Friday, May 31, 2019

My May

That was an exciting, very memorable May.
1. M and I were in Izu four four days at the end of GW.
2. Our daughter got married.
3. My brother, Gregory, and his wife came to attend the wedding and enjoy Japan.
4. Sang a duet with Gregory on stage at the wedding reception.
5. Introduced our family members to the in-laws. It was a performance for me.
6. Took Greg and Mary to Toyko Tower.
7. Took Greg and Mary the Akasaka State Guest House.
8. Took Greg and Mary to the Mieji Jingu.
9. Took Greg and Mary to an Izakaya in Ueno for eats and Shochu.
10. Took Greg and Mary to an Izakaya in Ueno for eats and Sake.
11. Took Greg and Mary to the La Cuatro Stagirao restaurant, Ueno Park for lunch.
12. Took Greg and Mary to the Mirakikan, Odaiba to see Asimo by Yurikamome.
13.Took Greg and Mary to a Okonomiya restaurant in Asakusa.
14. Took Greg and Mary to Tokyo Tower.
15. Cleaned the garden and washed the car.
16. Went to the gym 12 times.
17. Went shopping.
18. Attended Miwako's live outdoor Jazz performance in Omiya.


Thursday, May 30, 2019

Akasaka State Guest House Part 2

I bought a ticket for 1,500en. There was a bag check. No worries. Then I watched a 17 minute video explaining about the Guest House. They have one in Japanese and one in English. There are no restrooms in the Guest House so I took care of that then I walked to the entrance. I rented an audio device for 200en. Then I went in. Fantastic! Gorgeous! Wonderful! Unbelievable! There are four rooms. Each one has chandeliers, paintings, furniture and some have pillars and mirrors. Everything is huge and very detailed. There are paintings and tapestries and carvings and plaques. Each room has it own story and own style. They are different colors. Red is very popular and so many hintgs are made of gold. The white walls are so fine. They are W-H-I-T-E! I looked closely but I couldn't find any blemishes. There was gold everywhere. The Entrance Hall and Grand staircase were regal. It took less than an hour to see everything. I then went outside to the garden in front. The basic design is modeled after the Palace if Versailles in France. There were three food and drink vehicles in the front garden. I had a snack. I walked around the front garden. Even the fence around the place is wonderful. I recommend that everywhere go here at least once.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Akasaka State Guest House Part 1

One recent adventure to Tokyo took me to the Akasaka State Guest House. Actually, I got there by accident. Let me explain.
I watched the news with interest about the abdication of the Heisei Emperor (Akihito) and the coronation of the Reiwa Emperor (Naruhito). In my opinion, It was a big decision to quit now. I think it was the correct decision. So, I know that hte Emperor lives in hte Imperial Palace in Tokyo. I have been there many times. And I learned that the Prince and Princess (next in line to be Emperor and Empress live in a place called "AkasakaGoyouchi". I am not sure, what it is but I believed that some members of the royal family live there. I wanted to find out where it was. So, I went to Tokyo, walked past the Palace and went ot Aoyama Douri. I followed that to the Goyouchi. But first I encountered a cool temple. I loitered there for 20 minutes or so and then followed the high wall to hte front of hte Goyouchi. Then I reached the front gate of the Akasaka State Guest House. Then one guard asked if I was going inside. I said of course! They showed where to buy my ticket and get in. Continued tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

My GW by Eiko

My husband, two sons, and I went to Saku on April 27th. My daughter's family came there the same day. One son returned to Saitama that same day to take care of our cat. Our other son returned on the third day. We stayed in Saku until the morning of May 5th. My daughter has three children, 11, 8 and 2 years old. The way the 2 year old and his two older siblings play is different. The older children went fishing twice. the broke firewood. They milked a cow and made butter at a ranch. The little one played with me a lot. There was a balloon festival in Saku at this time. More than 30 balloons were up in the sky. One set down just 200 meters from our place. The balloon was huge seeing it so nearby. We saw another beautiful thing. It is a ring horizontal arc in the sky. It was so beautiful. It lingered (stayed) for a while. We enjoyed our Golden Week. 

Monday, May 27, 2019

Puzzler Answers

This is THE final weekend of May. May, 2019, was pretty exciting for us. Puzzler Answers: CLICK HERE.

