2006 November 4 Saturday.
A rather nice day. Sunny in the afternoon and not very cold. About 10 or 12 degrees Celsius according to the temperature sign board on the outside of the Asahikawa JR train station. I spent the entire morning, working on my new development for this website, Snow Radio. Right now, the main purpose of Snow Radio will be to add narration to this blog, so that it will become even more useful for those of you who are using my blog as a textbook for studying English. I am planning to make it as easy to use as possible, and it's FREE! At about 16:00, I left my classroom and walked over to the Exe Building to have my G-Shock wristwatch implanted with a new battery and also strapped with a new wristband, at the Matsui Jewelry store on the second floor of that building. Today I brought my camera with me because there was a beautiful, almost full moon, hanging over the rivers and city, low in the eastern sky. I took some nice photos along the Chubetsu River bank as I walked towards the Chubetsu Bridge to cross into the heart of the city. I got to the jewelry store at about 16:00, and the friendly owner got to work right away, replacing the dead battery, and putting on a new wristband. Within about seven minutes, the job was done and at a very reasonable price. Thanks Kuni! Flush with pride at the look of my "new" G-Shock, I went up to the Shimamura Musical Instuments store, to have a look around for about 30 minutes, before getting back outside and walking down Kaimono Koen towards Tokiwa Park. The only stop I made along the way was at イズミハラ商店 to buy a bottle of Otokoyama SasaOri. This is a seasonal product, summers only, and I was lucky to be able to snag another swig before it is all gone for the rest of the year. Until next summer. I arrived at Tokiwa Park just as it was beginning to get very dark. I walked slowly through the park, not seeing many other people. As I got close to the swimming pool, I noticed the beautiful golden color of the autumn leaves being illuminated by a trail lamp post. I took a shortcut across the grass, took out my camera and snapped about 10 or 12 photos of the glowing leaves, from several angles. After that shoot, I put my camera away and was walking slowing towards the steps that lead up to the riverside cycling road. Just as I was reaching for my bottle of 男山笹おり, I looked up into the night sky, as I often do, and noticed a very bright white light, about the size of a pencil-tip eraser held at one arm's length, slowing moving across the sky, from the west to the east, towards the AsahiBashi 旭橋. I immediately grabbed my camera, and took the 10 photos you can see above left. To the naked eye, the light did not look like the photos. It was merely a bright white illuminated ball, moving mostly at a constant speed, and mostly in a straight line towards the Asahi Bridge. The reason the photos look like lines and curves is because of the movement of my hands, while taking the photos. I didn't have a tripod with me. This is by no means the first time I have see this phenomena. If I go out for a walk at night, about 10% of the time or more, I will see a moving light, or lights, in the night sky. They are very beautiful and can't be adequately photographed nor described in words. However, they are very common. After the light slowly disappeared into the distant haze of the eastern sky, I put my camera away again, and started walking along the banks of the Ishikawa River, heading west. I enjoyed sipping on my 500ml jug pure rice brew, while walking along the cycling road in the cool darkness. I kept stargazing along the way not seeing much except the nearly full moon. It reminded me of my night time jogging expeditions on the island of Iwo Jima in 1976. In those days, I was slim and trim and I could run and swim freely, and at will. Nowadays, walking is my biggest workout. I crossed back onto the city streets at the base of the KyokuSei Bridge 旭西橋. As I was walking down the slope of the bridge towards the southeast, I passed by a store that had dozens and dozens of custom Harley Motorcycles lined up both outside and also inside the store itself. Having plenty of time and even more curiosity, I went inside the shop to take a look around. I met the owner and we talked for a few minutes. This place has a huge selection of motorcycles and motorcycle parts and accessories. You can visit their website at www.ster-motor-cycle.com . The only thing I can ride that has two wheels, is a bicycle. If I go touring around Hokkaido, I do it in my NOAH van. However, I can appreciate the enjoyment of touring by bike. Hokkaido is a great place to do it.
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