Pajama Party???

I wrote that I was in a slump in my previous article.

I have already overcome it by just having fun to speak in English.

Japanese people tend to think we should speak English with no mistakes.

But I try not to concern about it too much.


It was the last day for my children to go to school this year.

They had a small party in their classrooms.

I got an email from my 8-year-old daughter's room parent a few days ago that;

"Please have your child wear their cozy pajamas to school (if they'd like to)."

I wondered why they go to school wearing their pajamas??

I asked my daughter,

"The children who want to wear your pajamas can go to school with your pajamas. What will you do?"

"No, I won't wear pajama."

She answered.


She went to school as usual.

After she came home, she said;

"Most of my classmates wore pajamas, except three students including me. Some of them brought their favorite stuffed animals. Even the teacher was wearing his pajama, too!"

"What??? What for???"

I was very surprised to hear that and asked her.

"I don't know."

She said.

"Did you want to wear your pajama like them?"

I asked her, and she answered,

"No, I don't mind."

Such an event would never happen in Japanese school.

I am curious why the pajama party is a common event in American elementary school.

 Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!

When I am in a slump

I had enjoyed learning English until a week before, but I am in a slump learning in English.

I could express my feeling in English well before, but I often can't find the word in English now.

When I listen to my ESL classmates' English, I often feel inferior to them.

I don't want to read something written in English now.

Why can't I improve my English even though I am studying hard?

Oh, what should I do...?

I had an ESL class today, but I skipped it because I felt sick to my stomach this morning.

But if anything, I didn't feel like it today.

In that case, I try not to push myself.

Take a rest, stop learning English, don't think too much....

I really want to know how to get out of the slump.

Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!

The differences between Japanese students and students from other countries in the ESL class

I wrote in my previous blog that I take the ESL classes three days a week.

I met a lot of classmates from all over the world.

The classmates are from Asia, Central and South America, Mid-west, Africa, and Europe.

They are very friendly and eager to learn English.

It's fun for me to discuss the differences of customs of each country.

Some classmates came to the US as refugees.

They usually don't talk what they were like in their native countries.

But one of the classmates told me that he was lucky to be able to come to the US.

He made me think about how big the problems of conflicts, wars, and refugees are.


And I keenly feel that how little I know about world affairs.


I found some differences of the lesson between other countries and Japan.


1. How to say own opinions during the class

Basically, we need to be quiet during the class in Japan.

When we would like to say something during the class, we usually should raise our hands first.

In case a teacher picks me, I should stand up then I can say my opinion, the answer, and so on.

The situation is like below:

Teacher : Is there someone who wants to share your experience?

Student : Hai! ( はい : Yes )

Teacher : Then, Kumi - san.

Student : Hai! ( はい : Yes ) (Stand up) I went to.....


But in the US, students suddenly start talking while a teacher is talking.

Most of Japanese students seem to be overwhelmed.

We are also taught the importance of listening to teachers and other students carefully.


But some students try to say the answers or their opinions even though they interrupt teachers.

Teachers often say Japanese students are too quiet.

I agree with it, but in my case, I am just not used to the way of saying something during the class.

I don't want teachers and other students to regard that Japanese students don't want to talk and don't want to join in the class.

But I realize that I need to learn to be proactive like them more.



2. Most of Japanese students tend to be not good at speaking

This is related to the topic 1 above.

English education in Japan have focused on reading and writing.

That's why most of Japanese people tend to be not good at speaking.

But I was surprised to see that other students who are able to speak very well couldn't solve the questions of grammar.

They told me that speaking English is easier than grammar.

One of my Japanese friend who takes the same ESL class said to me:

"We are not good at speaking, but good at grammar. We should be proud of it."

Of course I often mistake the grammar and I often feel the sense of inferiority against speaking English.

But I try to stop feeling negative.

I just practice speaking more.



This is not the topic of differences, but it was very interesting that I found all of us have each country's accent.

I can understand the English spoken by the students who speak Portuguese, Korean, and Japanese.

But it was hard for me to understand the English spoken by the students who speak Arabic and Spanish.

It depends on each student, but I realized how the pronunciation is important.

Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!

Our first Halloween in the US

This was our first Halloween in the US.

I attended the Halloween party held in the ESL class which I belong to in the morning.

I went to see the Halloween parade held in my children's elementary in the afternoon on Oct 31.

They also had the Halloween party at school.

My children and I went to trick-or-treating with our friends.

My children were so excited!

We walked around our neighborhood for two hours!

