without air-conditioners

August 30th, 2005

I'm writing this diary without using dictionaries. I always post English diary with using my dictionary in my PC. The dictionary is very useful and convenient. But I decided to post this diary without using dictionary. So, I may make some(a lot of ?) mistakes in this diary. :-p

Nowadays, it's cool to sleep well without air-conditioners. (Did the hot season finish?) I usually fall asleep with an air-conditioner when it's too hot. Air-conditioners make me feel comfortable. And I can fall asleep easily with it. But it's not natural. Therefore, I sometimes feel a little bad condition with it.

I have a good sleep in natural cool condition. How about you ?

Mushi-King at ATC

August 28th, 2005

I went to ATC(Asia pacific Trade Center) hall in Osaka city to see the exhibition held for kids.
Its title is "Mushi-King World". "Mushi-King" is one of the most popular cartoons for kids in Japan. And it's also the title of very popular TV game.
"Mushi" means "insects" in Japanese.
The story of "Mushi-King" seems like Pokemon.



The official site of "Mushi-King" is here.(English edition)


We can play many kinds of game, can learn about insects, and can experience catching insects.
There were so many people in the exhibition. Too crowed ! Because that day is the last Sunday of summer holidays for kids. Many parents were for their children there. Of course me, too. :-)



If you can browse the sites written in Japanese, you can know the detail of the exhibition.
ATC web site(written in Japanese only)
The Mushi-King exhibition(written in Japanese only, till August 31th, 2005)

lack of sleep

August 27th, 2005

I'm lack of sleep today. Because I have a terrible stiff neck, shoulder, and backache. And I always sleep beside my daughter, she has a bad sleeping posture. She often hit me half asleep.

By the way, Most of Japanese parents who have little children often sleep with them. That's a one of strange custom for foreigners, isn't it ?
When we had a fist-time child, we sleep together. We call the sleeping style "Kawanoji". "Kawanoji" means "the shape of the character of river" in Japanese. Also, "Kawa" means "river" in it. The Kanji "river" looks like 3 lying people. It means married couple sleep with their first child, and the child sleep between the couple.

It's difficult for me to explain correctly.....

a bad buy - a small piano

My wife bought our daughter a small electronic piano a few days ago. It sort of looks like a keyboard.
Our daughter is only 4 years old. So, we decided to buy a cheap one for her and to buy bigger one when she grow up.



My wife bought the piano at a neighborhood music store without asking me. It costs about 30,000 yen(about $300). I checked the price of it on the Internet store. The price is about 25,000 yen. I got upset. I said my wife, "Why didn't you ask me where we should buy it !?" We lost 5,000 yen. (ToT)

My shopping style is .... First, I check the quality of the real one at neighborhood stores. Then, I compare the price at the stores with it on the Internet stores. Most of the goods sold on the Internet are cheaper than actual stores. Why doesn't my wife know about it ? That's strange... She sometimes use the Internet. She had to check the price herself before buying.
I can't complain... What's done is done....

By the way, our daughter can always practice on the piano at home. The sound might bother us from now. :-)

Two typhoons are approaching.

Two typhoons are on their way to Japan.
One of them won't make landfall in Japan. But the other one will make landfall in Japan.
We have to prepare for the approaching typhoon.

Although typhoons generally cause damage to us, they bring us blessed rain.
There are a lot of areas, where lack water, in Japan. Especially, the people, who live in Sikoku area, may be happy to hear that the typhoon's approaching.

Family Vacation at Amanohashidate

August 18th-19th, 2005

I went to Amanohashidate with my family to have a bathe(swim in the sea) and to do sightseeing.

Amanohashidate is in the north of Kyoto prefecture and one of the 3 most scenic spots in Japan.
The vista from the hilltop is actually beautiful and especially it looks like the bridge over the sky when we see it between our thighs.
"Amanohashidate" means "Heavenly Bridge" in Japanese. ( Probably correct..... :D )







There is a wonder bridge at Amanohashidate. It's called "Kaisenkyo". "Kaisenkyo" means "Rotatory Bridge" in Japanese. When ships go through the bridge, it's rotated on some electric motors.








