Archive for 'Mama’s Life with Tears and Smiles' Category

Merry Christmas Ookamisan

“Merry Christmas Ookamisan” (Merry Christmas Mr. Wolf) is a picture book by Tatsuya Miyanishi, first published in 2000.  Tatsuya Miyanishi can be counted as one of the best selling picture book authors.

I happened to find this Christmas story in some book review and decided to check it out with my kids.

The story turned out very moving  just as other Miyanisi’s stories.

 On the Christmas Eve, a hungry wolf found twelve piggies preparing for Christmas.  The wolf suddenly attacked their Christmas decoration and grabbed all the piggies.  It was at that time that the wolf unluckily tripped over a tree and lost consciousness･･･

Next, he found himself lying on a bed with his body wound with a bandage.  Twelve piggies, once his prey, took good care of the wolf.

Even when the wolf tried saying aloud, “I gotta eat you all up  when I recover,” he couldn’t make his words understood because of the bandage around his mouth.  What the piggies heard was just the groaning voice of the wolf.  The generous piggies thought, “Oh, poor wolf, he maybe tries to say “I’m sorry”and “thank you””.

Things go like this･･･

At last on the Christmas day, the wolf left without words.  Each piggy was given a small Christmas tree, a present by the wolf.

The fierce wolf was touched by the piggies’ love and changed his mind.

Christmas is a miracle･･･

Christmas is a beginning of love･･･

That is what this hearty story tells us.

Tatsuya Miyanishi’s other books also show us what love is.  His other books include the best-selling Tyrannosaurus series. Click here for the story↓;

I am the Tyrannosaurus!

TOCHIGIFT – A stamp rally is now underway!

The 3rd virsion of the Tochigi Gift Catalog – called TOCHIGIFT was released this November. The catalog is distributed for free at various shops and hotels as well as the information center at Utsunomiya Station. Besides the information of various Tochigi delicious gifts and souvenir, a stamp card is included in the catalog. Now a stamp rally is underway.

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Tobiyama Rekishi Taikenkan (Tobiyama Historical Museum)

Tobiyama Rekishi Taikenkan (Tobiyama Historical Museum) was included in the Tobiyama Castle Ruin, located at the tip of the plateau on the Kinugawa river bank in Tochigi.

The ruin was arranged as a park in 2003.  At the museum, you can learn the Japanese lifestyles of the Ancient and Middle ages.

Also, you can experience the ancient way of life by becoming a solider,or a princess and playing Hanetsuki(battledore and shuttlecock, a Japanese badminton) and Komamawashi(a spinning top), etc.

SHICHIGOSAN season has come! (What’s SHICHIGOSAN? As I wrote in this blog before, it’s a celebration of a child’s growth; for three- and seven- year-old girls and three- and five-year-old boys.) During this SHICHIGOSAN season, this museum provides SHICHI-GO-SAN children with a opportunity to become a young warrior or a princess. You have to make a reservation(through November 15^th).  It costs 300 yen for both of a kid and his/her parent to wear the ancient costumes.  (This costume service is available throughout the year, but it usually costs 300 yen for each person.)

My elder son and I tried the ancient costumes this weekend!!   The costume my son wore was called “Hitatare”.  When my son asked the staff what Hitatare was, she answered like this, “This is a formal attire which a young warrior like you wore in the ancient Japan.”  My boy asked many questions, “Why does it take so long to put  this on?  Why does it have so many strings??”　　He seemed to be relieved to hear that this Hitatare was not daily worn.  

Talking about the costume I wore, called “Kosode” and “Uchikake”, there were some obvious differences from the present Kimono.  Kosode’s sleeves are much shorter, and its Obi belt is small in width.

This time, we didn’t have time to walk around the ruin park.  But next time, we’d love to spend more time in the beautiful park and see various buildings, which were mostly restored based on the exacavation survey, such as an ancient solidier’s station, a wathtower, a wooden bridge, a medieval pit dwelling, etc. 

