Monthly Archives: November 2011

Opel Astra

People in Japan thought Opel is not worth buying. It is not cheap, but not gorgeous, and less reliable: Opel is not sold in Japan any more. Smart’s governmental every-2-year inspection day is getting close. Yesterday, I brought Smart to Yanase, Kofu. They let me use Opel Astra.    I think it is not a bad car. The size is as big as Smart, and runs well. Katya says it is boring; she likes Smart better, except for Astra’s heater, lights, and suspension. We will use it till the day after tomorrow.

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Pandas

Today is Tuesday, a Tennis-lesson day. Katya picked me up at the institute. We played tennis from 7:30 to 9 PM. After dinner, I checked pandas in the aquarium. They are fine. I like their movements.

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Fish arrived

In the morning, we visited our friends in Shimosuwa and came back to Kofu. In the afternoon, I started working. While I was out, Katya went to a fish shop finally to buy fish; she is so careful in constructing a new environment in the aquarium. First she put soils in the bottom with water and made the water circulated for a couple of days.  She next planted weeds and waited for another couple of days. Then she put three water snails. After a few more days of waiting, Katya put eight small fish: five neon tetras and three panda corydoras. Pandas are already active and crawling on the ground. … Continue reading

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Shimosuwa Stay

Today is Sunday. Katya and I are free tomorrow morning, so all of us drove to my parents’ to stay one night. We arrived at my parents’ at 8:30 PM. We chatted with Mom and Dad over tea. Then we spread futons in the guest room. Shimosuwa in Nagano prefecture is cooler than Kofu. They have a gas stove in the guest room. Maya-san likes warmness, or even hotness. She kept herself in front of the stove, facing to it. She looked calm and happy. I had a slight cold, so Mom baked garlic bulbs for me. I took a long bath to warm myself up.

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A new shelf made

After a pizza dinner, I started making a new small shelf that had arrived this evening. We will use it to put a new, second tank on; Katya is planning to use this tank for a sea-water aquarium after the first, water aquarium is finished. The shelf is small, but well designed as a piece of puzzle. It took me two hours to make it up, so I did not go out for an evening walk with Maya-san. We will install this shelf on the corner tomorrow.  

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Taiwanese restaurant, Shofukuryu

This evening, we tried with a new Taiwanese restaurant. Katya picked me up at the institute and drove there. We had not been to a Taiwanese restaurant, so we were looking forward to the dinner. We checked the menu. To our sorrow, we were not able to find some new dishes inside. The restaurant may be probably owned by a Taiwanese family, but they might not cook genuine Taiwanese. Anyway, the food itself was not bad.       We simply expected something unique, but was not so. The taste was OK, but most likely we would not visit it again.

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Maya-san waits for us

I arrived home at a quarter past eight as usual.  Maya-san gave a glance at me. I was having dinner alone, because Katya works on Thursday nights.  Maya-san came by me to have some share from me. Maya-san got closer to the door as she listened to the sound of a car. She waited for Katya to come in. As soon as she met Katya, Maya-san became so excited,  jumped at Katya, and kissed her on the cheeks vigorously (it hurts us). It is interesting that when one of us, Katya or I, come back home, Maya-san is calm. When the second one comes back and the three of us … Continue reading

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Shopping on Labor Thanksgiving Day

It was a national holiday today. In the morning, we had coffee we bought at Coffee Tonya. I grounded the beans. I had the beans roasted in the Italian manner, by mistake, instead of French, so the coffee was stronger than we normally have. But the beans were good and coffee was tasty with milk. Katya and I went out shopping without Maya-san, who hopefully enjoyed a nap. First we went to Sports DEPO.    We asked to change the strings of our rackets. Then we walked to a 100-yen shop, Daiso. Katya bought some goods for magic tricks to show at her English lessons to kids. Then we drove … Continue reading

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Tennis together on Tuesday evening

I hurried up and finished my work at 7 PM today. Katya came to the institute, picked me up, and drove to Midorigaoka Sports Park, where we joined a tennis lesson together this time. All six night courts were occupied by tennis lovers. There were four pupils today. We were able to take time to learn slowly. Katya says that she likes this Tuesday class. Not only she likes it, she seems to be learning tennis the most in this class than in other classes. Her skills much improved. Anyway, it is good to move our bodies even once a week.

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Gem Monument in Kofu Station

In the afternoon, I went to Tokyo for a project meeting. I arrived at Kofu station at 7:30 PM. When I was about to be out from the station, I saw the Gem Monument as usual; Kofu used to produce lots of gems. There still are many factories to make jewels in Kofu. By the monument, gem products are shown in a big window case. A woman came and activated the monument by putting a key on the stand. Somehow, you can buy keys to activate this monument.  I saw the monument move for the first time.

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