Autumn in Japan

I've been studying so hard these days, and I finised the draft for my thesis (I wrote about 60 pages!!) so I took a break yesterday. I went on hiking to see the changing leaves. It was a little too late for the fallen leaves season but luckily, there were still some that were red and beautiful.
The pic on the left is called "Momiji" which is the most typical type of tree that Japanese enjoy the red color. It is so beautiful when there are bunch of trees that are in bright red. Usually we go to see them in temples or japanese gardens. But this time I needed some excercise so I went hiking in the mountains. Man, it was so tiring to go up these rocks...
In Japan, people love hiking in the mountains especially older people. Like in the pic, many people wear the same outfit (hat, stick, vest and backpack are must) and go up for their health. My grandpa used to do that every morning in 5 a.m. for 10 years, never missed a single day except when it snowed. Wow. He actually got awarded for that.


It's getting colder and colder everyday. Winter is coming. I love winter though. It's my favorite season:) My birthday, Christmas, beautiful decorations and illuminations, New Years... It just makes me exciting! Hope everyone will enjoy the remaining 2005 and wait for the 2006 to come!!

紅葉はやっぱいいねぇ～☆こういう四季を味わえる時って”日本人でよかったなぁ”って思います。

Good wine and cheeze

Good wine and delicious cheeze... those are the best.

Today, I went to this wine bar. It's true that good wine won't make you drunk. It was after a couple drinks that we went there but I could drink more! Usually I start to feel good after 2 glasses of wine but hey, I drank 3 more. Wow... and I don't feel dizzy nor drunk. I enjoyed the taste of wine and cheeze. hmmm, those were good:)

I used to only be able to drink sweet white wine but these days I can drink dry white or even red. I'm beginning to learn the taste:) I had this year's Beaujolais Nouveau the other day. It that was okay, I mean, not the best though. I prefer others. I don't know why everyone's so excited about Beaujolais Nouveau this time of the year when it opens. Is it like that in other countries too? or is it just Japanese that crazy about anything french.

おいしいワインとチーズ、これがあるとほんと幸せな気分☆

These days...

I'm becoming an owl these days... Awake and study at night, go to bed when the sun rise...
Actually I can concentrate more in midnight. When outside is quiet and dark, I feel like I can study.

It's 12 a.m. now so better get back to work.
Beginning of my day...

シアトルのカフェ事情 Seattle's Cafe

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　シアトルといえばやっぱりカフェ♪みんなコーヒーもって歩いてます。

日本上陸しているシアトル発カフェといえば、TULLY'S、Seattle's Best Coffee、そしてもちろんStarbucks。日本でもスタバ、タリーズは至るところにあるけど、本場シアトルにはかなわない。初めてシアトルに行った時、スタバの数には本当に驚かされた。同じ通りのちょっと行った数ブロック先にまたあったり、斜め向かいもう一軒にあったり、一つのモールに数箇所あったり。こんなにあって儲かるのだろうか？って思うけど、結構どこも人いっぱい。学校やスーパーのコーヒーも大抵スタバだし。さすがスタバ！
でもシアトルにはこのようなチェーンのカフェだけでなく、小さな個人でやってるようなカフェもたっくさんある。一軒一軒個性があって、コーヒーの味も違うし、なんといってもそこで働いている人を見るのも面白い。働いている人でその店の雰囲気とか変わるしね。あっ、あとバリスタの絵もいろいろあって楽しい。
そこで今回は私が今回の旅で巡ったいい感じのカフェ紹介します☆

まずは一番よく言ってたCafe VITA。お家からも近く、アーティストの絵とかが飾ってあってBroadwayらしいカフェでした。 隣にはこのコーヒーカップを作っている工場があった。カフェからガラス張りだから丸見えで、とてもおしゃれな感じがした。お兄さんたちが汗水たらしながら楽しそうに働いていたのが印象的☆

　　 　　


ここはBook Cafe Bauhaus。本が壁にそってギッシリと並べられている。通りすがりの人がみんなここで一杯買っていくからレジはいつも並んでいたな。ここら辺のカフェはほとんどワイヤレスインターネットが使えるからパソコンをもって勉強している人も多い。シアトルには珍しく、ここは結構遅くまで空いてるし、私も勉強してました。
　　　　　　　