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MARUMARU MORIMORI for “undokai”

Do you know this song & dance “MARUMARU MORIMORI”??

This is the ending song of the Japanese TV drama, called “Marumo no Okite”. The song itself became very popular this year.

Today, I’m not going to talk about this drama…
But about the sports meet, called undokai, which my elder son’s kindergarten held this October.

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2011 JAPAN CUP CYCLE ROAD RACE in Utsunomiya

2011 JAPAN CUP CYCLE ROAD RACE, presented by SUBARU LEGACY(http://www.japancup.gr.jp/2011/), will be held in Utsunomiya city on October 22nd and 23rd.

JAPAN CUP is one of the biggest cycle road races in Asia, and only one where the world leading riders get together and get so close to the audience.This year’s race marks the 20th anniversary and becomes the milestone. Just as the last year’s race, the criteriums, which consists of several laps around a closed circuit in a town, will be provided on the main street of the city on 22nd. The street will be temporarily closed to traffic.

On 23rd, the stage of the cycle road race will be around Utsunomiya SHINRIN KOEN (Utunomiya Forest Park). This course has a good reputation, not inferior to tour de France mountain course. The streets around the park will be under the traffic regulation.

The number of the enthusiastic roadside supporters last year was 100,000 in total. The Utsunomiya city looks forward to many supporters’ visit this year as well.

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KINU GREEN PARK in Tochigi

The 22nd cosmos festival at Kinu Green Park will start October 8th (through October 23nd). One million cosmoses of different kinds, which will spread over 2.5 hectare field, will welcome you all.
The wide-spread cosmoses are not only an attraction of the park. The park also provides you with various activities, such as rowboats, water athletics, rental bicycles, battery-powered cars, roller skates, etc.

My sons and I went to the park a few days ago. Though the cosmos festival had yet to start, we really enjoyed the beautiful sunshine after the big typhoon. When we tried the pedal boat, some ducks came by and said “hi.”
I’m sure Kinu Green Park is the place for the people of different generations. When you have a chance to visit Tochigi, why not stop by at the park to feel the beauty of autumn?

Kinu Green Park (http://www.watanabekensetsu.jp/kinu/index.htm)
86-1 Hoshakuji Takanezawa-machi, Shioya-gun, Tochigi Prefecture 329-1233 Japan

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Charity Ballet Recital by Chiyo Ishihara Ballet Shool

Chiyo Ishihara Ballet School held a charity recital in Utsunomiya, Tochigi, on September 11th. 152 dancers, raging from 3-year old little dancers to the professional ballet dancers, who had practiced many years at this school, were on a stage. The recital started with the Opening and Coppelia, followed by the highlighted version of Sleeping Beauty. Princess Aurora was peformed by Hiromi Hoshino, who had some experience in U.S.A. and had belonged to K-Ballet, Tokyo, for 4 years. Prince Desire was by Yasuo Atsuji, who had belonged to Birmingham Royal Ballet, England, and now a member of New National Theater, Tokyo. Lilac Fairy was by Misa Nuiya, who had ballet training at Vaganova Ballet Academy, Russia, and now belongs to The Tokyo Ballet, Tokyo.
The donations collected by the dancers during the invervals, and the money paid for the programs were contributed to Ashinaga Scholarship Society. The total amount was 554,316yen.
Chiyo Ishihara commented in the program;
We also experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake in Utsunomiya on March 11th, followed by the rolling blackouts, the lack of gasoline, many aftershocks, and the nuclear accident. Still, the kids kept on gathering at the ballet school for hard ballet lessons. We had considered what we could do. Oh, yes, why don’t we do something to make everybody happy? We have to dance! When kids smile, their parents would smile. When their parents smile, Utsunomiya would, Tochigi would, and Japan would smile. Therefore, we decided to start the lesson especially for this recital right after March 11.
It’s our pleasure to have a charity recital on the day just 6 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

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Gunma Museum of Natural History

   Let me introduce another Dinosaur exhibition my family and I visited this summer – Gunma Museum of Natural History. The museum now holds the special exhibition featuring the mysterious gigantic Spinosaurus, which is even bigger than Tyrannosaurus. Since the fossil of a Spinosaurus was first found in Egypt in 1915, it took a century to restore this dinosaur because of the lack of enough data. The highlight of the exhibition is its skeletal preparations and the life-sized model – the length 17m, and the height 6m. How to build up the model is introduced in the following youtube;

   The regular exhibition also fulfills the expectations of dinosaur lovers. The life-sized Tyrannosaurus really moves! The skeletal preparations of Brachiosaurus are huge and astonishing.

