IUJ Walkway

This is inside the IUJ campus, on the walkway to the main building

It's Winter!

Winter Tunnel

This is the temporary tunnel built during the winter time in IUJ. In summer, spring and autumun, this is just a normal walkway from one building to another building, In winter, temporary wooden walls are built to protect the walkway from being swamped by heavy snow. In winter, approx 2 meters of snow will normally cover the entire tunnel. So, you are actually walking in a tunnel with your left and right being filled with snow. Thanks to the wooden wall. If not, we will all be buried live!

Sam the Snowman

Ferry Ride in Okutadami Lake

Grilled Rice Cake

Piping

Inside the Okutadami Dam

Tunnel Inside the Dam

Turbine Sample in Okutadami Dam

Okutadami Dam Mascot

Okutadami Dam

This dam has the largest water storage capacity in Japan. The area around the dam, the largest man-made lake in the Orient, is nature's playground, pleasing visitors with residual snow, fresh verdure and crimson foliage in their respective seasons, as well as hiking and fishing.

Niigata Bust Pudding

Japanese Pet Dog

Kawaii! I spotted this dog at the Hakkai-san jinja. Very cute!

Aging Population

Japan is one of the fastest ageing countries in the world, in 1950 there were 9.3 people under 20 for every person over 65. By 2025 this ratio is forecast to be 0.59 people under 20 for every person older than 65. Population ageing is constituted by a shift in the distribution of a country's population towards greater ages. Thus an increase in the population's mean or median age, a decline in the fraction of the population composed of children, or a rise in the fraction of the population that is elderly are all aspects of population ageing.

(source: Wikipedia)

T-UP

T-UP is a nationwide agent and distributor of Toyota cars. Find out more details from its website here.

2nd Street

This is the shop selling second-hand goods in Nagaoka. It ranges from electrical appliances, winter apparels to furniture.

I bought one leather winter jacket for 900 yen. The items there are really cheap! But, you have to inspect the items very carefully. You can expect the items to be 100% perfect. Anyway, with that kind of price, I will still think it is worth it, even though it is not 100% perfect.

For more details, click here.

HARD OFF

I like the way they named the shops: BOOK-OFF, HOBBY-OFF, GARAGE-OFF,

Check out for more details here.

Mister Donut

KFC PIZZA HUT in Japan

Locker

Locker is everywhere in Japan: train stations, shopping malls, public places. It is very common in Japan. It is quite useful for travellers/ backpackers, since you can put your luggage in a safe locker while you go for shopping or grabbing some snacks. Normal rate is 300-500 yen per day depending on the location.

UNIQLO

UNIQLO Co., Ltd. (株式会社ユニクロ, Kabushiki-gaisha yunikuro?) is a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer.

Originally a division of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., on November 1, 2005, UNIQLO Co., Ltd. was born of corporate restructuring, and now exists as a 100% consolidated subsidiary of Fast Retailing, which is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

UNIQLO is Japan’s leading clothing retail chain in terms of both sales and profits. The company also operates in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Visit UNIQLO's website here.

(source: Wikipedia)

Riverside Senshu Mall @ Nagaoka

Teradomari Fish Market

Teradomari Fish Market

This place is like Tsukiji fish market in Central Tokyo. They sell fresh seafood and also grilled-on-the-spot seafood with affordable price.

Sashimi

Sashimi (IPA: /'saɕimi/ Japanese: 刺身) is a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of very fresh raw seafood, sliced into thin pieces about 2.5cm (1.0in.) wide by 4.0cm (1.5in.) long by 0.5 cm (0.25in.) thick, but dimensions vary depending on the type of item and chef, and served with only a dipping sauce (soy sauce with wasabi paste and thinly-sliced ginger root or gari, and ponzu), and a simple garnish such as shiso and shredded daikon radish.

The word sashimi means "pierced body", i.e. "刺身 = sashimi = 刺し = sashi (pierced, stuck) and 身 = mi (body, meat), may derive from the culinary practice of sticking the fish's tail and fin to the slices in identifying the fish being eaten.

One possibility of the name "pierced body" could come from the traditional method of harvesting. 'Sashimi Grade' fish is caught by individual handline, and as soon as the fish is landed, its brain is pierced with a sharp spike, killing it instantly, then placed in slurried ice. This spiking is called the Ike jime process. Because the flesh thus contains minimal lactic acid from the fish dying slowly, it will keep fresh on ice for about 10 days without turning white, or otherwise degrading.[citation needed]

The word sashimi has been integrated to the English language and is often used to refer to other uncooked fish preparations besides the traditional Japanese dish subject of this article.

(source: Wikipedia)

Grilled Seafood

You can eat the grilled seafood here on the spot. Oishii ne!

Another Children's Kimono

Japanese Rickshaw - Jinrikisha

Rickshaws (or rickshas) are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons. The word rickshaw came from Asia where they were mainly used as means of transportation for the social elite. However, in more recent times rickshaws have been outlawed in many countries in Asia due to numerous accidents.

Runner pulled rickshaws have mainly been replaced in Asia by bicycle rickshaws. They are also common in Western cities like New York City. In London they are known as pedicabs. The term "rickshaw" is today commonly used for those vehicles as well, but this article deals exclusively with runner-pulled rickshaws.

The word "rickshaw" originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha (人力車, 人 jin = human, 力 riki = power or force, 車 sha = vehicle), which literally means "human-powered vehicle".

(source: Wikipedia)

A Child's Kimono

Kimono for children are shaped and styled much like those for adults, but are almost always in bright patterns and prints. Children typically wear fancy kimono for special festivals and visits to local shrines on holidays.

For example, "7-5-3 Day" is on November 15 each year. Boys who are 3 or 5 and girls who are 3 or 7 dress up in kimonos to go the temples to pray.

There is also a special day for all girls and all boys to go the temple. March 3 is Girls' day and May 5 is Boys' day.

(source: http://web.mit.edu/jpnet/kimono/kimono-child.html)

Japanese Pet Dog

Japanese likes to raise pet dog. I often saw Japanese bringing their dogs for walking in the park. Do you also like pet dog?

FYI, I was born in the year of "Dog". In which year were you born? Look here for the characteristics of people born in the year of Dog.