Matsya, Takamatsu, Japan

melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 12, 2012, 9:05 am
Hello everybody!

I'm Matsya and I'm in the middle of my preparations to see the world! My passport is ready, now all I need is a nice person somewhere in this world who wants to be my host for a while  :D

Sadly the weather here in Basel isn't as great as it usually is in summer but we've planned a little photo session on Saturday to show you my home anyway  :)

Hope to find a host very soon.

Love,
Matsya
melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 12, 2012, 3:36 pm
Yay!  :D

I just got told that I am allowed to visit Mareikingowicz in Berlin, Germany! I'm really excited, I've never been there and
heard one can see so many fantastic things there! Now I can't wait!  :stare:
melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 13, 2012, 9:48 pm
Tonight we went for dinner at a restaurant in a small village. I had fantastic Käsespätzle. Spätzle are a type of egg noodle of soft texture found in the cuisine of Germany and of Austria and Switzerland. Yummy!

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melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 13, 2012, 10:02 pm
When we arrived back at home we found out that a guest has arrived: Muffmuff! And he brought along a little present for my mum and me  :D what a great surprise!

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Thanks alot Muffmuff

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As it was already way too dark to do anything outside...

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...we've decided to have a little snack...

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...and then make ourselves comfortable around a candle.

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Soon it will be off to bed as we will be visiting Basel tomorrow.

Good night!

melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 14, 2012, 8:13 am
Today we've been positively surprised! The weather forecast said it would be raining all day but we woke up to beautiful sunshine. We took the opportunity to make a picture with the view out of my room. Behind me is the roman-catholic church. It's a very beautiful church, but they ring the bell every day at 6am!

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melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 16, 2012, 7:59 am
Today we spent the day in Basel. It's only a 20 minute train drive from my home.

The very first we visited the Hammering Man.

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This is the hardest-working of all of Basel's inhabitants. The 13.5 metre tall eight-tonne giant has been swinging his hammer on Aeschenplatz since 1989. The American artist Jonathan Borofsky, who created this imposing artwork, has also created similar kinetic sculptures in other key cities around the world, including Frankfurt and New York.

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melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 16, 2012, 8:25 am
Then, we went to see the Münster. Fun fact: As the Münster's built of sandstone which wears out very quickly, it is constantly renovated. This makes it very expensive to maintain.

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The Basel Münster is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions of the Swiss city of Basel. It was built between 1019 and 1500 in Romanesque and Gothic styles. The late Romanesque building was destroyed by the 1356 Basel earthquake and rebuilt by Johannes Gmünd, who was at the same time employed for building the Freiburg Münster.

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This is the view from the back of the Münster. You can see one of the main bridges of Basel - the Wettsteinbrücke - on it.

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Between Basel's five bridges across the Rhine you will find the city's four ferries, “Wilde Maa”, “Leu”, “Vogel Gryff” und “Ueli” (Basel German: “Wild Man”, “Lion”, “Gryphon” and “Ueli” – a Swiss German nickname for Ullrich), with which you can cross the Rhine without motorised assistance, using only the natural power of the river's current. It is not only tourists that are thrilled by this mode of transport, the inhabitants of the city also regularly use this means of transport around the city.

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melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 16, 2012, 8:30 am
When one enters this impressive piazza, the first thing that catches the eye is the colourful Town Hall (Rathaus). However this piazza still plays a key role in the lives of Basel's inhabitants today. The market that takes place here every day of the week is a welcome addition to the grocer's and greengrocer's shops elsewhere in the city centre. Lovers of good food can find delicious local produce on the market stalls, as well as many specialities from the region, Switzerland and the entire world.

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melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 16, 2012, 8:47 am
The Mittlere Brücke was initially used for local traffic, in conjunction with the development of the route over the Gotthard Pass as an international trade route, in the 14th century it gained significance as a crossing over the Rhine for international trade. With the advent of electric trams, the old bridge had to make way for the new Mittlere Brücke in 1905. A copy of the old bridge chapel, the so-called “Käppelijoch”, where in the Middle Ages convicted criminals were sentenced to death, was erected as a  reminder of the original construction.