   Kita-Kanto Expressway enabled us to get to the Museum from Utsunomiya-city in no more than two hours! It was an exciting one-day trip! It would be a good one-day trip for those who stay in Tokyo.

★Gunma Museum of Natural History
http://www.gmnh.pref.gunma.jp/en/

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The Dinosaur EXPO 2011 at the National Museum of Nature and Science in TOKYO

The National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, holds the Dinosaur EXPO 2011 this summer (July 2nd to October 2nd).
What are the most popular dinosaurs? You must name Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops. The expo shows you the skeletal preparations of these two stars facing each other. They seem to be ready to fight! Besides, the expo reveals the latest research outcomes – what are the Tyrannosaurs’ short forefeet for? What direction do Triceratops’ feet go? etc.

At end of the 1st exhibition hall, CG-animated movie of the fight between Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops is shown.

At the 2nd exhibition hall, the current fossil research as well all the fossils themselves in Tohoku region are displayed. The Great East Japan Earthquake gave great damage to the sample data preserved in this region. The panels introduce the story of the volunteer workers and various museums, which have been working hard to rescue the damaged samples. The activity is called “The Sample Rescue”.

My elder son and I visited the EXPO during the summer vacation. So many visitors were impressed with various displays just as we were. According the website of the museum (http://www.kahaku.go.jp/exhibitions/ueno/special/2011/dinosaur/index.html), the number of the visitors surpassed 300,000 as of August 18th.
The official site of the Dinosaur EXPO 2011;
http://www.asahi.com/event/kyoryu2011/

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Kaleidoscope Gallery MISEGURA in Nagareyama, Chiba

Since the Kaleidoscope Gallery MISEGURA opened in August 2010 in Nagareyama-city, Chiba, many people have visited it and appreciated the beauty of various kaleidoscopes. Its old Japanese-style building, which was built in 1889, came to be registered as a tangible cultural asset on July 25th, 2011.

My sons and I had a chance to visit this gallery this month. Nagareyama Dentetsu (local train running only 5.7 km) took us to the Nagareyama station, from which we took a 5-minute walk to the gallery.

Kaleidoscopes are called MANGEKYO in Japanese. When we looked into the various MANGEKYO, we forgot the high temperature and felt refreshed. I heard that some MANGEKYO there were the winners of the world MANGEKYO contest.

The staff introduced the big mirror, which was set at one end of a trianglular tube. It was not just a normal mirror. When my elder son looked into the mirror, I took a picture of my kaleidoscoped-son at the other end of the tube. The picture came out like this;

You can purchase small Mangekyo, kaleidoscopes. Also, the “Mangekyo handmade kit” is popular as a souvenir.

Kaleidoscope Gallery MISEGURA (TEL　 04-7103-2817)

http://miseguranagareyama.blog71.fc2.com/

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DINO PARTS LABO at SAKURA CITY MUSEUM

    Here is another Dino exhibition in Tochigi – DINO PARTS LABO at SAKURA CITY MUSEUM. Rather than exhibiting life-size models and skeletical preparations, the exhibition focuses on the details of various parts of dinosaurs, such as heads, bodies, legs, tails, and so on. The scale of the exhibition is not big as size goes, but deep in quality.

         The high light is the skeletical preparations of the hand of a therizinosaurus and the head of an allosaurus.

     After appreciating every part of dinosaurs, you can enjoy walking around the park, named Katsuyama park, which is next to the museum. Look at the beautiful greens in the park!

