www.snowmanjapan.net

Asahikawa American English Conversation School

Snowman Japan Web Log

for July 2006

NOTE:  The OBJECTIVE of this BLOG is to help my students with their study of English.

AND

For all of you, out there, around the world to;

SEE HOKKAIDO

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it.  SORRY.

2006 July 30 Sunday.

I got a phone call at 7:30 this morning from a Mr. Sasaki who is the Marketing Director at the OtokoYama Rice Wine Brewery here in Asahikawa.  He said he was riding his bicycle over to my place right away to deliver a 4 pack of SasaOri 100% rice malt, un-pasteurized NamaZake into my hands.  Oh Yeah!!  How sweet it is.  Mr. Sasaki and I know each other well.  He also lives in Kagura,  and 2 of his 3 children have attended my classroom for several years while they were still in elementary school.  The reason he made a special effort to give me this delicious drink pack this morning, is because of an email that I had sent him on July 8 of this year.  In that email, and also my blog for July 8, I wrote about my shocking experience of walking into a super market in Kamui, and finding 5 cases of Otokoyama Sasaori NamaZake, un-refrigerated, piled up on the floor next to the whisky and vodka.  Oh My God!!!!    I picked up one bottle and shook it.  It got more than just a little cloudy on the inside.  This stuff had already gone bad.  What a waste!   I took the bottle up to a cashier and asked for the store manager.  The store manager came and I said;   "I think this NamaZake has gone rotten already.  Do you have any that is refrigerated?"  He called the product manager.  I asked the same question of him.  The product manager went into the backroom and brought back a different bottle of SasaOri and said; "This stuff has just come in."  I looked inside the bottle, and the rice wine appeared to be OK.  HOWEVER, THIS BOTTLE TOO WAS NOT REFRIGERATED.　I told him that this stuff MUST BE KEPT ON ICE or it will go rotten.  He seemed to understand what I was saying.   When I got home that day, I sent an email to Mr. Sasaki right away to tell him of the situation.  I have also seen this same thing at a 7-11 store about 3 or 4 years ago.   So, this morning when Mr. Sasaki rang my doorbell with a gift of drink, he said "Thanks to your email we have made our instructions to the retailers more stringent and more specific.  It must be kept refrigerated at all times.  We can't sell spoiled rice wine."   Oh, so very true.  Thanks for the fresh beverage pack.  I will enjoy drinking it ever so slowly during the remainder of my long summer vacation.

2006 July 29 Saturday.

Finally, last night, I got a really good night's sleep.  Not just because I was sleeping in my own home, but because I was sleeping ON  a futon 布団 instead of IN a bed.  Ever since I first discovered the traditional Japanese Style of sleeping on Tatami 畳 with a Futon mat and covers on top of that, I have been a firm adherent of sleeping on the floor, close to the ground.  The problem I have with western style beds is two-fold.  Either they are too soft, or they are to small, OR both.  Either way, I want my futon.  When Ikuko and I got married about 10 years ago, her mother and father had to order an especially large futon for me, so that I could sleep in comfort.  I am still using that futon set to this day.  Good stuff lasts a long time.  Another good thing about today is that there will be a huge fireworks display 花火大会 on the river line below Tokiwa Park.  The main sponsor of this event is the Yomiuri Shimbun, but a lot of other businesses are contributing money to make this fireworks display a possibility.  I am not one of them.  In my memory, the Yomiuri Fireworks event has been plagued by rain in the past, but today, it was fine.  Perfect, in fact, with warm temperatures and no wind.  Ikuko and I walked from our home, across the Chubetsu Bridge, and on into Tokiwa Park via the backdoor near the Hokkaido Art Museum.  We got there just as the 5 white balls of light and their companion explosive sounds echoed in the evening air, signaling the start of the show.  We found a place to sit down near the bottom of the grassy slope, and settled in for an evening of magical events.     And happen, they did.       It was wonderful.     You can see a slide show of photos that I took at this event by clicking here.

2006 July 28 Friday.

The photo you can see on the left is of a stuffed animal that my wife Ikuko won in a BINGO game that was held at the Toyako Kohan Tei Hotel right after the fireworks display was finished last night.  The BINGO cards were selling for 500 yen each, so I did not buy one, but Ikuko and her mother bought one each.  Both of them won a prize.  Her mother won some type of cookies, or something like that.  After Ikuko won the stuffed bear, I took it and walked over to the front desk where they also keep Yukatas in many sizes.  I asked the hotel employee behind the counter if could borrow a small sized Yukata for my new bear and she said OK.  Because the bear was won at a BINGO game, his name is BINGO.  Welcome to the family, big guy.  This morning, when we took all of our luggage down to the front desk to check out, BINGO was sitting proudly on top of the luggage cart wearing his Yukata.  I was half hoping that they would let me keep the Japanese Style Bath robe, but another lady behind the desk asked me to remove it from the bear.  Sorry Bingo.  We will have to find clothes for you somewhere else.  Maybe a JinBei 甚平 would be nice.  After a less than satisfying buffet style breakfast at the hotel, we were back on the road and headed for Asahikawa.  Today's driving route would take us on Route 453 and then Route 276 past Lake Shikotsu 支笏湖 and into Chitose City 千歳市.  In Chitose, we stopped at the road side rest station 道の駅サーモンパーク千歳　to use the toilets and take a look around.  While we were there, a Japanese Self Defense Force (JSDF) troop transport airplane and two fighter jets (F-15) flew in low overhead to make a landing at the JASDF  Base Chitose, which is very nearby.  The sight and sound of the jets was truly awesome.  I tried to take a photo of them, but, my camera batteries went dead, just at that moment.  Bummer.  Maybe someday I'll get a good photo of them.  I know that the Chitose Airport is very busy, but in total, I counted 10 passenger airliners and about 12 more F-15 fighter jets fly overhead in just the 40 minutes or so that we were there.  Very impressive.  After our brief stop there, we got back on the road and headed for YuuBari 夕張 along Route 274 and then Route 452.  YuuBari used to be famous as a coal mining town 石炭鉱山, but nowadays, with the coal mine closed and being used as a museum, the town is very famous for its very juicy and tasty melons.  melons.  And believe you me, they are much cheaper inside the town itself, than they are at the supermarkets in other places around Hokkaido and other parts of Japan.  The drive from YuuBari to AshiBetsu 芦別 along Route 452 is a very slow and winding road, but it is also very beautiful.  If you have the time, I highly recommend this route during the season of no snow.  I may go back again in the autumn to enjoy the colored leaves.  At AshiBetsu, we turned onto Route 38 towards AkaBira 赤平 but ong before we got anywhere close to AkaBira, we then turned off onto Route 4 which connects to Route 12 at KamuI KoTan 神居コタン.  Route 4 is another beautiful drive that winds through the countryside.  Today was my first time to drive this road.  Finally, after passing through the two tunnels that lead into Asahikawa at DaiBa 台場, we arrived at Ikuko's mother's house in ChuWa 中和 at about 17:00.   Total driving distance today was 315 kilometers.  It was a nice 5 day 4 night road trip with wonderful weather every day.  It's also good to be back home again.