以下はスーパースクラブルパズルです。よく見ると、4つの空白のタイルが見つかります。 空白のタイルとは、何も書かれていないタイルのことです。それら空白のタイルは、ある単語の一部です。空白のタイルに、どの文字があてはまるかを考えてください。おわかりですか?答えは、ページを下にスクロールして下さい。GOOD LUCK

Below is a Super Scrabble Puzzle. If you search carefully you will find four blank tiles on it. BLANK means that nothing is written on it. But, they are part of the word. Try to determine what letter the BLANK tiles are. After you have your guess you can scroll down the page to find the answers. As always, GOOD LUCK.











































DIAPER                       QUIT                      VETTED                     WRITER

Sunday, May 26, 2019

Puzzler Hints

I suppose I'll be going to Tokyo this day. I hope the fine weather holds up. Puzzler Hints: CLICK HERE.

May Home Project
今月のHome Projectは、「 UP」 です。

UP UP UP!
Get up, wake up , pick up, look up, mix up, get up, close up, back up, clean up, break up, blow up, dress up, hard up, call up, fix up, give up, hang up, hard up, zip up, lock up, pull up, rise up, turn up, warm up.......level up your skills and use these in conversations and in your stories this month.
今月は、これらの、up,  up,などの単語を使って会話をしたり、話の中に取り入れて文章を作ってみましょう! Good luck!

Miwako (hat) at the piano

Saturday, May 25, 2019

Puzzler

The wedding is is over and my brother has come and gone. It's time to get back to reality. Puzzler: CLICK HERE.

May Home Project
今月のHome Projectは、「 UP」 です。

UP UP UP!
Get up, wake up , pick up, look up, mix up, get up, close up, back up, clean up, break up, blow up, dress up, hard up, call up, fix up, give up, hang up, hard up, zip up, lock up, pull up, rise up, turn up, warm up.......level up your skills and use these in conversations and in your stories this month.
今月は、これらの、up,  up,などの単語を使って会話をしたり、話の中に取り入れて文章を作ってみましょう! Good luck!
View from Shimoda Hotel


Friday, May 24, 2019

Big Band

Miwako plays the piano. She has been playing since she was a kid. And she took a pause form this hobby for 20 years or us when we got married. Ten years ago she bought a used piano and brougth it to our house. She practises a lot. She usually practises when I am not home. And sometimes I go out when she practises. She joined a big band group several years ago. She practises with them. She also takes piano lessons. Very serious! Every year the Big Band group plays in Omiya during May. It is outdoors. I have been there twice before and this time I went again May 12th. I took some pictures and recorded a cople of videos. The band played five tunes. And I must say that they were very good. You can see in hte pic that there were saxophones, trombones, trumpets a drummer and a piano player. That is Miwako. They played at the Omiya elementary school not far from Omiya station east side. The performance lasted only 20 minutes and it was very enjoyable. Congratulations Miwako, et al.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

GW vacation Part 2

During our visit to Izu we stayed at three locations. First we were at a hotel in Toi. It is on the west side of Izu. Right in front of the hotel was the ocean. It is facing the east. We saw a beautiful sunrise the next morning. I watched the calm waves rolling in and out from the window. At night I went down there and walked in the surf up to my ankles. Ahhhhh. The next day we drove down south to the bottom of the peninsula. The coastline was beautiful. It was windy though. We drove across to the east side to check into our next hotel in Inatori. We had another gorgeous meal that night. The next day we went back to the west coast to visit a museum. It is the Chouhachi Irie museum. It is small and there were some very interesting relief works there. Then we headed back across the peninsula to Shimoda. But first I took a dip in the ocean at Yumigahama beach. Brrrrrr. This was our final destination. We spent one night here and we had dinner at a local Izaka. We finally headed home on May 4th. It was a wonderful vacation. The only bad news was that we never went to Irouzaki and the Aloe Center for some aloe soft cream. Maybe next time.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

GW vacation Part 1

We decided to take a few days vacation during Golden Week this year. Our first plan was to visit the Himeji Castle in Hyougo prefecture. It is also known as the White Heron Castle. Then I hoped to go to the Adachi art Museum and garden in Shimane prefecture and finally the Izumo Taisha also in Shimane prefecture. However we heard so many horror stories about the amount of traffic we would encounter (meet) this GW, that we gave up on this plan. Instead we took a safe trip down to Izu. Of course there was a chance we would run into traffic jams here too. Luckily, there were none. We left home on the 1st and got back on the 4th. We stayed at three different hotels. Two included dinner and one did not. That was our last night. On that night we went to the same Izakaya that we dined at two months ago when we stayed at a business hotel near Shimoda station. And as usual the dinners at the hotels were fantastic. There was just too much food! All three nights we had delicious food and drinks. My weight definitely went up.... a little.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Rikugien

