I`ve had my Japanese Driver`s License for 5 years. I haven`t received any tickets or fines from police, so this week I was able to replace my old one with a `gold` version. I`m happy about that, because a gold license is useful. For example, now I can say to people, "Do you have a gold license? No? Haha - Loser! I do!"
Maybe I can say this to a lot of people in Aichi Prefecture. You see, before I was given my new license, I had to watch a video & listen to a speech by a police officer. He said Aichi had the highest number of road deaths in Japan last year. Wow! I was surprised! My wife wasn`t. She said, "Yes - Aichi is highest every year."
Please drive safely!
There are a couple of interesting events coming up (= coming soon).
The first is the annual Konomiya Naked Festival this Friday (Feb. 22nd). Konomiya Shrine is right beside Meitetsu Konomiya Station, so it`s easy to get to by train. Or maybe, like me, you want to get there by running 7km from Kiyosu Town wearing a loincloth [fundoshi]. It`s up to you. Here is a link to some information (in Japanese): http://www.konomiya.or.jp/main/hadakamatsuri (thanks, Mr. Kuma!)
The other event is Teragoya`s Kimono Kyoto tour on Sunday Feb. 24. Teachers & students will go to Kyoto by tour bus, rent kimonos, dress up, then walk around Kyoto, have lunch etc. It`s going to be a lot of fun! I`d like to invite you to join us, but I`m afraid it`s already full. I`ll post photos next week.
Two more reasons to like my hometown of Brisbane - Asahi AND Kirin now available on tap! (on tap = なま)
Besides the animals we saw on my aunt`s farm, and in a zoo that we went to, we saw various other animals in parks or around the house, including possums. Possums are nocturnal, which means they sleep in the day & come out at night. They don`t like to walk on the ground, so they usually get around by using trees, telephone & power lines, and house roofs. If you put some food (e.g. fruit) on your verandah, maybe they will come down & eat it during the night. Sometimes, you can even hand-feed them. However, a lot of people dislike them because they eat garden plants, & they like to live inside house`s roofs, which becomes a smelly, noisy problem....
Do you know the animals in these photos? Have you ever seen them?
In my last blog post I told you about visiting my aunt`s farm. After reading that, I guess you`re in the mood for some country music, right? Right? No? Okay, maybe not, but I still think you might like this song by a Canadian guy called Daniel Romano. Sorry - the music video is weird (= strange), but I like the song, & I thought you might too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no3tNgZXIvE
If you like the sound of that, here`s another nice song of his: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpzl1VI4f-A
And another! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PYRExYcp_E
One thing I really look forward to when I go home to Australia is going for a long drive in the countryside.
As you drive inland, the roads become long and straight, the traffic starts to disappear, & the views get wider. I feel more & more relaxed & happy.
My excuse for driving west this holiday was to visit my aunt`s farm, about 4 hours west of Brisbane. As you can see, she keeps cattle (cows) on it. She used to have sheep too, but not anymore. It`s a really interesting farm, with various old cars, machines, a shearing shed, windmills etc. We also saw some wild animals: kangaroos, a goanna, and a big snake too - Wow!
Thanks for showing us around the farm, auntie. We had a great time!
If you read my blog regularly, you probably know various things about me, for example that I have lots of hobbies, that my Japanese is not so good, and that I often behave badly at Teragoya parties.
You`ve probably also noticed my interest in old & unusual cars, so it won`t surprise you that I took all these photos in Australia. I saw other interesting cars besides these ones, but usually while I was driving, & it was difficult to take a photo (& my wife`s screaming hurt my ears).
Which one do you like the most? As for me, I guess I like the black one under the red truck, or the Landrover down the bottom, or of course the yellow 71/72 Mustang...or... ah - it`s hard to choose!
* click on the picture to enlarge
Catching a river ferry is a great way to get to & from the centre of Brisbane, my hometown. It`s fast, comfortable & scenic. It`s not so cheap, but actually everything is a little expensive in Australia nowadays.
We stayed with my parents while we were in Brisbane, and fortunately near their house there is a ferry stop. You can see it in the bottom-right photo. It`s a nice one, isn`t it? But I`m kind of disappointed that it doesn`t have a flag-pole & flag on top - that would really look good I think. Maybe I will write a letter & make a formal request for one to be put up.
Hmm. When I was young I would have thought about stealing such a flag. Now I`d like to donate one.
I must be getting old.
I`m sorry for not blogging for 2 months. I was on holidays in Australia. I thought I might blog while I was Australia, but I didn`t really have time.
However I`m back in Japan now, so I will resume (= start again) blogging. Of course I have lots of pictures of my Australian holiday to show you, but first I want to thank Yuki, Kahori, Miho, Naoki & Naomichi (he looks like he has long hair in this photo, but it`s just shadow) for having a `Welcome Back` dinner for me on Saturday. We went to a new place in Ichinomiya called Neneya.
Thanks, guys - I really appreciate it!
I love old Landcruisers like this one. In outback (countryside) Australia, you can still see quite a lot of them, especially the tray-back version. That version is popular because it`s useful for carrying farm things such as tools, animal food, and working dogs. And because farmers in outback Australia are good at repairing & maintaining machines, they are able to keep old cars running for many years.
I saw this blue one not far from my house. Cool isn`t it? It`s a little rusty, but I think that actually suits it.
The owner of this car is lucky - just driving to work would feel like an adventure.
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田仲なお美 
KUMA 
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bokushi 
yukio 
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PSPINC JP 
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