2006 July 27 Thursday.

I didn't have to do any driving yesterday, but I do today.  Our next overnight will be at Lake Toya.  That's about 250 kilometers from Hakodate so, we got on the road again at about 10:00, after another delicious breakfast, at another restaurant in the Hakodate Morning Market.  Today's  drive went along Route 228 into KiKoNai 木古内 onto Route 5 through Oonuma 大沼 and then onto Route 228 again and on into Esashi 江差.  In Esashi, we stopped to look at the Old Style Town called いにしえ街道.   This place is a real working section of the town, but all of the homes and businesses along this street, have been remodeled to look like buildings did during the Meiji Era.  It is very much worth your time to take a look.  Back on the road along Route 229 through KumaIshi 熊石, onto Route 277 to YaKumo 八雲.  From YaKumo, it was back onto Route 5 through KunNui 国縫 and Oshamanbe 長万部.  At Oshamanbe, we turned onto Route 37 and 230 which took us through ToyoUra 豊浦 and connected with Route 37 that took us the remaining distance to the shores of Lake Toya 洞爺湖.   We arrived at the hot spring hotel Toyako Kohan Tei 洞爺湖湖畔亭 just as the sun was beginning to set.  We went straight to our room, which had a lakeside view, and watched the changing colors as darkness approached.  At about 19:30, they brought dinner to our room.  It was trays full of Japanese style cuisine of every sort.  It was almost confusing.  I ate everything on my plates and then sat back, watched a Jidai Geki on TV and waited for the nightly fireworks display to begin at 20:45.   About 10 minutes before the start of the fireworks, we all went downstairs and outside along the shoreline of the lake to observe the light and sound show.  The rockets were launched from a boat out in the lake that would move farther out towards the center of the lake with each set of volleys.   Another smaller speed boat was cruising around in the same general area, and dropping bombs into the water of the lake.  The bombs would then explode on the surface of the lake, creating a big shock wave, and a well reflected light show in both the sky above, and on the water below.  It was quite interesting.  After all of the noise was finished, we all went back up to our room on the 6th floor, and got ready to go take a bath on the 9th floor.  Ikuko and her mum went first, and I went at about 23:30 when they both got back.  The bath facilities were wonderful.  I especially enjoyed the soft round all cedar wood ヒノキ湯船　hot tub located out on the balcony.  What a rare treat that was.  The fragrance of the wood and the slippery softness of the wood surface itself is a truly relaxing experience.  Finally after cooling off, everybody went to bed at about 01:30.  Tomorrow, it's back to Asahikawa.

