Snowman Japan WEB LOG

www.snowmanjapan.net

Asahikawa American English Conversation School

Snowman Japan Web Log

for May 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

2006 May 31 Wednesday.

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

2006 May 30 Tuesday.

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

2006 May 29 Monday.

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

2006 May 28 Sunday.

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

2006 May 27 Saturday.

Today was a very warm and sunny day. In fact it was so warm that I decided to get out my garden hose and clean off the huge balcony that I have attached to this classroom. After about 7 months of neglect, the veranda was full of dust and other unneeded junk. The outside temperature was close to 20 degrees C so even using cold water from the garden hose was an enjoyable experience. That whole job took about 3 hours. When it was done, I felt good. So good that I thought about canceling my appointment with Asahikawa University to attend their annual part time teacher's meeting which was to be held at the Grand Hotel here in Asahikawa starting at 18:30. However, I have gone every year that they have invited me so, instead of taking the easy way out, I decided to attend again this year for about the 4th or 5th time. To my surprise, I was not the only non-Japanese person to attend this year's meeting. A guy from England named Adrian was also in attendance for the first time. I was pumped to realize this, because I haven't had the opportunity to talk with a native speaker of the Queen's English (British English) in many years. Therefore, I was more than ecstatic to have the opportunity to converse with a true blue blood British Citizen. I Love British English! Really, I do. Why??? Well, because, I listen to and watch the BBC on the radio, TV, and of course on the WEB. American English is crass by comparison.

2006 May 26 Friday.

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

2006 May 25 Thursday.

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

2006 May 24 Wednesday.

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

2006 May 23 Tuesday.

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

2006 May 22 Monday.

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

2006 May 21 Sunday.

I woke up at about 7:00 with a sore throat and an empty stomach. Thank God breakfast starts at 7:30. Mr. Baba and I went down to the restaurant to eat breakfast right at the starting time. I ate lots and lots of Natto and rice along with some other things. Natto is my favorite breakfast food, and is especially helpful for recovering from a night of whiskey drinking. After breakfast was finished, it was time to check out of the hotel and get into a tour bus for a tour of the main historical assets of the town. Our first stop was at the old Maruichi Honma Family Business　旧商家丸一本間家 (see photo on left). You could say that this was Mashike's first general store because they made and sold just about everything the town's people needed at that time. The next stop was at the 増毛厳島神社 which had some very elaborate wood carvings as well as other fine artwork. In the shrine's garden, there were some very beautiful flowering trees and bushes. Next we stopped at 増毛小学校 which is a very large wooden building in the shape of a square with a big courtyard in the middle. This building is more that 120 years old and is still in very good condition, although it is frightfully cold during the winter. After that we went to the 国稀酒造　Kunimare Rice Wine Brewery. We were able to taste-test the sakё, but I didn't because I will be driving my car back to Asahikawa again today. After that, it was time for lunch at the 清宝 restaurant which is on Route 231 near the Hotel Mashike. Then at about 13:30, it was time to say goodbye and everyone went back to their homes by various means of transportation. Mr. Baba and I got into my van and drove back to Asahikawa on the same Route 94 by which we had come yesterday. When we reached Moseushi Town, Akira wanted to stop and buy some gifts for my wife and his wife as well. He does this every time we go out together on these trips. My wife and I really appreciate his kindness. Finally at about 15:00, we arrived back at his home in Kamui where he invited me into his house for some coffee. His wife and second son were also at home so I talked with them for a while before going back home to my place. All in all, it was a very nice weekend with good weather throughout. I'm glad I was able to spend my time this way.

