Australia & Japan have both won their semi-final matches, so they`ll meet each other in the final on Saturday!
Excellent - I can`t wait!
Hmmm... where did I put my Australia scarf from last year`s world cup...?
![Mount Kinka Speed-Hiking]()
Yesterday I hiked up Mount Kinka in Gifu again. Two weeks ago I hiked up with a friend, but we took our time (went slowly). This time I wanted to try to do it faster.
HIKING LOG:
1:00pm: Finish teaching Bera-Bera class. It was really fun, so I`m in a good mood & motivated to climb Mount Kinka again.
1:10: Chat with my wonderful boss, Akemi:
A: Bye, Otto. Are you going home now?
O: No, I`m going to hike up Mount Kinka
A: Oh, that`s nice.
O: Yes, I went up with a friend 2 weeks ago but we took our time, so I thought, well, I`d like to try it again, but faster, so...
1:30: ...and that`s the reason East Timor is mostly Catholic. Wow - is that the time? I gotta go - Seeya!
A: [sound of snoring]
2:00: Reach foot of Kinka, Nana-Magari (7 tuna???) trail
2:25: Reach the castle at the top. Raise hands, do Rocky impression. Take a photo of the castle. Take a rest.
2:30: That`s enough! Speed-hiking! Come on! Start back down.
2:50: Reach bottom. Try to say "konnichiwa" to an old lady. Sounds like "keeeer-urgh!". Difficult to breathe...
2.55: Think about catching a bus back into town. No! Speed-hiking! Come on!
3:20: Arrive back at Gifu city centre.
I think I can`t do this course any faster without running, and I don`t want to do that.
...well, not alone. If you`re interested in running up Mount Kinka with me, please let me know! Super-speed-hiking! Come on!
Australia & Japan have both reached the semi-finals of the Asian Cup in Qatar. If they win their next matches (on Tuesday), they`ll meet in the final on Saturday - great!
Have you seen any of the games? I think Japan looks quite strong this tournament; they got red cards in 2 games but still won.
Now Australia`s best players are getting old - half of our team is over 30, & our goalkeeper is 38...
Traditional Japanese houses are made from wood, or a wood frame with the spaces filled with bamboo & clay. However, nowadays almost all houses are either concrete, or use a wooden frame covered by steel panels.
Brick houses are very rare in Japan. One reason is that they can be badly damaged by earthquakes. However, today I saw one being built not far from my home. I was surprised.
I hope it lasts longer than 30 years - the average lifespan of a modern Japanese house.
These are some photos I took at Iwato Shrine in Imaise last Sunday. I think Japanese shrines & temples look especially nice & photogenic (good for taking photos of) in the snow.
Last year I bought a waterproof camera for the prupose of taking pictures of sea fish when I go snorkelling, but I realised it`s also handy for taking photos in the snow. I don`t have to worry if it gets wet from the snow.
Click on the above picture to enlarge (& click again to enlarge more).
So many years after first pleasing audiences, yet this adorable little crowd-pleaser continues to turn heads for all the right reasons. What`s not to love?
Yeh. I`m a pretty popular guy.
Minis are pretty popular too - I see them occasionally around Ichinomiya. In fact, one of our students has one , but not the one in this photo, which I noticed near my home. I especially like the chrome wing-mirrors & wipers (with an unusual connecting rod).
I`m not sure of the year or details of the mini in the picture - so many different versions have been made since the first one in 1959. If you know, please tell me.
Anyway, nice car!
There has been a lot of snow around here the last few days. On Sunday I made a snowman with Owen. It`s a Japanese-style snowman - it`s made from 2 spheres. In western countries, people usually use 3 spheres when making a snowman.
In most pictures of snowmen I`ve ever seen, a carrot is used for the nose, so I asked my mother-in-law for one. Unfortunately she only had big ones, so my snowman looks a bit like me (because of the hair too...?)
I want to try making a bigger one, so I hope the snow doesn`t disappear too soon.
After teaching my special `Bera-Bera` class at our Gifu school (11am-1pm every Saturday, but January & February only! Contact staff if you want to join!) my friend Dan & I went for a hike up the nearby Mount Kinka. It`s only 329 metres high, so it didn`t take very long.
We didn`t see any squirrels (because it`s winter), but we saw lots of funny grey birds which were jumping around on the ground at various places. We could get quite close to them, but unfortunately I couldn`t get a good photo. I wonder what kind of bird they are.
Have you ever hiked up Mount Kinka? There are several trails - did you take a short, steep trail? Or a longer, easier one?
This week there was a bad flood in my hometown of Brisbane, Australia. It has been on the news here in Japan. Fortunately my family members & their houses are okay (thanks everybody who asked me about them). The flooding was worst on the west side of the city (the bottom of this photo), but my family mostly live on the east side of town (the top of the photo).
The flood was also very severe in places west of Brisbane, like Toowoomba, where it arrived suddenly. Some people have died, but nobody is sure how many yet.
It`s shocking to see familiar views so transformed by flood waters.
One of the perks of being a teacher at a school like Teragoya is that students sometimes bring us gifts, and this week we received cake from two students, Chie & Taigen.
Thanks guys! It was delicious.
But you still have to do your homework.
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KUMA 
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エメラルド 
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