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| Rey Ian\\\\\\\'s Personal Blog |
| Personal Blog about the Philippines, Davao, Makati, Manila, Baguio, Cebu, Mindanao and everything about the Philippines. Anything also about Japan, the language, which is Nihongo are included in my blog. |
| Language: English |
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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 53 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 278069 |
| Visitors Out: 2125 |
| Total Visitors Out: 2125 |
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| The Changes Around My Student |
| 2008-09-04 08:15:00 |
Below is my student’s speech for the upcoming Saitama Prefecture’s English Speech Contest. The girl is 15 years old and she doesn’t realize that Japan is entering into the realm of globalization and economic obstacles. The kid only sees the problem within her native hometown, Hanyu City and its surroundings. She was even unaware that her city’s population is declining and entirely has the misconception of commercialization. Commercialization and industrialization pumps up the population. When people see that the community can sustain their lives by providing all the necessities and luxuries in life, the more that they encourage to raise a family. Considering the economic prospects in Japan and that education from Elementary until Junior High School is provided by the state, then, I...
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| Foreign Employees' Labor Code in Japan as of 2004 |
| 2008-09-02 07:21:00 |
I. Labor Contracts1. Application of labor laws and regulations to foreign nationalsAs a general rule, Japanese laws concerning labor apply to all employees in Japan, regardless of nationality. It means that the Labor Standards Law, the Minimum Wages law, the Industrial Safety and Health Law, the Workmen’s Accident Compensation Insurance Law, the Employment Security Law and others also apply to foreigners. The Labor Standard Law stipulates that the employer shall not engage in discriminatory treatment with respect to wages, working hours or other working conditions by reason of nationality or other working status of any worker (Article 3, Labor Standards Law)2. The Principles of Labor ContractsIn the past, there have been many problems such as wages not being paid as promised or a penalty...
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| Keio University 京王大学 |
| 2008-09-01 09:11:00 |
A visit to Keio University in Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo last autumn. So what did I do here? The university cafeteria is the cheapest in Mita's central business district. A decent lunch would only cost at 400 yen a minimum. So we used to eat here with my colleagues since this is very close to our office in Shiba and many cute university girls roam, flock and dine the cafeteria every lunch....
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| Baskin Robbins Ice Cream |
| 2008-09-01 08:35:00 |
Did you know that when you ask a Japanese "Sumimasen, Basukin Robinsu wa doko desu ka?," they will never understand what Basukin Robinsu is. Do you know why? Because in Japan, Baskin Robbins chain of ice cream shops is called Thirty-One (sachiwan). Yeah, I just learned from the son of my Japanese friend. I said to him that outside Japan, we always pertain to that ice cream shop as Baskin Robbins because it's obvious that the name on the sign is too big and it is indeed and more obviously the trade name itself. He explained to me that pronouncing the word Basukin Robinsu is too difficult and long for them. Therefore using the other tag line for Baskin Robins Japan "Thirty One," makes it easier for them to pronounce the words. Next time, do not look for Baskin Robbins but use "sachiwan" so t...
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| 花は桜君は美しの歌詞 |
| 2008-08-19 14:26:00 |
Another recent last song syndrome. I love this song.Ikimono Gakari - Hana wa Sakura Kimi wa UtsukushiKanji/Translation花は桜 君は美し 春のこもれび 君の微笑み冬が終わり 雪が溶けて 君の心に春が舞い込むthe flowers are cherry blossoms, and you are lovely. the spring's light through green leaves, and your little smilewinter is over, the snow has melted, in your heart spring has arrived窓をたたく強い雨はまだ続くと ラジオから流れる声が伝えてきます電話から聞こえた声は泣いていました 忘れたはずの懐かしい声でしたthe voice from the radio is telling me the heavy rain striking the window will continuethe voice i heard on the phone was crying, it was the familiar voice i should have forgotten...
