3 pictures

well, last night while walking home, I noticed the first cherry blossoms. This one tree snuck up on us all and in the middle of the night came to full bloom! Literally, over night. I mean, I passed that tree in the morning and there wasn't even a bud. Then 12 hours later, it's completely white.

Unfortunately, it sounded like it rained this morning, so all the sakura are probably washed away. I've yet to see any other trees though, so maybe that one is just an, um, early bloomer, so to speak.

Anyways, here are 3 pictures:

little green store by the river

fish in Notto-jima aquarium...closest I came to the epicentre of the quake

nagamachi mirror

earthquake

Today at around 9:45am, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale hit just off the coast of Notto Peninsula. The quake was the first one in Ishikawa since 1933. This area is not known for earthquakes, and is generally disaster free. However today was not like any other. The vibration in Kanazawa city measured 6.0+ and rocked the whole region as far as the neighbouring prefectures.

Here is BBC's article

My building shook for about 3 minutes! I was in bed at the time (9:40-ish on my day-off). All around me I could hear things falling. I distinctly heard the clanging of a pan falling off a rack in one of the neighbouring apartments. Then there was the cracking sound of my screen door, getting torn from side to side. Something fell right next to my head — my keys, accompanied my a bunch of papers and polaroids, and the gradual cresendo of anything within 4 inches of a table edge.

The shaking was accompanied by a forceful, wrenching sound, like a strong wind, tearing at a boarded-up shutter. Then it died away and the only sound left was that of the rain. A sound that would only be interrupted by 2 more small tremors and the sirens of a firetruck.

I immediately turned on the TV, but the wire had been ripped right from the wall. So after a few minutes of fiddling with it, I got sound and a fuzzy picture. The epicentre was just off the coast, where I aways go to make pottery. I remember only understanding "seven plus measurement" and "tsunami warning". Then it all settled into place...the tsunami warning was for 50cm only. Somehow, Kanazawa had survived a quake that could be felt all the way in Nagoya and Tokyo, more than 300km away. The same magnitude claimed more than 6,000 lives in Kobe about in 1995.

I think this place is blessed...or incredibly lucky. Either way, I'm glad there wasn't more destruction.

Anyways, I'm ok. And everyone I've talked to so far is also ok. But it was a crazy ordeal!

culture tip #9

For the longest time I wondered why some cars have these stickers on them.
It turns out that they are 'leaves'. This one is an old leaf, and it means that an old person drives this car.

On the other hand, this one is a young leaf, which means a young driver is behind the wheel.

Personally, I think it's a kind of poetic way to describe the age gaps...and the frustration that they can cause on the road. I once saw an old man, back in and out of a parking space 7 times because he couldn't judge the distance. In the end, he scraped up the car next to him real good. It was kind of funny to watch because it all happened in slow-motion for me — but to him, it must have been regular speed.

kanazawa ninja

Remi demonstrates how to kill an armed man, using only his hands.

tongue tricks

I don't know why, but recently I've had insane cravings for tomatoes. Maybe there's something in them that my body needs, or maybe I'm just getting into summer mode. Either way, I'm not sure, but last night I ordered 3 plates of tomato salad! THREE PLATES!!! I don't even really like tomatoes all that much. As a child, I used to hate them.

Perhaps, I'm just getting older. They say that about ever 7 years your taste buds change. So maybe I'm going through the next revolution of taste. Now my favourite things are tomatoes, vinegar, wasabi, and dashi — a kelp-based soup base.

safety first!

I snapped this picture with my phone while I was in Kanazawa Station. Apparently, the Station doesn't need security guards. Instead, they provide Safety Guards. This guy was going around, telling school students not to run with lolipops in their mouths. I saw him stop a man for having loose shoe laces, and I bet he makes sure people stay behind the yellow line on the platforms. On the other hand, he doesn't carry a gun or handcuffs, only a flashlight, a fire-extinguisher, and a life jacket.


On a different note, everyday I walk past Jesus. In the mornings he waves 'hello' to me, and at night he points out the way back home. In summer time he hides behind some bushes and kinda surprises people walking next to the canal. I always wonder how he got to Japan?

Welcome Party

On Saturday we had the official Welcome Party for our new teacher, Erin. I was happy because she is also Canadian — from the same city, in fact!

The party was pretty fun, and we played "Fluffy Bunny". For those who don't know, Fluffy bunny is the game where you put marshmallows in your mouth and try to say "fluffy bunny". The person who does the most wins.

Kotaro, Yusuke, Ayumi, Remi and me.

Kazuyo, Atsushi, and Hiroki, who won the Fluffy Bunny contest

M'boy, Kohei

Kotaro, Erin, the new teacher, and Tomoyuki

surprise surprise!

After the weather the last few days, no one suspected a MASSIVE snowstorm! I mean, two days ago it was almost 20 degrees and sunny, and today trains were cancelled due to a blizzard.

It's amazing, though. I mean, I woke up and the world was white. Of course, I was awake early because of some serious construction going on in the apartment next to me. And I'm talking like rebuilding-after-a-frat-party construction!



Anyways, the construction sounds gave me an excuse to go out into the white world. I visited Kenroku'en, the park. It was the first time I saw it in the snow, and I was truly amazed. Now, I remember when I first came to Kanazawa and I didn't have internet. The first time it snowed I went for a walk to a shrine between my house and the castle. I still had some black and white film in the camera left over from Malaysia, and snapped shots happily left and right. But there was no way, even with colour film, that I could have captured the incredible sight of white snow, black water, and golden fish swimming in slow-motion in their ponds.

Here are the pictures I took at the park:

like bunnies...

This weekend was absolutely crazy! It's my last weekend where I'll have 2 days together for a month, so I wanted to fully take advantage of it. Also, it happens that one of our teachers are leaving and so we had a (couple of) goodbye parties. Last night I stayed up very late, savouring the fact that I could sleep in. However, this morning I heard a kind of desperate scraping against the wall right next to my head. It was like someone wanted to chisel their way out of a prison cell. Yes, starting at 8:30am, they were doing some sort of construction on the other side of the wall, next to my head.

So much for sleeping in, eh?

Anyways, I got my digicam back from Remi and found these pics of a valentine I got. The box design was very cute.


fig 11.0: The Japanese believe that the moon is made of fluffy, white bunnies. You must admit though, it's just as strange as cheese!

I like how the bunny is made from 2 exclamation marks (¡¡) This person will get a good White Day gift from me. (click here to find out about White Day)

I also went to a bunch of art shows recently. One was held in 'The Citizens Art Centre' and the other in the 21st Century Museum. Both were exceptional! But my camera was filled with Remi's shamisen stuff, so I could only snap 2 pictures. Here they are:
fig 11.2: An alien mix of zen and modern design.

The day felt like summer, and the sunlight was so bright. I like this picture because of the shadows and repetition, but mostly because of the little kid dry-humping the wall of an empty pond.

plum blossoms

It's a little early this year, but the blossoms are coming. The Plum is Kanazawa's symbol, since it was the family crest of the Maeda family, who controlled the city during the shogunate. There is one plum tree in particular that acts as a gauge as to when the much anticipated, cherry blossom season will start.



I passed this tree on the way to work and had to take some pictures. I remember how amazed and excited I was last year when I first saw this tree blooming.