A Hike to Mt. Arechi(荒地山)

Late September of 2014, the heat was finally easing up a bit that HIK decided to have another hike to Mt. Arechi in Hyogo Prefecture. The rating was easy 3 star so I drag T with me to have some outdoor exercise and some socializing. The hike was both challenging and lots of fun. A few bruises here and there from climbing on the rocks but it was definitely worth it.

Some students training under the waterfall.

Let the fun begin.

Yes!! I climbed it :).

Kobe and it’s port.

Next route.

A small pond on top of the mountain.

Met a wild boar.

Unfortunately though, because of time constraint we did not make it to Mt. Arechi but still it was a great day.

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Japan V.S. Maori All Blacks

Yesterday, I watch my very first Rugby game. It was amazing.

A good friend Miss I was able to get us some free ticket from her company , so thankfully we did not have to line up for tickets and pay anything. I did not expect anything from the game since I really don’t watch Rugby. All I know is that there are going to be lots of men chasing after their balls with really cute butts :D. As the game progresses, I can’t helped but shout and jump as each team fought to get a touchdown.

Although it was just an exhibition game both team gave their all. Unfortunately though Japan team lost. Maori All blacks is a very strong opponent. It seems that the next exhibition game will be in Tokyo, so if you are there, I highly recommend it 🙂

To the Maori All Blacks and their fans, Congratulations.

To the Japanese Team. お疲れ様でした。頑張ってください。

The long line of viewers waiting to get into the stadium.

Audience/Fans/Viewer going into Noevir Stadium in Hyogo.

Japan Team doing some stretching.

Eagerly waiting for the game to start.

Maori All Blacks, performing their Haka Dance.

The final score.

Event : Book Discussion on Amy Tan’s Joy Luck Club

For this coming July, the Osaka Book Group is doing Amy Tan’s “The Joy Luck Club”.

I have read this book more than 15 years ago  and fell in love with it, watched the movie and shed a bucket of tears.

If you are an Amy Tan fan or simply love to read and share your opinion and ideas about the book, then please join us over a cup of coffee or wine at Takamura Wine and Coffee Roasters.

A short introduction of the book:

The Joy Luck Club consists of sixteen interlocking stories about the lives of four Chinese immigrant mothers and their four American-born daughters. In 1949, the four mothers meet at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco and agree to continue to meet to play mah jong. They call their mah jong group the Joy Luck Club. The stories told in this novel revolve around the Joy Luck Club women and their daughters. Structurally, the novel is divided into four major sections, with two sections focusing on the stories of the mothers and two sections on the stories of the daughters.

 

Where :  Takamura Wine and Coffee Roasters

When : July 6, 2014

Time : 1 P.M. Onwards

Fee : Basically Free, just get a drink from the Shop.

If you are interested in joining this event, please comment here or you can contact me on the Event Page.

 

Rockin’ in Daito

Daito is one of the cities in Osaka Prefecture.

It’s not known. It’s not a tourist destination.

Whenever I’m asked where I live, I always say Daito and wait for the reaction specially if the one asking is a Japanese person. Majority would give me a blank face, so it really makes me happy when the recognizes it.

So imagine my surprise a few months ago, when I saw a flyer saying that there is going to be a Rock Festival last June 8.

There was a rock band competition among the local high school band, which unfortunately I failed to watched. The festival was held in local theater, so it was nice, did not have to be sweating in the summer heat while listening to the band. There were two categories, the local professional bands and the newly formed band.

T and I were in and out of these two locations and just hanging around listening to some interesting bands.

We also met the city’s mascot:

Heard a few message from the City’s Mayor:

But the most interesting and most awaited performance of all where from the KISS (dolls), a Japanese Version of the famous KISS band.

Pictures are a bit blurry because of the lights, but the group had it down to the last bit of the costume. They gave a really good and fun performance.

 

It was a really fun event, young and old alike were rockin the day away. A great achievement for the organizers and of course Daito City.

I have uploaded more picture ( a bit blurry) and some videos in my Flicker Album, please check it out if you have the tme.

Sakura no toorinuke @ Osaka Mint Bureau

Let us take a short break from all the manhole covers and enjoy some cherry blossoms (Sakura) for this year 2014.

During this season, I call it Sakura Season,  I love walking early in the morning and just enjoy the beauty of what Spring could offer. Every year the Osaka Mint Bureau opens their gates to the public for 1 week to share the beauty of the Sakura inside the complex. They currently have 350 trees and 130 varieties inside. Unfortunately it’s very famous , thus the crowd.

The very first time I visited the place many moons ago, I could barely moved much less take a decent picture. The second time, I was there even before the gates were open and I was able to enjoy the beauty of the Sakura and was able to get a decent picture so I was satisfied.

After returning to Osaka , three years ago, T and I tried to see the blooms once more but turned back after we saw the crowd. For this year I decided to create a meetup event to force myself to go 🙂

Here are some of the pictures I took.

I love the lamp among these fluffy Sakura.

This place would have been perfect for a picnic , unfortunately it is not allowed.

It looks like fluffy pink marshmallows 🙂

I was underneath it. I wished I could have stayed longer underneath it.

A close up shot.

Another one.

Fluffy little white clouds 🙂

The whole place is less than 600 meters long but you could easily stay there for hours just taking pictures of these lovely Sakura.

If you are in Osaka at this time of the year make sure to include a short visit to the Osaka Mint Bureau, I’m sure you will enjoy it, minus the crowd 🙂

Till next year.