Latest News
January 29th
The recent earthquakes in Yamanashi are a little worrying. They are at the site of the 1923 Kanto Earthquake. Here is a link to a map of Japanese seismic events 1900 to 2007 (not including last year's magnitude 9 quake). There is also a link to the USGS realtime Asia earthquakes page. This site is the best for finding reliable information about earthquakes.
| Earthquake information: | |
| Link to a map of Japanese seismicity from 1900 to 2007 | |
| The U.S. Geological Survey - Asia Region - real time earthquake recording | |
Here is another short story too...
Recent News
January 27th
I had another busy week, but managed to go indoor climbing. I am really happy to be getting stronger and stronger. I also found time to write a very short story at level 5. Please click on the image below, and see if you can guess what is happening in the story.
January 25th
I read the Beauty and Sadness novel. I enjoyed it, although it is definitely not a perfect book and the author has indulged his own fantasies too obviously. I then read Tun-Huang by Inoue Yasushi. It is a fictitious account behind the real event of the hiding of thousands of Buddhist scriptures in caves in western China. The story is told very plainly and directly, and so is easy to follow, but this makes the translation a little dull.
January 17th
Over the past couple of months, I've been reading the English translations of some classic Japanese novels. My purpose is to gain some understanding of the Japanese mind and behaviour. Even after almost ten years here, it's not easy for me to know what people are thinking in a situation. The selection of novels below have helped me in my understanding of both Japanese culture and individual thinking. Most were written some time ago; in particular after the second world war, and show a society undergoing great change. I won't comment on the novels too much, only to say that I enjoyed reading them all especially Deep River.
Oe
Kenzaburo - A Quiet
Life
Dazai
Osamu
- The
Setting Sun
Inoue
Yasushi - The Hunting
Gun
Endo
Shusaku
- Deep
River
Murakami
Haruki - Hard-boiled
Wonderland
I am about to start the Kawabata Yasunari classic: Beauty and Sadness.
January 16th
At last, a new story! After six months of being too busy, and not having enough energy, I finally completed the first story of 2012. It's very short and not so difficult, so please click on the image below to read it.
January 14th
This month is already halfway though. Only six weeks until the first sighns of spring. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather, but not to the hayfever. In fact, I now have pollen allergy for a total of five months a year in Japan :(
Below is a picture from Bangkok. Please click on it to see a few of my holiday photos.
January 10th
I just added some photos of Thailand. please click on the image below.
January 9th
Happy New Year to everyone! I had a great holiday in Thailand and was lucky with the weather. I spent 6 days in the south of Phuket, and two days in Bangkok. I must admit, Phuket is now far too busy. I first went there in 1988 and it was a tranquil place with empty beaches, but now there are thousands of tourists, and their behaviour is sometimes terrible and disrespectful. However, it is still a lovely place and by staying away from the main tourist beaches, you can still find peace and quiet. Of course some people want lots of noise and excitement. In that case, Patong beach will be perfect for you.
December 2011
December 25th
Merry Christmas everyone
December 20th
One week until my holiday. I am looking forward to a good rest.
I added a few recent Autumn photos of Showa Kinen Koen to the existing images that have been on the website for a while. Click on the image below. The new photos are on the right side.
December 19th
It's almost Christmas! The year is almost over. It's not been the best year ever. Most people around me have had a tough time, and I'm hoping that 2012 brings some peace and happiness for everyone.
A while back, I went to Iruma Airbase, along with Mr Nakajima, to see the 2011 airshow. The Japanese base welcomes 200000 people to see Blue Impulse, which is an acrobatic display team. Their close-control is amazing with five-jet barrel rolls being the highlight for me. Click the picture to see a few photos.
December 5th
I haven't died - I've just been too busy and tired to update the site. However, this month, I am not so busy and should have time to write about some of the things I've been doing in Tokyo. For example: Iruma Air Show, a Superfly concert, a concert by the experimental band BBSN, and lots of indoor climbing. Tomorrow is my dad's birthday - so Happy Birthday Dad!
