tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287509832012-01-20T20:39:07.697-08:00My own personal comments relating to my own daily life, my development of the Iwate Buddy website and my Flickr photo site!Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.comBlogger511100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-25619908471420122022008-10-07T18:56:00.000-07:002008-10-07T21:03:43.566-07:00

A few days ago the Japan Times published a fascinating article on the Buddhist nun Jakucho Setouchi. Who's that you ask? Never heard of her? Then perhaps you've heard of the novelist Harumi Setouchi, author of Natsu no Owari (The End of Summer) [follow this and other book title links to Amazon.com]. Ms. Setouchi was the head priest at Tendai-ji in Shoboji, a small town in northern Iwate from 1987

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1156493671504129792006-08-25T00:32:00.000-07:002008-10-07T05:46:11.212-07:00

Kamaishi City, on the coast of Iwate, is famous for steel if nothing else. Until the Americans shelled the city in the first naval attack on the Japanese mainland in 1945, the city was an important mining and shipbuilding center.[ Nippon Steel Facility at Kamaishi Bay ]One of the people who helped turn Kamaishi into a modern industrial city was Takato Oshima　-　大島高任. He was born in Morioka in 1826

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1156382997379655722006-08-23T17:34:00.000-07:002008-10-07T05:47:04.728-07:00

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Shinzo Abe (安倍 晋三), is now a candidate for next month's Liberal Democratic Party presidential election and is considered the one most likely to win.[ Shinzo Abe (from VOA.com)]Wikipedia reports that, "Abe was born into a prominent political family in Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture. His father was Shintaro Abe, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1156295704954686122006-08-22T18:04:00.000-07:002008-10-07T05:47:49.772-07:00

Name: Holland IslandLocation: Yamada Bay, Yamada Town, Iwate PrefectureDescription: A very small island (about one square kilometer in size) covered entirely with Japanese cedar trees and very mountainous. There is a small Shinto Shrine on top, two sandy beaches and a dock. There is no electricity and no running water.Price: 20,000,000 yen (about 200,000 US dollars) negotiable[ Yamada Island in

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1154092900047380362006-07-28T02:27:00.000-07:002008-10-07T05:49:45.779-07:00

The Iwate Prefecture Baseball Tournament has finished. The team from Kitakami Senshu High School has won and the whole city of Kitakami is abuzz. Thursday night there was a festival and all the players wore their uniforms and paraded around town. The shops and public buildings are draped with huge posters and banners for the occasion. Next stop is the National Tournament at Koshien in August.[

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1153955056966303432006-07-26T15:43:00.000-07:002008-10-07T05:51:40.011-07:00

Just about every city I've lived in has had at least one colorful eccentric character. In Miami, Florida there was a Latino who stood in the median strip every day at rush hour where two major highways intersected waving flags and shouting at the cars like a cheerleader! In Morioka there is a man who rides around on a bicycle shouting into a walkie-talkie and sometimes playing music from a

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1153874793003967932006-07-25T17:27:00.000-07:002008-10-07T05:52:48.811-07:00

The Iwate Nippo （岩手日報） Newspaper celebrated its 130th birthday on July 21st.[Masthead of Iwate Nippo for July 21, 2006]The published a special edition with three sections full of history, information and, of course, advertising. One thing that I did not see, though, was a reproduction of the first edition! My friend Mr. Takahashi suggested that maybe they don't have one! There is a reproduction

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1153570020168294102006-07-23T04:23:00.000-07:002008-10-07T05:54:45.200-07:00

Two of Iwate's native sons were Mitsumasa Yonai and Seishiro Itagaki. This newspaper article from The Hammond (INDIANA) Times of May 8, 1939 suggests that their Iwate origins were to some extent responsible for their advancement in the military and eventually Japan's military aggression leading to WWII!Mitsumasa Yonai served as minister of the navy under several prime ministers. Despite his

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1153608968640635232006-07-22T15:44:00.000-07:002008-10-07T05:56:17.348-07:00

The Japanese love World Heritage sites and go out of their way to visit them overseas and in Japan. There are already twelve of them in Japan and another one may be added in a couple of years. Hiraizumi has been working hard to get its famous temples and historic sites listed for some time.[The Konjikido golden hall at Chusonji Temple][from The Japan Times]The Japan Times reports today that, "The

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1153564671046888972006-07-22T03:22:00.000-07:002008-10-07T06:03:53.475-07:00

[Anoplophora malasiaca][ゴマダラカミキリ - gomadara-kamikiri][white-spotted longicorn beetle]This bad little bug eats trees, especially fruit trees like the apple trees that Iwate is famous for! Entomologists have recently lumped it together with Melanauster chinensis or Citrus Longhorned Beetle. You can read more about them in this document from the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1152625344223637702006-07-11T05:55:00.000-07:002008-10-07T06:07:41.617-07:00