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| Omiya Spark Festival |
| 2008-08-19 14:01:00 |
Embracing the Brazilians' Carnival Parade, Omiya in Saitama is celebrating every last week of July the Spark Festival. A truly foreign yet magnificent extravagance of sexy bodies, sexy bodies and even more sexy bodies. Samba is the official dance of this festival and you would not want to miss those ladies in bare butt outfits wiggling their asses. As my friend exclaims "I love Japan!," just because of seeing this spectacular street dance event. I wonder how it's like to be in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Visit my previous post for the video as the images are in real bad shape....
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| Wel Sunpia Resort |
| 2008-08-19 13:50:00 |
A perfect getaway in the middle of scorching summer in Japan is this hotel resort in Nikkou, Tochigi Prefecture. Wel Sunpia Resort Hotel is a cool getaway and adventure especially for kids for its nice and refreshing swimming pool....
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| Obon Sale |
| 2008-08-19 13:42:00 |
All canned fish and seafood products are on-sale for 99 yen per can. Spotted in Aeon Mall in Hanyu City....
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| Malfunctioning Aircon Message |
| 2008-08-19 13:22:00 |
At Banban Videoke in front of Hanyu Station, the sign in one of their rooms read as:このエアコンの温度は２２Ｃ以下にしないで下さい。Kono eakon no ondo wa 22C ni ika shinaide kudasai.Please do not set the aircon's temperature lower than 22 degrees Celcius.エアコンの故障の原因になるので２２Ｃ以下に温度を下げないでご協力お願い致します。Eakon no koshou no genin ni naru node 22C ika ni ondo wo sagenaide gokyoryoku onegai itashimasu.Please cooperate by not lowering the aircon's temperature lower than 22 degrees Centigrade because it will cause to malfunction.As a foreigner living in Japan, we tend to presume that all machines in Japan especially in commercial establishments are not malfunctioning and are efficient. I did not bother ...
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| 1000 Yen Barbershop |
| 2008-08-19 13:15:00 |
What is the worth of your 1000 yen in Japan? Probably the cheapest and worst haircut you could possibly imagine. For those who don't mind their hairstyles settle with this barber shop. A uniform cut would be for 10 minutes only. A perfect rush haircut for the fast-paced Tokyo Salaryman. I personally tried this one and my hairstyle looked and shaped like a coconut scrub. This shop can be found inside the Nishi Kokubunji Train Station in JR Chuo Line in Western Tokyo. QB House are scattered all over the Kantou Area....
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| Beating the Last Summer Heat |
| 2008-08-19 13:04:00 |
As temperature drops from 35 to 30 degrees Centigrade in Hachioji City in Western part of Tokyo, this man beats the summer heat by taking a typical Sunday afternoon nap infront of JR Chuo Line Station. The last traces of summer heat is slowly fading away and as we end the month of August, we welcome autumn....
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| Kangkong in Japan |
| 2008-08-19 12:59:00 |
Kangkong as called by Filipinos, potato vine and swamp cabbage in English, was spotted in Odakyu Shop in Kyodou Station. The price? An amazing 298 yen. The vegetable was produced in Chiba Prefecture and sold over Japan. This vegetable is only available during Summer season in Japan....
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| Cosplay in Bic Camera Tachikawa |
| 2008-08-19 12:57:00 |
A person wears a costume for a promotion of a computer software sold in Bic Camera in Tachikawa City. The boy looks puzzled and unfamiliar to this new character roaming around the shop....
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| Tachikawa City's Police Box |
| 2008-08-19 12:43:00 |
Read as "As of yesterday's metropolitan area's traffic accident."昨日の都内交通事故Saku jitsu no tonai koutsuu jiko.Died (死亡・しぼう・shibou) 1 person/1 名・meiInjuries/Wounded (負傷・ふしょう・fushou) 160 persons/160 名・meiThis was as of August 16, 2008....
