佐賀の英語教室Happy Balloons

Today is the last day of the so-called Golden Week, this year from April 29 to May 8 with four national holidays and two weekends. During the Golden Week, I went to Yoshinogari Ruins, an archaeological site in Saga Prefecture. It is now a national park which showcases how people dwelled in the Yayoi period, about 300 B.C. to 300 A.D. For more information visit  the official site . I climbed one of the watchtowers, overlooking other buildings and surrounding fields. It was so sunny and hot that I felt comfortable with cool winds at the top. I expected crowds but the park was large enough where visitors kept social distancing.  On May 3, Constitution Memorial Day, and May 4, Green Day,  visitors could enter the park free of charge. So, I didn't have to pay for parking either. On that day, there were some performances on the stage, including gospel singing. Also, various food stalls were there, selling takoyaki, chicken kebab sandwiches, curry and rice, steamed dumplings and...

I went to Nara Prefecture last week for sakura cherry blossom viewing. Although it was a bit early, I enjoyed seeing cherry blossoms which are just starting to bloom. One of the highlights of cherry blossom viewing in Nara is visiting World Heritage sites while enjoying the sight of cherry blossoms. Here are some pictures showing Horyu-ji Temple, a World Heritage site. I also visited Yoshino, another World Heritage site which is famous for cherry blossoms. This mountainous area is a place where  Shugendo religion is practiced. It mainly consists of ancient Japanese mountain worship and Buddhism. It looks too small to see in the picture above but in the middle is a Buddhist pagoda and a cherry tree in bloom. There are cherry trees ready to bloom on the mountain surface. If you are planning to go to Yoshino by train, Kintestu Line is convenient. From Kintetsu Nara Station, I changed trains twice; first at Yamato Saidai-ji and second at Kashihara Jingu Mae...

The gate of the Museum In addition to watching  Bunraku , there was one more thing I wanted to do in Osaka: to visit 司馬遼太郎記念館, Shiba Ryotaro Memorial Museum, in Higashi Osaka City. 司馬遼太郎, Shiba Ryotaro, (1923-1996) was a historical fiction writer who dealt with various themes not only about Japan but also Asia such as samurais maneuvering to gain power, Meiji Restoration, Russo-Japanese War and the establishment of Han Dynasty of China. His works are so popular that his historical view has influenced many Japanese. For this reason, he was sometimes criticized that he only wrote the bright side of history. Throughout his works, he had tried to discover what a human being is, focusing mainly on Japanese people. His experience as a solder in WWⅡ had him rethink about his people and country. He had to join the army when he was a university student. He was a tanker stationed at Tochigi Prefecture in preparation for America's attack on the mainland Japan. He asked his boss w...

Program poster at the Theater An earthquake with an intensity of six lower hit Osaka this morning around 8 am. I hope the damages won't be great. Let's be kind to each other to stay positive. Do you know Bunraku ? Bunraku is a Japanese traditional puppet play designated as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2003. Last week, I went to the National Bunraku Theater in Osaka to see an event for adult Bunraku beginners. In the first part, a rakugo story teller, Katsura Kaishi, led guests to explore basics: narrative, shamisen music, puppets and puppeteers. The latter part was a play  絵本太功記 尼崎の段 夕顔棚の段  (Ehon-taikoki  Amagasaki-no-dan & Yugaodana-no-dan). This play was first performed in 1799. It was a story about a samurai who killed his lord. He was strongly blamed by his mother who hoped to lighten his son's sin. The samurai had a son who was severely injured in the battle where he tried to help his father. The samurai finally accepted t...

Whenever I buy cakes, I always go to テテ（TeTe）, a cake shop in  Kono, Saga City. Their cakes are beautifully decorated and irresistibly tasty. The pastry chef trained in Spain and its official name Pasteleria TeTe is Spanish. They offer roll cakes, macarons etc. but what I love most is shortcakes. Last week, I bought cakes there. They prepared them in a box this way (see the below). Paper rings were taped on the box to prevent the cakes from moving. The clerk asked how long it took to bring them home and put an ice pack in the box accordingly. Left: モンブラン（Mont Blanc Cake), chestnut cream cake, 400 yen Middle: グロシージャ（ Guroshija) , black currant & chocolate cream cake, 360 yen Right: 利休 （Rikyuu) , maccha green tea cream cake, 360 yen The 8% consumption tax is added at the cashier. The cakes were not too sweet and the chef made the most of each ingredient. The shop is on the first floor of an apart...

                                                                                        Torii Gate, Ise Shrine Happy New Year 2018 ! I hope you all have enjoyed the new year holidays. For many Japanese, the new year day is to pray for good luck at shrines.               A bit early but last week, I went to Kifune Shrine in Kyoto and Ise Shrine in Mie prefectures. They are very famous, enshrining the god of water and the goddess of the sun respectively. Shrines ...

It is the time for balloons! Saga International Balloon Fiesta 2017 will be held in Saga City from this Wednesday, November 1 for five days. I believe many are looking forward to beautiful hot air balloons in the sky but if you would like to enjoy a bit more of Saga's local charm, Karatsu Kunchi Festival in Karatsu City from Thursday, November 2 to Saturday, November 4 can be your choice. It is a festival of the Karatsu Shrine which started in the 17th century. In the festival 14 floats decorated with samurai armor, lions and fish etc. go around the city. All the floats gather at Otabisho  on West Beach on November 3 as its climax. Karatsu City is not so far from Saga City and can go by train easily. Though trains will be crowded, I strongly recommend using trains because they are fast without traffic jams. Here is my suggested itinerary on N...

Enjoying Japanese food is one of the highlights of visiting Japan, isn't it? Nakamura（那かむら）in the Yume Town Saga shopping mall is perfect for those who want to enjoy tempura reasonably. To make customers enjoy crunchy tempura, the restaurant serves each tempura every time it is deep fried. Menus are written in both English and Japanese. I recommend Variety Set B, 896 yen tax included. While waiting for tempura, customers can pick pickled radish and Japanese apricot flavored  enoki mushroom from containers on the table. Rice, sauce, miso soup, tea and a rectangle plate are on the tray. On the plate, there are pink rock salt, lemon flavored salt to eat with tempuras, along with grated radish and ginger to put into the sauce. Chopsticks are in a wooden box on the table. Free refills on rice. Dipping tempura in the sauce is a common way to eat but with salt is also delicious....