Snow Festival - Day 5

My goal was to go to the snow festival every day, but alas, life has ways of keeping us busy. Still, I got to hang out with a friend and his younger sister, and saw more of the festival. Beautiful stuff! Here are some pictures.


今年は僕の初めての雪まつりなので、毎日行きたかったけどやっぱり忙しくて目標を果たせなかった。でも今日は友達とその妹と一緒に行けて良かった。すごいきれいです！写真やビデオをどうぞ。

Hot Lunch on a Cold Day

Right in the middle of the first day of the Snow Festival, it started pouring snow. I mean, it was snowing like never before here, and it was windy, and... well, if I hadn't have been at the festival, I would have been inside for sure! But we trudged away from the festival to get some food - and came upon a Chinese restaurant. Seemed a little like the Dragon (in Okinawa) at first, but a little cleaner. Well, Jesse and Staci ordered mabodofu and sweet & sour pork, and I ordered zangi. It was pretty good but I can't say it matches Dragon or Yuraku (karaage)... but (1) I had good company, and (2) it was a warm, dry building on a cold, wet day.


雪まつりの初日の途中、雪が激しく降り始めた。風も強く吹き、寒かった！本当に外にいるべきじゃない天気だったけどまつりのために我慢した。でも、食事するためにちょっと街を歩いたら中華料理の店を見つけた。店内の雰囲気は少し沖縄のドラゴンに似ていたけどもう少しきれいなところだった。ジェッシーさんとステイシーさんが麻婆豆腐と酢豚を頼んで、僕はざんぎ（からあげ）にしました。まぁまぁ美味しかったですね。ドラゴンや悠楽（から揚げ屋）ほど美味しくなかったね。でもその寒い日に、良い交わりに暖かい場所が与えられて感謝しました。

Snow Festival - Day 1

Japanese anime Sazae-san celebrates 65 years this year
大人気のアニメ、サザエさんは、今年６５周年です

In case you missed it on the news (for those of you in Japan), the 62nd annual Sapporo Snow Festival started on Monday. Let me just say... people EVERYWHERE! I got there around 10:30am and walked around looking for Jesse and Staci - no chance of finding them! Tons of people of all countries, everywhere. But we met up eventually... just in time for the big snow storm that got us all cold and soaked just before lunch. The snow sculptures were quite beautiful, and there were a few other bonus things happening, too. Here are some pics.

Okinawa represent! / 沖縄のシーサーです！

日本人の皆さんはご存知だと思いますが、月曜日から第６２回さっぽろ雪まつりが開会されました。その前夜もちょっと覗きに行きましたが、月曜日の方は人込みだった！ジェッシーさんとステイシーさんに会いに行ったら、全く見当たらなかった！けどこれはケイタイ電話の時代なので、３０分くらいしたら会えました。 吹雪に遭って寒かったけど、その前後は雪像が見れて感動しました。また金曜日に行きますが、とりあえずはこの写真をどうぞ！

Mr. Potato Head / みすたーぽてとへっど

Look closely - where's this guy from? It's Daejeon!
よく見たら、この人は私たちの姉妹市のテジョン（大田）からです！

Marukoma Inn @ Lake Shikotsu

What an awesome blessing! One of my students hooked me and my mom up with a night's accommodation at an inn a few hours outside of Sapporo. Normally it would have been a beautiful, scenic drive... but unexpectedly, it snowed all the way there, and the road conditions were treacherous! God protected us and we got there safely.


What a beautiful inn! What a beautiful room! What a beautiful view! What a beautiful God! So we chilled in the afternoon, playing games, and then went downstairs for dinner. WHAT? An 11-course meal? Are you KIDDING me? It was all Japanese food, and while I can't say I liked it all, I ate it all! I'm so proud of myself! Mom ate as much as she could as well... but she has never been a picky eater like me.


Then in the evening, we enjoyed the beautiful and refreshing hot springs. Wow, amazing! The whole day was just a lot of fun... thank You, Lord, for providing such a great little getaway for us! I am hoping that if the weather cooperates, Mom and I can head out somewhere else and see more of Hokkaido before she leaves on January 6th. Wow, time is flying!


