Utsunomiya Animation Festival 2015 Part-1

Utsunomiya Animation Festival 2015 was held last month.

Many animation fans wearing their favorite animation character's clothes took part in the festival.

They loved to be a photo model.
When people asked to take their pictures, they were willing to hold a pose which, they thought, was sure to be the best shot.

On the day, every participant was able to become their favorite animation character, at least they believed so.

She Makes Her First Flight from the Nest

A delivery man brought home a surprise present about a month ago on a sunny Sunday.

It was from our daughter Emi.

On the message card with the present, she said, 'I got my first salary from my company. Enjoy eating delicious meal.'

My wife Kiyono chose blowfish from the food catalog packed with the present.

A week later, a frozen baloonfish cooking set arrived home.

Yes, we enjoyed the cuisine in both way, the taste and also the feeling that she had left her nest and was able to fly with her own wings.

We Take a Walk Around Downtown in Tochigi City

Taking a walk aimlessly for about an hour, we happened to find an old Japanese style sweets shop or  'Dengaku-ya-san'  in the edge of Tochigi city downtown area.

They served miso-taste-dengaku dish and Japanese tea.

We enjoyed both food and seeing a neatly preserved patio.

Amazingly, they said that the shop opened in the year 1781.
... more than two hundred years ago ...

Birds Area in Tochigi Wanpaku Park

There was a petting zoo in Tochigi Wanpaku Park where we went the other day.

The birds or parakeets were well domesticated by its staff.

Both parakeets and background flowers were beautifull, weren't they?

I Go to Centaurea Flower Fields

After browsing nearby top season flower parks on the web, we decided to go to Tochigi Wanpaku Park the other day.

Centaurea flower fields in the park were perfectly　blooming as the web site commented.

I thought the gardeners there planted just centaurea flowers in the fields, but some red poppy seeds were brought in them.

As a consequence, the color contrast of light blue centaurea flowers and red poppy flowers happened to make the scenery a beautiful natural carpet.

Children's Day in Japan

 

Japanese Children's Day is a national holiday which falls on May 5.

It is a day set aside to respect children's personalities and to celebrate their happiness.

On this day, families customary raise the carp-shaped colorful banners at their home.

Local government in Tochigi city displays Uzuma river with about one thousand banners on the day since 2006.

We went to the river in this season for the first time and enjoyed seeing the display.

"TRAVEL CAFE" in Hotel Mystays Utsumomiya

Beef Steak with radish sauce and fried sprout

We dropped by a cafe on our way back from Utsunomiya University where cherry trees were in full bloom.

The cafe or "TRAVEL CAFE" is located on the second flour of a hotel just next to JR Utsunomiya station.

The cafe had a spacious eating space and all-you-can-eat salad buffet.

We Visit "café SAVOIAs-21"

We went to a cafe near our home the other day.

The building was renovated from a Japanese old warehouse.

The house frameworks were quite old; they wrote the name of the head of carpenters and the construction date on its ceiling main crossbar.

It says the original storehouse was built on November 12, 1951.

The external walls were made of stone plates and inside walls were made of woods.

"TRATTORIA ESSE" Is a Classy Italian Restaurant

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I went to an Italian Ristorante or restaurant  called TRATTORIA ESSE with my wife several months ago.

They served tasty sweets, flavory espresso coffee and delicious pasta.

Since it located back road and a few hours had passed for top lunch time, no other customers were at the restaurant.

Top Season of Cherry Blossoms Is Passing in Tochigi Prefecture

Cherry Trees at Futara-yama Shrine.

Two kids are playing at campus of Utsunomiya University.

Pink and White flowers are blooming at campus of Utsunomiya University.

Reflection of my wife Kiyono walking at campus of Utsunomiya University.

Family Reunion at a Riverside Restaurant in Shimane Prefecture

I live with my wife.
My daughter Rina lives in her college dormitory.
My daughter Emi lives in her own flat.

It's quite hard to find a chance to meet at the same time together.

But, the chance came last month.

We were able to have a family reunion party at a small river side restaurant in my hometown Shimane prefecture.

Though, it was a rainy day, the weather turned the view from the restaurant a fantastic evening atmosphere.

My mother, my brother and my sister-in-law all were very good in health.

We had a really fun time at the restaurant called Ohashi-Kan which had a more than 100 year history.

View From Ohashi-Kan, or a traditional Japanese restaurant