Some photos of our trip to Sawara in Chiba Prefecture over the 3 day weekend a couple weeks back.

On the way to Sawara we stopped at Chiba Station and had lunch at a place called Common Café. I order a burger not expecting a lot, but it was the best burger I've had in a long time actually.

We arrived a bit late in Sawara and were kind of tired so we decided to just go to the hotel, shower and relax for a bit and then have dinner.
We had a reservation at a French restaurant called Mougins and it ended up being a really great experience.

After eating dinner we were headed back to the hotel and we heard some hayashi and cheering in the distance and we decided to check out what was happening. We found a dashi parading through the streets and they were stopping at different places to pick up alcohol lol. Apparently they'd been doing it every Sunday, I think since corona started.
It was pretty cool to see though.

The next day we went to check out the Sawara Historical District and after reaching our destination we decided to take a break at a cafe. We ordered a shaved ice and some sort of soda. They were both really delicious, especially the shaved ice. It was some sort of flavor using tea from Kyoto and milk. I forget what it was called exactly though.

We also stopped by the former residence of Inoh Tadataka, the famous Japanese cartographer.
It was quite interesting seeing where he lived.
After visiting his residence, we to the nearby museum and learned about his life and everything he did.

I was pretty blown away by how incredible he actually was. I was a bit surprised that I hadn't learned much about him when I was studying the history of Japan, but after visiting the museum I'm convinced he was truly a genius.

Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures inside of the museum, but seeing all of the tools that he used to draw maps and learning how they worked was really interesting.
On top of that, the maps he drew were unbelievably accurate.
I think it mentioned somewhere that his maps were used until the 1900's, despite being drawn several hundred years prior.
His cartography was only one of the endeavors he pursued as well. There were also some documents that explained how he helped his town get through the famine, and also documents detailing how he dealt with local lords imposing taxes on his town.

Besides the museum, we also took a boat ride through the canal that ran through the historical district.
The canal was quite nice, and you could see the historical buildings that lined the sides of it while going through it.
We had to lower the cover on the boat for several bridges as the water level was quite high due to the recent rains, but that just made the experience even more memorable.

The tour guide on the boat mentioned how when the canal was used back in the Edo period, it was incredibly busy and boats would have been bumping into each other constantly while passing through.

During the boat ride through the canal I noticed some interesting statues on various lanterns and decided to check them out. They all turned out to be interesting and unique.

We ended our trip by having a late lunch near the historical district.
We had planned to take a train back to Tokyo but missed it by a few minutes.
Fortunately, a bus arrived at the perfect time and so we rode that back to Tokyo. It was much better than the crowded trains.

Overall it was a really good day-trip style excursion and I definitely recommend it!
Managed to find 2 poke lids too!

Over 5 million red spider lily is bloomed here in Kinchakuda park in Hidaka city of Saitama prefecture. The bright colors of this flower attracts the tourist from a long distance apart. Here the one flower bloomed over the top of the red carpet like colors. This flower is very eager to show its beauty to the flower lovers.

[English／日本語]
A 3-minute walk from the school, you can have matcha and nerikiri at Hanano, a cafe specializing in Japanese green tea. This is a wonderful store that is both a boutique and a café. Here, you can even try your hand at making nerikiri the Japanese confectionery pictured in the photo. International students, especially female students, like to look at the books of wagashi. A Vietnamese student said, "Wagashi changes its design with the seasons, and they are all so beautiful and wonderful. She said. The wagashi in the photo is designed as a "Gamaguchi" purse.
学校から徒歩3分、日本茶専門カフェ花野さんでは抹茶とねりきりをいただくことができます。こちらはブティックとカフェが併設されている素敵なお店です。こちらではねりきり（写真の和菓子）を作る体験もできるそうです。留学生、特に女子学生は和菓子の本を見るのが好きです。ベトナムの学生は、「和菓子は季節によってデザインが変わり、どれもとても美しいので素敵だ。」と言っていました。※写真の和菓子は「がま口財布」をデザインしたものだそうです。

長野県地獄谷温泉この光景見たさに6時間かけて来たのですが、常にお猿さんが温泉に入ってると思い、ワクワクしながら娘を抱っこして山道をひたすら歩いたのですが、誰も入っていなくてショックでした😭
そこから何とかお猿さんが温泉に入ってる光景を撮影したくてかなり待ったのですが、ほんの一瞬でそこからは全然入ってくれませんでした😅

A scarlet autumn morning in a traditional way at Kinchakuda park in Saitama prefecture. This is most probably the biggest place to see the red spider lilies in Japan. A very vast area turns like a red carpet. This unique flowers and a traditional touch makes the day perfect.

以前食べた揚州商人のネギラーメン๑´ڡ`๑

A scarlet autumn morning in a traditional way at Kinchakuda park in Saitama prefecture. This is most probably the biggest place to see the red spider lilies in Japan. A very vast area turns like a red carpet. This unique flowers and a traditional touch makes the day perfect.

I'm a Doraemon fan, and I really felt happy to see this 32 ft tall Doraemon art by Takashi Murakami.