2006 July 26 Wednesday.

We all woke up at about 8:00 and started getting ready for today's self-produced sightseeing tour of Hakodate.  I plan the driving route, Ikuko plans the accommodations and tourist-like behavior, and her mother came along for the ride and to pay for the hotel rooms.   Yikes!!!   I always sleep in my NOAH when I'm on the road by myself.   All I need is a place to lie down, spread eagle, that's not wet and cold, and get a good night's sleep.     That's all.    I'm all set for the night.  With ladies, it's a bit different.  Anyway, Ikuko's big plan for today was; 1. Breakfast at The Morning Market.  2. Buy a one day bus pass and ride all over the city to, GorRyoKaku 五稜郭 Tower, The Trappist Convent トラピスチヌス修道院, Other famous old buildings inside the city,  3. Dinner at Hakodate Beer (my idea) and then 4. Window shopping around in the KaneMori Red Brick Warehouse area.  Sounds good to me too.  Let's go.  Breakfast at the Hakodate Morning Market was in a word, EXCELLENT.  Ikuko and her mum had some kind of mixed seafood rice bowl, but I went straight to the bottom of the ocean with my choice of the CRAB RICE BOWL.  It was awesomely delicious.  No soy sauce, no wasabi.  Just served as is, fresh from the ocean.  And just as it was, it went straight down the hatch and gave me some breakfast satisfaction.  Yummy.  Plan Number 2.  We bought the bus passes, and got on board for a short ride to the GoRyoku Tower and Park area.  The old tower was razed and this new tower was built in it's place only a few years ago.  Of course I'm going to take a ride to the top in an elevator.  And we did.  All 3 of us.  It was certainly worth the effort.   The photo you can see on the top left was taken from that new tower.  You may also notice that the highest point of the mountain in the background, is the exact same spot from which I took the photo in yesterday's blog.  What a difference a few hours make during the days.  After the tower experience, we took a very long and round about bus ride around the city and finally uphill to the Trappist Convent to take a look around.  I have been here before, and this place is well worth the visit.   After about 60 minutes in that area, we took a rather shorter bus ride to the street car tracks, and rode the street cars around on their "clackity-clack tracks" towards our final sightseeing destination, the old buildings district.  Unfortunately, we made a shopping stop along the way and one of the most interesting places to visit, the old KaneMori Western Goods Store  旧金森洋物店 was already closed.  Bummer.  After looking at the former British Consulate General's Official Residence, and a few other nearby historic buildings, we walked on down the hills towards the KaneMori Red Brick Warehouse area for an early dinner at Hakodate Beer and then a hot water foot bath, and maybe,  do some more window shopping.  We arrived at the Hakodate Micro Brew Pub Restaurant at about 18:30 after spending 30 or so minutes shopping in the warehouse area.  I went back to a shop that I had been to 3 years ago, to look for some more turquoise stones as either a bracelet or a necklace.  I found what I was looking for.  It was big and bulky, it had a strong magnetic clasp and a steel sting holding it all together.  The only problem was, the quality of the turquoise stones was not very good.  They were genuine stones, but they are all, exactly the same color.  And quite bright at that.  I suspect some supplemental dying of these rocks.  But that's not a problem, because the price was right.  You can see my sparse collection of Hopi, Navajo and Zuni Native American Indian Jewelry in the photo above right.  I don't know about you, but I really enjoy looking at the sky-blue color of トルコ石.   Anyway, while I was admiring my new purchase of low grade turquoise stones, wrapped around my left wrist twice to masquerade as a bracelet, I drank Belgian Style Beer by the pitcher and ate very tasty western cuisine.  What a treat!  It was still quite bright out, and the sunset against the cloudy sky, gave the whole city an awesome vermilion glow in shades of orange and pink.  Nature knows how to make things bright.  While the wife and her mother went shopping, I stayed behind to soak my big feet in a boat-shaped tub of iron-rich hot water.  Free of charge to anyone who wants to try it.  The photo on the left gives you the general feeling of the hot spot. I sat there for about 70 minutes, drinking KuniMare 国稀 Cooled Rice Wine, and chilling out with my feet resting in pleasantly warm water of suspicious origins.  But capture the moment, IT DID.  Why don't we have something like this here in Asahikawa???  We could pipe in some of the natural hot water from the Hotel Paco, and build it right in front of Seibu and the EXC Buildings, right there on Kaimono Koen.  Sounds good?  Then DO IT.  Bring more tourists to Asahikawa.  Hakodate is a bit smaller in population than Asahikawa, but in terms of how much tourist money gets spent in each city, my guess is that Hakodate makes a lot more income from travelers.  Asahikawa needs more tourist income.  More about that at a later date.

2006 July 25 Tuesday.

2006 July 24 Monday.

2006 July 22 July Saturday.

Today is the last day of the Kamikawa Shrine Festival 上川神社祭, and the first day of my summer vacation.  Despite this fact, I had one private lesson at 11:00, and then at about 13:40, 2 professors from Asahikawa University came to my classroom for about 15 minutes.  The reason they came was to have me grade two final exams for two more students in my English class, and also for me to proofread a translation of a business letter that will be sent to the USA.  I was in such a hurry to finish the job, that I forgot to offer them each a glass of iced tea.  Shame on me.  Very bad manners.  When that was all finished at about 14:00, I started thinking about what to do with the rest of my day.  I wanted to go down to the Kamikawa Shrine Festival area from late afternoon until late at night, and spend some time with my friends who operate an outdoor food stall there, but I just couldn't find the energy to lift my arse out of this chair and move on down the line.  As a result, I missed it.  Yeah, I fell asleep and didn't wake up until about 21:30.  Oh no!  No new photos this year.  The photo you can see on the left was taken at last year's event.  To see the entire photo slide show, click here.

2006 July 21 Friday.

Today is the last day of classes at this classroom until August 21.  Say what???  A one month summer vacation?  Yeah, that's right.  It sounds like a long time, but believe me, it's not so long.  What IS long are the 5 straight months from December until April when there is snow on the ground.  That's a looooooong time folks.  Enjoy the summer while you can.  It's muuuuuuuch shorter than winter.  My first class of the day started at 13:30 with the two lovely ladies who come every week at this time for a private lesson.  Today, they brought me a birthday gift which you can see in the photo on the left.  Can you guess what it is???  If you look very closely, you can see some type of writing that looks something like,...  well let's see,...  it's C?ASSIC.  What is that?   The package is also quite heavy and it makes a sloshing sound when moved back and forth.  Hmmmm.  I will open it later.

Also, the family who comes every Friday at 19:00 for their daughter's English lesson, brought me a home made carrot cake which you can see in the photo on the right.   My mother used to make a carrot cake for my birthday every year because, I liked carrot cake much more than any other kind of cake that I have eaten.  It just seems to have the right amount of sweetness.  Especially if the frosting contains no sugar.  Thank you so much for you kind considerations everyone.  I will be 50 years old in about a week or so.  That's one half century.  Oh my god!  I'm an antique 骨董品.   I hope I don't end up collecting dust on a shelf somewhere.  I need to stay active.  I need to go for a walk and get some exercise.  Talk to ya later.  I'm outta here.

