I enjoyed watching, chasing, catching & taking photos of Ishigaki Island`s animals. I also had the chance to drink one of them!
This is `habushu`, which is made using awamori (a kind of rice whisky made in Okinawa), herbs, honey, & `habu` snake - similar to an American rattlesnake. I saw a bottle in the shop with a full snake inside, but it was expensive - 12,000yen ($120). This bottle only cost 750yen ($7.50).
It actually tasted pretty good. I was surprised.
When I went for a walk on Ishigaki Island, I found something interesting. It`s in this photo. Can you see it?
The answer is in comments.
The beach & sea are not the only places to see interesting things on Ishigaki Island. I went walking in the jungle & fields, & found various interesting plants & animals, as you can see. I was especially impressed by the many kinds of butterfly there.
I could also hear pheasants [きじ], & I found some wild boar [いのしし] footprints, but I didn`t see them.
This Golden Week holiday, I went to Ishigaki Island, in the far south of Japan. I came here for Golden Week last year too.
Now there is a new airport on Ishigaki Island, so it`s more convenient to fly there than before. Last year we had to transfer in Naha, which was a hassle [= troublesome].
Anyway, on the beach & in the water, I saw various interesting creatures [= animals]. I have a waterproof camera, but the water was pretty cold, so I couldn`t stay in the water very long, & I couldn`t take so many pictures of fish. I still had fun though.
Have you ever been to Ishigaki Island? How about Okinawa?
Wisteria [ふじ] flowers are blooming now, so it`s a good time to show you this acrylic [アクリルえのぐ] painting I did a few years ago.
I should hang this picture in my classroom now, shouldn`t I? But I think wisteria flowers don`t last long, so soon I have to bring it home again... I can`t be bothered [めんどくさい].
Near my house there is a wild [shizen na しぜんな] pheasant [kiji きじ]. I have seen it a few times, but I couldn`t take a photo - it always ran away & hid [kakurenda かくれんだ]. Finally yesterday I got close enough to take a photo.
It`s a gorgeous bird, isn`t it? I`m glad there is one living near my house.
Have you ever seen one? Did you take a photo of it?
Yesterday was festival day in Iwato, where I live. Last year the weather wasn`t so good, so not so many people came. Yesterday the weather was sunny & there were a lot of people!
As usual, there were 3 floats [dashi だし], some decorated horses, & various stalls [yatai やたい].
I breed [hanshoku suru?] killi fish [medaka めだか] at home, but I`m not so interested in goldfish. However my son really wanted to catch one at the goldfish stall at the festival. He couldn`t catch one himself, so the stall owner just gave him one. When we got home, I put it in a fish tank [suisouすいそう] & today it`s still alive, but I wonder how long it will survive [ikirareru]. How long do you think?
This week I started working 3 days a week at our Ginan school. I go there by bicycle. Riding to Ichinomiya school from my home used to take 20 minutes. Ginan is much further but I was surprised to find it only takes me 10 minutes longer to get there. Also, on the way I can enjoy some new sights, such as a nice, wide view when I cross The Kiso River.
I like riding - it`s good exercise & less stressful, for me, than driving. But it`s not much fun when it rains, & rainy season is coming soon...
Do you like riding? Why/Why not?
I forgot to tell you about Teragoya`s new mascot, `Tera` (or `Tera-chan`). Students, staff & teachers created designs, & this was the winning one. It`s by Ichinomiya staff member, Erina. Nice work, Erina!
Now you can see Tera-chan on various Teragoya signs, notices & goods. He looks great, doesn`t he?
But I`m still a little disappointed my design wasn`t chosen as the winner. Do you want to see my design? Really? Oh, okay. I`ll put it in `Comments` for you to look at.
Which do you prefer? My design or Erina`s?
Elephants are popular animals in Thailand. Thai people think white elephants are especially lucky. For this reason, you can often see them on Thai product labels, like this one.
But what is in the box??? Can you guess?
Hints:
- I bought it in a stationery shop (ぶんぼうぐや bunbouguya)
- There are 60 pieces in the box
- I got them for my kids to play with
Please write your answer in `Comments`!
UPDATE:
The answer is in `Comments`.
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KUMA 
田仲なお美 
bokushi 
yukio 
birdy 
内倉憲一 
エメラルド 
mokomoko 
PSPINC JP