I prepared treats for children at home and my husband took care of it.

He called me that they were all gone at 7pm because a lot of children came to our house for trick-or-treating.

I asked him to give them our stock of snack.

It was a very busy day, but we had a lot of fun.



Today I would like to write about how my impression of Halloween changed after I experienced it in the US.

Actually, I didn't have any interest in Halloween when I was in Japan.

I have never celebrated Halloween and I didn't know the origin of Halloween and why people cerebrate it.

I only had an image that Halloween is just a costume parade, young people all gather Shibuya with creepy makeups and they didn't have any rules and manners, sometimes caused the troubles.

I had wanted the Halloween events to end quickly.


But....

I changed my image of Halloween completely changed.

I saw not only children but also adults enjoyed Halloween costumes very much.

The Halloween Parade in the elementary school was so cute!

Children were so excited and walked in the parade proudly.

The teachers were also wearing costumes, those were very interesting!

I was so surprised to see the amazing hospitality of our neighbors.

They were Halloween-friendly neighborhood.

They decorated their houses and gardens with spider web, skeleton, witches, scarecrows, ghosts, and so on.

Some residents wore costumes and tried to surprise children.

They didn't get mad with children even though they were so excited that they walked on their grass.

They kept the manners well.

Of course, there were the people who didn't join in the event.

There was a sign that they didn't turn off the entrance light and the people didn't ring the bell of those people.

I was able to see that they enjoyed Halloween very much.

I was very impressed to see that the neighbors tried to entertain the people who visited their houses and they also enjoyed themselves very much.

I liked to say "Happy Halloween!".

I thought it was like "Yoi Otoshiwo" in Japanese.

This is a greeting when we ususally say at the end of the year, it means that I hope you will have a happy new year.



I thought a lot of Japanese people misunderstand Halloween.

I realized that it is not only an event for young strange people.

But I was also impressed that my children's school prepared another option for children who didn't want to join in the Halloween events.

In Japan, it's normal for students to join in the school events.

Japanese people tend to avoid doing different things from others.

I like the generosity which admit the differences.

Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!

The differences of schools between Michigan and Japan

I have two children, 9-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter.

One of my biggest worries regarding moving to the US was about them.

Will they be able to adapt to the American school?

Will they be able to make friends?

Will they forget Japanese language?

Will they be late for Japanese curriculum?

The list is endless.

As I wrote in the previous post, they enjoy going to the local school now.

Actually, there are a lot of children who came from abroad in their elementary because we live in diverse and international city.

That's why not only my children but also other children have some difficulties to speak in English.

But teachers are skilled and very used to such children.

They help such children and they are getting used to school little by little.


I started taking the ESL class two weeks ago.

It is very inspiring and fun for me!

As well as my children's school, the ESL class is also very international.

It is opened only for adult.

The students are eager to learn English, and very friendly.

They don't stick to their friends who speak the same language, they enjoy talking to the students who are from different countries.

They try to speak in English even when they talk to the students who have the same mother tongue.

I like the atmosphere there!


I found some differences of school between Michigan and Japan through my children's elementary and the ESL class.

They are very interesting!


1. Teachers sometimes talk sitting on the desk.

When I saw the scene, I was surprised because Japanese teachers never do like that because it is usually regarded as a bad manner.


2. Children read books while lying down.

Children have a reading time in the elementary in Michigan.

My children were so surprised to see the other children's behavior.

They read books while lying down on the carpet and while eating snacks!

It could happen at home in Japan, but children have to read books while sitting on the chairs in school.

And they must not bring snacks to schools in Japan.

They can bring snacks only when they go to the field trip.


3. The students can go to the washroom during the class.

There is a washroom in the classroom of their elementary.

They can go anytime they want to go without permission of teachers.

In Japan, children are offered to go to the washroom during the recesses.

Children have to manage it by themselves.

If they want to go during the class, they have to tell their teacher.

The teacher would say like that,

"OK. But you should go to the bathroom before the class."


4. School lunch doesn't seem to be good for health.

I make lunch (bento) for children every day.

The elementary school offers school lunch.

But I don't think the menu are not good for health.

It is offered in the buffet style so that children can choose what they like.

But some parents or adult who are living in the school district have to help them as a volunteer at the lunch time.

Unless children choose vegetable, children don't eat vegetable no matter how much they offer it.

In Japan, the menu of school lunch is made by the Nutritionist.

Children and teachers eat the same one.

All children have to be on a school lunch duty in turns for a week.