2006 July 20 Thursday.

No classes until 15:00 today so I had plenty of time to plan more road trips for summer vacation.  The junior high school student who comes to her lesson every week at 18:00 on Thursday's, told me that a group of junior high school students have come from Asahikawa's sister city of BN Illinois for a 10 day home stay.  Apparently, they will be leaving with the group of Americans that have been here for almost a one year home stay.  They have this program every year.  This girl who comes to her class every Thursday, spent 10 days in BN Illinois starting on March 25 of this year.  (See my blog of 2006 March 22 for details) It was only for 10 days, but her English speaking ability improved dramatically during that time.  It really does make a difference.   Also, today is the start of the Kamikawa Shrine Festival 上川神社祭.  I won't be able to go today or tomorrow, but I may go on Saturday.  To see a photo slideshow of last year's event, click here.

2006 July 19 Wednesday.

Today was my last class for this school year at the Kosei Nursing School ＪＡ厚生連旭川看護専門学校.  One of the the traditions at this school is for the students to gather around the piano and sing a song for each and every teacher after that teacher's last lesson of the school year.  This is just one more of the many nice things this school does for the people who teach there on a part time basis.   As I have said before, this is by far the most professionally managed school that I have ever worked at.  It is a pleasure to teach there, and the students are very competent as well.  See you all again in about 2 years, at your graduation ceremony and graduation party!!!    Have a nice summer vacation.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it.  SORRY.

2006 July 17 Monday.

Today is a National Holiday in Japan called 海の日　Umi no Hi.   I call it "Marine Day" in English.  I suppose the purpose of this holiday is to give everyone a chance to go to the beach and enjoy the sea, but today it was THUNDER and LIGHTING here in Asahikawa.  I began to wonder about the weather conditions at Sunset Beach in Haboro Town, where I had just returned from yesterday.    僕は雨男じゃないみたいべさ。　When I say thunder and lightning, I mean BIG TIME.  Actually there were two different thunderstorms, one right after the other, both with lots and lots of rain.  The photo on the left may give you some idea of just how hard it was coming down.  The drain pipe that you can see in the upper left corner of the photo shows how much water was flowing down from the 9 stories of balconies above mine. 　 Personally, I like thunder storms, especially at night, and I have observed some amazing light and sound shows since I have lived here in Hokkaido.  I fact, I have seen many more, much bigger and much longer lasting thunderstorms here, than I have ever seen at any other place  I have lived before. 

In particular, I can clearly remember a lighting storm that lasted for more than 2 hours!   It was about 3 years ago, when my wife and I were staying in Otaru for the night.  We had just finished eating and drinking at the Otaru Micro Brewery in Warehouse Number 1.  We noticed the lightning in the distant sky as we left the restaurant.  The storm was so far away that you could hardly hear the thunder, but the light show was fantastic.  I wanted to see more, so we walked down to the wharf area where the really big ships dock and stood there for over 90 minutes in amazement observing the flashes in the sky.   Another time that I can remember as if it were yesterday, happened right here in Asahikawa about 5 years ago.  We were both here at home watching some movie on TV when the thunderstorm started.  The windows were already open so we just sat there and watched a powerful display of natural electric energy for more than an hour.  It was truly a memorable mid-summer's night delight.  How about you?  Do you like thunder and lightning?  I know many dogs, cats and other animals that don't like it at all.  I can understand why.  For one thing, they basically have now idea of what is happening at the time.   And since many animals have a much keener sense of hearing that us humans, it is most certainly very painful to their ears, each and every time the thunder cracks.  I'm looking forward to the next live performance of the ELECTRIC UNIVERSE.

2006 July 16 Sunday.

	The party went on all night long until about 3:30 in the morning.  Our tent was pretty quiet, but many other much younger people were shooting off fireworks, laughing loudly and running around making a lot of noise. Despite all of this craziness, there were not fights and no police anywhere near the beach.  It's such an beautiful thing when everyone can do what they want to do and nobody gets hurt.  Finally at about 3:45, everyone in our group went to their tents and went to sleep.  I went back to my van to do the same.   I woke up again at about 7:30 and walked back down to the tent on the beach.  One of the guys was already up listening to music on his iPOD and small speakers set.  Everyone else was still asleep.  About 30 minutes later another guy got up and joined us.  Then at about 8:00, one of the ladies got up and joined us as well.  We sat around talking and cleaning up the area inside the tent.  As we were picking up chopsticks, empty paper plates and half full beer cans, the loudspeakers at the beach began to play music again.  What were they playing?  Chage and Aska.  Starting with the really old songs and working on up to the recent past.  My wife is a huge fan of C&A and has every single CD/DVD/book/magazine/monthly news letter etc. that this group as ever produced.  As a result, I knew every single song that was played this morning.  In fact, I could even sing along with them if I had wanted to.  Even with the loud music playing, the other ladies slept for an additional 30 or 40 minutes.
	Finally, when everyone had gotten up by about 10:00, it was time to eat BBQ again.  I'm lovin' it!!!   Unlike yesterday, today was turning out to be hot and sunny.  The perfect day for a swim.  I had an appointment at 18:00 back in Asahikawa, so I said goodbye to my friends and got back on the road just before 12:00.  About 30 kilometers south of Haboro, I found a nice stretch of sandy beach where the waves were breaking at about 1 meter high, so I stopped my van, got out my bodyboard, and went body surfing for about 30 minutes.  Not all that much fun, but a nice refreshing dip in the cool water none the less.  I finally arrived back in Asahikawa at about 17:00.  The first thing I did was to take a bath and get cleaned up. Then, it was off to yet another BBQ party.  This one, at my wife's parent's house in Chuwa.  I must say, this has been an excellent weekend.  Thank you for inviting me to your parties!!!

