Animal I don't like

Can you guess what animal I hate the most?

I have a bad experience about this animal.
Basically most of people don't like this animal.

This animal sometimes (often?) attacks people.
flies and the color is dark.
is believed to bring bad luck.
usually cries in the evening.
can be seen around a dead body or a gabage.
is scary so I never close to this animal.

Do you need more hints?

PASAR Makuhari

Do you use a PA or a SA?

PASAR Makuhari is one of parking areas.
This is located on Keiyo Road Expressway.

On 17th I went there to have early dinner.
The name of the restaurant I went is ちばの恵み 千のぶどう.
(Click here if you need to know more.)

This is the buffet style restaurant.
The price is not very expensive,
I mean, it's very reasonable.

This winter I went to 東京ドイツ村 to see the illumination,
but on the way to ドイツ村 we dropped in this PA and found it.

Recently I enjoy having lunch or dinner outside as much as possible.
This is one of my objectives for 2011.
I also have more plans to go and have dishes outside.
I'm looking forward to these events recently :)

Try guessing where this is

On 10th of April after seeing cherry blossoms,
I visited the place above to feel Korea after a long time.

Certainly the Korea town seems a town in Korea.
You can feel Korea there. Have you been there?
If you have never, try it once
even if you are not interested in Korean dramas, actors or so on.

A lot of female people were there.
Especially young people and middle-aged people are there.
The number of visitors, shops, super-markets,
and restaurants increased, compared to the past.

I have several favorite restaurants there.
Centainly the taste in Shin-Okubo is very good.
However, the price in Japan is more expensive that one in Korea.

Present -Part 2-

Don't you need the textbooks above?

I don't use those textbooks anymore,
so these are presents for you if you need.

I have four textbooks.
One person can get four,
or four people can get one by one, too.

Anyway vfeel free to ask for them.

Cherry Blossoms in 2011

Yesterday I went to Asagaya to see Cherry Blossoms.
A friend of mine invited me to go and see them.

I had never heard of the name of the park.
Do you know 善福寺川緑地 in 杉並区?

The weather was fine and the temparature was also OK.
It was a really good day to see Cherry Blossoms.

After that we went bowling.
I played it after 7 or 8 years.
We had two games, and I was a winner in the first game.
I am not very good at bowling, so I was lucky.

This year where did you enjoy seeing Cherry Blossoms?

Classroom and Psychological test

Don't you think that
Japanese people tend to like Psychological test?

I have one question to you.

When you took a lesson for the first time,
why did you choose your current seat
from the five seats in our classroom above?
Do you have any reasons?

Each seat has each type.
Isn't this interesting?
Aren't you interested in this?

Sanuki Udon

Do you like noodles?

There are a lot of kinds of noodles
such as Udon, Soba, Spaghetti, Ramen, Pho, what else?!

I'm going to introduce one of my favorite Sanuki Udon shop.
This shop is located in Ochanomizu which is near my office.
I often go there and have lunch with co-workers of mine.

The taste of the noodles is really really good.
And the price is reasonable.

This shop is very casual but crowded with people.
It is next to Hijiribashi Exit in Ochanomizu Station.

One of the branches is in Mizue (Edogawa ward) on 都営新宿線.
The name of this Sanuki Udon shop is 楽釜製麺所.
Click here to see the website.

Birth

Today it is a birthday of one friend of mine.
She used to live in Japan, but now she isn't in Japan.
This year she received the greatest present from heaven.

Last year she got married and
this year she gave a birth to her first boy.

I am going to send a message to her after I finish this blog.

My father's birthday is April 8th.
I am going to call him with message probably.

Also a first girl of another friend of mine was born last month.
They have been waiting for her for more than 10 years.
They are really really glad.

New birth makes us happier!!

Aren't you interested in ancient Japanese music,Gagaku?

A Gagaku concert is going to be held
from 2:30 on April 10th in Tower Hall Funabori.

I'm going to present a free ticket of it
to anyone who wants to listen to it.

I had four free tickets, but three tickets has been given.
So I have one ticket for you left.

Feel free to talk to me if you want the last one when you see me.

School cafeteria with a great view

This view is from a school cafeteria near one of my working places.

