Then, after some final preparations, & a lot of complaints about the cold, we began a tour of the neighbourhood, while carrying a long piece of bamboo with good-luck messages tied to it. We shouted "Washai! Washai!" which I guess means "Freezing! Freezing!"
We stopped at various houses to drink sake & greet people, then we did something I didn`t expect - we went to an old-people`s nursing home, where the main doors were opened for us, & we went straight into the lobby. Suddenly I was standing half-naked, holding a piece of bamboo, in front of a room crowded full of old people in wheelchairs, all clapping & cooing. It felt pretty strange...! But it made me proud to be a member of my group, & thankful to whoever arranged for us to visit the old-people`s home. They looked happy to see us.
On our 5-hour journey to Konomiya Shrine we also visited a couple of pre-schools. I realized that this festival is not just about irresponsible behaviour, but is also a kind of community bonding activity.
Next year the festival will be held on February 4 - a Saturday - so it will be much bigger than this year.
I`m looking forward to it.
.
At Teragoya, we have a lot of gifted students with interesting skills & hobbies.
This is a present I received from a student. It`s a hand-made, cloth coin purse.
Thanks, Makie - nice work!
One of our students is a mechanic & used car-dealer. We were talking about cars & I mentioned to him that I liked retro cars like the Nissan Pao, which I featured on my blog recently. So the next week he kindly brought to school a Nissan Figaro which he is working on at the moment. Cool!
The Figaro was built in 1992 by a Nissan special projects group called Pike Factory, which also made the Pao. Like the Pao, the Figaro has a stylish retro dashboard; the design of the dials reminds me of old fob (pocket) watches.
He`ll be selling it soon, so if you`re interested, let me know!
Ah... I wish I could buy it.
![Konomiya Hadaka...]()
One of Japan`s most interesting festivals is Konomiya Shrine`s `Hadaka Matsuri` - Naked Festival. This year it will be held on Tuesday, 15th of February.
Do you know it? How well? Let`s find out with this quiz!
1. Although it`s called `Naked Festival`, participants wear:
a) loin cloths (fundoshi)
b) traditional Japanese split-toed footwear (tabi)
c) headbands (hachimaki)
d) all of the above
2. Sake is a big part of the festival. Participants (san`yosha? kanyuusha?) drink it:
a) before the festival
b) during the festival
c) after the festival
d) all of the above
3. Participants arrive at the shrine after walking a few hours from:
a) nearby suburbs
b) suburbs far away
c) they don`t remember
d) any of the above
4. Participants carry:
a) long bundles of bamboo (naoizasa)
b) cartons of sake
c) other participants who can`t walk anymore
d) any of the above
5. To keep warm, participants:
a) scream "Waaah! Sabuiiiii!!"
b) try to keep moving
c) drink sake
d) all of the above
6. If a participant gives you a piece of coloured cloth, you should:
a) wash it
b) wash your hands
c) keep it for good luck
d) all of the above
7. At the climax of the festival, everyone rushes towards:
a) the `Shin-otoko` (a special man chosen by the shrine)
b) the toilets
c) home
d) all of the above
If you`re free on Tuesday, why not take a look? Konomiya Shrine is right beside Meitetsu Konomiya Station.
By the way, d) is the answer to all the questions!
I love traditional Japanese black, cast-iron teapots.
I have a couple (which I bought at Osu Kanon markets) at home in Australia.
This is a picture (20 x 30 cm woodblock print) I did of them.
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