The beach at Amanohashidate is a little narrow but so beautiful.
But, there was a terrible trouble. I dropped my glasses into the sea. I desperately looked for them. I found out them in the result. I really scared....







This picture is the tourist hotel we stayed. What ? You said "What a funny family ! " ? ha-ha. I agree with you. :-)






Also, I almost got a speeding ticket on our return route. When I was driving my car at 140km/h(about 87.5mph), I found out an unmarked police car by the detector, which I installed in my car when I bought the car. :-p

I got near to the police car and slowed down. When I caught up with it, I said with a smile, "Hello !". Of course, they couldn't hear that.
But they replyed with a smile, "We are discovered... ha-ha", I guessed.
Then I said, "Good bye !", and escaped behind the police car.

I was terrified of the situation....


Anyway, we had a good time !! How was your summer vacation ?

Strange Japanese English skills

I guess this article is maybe amusing and amazing for almost all the native English speakers. :-)

There are a lot of funny things which I found out when I studied by myself at home.
Of course, the articles, which I've already posted on this blog, are funny English, too. :D
Most of the Japanese who have just started studying English often make such the following.

Take a look if you have time.

• A is a native English speaker.
  
• B is a funny(?) Japanese who likes studying English.
  

A: Don't you like studying English ?
B: No ! I like it.
A: (confusing...Which one is right ???? )

B should say : "Yes, I do" or "Yes, I like it."



Where are you from [originally] ? - about someone's origin

wrong: Where did you come from ?
correct: Where do you come from ?



wrong: She asked a difficult question to me.
correct: She asked a difficult question of me. / She asked me a difficult question.



wrong: Open the door of the bathroom.
correct: Open the door to the bathroom.



wrong: The metal got red and hot, but (it) didn't get heavy.
correct: The metal turned red and hot, but (it) didn't get heavy.

Difficult ! - Articles

Today I was studying English, especially about "articles(a, an, the)" almost all the day.

It's difficult for most Japanese to understand about articles and plurals perfectly. Because there's no part of speech called "article" in Japanese.

Studying about "articles" seems basic, but it's very important to write and speak English, I think.

I'm always afraid of making mistakes in English expression.

I'm tired...... Could I have a drink of beer ? :D

headache

I have a terrible headache... The reason is that I studied English too much today, I guess.
So, I decided to go to bed earlier than usual. Wow ! I just found out I didn't post my English diary yet today.

I must post it soon !!! Oops! I've already posted it... :-)

See you tomorrow. (^o^)/^^^^^^^

A Dusty Factory

August 13th, 2005

We cleaned up our factory, which recycle chemical fiber, yesterday. We usually do it before long holidays.



Look at this picture. There were so much dust in the factory. My brother was on the top of the one, which the forklift uplifted. He was picking up the dust by using an air compressor. He's really a good duster. :D

After the cleaning, we had to dispose of about 1 ton garbage. (1 ton = 1000kg)

Now we are on summer holiday. I'm going to my wife's family home with her and our children to have dinner with my parents-in-law. It's not far. It takes 15 minutes by car. So, she can always come back her family home easily. I must not anger her. ha-ha.

Summer Holiday !!!

August 12th, 2005

Summer holidays are coming soon !!!
I'm going to take 9 days for it. There are so many things to do.

I'm going to some interesting places with my family and brush up my English skill !!!

What ? "You had better take rests after a spell of hard work !"

Yes !! I'll brush up my English skill to relax. :D
I can always make myself comfortable when I take to English.

But we have to clean our dusty factory before that....(ToT)


(ToT) : This is a popular face mark in Japan. It looks tearing.

Scary Piano School ?

My daughter, who is 4 years old, usually take a piano lesson on Monday evening. She actually likes playing the piano.

My wife asked me,
"The piano school, which our daughter attend, allows us to borrow an electronic organ for a few days. What do you think ?".

I replied,
"That's free, isn't it ? Of course that's OK. But be careful about sales talk after that. I'm worried that the school staff pressures us to buy it.".

