Mood:  special

Songs of Gospellers always remind me of the days in Boston...cuz my roommate had CDs and we used to listen to them a lot . :)

Anyways, I went to Miyako-jima last week!

It was a very beautiful and peaceful island. Most of the island was covered with sugar cane fields which make the mild sound of wind, and of course the sea around the island was amazingly beautiful in bright blue, dark blue, and tarquois blue colors... it was just stunning and made me wanna stay there for a couple of hours.

When I was driving around the island, I sometimes saw dogs walking freely by him/herself or in a group of 2 to 4...smiling and humming...

Their feet were even skipping and looked so happy and lively. 

There were even goats and horses (they were tied tho) along the roads. They also looked happy.  The goat I saw on the coral rock was looking over the wide ocean smiling . Very cute.

I also enjoyed the cuisine of the island.  I had Miyako-soba twice for lunch. It tastes similar to Yaeyama-soba I had on Ishigaki, but a bit different, I guess.  Miyako-soba was simple but tasty soba. hmm..

I kinda like Yaeyama-soba better though.

Besides, I had yummy lollies as well.  Shoga-to (ginger tasted black sugar) I bought at the supermarket was very good.  A can of rice drink (yeah, it is liquid rice) named MIKI was...a very weird drink. It tastes a bit sweet but feels very heavy, like omo-yu. It's very unique. Seems like works good when you're hungry but don't have any food. 

Needless to say, I visited the famous lighthouse of Miyakojima.  It's a Higashi-hennazaki toudai. I could go up to the top and look down the wide and blue ocean. It was specutacular....

At the shop near the lighthouse, a good grandma gave us a glass of sugarcane juice for free! It was very sweet and yummy. While talking, she gave me a pack of Sa-ta-antagi- (fried sweet) for free as well. It was the most delicious sa-ta-antagi- I have ever had.  You definitely should try it if you have a chance to visit Miyakojima some time. It's sold 100yen/pack.

I also had tasty okinawa dinner. Umi-budo, goya, various champru-, Miyako beef, a-sa, etc. etc.,....

The stalactite cave (sho-nyu-do) I visited was stunning too....  When I walked down the stairs to deep down the ground, there was a dark cave. I walked through the fense gate, then I saw lots of gorgeous stalactite columns growing down from the high celing and up from the ground. Inside the cave was perfectly silent but with the sounds of drops leaking down from the stalactite columns..  On the ground, there were so many awamori bottles ppl put for aging. The stable humidity and temperature inside the cave seem best for aging the spirit.

Every bottle had a msg card, saying "after 5 yrs, we'll come back..." or something like that. :) It was a very nice space.

 The beautiful coral beach, sugarcane fields, spectacular views...I enjoyed them all.  What I regret is that I couldn't dive into the sea.

Definitely I will, next time.  I guess I'm getting addicted to Okinawa...

Mood:  cheeky

Hi. :)

Today I went to Itami Craft Ctr. to participate in the one-day class for making a stool.

I made a small stool (a chair) using red pine woods, screws, and a long paper string.

After assembling the wood parts, I weaved the seat from the paper string, that we usually use for binding newspapers or magazines.

It was a lot harder than I expected! It required lots of power and attention.

But I could finish the work and a cute little stool was made!

As my weaving skill was so poor, it's not that beautifully weaved, but still it's very nice. I wanna try it myself some time again.

I'll put a pic of the stool up here soon...

Mood:  celebratory

Today, I hanged around Kobe area all day long.  It was a little adventure.

I went out by Lupo, to have lunch at Kobe-ya.  After eating a plate of lunch, I drove to Shin-Nishinomiya harbour to see the yachts and the stores.

Then I headed to Oji zoo! I hadn't visited there for like...7 or 8 yrs.

There were no many changes and it was a real nice zoo as it was.

I saw lots of interesting figures and moves of animals. I liked the way the bear looks at something, the elephant's nods, penguin's curiousity, and the amazing speed the seal swims!!!

I had lots of fun there.