2006 May 20 Saturday.

A very nice warm and sunny day which is good because I and Mr. Baba Akira, owner of Pub Restaurant Ohfune, are going to drive to Mashike Town 増毛町 in my van. The reason we are going there is to attend the annual meeting of the The Hokkaido Cultural Property Protection Association 北海道文化財保護協会. Mr. Baba is the vice chairman, and I have been a member for about 3 years. I arrived at Akira's house in Kamui at about 11:00 and we started out for the coast. Instead of driving the usual way to Rumoi on Route 233, I took the more scenic Route 94 which starts from Moseushi Town 妹背牛町 and winds through the mountains until it gets to the Sea of Japan coastline near Mashike. It was a very nice drive and we took our time, enjoying the scenery along the way. We arrived in Mashike at about 12:30 and went to the meeting place. There we met many people that we know, and some new faces as well. After the general meeting, there was an interesting lecture by 高橋明雄　氏　（増毛町史編纂委員長）about the history of Mashike Town. When everything at the meeting was finished, everyone headed over to the Mashike Hotel for a dinner party which started at 18:00. At the dinner party, many lively discussions ensued on various subjects. When that was finished at about 20:00, a small group of the members decided to go downtown and drink at a "snack". One of the persons who came along was the mayor of Mashike, Mr. Ishizaki Daisuke (see photo above). I was lucky enough to sit across the table from him and was able to talk with him at length. He has been the mayor for about 7 years now but before that, he was a fisherman as was his father. He is very intelligent and a good conversationalist. We talked about many things. When our time at the "snack" was finished, the 10 or so members who were present all got up to pay our bill and leave. Suddenly the mayor said; "Norman! Let's go to another bar. Just you and me. I want to to sing some Beatles songs." So, I said; "OK! Let's go!" So, the mayor and I went to another bar and sang Beatles songs for about 2 hours while drinking Suntory Yamazaki 12 year old all malt whisky. We had a very good time. Finally, just after midnight, the party was over and I got into a taxi for the Hotel Mashike and the mayor went home. What a day.

2006 May 19 Friday.

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

2006 May 18 Thursday.

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

2006 May 17 Wednesday.

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

2006 May 16 Tuesday.

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

2006 May 15 Monday.

Today was a clear and sunny day with daytime temperatures in the high teens. My first class of the day was at the 神楽公民館で英会話を楽しむ会　starting at 13:00. Today, only about 7 of the students showed up for class so everybody had a lot of time to talk about whatever they wanted to talk about. One lady talked about natural foods as opposed to pre-processed foods that contain a lot of additives and preservatives. She said that some people don't decay when they die, because their bodies are so full of preservatives from all of the quick food they have eaten. This of course is a joke, but a point well made. I took the opportunity to talk about artificial sweeteners and MSG. One man, didn't seem to believe my story, so I challenged him to put some key words into a search engine and do his own research about it. Educate Yourself. After that class was finished at 14:30, I came back to my classroom for classes starting at 15:00. Today, I had a new student who just moved to Asahikawa from Fukuoka. She and her family will be here for about a year. We talked about various things in an easy manner because her level of spoken English is very good. One of the things we discovered is that her husband's birthday in on the exact same date as mine. What a coincidence!

Also, I told her about the long snowy winters here in Asahikawa. Something they don't get in Fukuoka. She will be coming again next week at the same time for another conversation. At 16:00, I had a lesson with a 7 year old girl who goes to Tomisawa Elementary School. She always comes with her older sister who is in 6th grade at the same school. Today, the 7 year old was more serious than usual. She did her lesson very well and didn't play around as she often does. When that lesson was finished at 16:50 I had an hour of free time, so I ate dinner and did some paperwork. The junior high school girl who comes at 18:00 didn't show up today, so my wife and I decided to go for a walk at about 18:20. It was a beautiful day for a walk, and we walked farther than we usually do. First, we walked along the Chubetsu River cycling road up to the entrance of Kagura Oka Park. There were many people in the park having BBQ parties. Then, we turned around and headed back the way we came and walked along the Biei River cycling road towards the Ryojin Bridge. By now the sky was quite dark and we could see the stars and planets very well. I always look up into the sky while walking at night, because I like what I see. Sometimes we see things that defy conventional explanation. Tonight was just such a night. What we saw, I have recreated using computer graphics. Two "stars" which looked about the same color and brightness as the planet Mars, were moving towards each other at a steady rate of speed. Ikuko thought they were going to crash into each other, but they didn't. When the two "stars" passed by each other, the one moving to the right suddenly stopped and the one moving to the left kept on going until we lost sight of it in the overcast along the horizon. When the "star" which was moving to the right, stopped, it became indistinguishable from any other star or planet in the sky. What exactly did we see tonight? I don't know what it was. However, I do know what it was not. It was not an airplane, helicopter or a broadcast satellite. It was something else. Something hard to explain. If the night sky animation doesn't start automatically, left click once, right click once, and from the menu click 再生.(PLEASE IGNORE THE WHITE FLASH at the bottom of the animation. It is there only because I don't have the CG skills to get rid of it right now.) After we saw this amazing light show, we headed across the Ryojin Bridge into Kamui, and ate dinner at とりせん a very good and reasonably priced yakitori place. After a wonderful dinner, we walked back home. We were watching the sky again as always, but we didn't see anything else unusual. Lights out at 24:00.

