Saturday, January 31, 2009

Friday, January 30, 2009

Frosty Trees


Thursday, January 29, 2009

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Urasa Ski Resort


Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Monday, January 26, 2009

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Full Moon


Friday, January 23, 2009

Grilled Orange



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

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Guardian Angel


Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Grill Cuttlefish


Tuesday, January 20, 2009

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 Made from Palownia wood, the koto is approximately two metres 6 feet in length, with thirteen strings originally made of silk but now made of plastic.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)

Monday, January 19, 2009

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.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

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)

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Friday, January 16, 2009

Blue Tree


Thursday, January 15, 2009

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

3 x 3 = 9


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Lovely Tree




Monday, January 12, 2009

Fairy Dreamland



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

Sunday, January 11, 2009

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.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Ski Gondola


Friday, January 9, 2009

Joetsu Kokusai Ski Resort



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

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Railway with snow

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Ski Boots



Do you like playing ski?

Monday, January 5, 2009

White Scenery

Sunday, January 4, 2009

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.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Burn away bad luck



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

Friday, January 2, 2009

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

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Winter Sunset