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Welcome Hayabusa to Tochigi!

You must remember the news about the Asteroid Explorer HAYABUSA, which returned to the Earth on June 13, 2010. Hayabusa had stayed in space for seven years, and after overcomimg various difficulties, it had come back home – to the Earth!
Hayabusa’s reentry capsule is now exhibited at WAKUWAKU Grandy Science Land in Tochigi. (July 21st to 25th only) It’s the first time for the real Hayabusa capsule to be shown in Tochigi prefecture. http://www.tsm.utsunomiya.tochigi.jp/english/index.html

My husband and my elder son visited there to appreciate Hayabusa. They were so excited to see and study about the story of Hayabusa. My elder son held up the reentry capsule replica, which weighed about 2 kg. Also, he got interested in a spacesuit and waited for 10 minutes in a line to take a picture with the spacesuit exhibited there.
Here are what they bought there as a souvenir.

A plastic folder which the picure of Hayabusa is printed on(210 yen), and a miniature Hayabusa (950 yen)

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Dino World – Welcome to Dinosaur Laboratory

Tochigi Prefectural Museum now holds the special exhibition called “Dino World – Welcome to Dinosaur Laboratory.” Various dinosaurs are collected from different parts of the world at the museum!
The skeletal preparations of a tyrannosaurus and an allosaurus are huge and impressive. The high light is the skeletal preparations of a rhabdodon, which is being exhibited for the first time in Japan.
Life-sized models of dinosaurs such as a deinonychus, a velociraptor, a pteranodon also attract dinosaur-lovers.
    Besides the daytime exhibition, the nighttime exhibition along with some music concerts is held on Saturdays, and August 12th to 14th. The Dino night must be exciting, too.

   My sons have been crazy about dinosaurs these days, so my sons and I visited the Dino World a few days ago. What attracted my elder son most were a tyrannosaurus and a deinonychus. What interested me was the introduction of how a fossil is excavated and delivered, and how it is studied.
We are coming back for the Dino night in August. We are also planning to visit other dinosaur exhibitions, which are held at some museums in the Kanto region this summer.

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SHICHIGOSAN – early birds’special campaign starts!

You can easily imagine that November is the SHICHIGOSAN high season for kimono rental shops and photo studios and they are terribly busy.  Therefore,  it’s getting popular for many photo studios, which also provide kimono rental service, to hold a special campaign for the early birds, which starts in May in many cases.  The campaign includes not only special discount.  But also, for example, you can get a key holder the child’s picture is printed on, a special designed picture frame, and so on.

My elder son is turning to be five this fall.  My family and I decided to be one of the early birds! During the Golden week in May, all of our family wore kimono and had our family picture taken at a photo studio.  We appreciated the early bird’s discount as well as other special service.  We received the album of my son’s picture and of our family this month.

Some children wear kimono again in November to visit a shrine and pray.  My elder son is not going to wear a kimono this fall.  Instead, we are going to a Christian church to thank God for my son’s growth.  Notably, many Christian churches (both of Catholic and Protestant) in Japan have some kind of celebration for children during SHICHIGOSAN season in November.

Jazz Performance by the Watarase river

 Fumio Itabash, a 62-year-old jazz pianist, who was born in Ashikaga-city, TOCHIGI, held a performance on the dry riverbed of the Watarase river on June 8th.
The grand piano, which a closed elementary school had owned, was set on widespread grass,  surrounded by the mountains, the wind, the birds’songs, the sound of trains, etc.  He played some numbers, including his original tune “the Watarase”.
Fumio Itabashi debuted as a member of Sadao Watanabe jazz quintet in 1971. This is his 40th anniversary as a professional jazz pianist. The DVD of this performance by the Watarase will be on sale this fall.
This performance was organized by Minoru Wakasugi, a music journalist in Ashikaga. He said, “I hope the performance will cheer up and activate the city, my hometown.”

Click here to see the movie　↓

 The performance by Fumio Itabashi by the Watarase river