[The Koromo River in Southern Iwate - Japan is on the left while the Emishi lands are on the right.]One of the defining characteristics of Japan is that it is an island nation; there are no land borders! But, this has not always been the case.For some 300 years or more the Koromo River in Southern Iwate served to mark the boundary between the expanding Yamato state (what we now call Japan) and

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1152538621741891952006-07-10T05:49:00.000-07:002008-10-07T06:05:55.633-07:00

Thomasine Allen must have been a wonderful and rare individual. She is one of the very few foreigners to have recieved an Order of the Sacred Treasures from the emperor. In 1960 she received the Fifth Order of Merit of the Sacred Jewel on the recommendation of the governor of Iwate.[Thomasine Allen in 1960 with Her Decoration]Born in 1890 she came to Japan in 1915 as a Baptist missionary after

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1152374978393983792006-07-08T08:10:00.000-07:002007-01-02T02:22:13.770-08:00

[Artist's Conception]M-City West-Entrance Plaza or Ｍシティ西口プラザ is a new development on the West side of Morioka Station on the other side of the Malios Building. It is a massive condominium complex by Morioka standards with 12 stories, 120 condos, day care, entertainment facilities etc. It is scheduled for completion in February 2007 and tenents can move in from March.[top & bottom - M-City as of

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1152368890778677602006-07-08T07:18:00.000-07:002006-07-24T12:52:55.406-07:00

[ミツクリハバチの毛虫][Eriocampa mitsurii - caterpillar][caterpillar of a kind of sawfly]Summer is in full swing here in Iwate and the bugs are out in full force. I found a bunch of these beauties in Hiraizumi near the Koromo River this past weekend! You can learn more about this species and see pictures at Shigenobu AOKI's web site. He has a lot of info about all kinds of bugs!Special thanks to Eiji for

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1152306356480424782006-07-07T12:49:00.000-07:002006-07-08T06:56:35.470-07:00

Yep, nearly 50 years ago Senator John D. 'Jay' Rockefeller IV visited Iwate to see a friend. Of course he wasn't a senator then, just a young college student taking a bit of a trip.[Senator Rockefeller by photographer Rick Lee]It seems the senator attended International Christian University in Tokyo from 1957 to 1960 before getting his degree in Asian Languages and History from Harvard University

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1152283866183772552006-07-07T06:50:00.000-07:002006-07-24T12:55:11.916-07:00

Kitakami is not the largest city in Iwate or the most exciting (maybe) but it does have a lot going for it. It has the best site in Iwate for viewing cherry blossoms - Tenshochi, the best English language bookstore - at American World, the best Russian restaurant - Troika and the very best movie theater - at Sakurano.[Warner Mycal sign on top of Sakurano]Sakurano is the big department store that

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1152015777660471522006-07-04T05:02:00.000-07:002006-07-04T05:44:05.753-07:00

The Japan Times - Thursday, Jan. 17, 2002 IN BLOOMFukujuso (Adonis)By LINDA INOKIA long letter came from my younger sister, Mitsuko, in which she wrote: "On my desk is a lovely Adonis. While I was looking at it today, I couldn't help remembering our hometown. We often walked around the graveyard searching for violets and Adonises, remember?"From "Romaji Diary" by Takuboku Ishikawa (1886-1912),

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1151940582531432172006-07-03T07:40:00.000-07:002006-07-03T08:29:54.803-07:00

Those who have been working themselves too hard or partying too hard may not know about the missle that North Korea has poised to send through the skies of Iwate. But then if that's you you are probably not reading this either!Just last Thursday President Bush and Prime Minister Koizumi discussed "various measures of pressure" if North Korea fires the missile according to an article in the Asahi

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1151840984130805702006-07-02T04:16:00.000-07:002006-07-05T14:23:38.180-07:00

If you're out hiking or picnicing this summer you might want to watch out for signs like these;[Bear Warning in Sumida][Poisonous Snake Warning in Kamaishi]It's easy to be lulled into a false sense of security in Japan and even more so in rural areas. Besides the the usual earthquakes, typhoons, volcanoes and tsunamis there are bears and poisonous snakes!There are six kinds of poisonous snakes in

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1151678621791498142006-06-30T07:38:00.000-07:002006-07-01T03:00:05.366-07:00

