mangami

my lucky ice lolly

2010-05-21T23:27:00.000-07:00

i bought an ice lolly and i won!!

so i could get another one for free!

in japan, we have not only ice but also sweets.

where you have a chance to get another if you win.

whether you have won or not is written on the lolly pop stick... like this one!!

i didn't expect to win but when i saw the writing on the stick it made me happy!

my cherry-blossom veiw

2010-05-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

this year, i couldn't go see cherry-blossoms.

i'm in my last year of high school.

so i'm too busy to go see them.

on top of that, this spring is late and cherry-blossoms are late too.

now only half are left on the trees.

my valentine's day

2010-02-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

japanese valentine's day is very different from english or american.
traditionally, girls give chocolates to boys in japan.
but now friends and co-workers exchange chocolates.
so really it is chocolate day

these are some interesting chocolates that were given to my father.
aren't they cool??

my first ski in a long time

2010-02-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

last sunday, i went skiing at zao.

it was my first time skiing in six years and my first time to ski at night.
it was so cold that my friend was frozen but i was ok.
maybe it because i'm younger than her.
it was fun but i want to ski better next time.
at night time, there are only a few people so it was easy to ski.
i don't like crowded places so it was a pretty good night.

my warm winter

2010-01-22T22:11:00.000-08:00

this winter is much warmer than usual.

the snow has melted too early.

the snow monsters have melted too. (the snow monsters are trees covered with sow and ice.)

those are getting smaller and smaller.

i'm afraid that i won't be able to see them in the future and one of yamagata's beatiful features will be lost...my garden is brown now because there are no snow anywhere.

my new year

2010-01-08T22:38:00.000-08:00

this is "kagamimochi" which is a large and round rice cake offered to the gods.

we will eat it on the eleventh of january called "kagamibiraki" .
my holiday was relaxing.

i went to my grandparents's house.

i ate soba, watched tv and slept.

my new year's resolution is to find a lot of good books.

my christmas cake

2009-12-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

this was my first time to eat english christmas cake.
it was harder than japanese one.
and there wasn't any cream, there was brandy in it instead.
the first bite surpried me, because japanese cakes are usually light and fluffy.
but it was delicious!!

my snowman

2009-12-18T21:54:00.000-08:00

it snowed heavily last night.

my garden is covered with snow in only one night.

i think snow is beautiful but i don't want to go outside.

today,i made a snowman in the garden.

i hadn't made a snowman for a long time.

it was fun, but it was cold.

chocolate coated marzipan sweets were so good !!
i want to eat another variation, like walnuts in the marzipan.

my kotatsu

2009-12-11T22:45:00.000-08:00

this is a kotatsu.
it's a low table with a heater underneath and a blanket to keep the warmth in.
in winter, we sit with our legs under the table to keep warm.
it is great but it makes me sleepy.

it's becoming cold.
so we need this one.

my first mont blanc

2009-11-20T21:35:00.000-08:00

i bought this dessert in my favourite sweet shop.

the shop's cream is the best i've ever eaten.

before i ate it, i disliked cream cakes.

mont blanc is very nice, and not too rich.

but my favorite cake is chocolate gateaux.

my least favourite is short cake, it's too creamy.

my halloween

2009-10-30T23:10:00.001-07:00

my halloween is staying at home because of influenza, my school is closed .
in japan, halloween has no meaning.
we just exchange sweet and costume party.
i think japanese are shallow but i like it.
i like cookies too..

my autumn dash from school

2009-10-23T22:38:00.000-07:00

i was rushing home because i was late for my english lesson.
but the autumn trees are so beautiful that i had to take a picture.
in autumn i like to read books because it's getting colder and colder , and my bed is too cosy to leave.

my real moon-view

2009-10-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

i was impressed.
it was very close and i could see craters.
there weren't any clouds.
it was shining brightly.
it made me excited.

my moon-viewing sweet time

2009-10-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

in japan, some people have moon-viewing partys.
they eat rice cake balls and moon shaped sweets.

this picture is of a rabbit moon sweet.
japanese can see rabbit in the moon.

my favorite season

2009-09-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

i think autumn is the best season to eat and read books.
and it's the sleepiest season.
because the weather is mild and the air is cool.

my cuppa tea

2009-09-11T22:39:00.000-07:00

my english teacher made me an authentic english tea.