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| Chourei 朝礼 |
| 2008-08-14 00:27:00 |
Typical Japanese companies practice the Morning Aisatsu or Chourei. In this article, I am showing some of the exact words being used in this traditional office ritual. Morning Assembly Explained朝礼説明 (Chourei setsumei)Leader: おはようございます （Ohayou gozaimasu）Everyone: おはようございます。Leader: 皆さんご朝礼を始めます。ご挨拶を行います。おはよう御座います。(Minnasan, gochourei o hajimemasu. Goaisatsu o okonaimasu. Ohayou gozaimasu)Everyone: おはよう御座います。Leader: お疲れ様でした。(Otsukaresamadeshita.)Everyone: お疲れ様でした。(二回にレピートします。Repeat twice)Leader: いらっしゃいませ。(Irasshaimase.)Everyone: いらっしゃいませ。(二回にします。Repeat twice...
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| Japanese Tradition: Tejime 手締め |
| 2008-08-09 11:30:00 |
Tejime is done after the end of a sucessful enkai, nomikai, bounenkai or any forms of drinking or social gatherings. Like in most occassions, tejime can also be done after a group activity, usually in after celebrations like a parade in festivals, meetings, client parties and the like....
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| Affordable Food in Shibuya |
| 2008-08-09 04:22:00 |
Who says that all food in Shibuya are expensive? Well they are wrong. This Chinese ramen house located in the busy central area of Shibuya is an affordable one. No order exceeds 1000 yen for a typical teishoku (定食) and ramen around 700 yen or less. Food is guaranteed freshly cooked right infront of you and really delicious. The cooks are real Chinese so it's a guarantee that you are eating real good Chinese stuff....
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| Kanto Tetsudo (関東鉄道) |
| 2008-08-08 01:49:00 |
Do you want to see a rare diesel-engine powered train? Go to Ibaraki Prefecture and ride the Kantou Tetsudo train. This track has no electric lines and wires suspended above its tracks no electric posts along it compared with the JR, Tobu, Keio, Chichibu and Odakyu Lines in Kanto Area. It's very classic and there are only 2 coaches serving its stations. Despite being an old-fashioned train, the schedule is almost as frequent as with other train lines compared with Chichibu Tetsudo. Trains are cool and looks clean for me. Unusual thing about this, as with Chichibu Tetsudo is that PASMO, SUICA and the like won't function in their inspection gates. Tickets are still used in this line.
The Kanto Railway Map. Sorry but it is in Japanese....
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| Filipina Power |
| 2008-08-03 22:45:00 |
Today, news broke in Japan broadsheet and the Internet. One in every 30 children born in Japan are either one of the parents are gaikokujin (外国人)。 Filipinas make the 2nd largest minority after the Chinese mothers. Followed by the South Koreans in the third spot. For the male population, Koreans top the list followed by the Chinese and the Brazilians.Follow the news at:http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/1-out-of-30-babies-born-in-japan-had-non-japanese-parent-in-20061 out of 30 babies born in Japan had non-Japanese parent in 2006 Monday 04th August, 06:21 AM JST TOKYO — One of every 30 babies born in Japan in 2006 had at least one parent originating from overseas, a recent government survey showed. The survey by the Health, Labor and Wel...
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| Papaya Song |
| 2008-08-02 05:00:00 |
The best thing that happened between Poland and the Philippines was probably due to this Polish Jazz artist's song Papaya. The combination of Urszula Dudziak's 1970 song and Philippine's TV Gameshow Host Edu Manzano's choreography, who just made it as a dance gimick in a local TV Game show in ABS-CBN called Game Ka na Ba, was a phenomenal hit around the world. Most people dubbed it as the new Macarena. Choreography is simple and beat is easy to follow. See the video below and dance to its tune.Urzula Dudziak's public appearance in Poland.The Original Music from the 1970s.The US Ambassador to Philippines Kristie Kenney dancing with Edu Manzano in a morning TV Show in the Philippines....