I have been to many parks in Tokyo since last October. I checked my map of Tokyo and found the major ones that I can visit. I most recent one is The Rikugien in the Bunkyo Ward, very near Sugamo station. After lunch in Ueno I took hte train to the station and walked ot he park. There is a high wall that goes all the way around the park. At the entrance I got my senior discount ticket and started walking. It is not a big park. But it is very beautiful. It has a pond. It has a hill. It has many paths which go all around the park. There were not a lot of people though. There were foreigners and there were groups on tours. The weather was just right. It was neither hot nor was it cold. It was just right. I walked for about an hour before stopping to get a treat. It was special because it was a green tea with a sweet. When you purchase that you can sit in the area that has the best view of hte pond. I was there close to half an hour. That was relaxing and then I was ready to continue my tour. I went ot he back of hte park. There were some interesting things such as bridges, rocks, trees and flowers. I'll visit again when the season changes. 

Monday, May 20, 2019

Puzzler Answers

And now it's back to work, and some quality time with my brother who is visiting. Puzzler Answers: CLICK HERE.

以下はスーパースクラブルパズルです。よく見ると、4つの空白のタイルが見つかります。 空白のタイルとは、何も書かれていないタイルのことです。それら空白のタイルは、ある単語の一部です。空白のタイルに、どの文字があてはまるかを考えてください。おわかりですか?答えは、ページを下にスクロールして下さい。GOOD LUCK

Below is a Super Scrabble Puzzle. If you search carefully you will find four blank tiles on it. BLANK means that nothing is written on it. But, they are part of the word. Try to determine what letter the BLANK tiles are. After you have your guess you can scroll down the page to find the answers. As always, GOOD LUCK.




              





































 DIAPER                  QUIT                WRITER                VETTED                    

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Puzzler Hints

It's a beautiful day for a wedding, don't you think? Puzzler Hints: CLICK HERE.

May Home Project
今月のHome Projectは、「 UP」 です。

UP UP UP!
Get up, wake up , pick up, look up, mix up, get up, close up, back up, clean up, break up, blow up, dress up, hard up, call up, fix up, give up, hang up, hard up, zip up, lock up, pull up, rise up, turn up, warm up.......level up your skills and use these in conversations and in your stories this month.
今月は、これらの、up,  up,などの単語を使って会話をしたり、話の中に取り入れて文章を作ってみましょう! Good luck!

Old EDO toilet

Saturday, May 18, 2019

Puzzler

That was a good week and now we will be very busy this weekend. How about you? Puzzler: CLICK HERE.

May Home Project
今月のHome Projectは、「 UP」 です。

UP UP UP!
Get up, wake up , pick up, look up, mix up, get up, close up, back up, clean up, break up, blow up, dress up, hard up, call up, fix up, give up, hang up, hard up, zip up, lock up, pull up, rise up, turn up, warm up.......level up your skills and use these in conversations and in your stories this month.
今月は、これらの、up,  up,などの単語を使って会話をしたり、話の中に取り入れて文章を作ってみましょう! Good luck!

Old EDO Police Box



Friday, May 17, 2019

Never give up

There is a restaurant in Ueno that I have been longing to go to for a long time. These days I go ot Tokyo a lot. I like to visit new and interesting places. Many teach me about the history of Tokyo and/or Japan. And during my adventures in Tokyo I I have to eat, of course. When that happens I try to find restaurants or places that offer good food. Hopefully it will be delicious. I never go to fast food places. And once or twice I have been to hotel restaurants. It is all part of the experience. Finally I had lunch at a restaurant in Ueno park called "Le quattro stagioni". On April 29th I was on my way to the Rikugien Park. I rode the train to Ueno and searched for ht is restaurant. All of the other eateries were full with people lined up outside waiting to get in. Then I found my restaurant. There was one seat open. I got in and had a very nice pasta lunch. I sat outside. It was very pleasant and relaxing. People were passing by to and fro. Nice. By the way, "Le quattro stagioni" means "The four seasons" in Italian. 

Thursday, May 16, 2019

Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum

After visiting the mausoleums I got back on the ChuOu line train. I got off at Higashi Koganei station and took taxi to Koganei Park. The museum is inside his park. First I got a maccha soft cream and relaxed under the trees on a bench. Then I went to the museum office, got my senior discount ticket and entered. This is a must-visit place. Basically there were many buildings that were brought from Edo-Tokyo. There is a photo studio, a mausoleum, a "Kokaden" Palace, house gates, a tea arbor, a farmhouse, a police box, a soy sauce shop, a bar, a public bathhouse, a tailor's workshop, a stationery store, a flower shop, a kitchenware store, a cosmetic manufacturer, an umbrella wholesale store, a grocery store, an inn as well as a fire department watch tower upper section. There are many houses of prominent (famous) people. I walked around for an hour and a half. I also met a family form my home state of Michigan. I was walking past them and someone said "Livonia" which is a city that I am very familiar with. We spoke for 20 minutes. It was a nice ending to this adventure.

