Wii Will Rock You!

Hi!
The weather in Japan is nice, for now! We might have a storm later.
I have finally got myself a Nintendo Wii! I had no problem getting it. We thought a lot of people would line up, so I went to the store an hour and a half before opening! But, there was nobody there! I thought I was just early so I waited and started to read a book. But nobody came! Later my Mom came to help me get the stuff. But, even when the store opened, nobody was interested with the Wii! So I was very lucky. We were at the same store yesterday, and some of the Wii were still there!
Well, some people might not know what the Wii will do, so I will simply explain. You use this remote (on the upper right hand corner) , or controller, to move yourself on the screen. And when you swing the "wiimote", as you were playing a real sport, it will detect your movement and you can hit or throw a ball! I have a game called "Wii sports". It has 5 sports games in it, and all of it is great! But, the Wii is not just a simple game player, you can browse the Internet, you can check the weather around the world ( some thing like "Google Earth" ), and lots more! So you can say that it is a cheap computer! You can also send e-mails with it. It's very cool.
That's all for today!
See ya!

Hi guy's!

Hi!
Long time no see! The weather is nasty today. It was beautiful for the three days.

We went to Tokyo again to watch sumo and also spend the night there. On the second day, my Dad bought two books for me. The books are the "Pirates of the Caribbean", 1 and 2. We didn't buy the 3rd one because I wanted to see the movie first. The books were just like the movie. Once you start to read it, you can't stop! So, I already read both of them! I'm looking forward to watching the third movie.
On Saturday, at our local tec shop, if I'm lucky, I might get a Nintendo Wii! If I'm lucky, I hope I am...
That's all for today!
See Ya!

Baseball Season AGAIN!

Hi!
It's a nice day! You can see the beautiful blue sky!
My Dad is now watching a Boston "Red Sox" vs Seattle "Mariners" game. On Japanese television, they are talking about, the new Japanese pitcher for the, Red Sox "Daisuke Matsuzaka", and "Ichiro Suzuki" from the Mariners, competing. It looks like Ichiro had a bad day on that, but still the Mariners are winning.
Yes, baseball season is here...(*sigh). I like playing baseball but, I'm not that intrested in watching a game. But, if I could go to the game, that would be great.
Today I have 'tai-chi' and my teacher gave me a Chinese sword to use. No, it's not a real sword, it's made out of bamboo and painted and decorated so it will look like it's real. Bringing it to the place and bringing back home is a little hard.
That's all for today!
See Ya!

Back From Tokyo!

Hi!
It's partly cloudy today but, it's not too cold or not too hot.
The trip to Tokyo was great! We went to Yasukuni Shrine to see the cherry blossoms, and they were beautiful, really BEAUTIFUL! There were alot of people there too; since it was still spring vacation. And the cherry blossoms were falling like snow, and the paths were like pink carpets! Wow.
After that we went to see a movie called "HAPPY FEET". Wow, good thing I saw it in the theater! The graphics were great! I heard that there is a 3D version of the movie. That would be perfect! I should stop talking about it before I start to spoil the movie for you! But, one thing that I want to say is that, if you can, watch it at a theater!
Home schooling started today! Yes, my second year has started! Since I didn't have any problems on year1. Hope I have a wonderful year again.

That's all for today!
See Ya!

Flower Problem!

Hi!
It's raining a little bit today, but it's starting to get warm.
My Mom and Dad were talking about what daffodils are and what jonquils are. We checked on the Internet, and the result was that there are three names for daffodils, and a extra name from West Virginia called "Easter lilies"! Here is the text we saw:

What exactly is the difference between a daffodil(on the left), a narcissus, and a jonquil(on th right)? The simple answer is nothing, or "it depends". All three terms are used as common names in many cases and used incorrectly. Narcissus is technically the only correct scientific name identifying the genus of this group of plants. It is not a common name, though some use it as such. Daffodil is typically used as a collective name for all these plants, but is more often used to describe the larger flowered types. Jonquil is a name sometimes used for this group as well, but actually only applies to a very small subgroup, Narcissus jonquilla and related hybrids, which typically have several small, fragrant flowers on each stem with flat petals. The foliage is very narrow and reed-like, according to the American Daffodil Society.

American Daffodil Society !? Wow!
They say that daffodil bulbs would not be eaten by squirrels and other bulb eating critters.
Hopefully, we are going to Tokyo tomorow. We are going to see some cherry blossoms at the National Shrine of the War Dead, or the "Yasukuni" shrine. The cherry blossoms are beautiful there. Hope it will be a nice day!
That's all for today!
6 more days until my spring vacation is over...ha.
See Ya!

