Flowers of Spring

Saturday, 26th April (updated 29th April)

I have spent a little time this week at the schools gathering photos of the different flowers that are in bloom at the moment.

TULIPS

place of photography: Utsubori Primary School
撮影場・東城町内堀小学校

place of photography: Onuka Primary School

撮影場・東城町小奴可小学校

JAPANESE NANO - RAPE BLOSSOMS
place of photography: Onuka, Tojo
撮影場・小奴可

JAPANESE VIOLA - PANSY
place of photography: Utsubori Primary School
撮影場・東城町内堀小学校








JAPANESE SUISEN - DAFFODIL
place of photography: Chidori, Tojo Town
撮影場・東城町千鳥別尺

April and Spring...the beginning of a new year!

cherry blossoms, the break of winter into spring and a sign of new life. The mountains in the background will radiate with brilliant green colours in the weeks to come


Saturday, 12th April 2008 (updated 29th April)

Well it is that time of the year again, yes that's right, April - the kiddies at school moving up a year after a one week break, some teachers changing schools on the 1st with the day before being their last before transferring, some retiring, the launch of new products and services, the renewal of work contracts, various price increases, the abolition of the fuel tax and the introduction of the identification card to continue to be able to purchase cigarettes from vending machines and stop minors from staying up late to buy some ciggies. These are just a few of the significance of this particular month in Japan! But no April would be complete without the cherry trees blooming and showing off their terrific pink and purple colours!



a honey bee in action!

The last few weeks have seen more rain than usual but the sun came out this morning and the temperature rose making it a perfect day, for those who don't have work, to go do hanami or cherry blossom viewing in English. I went and took some photos after lunch around Tojo River a few minutes walk from where I live.


cherry blossoms and the beautiful new light green baby leaves slowly sprouting out. A man is sitting by the river catching fish


a shirasagi (White Heron) flying up above that I managed to capture on camera



the blue sky , white fluffy clouds, pink blossoms, green grass and a flowing river allow one to appreciate the beauty of nature


Tomorrow if it doesn't rain like it is forecast to, the cultural exchange association in Shobara is holding a cherry blossom viewing get together in a place called Kuchiwa about an hour or twos drive from where I live so check back on the site in a few days for more photos!

update: The cherry blossom viewing party went ahead as planned despite it drizzling for most of the day and being a little chilly. Many people - including Japanese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Filipino, Chinese, American, Canadian and Australian joined in the fun at the Hotarumi Park in Kuchiwa enjoying the yummy ethic food that people kindly brought in as well as a barbie!

Mt. Daisen

Mt Daisen, 1709m, the tallest mountain in western Japan

Friday, 21st March 2008
鳥取県と岡山県の県境にある展望台からの大山だ！

It was another beautiful clear day although the temperature was still a little low to go out in a t-shirt but was perfect for a drive out. I decided to go to Chiya Onsen (hot spring) in the neighbouring Okayama Prefecture, one that I have not been to yet. I must have gone past it because I entered a kilometre long tunnel and came out of it with the sign up above telling me I had just entered Tottori Prefecture! As soon as I noticed this mistake, I approached the bend ahead of me and was treated to this spectacular view from the lookout. The last time I went past Daisen, I couldn't even see it because of the poor weather and visibility so this was actually the first time for me to see this mountain that rises up steeply pretty much from the coastline of the Japan Sea.


The restaurant located at the outlook and the amazing view from my seat!


The restaurant, run by a quiet old lady offering value for money!

The Beautiful Coastline of the Japan Sea - HINOMISAKI - Shimane Prefecture

a peaceful place to relax under the shade overlooking the Japan Sea.


8th March 2008, HINOMISAKI, Shimane Prefecture
島根県出雲市日御碕

I headed 100km north from Tojo to Izumo City located approximately 30km west of Matsue City on the coast of the Japan Sea for the weekend to meet a friend. Izumo is well known for what is one of the largest and most sacred shrines Izumo Taisha. Thousands and thousands of people head to the shrine each year especially over the New Year period to perform Hatsumade - first visit to a shrine to pray for the year ahead. I have been to the shrine in the past so I decided to do a little sightseeing around the area. Naomi suggested going to Hinomisaki as we didn't go there the last time and that is what I decided to do. The weather was perfect, clear blue skies and a warm start to spring. The 8km stretch of road from Izumo Taisha weaves its way along the rocky coastline showing off its beauty. I stopped along the way to take it the warm sunshine and take a few photos as well as watch the fisherman fishing out on isolated rocks making me wonder how they actually got there without a boat!


the road along coastline heading towards HINOMISAKI.


At the end of the road there is a car park where the lighthouse which to my luck was full when I arrived. I drove around in circles waiting for someone to leave! The whole area is undergoing a beautification stage so the place isn't looking its best at the moment with road, footpath and drainage works going on. The lighthouse itself is an interesting structure. It is the only lighthouse to have been built from stone and has one of the strongest lens allowing its light to be seen 39km out to sea. It is also one of the few lighthouses that can be climbed by those who can endure the steep 160 steps up to the top! The view from the top is absolutely breathtaking, well worth it!


