Sensu

Sensu, traditional Japanese fan, is typically made of bamboo ribs an paper.
It was a fan, but it is not only for take a cool, but also communication tool.
In Tale of Genji, which is oldest Japanese classic novel, Sensu appears a lot.
Ladies usually covered their face for the sign of embarrassment. Fan was also a communication tool between lover because they were not allowed to talk directly.

This Fujin Raijin, by Tawaraya Sotatsu, famous artist in Edo era, around 16th century.
There are two god, god of wind and god of thunder, and this is made of dynamic composition, which was very rare in this era. It is said that Sotatsu draw in this composition, thinking to put on the Sensu. That is why those two gods are far apart, located on both ends of Sensu.

Sensu is used many of Japanese traditional scene and is always with us!

Entrepreneurship :)

Always, have a entrepreneurship!


Professor at Stanford University, Tina Seelig says.
Even though you are not actually managing company, you should always have a entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is to find the problem and solve it in unique way.

For example, you have five dollars. Only five dollars. Nothing else. Then, what would you do if you were told to maximize the value of five dollars in one day?

Some people say they will go to Vegas and gamble. Some people say they will buy a lottery.

It's good, but there is some other solutions. Some people prepared tool to put air in the tire of bicycle, and they put air for student in the college for a buck. Some people came up with the service that sells reservation at popular restaurant. For example, you reserve the seat, and sell your seat to the people who are waiting. And they made $600 in one night!!

There are always unique way to solve the problem. So, people usually hates the problem, but problem is a chance! You should see from different perspectives, and change it to a chance!


If you wanna know more about how to do it.....
see "What I Wish I knew When I was 20" by Tina Seelig!

Do you see Shikoku island on the ma above?? This is where I live now. not my hometown, but my grandma's. There are "Towel Museum" near my home.

Literally, towel museum has tremendous amount of towels!!! From plain to character, for adults to for children! there are many many many towels you can choose! The reason there is a towel museum is because this area is very famous for towels. They have many towel factories!



This is towel that looks like roll cake :) It was very cute, and I couldn't choose which towel I want to buy. There was also big figure of cakes, vegetables, popcorn which are made of cotton ;)

Ah, by the way, right now you guys may be enjoying thanksgiving dinner with your families, right? Thanks giving is one of my favorite event in the US as well as Halloween :) it is such a great thing to get together with families and have biiiiig dinner together:) It is very warm, sweet, and I really feel lot of thanks to have great family and delicious food! Unfortunately, there is no such a event in Japan, but I miss it sooo much! I just wanna go back to the US just for the thanksgiving. I hope you guys are enjoying Happy thanksgiving break!!<3

LA!!

Today is about LA trip <3 I have friend n LA, who I know since when I was high school!!
Here's a famous chinese theatre! It was a great place to begin with :)
I looked around inside, but it was actual theatre, despite of my expectation. The movie was shown in side. And the tour guide explained us about many famous celebrities she knows.

Here's palm tree :) I love palm trees because my home town has them, too. I loved LA's tropical atmosphere!!

I enjoyed beach volleyball in Hamptom Beach, where my friend lives :)


And I went to Universal Studio!! there were a lot of unique designs and shops. it was surreal, and very fun!

At last, there were the wax museum! This is made of wax! Can you believe it?? While I was there, I often confused with actual tourist and wax person!! I thought wax person as tourist, and tourist as wax person! There were many famous actresses and actors made of wax! so I felt like I was taking picture with them!

I lived in California, around SF area for a while.
I know, I DO move around a lot...
I lived in Idaho, going LCSC for 2 years, and I moved to Oregon, beside portland area.
And finally, I moved to Califonia!!!

Ok, to begin with, you can't talk about California without Frozen Yogurt!!
Thinking about encountering great Frozen Yogurts, I can say that I won't regret about moving to California!! These are sooooo goood!! This is Frozen Yogurt place in San Carlos, 20 minutes away from SF.


This is in the middle of SF. There is a cathedral in the middle of the town~!


And if you've been to the SF, you know the SF is consists of succession of incredibly steep hill!! It was almost vertical... I'm know exaggerating. Seriously.

And bay area is very fun place to visit!<3 There are a lot of fun shops <3

And this is Alcatraz island, where the prison was. This prison was famous as "impossible to escape." It is also shown in the movie, "The Rock!." It was little spooky..... actually. The staff in the souvenir shop told me that he actually got to sleep in the prison as a part of educational training.... He told me it was fun...... Mmmmmm.... I don't think I can do that. I will get too scared!

Kagoshima

This is my hometown, Kagoshima. It is in South part of Japan.
This is charcoal ice cream!! You think it is gross, right? But guess what! It is very delicious :)
It is also good for health :) It tastes almost like yogurt.

