Ski Ropeway/ Gondola

Frosty Trees

Urasa Ski Resort

Urasa Ski Resort

View from the top of Urasa Ski Resort

IUJ Research Institute

Sunny Day in Winter

Full Moon

Grilled Orange

Ever eaten grilled orange? This guy is grilling orange.... I wonder how it tastes!

Guardian Angel

Grill Cuttlefish

Japanese Zither - Koto

The koto is a Japanese zither, that descended from the Chinese zheng, but over the years took on its own distinct characteristics. Made from Palownia wood, the koto is approximately two metres 6 feet in length, with thirteen strings originally made of silk but now made of plastic. Traditionally, the koto was played seated on the floor with the end of the koto either resting in the players lap or on a small stand in front of them. It is played with three ivory picks placed on the right thumb and the first two fingers.

There are a number of schools of koto in Japan each with their own individual methods of playing, string types, shapes of picks, etc. Perhaps the most exciting is the Sawai style founded by Tadao Sawai and now led by his wife Kazue Sawai. The Sawai style takes the koto out of the quiet sedate world of Japanese traditional music and flings it well into the contemporary world.

Kazue Sawai's teacher Michiyo Miyagi changed the world of koto by inventing a 17 string bass koto as part of his koto large ensembles to mimic the western orchestra. Now there are a wide variety of koto, including a 20 string, 21 string, 23 string and a 30 string. The latter is a very powerful instrument although very heavy and hard to travel with. The world of koto continues the change with solid body electric koto and even digital koto.

(source: http://www.asza.com/ikoto.shtml)

Sainokami Festival

The "Sainokami" festival is held in Tookamachi city - about 20 mins drive from IUJ. This is a very interesting and traditional festival that is designated as a cultural asset."Sainokami" is said to be a god that is protecting the community against the devil and also protecting the babies from the disease.

Koto

The koto is a Japanese zither, that descended from the Chinese zheng, but over the years took on its own distinct characteristics. Made from Palownia wood, the koto is approximately two metres 6 feet in length, with thirteen strings originally made of silk but now made of plastic. Traditionally, the koto was played seated on the floor with the end of the koto either resting in the players lap or on a small stand in front of them. It is played with three ivory picks placed on the right thumb and the first two fingers.

There are a number of schools of koto in Japan each with their own individual methods of playing, string types, shapes of picks, etc. Perhaps the most exciting is the Sawai style founded by Tadao Sawai and now led by his wife Kazue Sawai. The Sawai style takes the koto out of the quiet sedate world of Japanese traditional music and flings it well into the contemporary world.

Kazue Sawai's teacher Michiyo Miyagi changed the world of koto by inventing a 17 string bass koto as part of his koto large ensembles to mimic the western orchestra. Now there are a wide variety of koto, including a 20 string, 21 string, 23 string and a 30 string. The latter is a very powerful instrument although very heavy and hard to travel with. The world of koto continues the change with solid body electric koto and even digital koto.

(source: http://www.asza.com/ikoto.shtml)

Ski/ Snowboards Rental

Blue Tree

Hotel Green Plaza Joetsu

3 x 3 = 9

Lovely Tree

Fairy Dreamland

I wish I had a house like this in future. I like this very much. It is like a fairy dreamland.

Night Ski

Do you like Night Ski? I personally find it is more interesting and less crowded. The above picture was taken at Joetsu Kokusai Ski Resort.

Ski Gondola

Joetsu Kokusai Ski Resort

Check this out to know more about this place:
http://www.snowjapan.com/e/spotlight/joetsu-1.html

Car covered with snow

Railway with snow

Ski Boots

Do you like playing ski?

White Scenery

Insect on ice

Won't they freeze? Won't they need a blanket or winter jacket? I wonder how this small insect survive in a weather of almost zero celcius... They must have some kind of built-in heater somewhere in their body. If God has crafted and created animal in such a wonderful way, what will He do to human being? He will spend more time and energy in creating human beings, because.... He loves us.

Burn away bad luck

This is how the Japanese burn away their bad luck from current year.

Praying in Bishamon Temple

Many Japanese go to temple (Jinja) during New Year's eve for three purposes:
1. To throw away all the bad luck from the current yet
2. To receive a new divine luck for the new year
3. To make a wish for the upcoming year

Winter Sunset