右はPike Place Marketの前にあるカフェ。おなかが減ったので近くのおいしいと評判のあるピロシキ屋でピロシキを買っていきました。ここでは滅多に頼まないブラックを注文。





他にもいっぱいあるんだけど、今日はこの辺で。

でもやっぱりスタバのラテは毎日とは言わないけど、よく飲んでたな。スタバのラテを飲むとシアトルを思い出します。もうこの味に慣れてしまって、一番落ち着くかも。コーヒーにこだわりのある人からこんな事いうと非難をあびるかもしれないけど。スタバ依存症の人多いのでは？Addictedは怖いね。

Japan's pornography culture

日本のポルノ文化について一言いいたい。

この前東京から神戸へ帰る新幹線でのことである。日曜の午後ということもあり、禁煙席は満席だったため、喫煙席をとるしかなかった。乗ってみると車内はたばこ吸ったり、ビール飲んだり、イビキをかいて寝ているおっさんばっか。。苦しくてしかたがなかった。まぁこれは喫煙席だし仕方ない。
私の隣に座ったのは50代くらいのおじさん。ビール2本に週刊誌みたいなのを持っていた。

私が腹が立ったのは、２０代の女の子が隣に座ってるというのにどうどうとエロ雑誌を広げて読んでいたことだ。丸見えだった。確かに、個人の自由かもしれない。だけど、恥・プライド・マナーというのはないのか？と思う。そしてその時、前にイギリスの友達が日本のポルノ文化について激怒していたことを思い出した。彼らに言わせて見れば、日本ではエロ本・エロビはほぼどこでも誰でも手に入るし、コンビニには子供の手の届くところにいかにも見ろといっているように置いてあるし、電車に乗ってもおっさん達が何の恥もなくおおっぴらに読んでいる。イギリスでは考えられないのだそう。確かに日本ではお酒もタバコもエロ本等も誰でもどこでも手に入る。自動販売機として置いてあるし、コンビにではIDは見ることになったものの、実際にチェックすることはほとんどない。こんなことでいいのだろうか？

そして失望して辺りを見回してみると、マナーのないおっさんばっかり。お仕事して疲れてるのは分かるけど、公共の場だし、もう少し恥というものを感じてほしい。日本のおじさんたち頼むよ！！

I wanna say something about Japan's porno culture.

I was on the bullet train (shinkansen) the other day on my way home from Tokyo. Unfortunately, I had to sit in a smoking seat since non-smoking seat was already full. The carrige was full of business men (or salary men in Jp) smoking, drinking beer, or sleeping and snoring. A man sat next to me was about in mid 50s, also drinking beer and reading magazine.

What I was upset about was that he, even though I (20s girl) was sitting next to him, was reading this porno magazine without hesitation. He had that magazine so wide open that I could see everything. Of course people have a right to do anything they want. It's freedom. But, dont't they have some kind of embarrassment or pride or manner?

Then, this reminded me of my friends talking about Japan's porno culture long time a go. They were from England and were so angry at the fact that anyone can buy porno books & videos almost anywhere! alcohol and cigarettes too. For those who don't know about Japan, let me tell you. Almost anyone (even kids) can buy alcohol, cigarettes, and porno stuff anywhere in Japan. I know, it's ridiculous. All of them are sold in vending machines, porno books on the shelf of convenience store where kids can see & reach, many men (mostly old men) reading porno books in the train, and there are a rule that you need to show ID when buying them at convenience store but most of the time staff won't check for yourID unless you obciously look under 20. Can you believe that?

And when I looked around the train, I saw many 50-year-oldish men in a terrible manner. I understand they are tired after their work but it's public place and I wish they have more manners.

Seattle & Chicago Pictures!!

*Seattle*









*Chicago*





Sorry it's not a good quality. I took them with my cell phone camera so not so good pics...
for more pics, see here:

Seattle & Chicago Pictures

Thank you everyone!!! leaving soon....