2006 July 15  Saturday

	At about 11:00, I started feeling hungry again, so I got out my portable gas burner and mini Chinese Wok, and fried up some marinated chicken meat to eat with another bowl of brown rice.  Yesterday, I prepared 4 kilograms of boneless chicken breast meat, cut into big chunks, which I then put into 3 big plastic zip-lock bags along with a marinate sauce of: lemon juice, soy sauce, salt, course ground black pepper, fine ground white pepper, spicy India Curry Paste and to top it all off, dried or fresh mint leaf.  Yum yum.  This is one of my frequent menus.   After lunch, and a few beers later, I decided to take a 2 or 3 hour nap.  I need to save my energy for the concert  which starts in about 7 hours.  After a much needed, but less than satisfying nap of about 90 minutes, I decided to get up and walk around again.  The fine young lady who comes to my classroom every Wednesday at 19:00, asked me to call her at about 16:00 so I began my search for a public telephone.   The nearest one was located at the Ferry Terminal about 1 km from the beach site.  No problem. I don't have a mobile phone, because I don't need one. Neither do I want one.  No thank you.   So, I used one of my many telephone cards to make the call.  She answered and said: "Meet us in the parking lot."  I said "OK" and then, I hung up the phone.
	As soon as I got back to the parking lot at Sunset Beach, I saw Rina and her friends.  We all took a part of the gear that had been brought and headed down to the beach to set up camp.  Even thought yesterday and most of today had been cloudy and slightly rainy, it began to clear up and get rather hot and sunny.  Perfect!  What a way to start a beach party.  Rina introduced me to to her friends.  Two of them are working at a printing company where she used to work as well.  When I asked the name of the printing company, I was surprised to learn that it is the same company that the father of one of my former students, is the president of!!!  Coincidence?  The other three young ladies are also people whom I have met for the first time today.  One of them is a junior high school math teacher, working in Otaru.  Another one, was wearing a genuine turquoise ト ルコ石 bracelet, much like the necklace that I have.  We all sat around in the warm glow of the setting sun and talked about various things while drinking very cold beer.  Other campers were doing the same.  Some campers had come with their children and were playing with them and having a very good time as well.  I was happy to see so many families camping together and enjoying the great outdoors. I think it is important for children to get away from the TV and video games and see what the world is like without electronic gadgets all around them.  At about 19:00, 175R started playing their music and the concert had begun.  The three young ladies and the other guy went to the stage area to see the concert, but Rina, I, and her two former co-workers at the printing company stayed at the tent, talking about various aspects of the printing business and how it all fits in with the internet and web design.  We were having such a good time that the concert finished before we could get to the stage!!!  The photo you can see at the top was taken right at the end of the show!  Then, it was time to get down for some serious eating of BBQ.

2006 July 14 Friday.

	I decided to leave Asahikawa on Friday night at 22:00.  It was cloudy, but not raining at that time.  I drove to Rumoi and looked around the town for about 30 minutes.  There was absolutely nothing going on there.  I got back on the road and drove towards Haboro.  Along the way, it started raining lightly.  I drove slow for safety reasons.  About 30 kilometers south of Haboro, I saw a sign for a roadside rest station 道の駅.  At first I didn't recognize the name so I decided to pull in and take a look around.  To my surprise and delight, it was at the Obira Nishin Banya おびら鰊番屋.   I have been to this place many times before, but somehow I had never noticed that there was a roadside rest station there.  It was already about 24:30, so I decided to spend the night there.  I chose to stay in the parking lot on the other side of the Route 232, which is right next to the beach.  I opened my cooler and pulled out a Sapporo Classic All Malt Beer and enjoyed the soothing sound of  waves as I got ready for bedtime.  What an excellent place to spend the night.  The only other sounds besides the waves, were the cars and trucks zooming past on the highway.  There weren't that many so it wasn't a problem.   I think I will come here again in the future.
	I woke up again at about 5:30 and noticed that it was misty and raining lightly.  After walking across the highway to use the toilet, I prepared my breakfast.  What did I have?  My usual, brown rice and natto 玄米に納豆.  I had already cooked the brown rice the previous day at my home and brought the rice cooker with me in the van.  After breakfast, I washed my rice bowl and got back on the road for the short 30 km drive to Haboro.  I arrived there at about 7:00.  I immediately went to Sunset Beach so that I could get a parking spot on the lower level close to the beach and its facilities.  The lower parking lot was already about half full.  It's a damn good thing I left Asahikawa last night.  I parked my van and got out to look around.  As I was doing so, more and more cars and vans began to come and fill up all of the parking spots by about 8:00.  The photo you can see above is the one showing people lining up to get their free tickets for the best viewing area right in front of the stage.  I lined up too and got my free ticket.  It was raining a little bit, but it was not a problem.  After getting my ticket, I continued to walk around the area and see what there was to see.  The concert starts in about 10 hours from now.

2006 July 13 Thursday.

I didn't have any classes this morning, so I spent some time planning for various road trips during summer vacation.  On Friday or Saturday, I will leave on a road trip to Sunset Beach in Haboro.  The reason I am going there is because a very nice young lady who comes to my classroom every Wednesday at 19:00, told me about a FREE LIVE CONCERT by 157R (いなごらいだー　E Na Go Rider).  What? A free concert on the beach during a warm summer's evening???  I'm going!!!   The only decision I have to make now is whether to leave on Friday night, or early Saturday morning.  I will make that decision tomorrow.