They serve their lunch and clear the tables by themselves.

As I mentioned, children must not bring snack to school in Japan.

The lunch time is only the opportunity to eat in school.

Even though there is something they don't like, they get to eat it because they are hungry.

But recently, children can reduce the amount of the dishes before they start to eat.

Since my 8-year-old daughter always doesn't eat a lot, she often reduced her meal before she ate.


5. Children don't have to clean their school.

In Japan, there is a cleaning time every day and children have to clean all the classroom, hallways, entrance, school ground, and washroom.

They sweep with brooms, put the dust and garbage in the dustpan and throw it away in the dust box.

They also wipe the floors and hallways, wipe windows with a damp cloth.

In Michigan, children don't have to do it.

My children are glad, but I want them to learn how to clean.


6. Children go to school by a school bus.

My children take a school bus to school.

I think school bus is the best way for children to go to school safely.

In Japan, they walked to school carrying a heavy bag like a backpack named randoseru made of leather with a lot of textbooks and notebooks.

It was hard for the first-grade students, but it makes them stronger.


7. Teachers try to teach children with fun.

Children enjoy the local school because the class is fun.

Teachers seem to let children have more fun with learning.

They have a few homework.

The ways of teaching are quite different from each teacher.

The school seem to leave it to the teachers.

In Japan, children learn a lot of things in school.

Sometimes they don't enjoy it because it is like a training.

Teachers have to follow the curriculum guideline issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Children can learn in the similar way wherever in Japan, but teachers have a very heavy workload.

They have a lot of homework every day, reading, Kanji workbook, math workbook, and so on.


I have more other things I want to write, but I would like to wrap it up today.

Just one thing I could say, if my children are used to American school too much, they would have a hard time for them to adapt the Japanese school when we go back to Japan.

Because I think American school tend to make them have fun and Japanese schools tend to be stricter.

It is not that which school is superior, or which school is doing right.

I just would like to say that there are so many differences in both.

Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!

The differences in food between Michigan and Japan

I wrote that I was very confused about the difference of units between the US and Japan in my previous post.

Today, I would like to write about the differences of food between Michigan and Japan.

I am going to mention what I was surprised by when I went shopping, in Michigan.


1. VERY large!

Some of the supermarkets are very large!

It sometimes takes time to find what I want.

And it's like walking exercise when I am exploring in the supermarket!



2. Various kinds of products

I sometimes can't choose between products because there are too many choices.
For example, milk.

There are so many sizes and kinds.

I think if I could try some, it would be easier to choose.

When I bought a gallon of milk, it wasn't good.

I had to drink all of it even though I didn't like it.



3. Various kinds of potato

I was surprised to see a lot of kinds of potato!

I used to buy Danshaku potatos or May Queen in Japan.

I still don't know what the difference is between yellow potato, red potato, and white potato!

I was also surprised that they were very cheap!

My children love French fries, and I often buy frozen French fries.

They are very cheap, so I often put them into their lunch boxes.

They love them very much and I just heat them in the oven.

Very easy and they are happy.

This is exactly "killing two birds with one stone"!



4. Various kinds of cheese

I often bought a pack of sliced processed cheese when I was in Japan.

I was surprised to see a lot of kinds of cheese at the supermarket.

When I went to the sandwich store with my children, I didn't know how to order.

I observed how other people were ordering and found out that I should write down my order on the bag of the sandwich!

The bag was on the counter, so I took it and read what was written on it.

There were several options on it, and what I had to do was just check what I wanted.

I understood the options of bread, ham, vegetables and sauce, but I had no idea about the kinds of cheese.

I asked the staff,

"What cheese do children usually like the most?

He answered,

"American."

"American? Is that the name of the cheese?"

I thought in my mind, I didn't know about the names of cheese at all.

"OK, I'll have that."

I said to the staff.

My children asked me anxiously,

"What kind of sandwich are we going to eat? "

"I am not sure, but it would be nice!"

I answered.



5. Cabbage is very hard!

I don't know why but I feel that American cabbage is harder than the Japanese ones.

I try to simmer cabbage when I cook it.



6. Cucumber is very thick and big!

My 8-year-old daughter loved cucumber when she was in Japan.

But after we moved, she doesn't like it, very much anymore.

Because they are very thick and big!

They are not prickly.

I was taught by my mother that prickly cucumbers are very fresh.

I wonder how I will be able to know that they are fresh or not without prickles.



7. Meats are very cheap!

I was surprised that meats are very cheap!

