Sunday Bloom

Just inside the entrance of the building that I work in, there's a pot of small orange flowers. I had to work today, and I noticed these flowers for the first time. I took one photo of the flowers with my Zumi+++: this is that photo.

This is my second entry this weekend for Show Me Japan Vol. 31. Go see how others are seeing Japan this weekend.

Lunch Time!

On Fridays, our third-year nutrition students offer a "summer lunch" tasting menu. Today's lunch was nikujyaga (beef & potatoes), rice with green bits & teensy tiny dried fish, a vinegared salad with cucumber & octopus, a lemon-flavored jelly with pieces of oranges & kiwi fruit, milk, and cold tea. Today's focus was on products sourced from Hiroshima. The potatoes, milk, rice, cucumbers, octopus, oranges, and greens were all local. It's a bit hot these days to be snarfing down a bowl of beef & potatoes in an unconditioned room (however tasty it may have been), and when I left I was feeling a bit sweaty and overheated. Nevertheless, I've already signed up for the four remaining Friday lunches.

This is my entry for this week's Show Me Japan. Go check out volume 31 to see what else is happening around Japan.

7:00 Sunday Night

It's been a wet and rainy day in Hiroshima. Despite the downpour, I was uncharacteristically social and went out to lunch with friends and spent some time with another friend who was visiting from Tokyo. Now that I am home and dry and alone, I'm settling in with one of my indulgences: Glee.

(This is my entry to Show Me Japan this week...go check out the other vol. 29 entries.)

Caution, Elderly Crossing

This sign always makes me smile.

(Another weekend, another Show Me Japan. Go check out vol. 28!)

Young Girl Against Blue Sky

Before I left Hiroshima, I took a walk through the Peace Park to give my legs a bit of a stretch before heading to the airport to fold myself into a miniscule seat for the transPacific flight. This statue is next to the Atomic Bomb Dome, but I've never photographed her before. I took one photo during my whole walk. This is it.

The Show Me Japan folk are at it again with Show Me Japan Vol. 1 Issue 14. Here's my last photo from Japan for a while!

Alongside the Ota Gawa in Hiroshima

The path I usually take when I walk between my neighborhood and the city center is lined with trees. I took this shot absentmindedly with my Digital Harinezumi Triple Plus (which I am still absolutely loving!) after I stopped to scratch my ankle.

(I submitted this to Show Me Japan Vol. 1 Issue 13. So far, there have been 16 submissions this week.)

Manhole Cover in Iwakuni

Today is Foundation Day (建国記念の日) and is a national holiday. I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself, so I hopped the train down to Iwakuni (about 45 minutes from Hiroshima in Yamaguchi Prefecture). The city of Iwakuni is home to a US Marine Corps Air Station, but the only evidence I saw of military presence was when I caught a brief glance of a very loud and very black plane zipping around. Aside from the air base, Iwakuni has a famous bridge, the Kintai-kyo Bridge (錦帯橋). This bridge, Iwakuni castle, and a man cormorant fishing are depicted on the city's manhole covers.

It's Friday! That means another issue of Show Me Japan is underway (the 13th!). Go take a look to see what other folk are posting on their blogs about Japan.

Taormina, La Pizzeria

I don't know what it is, but I've been eating a lot of good food lately. Tonight, as it happily turns out, was no exception. I felt like going for a walk after I got home from work today, so I circled the periphery of the city center. I was taking the long way back home when I stumbled onto Taormina, a pizzeria near the Hakushima tram stop (close to the main road that runs between Yokogawa and Hiroshima stations). The pizza that caught my eye was one that had a pumpkin base, ham, tomatoes, and gorgonzola cheese. Not only was the combination delicious, but the crust was exquisite. It was thin (and puffy), soft (but crusty on the bottom), light (but had some chew to it), and not salty. The pizza (of which I ate half and brought the rest home), a lovely green salad (that included grapefruit, fried lotus root, & mango and was dressed with a ponzu dressing), and a glass of wine set me back 3050 yen (about $37...yikes!). It was a bit of a splurge, but I think I've found a new place to go when I crave pizza!

This is my second entry this weekend for the Show Me Japan folks. Go give 'em a visit!

A Sunny Day in Kabe

It's another beautiful day in the city of Hiroshima. I went for a brief walk a few minutes ago and there is all sorts of laundry being hung out today. If I were at home, I'd be doing the same thing. I think my futons could use a little direct sun.

Today marks the beginning of Show Me Japan Vol. 1 Issue 12. Stop by sometime and see what else is going on in Japan.

My 'Hood

Directly behind my apartment building there are three or four warehouses spread out along the street. The one that is two blocks back seems to be a transfer point for electronics, but I'm not sure what the purpose of this particular place in the photo is as the doors are rarely open at the times I usually walk by. The upside to this one, though, is that there is space to briefly park a car which is incredibly handy on those days I get a ride home and need help schlepping the occasional heavy or oversized thing up to my flat.

Once again, the good folk over at Budget Trouble are running Show Me Japan this weekend. I wonder what other participants have posted....I'll have to go over and take a look!

