A Friendly Visitor from Hokkaido

A friend from Hokkaido came to Kagawa to visit her family and she met me for lunch and a walking tour while she was here.  First we had a delicious Japanese lunch.  

After lunch, she showed me a beautiful little park.  She told me that when she was young, there was a monkey on display in this park.  There's no monkey now, but there are some big fish in the pond!  

We continued our walk and visited two small museums. 

We also saw this art zoo - how funny! 

I thoroughly enjoyed our time together and hope to see her again soon.

Picasso in Takamatsu

This new special exhibit just opened at the Kagawa Museum in Takamatsu, which is close to the train station and very easy to get to. The cost is 1200 yen and includes the rest of the museum.  It continues through May 22nd, but will probably get more crowded as time goes on.  No photos were allowed inside the exhibit, as is usually the case.

The show included a variety of his work over the many years of his life, the kinds of things I've seen before.  One interesting thing that was part of this show, that I've not seen in other shows, was one room of photographs of the artist over the years. I've read much about how the women in his life affected his art, but this has me wondering how much the women influenced his appearance.  Or maybe that was all his own doing? Photos in the '30's and '40's show his hairstyle as a longer comb over, probably to hide the thinning hair on top.  Then, the photos starting in the 1950's show the close cut, almost bald on top, style that I think of when I think of Picasso. He seemed much bolder and freer in his appearance as he aged.   In almost every photo, right up to the end of his life, he has a cigarette in his mouth or hand.  I think he lived to be 91. Maybe he just posed with the cigarettes and didn't smoke them? It doesn't seem fair that one can smoke so much and live so long. 

When I came home I watched a Youtube documentary on his life and now I want to learn more!

The Restaurant from Nepal

My favorite restaurant in Hokkaido is the Indian restaurant, Bombay Blue.  I hoped to find an Indian restaurant here, so when I saw this sign on the train one day I snapped a picture of it. It's Nepalese, not Indian, but curry and naan -  similar.

With the help of google maps I found the restaurant and went for lunch one day. It's not as good as Bombay Blue, but still pretty good. Next time, I'll order hot instead of medium hot.

Work In Progress Wednesday - Small Bit of Progress

Haruka

Have you heard of the citrus fruit, haruka?  Until recently, I hadn't either! It's yellow, like a lemon, but sweet.  One of the places Haruka are grown is here on the island of Shikoku, in the nearby prefecture of Ehime. When I was out and about yesterday I was offered a sample of the fruit and I liked it so much I bought a little bag of them.

Marugame Castle

One day this week, I took the train to Marugame to visit the Marugame Castle. The entrance to the Castle grounds is about a 15 minute walk from the train station.   It's free to walk around the grounds; the castle has a 200 yen entrance fee to enter.

This information is from Japan-guide.com:

Marugame Castle (丸亀城, Marugamejō), also known as Kameyama Castle, is a hilltop castle in Marugame City. Situated high up on steep stone walls, the castle has a commanding view of the city below and overlooks one of the narrowest parts of the Seto Inland Sea, a feature which afforded it control over the main shipping lanes of the region. Marugame Castle is one of only twelve castles remaining in Japan that have survived the post feudal ages (since 1868) with their keep buildings intact.

Marugame Castle was originally constructed from 1597 to 1602 by Ikoma Chikamasa, the feudal lord who also built Tamamo Castle in nearby Takamatsu. However, due to a new policy by the shogun that limited the number of castles per province to just one, Marugame Castle was torn down again just 13 years after its completion. The castle was rebuilt in 1660 after the province had been split into two. Over the centuries many of the castle buildings were destroyed by fires, and now only the original keep and several of the castle gates remain.

The walk from the entrance to the castle is a little steep, but not so bad. Currently the plum and cherry trees are starting to bloom and the view from the top is very nice. The inside of the castle is heavy wood and kind of dark.  The steps going up are very steep, but that didn't stop elderly women with canes from going up and down three floors. It was a nice day trip - more interesting Japanese history.

train station steps

One Man

The JR station I live closest to is a very small local station.  A lot of trains just whiz by and don't stop at this little station.  When I am trying to return home, I need to make sure to get the local train, not the fast express that doesn't stop at my station.  One evening when I was waiting at another station to come home, I noticed the train I was waiting for was (in katakana) wa n ma n (sounds like one man).  I had no idea what that meant.  When the train arrived, I understood! There was only one man driving the train, taking the tickets, making the announcements, everything. There is one door to get on the train, and one door to get off - the one closest to the front of the train, where the driver is.  I love living in Japan!

A New Project

Even though I have tons of stitching projects in the works (most of them still packed), I felt like starting something new.  I came across this afghan when unpacking and thought it would be good.  It came with a little rose pattern, so I pulled out the seven colors of DMC floss and a hoop and was ready to go.  I've just made a small start, but it will be easy to pick up and go with until I feel like going back to one of my already started projects.

Kendo Exercise Class

A couple of the teachers who work for the same company I do, told me they were taking a Kendo exercise class, so I asked to join.  I went to the first time this week.  The teacher is from France, but has lived in Japan for many years.  He is Kendo fourth dan.  Kendo is a Japanese martial art that descended from swordsmanship.

This class doesn't involve fighting against each other or wearing the protective armour.  This week we practiced the walk and swinging the shinai or bokuto. There is a whole vocabulary of the moves or kata that I'll try to learn as time goes on.  My shoulders and upper arms are a bit sore, but I plan to try it again next week.

shinai

bokuto

Nihongo Kaiwa Kurabu

I've been trying to find a Japanese language class that doesn't conflict with my work schedule, but so far no luck.  I did find the Japanese Conversation Club at the international center.  I went for the first time last week and it was very fun.  It was a mixture of Japnese native speakers and people wanting to practice their Japanese (like me).  I plan to continue going and hope to get better with practice.

I've also been trying to practice my Japanese when I'm out and about.  In the grocery store, I ask where the coffee or the eggs or something else is.  I tell the store worker I don't read kanji and ask if something has meat in it.  I greet people I come in contact with and try to answer their questions.  I know it small stuff, but that's what I have now.  I really want to find a class!