A pack of meat is usually very big, our family couldn't eat up one pack of beef for steak.

Meats are usually sliced into thin pieces and sold in Japan.

If I want shaved meat here, I have to ask the staff to shave them or cut them by myself.

I am getting used to cutting the meat by myself little by little.



8. The colors of cake decorations are very vivid!

I was surprised to see the very big cakes at the supermarket.

But what made me more surprised was the colors.

Blue? Pink? Orange???

I have never seen such colors used for cakes in Japan.

I agree that they look colorful, fun, and cheerful.

I would like to try it someday.



9. There are few options for fish.

It might be only in Michigan, but unfortunately, I couldn't find a lot of kinds of fish here.

Most of them are salmon and tilapia.

I have never tried tilapia, but I like it very much.

The taste is like a cod.



10. Japanese food sold in Michigan is way too expensive!

When we first started living here, we often went to the Japanese supermarkets.

The prices were too expensive!

I understand it is costly to import them from Japan.

But I feel like I pay too much in unnecessary charges for them.



I enjoy finding such differences.

I will never know unless I try!

Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!

An ordinary Japanese mom in the US!

After a long interval, I have finally come back here!

Our family moved to Michigan in the US at the end of July because of my husband's job transfer.

We will be living here for about three years.

The first time we came here, we suffered from the terrible jet lag, especially my children!

My children fell asleep in the early afternoon because it was night time in Japan, and they woke up at night and stayed up all night!

Since I was able to sleep well on the flight, it was terrible that they interrupted my sleep every day.

I had to take a nap every day to compensate for the lack of sleep.

I would like to write about what differences I was surprised by between the US and Japan, after I started living here.

1. The different units of mesure

When I went shopping at the supermarket, I was confused the different units of mesure.

What is lb?

What is oz??

What is gal???

When I bought a bag of cherries, it was $3.99.

I thought it was very cheap because I believed that the price was for a bag of cherries.

But, it wasn't.

The price was per lb.

I ended up buying a bag of cherries for more than 9 dollars!

I don't understand Fahrenheit and mile well, either

They are still confusing to me.

2. The differences in traffic rules

I already passed the American driver's license test, but I was very scared of driving when I started practicing driving.

Because cars drive on the left side in Japan, but it's totally opposite in the US.

I often opened the right side door by mistake to sit on the driver's seat because the driver seat is usually on the right side of a Japanese car.

I often turned on the wiper by mistake when I wanted to turn on the blinkers because their places were totally opposite from Japanese one.

I was always saying "keep right, keep right!" while driving.

I was surprised that we still can turn right even the traffic light is red, if there is no car in the way.

We must wait until traffic lights turn to green in Japan.

I like this rule, it's very efficient.

I also like that highways are free!

But I was surprised and scared that cars drive so fast!

The speed limit on the highway in Michigan is faster than the Japanese one.

3. The days are longer

In summer, the sun sets around 9pm in Michigan.

It's about 7pm in Japan.

My children assumed that they could stay up late during summer.

I understood their feelings, it was too bright to go to bed at 9pm in summer.

But at a result, they couldn't wake up in the morning until after 9am.

I don't think it is a good for them.

4. Various diverse groups of peole

Needless to say, the majority of people living in Japan are Japanese.

Of course, some people are from other countries, but they are still very few, especially in rural areas.

Various kinds of people are living around here.

I realized that the US is a multicultural and ethnically diverse country.

People who live here are used to people who are from other countries.

They never seem to think that I may not be able to speak English.

They talk to me very fast and cheerfully.

Such kinds of small talk don't happen so often in Japan.

I can speak English, but it is often hard for me to catch what they say because they speak too fast.

I would like to improve my English more during our stay.

I would like to write more about the differences, but it would be too long to read.

I will write more about this over time.

Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!

Family trip to Mt. Fuji

My family went on a trip to Nagano prefecture and Mt. Fuji from July 30th to August 2nd.

The weather forecast said that we would have a thunderstorm during our trip.

But fortunately, it didn't rain during our sightseeing.

If you are planning a trip to Mt. Fuji, I would like to recommend to you two splendid onsen ryokans (Japanese style hotels with hot springs).


The first hotel is Hotel Kaneyamaen.

It is located near Lake Yamanaka and we stayed overnight there on the second day.

You can experience a lot of Japanese traditional beauties there.

For example, it has a beautiful Japanese garden.

You can take a walk for a while.