2006 July 12 Wednesday.

My first gig of the day started at 8:50 a.m. at the Kosei Nursing School ＪＡ厚生連旭川看護専門学校.  Today I brought with me a rather large bouquet of lavender flowers that I had just picked the night before.  I put the bundle of cuttings in a glass beer mug, without water, so that I could give them to each and every student at the start of today's lesson.  The main reason that I took the time last night to go and cut fresh lavender, below the city hospital 旭川市立病院 in Riverline Park, was to give the students pause from their rigorous studies, and to make them enjoy a piece of nature for a few minutes.    花泥棒、花泥棒。  SPITZ でした.  Yes, I admit it, but it was for a good cause.  A good purpose and a good intention that was just a thought, until I acted upon it.   DO something.   ACTION is the key.  MOVEMENT is another word for action.  Not someday, but NOW.  Just DO it.  And I did.  I got into my NOAH 君　road meister and drove down to riverline park.   I was well prepared for my mission because I had a small pair of scissors with me.  It was a pre-meditated action.  And it worked.  I got what I came for, and I gave what I intended to give.  It was naturally perfect.   I think I'll do this again next year, and the next year after that,  for as long a s I have a gig at this very well organized, and this very professionally administered Kosei Nursing School.  Take the time to smell the lavender.  There is more to life than just working every day.

2006 July 11 Tuesday.

Last night Ikuko and I went for a long walk from the Taisetsu Arena in Kagura, across the Chubetsu Bridge, on into Tokiwa Park and then up and over the hill and down onto the Ishikari Riverside just below the Asahikawa City Hospital where the wonderful Riverline Park is located.  This place, called Riverline Park, is a great place to sit down and relax, because not only is there an abundance of lavender and other fragrant flowers, but there is also a water fountain that is illuminated at night with multi-colored lights.  Not only is the water fountain beautiful to watch, but the sound of the falling water has a very soothing effect upon the soul.  I wonder why?  We sat there for more than an hour, talking about many and various things, and revealing in the simplicity of NATURE's profound beauty.     H2O.     Water.       Can't live with it,     Can't live without it.    Essential.     Of course.     After taking a few stalks of lavender with us for a home table decoration, we walked back towards home through Tokiwa Park, back onto Kaimono Koen, and then we did some shopping.    Food and Beer were numbers 1 and 2 on our list.   And we bought a few of each, for each other.  We heard about 9 or 10 people speaking Chinese as we and they sat on wooden benches in near proximity.  We didn't hear any Korean or any other English being spoken this evening.   When I drink beer, I tend to speak more English than Japanese with Ikuko.  She understands what I am saying and says what she wants to say to me in Japanese.  Her native language.  That's fine with me because I can understand spoken Japanese much better than I can speak it for myself.   No big mystery why.   Anyway, Ikuko wanted to buy some JUNK FOOD at MOS BURGER.  She asked me if I wanted anything to eat.   I thought to myself about my wonderful breakfast of Natto and Genmai Rice this morning and said; "No thank you."  Ikuko went off to buy her "food".  However, about 90 seconds later, she came back to where I was sitting and drinking beer,  while listening to spoken Chinese, and she said:  "They have a Mexican Style Chicken Pita Sandwich.   Do you want to eat some?"   I said, "Yeah, I'll take 3 of those."   About 7 minutes later, she came back to our wooden bench, with her junk food and my junk food as well.  We sat on that bench and ate our junk food for about 33 minutes or more.   I must say, it tasted pretty damn good at about 21:33 on a warm and breezy summer's eve.   It's only a simple life but, it doesn't get much better than this.  

2006 July 10 Monday.

My first gig of the day was at the Chestnut Tree Kindergarten くりの木幼稚園 in Nagayama.  It was rather hot and humid this morning so I worked up quite a sweat singing and dancing with the kids.  Yeah, I can still do it.  But, I was dripping wet after only about 15 minutes or so.  Then, I stopped the music and went through the entire alphabet, one letter at a time while singing the ABC song, 26 times.   Some of the older kids were starting to fall asleep, so I changed tactics and got out the weather flashcards and did that for a while.  Then, it was time to count from 0 to 10 and from 10 to 0 a few times.   This kindergarten has almost 200 students and most of them where assembled in the gym for my class.  As you might imagine, it got a bit noisy at times.  When that gig was finished, I came back to my classroom to eat lunch and get ready for my next class at the 神楽公民館で英会話を楽しむ会.   When I checked my mailbox in the lobby, I discovered this letter from a young girl who attended my classroom for about 3 years while she was an elementary school student.  As you can see from her letter, she is getting the highest score of all her classes, in English which is a required subject for all junior high school students.  I am not surprised to read this because she came to all of her lessons on time and always followed my lesson plans as presented to her.  She says thank you to me, but I must say thank you to her as well for being such an attentive student and allowing me to teach her how to speak, read, write and listen to American English.  If a student is day dreaming in class, the amount of knowledge that I can convey to them is much much less than if they are really paying attention to the lesson.  It is my secret wish that every student  who comes to my classroom would be like this.  It makes my job much easier and more enjoyable.  Thank you for your letter Mai Chan!!