I'm Back

Hi!
It's been a looooong time since I blogged! I was busy making games. Yes, Games!
The picture in the upper right hand corner is the game screen. I used a tutorial to learn the basics for making a game. I named it 'flee! 2' since the game in the tutorialwas called 'Flee!'. The rule is easy, you just move your Player, that can be moved using the mouse, and try not to get hit by the spiders. The score is recorded by how long you survive, and if the score is higher than the 'Highscore' it will rewrite the
highscore. But, once you closed the game, the highscore will change back to 0!!
I like to put this game on the blog but I don't know how. If you want to have this game
on your computer, send me a e-mail and I will try to send it. (Click the 'View my complete profile' link and click the e-mail link on the upper left hand corner to send.)
It's very warm here! My Mom is at work and Dad is sleeping in the other room.
And after this we are going out for a walk. My Dad is on a diet AGAIN.
That's all for today!
I will try to blog more often!
See Ya!

Trip to Yokohama!

Hi, and HAPPY NEW YEAR !
My winter vacation finished and I'm back on home schooling.
On my winter vacation, we went to Yokohama to visit our friend that moved there. It was a little rainy that day, but we mostly traveled by train and by ferry. The ferry ride was great! It was smooth, and there were some small stores inside too! It wasn't crowded at all, it was perfect! But, since that day was a little rainy we couldn't see much outside.
We met our friend at the station, and he took us to his house. We notice that the people near Yokohama walk fast! Well, the 1st day we went to a big shoping place called 'Costco'. They had everything! Big and great pizza there too! We got some spices and cake there. The 2nd day we went to Yokohama city. We got on the 'Sea Bus', a boat that carries only people and runs through Tokyo bay, and went to a big place called 'Queens Square'. Then we went to a restaurant called 'Garlic Jo's'( Guess what they serve! ). That place was awesome! We had garlic breath problems after that. But, that was fun!
That's all for today!
See Ya!

Long Time No See!

Hi, and long time no see!
The temperature dropped, but not enough to snow. Since we are living near the bay, I have't seen snow cover for years! (sigh...) But, we still have lots rain.
We had a Christmas Party at Dad's school last week. A lot of people came, and the food was good! We had some live music until midnight! My Mom said that some of the band were still playing when we went out!
At home schooling, which I am doing right now writing this blog, we are doing computer programming. I think I talked about programming on 'Nothing to Do About Snakes'. Well, I am doing some fun programs that ask stuff like, 'What is your favorite music?: '. Really interesting stuff! I'm looking forward to making my own games!
I have put a new link to "My Mom's 'NEW' blog". You just look at the 'Links' list and click on "My Mom's 'NEW' Blog" and it will go to her page.
That's all for today! Almost a week until Christmas!
See ya!

”読書の秋”: Autumn Reading

Hi!
We are having some cloudy weather today. It's getting really cold too. But, today, it's ok!
Today I started to read Washington Living's "Rip Van Winkle". Before I started this story I finished Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island". It was a great story! Some of the words in the story were really old so it was a little hard to read. But, It was a good pirate story. If you saw the "Pirate's of the Caribbean"(1 or 2) you can see that Disney used some of the names and 'legends' in the story.
The story of "Rip Van Winkle" uses beautiful words, and you can see, as you read, a picture in you mind; mountains and clouds and people. It looks like a really shorter story than "Treasure Island", but there is a lot of dificult words in the story. Comment me on the 'comment link' right below this blog and tell me about your favorite books. I might use the book you like for my next story to read!
One month until Christmas! Wow, time flies! That's all for today!
See ya!

Man, It's cold!

Hi!
It's cold and cloudy. It was warm 2 days ago. Where did the heat go!? Oh well.
We had a tsunami watch this Wednesday. Hokkido had a evacuation call. It was not bad. I was asleep that time when the tsunami hit Hokkido. It was just a 2 foot rise in water level, no problem.
Japan is really watching out for those tsunamis because in the year that I was born, a big tsunami struck at Hokkido and a village was wiped out and a lot of people died. 2 years ago, a big tsunami struck in the Indian sea area. That, time they did not have a tsunami watch system. Japan has a lot of tecnology so they know when to move. Hokkido's takeing a lot of hits! Tornado 1 day, tsunami the next! And it get's really cold there.
Well, that's all for today! I hope I get something warm for dinner.
See Ya!


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My Blog Updates
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'Links' :
My Mom's 'New' Blog
Coming soon!
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Tornado Strikes in Hokkaido

Hi!
It's freezing! Maybe not that cold but, it was very cold this morning. Also the wind is strong.
Speaking of wind, there is a big news in Japan.

