Where is it?

I went aboard from Dec.21 to 26 with my wife for sightseeing. I show several goods that I bought during this trip in this picture. What is the city where we visited? The answer will be in next article on my blog.

a good cource for bike-ride

Last Sunday, I found a good cource for bike-ride in my neighborhood. Its length is about 10km along sea coast, and it is a special road for bike or running, so it is very safe. I wonder why I had not found this good road by now.

At the end of the road, I saw a little bit funny scene. Do you think what they are doing? They are not penguins, surfers. We can find them on the day when big waves happen.

"Imo"

The season when a sweet potato is delicious has come.

I have written a Japanese phrase about a sweet potato. This is a kind of a copy.

And it is a kind of a play of words, so you don't have to consider an important meaning in it.

"Ri"（里） is a unit of length used in the past days in Japan. It is about 3.9273km. "Ku-ri"（九里） means 9-"ri", and is pronounced in same sound of a chestnut（栗（くり））. "Yo-ri"（四里） means 4-"ri", and is in same sound of "yori" that means "than".

Why does "Jyu-san"（十三） appeal at the end of this phrase?　The answer is very simple, because 9 plus 4 equal 13.

This phrase is formed with "Shiti-go-chou"（七五調） that is familiar to Japanese people. In other word, it is written in "Goro-ga-ii"（語呂がいい）. Ku-ri-yo-ri-u-ma-i=7, jyu-u-sa-n-ri=5.

In direct meaning of this phrase, "a sweet potato is more delicious than a chestnut".

"Yodel Tabe-Houdai"

I often go to a store named "Red Cabbage"（レッドキャベツ） to buy foods. When I stand at its meat corner, always I hear this song. There is a lot of "comic song"s in Japan, this is one of my favorite comics songs. You can read its lyrics at this website.

Obama girl

I have learned that "Obama girl" has been very popular in the USA by today's newspaper. This is interesting thing, I think. I tried to find "Hillary boy" or "Clinton boy" on the Internet, but I could not.

P.S. I can find the song's lyrics, here, thanks to Marian-san.

P.S. Thanks to joshf-san, I could learn about this song by "Hillary girl". I think it is very catchy and like it than Obama girl's. But I have not been satisfied with it yet because its singer is a girl, not a boy.

"Kata-pan"

Last Sunday, I bought a "Kata-pan"（堅パン） for my daughter's "Oyatsu"（おやつ）.

There was a national ironworks named "Kan-ei Yahata Seitetsu-syo"（官営八幡製鐵所） in the nothern part of Kysuhu. It was taken over a private company, and its name is "Shin-Nihon-Seitetu"（新日本製鉄）.

"Kata-pan"(堅パン )was invented as a light food that was given to its workers by the national company. And it has become a familiar snack to people who live in this area.

When I was a child, I used to eat it. But, in those days, it had only one taste, plane(milk taste). But, now, it has three tastes, strawberry, spinach and sesame besides plane.

"Kata-pan" is well-known for its hardness. But when I ate it last Sunday, I felt that it was not so hard in comparison with what I used to eat in my childhood, and I felt it was a little bit unfortunate thing.

P.S. "Oyatsu " or "O-yatsu" is a general name of light meal that people eat between lunch and dinner. It comes from a traditional time's name "Yatsu-doki"（八つ時）means time between about 2pm and 4pm. Generally, people call a light snack taken at about 3pm "Oyatsu", but you can use it in anytime to call a light snack.

Penguin Cafe Orchestra

The Penguin Cafe Orchestra is a music band that was popular in the 1980's with its unique sound. There is a music with a long title by the band. It is "The sound of someone you love who's going away and it doesn't matter". I like it.

I would like you to listen to the music and tried to find it on the Internet. But, unfortunately, I could not find a full version, but could find a very short version, here.

And I write its long Japanese title in this pictute.