Later, I drove to Kurakuen to visit my faaaavorite shop, named "d" aka "daisuki". This store has a very very nice series of plates, bowls, cups, or every other table sets.  It also has many of such nice linen clothes, so I bought one beige linen with blue stripes. I really like it. :)

I can't wait to buy table sets for my new life after marriage....with somebody...in this world....haha

 Then, I went to Nature Spa Takarazuka to bathe myself. The same hotsprings as Arima onsen were there.  I could rest my body enough...

After that, I went to Sannomiya (yeah, I played too much) and had sushi for dinner, then went to see the famous Luminarie.

It was very beautiful... although they're just small lights gathered, it has some mystical atmosphere. Every time I go there, I remember of the earthquake in 1995, when thousands of ppl lost their lives, and I feel so sorry for them who cannot see these beautiful tiny sparkles.

There were not too many people since it was a weekday maybe.

It was a full event day!....but I guess I was too active.

Gotta go to bed. nighty-nite!

Mood:  happy

Today I went to Kobe and had tasty Okonomiyaki. :)

Later, I walked all through MINT and bought very nice bath salt of belgamot and rosemary. Can't wait to use them!

At tower records I bought a CD of Alicia Keys. It's pretty good. :)

I headed to Cafe Nescafe and had a hot cup of latte and a chocolate chiffon cake together. What a yummy time of night...

Mood:  not sure

 This is a very hot bowl of udon that I ate in Nagahama, Shiga pref.

Its soup was very very thick, almost like "ankake" udon.

We got really warmed up by this. :)

It's the season of onabe

I like kamonabe the best but haven't had a chance to eat since my dad doesn't like it much.  weird...

Mood:  bright

I went to Itami city museum to see the exhibition "animals + (plus)".

It was hilarious! http://www.fujitv.co.jp/events/art-net/go/440.html

When I visited there a few wks ago, I happened to see the sculptor.

He was really cool. He had some atmosphere by himself.

His works were really brilliant.  The colors, shapes, and atmospheres are all nice, and all those stuff are very nicely harmonized and producing very mystical, yet friendly air.

I reaffirmed the interesting shapes of animals.

Pls check it if interested!

Mood:  caffeinated

I went to Osaka today and saw the city beautifully decorated with pretty christmas illuminations.

 It's still November and a bit too soon for christmas, but seems like there are no other special events to celebrate after Halloween.

 On the way home, I bought a CD, "Uta-jikara" of Chikuzen Sato.

It's pretty nice so far.

 Oh yes, I've got an early christmas present several days ago.

My father's friend, who owns a Herman teddybear retailing right in Japan, gave me a single lens reflex camera that I've wanted to have!

 I have a job to translate the semi-annual newsletters of Herman teddybear. http://www.hermann-teddy.jp/

I had a chance to meet him and talk about pictures, cameras, etc.

He likes cameras and always buys the newest ones, so he gave one that he doesn't use anymore.

Yet, it's still new, Nikon D40X!

I was thinking about buying Nikon D80, so it's one rank under but still really really nice.

As it came without a lens, I gotta buy one.

My Nikon FM is also truly nice but digital single reflex would work as hard and well with me!

Mood:  chillin'

It was kinda chilly today, wasn't it?

I went for a walk to Kwansei Gakuin Uni., about 15mins walk from home.

Some trees had beautiflly colored leaves, but seemed like it was a bit early for the kouyou-season.

 This is Kodaiji, Kyoto in summer. It'll be nice with red and yellow trees soon.

Mood:  hug me

Hi. I can't recall when was the last time I wrote here two days in a row...

Wonder how long it'll last. ?!

 My today was all full of work.  I could finish one specification though!! *applaude*

I feel like travelling somewhere....somewhere surrounded by great nature and where I can rest my soul...

Actually, I'm planning to go to Shoudo-shima in Setonaikai.

It's the island famous for olives, soy sauce, seafood, etc.  I need to lay myself in the warmy hotspring...hmmm, can't wait.