snow,snow,and snow

It's snowing now in Sendai.We haven't had much snows recent years( I don't know how it was the past 2 years though!) ,but it's been pretty cold this 2weeks.Today I am going home to spend my new year holiday with my family.Hope all of you have a wonderful new year 2005!!!

Party again

It was the third Christmas party for me today. I went to a friend's flat and stayed overnight.There were her boyfriend and her younger sister,and we had a lot of wine and sake. I really enjoyed talking to my friend's sister as I find she is an interesting person.

it's time for Christmas

I've received so many Christmas cards and presents from my friends and teachers this year. Thank you very very much for everything! I wish you a Happy Christmas.

A Christmas party with a kid

It was a national holiday today. A friend of mine invited me for a Christmas lunch party.We don't traditionally celebrate christmas in Japan,but it's becoming a big event for us to do something for Christmas.(it's just a good excuse to eat a lot and to spend a lot!) Anyway,I went to her place with some other friends,and had a really nice lunch.My friend's daughter was with us,who is 4 years old.She is very pretty,and energetic! She sang a lot,danced a lot,and spoke a lot! We played with her hours and hours....and lost energy eventually.

A night in Kokubun-cho

In the evening,I went to a Japanese pub to have drinks with some of my colleagues(now they have become my good friends!). The pub has good food,like Japanese BBQ( we call it 'Yakitori') and has many kinds of drinks. We paid about 7pounds and could drink as much as we want! (except food).Of course,we drunk A LOT. But it doesn't seem enough for us to get drunk,and so we went to an another place afterwards. The place is called 'Hue',which is a Vietnamise cafe&bar.The food was really good! We had vietnamise spring rolls,salad and so on..oh,dear. We seem to have never felt full!!!

a place to feel comfortable

After my work,I met up with a friend and we went to a cafe near my flat to have coffee. The cafe is called `Cafe Matisse',which has a really nice atmosphere and wonderful coffee.My friends and I often go there in the evening,and we like talking to the owner of the cafe. He has a lot of knowledge of art, and has a very interesting personality! (he can be chatty though..) Of course,he is a big fan of Matisse. The cafe has a gallery space you can always see interesting exhibition for free. It's also a good place to get to know local young people and local artists.
'Matisse' is the best local cafe for me.

winter food in Japan

Some friends came to my flat in the evening,and we had dinner together.I cooked 'Nabe' which is like a stew,and is a very popular winter food in Japan. I prepared a soup in a big pan,and then put chicken,tofu,and a lot of vegetables(chinese leaf,greens,carrot,leek,mushroom,radish,etc... ) into the pan,and simmer. When they are done,dip it in a sauce made by soy sauce + sesame sauce. We enjoyed it very much.

Again!

I went to have Sushi again with my mum this afternoon. I have to say it's not common to have Sushi often like me even though we are Japanese! Because I like it very much,and there is a very nice Sushi restaurant nearby,I tend to go regularly. After that I went to The Sendai Mediatheque. It's a very interesting place to visit. There are the city library,the gallary,a cafe,book shop,and madia gallary&library in the modern buiding. I often go to the library to borrow some books,or to see an exhibition. A lot of people spend hours and hours there watching a film or listening to music,because they are all free of charge!

I'm waiting for..

I am reading a film review on 'Venue' magazine now,and found an interesting film being on England. It's called ' I heart Huckabees' by David O.Russells.The story seems very interesting and the casts look great.I like one of the actors in this film,Jason Schwartzman,who used to be in the film is called 'Rushmore'. I would love to see 'I heart Huckabees',butI don't know when it is coming to Japan!!!

ready for Christmas

A friend of mine in Bristol sent me 3 parcels! which
include,a local magazine and paper 'Venue' & 'Evening Post',chocolates,tea bags,and a Christmas pudding!!! Needless to say,I'm very very happy with them all!
I have to tell you that I don't like christmas pudding
very much as it is too sweet for me,but it's nice to
see something very english now! I will be eating the
pudding on a Christmas day on my own this year...

curry with beer

It's nice to have a nice and cosy place to be relaxed near your house. I've got some favourite cafes,pubs and restaurants around my flat,and I think I am lucky enough to live in this area! 'Red Hot' is one of my favourites,andis a wonderful curry restaurant&bar. A friend of minehad cheese,aubergine and mince meat curry which was really good,and not too spicy. As I had already finished my dinner,I only had a pint of Guinness.'Red Hot' has a wide range of beer from all over the world as well. The owner(and also is a chef) knows a lot about beer and whisky,and so it's always nice to talk to him. Next time,I would love to have a soup curry....(have you ever heard of Soup curry?!)

I'd rather forget

I feel lazy to go out during winter,especially in the evening. When I 'm at home,I like to enjoy reading books or watching films. A friend of mine sent me a DVD of 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' while ago,and I've already watched it several times. It's a very unusual story,and is diffucult to understand if you see it only once.I couldn't see the story first,but now I'm really getting into it. Actually Jim Carrey is one of the actors I hate!,but he looks sweet in the film and I thought he is really good. The Director is Michel Gondry,who has directed many music videos,such as ;Beck,Bjork,the White Stripes,and lots more.. Have you ever seen his film? 'Human Nature' is very interesting as well.