" 'Tornado kills at least nine in northern Japan'"
At least nine people were killed, at least 20 injured and others trapped under rubble when a tornado hit northern Japan Tuesday, local officials said.
Officials said the tornado demolished two prefabricated buildings at a construction site, about eight private houses and a factory.
Two people were still missing, said an official at the fire department in Engaru, on the northeastern part of Japan's northern island of Hokkaido. He added that rescue efforts were being hampered by rain and a power blackout."
from: http://today.reuters.com

Yes, there has been a tornado in "Hokkaido". The red X on the map is where the tornado struck.
Yestreday was very windy over here too! As you can see, on the news script, that the buildings were prefabricated. That advanced the destruction. It is really rare to have a tornado in Japan, they do not have the equipment for tornado watchs. Very scary!
It's beginning to be when you're hungry, and sleepy, and "It's too cold, I miss Summer." feeling. Ah! Winter! Why does it have to be so cold! Ah! Winter!
My Dad is watching the election on "CNN". I looks very complicated. And my Mom is still at work. She is substituting for an office worker at my Dad's school. That's all for today!
See Ya!

Nothing to Do About Snakes!

Hi!
It's cold! Last night, when I was outside, I already could see my breath. Today, it is a cloudy day. It was fine in the morning though.
My Dad has a cold. It started 4 days ago, I think the cold weather got him, I hope he gets better. Since I am doing "home schooling", I got to be careful not get his cold.
Today, a book has arrived. The book is about computer programing, "Python". It dosn't have anything to do about snakes! The name is named after the group called "The Monte 'Python' ". I don't know anything but "spam, spam, spam, spam..." from them. Well any way, the book came and we (my Dad and I) are going to use it for "home schooling"; computer programing. It's realy fun, it's like solving a puzzle. And making games are really fun.
Sorry about not haveing pictures on the last blog. I'm going to try it this time.
That's all for today! Try not to catch a cold!
See Ya!

Getting Colder

Hi!
Today it might start to rain, and it's a bit cold. I have three layers of shirts on!
Our supermarket "ODOYA" is under construction. They started to sell all kinds of foreign stuff. It was inconvenient. The Seven Eleven convenience store was better than Odoya. But, when they started to sell foreign stuff (like Belgian chocolate!!) we started to go there a lot.
Tateyama has changed a lot since we came here. A brige was built, a lot of new shopping places were built, and a lot more houses were built. But, I think that it got a little noisy!
This month we might go to "Yokohama" to visit some freinds that moved there about 8 months ago. Yokohama is right beside Tokyo metropolitan area. But we live across Tokyo bay. So we might go by ferry.
There is also a bicycle show at Tokyo this month. We are looking forward to that too.
We started to get American Beef again in the stores ! And my Dad is fixing up steak sandwich! Hee hee hee!
I can't believe that it is November already! I didn't know that time flies that fast. And some how, I think this is going to be a very cold and a long winter.That's all for today!
Sorry no pictures today Blogger seems to be having problems with something.
See ya!

Halloween Party!

Hi!
It was raining in the morning but, the sky is back to normal and it's beautiful!
The Halloween party was great! 52 kids with their parents! It was really a full house. Most of them were little kids from kindergarden or even pre-school! They were soooo CUTE!!! They had some good costumes too.
We did some pumpkin carving with some HUGE pumpkins. My Dad hurt his back a little when he was taking it to the party room. But, the kids made great jack-o-lanterns. Some of the pumpkin skins were hard and shaped really odd but, the kids tried to carve thruoght the hard skin and made some good jack-o-lanterns.
Also the "Trick or Treat" was a great succses. The owner of the "Akitaya ( A Japanese restaurant that we often go)" had a "Namahage Mask (a gnome mask) see picture at the right" and I had a noise maker and it was a little scary, but for the kids, ohoooo , it was scary. A lot of kids cried! But, after that they say that it was fun.
Well that's all for today. On my Dad's blog, he is going to blog about the "Bossa Nova Party" that was after the Halloween party. To go to his site just click the link that says "My Dad's Blog".
See ya!

Another Beautiful Day!

Hi!
I love the weather, It's beautiful! It was a little cloudy yesterday but, it's back to normal now. It's been like this for a week and a half. I heard on the news that it snowed in New York and other locations in America. I didn't know that it was that cold over there.
Two days until "Halloween Party" and a "Bossa Nova party". My Dad's boss likes "Bossa Nova", in the evening we are going to have that and on the same day we have our Halloween Party. A little busy don't you think?
My Dad is in his October sports mode. Baseball, (American)Football, and the next sumo season starts in two weeks! It gives all the politicians of the world a break- no nasty e-mails! But,it dosn't give ME a break. Soon as I want to do something , like playing the video game, there is some thing on the television. Good grief!
Our water pipe was leaking so the workers are going in and out. My Dad is going to blog about this on his blog. You can go to his blog by clicking the link on the right of the page that says "My Dad's blog". My Mom is also doing a blog about ikebana. You can go to her page by clicking the link that says "My Mom's blog". She hasn't posted a long time. I took a picture of her recent work (The picture on the upper right hand corner).
Well that's all for today! See Ya!

