the nice shot in Shirakawa village

Hi　Aurelio
I could take a photograph like this . it was lucky for me to get the good shot in Shirakawa village. I might say thanks to the warm of the unusual weather in Shirakawa Village.

Since many cameramen had gathered before the nearby rice field, I walked toward the crowd. That was a photography point. At this time, since there was no snow, the rice field was covered with water, and the Gasyoh House was exactly projected upside down like a mirror. I like a warm weather a lot more than a cold weather.
But I just care of the Earth’s weather of this year. And you,too.

The difference between the American golf and the Japanese golf

It has been said that golf was born in England and developed in the U.S and degraded in Japan. I sometime enjoy playing golf and I have played golf in the U.S. only one time. However the diffrence is clear.In the case of Japan, these days when we play golf we always get up at dawn and arrive the golf course. After that we have breakfast at the deluxe restrant in luxurious clubhouse. On the other hand, in the case of the U.S. generally speaking, golf course is so close and there is only simple front desk and the sandwich-house. Moreover, in the case of Japan, after 9 holes we definitely have a deluxe lunch with a lot of liquor, but in the case of the U.S. they play through 18 holes from the start and they have lunch with hotdog and soft drink which are sold at the booth. After all the holes, Japanese people enjoy a good bath like a spa, from then they start to drink liquor while getting paid back for the bet, but the American people only take a shower and hurry home. After all American golf is pure sports but Japanese golf is a kind of the entertainment.

Hakone Ekiden and Marathons

Hi Takuma and Koji,

I also had the opportunity to watch some of the Hakone Ekiden during the New Year's holidays. The endurance and speed of the runners left quite an impression on me.

Today when I was late for a meeting with a friend I started to run to try to save some time. I became exhausted within a few minutes and thought back to the incredible endurance of the Hakone Ekiden runners! I'm always surprised about how quickly I get tired while running.

The surprising thing is that my endurance is very good when I play basketball. I can play for hours on end before I have to quit. Perhaps the short rests that I can take while playing basketball really help my endurance. Or maybe it's because I love playing basketball but dislike running!

Paul

Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden race is truly a contest of sheer physical endurance! How any of those people can keep up the pace over so many kilometers is, well, just amazing!

I have heard of similar endurance races in some parts of the States. In some races, they run across a searing desert for many kilometers! Some runners collapse from exhaustion and must be hospitalized. I can understand running and jogging for physical exercise, but why would anyone want to put themselves through something like that? It's beyond me!

I guess some people find pleasure and reward in being able to do something that most other people cannot. It sort of sets them apart, one could say. Hmm, some people are funny that way!

Aurelio (^_^)

Little snow in Shirakawa Village, but...

Hi, Takuma. It seems that this season, we've had quite a mild winter here in Japan. I heard that even at Sapporo's world-famous Snow Festival, the ice sculptures partially melted, in some cases! I'm sure festivalgoers must have been quite disappointed--not to mention the shopkeepers who depend on tourist's patronage!

By way of contrast, parts of the northern and northeastern U.S. have really gotten pounded recently--with as much as three meters of snow, believe it or not! Cities and towns on the shore of Lake Ontario have been especially hard-hit. The snow and ice have been responsible for a number of deaths across the region due to traffic accidents, and of course, homeless people have been especially affected.

I do not know which is worse, the unseasonally warm weather here, or the bitterly cold weather there! This all brings up scary images of so-called global warming. Are the Earth's weather patterns going crazy, or is it just me? (>_<)

Aurelio

I'm a wannabe of Hakone Ekiden, too.

Hakone Ekide is the inter-collegiate road relay and most popular TV program on the New Year's day (Jan 2nd. & 3rd.).
This race started from Tokyo Nihonbashi to Hakone town near the Mt,Fiji and the second day they returned to Tokyo to the same place, its length was about 100km one way and vertical drop was about 1300m. On the race, 20 teams participated, 10 unversities were seeded school and other school had cleared the preliminary. They fight to gamble their school's glory. On each day, 5 runners run the whole distance while relaying their school brace. Each runner was not allowed to retire because one runner's retirement means his team's retirement.
Every year, I am impressed at such runner's responsibility.
When this Ekiden race was over, our New Year's holiday over all at once.

雪のない白川郷

On the 28th of January, I went to Shirakawa village, which is designated as a World Heritage Site. I had always imagined a beautiful scene, with the village covered in deep snow. Sadly, there was only a little bit of snow on the fields and hillsides surrounding the village. What is worse, the roofs and roads of the village were bare.

This winter season, we have experienced rather unusual weather, in that there was little or no snow on the ski slopes. As well, in January, cherry trees in the Izu peninsula were in full bloom.

On certain days, the village of Shirakawa offers visitors a “light-up” service at dusk. I got to see it, but somehow, with only a little snow, it just wasn’t what I had hoped for.

(this picture is a light-up scene at 5:30PM)