Friday, April 4, 2008

More Pictures!

I'm being as healthy as my little thrice-Food-Handlers-certified self can be, mainly out of dread for the company's complex method of sick-days. I do eat large amounts of buckwheat in the form of soba noodles, which are delicious simply with some soy sauce and sesame seeds. The curious thing is that though they'll have Western foods here, it only comes in one basic form. When I say I bought pancake mix, I bought the only kind on the shelf - the white, fluffy stereotypical kind. Or, though they have spaghetti noodles, they don't have all the other lovely shapes and sizes of Italianesque pasta, which I miss dearly. (I also tried a packet labeled "spaghetti sauce" that turned out to be something whitish and heavily onion flavored - not bad, just not marinara. And don't worry, though there's a pizza place near here, I've been warned to stay away by anyone who has every been to Japan).

I took some pictures of the great outdoors:

Nagamine Park - most of the trees still aren't quite in bloom, but you can see the pink tinge. I'm not sure what that structure on the hill is - I should walk up there one of these days.

The pond is a little murky, but the ducks are cute. There's one with an interesting orange-black-striped head, and one with blue on its wings but in a big patch rather than the small stripe we see on ducks at home.

And there are these HUGE koi in it - easily over a foot long, and fat! All solid colors - orange, brown, black - which I like, because the mottled ones always look a little diseased to me.

I love this little waterfall, and stream. The local kids love it too, splashing in it and riding their bikes across and down it. I'm standing on a footbridge that goes over it.

My humble abode. It doesn't look quite as motel-ish as I first thought - it's mainly the highway being immediately to the left that gives that impression. My room is on the first floor, third from the left.

I'll post pictures of the inside tomorrow when I have better light. It starts getting dark around four. I'm looking forward to summer.

Also, if you're interested, here is the library's website.

3 comments:

Beeniac said...

Hi Em,
Thanks for the pictures. Your phone does a good job - they were nice and clear. No people in them, though. Did you have to wait for empty shots or is it always so isolated looking?

The library looks big. They could use some photos on their website, too.

Tomorrow is the caucus, so I may not be home before 6. So check for IM after that time.
Love you,
Mom

mabanagirl said...

You never fall out of bed, do you. Or Futon, rather. Maybe you don't have room to fall out anyway. We went to a day long meeting on tracing your ancestors via DNA. But don't ask me what I learned. Enjoy your blogs and pictures too!!!! Hope you are enjoying it too./ Love, Gr. Neva

Unknown said...

Yeah, you need protein to stimulate your mind---carbs will make you sleepy. i watched the Asian station yesterday, and Anthony Bourdain in japan (he was in Osaka)---mainly cause you are now over there. On AZN there was a girl on her knees in the square of a school and like 100 students in uniforms surrounded her and were chanting something---it was really weird and i'm not sure what was going on. Japan looks like it has lots of cool food, on Anthony Bourdain he went to one pizza place---where the restaurant attendees form little pizza balls at their tables by turning piled ingrediants on little hot plates. It's a good thing you are working in japan Emily, the US dollar is pathetically low these days-----is there any countries near Japan where i could travel too and not break the bank? love wood