New Links Added

Hi!
The weather is beautiful! No sign of rain clouds at all!
I have put a link on the right side of the page that says "Links". The one that says "Tateyama Station WebCam" is a live camera of our local station view. (The picture on the upper right hand corner is the station from my Dad's home town in America, Grafton, W.V., and on the left is our local station. )You can control the camera by clicking the "Start control" button. Some of the controls do not work so just play around with it. Below the "Tateyama Station WebCam" there is another webcam from "Wada" beach area. You can control the camera as well.
I also put a link to my Dad's new blog called "Japan a la carte". Don't be confused by the name, it's in English! Just click on the link that says "My Dad's Blog".
I have seen the airplane crash in New York. First I thought it was another terrorist attack. But, it was a two seater airplane so I think it was an accident. I am sorry for the N.Y. Yankees pitcher, Cory Lidle. I wonder why he was flying that low. And he looked like a safe pilot too.
That's all for today. Next time, I will try not to blog a lot about links!!
See ya!

Halloween Party on the 21st!

Hi!
Finally the season is nice! It's been like this for 4 days. But, they say that its going to rain tonight. We don't know yet!
On the 21st, we are going to have a Halloween party at Dad's English school. We are going to carve some jack-o-lanterns, and play all kinds of games and have treats. We are going to do trick or treat too! There is this scary place to go, but it's just a harmless restaurant.
I remember when I was in America, I was a spider. My Mom makes great costumes. She makes it scary. There was a house decorated real scary, I ran back down the stairs. I met people with great costumes, and I got a lot of candy too! In Japan, we don't do any thing like that. I realy miss it, but I just thought that I am too big for that now! I wish there was trick or treat for big kids!
Well, I hope it will not rain tonight. I love shiny weather.
The picture is from Tateyama station today.
I will put a link for a "web cam" of Tateyama statio. This is the site>> http://it.awa.jp/live_camera2.htm.
That's all for today!
See ya!

Discover Japan!

Hi!
It's raining today (AGAIN!!!). And it's cold outside.
Tomorrow, my Dad will be not home for two days because there is "English camp" for the school he is working for. They are going to the "Hakkakusou". I think it means "eight sided house" in Japanese. A lot of foreigners stay there for a few days to learn about Japan, many people from Tokyo, including kids too! The owner of the place is Mr. David Green. He came to Japan and he wanted to tell every body how great Japan is. His homepage address is http://www.discoverjapan.co.jp/ . There is a English site and a Japanese site. And right now he is making another place for his camp. I hope it will not rain tomorrow.
I feel that autumn is here. No sign of summer any more. That's all for today!
See Ya!

We Love "Nabe-mono"!

Hi!
It's a rainy day today. The sun was out for about an hour but, it started to cloud up again.
Last week my Dad had a 1 week vacation . We had a power walk on Monday. We just walked up the hill near by. It took about an hour. It was a great workout. That night, since it was cold, we had " nabe-mono". "Nabe-mono is a Japanese dish. You put meat, vegetables and other kinds of stuff in a broth. The word "nabe" means "pot" or a "earthen ware pot" in Japanese. You put all the ingredients in the pot and heat it up. There are all kinds of nabe-mono. There are sea food nabe, meat nabe, and the sumo wrestlers like the "chanco nabe. It has alot of nutrition for them.
The sun is coming out again. I hope it will clear up tomorrow.
Well, thats all for today. See ya!

Tokyo Special (Part 3)

Hi!
The weather is nice and the temperature is low. Today I am going to blog about day 2 in Tokyo.

The Lightning Gate
We had a good night's sleep in a fluffy bed; the hotel was great, nice toilets and a plasma TV. We had our breakfast downstairs, and it was almost full already.
It was a rainy day. I thought it would never stop because of the typhoon. But it stopped! There was a place we wanted to go. That place is called the "Lightning Gate","Kaminari mon" in Japanese. You can see my Dad standing below the big red lantern. It was in the morning so it was not too crowded. My Mom bought us delicious sweet bean pastries. There was all kinds of nice looking stuff, like japanese umbrellas and key holders.
Hours past and we headed back to Tokyo Station. We went underground where there are a lot of food shops. It's called "chika gai". Every time we go to Tokyo we stop by there. Well, it was time to go and we got on the bus and saw the famous spots.
So, this is the end of the special series about Tokyo.
The next blog, I am going to blog normally.
That's all for today! See ya!