Don't make light of the world..... :-)

Bon festival Dance

August 8th, 2005

We participated in a Bon festival dance yesterday.
In Japan, Bon festival dance is held everywhere in this time of year.
It is celebrated as a reminder of the gratefulness we should feel toward our ancestors.

Bon festival dance is called Bon Odori in Japanese.

You can have a look some pictures of it here.


My daughter went to the dance with her Yukata. Yukata is a type of Japanese clothing. We especially wear them at firework festivals and other summer festivals. It's similar to kimono. But kimono is a type of traditional Japanese clothing. Yukata is not. It's a type of casual clothing.



You can have a look some pictures of Yukata here.

The Japanese chess(SYOGI) competition

August 6th, 2005

There was a competition in Osaka, Japan. It's the competition of Japanese chess for kids(elementary school students). And now, Japanese chess is called "SYOGI" in Japanese.

My eldest son is very good at SYOGI. He's exactly stronger than me. Also, he's sometimes stronger than his grandpa. His grandpa(my father) is absolutely stronger than me.

In the competition, he did his best...But, he wasn't able to qualify in the trials. He had to win three games to qualify. He won twice... He almost qualify...
However, I'm glad even though he didn't qualify. I'm happy that he had a great experience.



There was a trouble in the competition. It's a lightning damage by summer thunderstorm... Black out, air conditioner not working... It's too hot... But I had no problem. Because I always work in "THE OVER 40 DEGREES CELSIUS FACTORY". :-p


After the competition, we had great dinner. :D
He and I had a lot of beef. The cooking style is called "YAKINIKU" in Japan. It's similar to barbecue. YAKINIKU isn't Japanese cooking style. It's really Korean cooking style.
We had too much beef.... The cost of dinner is about 20 thousands yen ! (about $200) Is that too much for 1 adult and 1 kid ? We have to go on a diet. ha-ha.

Why are there many pictures ?

August 6th, 2005

On my blog, there are many pictures.

Why ?

The answer is very simple. I can't write any long English articles because of I'm not good at English.
However, I'd like to explain my experiences as much as possible. I can explain them easily by using pictures. I guess all visitors can imagine what I mean, even if my English is not correct,

If I would be good at English, I would write so long articles on this blog.

There're some interesting and amusing things to do today.
Let me introduce them later. Bye for now !

Delicious Crabs

August 3rd, 2005

I had a great time on dinner tonight.

My friend who I met on the Internet presented some delicious crabs. He's really a great sushi chef.

My family had a great time. My daughter likes a lot crabs. She was very happy to eat them.

Also I drank with such delicious crabs.

Sorry, I'm on a drunk a little.... :-)

31-legged race

August 2nd, 2005

Now, All Japanese elementary students have summer vacation.
So, my eldest son have much spare time, too.

His classmates and he practice 31-legged race to take part in A TV program.
A TV station hold the competition of the race for elementary students every summer.
Many of Japanese elementary school students try it.

He's gonna practice with his classmates today.
If they won win the race and creat new record, they would enter the Guinness Book of Records. :-)

You're able to have a look the images of 31-legged race here.

Fireworks

August 1st, 2005

There was a fireworks in Toyama prefecture, Japan.

Toyama is so far from my house which is in Osaka prefecture. The distance is about 400 kilo meters(250 miles).
Of course, I didn't see it. But I was able to see it on the Internet.
Yes! The organizer of the fireworks distributed the image in real time.
My third son is very interested in fireworks. So, he gazed the image on my PC.


Also, in Osaka, there was "PL Fireworks", one of the most famous fireworks tonight. But it's too difficult for us to see... Because, so many people come there to see it. Before my wife and I get married, we'd tried to see it. We'd had a good time. But, we wasn't able to come home soon after the fireworks. The reason is an awful traffic jam. We usually get home by car from there an hour and a half. But we took 4 hours to get home by my car.
We decided not to go see it forever. :D

In Japan, there are a lot of fireworks in summer.

How about your country ?