一気に雪景色になった北信州の朝。サラサラの雪で遊ぶところを素人なりに撮ってみましたが、腕もイマイチ、バックの景色と粉雪が被ってしまいました。雰囲気が伝われば幸いです。

グルグル星群と双子座流星群と逆さ富士山綺麗撮られた
やっぱり冬の真っ白富士山一番綺麗ですね
山梨県山中湖村にて

Went to Takeshiba over the weekend and visited "Tokyo Portcity Takeshiba"

I was in the area for other reasons, but just happened to stop by because the building looked interesting. Turns out I was right!

The inside of the building had a bunch of really nice shops and was showing a futuristic VR robot being used to stock shelves in a convenience store. I didn't stick around to read everything that was being shown on the screen but this photo seems to be saying how they've created a VR system where users won't feel VR sickness, which I'd actually not heard about before, but it seems to happen after long periods of VR use and is similar to motion sickness I guess.

The other photo looks like a simple picture of a sink but it actually has another really cool futuristic feature.

The little slot on the right can actually disinfect your phone using UV.
I couldn't take a photo of the actual process since I only had one phone but I tried it out and it was really neat.
You just remove your case or anything else you have attached to your phone and pop it in and wash your hands.
Takes like 30 seconds, about how long it should take to wash your hands, so it's a really convenient feature.

Cool place though, I definitely recommend paying it a visit!

日本の冬

「日本の冬」

「日本の冬」

日本の冬

【サンタさんに届け！】

福島県川俣町の道の駅にあるイルミネーションの風景です！！
川俣町特産のアンスリウムが飾られたクリスマスツリーがライトアップされています！
ちびっ子が「うちにもサンタさん、来るかなー！」とお母さんと話していて、癒やされました！

東海道新幹線 米原駅にて撮影。
強い寒波が日本列島を襲い、滋賀県北部でも大雪になりました。
在来線は大きな遅れが出始める中、新幹線は20分程の遅れで走り抜けていきました。

The beautiful winter illumination in Tokyo Station.

宮城県松島にある寺院で撮影しました。
雪の中、参拝する姿に日本を感じていただけると幸いです。

Went to Ootoya again and ordered something new.

The dish used to come with meatballs if I remember correctly but it seems they changed it to fried chicken.
Goes much better with the meal in my opinion and the grated radish over the top of it was a nice touch.

I also really liked the pumpkin croquettes, I'm used to just normal croquette's (I'm not even sure what they're filled with), but this was a nice change of pace and was kind of refreshing, probably because it felt very healthy lol.

As always all of the side items tasted great and it was all only ¥740, so pretty much a steal if you ask me

埼玉県川越の風景です。
ここの街並みは好きでよくいきます。
最近は観光客も増えて混んでる時が多いですがとてもすきな街です。

トーベ・ヤンソンあけぼの子どもの森公園という公園です。駐車場も無料公園も無料です。1年に一度ライトアップいたします。
今はしてませんが普通に昼間もムーミンの公園でインスタ映えいたします。

茨城県にある神磯の鳥居です。ここの朝日はありがたいので是非行ってみて下さい。とても綺麗です。

東京駅でわりと行ってない人が多いのが国際フォーラムやKITTEこれわりと知らない人が多いです。都内に在住の方は是非行ってみてください。綺麗ですよ！

撮影場所は下田市 龍宮窟です。

恋人スポットとして、ハートの形が見えるスポットとして、有名な場所ですが、
海の色と太陽が重なった時の色もきれいで
撮りました。

冬の始まり

Went to a place in Nihonbashi called Hakata Dojo (博多道場) and had a really nice lunch. It's like an izakaya but it had a really nice lunchtime atmosphere as well.

I ordered the 日替わり肉ランチ which cost about ¥1000 but it tasted great. I really liked the moyashi that came with the beef plate, lots of flavor and the moyashi were really juicy as well so that was nice.

It was a really nice place overall, I'd like to go back and see what it's like at night, maybe they have some special courses or something as well. I really liked the lanterns though, I think that's probably what contributed most to the place having a nice atmosphere. That and it wasn't exceptionally loud like some izakaya I've been to.
Also the interior was decorated quite nicely as well, besides the lanterns.

庭のウメモドキに霜が沢山付き、いよいよ冬本番の北信州です。

六本木散歩

Went to Hachioji over the weekend and had a blast exploring the area. We were able to check out the Musashi Imperial Mausoleum (Emperor Taisho and Emperor Showa's Burial Sites), eat some amazing food at a restaurant called "Gonsuke" (ごん助) and a bunch of other stuff.

The Musashi Imperial Mausoleum was really amazing, it reminded me a lot of Meiji Jingu Shrine with the wide gravel paths through the forest, although I have a feeling this forest is natural and not man-made.
Also the burial mounds seemed really traditional and reminded me of the burial mounds from the Kofun Period.