There are a lot of palm tree! Because it is semi-tropical weather :)
And this is the preserved town where Samurai lived. There are many historical houses, and people actually live here. They are offsprings of Samurai soldiers.
But, we can go into actual people's house and look around.


There are an active volcano and many hot springs in my home town! Also, there is a museum that shows about Kamikaze soldiers, who joined in WWII, put only one way of gas in the plane and took off to attack. They true feeling of sadness, thanks for family, and how much they love their family and how much they miss them is written in their letters. ( Because basically, they are about to die "for country" ) These are shown in the museum. I've been there, but it is extremely sad place. Those people who wrote those letters are in their teens.

Because country did not allow them to talk back, they could not say 'no' to the country to join the war, flying to attack with only one-way fuels. They publicly declared that they were glad that they were nominated as soldier and they are proud that they could fight for country. However, in those letter to families, their true feelings that they don't wanna fight, they wanna stay at home with their families, and they miss their family so much. It is very very sad. And makes me feel that how terrible the war is. Even though I have not experience the war, I could feel the grief atmosphere of war period in the museum. So, though it is very sad and could be depressive, I recommend you to visit here. And other places are so much fun and relaxing to visit ;)

Please visit my home town Kagoshima sometime;)

Translator Tour Guide

Translator Tour Guide..... The person who guide Japan to Foreigner in English.

we have to take a test to be a translator tour guide.
This is what I am trying to take, other than my real job :)

my favorite music :)

Thank you so much for your request, Mary Ann ;)
It motivates me to write by knowing someone actually read my blog!

By the way....
My favorite music is ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNVvIB5pZLA&feature=fvst

The song of world cup in South Africa:)<3 This song brings me up and make me energetic ;)<3


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Li5BxED-c

And this is Japanese song :) called Syounenjidai.. which is translated as "Childhood." I used to sing at music class in elementary school. He is very famous musician in Japan.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW_kP5uwp7A&feature=fvw

"Don't give up your dream" This is 80's song!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGDJ8n6dK-s
Also this is 80's. This is song of "Night at Roxbury." This is very fun song!! This brings my feeling up!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UUxOMs4ygY

"Pacific Hotel"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk51AYSNKUc
"LOVE LOVE LOVE"


Music makes me happy :)<3
Oh, and I love this... This is the song in "Night at Ruxbury"

Cuute :)

When I lived in Lewiston, I stayed at host mother's house.
She was extremely nice and sweet lady I could ever imagine! I still call her "mom," and I still visit her and e-mail her.

so when I visited Lewiston last month, I visited her, too :)
Then,,,,, I had a surprise! ;)
There was a little girl that my host mother has been baby sitting for her friend :)
She was adorable!!

She had blond hair and blue eyes, and she looked like a doll!

And the dog next to her is maggie :) My host mother's daughter's dog.
She is also such an adorable dog! She is very very calm that you will doubt if she is actually a dog.lol She never bark, off course, and she is so mellow. When we pick her up, she just let us pick her up, and even when we drop her on a couch with her back, she just lays there... never moves.

There are three dogs in this house. Other two is very big dogs : Labrador retriever, and boxer. My host mom sometimes holler at them, "Dogs out!!" Other two moves to the door reluctantly, but she never does. She seems like she doesn't even think she is a dog.lol She lays on a sofa all day, sleeping or looking what we are doing.

Very occasionally, she gets so excited when she gets treat! This dog loves to eat!! but never moves.

I enjoyed my stay very much with such cuties :)<3 They relaxed my mind !!

Spanish!

I am studying Spanish.
I would love to go Spain sometime.

Country of Passion with sunshine, beautiful architecture, and bright people!

Salut!! :) para vida bella! :)

But more than the desire of going Spain, I wanna live in the U.S.!!!

That is my dream since when I was child. I was very happy to be there for college!:)
And I fell in love with the US more by living there:)<3

I hope someday, I can live in the US ;)<3

Cherry Blossoms

Cherry Blossom is famous seasonal scene in Japan.
Winter has come, and it is very cold in Japan now.

I don't like winter because I am from town where has semi-tropical weather!
But after this cold cold winter, Spring will come! :) and we can see pretty cherry blossoms everywhere:)

In Japan, Spring is the season of good-bye as well as it is the season of meeting :)
Most of schools end school year in March and start next year in April.
And those dates are pretty strict... Everyone finishes on March and everyone begins next year in April, even you are in college!!

So, you say good-bye to your old friends and meeting new people in next month.
That's Spring in Japan!! And Cherry Blossoms are always with us when we experience those sadness, joy, and tears.

boston!!

By the way, I went to Boston the other day, before I visit Lewiston.
It was for my recruitment, so I could not do too much sightseeing. But still, I thought Boston was beautiful and gorgeous city!! I felt almost like I am in Europe!