Donald Keene, Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, author, translator and all around Japanologist will visit Iwate Prefecture on July 8th![Symposium announcement at Iwate Nippo Newspaper]He will speak at the Hiraizumi Cultural Symposium 「平泉文化シンポジウム」 to be held at the Iwate Prefectural Hall 「県民会館大ホール」 in Morioka. The symposium will start at 1:00 and it is free but only

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1151542956932333372006-06-28T17:26:00.000-07:002006-07-01T03:03:05.493-07:00

'Jomon' is the term used for the people who inhabited Japan from the end of the Paleolithic period to the beginning of the Yayoi period - roughly 16,500 years ago to 2,000 years ago. It is characterized primarily by the fantastic pots that have survived like this one from Niigata Prefecture on the cover of Junko Habu's book about them.[Ancient Jomon of Japan by Junko Habu]In her book the author

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1151446100617735912006-06-27T14:35:00.000-07:002011-03-16T05:52:39.689-07:00

When you die in Japan your body is cremated and your ashes are put in your family cemetery - usually at a Buddhist temple. If you live in a big city like Tokyo or Osaka you might have a problem. The temple cemetery filled up long ago! There's no room for you. What to do. Some temples throw out their old dead if the family doesn't pay a 'maintenance fee' any longer and resells the land![New plots

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1151246046697600872006-06-25T06:52:00.000-07:002006-06-25T07:44:25.156-07:00

Kenji World (as in Kenji Miyazawa, the famous writer) is an indoor aquatic park in Shizukuishi, near Morioka. It is a bit pricey but still a lot of fun.[Kenji World - inside]There are four water slides, including two that use inner tubes. The pool is huge and features a wave generating machine so you can user a body board at times. There is another pool on the second floor that flows around the

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1151157228722728042006-06-24T06:32:00.000-07:002006-06-25T05:52:33.626-07:00

You'd better hurry - there is only one more week left for you to see all the gorgeous roses at the Hanamaki Rose Festival. The last day is July 2nd![View of the gardens and fountain.]There are hundreds of varieties from all over the globe elegantly displayed throughout the garden. The garden itself was designed by Kenji Miyazawa, the famous writer and educator from Hanamaki. There are winding

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1150993983195058542006-06-22T09:05:00.000-07:002006-06-22T09:34:37.310-07:00

[Koizumi on the left and Ozawa on the right - no political pun intended?!?]You'll need a crystal ball to find out who the next prime minister of Japan will be; or you can just wait and see. But since Mizusawa Ward, Oshu City native Ichiro Ozawa took over the leadership of Minshuto (The Democratic Party of Japan) recently, Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party hasn't looked so good!The Asahi

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1150847528406815392006-06-20T16:31:00.000-07:002006-06-20T17:34:25.566-07:00

[Cornelia and Gilbert Schroer]Reverend Gilbert Schroer came to Japan as a missionary in 1922 with his wife, Cornelia. They lived and worked in Morioka from about 1924 after receiving language training in Tokyo and Sendai. They opened a school as well, the Morioka Christian Education Center.Life in Japan was apparently much like it was in America. They lived in an American style home and ate

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1150756597699096652006-06-19T15:22:00.000-07:002006-06-19T16:54:08.400-07:00

Takuboku Ishikawa was a famous tanka poet from the Morioka area. He was born in 1886 and lived a hard life of teaching and writing to 1912 when he died of TB. The city of Morioka has honored him in various ways including building a walkway along the Kitakami River between the Kaiun and Asahi Bridges with stones along the way with his poems on them.[One of his poems set in stone]This picture is of

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1150642157992993562006-06-18T07:31:00.000-07:002006-06-18T07:52:51.720-07:00

Summer brings out the wildlife in a big way. I was driving in Isawa last Sunday and saw a fox in the middle of the road! It took its sweet time moving along too. Here are a couple of butterflies I spotted recently.[Artogeia melete - スジグロシロチョウ]This is a common butterfly that occurs throughout Japan. I went to a remote Shinto Shrine near the Kitakami River in Esashi and found dozens of these

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1150471315910452482006-06-16T08:19:00.000-07:002006-06-16T08:21:55.910-07:00

Thank you all who have or are about to comment! I am moderating the comments which means I have to read and approve them before they appear! Hope to hear from everyone!

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1150471052218632502006-06-16T07:38:00.000-07:002006-06-16T08:17:32.386-07:00

When I first came to Japan I 'lost' six bicycles in two years. Always at train stations and always legaly parked. Looking back I think that maybe the bicycle patrol probably picked them up for some mysterious offense I'm totally unaware of.[Bike patrol in front of Morioka Station]In the area around Morioka Station the city sends out a patrol every morning to tag all the illegaly parked bikes.

