i will go listen to Otosan (Father) sing. maybe i will get him to give me another lesson in kendo. i would really like to motivate him to go out for a walk but i know he will be worried to leave the house with Okasan (Mother) being home. i know he wants me to show me where my bike is and move it to the front of the house but
they will cause my stress for Noriko and her Mother. he is more attached to my bike than i am. for some reason, he will always think that bike is my special treasure. i will have to take a photo of how he has tried to protect it from the weather, from dorobo (robbers).
last night`s curry dinner was delicious. before meeting Noriko i stopped by the 100 yen store for a few things and then onto Carrefour to look for Noriko`s Mother`s favorite dish-washing sponge. it is in the shape a fish. they were out last week but this week they had three so i bought two of them. small pleasures.
ahhh. Noriko`s Mother returned home. by chance a relative stopped by the doctor`s office where she was and gave her a ride home stopping by Life (name of grocery store) for a few groceries. she also bought lunch for us. o-sushi!.
oishikatta. (was delicious). gochisosama deshita (giving thanks after the meal).
she will stay home and finish the laundry and i will start today`s adventure around 130p. where to go on this beautiful day? i think i will try to make it to the Minoh Nature Visitor`s Center which is up the mountain from the waterfall.
i would like to make it Katsuoji Temple but the sun sets around 5pm and with all my little stops for photos, it may take me that long just to get there. perhaps, there is a bus back.
Wednesday Update 9pm.
i didn`t make all the way to the Visitor`s Center because the sun was already on the other side of the mountains before i reached the road that winds up and down and around the mountains. i decided to walk back on that road to see what i could see. about 20 minutes into my walk down, i came across two monkeys on the side of the road and partly in the road (you will have to wait for the photos and video to see how close i was able to get). one seem to be cleaning the other and then they would switch. interesting. well, around the next corner were about 20 monkeys from baby-size to full-grown size. they were walking in the road, swinging from trees and because some cars had stopped (and some had to stop), some of the monkeys seemed to be begging for food. i wasn`t too sure about walking thru this monkeyland but there was not other way around. there was a trail leading to the waterfall trail but the monkeys seemed to have monkey security guarding the entrance to the trail. it was then when i should not have tried to get the extra battery out of my backpack. i knew it might be looked upon as a move to get into my backpack for food. one of the monkeys was watching every move of the zipper on my backpack. i stopped trying to open the backpack and started filming two monkeys who seem to be fighting. and then the one that had been watching me started running at me. and then he stood up on two legs, opened his mouth baring fang-like teeth and charged at me. now i know what i would do if i was ever chased by wild monkeys...i ran across the street and took safety in between two cars. there was one guy standing outside of his car but as the monkey and i ran towards him, he hurriedly got into his car. i thought "what about me?". the monkey stopped chasing me but it was to be honest, a little scary. kowakatta (it was scary). i am not sure what he would do but i did not want to be the first gaijin (foreigner) biten, or eaten by a Nihonzaru (Japanese monkey). yes, maybe they are vegetarians but this one looked like he did not know he was a vegetarian. the video i was making at the time is funny (now) to watch. not sure why i did not film the monkey as he came at me but you can hear him as i am running away and the camera is filming...panic. after leaving monkeyville the walk became uneventful but more colorful as the sun was setting on my side of the mountain. however, i forgot about all the switchbacks and u-turns on this winding mountain road. the mountain was too steep to try to take a shortcut down but eventually i came upon a beautiful view of Osaka,and of the autumn mangetsu (full moon). i reached home just as Noriko was calling to see if her Father and i would like to meet her at the end of the lane which goes to their home. she would pick us up in her car and we would drive to a nearby traditional-family-style restuarant. a friend of her Mother`s stop by in the afternoon and she didn`t have time to start preparing dinner. so, she would stay home a get a few more things done without any more interruptions while we would go to dinner and give her some more free time alone. after dinner we drove to a temple which Noriko thought my have the momiji (maple trees) lit up. they do it in spring for the sakura (cherry blossom trees) but unfortunately not (yet) for the maples. and then we stopped by a big pet shop called Amigo. we got to pet some very cute and some very fiesty dogs. Noriko liked the long haired dachsund (very popular in Japan). she named him Oscar. he was on sale for about $700. mata ne, Oscar. (see you again Oscar). Noriko's Father asked how much a German Shepherd costs. when we got home he still remembered. he still talks about his championship German Shepherds. i wish we could get one for him...but that would cause much more stress and work for Noriko and her Mother.