There were a lot of churches and cathedrals amid of town....
I ate Chinese food at China town!! Actually, this is the best Chinese dim sum I ever had!! and the China town was a lot of fun :)




There was a succession of European buildings called Newbury! :) When you are in Boston, you gatta check it out!!



And there is Fenway Park!! Japanese baseball player, Matuzaka plays at here.... Though I couldn't see him, it was nice to see this Green Monster!! This is also where Elle and her husband got married in the movie, Legally Blonde ;p ( I know, I'm Legally Blonde freak :p)And this is Harvard University! Almost look like LCSC, isn't it????


It was very fun visiting :)<3<3

my favorite books:)

My favoriiiiite!
I love reading! Have you read “Eat Pray Love” by Elizaeth Gilbert??? This is my most favorite book!
Actually, I have two of this book! I got one before, but at the airport I’ve got compulsive feeling that I have to read it right away, and I finally got it. It takes forever to read one book in English though. But I enjoy every minute of it.



My next recommendation is “Half the Sky.” I haven’t fully read yet, but this is heartbreaking story yet gives you encouragement to live full of your life. This book introduces women who were in dreadful situation and turned them into the opportunity!



My last recommendation is “ Joy of Life.” Hmmm quite deep title, but it’s not like that. It’s very easy to read as I can read, and it has a lot of insight in it. I am sure you will be able to apply into your life. This is not only for Buddhist. I am not Buddhist either, but I enjoyed it very much. This one Buddhist monk wove Buddhism and neuroscience together and completed this book! He includes introduction of the practice of mediation. ( I haven’t tried yet…) Once in a while, I have this moment that makes me feel very down. This book gives me the guideline to happiness J and brighter mood!

Actually, another one…… “ Art of Loving” by Erich Fromm is my favorite, too! This is very well written and has full of insight in it! I am sure you will enjoy it even though you are not psychology or philosophy major!

Please tell me if you have any recommendations! I would love to try reading new books!





Boston!

By the way, I went to Boston the other day, before I visit Lewiston.
It was for my recruitment, so I could not do too much sightseeing. But still, I thought Boston was beautiful and gorgeous city!! I felt almost like I am in Europe!


There is a baseball team that Japanese player, Matsuzaka, plays….



There was shopping street with beautiful succession of buildings…


And here’s Harvard University! The building almost looked like LCSC…. isn’t it???





It was very fun visiting :)

driver's license..

I am actually now a job seeker.
I am taking online classes so I can search for the job.
While taking online classes and searching for the job, I work at convenience store and I work as tutor.
Here’s convenience store I work!

Now, I am trying to get a driver’s license. But guess what! It costs about $3000 to get a driver’s license in Japan…. I really, really needed to get a driver’s license in the U.S. though…. But I couldn’t. So this is my only option.

I gatta work hard!!!!

Japan!

When I read my discussion board, many people told me that I should upload blog about Japan and thought it is fantastic idea!!

I would like to tell my classmates more about Japan!

Actually I am in Lewiston now, just for two weeks.

So many people might felt wired reading my blog because I have been talking about Silverwood and stuff....

I'm leaving here to Japan on November 8th! So I am very excited to write more about life in Japan then!

Halloween!

I went to Silverwood Halloween event :)
It was very fun as well as it was veryy scary.

There were zombies and clowns were wondering around, jump at us...
I was expecting fuzzy scariness going on. But it wasn't anything like that!
It was serious scariness going on in whole theme park.

I am not really good at scary things, so I was horrified whole the time.
I love Halloween:)<3

I hope everyone enjoyed Haloween at party, at home, at everywhere!

Happy Halloween:)

Halloween

What are you doing on Halloween day??? Party? going trick or treat to your acquintances' house?

I love Halloween day.

I experienced first Halloween three years ago, first year of my life in the U.S.

I loved going trick a treat, with witch costume and hat that I got at store, and I loved watching little kids who comes to trick a treat to my house.

They are very cute, but at the same time they are very scary.

This year, I am planning to go silverwood's Halloween event with my friends :)

I am so excited to have another Halloween day :)<3 I will update of the pictures of Silverwood!!

burn notice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfHcuj0kiow

Have you seen Burn Notice,TV drama?
I have been watching Burn Notice on DVD lately, and I love it!!

The main character, Michael Western, was working as CIA. One day, he got burned. People get fired from job, but spies get burned. When spies get burned, they got nothing. Your bank account is freezed, you have no cash, you have nothing. You don't even have a social security number.

Michael Western is very smart with strategies. Using his extra-ordinal ability of working as spy, he works to help people, while he is searching who burned him.

I love his smart strategies. He beautifully solve the problems with using his brain. And he always vulnerable people who needs help, such as kids, elders, who got scammed, who is tricked by gangs, and who are tricked by bad fraud.

I strongly recommend you to see this if you found on TV!!

http://www.usanetwork.com/series/burnnotice/