2006 July 9 Sunday.

Today I was thinking about driving to Furano to take photos of the lavender fields and other flower gardens, but somehow I didn't feel much like driving.  I felt more like walking.  Remembering that there is a lot of lavender growing at the Riverline Park which is just below the City Hospital, I headed over in that direction.  I walked across the Chubetsu Bridge and into downtown Asahikawa along the pedestrian mall called Kaimono Koen.  It was quite crowded with people of all types wearing a variety of interesting clothes and hairstyles.  I continued along the mall to the end and then turned left towards Tokiwa Park.  It too was quite busy with many people enjoying the beautiful weather in a leisurely manner.   I finally arrived at the Riverline Park and was pleased to find the lavender coming into full bloom.  The fragrance and color are absolutely wonderful.  I even picked a few stems to take home with me as a table decoration.   The photograph on the left really isn't that good because it doesn't quite capture the true deep purple color of the flowers.  I will have to try again in the very near future.  After about an hour of walking around the Riverline Park and enjoying the flowers as well as the big water fountain, I walked back through Tokiwa Park and then back into downtown Asahikawa along the pedestrian mall again.  Being a rather hot and sunny day, I was beginning to develop a powerful thirst.  A very cold beer might be nice.  I like Sapporo Classic All Malt Beer the best so, I started thinking about where I might buy one, when I saw a flag advertising it just outside the A.S.H. Building on the ground level.  I also discovered to my great surprise and delight that they also had Sapporo Edelpils on tap.   I haven't been able to drink this beer for about 5 years, because it is not commonly available in this city.   I walked up to the counter and asked the young man standing behind it if he really did have Edelpils.  He said yes, so I bought one plastic cup full of the golden brew.   It tasted sooooooo good.  Edelpils is a very bitter and thoroughly refreshing beer that has a lot of flavor and a good aftertaste.   If it was available in the supermarket, I would drink it every time.   While I was drinking my beer, a young woman came to the counter and the young man went somewhere else.  I decided to have just one more cup of the golden brew so I went back up to the counter to order it.  While I was talking to the young lady, I discovered that she had spent 4 years in the USA, and in fact graduated from a university in Ohio.  At that point we began speaking American English, my native language.  She also mentioned that she had spent one year in Germany.   I wanted to stay and chat longer, but I was getting hungry so I decided to walk back home and bake some chicken drumsticks in my electric oven.  An original recipe that uses Indian Curry and mint leaves in the marinate.  Yum yum.

2006 July 8 Saturday.

Even though yesterday, July 7 was Tanabata 七夕 in most of Japan, people in Hokkaido usually celebrate this occasion one month later on August 7.  However, for the sake of national unity, and for other practical reasons, some kindergartens and day care centers have an event for their children on or about July 7th.  Today was just such a day for these children at the Young Buds Kindergarten めばえ幼稚園.   Even though I have been teaching the kids at this school easy English for about 12 years now, I have never attended this event before.  Last Monday when I went there for my 英語ふれあい教室 lesson, the headmaster of the school 園長先生 invited me to come to today's event.  I asked him if it was OK to take a lot of photographs, and he said that it would be just fine.  In fact, today, the headmaster posed for me as I took 3 photos of him wearing a golden star on a red headband.  He was totally into the event, which is as he should be.  I was enjoying it also, but compared to other school festivals that I have attended over the years, this one was rather plain.  No problem.  It was as it was supposed to be, and that is the natural state of its being.  After about an hour of observing the festivities and taking about 100 photos, I decided to move on, and take a long walk in a round about way, back home.  Because Mebae Kindergarten is located across the Biei River in Kamui, I have two choices as to how I want to cross the river and get back into Kagura.  Today, I decided to walk around in Kamui and look at the various neighborhoods in this part of the city.  As I was doing so, I crossed paths with a big supermarket called BEST PRICE.  I have been to this same store many times before, but today I arrived there by mere coincidence.   When I saw the big red and white signboard of ベスプライス, I thought to myself, 'Do they have my favorite brand of un-pasteurized Japanese Rice Wine namely,　男山の笹おり　生酒？　To my horror, I found that they did indeed have it.  Five full cases of it, stacked up on the floor next to the whiskey.   I picked up one bottle and gave it a shake.  It was much more cloudy than it should have been.  The stuff was going rotten because it had not been kept refrigerated!!!  My god, what a waste.  Who is the product manager at this store?  Anyway, I certainly wasn't going to buy any of it.  It is already spoiled.  I spent the rest of the daylight hours walking around on the cycling roads that border the Biei River.  Another very pleasant day in Hokkaido.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it.  SORRY.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it.  SORRY.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it.  SORRY.

Lots to write about today, but no time to write it.  SORRY.

2006 July 3 Monday.

My first gig of the day started at 10:00 at the Young Buds Kindergarten めばえ幼稚園.  When I arrived there, I noticed that the staff was busy preparing for the upcoming Tanabata Festival 七夕 which will be held on Saturday July 8.  Tanabata falls on July 7 but, that's a Friday this year so the festival will be held on the following day starting at 5:30 pm.  The headmaster of the kindergarten invited me to come and participate in the event.  I asked if it would be OK to take a lot of photographs , and he said that it would be OK.  I was glad to hear this because most of the children will be wearing traditional Yukata　浴衣 and Jinbei 甚平.   I will be wearing my own custom-made deep purple Jinbei, too.   When those  three lessons 年少、年中、年長 were finished at about 11:30, I went back to my classroom to eat and get ready for my next class that starts at 13:00 at the 神楽公民館で英会話を楽しむ会.   Today, I started the class by saying; "Did everybody have a nice weekend?  I sure did.  It was absolutely fantastic!!!"   So, one of the ladies, asked me:  "What did you do?"   At this point, I decided to make up a completely fictitious story for reasons that I will explain a bit later, so I said:  "I flew to Tokyo and went to Disney World and Disney Sea.  I stayed at a 5 star Penthouse Suite Hotel and flew back to Asahikawa on a private jet."   One man asked me: "Did you go with your wife?"  I replied:  "No, she had to work a HOMAC so I went by myself."   Then, some other ladies started asking me some other questions about my one night, two days adventure in Tokyo, and I answered their questions with more fiction.   After about 2 or 3 minutes of this I could see that most of the people believed my fictitious story, but a few of them, were looking at me with skeptical eyes.   Finally, I said: "I didn't really go to Tokyo,  that story is a complete FABRICATION 作り話.   I stayed here in Hokkaido and went to FukiAge Spa on Saturday night, and then to the Sea of Japan at ShoSanBetsu 初山別 on Sunday and swam in the ocean."   Most of the people in the group were thrown off balance by my confession.  A few of the people had already suspected that I was telling a little white lie about my weekend adventures.   I have never done this before with this group of students.  My purpose today was 3 fold.   1. To introduce the common phrase "a fabrication".  2. To test people's ability to distinguish a story that is plausible from a story that is not plausible, and 3. to tell the true story of my weekend in beautiful Hokkaido.   I hope nobody was offended by my little experiment.  I certainly meant no harm.  After that class was finished, I walked back to my classroom for straight classes from 15:00 until 20:00.  When that was all finished, I went for a walk along my usual route next the to Biei and Chubetsu Rivers' cycling roads.  It was wonderful, albeit a bit hot and humid.  Fortunately for me, I had a bathtub of cold water waiting for me when I got home.  What a difference that makes.  You can cool down and wash off the sweat and itchiness all at the same time.  What a wonderful day.