2006 May 14 Sunday.

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

2006 May 13 Saturday.

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

2006 May 12 Friday.

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

2006 May 11 Thursday.

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

2006 May 10 Wednesday.

I woke up at about 6:30, and noticed right away that my allergic reaction to pollen was still with me. You know the symptoms. Sneezing, runny nose, itchy nose, itchy eyes. It sucks. Faithfully, I made more TenCha 甜茶 and drank as much as I could before I went to my first class at the Kosei Nursing School which starts at 8:50. While I was drinking my TenCha, I was reading the Hokkaido newspaper and and saw an article on page 28 that had the headline ＣＧ作品世界で評価　　米で無秩序な開発　批判. In brief, it was an article about 5 students who graduated from the 吉田学園情報ビジネス専門学校　located in Sapporo. While they were students at the school, they created a very real/life-like simulation/animation of a Japanese town. It was good enough to be recognized by the American CG Programming Community as a worthwhile project. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to read the newspaper article carefully before I had to leave for my class at the Kosei Nursing School, but I was impressed by the headlines that I read. I believe that the full potential of the internet is just beginning to happen. There had been a lot of talk in the past about how the DOT COM BUBBLE has burst, and the internet is history. Bullshit. It is just getting started. Especially in places such as China. For this reason, I encourage the students who come to my English Language Conversation Classroom, as well as all of the other students I teach spoken English to in other schools outside of my classroom, to GET SMART about the internet and make their own websites. I'm not talking about some cookie cutter one size fits all template offered for free on many major websites, but and original domain name that you yourself own 100% website were you can write and create anything that your imagination will allow. This is equivalent to ultimate freedom of expression. You can write about anything that you want to write about. You can display any photos that you have taken with your very own digital camera, if you know how to use FLASH, you can make a virtual world for yourself and anybody else who wants to ride along. It is not that expensive, but it does require a huge investment of time to put it all together. Yeah, OK. So What? Time is all we have. Let's use it wisely. This short time we all have on planet earth will be over before you know it. LIVE FOR TODAY 今を生きる. While planning for tomorrow. 明日の可能性を考えながら,...　That is the basic reasoning behind my life story. The past is GONE. The future is UNCERTAIN. TODAY　is all we have. No! Not just today. NOW! This is the moment! It is always right there. Right Now! Is the; I AM. In front of you. Will you grab on to it? OR. Will you ignore it and turn on the TV. It's your choice. Mine too.

2006 May 9 Tuesday.

My teaching day started off at 10:40 at Asahikawa University. Before my class, I always visit the office of the assistant professor, Mr. S, who also teaches the same group of students on Wednesdays. His specialty is Russian, German and Spanish, but he is certainly capable of teaching English to these students. Each week, I ask him to teach me a new word or phrase in Russian. Today, he taught me how to say; "More tea please." As I am typing this blog, I can't remember how to say it. I'm serious. Out of all of the various languages that I have learned or am trying to learn now, Russian has by far the most difficult pronunciation. Even Chinese pronunciation is easy when compared to Russian. I wonder if I will ever be able to learn enough to be of any use. Is Russian useful in Hokkaido? Yes, it is. Very much so. Especially in the port cities of Hakodate, Otaru and Wakkanai. Many Russians visit these cities to do business such as fishing or buying used cars. Not the kind of business I am interested in doing, but a thriving business none the less. At 10:40 I left the assistant professor's office to go teach my class in the computer room where we are using an internet based eLearning program. Today, the reading lesson we did had a short business letter for the textbook. The letter started off with the greeting; "Dear Ms. Joe." I almost fell out of my chair laughing. A few of the students noticed it too. What a hoot! The company that makes and leases this software is a very large and well known company in Japan. However, the quality of this software for eLearning is certainly not worth the price. I would never pay to use it. After the lesson was finished at about 12:00, I went back to Mr. S's office to report on how today's lesson went. While I was there, two other university students came in to talk with Mr. S. One of them will be going to Russia for a short stay next year, and the other will be going to the USA for a short stay next year. The one who is going to visit the USA needs to study spoken English a lot more before he leaves for America. Mr. S. told him the same thing. I gave him one of my business cards and asked him to take a look at this website. He need practical training in spoken English, and he needs it big time. At about 12:15, I left the university and drove back to my classroom to eat lunch and get ready for classes from 15:00 until 20:00. After all of my classes were finished for the day, I decided to go for a walk along the cycling roads that run along the Biei and Chubetsu Rivers right here in Kagura. As I was walking along in the rather warm night air, I began sneezing, and sneezing and sneezing like crazy. Yeah, it's that time of the year again. Pollen Allergies 花粉症. Even thought I am drinking TenCha 甜茶 every day, just like I did last year, it doesn't seem to have as much affect this year as it did last year. What to do? Except for the several bouts of uncontrolled sneezing, I had a very pleasant walk along the snowless path. I will be doing this again in the very near future.