It's one of the highlights of the Roppongi Night Art event 🌸

I'm on my one-week holiday here in Tokyo 😍 Last Sunday, I went to Roppongi and saw this amazing metal art at Roppongi Hills. It's entirely made from wheelchairs 😲🌸

This was part of the Roppongi Night Art held last September 17th to 19th.

[English／日本語]
Takohachiya" is a grill shop. It is located alongside the Hachioji Central Library, about 6 minutes from the school. This time I ate not takoyaki but "takosen". Takosen" are takoyaki sandwiched between octopus crackers, and are famous as a snack for children in Osaka. There are many takoyaki shops in Tokyo, but this was the first time I saw takosen being sold. The fluffy takoyaki sandwiched between crispy rice crackers was very tasty 😊Bangladeshi students do not eat seafood such as octopus and squid. Please be careful when making recommendations to foreigners.
焼き屋「たこ八や」。八王子中央図書館の並びで、学校からは6分くらいです。今回食べたのはたこ焼きではなく「たこせん」です。「たこせん」はたこのせんべいにたこ焼きを挟んだもので、大阪の子どものおやつとして有名です。東京にもたくさんたこ焼き屋さんはありますが、たこせんが売られているのを見たのは初めてでした。ぱりぱりのおせんべいにふわふわのたこ焼きが挟まれていて、とってもおいしかったです😊バングラデシュの学生はタコやイカなどの海鮮は食べないそうです。外国人におすすめをする際には気を付けてくださいね。

娘が先月からAustralia Gold coastへ中学留学し、一年半帰って来なくて寂しいのでオンライン英語塾は勿論継続していますが、私は住み込みで宿へ働きに来ています！鴨川にある璃庵という宿です。とにかく忙しく過ごさないと娘のことばかり考えてしまうから😂

宿に勤務し始めて17日。昨日は宿で使われているお猪口を割ってしまったので購入してお返したいと思い仕入先のガラス工房へお邪魔しました😌✨

主基グラススタジオ（sukigalass）

山の中にあるのでお越しの際はお車で！

同じものは一つとない、味わい深い、美しいガラスが並んでいました♡
自分用にプレートも購入💟

近隣の情報もたくさん教えて下さった製作者のおじさま。最初はぶっきらぼうに思えるかもしれませんが、色々とお話して下さいますよ！

是非お立ち寄り下さい💞

川越八幡宮
川越にはよく行くのですが、ここには必ずお参りしています。
休日は人も多く、にぎわっています。

過去に六本木ヒルズの展望台に上った時に撮っていた夕景です。スマホで撮っていたものです。やはり東京は大都会だなぁと感じたことです。

[Englsih／日本語]
Today we will introduce Taihachi's Taiyaki, famous for their size, so large that you don't even need to eat a meal after eating one. It is located a 5-minute walk from Hachioji Station. Taiyaki is a very popular sweet even among foreigners!
今日紹介するのは、その大きさで有名な「鯛八」のたい焼きです。1つ食べれば食事をしなくてもいいくらいのサイズで、食べごたえは満点。八王子駅から徒歩5分の場所にあります。たい焼きは外国人からもとても人気があるスイーツなんですよ～

Finally managed to visit Shinjuku Gyoen over the weekend

Been meaning to go here for a while now and finally had the chance

The park itself was quite large, it was a bit surprising how much space it actually takes up in the city.
There were a lot of cool stone lanterns and other structures to see throughout the park as well.
The Taiwan building was pretty interesting to learn about. Apparently it was donated to Japan in 1924 by Japanese people living in Taiwan.
The sign outside mentioned that it was a nice place to feel the breeze and it wasn't a lie either. It felt really nice standing on the balcony overlooking the pond. The breeze came through perfectly.

Unfortunately we didn't bring a blanket with us to the park but there were a lot of other people laying down on the grass and it looked like a nice place to have a picnic.

We stopped at one of the rest areas and grabbed some drinks as well. I got a lemonade drink that was really refreshing and she got a café latte.

We took a quick tour through the greenhouse at the end as well and it had a lot of cool plants inside. I found this flower with grey leaves that I thought was really cool looking.

I definitely want to return during autumn to see how the park looks after the leaves change!

江ノ島電鉄、鎌倉高校前駅すぐ近くの鎌倉高校前 1号踏切。某アニメの聖地となっているのもあり、多くの観光客が訪れていた。夏の青い空と海、そこに江ノ電の電車がガタンゴトンと通過する瞬間の一枚。

新宿の夜景良きっす！

Spring is a very special season for us here in Japan. This year my wife first time decided to celebrate the sakura season in a very traditional way of this beautiful country. We enjoyed the day a lot. She had a special love for that umbrella too. Its a really really a very memorable day for both of us. May be whole life we can't forget that day.