Hiroshima Carp

Earlier this afternoon I decided to walk around the grounds of Hiroshima Castle. As I was standing on the outer perimeter, staring down into the moat, I saw this big ol' carp just floating around by himself.

This is my third and final submission for this week's Show Me Japan. If you haven't been over to see what other folk in Japan are posting about, well, you should.

Hiroshima Trams

In addition to busses and trains, Hiroshima also has a tram system which covers the city center. I love the trams....to me, they feel like a throwback to that bygone, more innocent era it seems everybody is always looking for. The problem, though, with the tram system is that there is usually about a ten-minute wait between trams. For me, ten minutes is a long time to stand on a chilly, windy platform in the middle of the road while I wait for the next tram car to come because I just barely missed the last one. To be honest, I'd just rather walk most of the time. But I'm glad Hiroshima has the tram system and I'd screech along with the rest of 'em (whoever 'em might be) if the city ever decided to rid itself of the tram system, which, hopefully, it won't.

This is my Saturday entry for Show Me Japan, the photo meme that those great folks over at Budget Trouble have put on for 10 straight weekends (here's to 100!).

DIY Hedbanz Cards

I just spent the last hour laminating and cutting up cards my students made yesterday to play Hedbanz with (a game in which players draw a card that they don't look at and they must guess, by asking questions, who or what they are). My students are much better artists than I am.

This is my Friday entry for this week's edition of Show Me Japan. Yep. This is my Japan. It's good to know, though, that I can be a laminating and cutting fool anywhere.

Grey & Snowy Morning

I left for yoga class earlier than normal this morning so I could wander around and take pictures of Hiroshima covered with a slight dusting of snow. I thought it all would have melted by early afternoon, but I was wrong. Currently, it's snowing lightly. Everything has a fine covering of the stuff, but not much is accumulating. I'm hoping that tomorrow's commute won't be too icy. The walk from the station to my university has a few slopes that could prove problematic.

This is my third and last entry for this weekend's Show Me Japan. Show the duo over a Budget Trouble who put it on some love by visiting their site to see what other folk in Japan are up to!

Miyajima Part 2

After I shot the video, I went to a little restaurant and ate deep fried oysters, which were dee-lish (it's the season for oysters in Hiroshima). An older couple from New Zealand were sat with me. They were on a whirlwind tour of Japan and neither liked fish. Heh.

This is my second entry to the Show Me Japan meme. Check out what other people around Japan are doing by visiting the Budget Trouble folk.

Digital Harinezumi 2 Triple Plus

These are the first unedited images from my impulsively purchased Digital Harinezumi 2 Triple Plus camera (aka the Zumi+++). To say I'm excited is a supreme understatement. (UPDATE: Click over to my Zumi+++ label to see a sampling of other images & video postcards I've been producing.)

PS...It's good to be back in Japan because now I can once again participate in the weekly Show Me Japan meme put on by the lovelies over at Show Me Japan!

Reindeer K

Today I had a Christmas party with my last class before the winter break. I had told them that if they wanted a Christmas party that they needed to organize it. All-in-all, the kids did a good job. We played a few games and had a "snack party." For the snack portion of the party, I handed out the cookies I spent all day making yesterday (oatmeal cookies & iced espresso walnut shortbread cut into star and tree shapes). The students seemed pretty plussed (who am I kidding....they loved their cookie packs). The above picture is from the charades game we played. I had to get into being-a-reindeer mode and spent a small amount of time prancing around the classroom making reindeer sounds.

Interested in what other folk are doing in Japan over the Christmas weekend? Click over to Show Me Japan Vol. 1 Issue 6 to find out.

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday

A few moments ago, the sun briefly peeked out, but I think the remainder of the day is going to be a grey and dreary one. I'm debating whether I should curl up and read a book all day or head out to wander around the city. Perhaps the best decision for the time being is for me to make myself breakfast and a big cup of coffee. I have to work tomorrow, so I need to make the most of my truncated weekend. Oatmeal & French toast seems like a good way to start.

I submitted this post for this week's Show Me Japan Vol. 1 Issue 5 (because sometimes Japan is all about me not knowing what to do with a Saturday and not about shrines and cherry blossoms and the kids in Yoyogi Park). If you're interested in what other folk in Japan are doing & blogging about this weekend, click over to the Show Me website.

My Morning Fridge

What's in my fridge this morning? Milk, hot sauce, mirin, soy sauce, leftover pasta and chicken, eggs, Kraft parmesan cheese, a huge Kirkland bag of dried blueberries...nothing too exciting. My freezer shows a little promise. I have some chicken thigh bones I'm going to make soup with sometime today. I also have one solitary blob of frozen dough I may use tonight to make accompanying pizza.

PS- This is my contribution to this week's Show Me Japan Vol. 1 Issue 4. Click over to their website to see what others are posting about Japan this week.

Light Leaked Film

It was a bright, sunny, and downright lovely day in Hiroshima. I hit a few museums and Shukkein Garden, which is the location of this pic. My camera isn't winding the film tight enough, so when I popped the film out, light leaked through the loosely-rolled edges.

This is my first submission to this weekend's Show Me Japan Vol. 3 Issue 1. You can see what other Japan bloggers are posting by clicking over to their website.