The restaurant Gonsuke was so incredible.
They had all sorts of different course menus and it was my first time trying boar meat too lol.
I haven't had game meat in a long time so it was really cool getting to try it again and cook it over an irori (I think it's an irori) with actual coals. Can't wait to go back and explore the area again more.

I'd love to hike up Mt. Takao and see everything else the area has to offer. Beautiful city

忍野八海に初めて行ってきました。関東からもアクセスはしやすいですし特に施設に入るようなことも無くほとんど外で一回りして丁度良い感じの観光地です。

六本木けやき坂のイルミネーションです。
夜の散歩がとてもいい感じでしたよ。
Canon EOS R5
Canon RF35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM
ブラックミストNo.05 フィルター使用

初霜が降りた氷点下の朝

【都会の森で】

[English／日本語]
In this issue, I will continue to introduce some of the things that were popular in Japan this year.

1)Showa/Heisei Retro Boom
This year, things that were popular in the Showa (1926-1989) and Heisei (1989-2019) eras are booming again. Mainly, old townscapes and tableware from the 1960s, characters and accessories that were popular in the 1980s and 1990s became popular among the younger generation as "new things. For the young generation that has had digital things since birth, they feel that retro things are incomplete and warm. An amusement park in Saitama Prefecture reopened this year, recreating the streets of the 1960s, and it is bustling with visitors every day. You may feel as if you have gone back in time.

2) Oatmeal
Oatmeal sales have boomed this year, even doubling from the previous year. The reason seems to be that more and more people are eating at home due to the new coronavirus, and easy and healthy meals have become more preferred. Japanese people are famous for their culture of eating rice, but recently more and more people are eating staple foods other than rice, such as oatmeal and bread. Rice takes a long time to cook after it is washed. Busy Japanese may have come to prefer something more easily eaten.

3) Imperial Family News
This year, the Emperor's niece got married, and various news during the engagement period were broadcasted on TV every day. News about the Imperial Family mainly interests the older generation, but the news about the marriage attracted the interest of various age groups.

Did you find out what was popular this year? At our school, we sometimes have students research and present what is popular in the classroom. It's a great way to learn more about Japanese culture.

今回も前回に引き続き今年日本で流行したものをいくつか紹介します。

①昭和・平成レトロブーム
今年は昭和（1926年～1989年）・平成（1989年～2019年）に流行ったものが再ブームしました。主に、1960年代の古い町並みや食器、1980年代～1990年代に流行ったキャラクターやアクセサリーなどが若者世代に「新しいもの」として人気が出ました。生まれたときからデジタルのものがある若者世代にとって、レトロなものは不完全であたたかみがあると感じるそうです。埼玉県にある遊園地が今年リニューアルオープンしましたが、1960年代の街並みを再現しており、連日にぎわっています。タイムスリップしたような体験ができるかもしれませんね。

②オートミール
今年はオートミールの売り上げが前年の2倍にまでなるほど、ブームになりました。新型コロナウィルスの影響で家で食事をする人が増え、手軽で健康的な食事がより好まれるようになったことが理由のようです。日本人といえば「米」を食べる文化で有名ですが、最近はこのようにオートミールやパンなど、米以外の主食を食べる人が増えてきました。米は洗ってから炊きあがるまで時間がかかるものです。忙しい日本人はもっと手軽に食べられるものを好むようになったのかもしれませんね。

③皇室ニュース
今年は天皇陛下の姪がご結婚されましたが、婚約期間中の様々なニュースが毎日のようにテレビで放送されていました。皇室のニュースは主に年齢の高い層に関心がありますが、今回の結婚に関するニュースは様々な年齢層の関心を集めました。

今年流行したものがわかりましたか？本校では、授業内で流行しているものについて学生たちが調べ、発表させることがあります。より深く日本の文化を学ぶことができますよ。

Beautifully illuminated rainbow bridge during christmas. The photo was taken from Tokyo Tower.

Was shopping the other day in Nihonbashi and saw this akabeko and thought it was really cute so I decided to take a photo of it.

The name was quite funny to me as well. Instead of the usual "akabeko" this was a "nemubeko," or "tired-beko" basically, and you can see how the eyes are actually half way shut instead of the normally wide-open eyes, giving it the tired look lol.

I've always wanted to try an akabeko experience as I love traditional Japanese crafts and akabeko in particular seem really fun to make. I've read a few posts in another places of people trying akabeko workshops and having a really fun time.

I haven't used papier mache since I was a kid either so it'd probably be a nostalgic experience for sure.
If I do try an akabeko workshop, I think I'll make a "nemubeko" as well lol

木更津の工場地帯