2006 May 8 Monday.

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

2006 May 7 Sunday.

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

2006 May 6 Saturday.

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

2006 May 5 Friday.

RAIN!!! Well not much, but the sky's a big ugly gray mess. Ugh! What kind of a drive will it be today? I was about to find out. To brighten my spirits, I put some COMEDY on my CD player and laughed at all of the jokes I already knew. My first destination was to drive around Lake Toya and see what there was to see. This place is more interesting than Jozankei, and a lot more crowded as well. There are several areas near the lake that have active volcanic steam coming from them on a constant basis. You can really smell it in the air. One such place is Showa Shinzan 昭和新山 which you can see in the photo on the left. Technically speaking, this is an active volcano. Could it explode at any time? I dunno. Ask an expert. Anyway, I high tailed it out of there after taking this photo and headed towards Niseko ニセコ. What I found in Niseko was lots and lots of snow. All of the roads I traveled along during this trip were clear of snow, but there was always snow right up to the edge of the roadways everywhere I went. Niseko was no exception. In fact it had, by far, the most snow still piled up along the sides of the roads of any other place. In some places, it was as much at 10 meters high, and I even saw some road signs and electric poles that had either been knocked down, or were leaning severely from the weight of the wet, heavy snow. However, my biggest surprise was to discover that Route 66 that goes over the mountain pass and down into Iwanai Town 岩内町 was closed. Bummer! Now, I have to drive back down the mountain and go another way. Which I did. Time to switch to Plan B. A plan which leads to Yoichi City and then back to Otaru. I thought about spending another night in Otaru, but decided to head up north along the coast road towards Rumoi instead. Surprisingly, the weather along the Sea of Japan coastline was much better than the gray overcast of the inland areas. I had a brief fantasy of driving all the way up the coast line to Haboro 羽幌 but the sun had already set by the time I reached Cape Oofuyu 雄冬岬 where I stopped for a while in the narrow parking lot by the 白銀の滝 to eat a quick snack and think about where I wanted to spend the night, tonite. Being close to darkness, I really didn't want to drive much further today, so I needed to find a good place in either Mashike 増毛 or Rumoi 留萌 to spend the night. If not, Plan C was to complete the drive and go back to my Base of Operations in Asahikawa. What to do? What do do! I drove into Mashike and looked around. No really interesting place to camp out here. On to Rumoi. A city that I have been to many times before. I know one decent place to stay overnight, but it is windy and cold, and I have no food or drink. What to do? Screw it! I'm driving back to Asahikawa. And that is exactly what I did. Along the way, I stopped at the 道の駅　鐘のなるまち・ちっぷべつ to check out the public bath, and to take a leak. It was just before 21:00 and there were few cars in the Michi no Eki Parking area, but lots of cars in the Onsen parking lot. I drove by the entrance of the Public Bath to look at the sign which displays the hours of operation, and then parked my van near the toilet which I was about to use. When I emerged from the toilet, a very large bell began to ring. And ring, and ring, and ring. Much more than just nine times. I thought to myself; 'How can anybody get any sleep around here?' Not a place that I would consider staying overnight. I got back into the NOAH Road Meister and arrived back in Asahikawa at about 22:00. I drove a total of 470 kilometers today. It was a very long drive. Tomorrow, I need to go take a long walk and stretch out my cramped legs.