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| Enoshima Line (江ノ島線) |
| 2008-08-02 03:25:00 |
The Enoshima Line is probably the most elegant, cozy, beautiful old-fashioned train I have ridden. Its tracks are quite slow and old because there some areas that there is only a single track. But despite that, the train has managed to be on time. The ride in Enoshima Line from Kamakura to Fujisawa will bring you to an area of shoreline in the Kanagawa Bay area. Reminds me of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, which is a junction of highway from Davao City to Digos City....
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| Filipino Food Buffet at Roppongi (六本木でフィリピン食べ放題) |
| 2008-08-02 03:07:00 |
After our taxing transaction at the Philippine Embassy, we were approached by a man outside of the embassy and invited us for a 1k Filipino buffet near the embassy. So me and Ernest were excited to eat Filipino food and without hesitation went with him. It was a makeshift place. The place called Bauhaus at the back of Hardrock Cafe in Roppongi's entertainment district was a bar during the night and a restaurant during the day. Good way to augment the income and help fellow Filipinos relieve the Filipino food which is hard-to-find-and-cook here in Japan. There were some Filipinas who tagged along their Japanese kids and husbands. In a way, I was happy to see from the eyes of those Japanese men that they liked the Filipino foo...
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| Chichibu City Festival Museum (秩父市祭博物館) |
| 2008-08-02 02:55:00 |
Last week's visit to Chichibu City's Festival Museum was awesome. Despite being a very quite and serene city in Northernmost Saitama Prefecture, the city has an amazing museum which preserves its culture since the ancient times. In their museum, you can see the their well preserved mikoshi (portable shrine), artifacts that were used in the previous festivals like old mikoshi, sample models of fireworks, model carts, engraved blueprint of the carts used in the festival, cloth decorations, dresses, and even their historical timeline telling the milestones of the city's festival. Their festival is celebrated during December. I had the chance to see a 10-minute video presentation of their prev...
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| A Visit to Roppongi Hills |
| 2008-08-02 02:45:00 |
My 2nd time in Roppongi Hills (六本木ヒルス) last week. Reminds me of Greenbelt 3 in Makati City. Roppongi Hills resemble that much of Makati's CBD. Great architectural designs and buzzling business people flocking to offices.What dismayed me was they wall saying ASIAN SUMMER Festival. I could not find any Filipino word there. There were Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian, Singaporean, Indian and Viet inscriptions but no Filipino Language.Roppongi Hills houses the Mori Museum of Art and an Sky Observatory, a perfect way to view metropolitan Tokyo. We did not go there because of the hefty cost we have to shell out. We just enjoyed the view and took some pictures....
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| Fashion in Japan |
| 2008-08-02 02:43:00 |
Many of my friends who visit my blog always ask me, what is Japan's fashion now? Well, here is one. Mostly all women dress this way especially during summer. Mini skirts, shirts and anything that bares their skin is in....
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| Durian in Japan |
| 2008-08-02 02:37:00 |
Tempting but veeerrryy expensive. Imported Thailand durian at a whooping cost of 2,980 yen. That is around the price of a 10-kilo Japanese rice or a round trip train ride to Yokohama via train from Saitama. It's now August and my hometown is in the mood to feast durian as Kadayawan sa Dabaw is fast approaching. I miss Davao City and especially durian! I hope Davao can export to Japan durian along with our very own bananas, pineapples and papayas. Spotted in Aeon grocery section....
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| Portable Bicycle |
| 2008-08-02 02:32:00 |
Last night upon going home, we were amazed to see a portable bicycle. A man carrying this also got off in Hanyu Station. Cool....
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| Omiya 2008 Summer Samba Spark Festival |
| 2008-08-02 01:58:00 |
I have never imagined that Japan would embrace such foreign culture's festival and embed it in their own festivals. Yesterday, we went to Omiya and witnessed the magnificent and lively Spark Festival. A fusion of good old Mikoshi (portable shrines) and dazzling ladies in thong exposing their white toooot. See this video and I am sure you will enjoy it.
