Today, my oldest daughter leaves with her school class for a field trip to 京都 (Kyoto).
They’ll travel by 新幹線 (Bullet train) and stay in Kyoto for three days.
My daughter’s very excited! But, as for me, I always have mixed feelings whenever my kids go on a field trip…I’m happy that they get to see many great places and experiences—but I can’t relax until they’re back home safe!
Kyoto is gonna be nice for her to see. It was once the capital of Japan and is very traditional. Kyoto still has many 芸者 (Geisha) (or 芸妓 (Geiko) as they’re called on that side of Japan). There are still Geisha in Tokyo, but not as many as in Kyoto.
I can’t wait to see the pictures my daughter takes on her trip!
Next month, my second daughter’s class will take a three-day trip to 新潟 (Niigata).
**********************
Last month, my wife started a small vegetable garden on our porch.
Last week, we ate 苺 (strawberries) from her garden and tonight we had a salad with ピーマン (green peppers) and トマト (tomatos) from the garden.
They were delicious!
**********************
It was raining all day yesterday. Probably due to that 台風 (typhoon) that hit the Philippines.
I hope it doesn’t hit Japan! (By the way, did you know that typhoon is from a Japanese word…in Japanese, it’s 台風 (taifuu)).
Anyways, the weather forecast for Tokyo this week:
June 23: 
June 24: 
June 25:
June 26:
June 27:
June 28:
June 29:
Tokyo Five 
Mom…
>Where do all your creative ideas come from? do you find inspiration from others or just from playing around or what?
I guess you’re talking about my website’s main page ( http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~tokyo5/index.html )
I just practice my web-programming and try to improve it. Sometimes other websites give me ideas.
There are many web-designers much better than me!
>will they go on to the next grade level now that they have passed the exams?
The school year in Japan is from April – March. So they’ve still got 3/4 of the school year left.
That was just the first-semester exams.
> were the exams for all the subjects they took?
Yes.
The exams went for three school days.
>themes for the restuarants in Japan…was the menu different?
Mostly regular Japanese izakaya foods…but a few original menu items added.
Other theme restaurants, besides the ones I mentioned, are Butler cafes (in contrast to Maid Cafes), Mad Scientist restaurants, and restaurants where the waitresses act like you’re an inconvenience to them and they yell at you to hurry up and order and act generally rude to you…until you leave, then they say nicely “You’re leaving already?? Come back soon please!!” (that’s the gimmick. Rude waitresses. Something quite uncommon in Japan).
>I wanted to ask you what that little picture is next to my name?
It’s supposed to be a “monster”.
LikeLike
sfrunner….
Thanks for the kind words. As always!
LikeLike
Hi, I’m back again. I wanted to ask you what that little picture is next to my name? it is cute. also, I love the new photos you put up of the gate and the temples. let us know how the girl’s trips were and are you planning to post any photos they took?
LikeLike
I love all the changes you have made! Where do all your creative ideas come from? do you find inspiration from others or just from playing around or what? so far I have loved every one.
Congratulations to the girls! those grades are fabulous and you should be very proud! will they go on to the next grade level now that they have passed the exams? were the exams for all the subjects they took? pls tell them we are so proud of them for the good work. also, I understand your feelings about when they leave on a trip and not relaxing again until they return. it is hard but it is also necessary. you and Aiko are doing a wonderful job raising them and that should give you confidence and peace of mind.
I loved reading about all the different themes for the restuarants in Japan. it sounds like fun! I would love to visit a few, wish they were over here too. it is a wonder that no one has picked up on the idea and started it here. when you visited the prison rest. was the menu different? I hope not typical prison food.
keep up the good work w/ this site Bobby. it is very interesting and educational.
LikeLike
tokyo5…awesome about your daughters! The lightbulb…it got its usage and then some!
LikeLike
My oldest daughter got back from Kyoto today. She had a great time!
We all had sushi for dinner today! (^_^) It was delicious!
My oldest two got the results back for their semester exams that they took last week. They did very good!
I was particularly impressed with the scores that they got on their English tests: 92% and 95%
Excellent!
Today was a good day…until I went to change the light bulb that died in our bathroom.
I dropped it and it shattered into a bazillion pieces all over the place!!
It took me an hour to clean it up and triple check the whole room for any tiny splinters of glass that I might have overlooked. I’m confident that I got it all cleaned up finally though!
At least it was the dead bulb I dropped and not a new one!
LikeLike
sfrunner…
Thanks again for the comment!
Kyoto IS very nice. And I agree, my daughter will certainly enjoy it.
And yes, “typhoon” is from the Japanese word that sounds like “taifuu” (or “typhoo”).
LikeLike
tokyo5, I know your daughter will enjoy the experience. Kyoto is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
Interesting how the name typhoon was originated. You learn something new everyday.
LikeLike
>How do you grow vegetables on a porch?
Just like flowers. Put the seeds, soil, fertilizer, water, etc in a planter / pot and care for it.
You can even buy them as small plants (rather than seeds), if you want to make it a bit easier / faster.
LikeLike
I hope she has a great time in Kyoto! Maybe you can post some of the pics she takes.
How do you grow vegetables on a porch? I’m pretty ignorant of these things. But I’d like to know since I’d also like to grow some fruits and vegetables…some day.
Here in Texas it is just very HOT, all the time. I don’t like to be outside much during the summer, so anytime we go out for fun, we try to make it an indoor venture.
LikeLike