月曜日にいつも江別市に行って、英会話を教えています。この前はお母さんを連れて行って、生徒たちに紹介しました。あそこの一人の生徒は「お母さんがいる間、どっか連れて行く予定あるの？」と尋ねました。「うーん、天候次第だけど、支笏湖に行く事を考えてるよ」と答えました。すると彼はたちまちに携帯電話を出して、"Just a moment, please (ちょっと待ってください)"と言い、友人に電話しました。５分後に支笏湖の旅館丸駒に予約を入れてくれました。しかも、ただ！


行ってみたら最高の（五つ星）旅館に泊める事ができた！食事も豪華で温泉はすごく良くて部屋も広くて心地良かった！これはまさに神様からの祝福だ！って思いました。感謝します！


行きはずっと雪が降ってて道が危なかったけど神様はすべてを守ってくださり、楽しい２日間を過ごす事ができました。そして帰りは千歳市に行ってお昼を食べた後、リサイクルショップに行ってショッピングをしました。お母さんはけっこうテンション高かったよー！神様がこういうワンダーフルな時を与えて、感謝します！

No More Running in 2010...

I know I have reported snow and the end of running season here before, but this time I think it's for real. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the weather forecast for Sapporo for this week:



So I saw that today was going to be a nice day (and it is) and decided to go for one last run. Have I ever told you I hate running? Anyways, what's done is done. It's been a great year for me when it comes to running... lots of new accomplishments, records, and equipment. I can only hope that somehow, I will keep this up in 2011. This winter will be my longest layoff from running since I started back in June of last year.

以前にもジョギングの季節が終了したことについて投稿したと思うけど今回は本当に２０１０年の最後だったと思います。上の天候の通りになったら冬は本格的に始まる！


それを見て、今日の天気日和を最大限に使って思いっ切り走ろうと思った。行って良かったと思うけどジョギングが大っ嫌いって前言ったっけ？今年を振り返ってみると達成感を覚える。初めて１０キロを走りきったし、５キロを２５分以内に走りきった。（良く走る人には大した事ないけど僕にはけっこうすごいって思う。）どうか、来年にもこの調子が続けられるように祈ってます。

Winter's here!

日曜日の夕方はまだ良い天気だったけど夜からまる１日雪が降ってて札幌が真っ白になった！たぶん人生で初めて初雪を楽しめた！（わかるよ、一ヶ月前に雪が降ったんだけどあれはカウントしない！）雪と言えば、雪だるま！今朝は少し晴れて来たので張り切って雪だるまを作ってみた！皆さん、このビデオを先に見てね、下の画像は終わってから見てよ！必ず！約束！

Well, for the first time in my life, I actually took great joy in the first snowfall of the year! (I know, I know, it snowed a month ago... but that doesn't count!) I decided it was time to go back to my roots - building snowmen and trying to have a little fun with it! On top of that, it was great to see people stare at me as they walked by. What's this guy DOING? He's got the body of a man but the brains of a child! And the snowman making ability of a camel! Well, I had fun doing it anyways. Before looking at the picture below, check out the video. OK? Trust me, it's funner that way!

No More Running? (Winter Coming Soon)

沖縄と違って、北海道にはランニング季節があります。雪が降るとやっぱり走りにくくなります。寒くて滑りやすくなるし、積雪であんまり前に進めないと思います。今日と明日の天候を見たら雪が降るらしいなんだけど、今のところ、札幌西区は降ってない。とにかくがんばっても今月に限り走るのを一時的に止めずを得ない。また春になったら頑張るぞ！冬はアイスホッケーとカーリングをする予定なので冬眠に備えて太ることはないと思います（笑）

Well it's almost winter, and while that is the best season for running in Okinawa, it is easily the worst here in Hokkaido. Besides the snow piling up high, slippery conditions and the cold would make even the most avid runner stay indoors, or find some alternative way of staying in shape. So to avoid the pre-hibernation fattening process, I'm hoping to play some hockey and curling this winter. See you runners in the spring!

Snowed in?

Unbelievable, it's still October and already, we have snow! I had forgotten how short the fall season is in cold climates... just at the start of September I was crying about not having A/C in my apartment. Then a month ago, it started to cool off and the leaves started to change colours a few weeks ago. And just as I was starting to enjoy the cool weather and the beautiful scenery when Tuesday it snowed! So yesterday I took a picture of my car. First time this Okinawa car has seen snow!

まだ１０月なのに雪が降ったなんて、信じられない！このような天候は久しぶりで、秋の短さに驚いています。９月の始まりに「アパートにクーラーがない」と嘆いていたのに、数週間後に涼しくなって気持ちよかった。そして紅葉の季節に入ったばっかりと感じてたのに関わらず火曜日に雪が降りました。まぁ、神様が雪を降らせたので文句言えないんだよね。昨日は沖縄ナンバーの車を発見して初雪の沖縄車の写真を撮りました。