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| Gake no Ue no Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ) |
| 2008-07-28 10:37:00 |
A last song syndrome hit me this afternoon after visiting a local bookstore in Kita Yono in Omiya. After buying the JLPT Application in Isetann, I kept on hearing this main soundtrack of a recently shown kid's film here in Japan. It's title is Gake no ue no Ponio. I am entirely clueless about the synopsis of this film but I hear a lot of kids singing this song in the bookshop. The kanji literally means Upper Cliff Ponio. To who Ponio or what it is, sorry but I do not know. After a careful research about the music, I found a clip on You Tube.Here is the lyrics.「崖の上のポニョ」の歌詞作詩：近藤勝也・宮崎駿 作曲：久石譲 ※ポーニョ ポーニョ ポニョ さかなの子Po-nyo Po-nyo Ponyo sakana no ko 青い海からやってきたaoi umi kara yatte ki...
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| Kamakura Photos |
| 2008-07-23 02:15:00 |
Glimpse of Kamakura City. A city of Temples, Shrines and everything about Japanese tradition.Sites visited1. Kamakura Station2. Kamakura Komachi Doori Shopping District3. Kotokuin Temple (Great Buddha)4. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu-Shrine5. Wakamiya Oji St....
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| Atsuin da! (暑いんだ！) |
| 2008-07-21 03:27:00 |
Atsuin da! means "It's hot!"Yes. Terribly hot the past week. The mercury hit a 35 mark last week. As a matter of fact, this plastic covering in a pipe fitting in a parking lot has melted as the terrible heat of the sun lashes out through entire Kanto region. In the middle of August, the temperature will peak as high as 40 to 43 in some areas in Japan....
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| Big Buddha in Kamakura |
| 2008-07-21 01:55:00 |
It was an unplanned activity. The train that we rode was bound for Zushi via the Shonan-Shinjuku Line. So we hurriedly decided to go to Kamakura and see the temples and the Big Buddha. Here are some of the pictures.This picture is inside the Buddha Structure. The photo shown below is the inside portion of the head.Slippers?...
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| On Diet Pills |
| 2008-07-19 09:52:00 |
Looking for the best diet pills on the market? Recently there have been reports that some health supplements that are being sold on the market lack the actual content that they should have. Moreover, people are lured by the marketing advertisements of these food supplements and products that promises effective and best results in just days. How could these irresponsible companies fool the consuming public? The problem with most of us is we do not conduct some sort of background check on the product. We should check some available information on the Internet and know what is the reputation of this product in other countries. Furthermore, we should only buy those granted with certification by the country's food and drug adminis...
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| Kuki's 2008 Tenou Summer Festival (久喜の天王夏祭) |
| 2008-07-18 11:58:00 |
Tenou Matsuri or (Heaven King/God 天王祭) was held yesterday in Kuki. Access is via JR Utsonomiya Line around less than an hour from Tokyo central station.The festival involves several huge rolling carts beautifully decorated with stacks of 10x10 lited lanterns bearing a kanji of the district/temple they represent. Around 100 lanterns cover the entire facade in each sides. The whole structure would comprise of more or less 400 lited lanterns. Inside the rolling structure are taiko drummers, flute performers who hand-in-hand replace each other and relentlessly playing in the entire procession. The highlight of the festival is when the two structures' entrance window face each other. With this, they intend to provoke the other rolling structure into a dramatic fight of pushing and show of arrogance. Around 8 of these structures participated and wonder in the streets of Kuki as early as 530PM and try to challenge each another in every intersection in the city. All of these 8 structu...
