a nice cool morning

This is the very weather I’ve been wanted!

What a nice cool morning this is!

I hope the weather will hold.

I'm going to Wednesday English Circle.
I'm sure I'll have a good time.

(written at 9:00 this morning)

(from my apartment)


(near my apartment)

sudden thunderstorm

Yesterday around 3 p.m. a violent thunderstorm
broke over the city Kodaira.

The dark clouds rolled in so suddenly.
Big drops of rain but no hailstones.

Around half past 5 p.m. the weather began to clear
and I went shopping at a supermarket.

(after the thunderstorm)




The radio forecasts another severe thunderstorm
this afternoon.

Sports Day at koharu's junior high school

What a lovely day!

Yesterday was koharu's first 体育大会 at her junior high school.

She is not good at sports. But she seemed to have enjoyed
her first 体育大会 at her junior high school very much.

She was late in running races but enjoyed team sports
such as ムカデリレー・大縄跳び・全員リレー very much.

She was tired but had the brass band club activity after school!
She came home around seven o’clock----tired out.

Today she has gone to her elementary school, which she finished
this March, to help her juniors in their 運動会.

koharu is getting stronger year by year.



(団旗 made by the students)
(koharu belonged to the Red Team)


(koharu was not the last but fifth in her race)

a lovely gift

Today a lady in Harmonica Circle gave me
a lovely gift.

Her daughter, who is good at patchwork quilt,
made it.



What do you think this is?

The lady said to me, "It is a coin case.
Put a few coins in the case and hang it
on your backpack.

You don’t have to take out your purse
when you need coins.

It's very useful for a backpacker.”



Thank you so much, I-san!

an exciting Monday

Yesterday I was excited all day.

I got up early in the morning and left my apartment at 6:45.
I was to join Kominkan one day bus tour to Hitachi in Ibaraki.

I hurried to the place where I was told to come.

As soon as I got there, I saw the sun through protective eyewear!

Wow! The moon was covering the sun!
A partial eclipse has started!

I saw the so-called “ring of fire” from the bus window.

It is the first (and will be the last) ANNULAR SOLAR ECLIPSE
（金環日食）I’ve seen in my life.

It was an exciting astronomical event.

-------------------------------------

I joined one day bus tour arranged by 公民館・友の会.

37 members joined the bus trip from Kodaira
to Hitachi Seaside Park (ひたち海浜公園) in Ibaraki Pref.

On the way we had lunch in Mashiko.
.
We did not have much time, so looked around the park
by Seaside Train

We were too late for the flowers of Nemophila in full bloom.　
I love　みはらしの丘!
It reminded me of "Wuthering heights," Haworth Moors in England.

I’d like to visit ひたち海浜公園 again and walk around the park
as many hours as possible.

May 21, Monday, was a very exciting day.



(Seaside train)


(from the train)




(みはらしの丘)






(on the way back)