You can experience the atmosphere as if you were walking in the traditional garden in Kyoto.

You can also experience Japanese style "Omotenashi" (hospitality).

They serve us Matcha (Japanese green tea) and Japanese sweets at the tea room.

You can find free fresh vegetables at the Japanese garden.

These are fresh cucumbers and carrots.

They were delicious!

We also enjoyed watching the impressive Taiko drum stage show.

Of course, you can enjoy three hot springs there.

You can see Mt. Fuji from two open air hot springs.

They served splendid Japanese cuisine.

We really enjoyed staying there very much.



The second hotel is Kozantei Ubuya.

It is located by the lakeside of Lake Kawaguchi.

You will be able to see the beautiful Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi from the guest room.

It was cloudy, but fortunately, we were able to see the beautiful Mt.Fuji and fantastic sea of clouds for a while.

I had a amazing time looking at the beautiful views from the guest room.

The foods and hot springs were also superb.

The staff of both hotels were sensible, well trained, and kind to the guests.

I guarantee that you will be able to enjoy staying there!


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The 9th Wedding Anniversary

Last Friday was our 9th wedding anniversary, but we completely forgot about it.

We made dinner together for our celebration.

The steamed rice with bamboo shoots which I made was terrific!

The steamed mussels cooked with butter and white wine which my husband was fantastic!

It was a souvenir from Spain from my husband's boss.

When I ate it, I felt like traveling to Spain!

I was really happy having a wonderful dinner with my family.

About the Kumamoto Earthquake.

Fortunately, I called my parents in law who live in Kyushu and confirmed that they were OK.

My heart aches for the earthquake victims suffering and fear.

I really hesitated whether I would write my daily events in such a serious situation.

Big earthquakes have occurred frequently.

They must be scared and at a loss.

I read a news article that the stricken area is in a chaotic state.

People can't find information where they can recieve relief supplies.

I wonder what I can do for them.

Tomorrow it might be me.

I am really scared.

I only hope that the damage from aftershocks will not make things worse.


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Earthquake Early Warning

When it was about 11:42am yesterday, I was at our office.

Suddenly, a noisy warning alarm started going off from our company's iPad and our staff's smartphone.

Our customer and our staff including me were surprised at the sound.

I checked the iPad, I found the Earthquake Early Warning message and it said that the earthquake of Japanese intensity scale of 5 will occur around our city 44 seconds after now.

(The Earthquake early warnings is issued to the genera public as soon as possible by Japan Meteorological Agency through TV, radio, smartphone, cellphone, and so on when an earthquake of Japan seismic scale 5-lower or higher is expected.)

I was panicked, but I tried to keep calm and said to our customer and our colleague:

"The earthquake early warning, the earthquake of Japanese intensity scale of 5 will occur around our city 44 seconds after now. Please be careful!"

Fortunately, it was the earthquake of Japanese intensity scale of 2 and we hardly felt the earthquake.

 I regretted that I should have told them to hide under the desk later.

As a result, all of us were safe.

But it is said that Nankai megathrust earthquakes probability  with a magnitude of 8-9 within 30 years is 60-70%.

I told my colleague:

"It was very scary.I strongly hope that this earthquake is NOT the warning sign of the Nankai trough major earthquake."

"You are right. I thought I have to prepare water and emergency supplies."

She said.

"You read my idea!"

I told her and we laughed each other.

Actually it will be no laughing matter.

My 7-year-old son told me:

"It is easy! We should move somewhere before the earthquake will occur."

"No way! As long as we live in Japan, we can't escape from the earthquake."

I told him.

We need to take measures against the earthquake as soon as possible.

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5 years on from the Great East Japan Earthquake

2011.3.11, 14:46.

5 years ago, my 2-year-old son was taking a nap in the bedroom, and I was swaying from side to side slowly giving my 9-month-old daughter a piggyback to let her take a nap.

Suddenly the phone rang.

"Oh no! She was about to sleep. Who is calling at a time like this?"

It was the most important for me to let my children take a nap to get free time when my children were still babies.

"Hello?"

I answered the call.

"Hello. Oh, are you OK?"

It was from my mother in law.

"Oh, mother. Hi. What do you mean? What happened?"

"I have watched the new on TV just now, and it said that a very big earthquake occurred."

"Really? When and where? I didn't know about it at all. Wait a minute, I am going to turn on the TV."

I turned on the TV and watched NHK news.

"What's that...?"

I will never forget the scene which I watched.

A lot of houses, cars, everything was being washed away by Tsunami.