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| My Last School Lunch |
| 2008-07-18 11:35:00 |
One of my most memorable moments in the academe was my last school lunch about 3 days ago. The meal was pork curry, rice, moyashi salad, milk and my first ever ice cream in Japan. A subsidized school lunch would roughly cost around less than 400 yen per meal. The best part of it, everything is well-balanced, from vitamins, minerals, protein, and fibers....
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| Prime Minister Fukuda Should Be Blamed? |
| 2008-07-16 10:46:00 |
I have been complaining for almost 2 weeks already on why the air-conditioning units in our faculty room has not ever been opened. Do you know why?A month ago, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda announced that they are aiming to lessen carbon dioxide emissions in Japan by 2020. The result? He ordered all government facilities to keep the air-conditioning units to not lower than 25 degrees Celsius or to not turning on at all. The effect? Well, some inconvenience on most employees, students and stakeholders of most government offices. Japan has been recently very fanatic about minimizing C02 emissions. Well, good. But at a terrible inconvenient price. Temperature here during summer swells up to 40.5. Yesterday, plastic coverings in a pipe fittings in a parking lo...
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| Contributing for Jeepneypress |
| 2008-07-14 10:14:00 |
I just recently contributed an article to a Japan-based free newspaper. I hope this is a start for a writing career for me. Hahaha... How I wish... Anyway, feel free to visit their website. Here is the link of my article. My column's name is Achi-kochi, as suggested by Dennis. Achi-kochi means "there-here" or a slang used to describe as going everywhere.My article was actually a personal experience of wrestling inside the train during rush hour in JR's Chuo Line and Yamanote Line. I wanted to share my experience that riding a train during rush hour in Tokyo is very challenging. I hope my article would give the commuting fellow Filipinos the idea of what to expect during this rough times during the ride.Admittedly though, as time passed by, I began to love Chuo Line. I want to make it clea...
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| The Wrath of a Dust Storm |
| 2008-07-13 04:51:00 |
In connection with yesterday's strong wind which swept the suburban parts of Tokyo, I would like to recall one of my most scary and unusual experience here in Japan last February 2008.
It was a cold afternoon in JR Musashi Takahagi Station along the Hachiko Line when I noticed that the horizon was brown. At first I just ignored it. I thought that it was just normal. From the horizon, it was as if the sky was equally divided with a straight brown line. There was no unsual strong blow of wind at that time. Everything seemed okay. After a while, the one who was scheduled to pick me up arrived. When we went on the opposite side of the station, I saw a very huge mass of brown something coming within our direction. It seemed weird. I did not recognized until the wind passed by us and it was all dust! Dust storm was pounding us. The nearby surroundings were covered in dust and it was like a scene from a real dessert with a dust storm. I was a little scared but a bit thrilled to experience...
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| Hanyu Mikoshi Festival |
| 2008-07-12 08:21:00 |
The streets of Hanyu City were finally woke up this evening with the commemoration of its yearly Natsu Mikoshi Festival. Mostly men and some women, in their pretty and colorful yukata (summer kimono) dress,vcarry in their back this Mikoshi (a kind of portable shrine) in honor of the gods....
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| Yamanote Line Song |
| 2008-07-10 06:30:00 |
The better way of memorizing the Yamanote Line. Come and sing to this tune.Toukyou 東京Kanda 神田Akihabara 秋葉原Okachimachi 御徒町Ueno 上野Uguisudani 鶯谷 Nippori 日暮里Nishi-Nippori 西日暮里Tabata 田端Komagome 駒込Sugamo 巣鴨Ootsuka 大塚Ikebukuro 池袋Mejiro 目白Takadanobaba 高田馬場Shin-Ookubo 新大久保 Shinjuku 新宿Yoyogi 代々木Harajuku 原宿Shibuya 渋谷Ebisu 恵比寿Meguro 目黒Gotanda 五反田Oosaki 大崎Shinagawa 品川Tamachi 田町Hamamatsuchou 浜松町Shimbashi 新橋Yuurakuchou 有楽町...
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