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Musashino Ryou Bochi

I looked at my TOKYO 23 WARDS map book and found two interesting places. One is the Musashino Ryou Bochi in Hachioji near Takao station and the other is the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum in Koganei City. Both are far from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo proper. They are also both on the ChuOu line. So, I decided to visit both in one day. First, I went to Takao station via Shinjuku. Of course there were hikers everywhere eager to climb up Mt. Takao. I found the guidepost to get me to the cemetery. It took about 20 minutes on foot. I travelled through very narrow streets to get there and when I arrived I was amazed at the huge park that lay before me. There are four mausoleums in this park. Two hold the remains of the Taisho Emperor and his Empress. The other two hold the remains of the Shouwa Emperor and his Empress. That is all there is to see here. The park has huge trees, lots of birds and two wide gravel roads and a couple of police officers. It takes less than 30 minutes to see everything. It is a solemn place. It is quiet and calm. It has an aura. It is definitely worth a visit. 

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Tonde Saitama by Makiko

Have you ever seen the movie "Tonde Saitama"? I rarely go to the movies, but I had an opportunity last February. Last Autumn, I and my family invited one home stay student from Argentina to our home. She stayed in Saitama for about six months and on that day the Farewell Party was held in Urawa for her and her trainee. I suddenly thought that I wanted to invite her to a movie after the party. There were two reasons: One was that there was a movie nearby. The other was that the movie "Tonde Saitama" was really "in" at that time. She is from Argentina and she usually speaks Spanish. But, she can also speak Japanese as she is a teach at a Japanese language school in Buenos Aires. This visit to Japan was to study Japanese. She already knew a lot of city names in Saitama so she understood the story and enjoyed it. She laughed at hte same time as we did. Even after she returned ot her country we keep in touch with each other via "LINE".

Monday, May 13, 2019

Puzzler Answers

I'll be back to my full schedule this week for The first time in about six weeks. Ready? GO! Puzzler Answers: CLICK HERE.

以下はスーパースクラブルパズルです。よく見ると、4つの空白のタイルが見つかります。 空白のタイルとは、何も書かれていないタイルのことです。それら空白のタイルは、ある単語の一部です。空白のタイルに、どの文字があてはまるかを考えてください。おわかりですか?答えは、ページを下にスクロールして下さい。GOOD LUCK

Below is a Super Scrabble Puzzle. If you search carefully you will find four blank tiles on it. BLANK means that nothing is written on it. But, they are part of the word. Try to determine what letter the BLANK tiles are. After you have your guess you can scroll down the page to find the answers. As always, GOOD LUCK.







































PASTA/PRINT                 JESTER                 STIFF             CREATOR 

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Puzzler Hints

I hope to get out ot Tokyo today, but it's up to the weather. 
Puzzler Hints: CLICK HERE.

May Home Project
今月のHome Projectは、「 UP」 です。

UP UP UP!
Get up, wake up , pick up, look up, mix up, get up, close up, back up, clean up, break up, blow up, dress up, hard up, call up, fix up, give up, hang up, hard up, zip up, lock up, pull up, rise up, turn up, warm up.......level up your skills and use these in conversations and in your stories this month.
今月は、これらの、up,  up,などの単語を使って会話をしたり、話の中に取り入れて文章を作ってみましょう! Good luck!

Saturday, May 11, 2019

Puzzler

It's May 11th, my vacation time is up, and it's time for a new Puzzler. PUZZLER:CLICK HERE.

May Home Project
今月のHome Projectは、「 UP」 です。

UP UP UP!
Get up, wake up , pick up, look up, mix up, get up, close up, back up, clean up, break up, blow up, dress up, hard up, call up, fix up, give up, hang up, hard up, zip up, lock up, pull up, rise up, turn up, warm up.......level up your skills and use these in conversations and in your stories this month.
今月は、これらの、up,  up,などの単語を使って会話をしたり、話の中に取り入れて文章を作ってみましょう! Good luck!

Friday, May 10, 2019

Spring has come by Atsushi

Spring has come to my home.
Last October a son some was born to my daughter and her husband, who live in Yokohama. The son's name is Riku.
Riku is our first grandson so we are all very much delighted.
I retired from work after 45 years last March. I was supposed to live leisurely from April. However my guess was quite wrong.
At he beginning of April, my daughetr had to be hospitalized suddenly. So my wife and I had to take care of Riku at our home.
My daughter came to our house with her husband at the end of March.
We give milk to Riku, bathed him and changed his diapers.
We got tired but we were happy to see his smile.
We were tied up but this hectic time has come to an end.
These happy times will be remembered and are irreplaceable memories.
This cherry blossom season ends along with warm sunlight. Spring has come.