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Next to it is "Les Trois Rois" (engl. "the tree kings" as the tree wise men are called in German and French). It's probably the most elegant and most expensive hotel you can find in all of Basel and around. Compared to it, the Hilton looks like a youth hostel  :p

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The other side of the bridge. Here you can walk along the water for several kilometers, or, if you prefer, jump into it and let yourself float until the end of the walk (you don't want to go down to far, otherwise you can't get out anymore). My mum even told me that sometimes silly people jump from the bridges into the water. But that's very dangerous and forbidden.

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melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 16, 2012, 8:53 am
After our long walk around Basel, we took the tram to the last stop and walked over the border to Germany to go shopping. As there were a lot of people and my mum was afraid she might loose us we only took a picture on the outside.

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melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 16, 2012, 9:20 am
The Chêne des Bosses in Châtillon, a remarkable part of the natural heritage of the Jura, is protected as a historic monument by the Jura environment office. This exceptional tree, which owes its name to its old, twisted trunk full of bumps and bulges, is regarded as the largest and oldest pedunculate oak in Europe and also listed in the record books. Its trunk is so large, it would take seven or eight men with outstretched arms to reach around the base. Its age is hard to determine, though it is known to be many centuries old. According to legend, it may even be over a thousand years old. During the Second World War, soldiers tried to date it by core drilling, but without success.

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You think it's not "that big"? Try to find us on this picture:

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On our way back to the car we passed a lovely manmade lake with lots of waterlilies.

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Watch out for this beautiful flower, it has lots of stingy thorns!  ;)

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melik90
melik90@gmx.ch

Posted Jul 16, 2012, 9:27 am
Today I said goodbye to Muffmuff, my journey will take me to Berlin :) I can't wait to see Germanys capital!

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Good bye, and enjoy the rest of your stay in Switzerland!

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Mareikingowicz


Posted Jul 28, 2012, 7:41 pm
Hey Mommy,

after a long journey I arrived in Berlin finally. I´m very happy to be here because the envelope was really uncomfortable.

I was welcomed by host mommy´s plushies – Eli, Launebaer and even Garfield joined us. Can you see me?

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I´ve got a warm hug from all plushies and after that I showed my passport. :) I brought my host mommy a tasty caramel chocolate and she was very happy about the small present.

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Today another TV arrived in Berlin as well. It was Schäfchen and we could welcome her together. She is a lovely sheep girl. I like her very much.

We helped her to get out of her travel box. She brought us a lot of sweets and how at the last time as Jefferny arrived Launebaer tried to catch all the sweets. Hihi But we got some sweets as well.

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Today it was very hot in Berlin and so Schäfchen and I decided to take a sunbath on our TV balcony. :) We could relax a bit and we drank a yummy Capri Sonne. A good refreshment.

But the best was our small bath which host mommy prepared for us. After a jump into the cold water we relaxed again and had an ice cold Cider.

After a long first day we went to our TV bed.

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Tomorrow we will do our first trip to see some sights in Berlin.

See you soon mommy,
Yours Matsya
Mareikingowicz


Posted Jul 30, 2012, 12:38 pm
Dear Mommy,

here Matsya again. Today we made a small walk through Berlin. :)

You can see me in front of the Wall and in front of the river Spree. It was a nice walk and I enjoyed my first trip in Berlin.

The small boat you can see is a Hostel. Isn´t it cool?!

Unfortunately it started to rain heavily and we couldn´t go further. But I think that I will get the possibility to see more in Berlin. :)

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Best greetings to you.
Matsya
Mareikingowicz


Posted Aug 11, 2012, 8:21 pm
Hello mommy,

after two busy weeks finally we could take some nice photos. I´m very well here in Berlin and I hope you are doing well too.

Today we planed a bike tour from Berlin to Potsdam around the Schwielow Lake and back to Berlin. We had so much luck with the weather. You will see that in the pictures.