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1150337837692129052006-06-14T19:01:00.000-07:002006-06-15T12:29:48.150-07:00

My Encyclopedia says that Summer starts on or about June 21st with the Summer Solstice. That's when the sun is farthest away from us!But Tuesday evening at about 6:30 I heard an ice-cream truck going by with its raucous music blaring and bell clanging. For me Summer has started! I can wear shorts and a t-shirt, find bugs on the ground and see girls in bikinis. That's summer for me![Advertisement

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1150181997274921372006-06-12T23:37:00.000-07:002006-06-13T05:16:58.116-07:00

1906 was not a very good year. Mount Vesuvius erupted destroying Naples, Italy; a large earthquake destroyed San Francisco in the United States; the crown jewels of Ireland were stolen and a typhoon and tsunami killed some 10,000 people in Hong Kong.[Famine in Tohoku - from the Ft. Wayne (Indiana) News]Iwate too had a tough time. The weather in 1905 was terrible with excessive rain and cold

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1150125828868685232006-06-12T07:54:00.000-07:002006-06-12T08:23:53.486-07:00

[Water drops on a maple in Morioka - June 12, 2006]The Asahi Newspaper said the rainy season began officially in Kanto and Southern Tohoku on June 9th, six days earlier than usual. It's been a bit wet up here in Northern Tohoku as well! It rained pretty good last night but today was mostly cloudy and dry. Unfortunately it rained in Germany on Japan's World Cup debut.My Japanese friends and

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1150014157471290822006-06-11T00:41:00.000-07:002006-06-11T01:32:53.446-07:00

['NAINE' written under a bridge in Oshu City]There isn't a lot of graffiti in Iwate but it's out there. You can find it if you look around a bit. I often see it spray painted under bridges or on the sides of buildings. While the quality of the work can be quite good the local artists don't seem to go for the large, elaborate and colorful designs found in other parts of the globe.[Darkness - Naine

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149956414260079942006-06-10T08:49:00.000-07:002006-06-10T09:27:20.896-07:00

[A trio of tricked out vans in Morioka]A white van much like the ones in this picture lives near my house. I regularly see others cruising around the streets and highways, parking at shopping malls and restaurants. The owners hold huge rallies on sunny Sunday afternoons in the park. The shops that do this customizing work advertize openly in widely circulated family-type magazines and newspapers.

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149892485376044692006-06-08T18:15:00.000-07:002006-06-09T18:07:22.160-07:00

Aeon has one mall in Morioka but now they are building another newer, bigger one on the same side of town! Does Morioka really need another mall? Most people I talk to don't think so but what do we know? Aeon is one of the most successful companies in Japan right now! I've heard they are also building a mall in Ichinoseki but I'm not going to rush down there and look for myself.[Aeon Mall in

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149726866909285842006-06-07T16:35:00.000-07:002006-06-10T06:45:38.526-07:00

[The LUSH shop in Morioka Station]Yes Iwate has turned green, lush and vibrant with the onset of Spring but this lush is not that, it's a store! And no, they don't sell cheap wine to all you alchoholics out there. What they do sell is soap. Apparently lots of it and of a very good quality too!Accourding to their own website they started in England back in 1978 and grew from there. Here's what

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149292135512364132006-06-02T16:48:00.000-07:002006-06-04T01:10:34.526-07:00

Yamada is a remote port town of around 20,000 people nestled deep in the heart of the Rikuchuu Seashore National Park. It is composed almost entirely of mountains which rise as high as 1,160 meters in the West and drop down to the sea on the Eastern seaboard in sheer cliffs dozens of meters high in some places.It is connected to the outside world by National Highway 45 and the JR Yamada Railline.

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149256298922447842006-06-02T06:40:00.000-07:002006-06-06T17:06:44.830-07:00

Today, June 1st, a new law went into effect throughout Japan to regulate parking. It is now illegal to park your car in the street! The law affects cars, delivery trucks and everything else except taxis, I`m told. Apparently, too, the police are not the only ones who can enforce this law - private security firms, city officials and so on can give you a ticket! If you`re sitting in your car by the

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149200425115529652006-06-01T15:09:00.000-07:002006-06-01T15:25:55.706-07:00

Iwate Park is 100 years old this year!Happy birthday to you,Happy birthday to you,Happy Birthday dear IMwoartieoka Park,Happy birthday to you![Path in Iwate Park]What? What's this IMwoartieoka Park? It's the confusion of "Iwate Park" and "Morioka Park". It seems the mayor of Morioka has come up with an idea to change the name of Iwate Park to Morioka Park or Kozukata Park. His idea is to raise

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149128088655005562006-05-31T19:13:00.000-07:002006-07-28T07:02:59.496-07:00

Check out Iwate's latest English language web site!