It's my last day in the U.S... I was away from Japan for 1 month visiting Seattle and Chicago. I thought I'll write about my trip when I'm back in Japan but decided to do it today cause I don't wanna sleep tonight... I wanna be tired and sleepy tomorrow so that I can sleep in the plane. 11 hours flight from Chicago. Man, that is too long...:(

Anyway, I had so much fun!! Thanks to those who spent time with me and made my trip enjoyable.
Aura & Tessa; you are the most wonderful and warmhearted family! Dima; thank you so much for everything! Nice ride too:) Tatsuro; It was surprising that we were in the same apt. building! I wish you the best for your future career. Astri, Kristi & Kei; happy to see you again and hope to see you in Japan next time! Jeff & Dave; I had fun playing pool and drinking that night! hope I didn't do anything when I was drunk.lol Kazui & John; nice meeting you and it was fun talking with you guys:o) Toshiko; we are the party girls! Shari, Sean & Cody; I enjoyed staying with you and the Alki beach view. Thank you for all of your kindness and the blanket!! Tomoko; enjoy rest of your Seattle life! Tina & Naomi; nice to see you again! Good luck with your job. Keith, Amanda, Mike, Carl, Ayami, Bernard, Jun & Maura; Nice to meet you all!! We had fun together:) Coco; I appreciate so much for letting me rent your studio for 2 weeks. It was very comfortable. Aki & Mike; Thank you for everything in Chicago. Too bad I caught I cold the whole time. Good luck with your studies and stay happy:) Thank you soooo much EVERYONE!!! Those of you who are coming to Japan this winter, looking forward to seeing you all soon! I'll show you around and let's have fun:) Others, I'm sure we'll see each other again. You can come to Japan and visit me, or I'll definately visit Seattle again sometime. I love Seattle!! It's my favorite city. so, Keep in Touch!!!

I promised myself that I'll do my graduation thesis during my stay in Seattle. Since I had 3 weeks, I thought I'll have time to do this. I DID do it a little but not much as I wanted to... I went to the Seattle public library a few times, checked out books and did some data search. Not much progress though:( Once I get back to Japan, I need to do this seriously. I only have about 1 month and I haven't even start writing it!! I was just reading books as much as I can to clear my idea and organize the layout. AHHH~!! well, so what? I should do things that I can only do at that time (in this case, life in Seattle) I enjoyed!! I would regret if I was studying instead of meeting people or see the city. Life is short and you only live once! Do what you gotta do but also, do what you wanna do:) Right guys?

Well, back to the real world, real life from the day after tomorrow.
Wish me luck guys!

P.S. I'll update the pics I took in this trip later.

Hi from Seattle~!!

I'm enjoying my time here in Seattle. It's already cold, need a warm coat at night. Mostly cloudy, sometimes rain, rarely blue sky. I missed Seattle sooo much that sooo glad to be back. What I missed most; Seattle people! They are the nicest on earth. Other than that, nature, beautiful night view and clubbing.

First few days, I stayed at my host family's house I used to stay. Gosh, I missed them so much. Aura (the mom) is a wonderful woman. I respect her as a woman, business person and as a mother. She is always doing her best, possitive, passionate, challenging, appreciating, in a good shape... That's a type of woman I wanna be. And Tessa (Aura's daughter, 9 yd) is a wonderful girl. She is very cute, intellegent, active, curious in many things, friendly....oh, I can go on forever. There was a new Japanese girl staying at Aura's house too. She was a nice girl. Aura and I used to talk about our life, love, work, family, everything so we caught up with what we've been doing these few month and that was fun.

Then from last week, I began to live close to downtown Seattle by my self. I've always wanted to do this! I was looking for a place to stay for about 2 weeks and luckily I found a person who is moving to a new apartment but still has her old studio till the end of Oct. She was also looking for someone to rent a place. It has TV, all the furniture, kitchen, wireless Internet, bed, bath and toilet, everything that I need so that was nice.

These 2 weeks I've been meeting my friends, walking around Seattle, went to see my school, clubbing, exploring new cafes... enjoying my time in Seattle. It's weird but I don't feel like I've been away for 6 month. When I met my good friend, I felt like I was just gone for a short trip and came back where I used to be. Everything hasn't changed. It's the same. But when I told that, he said that that's because I'm the one who's gone and came back to the place where everyone is living the same life but for someone who's left behind is different. Yeah, I guess when one person disappeared suddently from your life must be difficult to deal with. For me, I went to a totally different place and environment; totally different life.

Anyway, I have one more week left in Seattle then go to visit my friend in Chicago for 5 days and back to Japan. I'll enjoy my time as much as I can so that I won't regret!!