We started at 10 o´clock in the morning in Berlin Charlottenburg. We went to Berlin Grunewald and further to Wannsee. There we did our first brake. As you can see we had some cookies with us, so we were as fit as a fiddle all the time. ;) By the way I had a perfect view in my small bag. It was perfect.

We went along the water front and reached Potsdam very soon. You can see me at the Glienicker Bridge and in front of the Babelberg Park. Really beautiful.

From Potsdam we went to Ferch. We did a small stop in Caputh to eat some cookies. Yummy. In Ferch we drunk a nonalcoholic Weiss beer. On our way back home we saw some cows. hehe I choose the biggest one for my steak later. ;)

Finally we reached the Park Sansouci. The first photo shows the New Palais. Then you can see me in front of a garden. It was so great. The flowers were smelling. Wow. Later we even saw the Roman bath. A man helped me to take the pictures with the statue. He asked me where I come from and I could tell him about my home country Switzerland.

The next building is the Castle Charlottenhof. The Castle Charlottenburg is located in Berlin. This one in Potsdam is much smaller but very beautiful as well. Our last stop was the best one. I could see the Castle Sansouci. It was just amazing.

Here mommy the last photo our evidence we went almost 100 km by bike. Isn´t cool?!

During the next days you will see some more photos of me. Host mommy promised me to show a lot of things in Berlin.

I miss you mommy.
See you soon Matsya
Mareikingowicz


Posted Aug 13, 2012, 7:40 am
Dear mommy,

yesterday we walked a bit around. We went to the Kurfuerstendamm - maybe the most famous street in Berlin. You can find a lot of restaurants, shops, café´s, museums and clubs. It´s a really vibrant street. You can see me in front of the Schaubühne. It´s a theater founded in 1962 and the normally show contemporary sheech and dance shows.

The buddy bears are all over in Berlin. I think you will see me with other bears later. :) Later we saw a funny bicycle rack and a funny bike from a yoga studio. The fountain was very nice as well. In the restaurant you can try 100 different types of beer. :) But we were to earlie and couldn´t try one. Maybe next time.

Bye mommy. See you soon  :)
Mareikingowicz


Posted Aug 19, 2012, 11:44 am
Hey mommy,

today Alf arrived. I welcomed him in Berlin and invited him to our bike trip to Potsdam. He was a bit tired after his journey, but I thought that fresh air is always good to feel fresh. :)

So host mommy and daddy putted us to our travel box and we started our way to Potsdam. I did know the trace already a bit and could tell Alf everything.  B)

I didn´t see before the Cecilienhof Castle - it was very interesting and the building has such a long history. It was built as the last Castle of the Hohenzollern family between 1914 and 1917. There were a lot of wooden parts in the house as you can see on the photos.

After that we saw the Marble Palace. Isn´t great? The whole park is so great and I liked it very much. Friedrich Wilhelm II. wanted to have these park and the park was done in 1787. The Marble Palace was finished just some years later in 1792.
Then we did a small break with fruits and Alf and me talked a lot about our journeys and our life mission. He is a nice guy and I think that we will have a lot of fun in Berlin.

Kisses mommy. I miss you.
Matsya
Mareikingowicz


Posted Aug 22, 2012, 11:47 am
Dear Mommy,

here comes a new update from me. :) I hope you are doing well and everything is fine.

I´m well and already excited about my journey to Finland. Host mommy told me about that. Will be great. So we think that I will start my travel end of the next week. Will let you know as soon as possible.

Today you can see me at Gendarmenmarkt and Friedrichstreet in Berlin. It is a very busy part of Berlin and a lot of tourist are there as well. Like me. ;)

Mareikingowicz


Posted Aug 26, 2012, 12:42 pm
Hey mommy,

I hope you are well. :) I´m fine and everything is okay here in Berlin.

Today was a very exiting day for me. Regularly host mommy volunteers for running events. Today was the Sport Scheck Run in Berlin-Steglitz. So we had to get up very early at 6 o´clock to be on time at our meeting point. We got our clothes, lunch package and the point where we have to stay during the race.