2006 July 2 Sunday.

I woke up at 6:30 with the sunlight shining brightly inside my van.  Most of the other people who spent the night at Fukiage Spa were already up and about.  I made a beeline for the smelly port-a-potty that is the only toilet nearby and took a leak.   Then, I converted my van from a sleeping car into a driving car.   The weather again today will be very fine.  I drove slowly back towards Asahikawa in order to eat some breakfast and decide what to do with the rest of the day.  I had only slept for about 4 hours, but somehow I felt fully rested.  That's a good thing because when the weather is like this in Hokkaido, it makes a lot of sense to be outdoors, taking photos and  enjoying it while it lasts.  Oh, did I forget to mention that this island is covered with snow for 5 months of the year, every year?  You get the big picture.   I arrived back at my place at about 8:30.   Ikuko was just getting ready to go to her part-time job at the Kagura HOMAC.  Have a nice day!  I will be on the road again in a few hours.  The Sea of Japan sounds nice.  I wonder if it is warm enough to go swimming yet.  It is if you have a wetsuit.  And I do.  But, I bought it more than 12 years ago.  Will it still fit?  Only one way to find out.  Try it on before I leave for the beach.  And I did.  ぎりぎりセーフ  I was able to still fit into it, but just barely.  Thank god the wetsuit didn't rip open while I was trying to put it on.   I am ready to go.  First beach of choice is 初山別　豊岬.   But that is more that 150 kilometers away.   Got nothin' better to do today so, what the hey.  Let's make it a day.  I was able to get back on the road before 12:00 noon.   This will make it possible to drive slowly, look around carefully and hopefully discover something new.   Since I had plenty of time, I took the long way around driving through Fukagawa 深川 and on into Moseushi 妹背牛.  This is a much more scenic drive than the first turnoff in Fukagawa.   And, if you are headed south to Otaru, instead of north to Haboro, it makes much more sense to take this route.  However, my destination today lies 21 kilometers north of Haboro.  So I was taking the long way around.  This route will add about 22 kilometers to your total journey so, it's for people who are not in a hurry.   The photo you can see above is of ToyoSaki in ShoSanBetsu.  This was taken after I was finished swimming.   A swimming adventure that wasn't really an adventure at all.  There were no waves to ride upon.  So, I floated around in my wetsuit, holding lightly onto my bodyboard, and hoping to get a suntan on my face.  I felt like a message in a bottle, waiting to be picked up by a big wave and thrown onto the beach.  But it never happened.  That's how exciting it was.   Was it worth the drive?  Damn straight.  That photo you are looking at right now, is just one of about 150 shutter clicks for today.  Photography requires good light.     Good night.

2006 July 1 Saturday.

Here comes the sun.  No significant clouds to speak of.  A perfect day for a drive to the mountains or the sea.  Stay overnight while watching the incredible night sky.  Where do I want to go today?   Hmmmm.   I know, the base of Tokachi Dake and Fukiage Onsen.  It's a done deal.  What did the night sky look like from the foot of 十勝岳　望岳台?   See the graphic on the left.  That's exactly what it looked like.  Only much clearer and more beautiful.   The big bright light that you can see in the lower right sector is Jupiter 木星  and the one you can see in the center is Vega ベガ.   How many billions and billions of stars are out there?  I haven't the faintest idea but, after sitting under the night canopy for almost two hours and gazing at it all, I felt very very small indeed.   After that, I drove back down the hill until I reached the fork in the road that turns left towards Fukiage Onsen.  The 100% natural hot spring that is open 24/7 and free of charge.  I will be sleeping in the parking lot just above the hot tub, so after I pulled in and found a parking spot,  I shut down the engine, and opened up a tall cold beer.   Then, I broke open a blue chemical light stick,  and headed down the foot path to my own private Hokkaido.  There were only 3 other people there, and they were all down in the lower tub.  I prefer the upper tub because it is so much hotter.  That's what a hot spring is all about.  I spent about an hour getting into and out of the tub so that I wouldn't overheat.  All the while watching the starry sky.  Ya know, it doesn't get much better than this.  Finally the sky began to brighten as Hokkaido turned towards the sun again.  I walked back up to my van to lie down and get some sleep.  The 7 or so other cars that were parked there also had sleeping people inside.  One of them had the radio going and receiving the live feed from the World Cup soccer game in Germany.  I think I would rather be here.

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