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Tonde Saitama

Did you see this movie? It is hilarious. That means that it is very, very funny. Of course, that is my opinion. I heard about it from some students and I decided that I must see it. Why? Because it is about a conflict between Saitama and Tokyo. Not a war; it is a battle. Chiba and Kanagawa and Gunma prefectures are also involved (included). And, because I live in Saitama I know many of the places that they spoke about in the story. And, the Japanese humor was cool. Of course, I did not understand everything that was said and discussed, so I had to see it twice! The first time was at Movix Cinemas in Shintoshin. It started at 9AM. There were maybe 15 people there to watch the movie. So, there were no big laughter or uproars when the jokes were made or the scene was funny. After the first time I talked with family and students about it and realized that I had to see it again. I went to Kounosu theater on a Thursday morning. This time maybe 10 people were there. I learned more. But, to tell the truth I didn't know that the main character, Momomi, was a boy! I need to level up my Japanese.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Water Bus Tokyo

I took a ride on one of the water buses in Tokyo a couple of weeks ago. It was not my first time. The last time tat I did it was some 25 years ago with my family. This time I went alone. It is part of my "Experience/explore" Tokyo adventure. The first departure time is at 9:50AM. But, I was too late to ride that one. Why? Because there was a 30 minute train delay that Sunday morning. However I did make (ride) the very next one which was at 10AM. So, no worries. I rode the HOTALUNA. It cost \1,700. It takes about 70 minutes with a stop at HINODE. The ride was pretty cool. The weather was good; cloudy then sunny, cool then warm. So, I was inside the ship and then up to the upper deck outside. There were many people but not a full house (not 100% capacity) so it was easy to get a seat anywhere and at anytime. More than half the guests were non-Japanese. I was watching the buildings and bridges that we passed along the way. Rainbow Bridge was impressive. And we finally docked at Odaiba around 11AM. The ride was fun, but I will probably never do it again. Twice is enough.

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

The new Emperor

Congratulations to all Japanese! The Heisei era has ended and the Reiwa era has begun. Emperor Akihito has abdicated the throne. That means that he has stepped down. And you could even say the he has retired. He is 85 years old. His son, Naruhito, has ascended the throne. He has become the new Emperor of Japan. He is 58 years old. I first came to Japan in 1984. At that time it was the Showa Era and Akihito's father was the Emperor. His name is Haruhito. He died it 1989. I attended a ceremony with thousands of other at the SHinjujku Gyouen, to pay my respects to him. Since that time, and up until last week, it was the Heisei Era. So, this is my 3rd Emperor. Of course, it is also so for many Japanese. Why? Because before Emperor Hirohito, his father was on the throne. Do you remember him? I'm sure no one does as he passed away in 1926. He was the Taisho Emperor and his name was Yoshihito. Anyway, Japanese history is long and there have need many Emperors (Naruhito is the 126th). I think it is pretty cool. Most Japanese people hold them in high esteem. I wish Naruhito and his family much success. 

Monday, May 6, 2019

Golden Week 7

I always fill up with gasoline before we take a trip.
She hung up the phone without saying good-bye.
She told her son to sit up straight at the table.

Dessert in Shinjuku

Sunday, May 5, 2019

Golden Week 6

I was fed up with all his lying.
"I can't hear the news. Turn up the volume."
"Get up or you'll be late for school."

These people just can't give up smoking.





Saturday, May 4, 2019

Golden Week 5

At long last, he gave up trying to win her heart.
Suspenders are used to hold up your pants.
The pitcher threw Sluggo a change up and he missed it by a mile.

HOTARUNA I rode that ship from Asukusa to Odaiba.


Friday, May 3, 2019

Golden Week 4

It was last call at the bar so we drank up and left.
My daughter can count up to 30.
That's my favorite song! Turn up the sound.

USA! USA! USA!

Thursday, May 2, 2019

Golden Week 3

My mother and father brought up four kids. Wow!
I'm going to work in my garden as the weather has cleared up.
My husband couldn't pick me up at the station so I walked home.

Orchids at the Shinjuku Gyouen Greenhouse.


Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Golden Week 2

I need to brush up on my calligraphy.
Something came up so I had to leave immediately.
I called up three friends but they were all out.

In Asakusa. The pic is from HOTARUNA. That is the ship I rode up the Sumida River.