We stood directly in front of the Beer Brush (Bierpinsel) just some meters away from the finish. The volunteer jobs are organized by SCC Berlin and everybody who wants can help. Host mommy told me that is always fun and you can meet a lot of new people. This is great. Today we had a single position, so good that I joined host mommy today.

Our concrete job was to observe the fans that they do not cross the street during the race. Good for us - the weather was very good.  B) Of course we cheer for the runners as well. It was amazing - some of them run 10,5 km and some the 21 km. Wow!!!

Before I will leave Berlin next week host mommy promised me to show me some sights of Berlin. I´m exited what I will see.

Kisses to you mommy and see you soon hopefully.
Yours, Matsya

Mareikingowicz


Posted Aug 28, 2012, 6:13 am
Hey mommy,

as I told you Sunday morning we volunteered in Berlin-Steglitz. In the afternoon host mommy showed me and Alf another intersting place in Berlin. The old airport Tempelhof. The weather was so nice and so we could walk through the park a bit.

We could see so many active people with their bikes, skates and kites. Wow. I really enjoyed the short journey. The best thing is that from the park you can see the TV Tower from Berlin. It´s a pity that you cannot see it on the photos. It was very cool. :)

Together with Alf I had a lot of fun here. We were talking about our next journey, about the places we will go next week and we are already very exited. :D

Big hugs to you mommy.  :D
Mareikingowicz


Posted Aug 30, 2012, 7:51 pm
Hey my dear mommy,

today was my last day in Berlin. :(
After host mommy´s work we wentby bike to the Brandenburg Gate. We had so much luck - the sun was shining and you can see great photos from me.

Next to the Brandenburg Gate is the famous hotel Adlon. A lot of celebrities lived there - even Michael Jackson. At some pictures you can see the Berlin TV tower. The tower is very beautiful and you can see the tower from almost every corner in Berlin. Great. :D

Then we drove by bike to the Tiergarten - it is a big park in the middle of the city. I could see a lot of people there going by bike, jogging, do yoga and tai chi. You can do almost everything in the park just no barbecue. ;) It´s forbidden since some years.
Beside a lot of statues, small tarns and canals you can see a big memorial for the second world war. It is to remember the russian soldiers lost their life during the last days from the war. Interesting but a sad topic.

So we went further to another sight in Berlin - the Berlin Victory Column. Isn´t it beautiful mommy?

Tommorow starts my next journey. Mommy you can believe that, but I´m so excited.  :rolleyes: I hope that I won´t travel too long. And I hope as well that it is not too cold in Finland. I liked the summer degrees here in Berlin.

Kisses mommy yours Matsya  :D
Mareikingowicz


Posted Sep 1, 2012, 8:22 pm
Dear mommy,

I´m going on my trip to Finland. :D Ui you can´t believe how exited I am.
Host mommy and Alf will bring me to the post office later the day. I had a good time in Berlin and fun with Alf. He is a very good guy. Maybe I will see him again anywhere in the world.

I will post something new as soon as I arrived.

Kisses to you my dear mommy.
mmm105


Posted Sep 4, 2012, 9:13 am
Hi mommy!

I just wanted to tell you, that I'm in Finland now.
I arrived here today, and I got warm welcome.
Hostmom is little sick (a flu) right now, so pictures will be added here  later...

Love,
Matsya
mmm105


Posted Sep 11, 2012, 10:57 am
Hello mommy!

When I arrived in Finland, I met many other ToyVoyagers.
It was really exited to meet new toys, and get to know each other, and to have so many new friends so suddenly. Yeah, but it was really fun!!!  :D

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They all gave me a group hug as a welcome. :)

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And mommy, let me introduced Kurnau cat. He is hostmom's toy, and he will be my host here, too.

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Everything seems to be nice here. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy my time here. :)

Love,
Matsya
mmm105


Posted Sep 11, 2012, 1:46 pm
Hello mommy!

