The tallest tower in the world

Two days ago (April 29th) was the Japanese holiday 「昭和の日」 (“Showa Day”). It was a Sunday so the holiday was “observed” yesterday (April 30th).

It was the unofficial start of Golden Week.  Many people, like me, have to go to work today and tomorrow but had a day off yesterday and next Thursday til Sunday (May 3rd – May 6th) will be days off, too.
But some people get a full nine-day Golden Week holiday from April 29th – May 6th. A lot of those people take an overseas trip.

Click here to read my short FAQ about this holiday period…and also how some of the holidays changed names a few times fairly recently.

Anyways, as we had the day off yesterday and the weather was warm, we went to a 藤まつり (Wisteria Flower Festival) not far from the Tokyo Sky Tree.

Here are some of the photos I took:

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Live from Tokyo…it’s Saturday Night!

What to write this blog post about…??

Well, yesterday (Saturday, 2011 June 4), the Japanese version of the long-running American late-night comedy sketch TV show called “Saturday Night Live” debuted on Fuji TV here.

"Saturday Night Live, Japan"

I watched it and it’s similar to the U.S. version. Just like the American “Saturday Night Live”…it’s nothing special enough for a blog post.

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Also, I was reading this month’s issue of the Japanese heavy metal magazine “Burrn!“…

In the back of the magazine, there was an ad for a charity album for the earthquake / tsunami victims in northern Japan. It will be titled 「ワン・フォー・オール,オール・フォー・ワン~東日本大震災チャリティ・アルバム」 (“One For All, All For One…Sendai Earthquake Charity Album”).
And it is due to be released on 2011 June 22.

I couldn’t find a picture of the album cover online…but the picture in the magazine ad was of the Japanese flag. A similar album cover to the earlier Sendai charity album titled “Song For Japan“.

But, unlike that album, the “One For All…” album will have songs by heavy metal artists such as Sonata Artica, Fair Warning, Gotthard, Edguy, Soilwork, Riot, Harem Scarem and others.

Not enough info about that album is available yet to make an interesting blog post.

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Better than either of those stories is seeing my very cute turtle 「ルンルン」 (Lun-Lun) leaning on her favorite concrete block to dry off after a swim in her pool yesterday afternoon:

Isn’t she cute? She’s a 「草亀」 (“Chinese Pond Turtle”).

Do you have a pet? Have you ever had a pet turtle? If you want a turtle, I recommend the 「草亀」 (“Chinese Pond Turtle”)…they are very friendly and easy to care for.

藤

Yesterday we went to see the 藤 (Wisteria) flowers in bloom.

These flowers grow like vines over the bamboo frames that are built specifically for these flowers and they hang down like bunches of grapes.

It looks nice.

Maybe after reading my recent posts about the 桜 (Cherry Blossoms) and now about the 藤 (Wisteria), you think that I really love flowers.

I do appreciate flowers…actually nature, in general.

But when I was younger, I didn’t care much at all about that. I’ve never even heard of “Wisteria” or even “Cherry Blossoms” growing up.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older or because I have a wife and three daughters…and girls love flowers (at least, my girls do).

So, now, due to my wife and daughters’ interest, I know the names of more flowers in Japanese than I do in English. For example, I knew that the flowers we went to see today were 藤　(Fuji) in Japanese…but I had to check a dictionary to learn the English name of the flower (which is, as I mentioned above, Wisteria. So I learned a new English word today! (^_^). )

Other flowers that I know that names of in Japanese (some of which I don’t know the English name for):

桜 (Cherry Blossom), 藤 (Wisteria), たんぽぽ (Dandelion), バラ (Rose), チューリップ (Tulip), 菊 (‘Mum), ボタン (I don’t know what this is called in English), 梅 (Plum (blossom)), ひまわり (Sunflower), スミレ (Violet), ツバキ (I don’t know this one’s English name either), ユリ (Lily), ひなぎく (Daisy)…

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head…but you get the idea. Since having three daughters, I could probably get a job in a flower shop now!

Anyways…it’s good for me. I’ve learned to appreciate nature.

And I enjoy going out with my family regardless of where we go. Personally I enjoy going to festivals best…but my wife and children have taught me to stop and smell the flowers too!