Cherry blossom

It is the season of cherry blossom here in my hometown. The town is colored by pink. I like this elegant and tender color. The season will be only for a week. I think Kyoto is especially famous for cherry blossom in Japan. Although we have had a disaster and a nuclear plant accident in eastern Japan, we still have many beautiful places all over Japan. I love Japanese landscape. We can still find a lot of happiness in Japan. I also hope many people all over the world like beautiful landscapes in Japan.

Dreaming of Spring

It still snowed. It was storming today. I heard "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lam." It was lion today. How cold it was. I will try to be positive only inside. I am dreaming of cherry blossoms and I am going to start new thing soon in April.

Spring

It is spring on the calendar from yesterday. It has been warmer these days. We have had a lot of snow this winter and it is still on the road. I hope the peak of coldness has gone.

I enjoyed Japanese custom called "Setsubun" which means "between the seasons", I had a vinegar rice roll and soy beans. We hope that the evil will go out and luck will come in. I can see Japanese wooden dolls called "Hina ningyo" which celebrate girls growth and happiness. I think it means happy marriage because dolls are couple. I feel sorry to my parents since I have not married yet but I hope they know I am happy because I live with my dreams and friends. I think I should live for my dreams to be happy myself.

Cooler days

The more cooler, the more I can concentrate doing something. During the hot season, I couldn't concentrate studying very much because I sweat a lot and my room was too hot even using a wind fan, it sent warm wind. I feel cold during the night these days. I need thick futon now or I awake several times during the night.

Autumn

The rice fields next to my apartment finished harvesting rice last Saturday. I feel it is very autumn now. As the color of rice fields after harvesting is yellow, yellow looks the color of autumn. I can see color leaves in autumn, too. On the food, we will have sweet potato, chestnut, ginkgo nut, all of them are yellow and I love them.

Enjoy foods

It rained in the afternoon and it's getting cooler these days. I felt cold turning on an electric fan in the evening. It surely the autumn has come. I like the autumn fruits very much, such as persimmons, apples, pears, berries, chest nuts, pea nuts, and figs. I also like sweet potatoes, fishes, too. I should have a lot of foods.

When I was in TX., I enjoyed a lot of pies: pecan pie, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and the like on Halloween day. They were very good and sweet and because I was younger, I could have several kinds of pie. Pie is very American food. I think Japanese can't make pies as Americans do. Taste is very different between them. Going to a "House of pie" was very exciting thing for me. I was attracted by an apple pie with ice cream, but I usually had a baked potato. It was also good with some toppings and sour cream. Everywhere around the world there are good foods in each season, I think.

Hot season last long

The long hot season makes me tired these days. I can stand hot season rather than cold season, but it's too long. I took nap this afternoon and I felt better. After submitting a trial, I read a book. I think it's better to read where something cooler, such as a cafe or a library. I might be able to concentrate than reading in my room. But I should go out very early hour or I will be tired on the way to cafe because of strong sunshine.

Walk to the pine park

I found a park near my apartment. It was a small park with many pine trees. The road to the park was hot by sunshine even it was 6am, the park was cool because of shadow of a big apartment and there was a small canal along the park. It was the first time since I came here to walk in the morning. In summer, I like in the early morning air and the night one. They are only air I can feel relieve in summer. I remember Japanese woman poet in Heian Period(794-1192) wrote in her work that the best time in summer was night. Moon, firefly, and rain. We can hardly see a firefly today though. It is quiet here in the night and just a little cool air from the window. I can hear some insects.