Oh, one thing. I'm worried that I'm gonna gain weight... I've been eating out most of the time with my friends and you know, American food, American size... oh, well. Let's forget that and have fun!

Going to Seattle!!

Well, i haven't done anything interesting lately. I've been studying for my research paper in daytime and work at night. I'm reading many books right now but that makes me sooo tiring... I like the topic, which is about business, but if you keep reading that for a long time...make me very stressful. Plus, i am worried if i can finish that paper:( It's due in Dec. but since it's a big project i have no idea how it's gonna be. Oh well, i just have to keep doing it.

And from Oct, i'll be going to Seattle!!! Yeah!!! I'm so happy to go back there. I miss Seattle so much. That beautiful nature, summer, people, starbucks, Alki beach, shopping, friends... EVERYTHING! Even the rain. I mean it's not that bad.
I'll stay there for 3 weeks, then visit my friend in Chicago and come back to Japan. In Seattle, I'll stay at my frined's place for the first few days but don't know where i'll be staying after that. It should be ok, though. (i hope)

I'll try go to as many places as i can in the next 6 month! Cause i'll be working from next April (graduate my univ. in March) so probably don't have time for travelling for a while. You know, japanese company... working too much... don't have holidays.... It really is that way.
By the way, I'm studying about that. Japanese management and American management in business; how it is different, how it is changing, and what people are thinking. Recently, Japanese companies are changing toward American style and i'm interested in it. Also, i've seem people working in Japan and also in the U.S. and what i thought was that Japanese work too much and they are not happy!! Then what do they work for?? For their family? but most people are not spending time with their family. That is just not right. One should be happy with their life. Japan is changing though! At least trying to change.

東京タワー by リリー・フランキー

今、「東京タワー」という本を読み終えた。著者リリー・フランキー。

ちょっと変わった家庭環境に生まれたボクが自分の生活に嫌気がさして15歳で田舎から上京し、彼の人生を描いたストーリー。”ボク”、”オカン”、”オトン”との「家族」がテーマ。たぶん実話。

感想からいうと、とても感動した。読み始めたら止まらなくて、9:00 pmから読み始めたのだが読み終わったのが現在3:00 am過ぎ。枕も涙でビショビショになった。。微妙に今の自分の状況と重なる部分があるから余計感情移入したのかもしれない。いろんなこととても考えさせられた。

この本は特にボクとオカンの関係、心境が描かれているのだが、母親はこんなにも子供のために自分を犠牲にできるのか、母は強いなと思った。私はまだ結婚もしていなければ子供もいないが、母親とはこういうものなのかと勉強になった。そして、自分の親に対してもいろいろ考えるようになった。大切な人を失う辛さ、想像もつかない。でも、いつかはわからないが人間はいつかは死んでしまう運命。死んでしまってからでは遅いのだ、後悔しないように感謝の気持ち、思いやりの気持ちを示そう。親孝行しようと思った。

このオカンの人柄がなんともいえない。自分のことより、常に他人のことを考えている。自分の家族だけでなく、周りにいるすべてのひとを。世の中には有り余るほどのお金を撒き散らしている人もいれば、彼女のように裕福ではないのに苦労して節約したお金を世界に貢献している人もいる。別にお金があるわけでも、地位があるわけでもないのに自然と彼女の周りには人が集まり、絶えず笑いがある。彼女が死んだときも自然と周りには大勢の人が集まった。私もこのような人になろうと思った。損得などを考えず、周りのひとにやさしくし、思いやりを持とう、広い心を持とう思った。めったにできないよ、こんなこと。彼女のように死ぬときは大勢の人に見送られたい。そしたら寂しくもなく、幸せな気持ちで他界できるだろう。　　　オカンは死ぬ間際の苦しい時も子供の身体のことを心配していた。

リリーの文章も好き。彼の描写がとてもリアルで鮮明にその場面が浮かんでくる。特に東京に住んでいるひとはもっとよく分かると思う。読みながら主人公と一緒に東京の至るところに行ける。あと、九州弁の会話やたまにあるツッコミも面白い。

う～ん、まだ余韻に浸ってます。。ぜひこの本読んでみてください。これからの生き方考えさせられます。