last night`s curry dinner was delicious. before meeting Noriko i stopped by the 100 yen store for a few things and then onto Carrefour to look for Noriko`s Mother`s favorite dish-washing sponge. it is in the shape a fish. they were out last week but this week they had three so i bought two of them. small pleasures.
ahhh. Noriko`s Mother returned home. by chance a relative stopped by the doctor`s office where she was and gave her a ride home stopping by Life (name of grocery store) for a few groceries. she also bought lunch for us. o-sushi!.
oishikatta. (was delicious). gochisosama deshita (giving thanks after the meal).
she will stay home and finish the laundry and i will start today`s adventure around 130p. where to go on this beautiful day? i think i will try to make it to the Minoh Nature Visitor`s Center which is up the mountain from the waterfall.
i would like to make it Katsuoji Temple but the sun sets around 5pm and with all my little stops for photos, it may take me that long just to get there. perhaps, there is a bus back.
Wednesday Update 9pm.
i didn`t make all the way to the Visitor`s Center because the sun was already on the other side of the mountains before i reached the road that winds up and down and around the mountains. i decided to walk back on that road to see what i could see. about 20 minutes into my walk down, i came across two monkeys on the side of the road and partly in the road (you will have to wait for the photos and video to see how close i was able to get). one seem to be cleaning the other and then they would switch. interesting. well, around the next corner were about 20 monkeys from baby-size to full-grown size. they were walking in the road, swinging from trees and because some cars had stopped (and some had to stop), some of the monkeys seemed to be begging for food. i wasn`t too sure about walking thru this monkeyland but there was not other way around. there was a trail leading to the waterfall trail but the monkeys seemed to have monkey security guarding the entrance to the trail. it was then when i should not have tried to get the extra battery out of my backpack. i knew it might be looked upon as a move to get into my backpack for food. one of the monkeys was watching every move of the zipper on my backpack. i stopped trying to open the backpack and started filming two monkeys who seem to be fighting. and then the one that had been watching me started running at me. and then he stood up on two legs, opened his mouth baring fang-like teeth and charged at me. now i know what i would do if i was ever chased by wild monkeys...i ran across the street and took safety in between two cars. there was one guy standing outside of his car but as the monkey and i ran towards him, he hurriedly got into his car. i thought "what about me?". the monkey stopped chasing me but it was to be honest, a little scary. kowakatta (it was scary). i am not sure what he would do but i did not want to be the first gaijin (foreigner) biten, or eaten by a Nihonzaru (Japanese monkey). yes, maybe they are vegetarians but this one looked like he did not know he was a vegetarian. the video i was making at the time is funny (now) to watch. not sure why i did not film the monkey as he came at me but you can hear him as i am running away and the camera is filming...panic. after leaving monkeyville the walk became uneventful but more colorful as the sun was setting on my side of the mountain. however, i forgot about all the switchbacks and u-turns on this winding mountain road. the mountain was too steep to try to take a shortcut down but eventually i came upon a beautiful view of Osaka,and of the autumn mangetsu (full moon). i reached home just as Noriko was calling to see if her Father and i would like to meet her at the end of the lane which goes to their home. she would pick us up in her car and we would drive to a nearby traditional-family-style restuarant. a friend of her Mother`s stop by in the afternoon and she didn`t have time to start preparing dinner. so, she would stay home a get a few more things done without any more interruptions while we would go to dinner and give her some more free time alone. after dinner we drove to a temple which Noriko thought my have the momiji (maple trees) lit up. they do it in spring for the sakura (cherry blossom trees) but unfortunately not (yet) for the maples. and then we stopped by a big pet shop called Amigo. we got to pet some very cute and some very fiesty dogs. Noriko liked the long haired dachsund (very popular in Japan). she named him Oscar. he was on sale for about $700. mata ne, Oscar. (see you again Oscar). Noriko's Father asked how much a German Shepherd costs. when we got home he still remembered. he still talks about his championship German Shepherds. i wish we could get one for him...but that would cause much more stress and work for Noriko and her Mother.