Today a new toy arrived here. She is Leila sheep from Lithuania. 
We gave her a group hug as welcome.
It was nice to have more company here, and to have a new friend. :)

Love,
Matsya
mmm105


Posted Sep 11, 2012, 1:58 pm
Hello mommy!

Today I went to walk little outside. Look mommy, there's already an autumn in Finland. It was a rainy day, so I didn't go very far from the hostmom's house (I didn't want to get wet).

I saw many things, what is typical in Finland at this time of the year. Look all those different colours! I think the autumn is quite beautiful time of the year, at least here. Well, hostmom said these colours are just started to come... and after few days it will be even more colourful, all colours will turn out more deeper!  :o

Enjoy watching these pictures, mom! :)

Love,
Matsya
mmm105


Posted Sep 16, 2012, 7:28 pm
Hi mommy!

Today I said goodbye to 3 ToyVoyagers.
They all are going to the next places to visit:
Ronja will go to Denmark,
Sausi Karl to Switzerland,
and Wayne goes back home to Germany.

I gave them all goodbye-hugs, and wish them good luck. :)

Love,
Matsya
mmm105


Posted Oct 9, 2012, 4:09 pm
Hi mommy!

I have got nice time here. I have made new friends with other toys here, and we have got fun!

Today I was outside, and I saw some great things of the autumn.
Look the photos, mom, and you can see the colours of nature, too.
Yes, it's the most colourful time of this season, very soon all trees will be "naked", and then it's time wait some snow coming. I'm so exited, I want to see some snow... but I have to wait little more first...

I'm fine here, mom. :)

Love,
Matsya
mmm105


Posted Oct 22, 2012, 12:45 pm
Hi mommy!

Something exiting happened today. My hostmom is active in postcrossing hobby, and today I had a chance to take part in the postcrossing meeting! It was really fun!  :D
I was there with Kurnau, Alberto, Gwen Jolie and little Sunny.

The meeting place was a wonderful postcard shop named Harjun Paperi. It's absolutely the best postcard shop in this town (it's like a postcard heaven).

And what we did in the meeting... Well, we did chat to each other, and eat some great snacks...  :p

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...and we wrote many postcards...

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...and while people continued writing even more postcards, we toys were exploring in the shop. :)

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It was fun!

Love,
Matsya
mmm105


Posted Oct 22, 2012, 12:48 pm
Hi mommy!

Today I visited to see the oldest building of Jyväskylä.
The building called as Taavettilan riihi, which is in English the drying barn of Taavettila.
The building has buildt somewhere in 1700's, the exact year is unknown.
First, building used as a drying barn, but somewhere in 1800's it became usual barn/cabin and it got windows then. In 1900's the building started to be a cabin museum.


Jyväskylän vanhin rakennus = the oldest building of Jyväskylä
Riihi muutettu tuvaksi 1800-luvun alussa = a drying barn has turn to be a cabin in the beginning of 1800's
Jyväskylän yliopisto = University of Jyväskylä
Rakennus 3 = Building 3

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Because we didn't have a chance to go in (the door was closed), we decided to look through the window...

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Love,
Matsya

mmm105


Posted Oct 26, 2012, 7:57 pm
Hello mommy!

Guess what? Something white thing has came here. It's all over outside.
It's cold, white, and it's covering everything!!!  :o  :o  :o

YES!!! It's the first snow!!!  :o

Winter is just around the corner... Temperature has been about -3 degrees Celcius the hole day.

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Brrrrr... snow is so cold!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oQeng1o_v3s/UIrQsOIYVcI/AAAAAAAARuU/n8NotbcwXKE/s550/020.JPG

All others came to sit on the snow, too. Brrrrrrr...

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-w2jBGhbPboU/UIrR1VvwdZI/AAAAAAAARwo/QLXUYCICXSA/s550/032.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7Y99iHtC0nI/UIrR1g_9s5I/AAAAAAAARwk/q29HLTtC2Pw/s549/033.JPG

Ooooops! What just happened?!?  :o  Some snow fall on us!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-JTNRn0CBiiM/UIrR2GVPIEI/AAAAAAAARww/wCCcWhTeAa0/s550/034.JPG

Hih... it was only fun!  :D

Love,
Matsya
mmm105


Posted Oct 29, 2012, 10:18 pm
Hi mommy!

