【 The setting moon 】

The majestic view of Tokyo tower during winter illumination in Keyakizaki avenue.

The view from the stage in Shimizu is also good.

Taken from near my home. The moon seen through the trees where the leaves had fallen was a very fantastic night.

Iwatsuki Castle Ruins Park Reflection after rain. The scenery reflected on the surface of the water created a world that looked like a painting.

Group attendance at school on a snowy day. Colorful rain gear was shining in the snowy landscape.

Dondo grill in the snow country

Asakusa Nakamise on New Year's Day. Every year, it is crowded with many first-time visitors.

The winter morning sun shone in the park where the first snow fell, and the long shadows of the trees were very beautiful.

Cleaning up a dondo-yaki fire in a mountain village in Niigata Prefecture. The "Suminuri Festival" was also held, so my face is black with charcoal. Even though it was snowing, the old-fashioned appearance was impressive.

The New Year's event "Sumi-zuki" can be seen in various parts of the Japan. "Sumi-zuki" is a strange festival that burns the god of sai and prays for a good harvest and disease-free life that year. The photo shows the locals who really enjoyed the "Son-in-law Throwing and Suminuri" festival at Matsunoyama Onsen in Niigata Prefecture.

"Jewelry Ice" The ice covering the Tokachi River in Hokkaido flows into the Pacific Ocean, It is a natural phenomenon in which the ice blocks washed up on the Otsu coast at the mouth of the river shine beautifully.

"Jewelry Ice" The ice covering the Tokachi River in Hokkaido flows into the Pacific Ocean, It is a natural phenomenon in which the ice blocks washed up on the Otsu coast at the mouth of the river shine beautifully.

We have lost ? sight of the season due to the sudden winter Autumn-like leaves are falling. Beautifully sprouting and green leaves appearing It glows mysteriously in the sunlight It's going to get colder and colder, and I'm? withdrawn.

The beautiful minami alps. While travelling to matsumoto we git this beautifully view of minami alps from limited express train.

Stopped by Saizeriya for lunch and got a cod roe and shrimp doria (たらこと海老のドリア). Saizeriya is always a great place to stop by for lunch as it's generally quick and cheap. It was a set meal so it came with a soup and salad as well, but I forgot to to photos of those. The soup was a sort of consommé soup and was nothing special, but it tasted good and was all-you-can-drink so that was pretty nice. I ended up getting a few cups of it. The shrimp and cod doria was great and I love the nori on top - plentiful and tastes great. The best part is all of this was only ¥500 so it's really reasonable, as you'd expect of Saizeriya. Just thought I'd share this today, nothing too special

Merry Christmas!!

【Cloudless Evening】

Was in Kanda the other day for an errand and stopped by this place called "Soba Dokoro Kameya" (そば処 かめや) outside of Kanda Station. It says "立食い" which means "standing noodles," but I didn't actually see any places to stand and eat so maybe it just meant that it was simple and quick like a standing noodle shop. I've never actually experienced what it's like to eat at a standing noodle restaurant (and actually stand while eating) but I think I prefer sitting anyways. I like to relax when I eat so I suppose that's why, but I should at least try it once, who knows, I might like it. Anyways, the place seems really affordable. I ordered the Ten Tama Soba since it was the most popular dish and it tasted great. The soup was really good and the egg was perfectly cooked. The texture of the noodles was also perfect. It's definitely a place to check out if your in the Kanda area and looking for some noodles. I think they may only be open during the morning and night, but I went around 4pm so maybe they close around that time to prepare for dinner.

【Alley】 Take a short walk in the mountains A bridge was built Behind it is The autumn leaves were beautifully colored.

During this Christmas time Minatomirai area of Yokohama is not only well decorated with lights but also there is a laser show, and a christmas market. The whole area looks heavenly beautiful.

Visited a Chinese restaurant in Akabane called Maraeki (麻辣駅, Malaeki?) over the weekend and got some spicy Szechuan noodles (四川風麻辣麺). The photo looked really good and they had tan tan noodles as well but I wanted to try something different. Unfortunately, I was not the biggest fan of the flavor. I think the noodles were great, and the bok choy tasted good as well, but for me the soup wasn't exactly what I was expecting. That being said I don't think it's that the flavor was bad, just that it simply wasn't for me. I enjoy spicy ramen, and the "麻辣" part of the name is "mala," apparently a spicy, numbing sauce made of Sichuanese peppercorn, chili pepper, and other ingredients simmered in oil. I went in not knowing this and paid the price I suppose. The noodles weren't actually that spicy in my opinion, but like I said, the flavor just wasn't for me. I think for anyone who enjoys Chinese food though it's a great place as it's quite affordable and the other dishes we ordered (fried rice and xiaolongbao (steamed buns)), although not pictured here, tasted great.