i didn't know that the milk goes in the cup first and that you can dip biscuits in the tea!

i like it!!

my summer treat

2009-08-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

this oyster was the biggest and most delicious that i have ever eaten.
it was very milky and fresh it was like no other oyster i've ever eaten.
it made me so happy.

my favorite tea

2009-07-25T00:41:00.001-07:00

green tea is very popular in japan.

tea originally came from china., but now it's different way to make it.

green tea is a very healthy drink.

regular drinkers have lower risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer.

most of japanese green tea is grown in shizuoka.

even some elementary schools there have tea come out of their taps!!

summer is the best season to drink cool green tea!

my melon

2009-07-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

this is "yubari" melon from Hokkaido.

i think it's the most delicious melon. it's so sweet and juicy.

in summer, japanese usually eat watermelon but i prefer this melon.

my first chai

2009-07-04T22:28:00.000-07:00

i made chai which is Indian spiced milk tea with my english teacher.
she loves India and drinking tea.
it is easy to make. we need some milk, spices, sugar, water and black tea.
we put all of them into sauce pan and boiled them.
we used cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
you can put many different spices in. anything you like.
it was too spicey for me so i put in a lot of sugar. that became perfect taste for me.
i know i have a very sweet tooth!

my ayurvedic dosha

2009-06-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

today, i did a questionnaire to find out my dosha.
dosha is a fundamental force. there are three; fire, air and water.
ayurveda is traditional indian medicine. we need to find balance in our dosha.
most people have one or two dominant dosha.
my dominant dosha are PITTA-KAPHA.
pitta is fire, kapha is water.
when i read about P-K it was true for me.
i was surprised that i only answered some quetions, but it could tell me about my personality.

my film review

2009-05-29T23:16:00.001-07:00

this is "着信アリ" i watched last week.
there are 3 films in this series.
i haven't seen No.3 yet.
but i think No.1 is the most interesting, because it is the most easy to understand.
please check here for the storyline.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Missed_Call_(2004_film)
it is not a good story, but it's very scarey.
seeing is believing! let's watch it!

my thoughts on horror

2009-05-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

this picture is of the haunted house at our local tree festival.
i don't like this attraction, because i don't like horror.
but i want to watch japanese horror films with lots of friends.
it is very thrilling!! the other day, i watched "着信アリ", which is "there is a message" in english, with my classmates.
it was really really really scarey. reacting to the film loudly with my friends was a lot of fun.
i really had a good time.
unlike usual, this film scared the boys in my class more than the girls. things to do with water or reflections were very scarey in the film, so much so, that the boys couldn't even close their eyes while washing their hair in the bath that night.
american horror is scarey at that moment in the film, but japanese horror leaves a lasting impression...

my golden week

2009-05-08T23:38:00.000-07:00

GW is when all japanese have a holiday.

this year's GW was long.

i love holidays.

this GW i met my friend from junior high school.

i hadn't seen her for ages.

we hung out in town and ate sweets.

i had happy time.

my school relay race

2009-05-01T22:51:00.000-07:00

yesterday we had two races at my school.
one was an individual race and the other was a relay race.
all the classes in my school competed in the relay race.
the relay race was more exciting because my class was very fast.
so my class came first in the whole school!!!!!
our class received 15,000 yen in prize money.
we picked up our teacher and runners and tossed them into the air.

my cherry blossom viewing

2009-04-18T23:36:00.000-07:00

cherry blossom is a symbol of japanese spring.
when they bloom people go outside to enjoy them.

there are stalls selling food, toys, and drinks in parks where there are blossoms.

i love the food, it's delicious.

when i see cherry blossoms i think of dango (rice cake balls...on sticks)

in spring i like to sleep EVEN MORE than usual!

in spring people are feeling more excited and free.

spring we meet new people because it's the start of a new school year.

my pigs

2009-02-07T22:32:00.000-08:00

i have two pigs black and beige.

they are very cute and feel so soft.

they don't have names yet.

i have no idea what to call them.

they are so squishy i cuddle them all day!!

my first yoga lesson

2009-01-30T23:43:00.000-08:00

today i practiced yoga for the first time.

i was shocked because my mother was better than me.

it warmed me up. my mother said she felt good. i feel sleepy.

she enjoyed yoga. i am tired. i think i'm older than my mother!!

this is my english and yoga teacher. she is very powerful.