Now it's my time to continue my journey. I'm so exited, because I will go to visit my next host in Japan. :)

But before I'm going, I said goodbye to others. 

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZSQ0x3RGnGY/UI7uKD9BhdI/AAAAAAAAR08/ToZ2T70chuU/s512/IMG_9839.JPG

Especially Nyankororin cat was really exited, because I'm going to visit her mentor in Japan!!!

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-OF3AwjyxJwY/UI7uJ4DGpGI/AAAAAAAAR00/cG2m7_p0V9s/s512/IMG_9838.JPG

I also said goodbye to hostmom's cat.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-UHe_MD7hq8k/UI7uJnJAfcI/AAAAAAAAR0w/OPRTF54Sfx8/s512/IMG_9831.JPG

I'm so exited!

Love,
Matsya
mmm105


Posted Oct 29, 2012, 10:21 pm
Hi!

I'm in the envelope now. It's sooooo dark here.

I really hope I will arrive my next destination soon...

Maybe I could fullfill one of my life mission there...

Bye bye Finland! :)

Japan, I'm coooooming!

Love,
Matsya
hanachan


Posted Nov 24, 2012, 3:31 pm
Hey mom :)
I am in Japan. I'm going to visit my host hanachan.
I'm so excited :D
What do I say to her first? "Kon'nichiwa"?

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
hanachan


Posted Dec 9, 2012, 10:16 am
Hello!
My host hanachan works for a company in Takamatsu and I visit there today.
I'm going to have a lunch at the staff cafeteria with her.
This is Bento-style lunch  :D
Today's menu is Oden :D
Itadakimasu!
hanachan


Posted Dec 9, 2012, 10:38 am
Yakiniku - Japanese Barbecue -
Today I'm sitting at the Yakiniku restaurant.
This menu book is illustrated. It's very helpful for the people who can't read Japanese.
Hey guys, I think you'd better order more vegetables, too...  :o

The Christmas tree has already been set on the corner.
:D
hanachan


Posted Dec 9, 2012, 10:43 am
Now the train is running Seto Ohashi Bridge over the Inland Sea.
hanachan


Posted Dec 9, 2012, 10:49 am
The night view of the Takamatsu central station. It is the most busy station in Shikoku.
hanachan


Posted Dec 9, 2012, 10:55 am
Sushi!
hanachan bought 'take-out' sushi and arranged them on a cute plate :D
Itadakimasu!
hanachan


Posted Dec 9, 2012, 3:10 pm
Chiristmas is coming :)
In Japan Christmas is not a holiday, just a commercial event for most people. However, they enjoy it, decorating trees, preparing presents for families and friends.
The big tree illuminated by beautiful lights appeared at night.

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
hanachan


Posted Feb 2, 2013, 7:37 am
Otsuka Museum of Art
The world's first collection of Ceramic-Board Reproduction of Masterpaintings.

Now I'm not in the Sistine Chapel, Rome. The room is an authentic-looking reproductions of the Sistine Chapel's art works. This is one of the exhibits in this museum. These are not original paintings.  They are ceramic works using a special manufacturing technique. Visitors can see over 1000 full-size ceramic reproductions of major works of art. The works are transfer-printed from photographs before being fired and retouched.
Of course I enjoyed reproductions of great paintings in the modern ages.
:rolleyes:
hanachan


Posted Feb 2, 2013, 7:42 am
Say Good bye to 2012 :)
Japanese people have many parties called "Bo-nen kai" in December. Bo-nen kai is a drinking party where they begin to forget about the problems in this past year and look forward to the new year.
:D :D :D