I often go there and have lunch,
and I like to try having lunch at a school cafeteria.

I recommend you to go and eat lunch at a cafeteria,
because you can feel as if you were a university student.
You can enjoy campus atmosphere, too.

Whenever I visit a unievrsity,
I go to the school cafeteria and have lunch.

This school cafeteria above is on the 17th floor.
Isn't the view nice?
The price is also reasonable.

Can you guess which university this is in.

White Lie

It is the first of April.
Spring has come (probably?! I want to believe so.)
Spring brings a lot of happy things.
I hope it will bring this year, too.

By the way, have you ever heard "White Lie"?
Do you think white lie is acceptable for our lives?
Do you have any episodes about white lie?

I have never told a lie.
:p
(Do you know the mark above?)

TV drama "School"

Last Sunday one Japanese TV drama "School" finished.
This drama is the most interesting and attractive drama
of the three dramas I watched from January to March.

Yosuke EGUCHI became a very good actor.
I saw him on TV for the first time almost 20 years ago.
At that time, I didn't like him very much.

"Hitotsu Yane no Shita" is also one of my favorite dramas.
At that time I was impressed with the drama but he was too comical.
However, after he got married to his wife, a famous female singer,
he acted several kinds of roles, and became mature and cool.

People become mature and cool after 40 years old, I believe.
Who are your favorite actors or actresses, and why do you like them?

Embassy

Do you know where this place above is?

This is in Aoyama 1-Chome along route 246.
Because of my work, I visited this place this afternoon.

This building is one of embassies in Tokyo.
Guess which country's embassy.

In Hiroo there are a lot of embassies of various countries.
You can enjoy taking a walk around them.
Probably you can feel various countries?!

What I can do and what you can do

Two weeks have passed since the earthquake occurred in 東北.

Lots of people or CM on TV started to say,
"Try doing what we can do for it and them."

Since I heard this message many times,
I have been thinking what I can do for it and them.
Do you also seriously think what you can do?

Firstly, I donated money in the bank.
One TV station repeat that they accept donation for them.
That's why I decided to donate money.
I hope the money will be used for them effectively.

Secondly, I save on electricity as much as possible.

Thirdly, I don't buy too many things or products.

Lastly, I decided to write about this theme to spread
more people would donate money in the bank or
save on electricity or not buy too many products.

I hope you also will try doing something you can do for them.
This blog has such meaning this time.

Super Public Bath

I like going to a super public bath and taking it
as you may know.

I often refer the free paper above
when I go to a certain super public bathhouse.
You can get it at a convenience store, Sunkus.
This free paper is delivered every first Saturday.


Last night I would go to a certain super public bathhouse
to be relaxed, but I cancelled it
because I wasn't sure if it was open or not late at night.

In my house I don't use inter-net
because I don't want to be absorbed in it at my house.
So I could not check if it was open or not.
Then I didn't go to take a bath.

Anyway with this free-paper,
you can enjoy taking a bath in a big super public bathhouse.

These must be interesting for you!?

Eight days (almost one week) have passed
since the big earthquake happened in Eastern Japan.
I also had many things to do, then couldn't update my blog.












By the way, the series of the book above
must be interesting to read for you.

You can find these in a book store or a library.
I also requested these in the library and borrowed them.
These must be effective to improve your English.

I strongly recommend these.
Try reading them!

Biggest Earthquake in my life

I have never had the biggest earthquake since I was born.

I went outside of the building where I was
as soon as the first earthquake.

Many people near my office also came out of the buildings,
and kept staying in the so-so big parking area for a while.

This time I went out without shoes.
At the parking I wore them, but it was difficult to wear them
because of the earthquake.

Luckily I came to my office in my bicycle today,
so probably I must be able to go back home without any problems,
but even now all traffic in Tokyo can't work.
Trains don't run, buses are really crowded,
and roads are also full of cars.

At the moment of this earthquake,
I was wondering what I should do and where I should go.
My brain stopped, and I lost myself for a moment.

Many people know that safety exercise is very important,
but in fact most of such people don't consider it very much.
It is too late to start thinking what to do
after the big emergency happens.

