A long time ago, there was a young man who lived in a small village. One day as he was on his way home from working in the fields, he discovered something amazing: the most beautiful clothes he had ever seen. He wanted the clothes very badly, so he quietly put them in his basket and started on his way.
Just then, a voice called out, "Excuse me." The boy was startled and said, "What? Did somebody just call me?" A beautiful girl answered, "Yes, I did. Please give back my robe of feathers. I live in heaven, and I just came down to this pond to take a bath. Without my robe of feathers, I can't go back."
The girl looked as though she were about to cry, but the boy pretended not to know and answered, "Robe of feathers? I don't know anything about that." Unable to go back to heaven, the goddess was forced to remain on earth. She began to live with the young man.
The goddess's name was Tanabata. Tanabata and the young man got married and were living together happily. One day several years late ... more »
Posted: June 29, 2007 6:38 pm | 0 comments
Tags: japanese, japanese folktale, story, tanabata
There are a lot of sayings in Japan and I thought I share some of them with you.
* If your second toe (a toe right next your big toe) is longer than your big toe, you are going to be more successful than your parents.
* If you lay head pointing north, it'll bring you bad luck.
* When Swallow fly low, rain ahead.
In America, when things are really easy, you'll say "a piece of cake", but in Japan, we'll say "before breakfast".
More to come...
Posted: July 5, 2007 5:16 pm | 0 comments
Tags: japanese
My husband and I are going to Japan soon so I have been researching about potentially climbing mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan. It stands about 12,388 feet according to wikipedia. We've been hearing about how mount Fuji is ready to blow at any time, so we thought it was important that we do so BEFORE it blows.
To get to mt Fuji is not an easy task. I know some remote locations are not so friendly to foreigners and city people. Bus does not run all day and you have to know where to go. It was good idea to think of potentially climing Fuji san, but how are we going to get there?!?!?!
I start to dig for some answers on-line in Japanese & English. I found a great site that had directions on which train to take where and which bus to pick up. Problem was it did not say what time and name of station was in English, not Japanese.
I didn't wanted to ask my father fear of dissing me not able to translate them (shame on you!), I decided tour bus is a way to go. There wil ... more »
Posted: July 19, 2007 1:07 pm | 0 comments
Tags: fuji san, japanese, mt. fuji
Continuing on from previously post.
We've decided which plan we are going to use. We bought a plan that will take us to station 5 and go up to Mt. Fuji on our own. My husband assured me the signs are in English also and we will not get lost. So I guess we are carrying our own backpacks and finding our ways up!
As long as I don't loose my husband on the way up, I'll be fine. Now, for this trip, we'll need a big flash light since we are climbing up during the night. So we are going to climb highest mountain in Japan during the night. WHY?
We found out that during the day is way too hot to climb according to number of sources. Also if you climb @ night, people will able to see sun rise from the top of the mountain. However, I heard the rumors that there are so many people @ the top that you might not make it on time for sun rise because line is backed up to the top...
You'll know soon or later if we made it...
http://www.his-j.com/ngo/kokunai/fuji-b.htm
Posted: July 24, 2007 11:34 pm | 0 comments
Tags: fuji san, Japan, japanese, mt. fuji
We scheduled our vacation time from work around August due to my schedule at work. We haven’t been back to Japan for three years now and it was time for us to visit our parents. When we were planning on what to do in Japan beside do just family stuff, I came up with 2 plans. One was to attend Okazaki firework festival, which is one of the best in the nation, and to climb Mt. Fuji.
I had a chance to climb Mt. Fuji back 1992, however, typhoon was on the way and I missed my chance then. 15 years later, I was once again attempt to climb Mt. Fuji. To get to Mt. Fuji, we’ve bought bus tour to Mt. Fuji from near by train station. We bought just a ride so that we could climb on our own speed with just two of us without any help. This was ideal since toured climb often goes very slowly.
We took a route from Boston to San Francisco and San Francisco to Nagoya. On the airplane to Nagoya, flight attendant told us that Japan was expecting typhoon. Once we landed safely with a bit of ... more »
Posted: August 27, 2007 11:00 pm | 1 comment
Tags: 2007, fuji san, Japan, japanese, mt. fuji, summer
You and your friends are invited to the Reborn Kyoto NPO’s sale of beautiful contemporary garments and gifts made from exquisite old Japanese kimono fabrics. With the proceeds from this sale, Reborn Kyoto NPO teaches training programs to young women in Southeast Asia in dressmaking, giving them skills for life.
You will find unique beautiful items, which you will not find in department store. Each item is one of a kind!
I am volunteering for this event, so I'll be there on both dates!
When:
Saturday, November 14, 2009, 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Sunday, November 15, 2009, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm
Where:
At BEAD + FIBER, 460 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA 02118
FREE PARKING at 500 Harrison Avenue, Boston MA 02118
Up to date information here:
http://boston.rebornkyoto.org
Posted: September 8, 2009 8:52 am | 0 comments
Tags: japanese, kimono, reborn kyoto, reborn wear