[English/Japanese] Yesterday, the Kanji characters representing Japan for this year were announced. This event is held every year. Incidentally, this year's kanji was "gold. Why do you think this kanji was chosen? The reason lies in the fact that the Olympic Games were held in Tokyo this year. Japan won more gold medals than any other country in history, which is why they chose this kanji. So what else was popular this year? Let's take a look at Japanese culture through what was popular this year. Maritozzo Maritozzo is a pastry that originated in Rome, Italy. It is a round loaf of bread with a lot of cream in between, and is eaten as breakfast in Italy. This year, Maritozzo has become a big hit in Japan. Many cafes and convenience stores lined up their stores with Maritozzo, and many people queued up to buy Maritozzo. In Japan, it is not uncommon for sweets from other countries to become popular in this way. For example, last year it was tapioca from Taiwan, and before that, macarons from France. It is said that Japan is an island nation with a strong desire to learn about the cultures of other countries. Perhaps this is reflected in the food we eat. Movie Box Office Revenue In this year's global box office ranking, live-action movies from China and the U.S. are ranked from first to fifth. So, is it the same for Japan? The Japanese box-office ranking is completely different from the global ranking. From first to fifth place, all live-action movies are based on anime or manga. Last year, the anime "Demon Slayer" rewrote the top spot in the all-time box office ranking. Although there are many teenagers who visit theaters, there is not that big a difference in the age of the audience. This means that people of all ages are watching anime movies. That is how widespread anime and manga are as a culture in Japan. The Real Two-Way / Showtime The words "real two-faced" and "showtime" were nominated as buzzwords this year. These two words refer to Shohei Ohtani, who is active in the American big leagues. In this way, words related to baseball players are often chosen as buzzwords. When it comes to sports in Japan, many foreigners think of sumo wrestling. However, few people know that baseball is actually the most popular sport in Japan. When I tell this to foreign students, they often say, "I thought soccer was more popular than sumo." Do you share the same opinion? In this article, I introduced some of the things that were popular in Japan this year. I would like to continue introducing them in the next issue. By the way, our school holds an event to introduce what is popular in our country. It is a good opportunity to learn about the trends in different countries and to understand different cultures. Please let us know what's popular in your country. Yesterday, the kanji for this year's Japan were announced. This event is held every year. By the way, this year's kanji was "gold". Why do you think this kanji was chosen? The reason is that the Olympic Games were held in Tokyo this year. Japan won the most gold medals in history, so it became this kanji. So what else was trendy this year? Let's get in touch with the culture of Japan from what was popular this year. Maritozzo Maritozzo is a sweet that originated in Rome, Italy. It is made with plenty of cream sandwiched between round breads and is eaten as breakfast in Italy. This Maritozzo has become a big boom in Japan this year. Maritozzo was lined up in many cafes and convenience stores, and many people lined up to buy Maritozzo. It is not uncommon for sweets from other countries to become popular in Japan in this way. For example, tapioca from Taiwan last year and French macarons before that. It is said that Japan is an island country and has a strong desire to learn about the cultures of other countries. This may be reflected in food. Movie box office Looking at this year's world box office rankings, Chinese and American live-action films are ranked from 1st to 5th. So is it the same with Japan? Japan's box office rankings are completely different from world rankings. Surprisingly, from 1st to 5th place, all are live-action movies based on anime and manga. Last year, the anime "Demon Slayer" broke the first place in the all-time box office ranking. Movie theater users may be among their teens, but there is not much difference by age. This means that people of all ages are watching animated movies. It can be said that anime and manga have permeated as a culture in such a Japan. Real Dual-wielding/Showtime This year's buzzwords "Real Dual-wielding" and "Showtime" were nominated. These two words refer to Shohei Ohtani who is active in the American major leagues. In this way, words about baseball players are often chosen as buzzwords. Many foreigners think of sumo wrestling as a sport in Japan. However, few people know that baseball is actually a sport that is often seen in Japan. When I told this story to international students, they said, "I thought soccer would be more popular if it was anything other than sumo," and "I don't know much about what kind of sport baseball is." I answer. Do you all agree with me? This time, we have introduced some of the things that have become popular in Japan this year. I would like to continue to introduce it next time. By the way, at our school, we hold events to introduce what we do in our own country. It is a good opportunity to learn about the trends of various countries and understand different cultures. Please tell us what is popular in your country.

【Autumn leaves seen from a distance】 If you look closely, The autumn leaves that were a little faded From a distance It was very beautiful.

Recent black-and-white photos

This beautiful christmas tree is situated inside the "Mark IS" shopping Mall in Minatomirai area of Kanagawa prefecture.

"The Snowy Scenery of Togakushi that Overwhelms" The huge cedar trees of Togakushi Shrine Okusha in Nagano Prefecture are always overwhelming. When I came early in the morning, it was as cold as -8 °, but the moment I saw this cedar avenue, I forgot the cold and stopped to look at it.

【Kiyomizu-dera Temple】 Lit up.

A very beautiful christmas tree in the minato mirai area of Kanagawa Prefecture.

Went to Ootoya for lunch today and got a nice Alaska pollack set meal with vegetables pickled in black vinegar (すけそう鱈と野菜の黒酢あん定食). Cost 920 yen and it tasted great. I really like Ootoya because it's a nice place if you're looking to eat some traditional Japanese food and I'm surprised it's actually not more popular. The food is always great and you even get to choose the types of rice you want and how much. It's pretty reasonable cost-wise considering what you get as well. The ordering system is really convenient as well. With the electronic ordering tablets it's easy to add something to your order and they have English as well so if you're not confident with your Japanese you don't need to worry about it