Weekend dinner

Dinner table and Rotating dish

Fruity dessert and Uiri (Special Nagoya sweet)

This weekend I and my friends were invited for a dinner at jap. family freind's house. The evening's special was a kind of dosa (they call 'crepe') made with rye flour. The unique rotating dish (traditionally used for 'sushi') was filled with various relishing side-servings. Trying out different blends of side-servings to the dosa gave a unique flavor each time. Apart from the fresh vegetables, the delcious ones were corned chicken curry, raw salmon and egg with mayonnaise. A unique two-flavored sweet from Nagoya's popular Tora ya (Tiger shop...doesn't mean actual tiger!!! just the name:)) called 'Uiri' was served for dessert along with fruit cuts..With some entertaining dinner chitchats it turned out to be a fabulous evening.

Talk in FM Fukui

Japanese version and English version
Last Friday was an eventful day. I was invited for a 10 min talk in FM Fukui radio. The topic was to introduce about the home country. It was organized by Fukui International Activites personnel named S.mada-san. This was in fact my second talk in Fukui radio. Two years back, there was an impromptu interview by another radio channel of Fukui called FBC. At that time there was no beforehand preparation except for a short practice just before going live on air. However, this time, I had to make a document regarding the contents of my talk "in japanese" and had to get verified by the DJs. Besides, unlike the last time, I had to go to the studio for broadcasting live on air.
There was also a comedy of errors before I went to FM radio station. I somehow by mistake always thought the program is in FBC station and told all my friends to tune to FBC. It was only just before I arrived to the FM station I realized my mistake. Just at that moment, even my mobile went off because of low battery and couldn't inform any of my friends...Poor friends...most of them waited for nearly an hour tuning in FBC. Unfortuntely, I was told that I can get a copy of my talk only after few days.
Aside that, the talk went well, better than my expectations as though it was a casual conversation. I was impressed by the DJs ability to render the conversation more naturalistic. But I still have to wait till I get a copy of my recording to get any second opinions.

Golf at Kenkou no Mori

Scenery at Kenkou no Mori and Our golf group

First golf trial and my team-mates

Last Sunday was fun as I had been to a superb nature-rich scenic spot in Fukui called 'Kenkou no Mori' (Forest of health) for playing a unique version of amateur golf. The locale was also rich with various sporting facilities (runner's track, tennis courts, soccer/baseball/golf ground, kids playground and many others...) besides having splendid sceneries.
Thanks to T.shima-san's invitation, I and my friends could join the golf activity. We were a group of 30 members divided into various teams. The golf course is famous for a unique kind of golf play called 'Mallet golf', where in the golf bat looks like a hammer. I heard that the place is famous for inventing it. But our golf was different from mallet golf or conventional golf, as we played using larger golf balls or bats.
All in all the day was good fun and my team scored well to win the competition!!

Mini-Flower garden

My mini-flower garden
This is my mini-flower garden at my dorm. This is my first experiment of cultivating plants, thanks to K.kawa san for her birthday gifts. There is always a joy to watch a new flower blossoming out of one's own efforts. The word "efforts" is a misnomer, as it barely requires any efforts, but for watering once in 2-3 days apart from the initial planting in a pot!! Not a big deal!

Golden week vacation

Nishiyama park and Azalea lawn

At the end of april and start of May a week of holidays appears in japanese calendar populary known as "Golden week". In this week, generally most japanese take their time off for an outdoor vacation. During this week, the hotel rates skyrockets in most of japan and most sightseeing places are crowded with people. Since this season also is spring, many visit popular flower gardens too. Fortunately I could find Azalea flower festival happening at Nishiyama park in Sabae, a town close to Fukui. I visited there with my dorm friends in one of the golden week holidays. Thanks to superb weather, we could thoroughly enjoy the flower fest and the trip. Have a look at the album for more photos.

Cherry blossoms

Rows of Sakura (Cherry) blossom trees and Bloomed flowers on sidewalk

Pink Sakura and Sakura flower at night

The month of april is the onset of spring and the nature becomes bright and colorful with flowers blossoming in all their splendor. Among the most celebrated flower blossoming in Japan is Cherry blossoming (Sakura). Viewing the cherry blossoming (popularly known as 'Hanami') is one of the most interesting aspects in japanese culture. Usually it starts in late march in southern parts and ends around early may in northern parts of japan. In fact the blossom forecasts will be announced each year on news media. It is carefully followed as the blossoms last only for a week and plans for the outdoor partying has to be done within that short period. It has a rich history in japan and often there are few popular sites in each japanese city where in people gather in large numbers. At Fukui, the best site is on the banks of river Asuwagawa in central Fukui. This is my third year of hanami and I have always enjoyed watching it. This year however, I had been to Asuwagawa site to watch at night (called 'yozakura') along with japanese family friends and my dormmates. It was splendid indeed!!