In bigger emergency I must be more confused,
but I have to have sudden judges about many things immediately.
To be able to do these above,
I have to prepare and decide how I will move in bigger emergency.

This is what I noticed this time.

Milk Tea -Part 2-

I like milk tea very much as you might know.

Last week I found the milk tea above
in a convenient store coincidentally.
I was very interested in it, so immediately I bought and tried it.
The package is really cute, and tastes sweet.

Unfortunately I prefer Lipton's milk tea,
but do you have your favorite beverage?

I want to talk about it with you.

From Rain to Snow

It is snowing now.

This morning it rained, but on my way to my office,
it changed to snow. It is March but it snows.

I felt that spring had come,
but actually it hasn't come yet unfortunately.

When will this snow stop?
I hope it will stop when I go home tonight...

The new entrance & exit is going to open!

The station near one of my offices
is going to open the new entrance and exit today.

It had been under construction for a long time,
but today it is going to open.

The opening celemony will be held at 3:00 p.m. today.
Lots of people were preparing for it
when I went to see the entrance this morning.

Some buses also will use the rotary in front of the new entrance.
People in the north area also will use the new entrance.
So places near the station will be less crowded.
I am glad. Lots of people must be glad, too.

Surprise!

In the evening last Saturday, I got one surprise.
He also probably wantted to surprise me.

Without any notice, he visited my working place.
I was very surprised at his sudden visiting,
but soon I got glad because he visited me.

We hadn't met each other for almost two years,
even though we sometimes kept in touch through e-mails.

This April his dream will fulfill.
He has had this dream for almost 10 years with his wife.
He must be very excited in his mind.

Their new life is going to start soon.
I am also excited and glad.
Spring has come even though it is still cold.

I hope that
spring will bring a lot of happiness to everyone.

Two Companies

It was very warm yesterday until the evening,
but the wind became cold at night.
In addition the wind became strong last night.

By the way, the day before yesterday,
I visited two companies, and worked there about English.
These two companies are very famous and big,
so everybody definitely knows them.

After I left the first company, I took a picture above.
I worked in a company near the building above.
Could you guess which comapany I went first?

Then I moved to the other company in Akihabara,
and worked there about also English as usual.

Our homepage is being renewed now

Have you noticed that
Learn Park homepage is changing little by little recently?

http://learn-park.com/

Haven't you known it yet?
Our homepage is changing toward this coming spring.
February will end one week later,
and spring is coming even though it is cold.

Spring brings something new and exciting.
And spring is very colorful such as cherries.
I am getting excited. Aren't you also excited?

Enjoy our renewed homwpage.
You can access this blog more easily through the home page.
And I want you to introduce us to a lot of friends of yours.

I want to meet a lot of new people this spring!!
"Treasure every encounter, for it will never recur."

Snowy view

It snowed a lot last night.
This morning, we could see the snowy view.
How was that around your house?

In the past we had snow a lot of times.
And the next day we could see a lot of snowmen here and there.
However, recently we seldom see them unfortunately.

Do recent children know a snowman?
Of course they probably know it,
but have they seen or made a real snowman?

I want parents to make a snowman with their children,
and want children to make it more on such a day.

Cute Bike

It wasn't very cold until the day before yesterday,
but since yesterday it has been cold again. Oh...














I took the picture above in Kyoto last summer.
I found them coincidentally while I was walking in Kyoto.
These are rental bikes.
Probably tourists use these and ride around Kyoto.

They look really cute, don't they?
They made me take a picture suddenly.

I like such a sense.
Probably a warm-hearted person designed it.
I want to be a warm-hearted person like this person.

Illumination in Tokyo German Village

I hadn't written my blog since January 19th....
because I had been too busy.... Excuse me, please.

By the way, on 30th of January,
I went to TOkyo German Village near 木更津.

This is located in 袖ヶ浦 city in 千葉 prefecture,
and the nearest station is 袖ヶ浦 on 内房線.

I went there to see the illumination.
This illumination is very very famous,
and this year is the 5th year.

However, I didn't know this event,
and one frined of mine told it to me.
Coincidentally I watched this event on TV, too
after I heard from the friend.