2006 May 4 Thursday.

I awoke with the dawn and went into MaxValue to take care of some business. One was to make a deposit, and the other was to make a withdrawal. What I wanted to buy was some bottled coffee that I could heat up on my little gas stove in about a minute or so. I found what I was looking for and got back into my van for a drive to the nearby docks. Next to a Japan Coast Guard ship to be exact. See the photo on the left for details. It was a very pleasant morning with the sun shinning and a brisk breeze blowing as well. The perfect place to drink some coffee or tea, and have breakfast. A lot of other people where there as well, trying their luck with a fishing rod. I didn't see anybody reel in anything for the entire 50 minutes that I was there. So what? It is still a very nice way to spend a sunny morning. Today's big plan was to drive south through 定山渓　drive around Lake Shikotsu 支笏湖 continue southwest to Lake Toya 洞爺湖 drive around there for a while, take a nice hot bath at one of the outdoor spas and then stay in Date 伊達 at the Roadside Rest Station だて歴史の杜. This place is one of the best 道の駅 in Hokkaido. It is much more convenient that the one I stayed at in Muroran last year at this time. I had a very nice drive through the mountains on my way towards Jozankei. I even passed by the さっぽろ国際スキー場 and noticed that it was still running and the parking lot was completely full. Too bad I forgot to bring my snowboard. Not. After driving for a few hours I arrived at Jozankei where I decided to have lunch, picnic style. For details, see the photo on the right. Another nice meal with a babbling brook, gurgling in the background. I even managed to catch a few rays and feel the warmth of the sun. I drove around Jozankei a little bit, but there was not much to see. Many of the buildings had that abandoned look to them. I think Sounkyo is much more interesting. After lunch, I continued on down south until I got to Lake Shikotsu. I made a stop along the shoreline and watched many people doing many things on the beach area. Nobody was swimming, that's for sure. There really isn't much to see here, but the lake itself is very big and beautiful. If you had a boat, you could spend many hours floating about and maybe even do some fresh water fishing. I continued my drive onward and to the southwest as I got close to Lake Toya. As it was getting darker and darker, I decided to find a good place to take a hot spring bath. I found a beauty at KitaYuZawa Onsen at a hotel called 湯元　名水亭 It only costs 700 yen to take a bath in a huge indoor as well as a huge outdoor bathing area. All natural very hot water from deep underground with very little smell at all. I highly recommend it. When I was finished with my relaxing bath, it was back on the road for Date. I arrived there at about 19:00 a made a bee-line for the Postful where I knew I could buy food and drinks. After getting the stuff I needed to spend the night, I drove over to the 道の駅だて to spend the night. The parking lot was almost full because of people going to and from the very big びっくりドンキー right next door, and also to and from the rather large park right in front of the Roadside Rest Station. I enjoyed watching the people come and go while sipping beer and eating snacks. I finally went to sleep at about midnight.

2006 May 3 Wednesday.

On the road again! I just got myself back on the road again. Golden Week is about half over for some folks, but for me it's just getting into full swing. Again this year, I am taking a multiple days drive around Southern Hokkaido. Last year I drove the entire coastline route clockwise. This year I will venture inland after taking the coast road from near Rumoi. Of course, my first stop will be at Otaru. Why? Well, because they have the best damn micro brewery in all of Hokkaido! That's why. Hakodate has number two. I rolled into town at about 18:30 and made a beeline for the MaxValue which is right across the street from the Otaru Morning Market. This big parking lot is where I will sleep it off tonight, after I have a wonderful time in the warehouse district near the canal. Why the parking lot at MaxValue? They are open 24/7, and they have a toilet that is always open as well. What more do I need in the way of accommodations for this evening. After I parked my NOAH Road Meister, I packed up my camera and tripod, and walked on over to the feeding and watering hole that I always go to if I am staying overnight in this city. When I arrived at the microbrewery/restaurant, there was a waiting line as usual. I checked in at the desk and waited my turn for a seat at a counter or a table. About 15 minutes later they called my Japanese name and I asked them if my seat was in the same room as the Palosiks Concert. They said, "No. Would you like to wait for a table there?" I thought to myself; 'Yeah man, that's one of the main reasons that I came all the way down here tonight!' But what I actually said to the nice young lady was; "Yes, please. I will wait for that table." As it turns out, I got the best table in the house, smack dab in front of the stage at the center position. Great for taking lots of good photos while sitting on my butt and eating dinner. I did both of those things whilst also drinking about one liter of very tasty German style Helles beer. Today, I arrived at Otaru Beer early enough to watch two shows by PALOSIKS. Both of the shows were excellent and both were different. Original Music by creative people. This is my kind of world. To see a slideshow of them and hear their music, click on the photograph above. After the two shows were finished, I walked back out into the cool night air, hoping to take some nighttime photos of the illuminated canal area. That is why I brought along my tripod. To my amazement, the lights along the canal plaza were already turned off. I was having too much fun eating good food and hearing good music. I guess I didn't need the tripod today after all. I walked back to my van parked near the 24/7 MaxValue. I went into the store to get some refreshments. When I came out, it was about time to climb into the van and get a good night of sleep. Tomorrow it's on the road again, heading for Jozankei and other places south.