(oops, the battery of camera is empty...) :mad:
hanachan


Posted Feb 2, 2013, 7:45 am
Happy New Year! - Akemashite Omedetou!
Osechi Ryouri & Ozouni
Hi :)
The new year day in Japan is very calm. Family people meet together at their parents' house to celebrate the New Year, wishing for the future health of everyone.
The first meal in the new day is Osechi Ryouri and Ozouni. The New Year's food arranged in the lacquer boxes and special soup with rice cakes, vegetables, etc.
:D :D :D
hanachan


Posted Feb 2, 2013, 7:53 am
Melon Pan - a type of sweet bun from Japan
In Japan, western food is often developed and changed in its own way by fusing with Japanese original culture.
It's interesting. What do you think? :D


P.S. Oh, I know I always eat...  :p
hanachan


Posted Feb 2, 2013, 8:04 am
Yashima Shrine
This shrine was built in 1651 by Matsudaira Yorishige, the first Feudal Load of Takamatsu. It is the place where to worship his grandfather Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.
When we visit the shrine, first we wash hands. An old tap is often decorated everywhere in the world. In Japan lots of shrine and temples have "Doragons" like this.
Then I went up to the long steps of stone and looked back... wow!
:o :o :o
hanachan


Posted Mar 18, 2013, 10:53 pm
Ogijima is an island in the Seto Inland Sea. It is next to Megijima, a few kilometers from Takamatsu port. It's a very small island just 4km around, about 150 people lives.
Today we go to the island by ferry boat. 

But...
The weather in the island suddenly turned to bad.
We reached the lighthouse in the stormy rain :(
This is the northernmost tip of Takamatsu city.
hanachan


Posted Apr 14, 2013, 11:07 am
Kobe is the 5th-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyogo prefecture.
We changed a train at Okayama station. Here the Shinkansen Express "Sakura" is coming. It's hard to take pictures of them, because they come quickly and stop just a few minutes :stare:
After 45 minutes, we reached Kobe. The weather was a little bad :thinking:


From the window of Marine Liner train
Our train is running across the Seto Ohashi Bridge over the Inland Sea. If it were sunny day, we could see a beautiful scenery.
Sakura, the Shinkansen Express train
Sakura N700 Series Shinkansen
Port of Kobe
From the center of the city we walked to the port of Kobe. That red tower is very famous as the Kobe landmark.
The Former Foreign Settlement
The modern-era western style buildings remain standing in the new city.
China Town Nankin-machi
Nankin-machi is a compact chinatown in central Kobe, one of the three Chinatowns in Japan. (others are in Nagasaki and Yokohama) This area was developed by Chinese merchants who settled near Kobe Port after the port was opened to foreign trade in 1868.
hanachan


Posted Apr 20, 2013, 7:41 am
The weather is a little bad also in Takamatsu, but it's warm. Sakura cherry blossoms start to bloom.
Walking around my host hanachan's house, we can see many Sakura trees beside the streets.
Soon they are in full bloom.
;)
hanachan


Posted Apr 20, 2013, 7:47 am
This is Ritsurin Garden, a typical Japanese garden. It is located in the center of the city, among the modern buildings. Stepping inside it is like slipping into another world and another time.
For 228 years long since 1642, the Matsudaira family, the feudal lord of Takamatsu owned and maintained the garden. Today the garden is open to public.
What a wonderful world!
;)


more about Ritsurin Garden
hanachan


Posted Apr 20, 2013, 7:57 am
Sakura is full blooming :D
This is a small Shinto shrine near hanachan's house.
The sky is blue. It's a beautiful day.
hanachan


Posted May 3, 2013, 8:19 am
Izakaya --- A kind of Tavern, Brewpub... I think. Izakaya is popular for drinking. You can also have good food with non-alcohol drinks there.
I ate Sashimi, Tamagoyaki and Tofu salad :D
Surprise! BBQ on the table :o

;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
hanachan


Posted May 3, 2013, 8:53 am
Ichigo Daifuku :D :D :D :D :D
Before I leave Japan, I'll show you one of Japanese sweets, mum.
They call this "Ichigo Daifuku".
Daifuku is very traditional sweets in Japan. Ichigo means strawberry. Ichigo Daifuku is a relatively new variation.

:D :D :D

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