my january

2009-01-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

is lazy.

to buy a lot of manga helps reduce boredom.
this month i used up 15000yen for manga.

but i finished reading them already.

i'm bored now.

my new year so far

2009-01-17T23:19:00.000-08:00

is boring.

my room

2008-11-28T23:07:00.000-08:00

when i 'm in my room i feel like a snail in it's shell.
this is my book-shelf. i have a lot of manga. i like collecting manga. my room is too small to keep my manga collection.
i want a big room, with a big book shelf and a kotatsu.
i'm either sleeping on my bed or using my computer on my bed. i love my bed, i spend as much time as possible on my bed!

my winter style - part1

2008-11-23T23:41:00.001-08:00

japanese winter style is kotatsu and mikan!!!!
kotatsu is table covered with duvet. it has heater under the table. we sit with our legs under the cover, it's so warm, you can't leave it. we eat a lot of mikan.
mikan are tangerines in english. i love them. they are from ehime in the south of japan they are the best in japan.

my first manga

2008-11-15T22:05:00.000-08:00

this is my favorite manga.
i was in a soba restaurant reading a comic strip in a magazine called JUMP.
i got really into it because i liked the pictures and story.
it's about a boy who wants to bring peace to the world....maybe....it's too difficult for me to explain this story in english!!!!!!

my persimmon

2008-10-31T22:25:00.000-07:00

you can see a lot of persimmon trees around yamagata in autumn.
they come from china originally.
in japanese, they are called "kaki".
we have two kinds of kaki, sweet one and not sweet.

sweet ones are easy to eat.

most people peel them, because its skin is a little hard to eat.

bitter one is difficult to eat.

you have to prepare them by dipping them in alcohol.

i like kaki.

my twilight...tasogare

2008-10-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

in japan, twilight has many names.
for example, "yugata", "tasogare", "kure", "ban"...etc.
a long time ago before electricity at twilight, people couldn't see each other's faces, so they couldn't tell if the person in front of them was real or a ghost. that's why in the twilight people would call out "tasogare" meaning "who are you ?"
so another name for twilight is "omagatoki" meaning to meet ghosts.

my way to school

2008-10-19T01:35:00.000-07:00

most students in japan usually go to school by bicycle rain, sun, or snow.
i think japanese high school kids are tough, but not me, my mom drives me to school when it rains ; )

my sunday afternoon

2008-10-13T01:03:00.000-07:00

i went to yamagata art university.
there was the school festival.
i like the design of the bulding.
it looks like the mountain behind the school.
it is beautiful , isn't it?

i went there at about five.

so i could see such a wonderful sunset.

i like that color very much.

this sky was the best thing that day.

i saw many pictures in the college.

it was too tiring for me to look at so much.

i found that i like pictures of the sky and cats.

i wanted to take a photo of the sky painting , but i wasn't allowed.

so i took a sneaky photo of a cat wood block print.

it was an unsual experience.

my favorite animals

2008-10-03T22:57:00.000-07:00

these cats live near my school. i can see them but i can't touch them. i have an allergy so i can't have my own.....but if i could have a cat i would have a small gray fluffy cat,　his name would be oliver.

i like snakes too, especially white snakes! in japan they are lucky and symbolise money coming!!

i like dogs too, but i don't like it when they bark. i like clever dogs.

my local shrine

2008-09-20T22:11:00.000-07:00

The original religion, before Buddhism, in Japan was Shinto. This is Shinmei Shrine. It was founded in 737, but this shrine was rebuilt in 1962. Shinto is very interesting so please check it on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto.

Today is a festival, where a portable shrine is carried through the streets.

my highschool

2008-09-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

this is my school's entrance.
in japanese school we have to take off our shoes, and change into indoor shoes. these are our shoe lockers.

do you have to change your shoes in your school?

this week at school....nothing special happened

my school life

2008-09-05T23:23:00.000-07:00

this is my timetable.
i don't want to go to school.
because it is very boring.
i want to stay at home.
because it's the best place to be...
just as Dorethy said in The Wizard of Oz.
if i could stay at home, i would sleep as much as possible.

my first blog

2008-08-24T01:25:00.000-07:00

my teacher is making me write this blog...to start with, i like the colour black......black cats greens eyes, japanase hair, my favourite food is beef beef and meat, i'm 16...i go to high school, school is boring, but i like hanging out with my friends...