HINOMISAKI lighthouse


the view from the top of the lighthouse


the rock formations below the lighthouse

and this week...HEAVY SNOW!!!!

Back in the carpark after 5 hours snowboarding!

17th February 2007

Unexpectedly I was surprised when I looked out the window to find that a few centimetres of snow had settled on the ground, the trees and my car. A short while later I could hear the lady next door removing the snow off the drive way with a shovel. Naomi and I woke up and decided that we would go out to Nekoyama Snow Resort for a few hours! The sun was trying to come out from the behind the clouds. We set off from home and drove to the ski resort. Half way there the black tarmac turned into a white solid sheet of white snow and the clouds were darker and there was no sign of snow. Eventually we found ourselves driving with heavy snow falling with almost 0% visibility and unable to see where the road as everything was white! I started to feel sick from concentrating on not slipping and crashing into the railing on the side. The snow on the windscreen started freezing up but we made it safely to the ski resort. We bought a 4 hour ski pass and started snowboarding pretty much straight away! There were heaps of people there making the wait in the queue a long one. With people sitting resting and chatting in groups on the slope and trying to avoid collisions, it made it difficult to enjoy a decent run at times. I collided with Naomi for the first time at a fairly high speed but managed to reduce the impact and avoid breaking any bones!

It was time to go home and we walked back to the car. With the amount of snow that fell while we were snowboarding I was worried about the journey back. Anyway those worries became reality and after removing the snow from the windscreen and packing the gear back in the car I put the car into 1st gear and tried to move forward only to find after moving less than a half a metre that my car was bogged in the snow! I only have front wheel drive. Naomi and I got out and move the snow from around the tyres and I tried to move again with no luck. The wheels were spinning but the car wasn't moving!! A guy who was nearby came to our aid and we pushed the car while Naomi manoeuvred the car. It took a couple of tries but we got the car out and started our journey back. The visibility on the way back was quite poor and we were driving on snow half of the way but once arriving back in Tojo, the snow had disappeared and the sun was out. It is amazing how two places only 30km apart one being 300m above sea level and the other 800m, can be affected so differently by the weather.

As I write this it is 8:10pm and a few centimetres has already settled again on the ground. I have parked the car down the drive way and I am sure that the neighbour will be out bright and early with the shovel to remove the snow once again.

And enough to go again today!!

Sunday, 10th February

It is a long weekend here this weekend in Japan so there's no better way to spend a day than spending it snowboarding! Today a few friends from Hatsukaichi where I used to live along with Naomi and myself headed out to the best ski resort in western Japan, OSORAKAN! It has one of the highest peaks of just over 1300m and the snow quality is the best in the area. It is a long trek up the mountains and a 100km trip from Naomi's house but well worth it. With it being Sunday, the ski resort was crowded more than usual. We had to queue to get on the lifts but the course is rather long making it worth the wait. I didn't have the courage to trying jumping and doing a 360 so I just practised keeping control of the board and using my body to manouver about. Naomi improved again from last week and can turn both left and right using the front of the board without falling! I will have to learn some new tricks to keep ahead! It wasn't that cold and with the sun out it was a nice day.

the view from the top of Mt. Osorakan (if you look at the top right you can see the white strip across the mountain. That is the short cut, a single lane road that offers spectacular views.)



naomi sliding down the slope with a serious look!


the short cut back to the main road that goes along a point half way between the peak and the base of the mountain for 13km. You wouldn't want to take your eyes off even for a split second otherwise it's a long drop all the way down!

Finally enough snow to go....SNOWBOARDING!!

Sunday, 3rd February

It has been snowing on and off over the last few weeks with the most snow fall over one night being just under 15cm which is nothing compared to the snow of winter 2005/2006. Nevertheless on the way home from Fukuyama about 60km from where I live it had unexpectedely snowed rather heavily while we were enjoying a movie at the cinema making the drive back a little slower because of the settled snow on the road.


the road out to Nekoyama



the spectacular view just before going over the edge!


The closest ski resort to where I live is Nekoyama (cat mountain literally), a 25km drive. Very convenient if I just feel like going out for a couple of hours! Naomi and I decided to get up early and beat the crowd on Sunday morning but there will always be people quicker than you in Japan and it was crowded by the time we got there and gradually, more and more people came to make the most of the fresh snow fall!


the main run


Nekoyama has a couple of good runs with the advanced course having 42 degree slope, and just looking at it is frightening enough! We stayed on the beginner and intermediate courses which were quite fun where there was fresh snow.


on the ski lift


We only stayed for 4 hours this time hoping to go again to my favourite ski resort in the area, Osorakan for a full day. Having only been snowboarding twice last year, I managed to get the hang of it pretty much straight away improving in a way where I can pick up speed using both sides of the board without falling over


me sliding down the slope