Can you guess what these 3 things have in common [mitsu no kyoutsuu ten]? Think!
Clues:
The frog is from a pharmacy/drugstore in Kirio shopping centre.
The orange is from a bar-restaurant in Gifu.
The little ceramic dog is from a shop in Tokoname.
If you think you know, please write your idea in the `comments` section below! I`ll tell you the answer soon...
*** ANSWER ***
All these things were free give-aways:
The lady in the pharmacy gave the frog to Owen when we bought something.
A customer gave a bag of oranges to the master of the restaurant, & he gave one to me.
When I bought something at a shop in Tokoname, the owner gave Owen the dog.
Thanks everyone for your interesting ideas. Some of you were close, but only my mum got the correct answer. Well done, mum!
When we were at Ichinomiya Tower Park on Saturday, there was this 60`s VW `kombi` van which had been converted into a mobile cafe/restaurant - cool, don`t you think?
My younger brother used to have an orange kombi van. He really wanted to be a hippie.
I wonder if he still has it.
I wonder if he`s still trying to be a hippie...
One of Ichinomiya`s most popular places for people of all ages (besides my school, Teragoya, of course) is Ichinomiya Tower Park, next to Kisogawa River.
The weather was pretty nice today, so there were a lot of people there, especially kids. My son really enjoyed the adventure playground. After he played on that for a while, we went & had lunch in front of a stage where a big band was playing jazz music. Cool.
If you live in or near Ichinomiya, I`m sure you`ve been to Ichinomiya Tower Park, right? What do you think of it? Have you been to the top of the 138-metre tower? I haven`t. I heard it moves a lot on windy days like today... yikes! I`m happy enough just to walk around & enjoy the open space, flowers, & fresh air.
I`m sorry I haven`t posted anything on my blog recently.
It`s difficult to maintain a light-hearted blog after the terrible events in north-east Japan.
But I`ll continue from today.
By now, most of the world knows about the terrible earthquake & tsunami that hit north-eastern Japan on Friday afternoon. The earthquake caused a lot of damage, but it is the video footage on TV of coastal towns being destroyed by the tsunami that is most shocking. Like most people, I have never seen anything like it before. It`s hard to believe.
After the initial earthquake, there were many warnings on the radio & television that a tsunami was on its way. I hope most people responded to the warnings in time, but I`m sure many didn`t or couldn`t.
Let`s pray for those affected.
After we walked on the beach, we went to an Italian restaurant for lunch, and look at what was in the carpark - WOW! One of my all-time favourite car designs - an old Porsche 356 Speedster (1955? 56? 57?). Actually, I suspect this one may be a replica, not an original (it didn`t taste right), but it`s still a beautiful car.
Veeeeery nice.
We stayed the night in Tokoname on Saturday, & the next morning we drove south along the coast of Chita Peninsula. Have you ever driven along the coast of Chita Peninsula? It`s not so pretty I think, but eventually we found a sandy beach (near Noma Lighthouse) & went for a walk.
I was disappointed that there was no wood to collect. As you know, I like to make things from recycled wood, such as birdhouses that birds don`t want to live in, toys that my son doesn`t want to play with, & furniture that my wife doesn`t want in the house.
But it was nice to walk on the beach again, & Owen seemed to enjoy it too.
On the weekend we went to the town of Tokoname, near Nagoya Chubu Airport. In the past this town was famous for producing ceramic goods such as pots, jars & pipes, and there were lots of kilns (ovens for ceramic baking) there.
Now there are only a few working kilns, but there are lots of other interesting old buildings to look at & there are various shops selling not only ceramic goods but also antiques, plants, glassware, & other things.
There`s also a small bakery where you can buy bread & then eat it at the tables outside, right beside a big old kiln. Nice.
Click on the above picture (twice) to see it better. If you like what you see, then I suggest you visit Tokoname!
This is a small (13 x 18cm) acrylic painting I did in - let me see - 2005! Wow, time flies...
It`s a view of Casuarina trees by the sea at a place called Broadbeach, on the Gold Coast, which is near my hometown of Brisbane in Australia.
My mother made the frame for this painting. Nice job, mum!
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KUMA 
birdy 
エメラルド 
yukio 
TERAGOYA おとな 
mokomoko 
bokushi 
PSPINC JP 
田仲なお美 
内倉憲一