Traditional Japanese houses are made from wood, or a wood frame with the spaces filled with bamboo & clay. However, nowadays almost all houses are either concrete, or use a wooden frame covered by steel panels.
Brick houses are very rare in Japan. One reason is that they can be badly damaged by earthquakes. However, today I saw one being built not far from my home. I was surprised.
I hope it lasts longer than 30 years - the average lifespan of a modern Japanese house.
These are some photos I took at Iwato Shrine in Imaise last Sunday. I think Japanese shrines & temples look especially nice & photogenic (good for taking photos of) in the snow.
Last year I bought a waterproof camera for the prupose of taking pictures of sea fish when I go snorkelling, but I realised it`s also handy for taking photos in the snow. I don`t have to worry if it gets wet from the snow.
Click on the above picture to enlarge (& click again to enlarge more).
So many years after first pleasing audiences, yet this adorable little crowd-pleaser continues to turn heads for all the right reasons. What`s not to love?
Yeh. I`m a pretty popular guy.
Minis are pretty popular too - I see them occasionally around Ichinomiya. In fact, one of our students has one , but not the one in this photo, which I noticed near my home. I especially like the chrome wing-mirrors & wipers (with an unusual connecting rod).
I`m not sure of the year or details of the mini in the picture - so many different versions have been made since the first one in 1959. If you know, please tell me.
Anyway, nice car!
There has been a lot of snow around here the last few days. On Sunday I made a snowman with Owen. It`s a Japanese-style snowman - it`s made from 2 spheres. In western countries, people usually use 3 spheres when making a snowman.
In most pictures of snowmen I`ve ever seen, a carrot is used for the nose, so I asked my mother-in-law for one. Unfortunately she only had big ones, so my snowman looks a bit like me (because of the hair too...?)
I want to try making a bigger one, so I hope the snow doesn`t disappear too soon.
After teaching my special `Bera-Bera` class at our Gifu school (11am-1pm every Saturday, but January & February only! Contact staff if you want to join!) my friend Dan & I went for a hike up the nearby Mount Kinka. It`s only 329 metres high, so it didn`t take very long.
We didn`t see any squirrels (because it`s winter), but we saw lots of funny grey birds which were jumping around on the ground at various places. We could get quite close to them, but unfortunately I couldn`t get a good photo. I wonder what kind of bird they are.
Have you ever hiked up Mount Kinka? There are several trails - did you take a short, steep trail? Or a longer, easier one?
This week there was a bad flood in my hometown of Brisbane, Australia. It has been on the news here in Japan. Fortunately my family members & their houses are okay (thanks everybody who asked me about them). The flooding was worst on the west side of the city (the bottom of this photo), but my family mostly live on the east side of town (the top of the photo).
The flood was also very severe in places west of Brisbane, like Toowoomba, where it arrived suddenly. Some people have died, but nobody is sure how many yet.
It`s shocking to see familiar views so transformed by flood waters.
One of the perks of being a teacher at a school like Teragoya is that students sometimes bring us gifts, and this week we received cake from two students, Chie & Taigen.
Thanks guys! It was delicious.
But you still have to do your homework.
When we look at wooden kids` toys in shops, I often say to my wife "Huh - I could make that!"
It really annoys her.
Maybe this is because:
1. It`s not true
2. I say this, but then do nothing
3. When we go shopping, everything annoys my wife
4. Especially me
But this is one toy that Owen really seemed to like, and it looked pretty easy to make, so on my holidays I made this version from wood I had lying around.
This is my 2011 Year of the Rabbit nengajo design. This year I attempted a 2-colour woodblock print for the first time in ages - usually I just use black. It was extra work - and some trouble - but I think it looks good.
If you`re not Japanese, maybe you don`t know that on the back of post office issued nengajo, there are numbers down the bottom - they`re lottery numbers! The winning numbers are released on the 15th of January. I hope I win something!
Have you ever won a nengajo lottery prize? What was it?
This week I met up with an old friend whose hobby is wildlife photography, especially Japanese birds. I took this picture of him by Kisogawa River. Say "cheese", Mike!
Please check out his pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcowboy/
They`re very good - he`s a pretty talented guy. He lives in Okazaki, Aichi, so if you live in this part of Japan, you should recognise some of the birds in his pictures.
Great to see you again, Mike. Good luck in 2011!
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