The scale of the illumination is very big.
Tokyo German Village is very very huge,
and on the hill they hold the illumination event.

The price is also very very reasonable.
It costs only 1,000 yen per ONE CAR.
Not one person but ONE CAR.

It costs 250 yen if there are 4 people in a car,
it costs 166 yen if there are 6 people in a car.
This is amazing!! And we don't need any fee except it.

From 新小岩 to Tokyo German Village
it takes only one hour by car if you use an express way.
How close it is!! How reasonable it is!! How beautiful it is!!

This year the illumination would be held until the 13th of Feburary,
but they decided to extend the final day.
You can see this until the 20th of February.

You can check more details on "http://www.t-doitsumura.co.jp/"
Anyway I strongly recommend this!

My favorite place in the United States

I came from Los Angeles in the U.S.
Recently I often feel that I want to go back to the U.S.

Of course the life in Japan is also curious and interesting.
Especially the town where I used to stay,
Los Angeles is my favorite place.

It is very cold in Japan now as you know,
but L.A. is basically warm through the year.
I prefer warm places.
Such a place makes me energetic and positive.

I like Seoul, too, but it is very cold in Seoul in winter.
So probably I may not be able to live there.

I want to live in a warm place in the future.

Boro Ichi Market in Setagaya

Do you know ボロ市? Have you been there to see it?
I didn’t know it until last year,
but I heard about it from someone coincidentally,
and I tried researching it on the inter-net.
I got interested in it, so I decided to go to see it.

This market is held on December 15th and 16th,
and January 15th and 16th every year.
This year only January 16th is Sunday,
so I chose January 16th to go there.

I am very surprised to hear that
this event has been held for 433 years.

There're very many shop booths but very very many people, too,
so unfortunately we can’t see the products carefully at each booth.










Tokyo also has a lot of traditional and historic events.
Until recent days I was not interested in those at all,
but recently I became interested in such things
even though I don’t know the reasons.

Did I become older?

Convenient Item

Last week a friend of mine visited my house.

There is a unit of tatami style cabinets in my house,
and he said that he wanted to change the image of his room.
His room is a wooden-floor room,
he wants to make a Japanese-style room with the unit above.

So in a few weeks we will go to some home-centers in my car,
and we will try looking for it for his room.

To redecorate a room is very interesting and exciting.
He also will enjoy redecorating his room for a while.
I will be happy and excited to help his redecorating his room.

JR Free Pass (Tokyo 23 wards)

I sometimes use this free pass ticket.
This ticket costs only 730 yen.
We can take JR lines freely in the area above.

I sometimes have to visit several companies in Tokyo a day,
and this ticket is very usuful and reasonable.

Tomorrow I will visit two companies along Yamanote Line,
but probably I will use JR lines more than five times.

Have you bought and used this free pass?
If you go to 3 places or more, this ticket must be more reasonable.
When you have an appointment or go sight-seeing, use this once!!

AEON Shopping Center

Yesterday I tried going to AEON shopping center in 浦和三園.
This mall is near 埼玉 studium. World Cup 2002 was held here.

In the past (more than 20 years ago)
AEON or Jusco was a normal super-market,
but recently AEON shopping centers are very huge.

I didn't buy anything there yesterday.
To walk in the big shopping center is interesting.

越谷 Lake Town is also very huge.
La La Port in 南船橋 is too huge, and I often lose my way.

At the end of last year I went to 越谷 Lake Town,
and looked for a wedding present for a friend of mine.
I walked very much, and could find the item,
but I got very tired to walk a lot.

A Happy New Year!!

Year 2011 has started.
I started to work for one of the companies today.

How were your year-end and new-year holiday?
At my year-end I was really busy with cleaning my places.

As for new-year holiday, I visited one shrine
and prayed so that this year would be good.

However, compared to 10-30 years ago,
recently on January 1st and 2nd
we can not feel the atmosphere of new-year.
Most of shops are open, and towns are not quiet.
Houses don't decorate Kadomatsu or so on.

I have two childhood friends, and yesterday I met them.
We enjoyed talking about our old days and memories then.

They remind me of our interesting old days very much,
and they make me happy.

I hope that year 2011 will be very good for everyone, also me!