Wine Trip

I traveled to Yamanashi prefecture with my wine friends.
That morning, we hadn't decided where to go yet. Our plan was still open..
We planned today's schedule on the train and decided to go eat famous noodles called "Houtou".
Around the restaurant, there were a lot of wide vineyards. I really loved the beautiful scenery.
It was so humid and hot, so we went a winery to drink chilled white wine after lunch.
We tasted some new wine and chose one.
And then, we went to a hot spring located on a hill. We took a bath while we were looking down at the nice landscape.
After dinner, we watched martial arts on TV while enjoying red wine.
I don't like watching people beat each other up, but all of my friends were really into it. They looked so excited.
One of the fighters was bleeding terribly and his face was swollen twice as big.
I was so scared, but I couldn't withdraw my gaze because of curiosity....

Hot Spring

Tomorrow, I'm going to a hot spring in Yamanashi with my wine friends.
Yamanashi is one of the most famous prefectures for wine in Japan (quality and quantity). So we will drink lots of nice wine while eating delicious food.
Actually Onsen is not so bad, but I wanted to see biiiiiiiiig and huuuuuuuuge vineyards in foreign countries. I tried to persuade them to travel overseas together....and some of them said "yes". Maybe next year, we will go to France or California or somewhere.

I heard that also in America there are some useful guidebooks about nice Onsen places...maybe called "The perfect guidebook of hot springs in America" or like that. I doubt it, but I want to get it. So I asked my pen friend whether he has heard about that or seen them ...or has it already.
I'm now waiting for his answer.

Graduation and...

Today I finished the first step of learning Mandarin.
I actually graduated from the pronunciation class. I'm starting the next step to learn Chinese conversation next week.
I'm satisfied with this scool. Because they always give me high-quality lessons and the monthly tuition is VERY reasonable.
I'm now able to say "Chinese pronunciation is very difficult!!" in Mandarin.

One-day trip

I took a day-off today, and went to a hot spring in a little town. It was actually in the middle of nowhere. It felt like time had stopped completely there.
When I arrived at the hot-spring, there were a few people taking bath. But they left one by one and eventually I was alone.
I thought, "Oh, nobody's here...in this huge bathtub. What should I do..hum...Maybe I can swim, yay!!" I swam!!! But I know it's not so elegant, so my lips are sealed ...and please don't tell a soul(:.
I was content with the comfortable one-day trip.

Right? Left?

I'm not good at seeing complicated things.
Today I comfused "left" with "right" when I was learning how to give directions in a foreign language.
My teacher taught me a fool proof way to see them. It is for kids, but also useful for me....and looks SO cute. Right? Left? Right? Left?

Goya

I heard a useful topic.
My sister's friend who is working as a dietitian told me the secret of her health.
It is said that if she eats a lot of bitter squashes called "Goya" during summertime, she'll never catch a cold in winter.
They contains much vitamin C, so maybe they will work on my skin.
So I'll try to eat them this summer!!!

Feliciades!!!

Today I heard very happy news about my friend.
I'm SO happy for her and her newborn baby.
"Congrats!! Happy for two of you!! Yay!! Cheers and salud!!"

Plum lequeur

I tried to make plum liqueur today.
I heard about its good luck. It is said that you can have a fruitful and wonderful fall if you make plum liqueur this season.
I know it's just a superstition, but I like that story. Maybe the best time to start to savor is this autumn. So I can enjoy waiting for and looking forward to its completion.

Hydrangea

Rainy season has started in Tokyo, so recently I can find beautiful flowers around my house. It's called hydrangea and a very common and popular flower in Japan. Actually everyone loves it!!!
My friend told me that if I go to Hakone, I can see MANY amazing hydrangeas blooming all around on a slope.

Friendly style

I heard an interesting custom from my Mandarin teacher.
She told me that people in China usually ask their friend's age when they meet for the first time.
I was very surprised because it's taboo in Japan and also in Western countries.
I asked her why. She told me it's important to know whether a new friend is elder or younger. After they know it, they can call their friends elder or younger siblings.
It's their friendly attitude, she said so.
And I also heard they don't use the western calendar when they ask somebody's birth year. It's a little complicated for them, so they usually use the Chinese zodiac. Really!!! I didn't know that!!!

Trainman

Maybe I will go to see a new movie called "Denshaotoko" this weekend.It means "trainman", but actually his job isn't a trainman.It's based on a best seller novel. And actually the novel is based on a weblog diary written by a general public.Denshaotoko was a geek. He met a beautiful girl on the train and saved her from a drunken man. She appreciated it and gave him a small gift. And then, he asked her out!! But he was in trouble!! "What should I wear? Where should I go!? I don't know any fancy restaurants!!! What should I do!!!!!!"Finally he asked strangers for advice on the weblog. Many kind people (men and also women!) posted useful comments for him. And he was getting nicer and nicer..... Some people said it was a kind of success story, so I think maybe he will win her heart at the last scene!!!Now I can see it in a cinema theater, but its TV show is also starting on July 7th.I'm sure that it's very interesting and funny, so I asked my friend living overseas to check it out at his favorite video shop if he has the chance!!!

Indecisive

I was planning the details for our trip. There are some nice hotels, but they aren't so cheap...I'd rather say they are a little expensive.Recently I'm very indecisive. I used to be able to decide anything immediately. It's so weird. What happened to me?Anyway I haven't decided yet....um

A little present

I went shopping with my sister in Ginza today. We were looking for a gift for my father. Father's day and his birthday is approaching.We usually give him something to wear because he's so serious that he can't start to use anything before he reads the whole instructions. We bought a DVD player last year, and an electric shaver the year before last for him, but they had been just displayed for more than half a year.

Earthquakes

Today some earthquakes happened.They were so weak that I didn't notice some of them.But I had heard a rumor about it last week.It was said that a big one would happen by June 1st.So I was very scared. "This one!? This one? It's coming!? It's coming?"The second one that I could notice happened when I was watching a DVD in the late night.I was frightened again!I froze in fear(・_・!) !!Help meeeeee!!!!!Actually all I could do was sweat in the moment.....scary...
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Spring fever

It was the last day of May.I think maybe I was suffering from slight "spring fever".But now I'm totally OK, because "May is almost over" as my favorite teacher said last May....It means I suffer from spring fever EVERY YEAR. Maybe, perhaps.. next year too!!!???........ really!!