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149113854139658112006-05-31T14:51:00.000-07:002006-07-28T07:01:45.880-07:00

Psendozizeeria mahaヤマトシジミ - Yamato shijimitiny blue.Lycaena phlaeasベニシジミ - beni shijimismall copper.

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149091244585686302006-05-31T08:51:00.000-07:002006-05-31T09:09:34.513-07:00

I'm collecting old newspaper clippings about Iwate on Iwate Buddy. So far I have 52 articles spanning the years from 1891 to the present! There is a handy-dandy index page with a list of all the titles, dates and keywords that is quite useful. Here is an excerpt from the latest addition.AMERICAN GAGS FALL FLAT Another Report on Japan from Teacher John MilesHere is a second article by John Miles,

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149090501391882422006-05-31T08:34:00.000-07:002006-05-31T08:50:45.073-07:00

I've been teaching English in Japan for something like 14 years now, for four different companies large, small and medium, and for myself. One of the things I've noticed consistently is that if anything goes wrong the foreign teacher takes the blame. Sometimes the foreign teacher really is to blame but just as often she is not. The all purpose excuse of Eikaiwa? "So sorry, your teacher got sick!"

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149029103794699682006-05-30T15:37:00.000-07:002006-05-30T15:45:03.806-07:00

From the Asahi NewsMORIOKA: Winter's wrath leaves costly road damage05/09/2006Last winter's record snowfalls have left more than a chilly memory for drivers in the country's colder climes. The unrelenting ice and snow caused moisture to penetrate below asphalt road surfaces, freeze and push up cracks at about 1,500 points on highways in Iwate prefecture. And more bumps in the roads are likely to

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1149000567981050042006-05-30T07:34:00.000-07:002006-07-28T07:07:33.123-07:00

[The grave of Princess Centipede with the sign]The grave of princess Centipede is located in Morioka City in Nasukawa-cho. The stones making up the current grave do not at all appear to be in their original configuration. Some of the stones and inscriptions appear to be newish while others seem quite old. I could easily imagine that at one time there was quite an assemblage of elegant shrines,

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1148912244315229262006-05-29T06:48:00.000-07:002006-07-28T07:10:40.630-07:00

[Angelica Tree Bud - タラノメ - Aralia elata]Every Spring hordes of people head for the hills to gather various kinds of wild plants to take home and eat. There are enough varieties to fill a book but this year I gathered only three; Angelica tree buds, butterbur sprouts and bamboo shoots.Angelica Tree (or Fatsia) buds - タラノメ - Aralia elatabutterbur (or coltsfoot) sprouts - フキノトウ - Petasites

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1148829339447732852006-05-28T06:27:00.000-07:002006-07-28T07:13:06.763-07:00

[Shiwa Chuo train station sign]Today Shiwa is a small town in central Iwate just South of Morioka. It has been a wonderful garden paradise but is now rapidly transforming itself into a sprawling suburb of Morioka. It still ranks number one in the nation in the production of Mochi Rice and number one in the prefecture in the production of grapes, apples and pears![Shiwa grapes]The name Shiwa is

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1148741761000598972006-05-27T06:06:00.000-07:002006-07-24T15:37:44.330-07:00

[The Battle of Sufuse Village in a park in Mizusawa]North America has it's "Wild West" full of high drama, adventure, violence, gold and larger-than-life heroes. These included cowboys, outlaws, explorers, priests, soldiers and Indians, to name just a few. We learned about them from our earliest childhood as they alternately committed crimes and righted wrongs over and over again on the big

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1148660286455359812006-05-26T08:49:00.000-07:002006-07-24T15:34:10.706-07:00

[Kayoko Takahashi of Radio Morioka]Radio Morioka has a WEB SITE in Japanese with a link in the upper left hand corner to listen to live broadcasts. They don't do this 24/7 but give it a whirl today and you might get lucky! There is a handy links section too with a listing of other stations in the Tohoku area.There is also a BLOG in Japanese so you can keep up with the latest happenings.Wikipedia

Bruce Woodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10536902775569688012noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28750983.post-1148596023562484962006-05-25T14:51:00.000-07:002006-07-28T07:18:03.950-07:00

As part of my Iwate Buddy website I'm writing a blurb about each city, town and village in Iwate. The first one is about Yamada Town and here is a rough first draft!Y A M A D AT O W NO NI W A T EB U D D Y[a large fish at Holland Island]Yamada is a remote port town of around 20,000 people nestled deep in the heart of the Rikuchuu Seashore National Park. It is composed almost entirely of mountains

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