What an unbelievable disaster!

I worried where the people who lived in those houses were.

I told my mother in law that we were safe and I hung up the phone.

It was the Japanese intensity scale of 3 around here, but I didn't notice the quake because I was swaying from side to side with my daughter.

The maximum was Japanese intensity scale of 7 in Miyagi prefecture, and the magnitude was 9.0.

When I watched the Hydrogen explosion of the Fukushima first Nuclear Power Plant on TV news on March 12, I thought that I wonder what on earth would happen now.

Huge number of victims are still now living under serious situation.

After 5 years.

Are Nuclear power plants really safe?

What can we do for the victims?

I really hope they will be able to get back to normal as soon as possible.

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Improvement

A man who is a supervisor at a gas fitting work site came to our house to inform us that the gas fitting work in front of our house will be scheduled from 9am to 5pm yesterday morning.

When we went out by the car, a digger was digging up the road in front of our house.

I wondered whether we were able to drive though there by car, I asked the man I talked to earlier:

"Excuse me, but we would like to get the car out of our house."

"Oh, sure! Please wait a minute."

He smiled at us and gave directions to the driver of the digger.

The digger was moved by the driver, and the man guided us out of our parking space.

We felt sorry for them because they would have to move their vehicle whenever we go out by car.

So we decided to go where we were scheduled to go yesterday in one go.

This meant, they would be required one movement of their vehilcle once.


We came home in the afternoon.

"Welcome back!"

One of them who was tall and wore a helmet smiled at my daughter waving his hand.

She also waved her hand to him.

I told my children:

"Look! You can see a gas pipe. We rarely have such an opportunity. The gas which is used when you turn on the gas stove and I cook with comes to our house through them. I am surprised that the gas pipe is in such a deep place! Maybe it is at the depth you could be buried."

"Wow! How deep! They are yellow!"

They looked into the big hole in front of our house.

One of the gas plumbers told my husband:

"The material of gas pipes have been changed from iron to polyethylene. If a big earthquake occurs, an iron pipe would break easily but a polyethylene gas pipe would be able to endure it because it can bend."

 "Really? I didn't know that."

We waved our hands to them and entered our house.

I was impressed to hear this.

Earthquakes often occur here in Japan and Japanese people have suffered from serious damages.

But they learned from the many severe experiences and they tried to improve many things to prevent damages.

This is one way to live in this country which is often suffered from natural disasters.

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Manners which tourists should observe

I saw a thought-provoking news report on NHK morning news yesterday morning.

It was a news report to explaining that local residents are confused by unexpected effects associated with the starting of operation of Hokuriku Shinkansen(bullet train).

It has been 10 months since the Hokuriku Shinkansen opened for business.
A lot of tourist have visited sightseeing spots in Ishikawa prefecture.

But one of the sightseeing spots called Omicho market is annoyed with unexpected effects due to an increase of tourist.

The local residents were disgruntled that they can't take their time to look for something in the market because too many tourists go there and pose in front of stores to take photos.

Some of the foreign tourists grabbed a big crab for sale and took the photo in front of a store though the tourists didn't buy them.

One of the shopkeepers said in the news:

"We display the notice "NO PHOTOGRAPHY", but the situation has not improved yet."


I thought this is a serious problem.

I think it is good for them to increase tourist numbers, but because of the tourists who don't have good manners, residents are unsure how to react.

Previously my family and I went to the market near our house, I was about to take a photo of the fish department.

Then my 7-year-old son told me:

"Mom! Don't take a photo here. Look! There is a notice on the wall."

I looked at the wall, there was a notice which said "NO PHOTOGRAPHY".

"Oh, I didn't notice it. Thank you!"

I felt embarresed.

Since people have not only cameras but also smartphones nowadays, they often take photos more than before and they want to upload them to their SNS.

I understand their feelings, because I have tried to take photos as a tourist, too.

But I think we should observe manners when we take photos.

It was really thought-provoking news for me.

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Furoshiki of December

I wrote that I display Furoshiki at the entrance of my house in my previous post.

( My past post : http://a-o-j-m.blogspot.jp/2015/02/furoshiki-of-february.html )

Furoshiki is a traditional square cloth and it is usually used to wrap something to carry them.

I have twelve Furoshiki drawn with the nice pictures which we can feel the change of the seasons and I replace them once a month.

But I haven't replaced this months Furoshiki even though I had thought that I should have done.

I will need to replace it only 3 days later!

 

 

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