以前行った小湊鉄道、月崎駅からの風景🚃
緑に囲まれて素敵な場所でした☺️

自然あふれる公園へ
甥っ子と昆虫探しに行ったときのもの
いっぱい見つけるぞと
力強く前進してるときの様子

[English／日本語]
Do you know "Miyako Manju," the soul food of Hachioji? 30 yen per piece, you can buy these manju near Hachioji Station. They are popular among students because of their affordable price. They taste very delicious with a gentle sweetness. The store is a local store that collaborates with a nearby university, and the design of the manju often changes, so you can enjoy eating it while having fun. You should definitely try it 😊.
八王子のソウルフード「都まんじゅう」をご存じですか？1個30円で、八王子駅周辺で購入できるお饅頭です。お手頃価格なので、学生にも人気です。味は優しい甘さでとても美味しいです。近くの大学とコラボをするなど地元密着のお店で、まんじゅうのデザインもよく変わるので、楽しみながら食べられますよ。是非一度食べてみてください😊

逗子葉山のひとり旅にて。
夕日が反射した水面がすごい綺麗でした！
上手く撮れて嬉しいです☺️

大学生の夏休みの思い出として神奈川県に旅行してきました〜！この写真はスラムダンクの聖地である江ノ電"鎌倉高校前駅"の踏切です！
天気も良くて最高でした〜！
みなさんも是非行ってみてください^_^

日帰りで逗子葉山へ一人旅に行った時の写真です。
ここは葉山の端の方にある、長者が崎です！サーファーの方がとてもかっこよくつい、シャッターを切ってしまいました。
初めての一人旅でしたが、綺麗な景色を沢山見れて幸せでした。

[English／日本語
]The signboard at Hachioji Station changes its cute illustrations with the seasons. For example, March is the Doll Festival, June is boots, August is a festival, and so on. My favorite is the Setsubun design for February. I always look forward to seeing the next illustration.
八王子駅の看板は季節によってかわいいイラストが変わります。例えば、3月はひな祭り、6月は長靴、8月はお祭りなどです。私が一番好きなのは2月の節分のデザインです。次はどんなイラストなのかいつも楽しみにしています。

都内の松陰神社で撮影しました。
モデルはゆうはさん。インスタ＠y＿＿＿.nt

松陰神社には夏場に色鮮やかな風鈴が飾られます。
こちらは引きの写真です。全体的に風鈴と制服が入るようにしました。
風鈴の鮮やかさと制服の清純さが効果的にマッチするかと思って撮影しています。

カメラ@Panasonic Lumix GH6
レンズ＠LEICA H-NS043

都内の松陰神社で撮影しました。
モデルはゆうはさん。インスタ＠y＿＿＿.nt

松陰神社には夏場に色鮮やかな風鈴が飾られます。
風鈴の鮮やかさと制服の清純さが効果的にマッチするのではと思って撮影しました。

当日の撮影は一時間ほどでしたが、有意義な撮影ができました。
写真はレフ版を使用しています。
カメラ@Panasonic Lumix GH6
レンズ＠LEICA H-NS043

以前行った築地で人気の甘味屋さん🍦ლ´ڡ`ლ

Visited Shibamata for the first time over the weekend.

I'd been meaning to go for a while because it seemed like an interesting place to visit in Tokyo, but I just hadn't had the chance until now.

It was a really nice place and I was surprised at how few people were there.
There was a ton of shops lined up along the main street and the wooden buildings gave it a really nice atmosphere.

I haven't seen Otoko wa Tsurai yo, but there were statues and posters of Tora-san everywhere, even inside shops and stuff. I guess I'll have to watch it some time when I have the chance.

We ended up eating lunch at one of the restaurants along the main road and they had some Tora Miso Ramen so we decided to try it. It was pretty good and had a decent amount of vegetables in it as well, so moderately healthy for ramen I suppose. We also got some dessert at a cafe afterwards and she got some dango while I ordered an ice cream float.

We also went to the nearby temple Shibamata Taishakuten 柴又帝釈天, or Daikyoji Temple and walked around the main temple grounds and also bought tickets to see the garden and the architecture inside the temple. The garden was really pretty and the walkway around it was quite nice to walk on.

I really enjoyed viewing the inside of the temple as there was a ton of hand-carved panels depicting different scenes. There were descriptions below each of the panels that described them as well, and they were interesting to read.

It seemed like they were all carved by different people but they were all highly skilled.

When we were leaving we found a nice little shows style candy shop and we bought some snacks and played a round of pinball on one of the pinball machines inside the shop. Haven’t played pinball since I was a kid, was pretty nostalgic.

If you're in Tokyo I definitely recommend giving this place a visit on the weekend.

[English／日本語]
Hachioji City has many interesting vending machines. The photo shows a ramen noodle and a pork cutlet sandwich. There are also chiffon cakes and seasonings vending machines. Please look for them. We once had a foreign student from a country that only drinks warm tea. The first time he came to Japan, he drank cold tea from a vending machine and was surprised at how cold it was.
八王子市には面白い自動販売機が多くあります。写真はラーメンとカツサンドです。その他にもシフォンケーキや調味料の自動販売機もあります。ぜひ、探してみてください。以前、本校の留学生であたたかいお茶しか飲まない国の学生がいました。日本に来て初めて自動販売機で冷たいお茶を飲んだ学生はその冷たさに驚いたと話していました。