Purple Shower in Japan

Hello there! How have you been so far? Our beautiful spring  has passed, and we are now in humid early summer. Every day is really muggy, and in the northern part of Japan, Hokkaido recorded it’s the highest temperature ever for that day. It was 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit ) yesterday even though we are still  not in our rainy season. This is really strange for us.

Anyway, I want to show my favorite flowers, wisterias today. My husband and I went to a park close to our house a couple of weeks ago and I took a bunch of photos of them.  Unfortunately, they are all gone now, but you can enjoy looking around them in my blog.

We have both white wisterias and purple ones.  Which do you prefer?

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Look at the pretty Japanese garden. Since the day had no clouds, the view was just amazing!

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They look just like a purple rain shower to me! The wisterias are my university’s symbol and they reminds me of my uni’s campus a lot.

 

 

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Isn’t it a nice shot? I am happy that I could take the photo of wisterias and a bee together!

The bee was huge and just like the same size as a humming bird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I think this photo above is the best photo of  wisteria I took! Don’t you think so?

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed other flowers as well. I love purple or blue flowers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wisterias are called Fuji in Japanese and we have loved the flowers for more than 1800 years. We have painted the flowers a lot in the Japanese style of paintings. I am from Otsu, Shiga prefecture and Otsu-e ( painting below) is popular with the flowers.

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She is called Fuji Musume in Japanese. The Fuji Musume is played in Kabuki as well.

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As you know, Kabuki is played by only male actors.

Thank you for visiting my blog! I will update it soon again!

See you soon!

 

-Yumi

 

Spring Flowers in Japan

Hello there! Long time no see! How have you been so far? I am sorry that I hadn’t posted anything on my blog for a while. Now, I have returned!

In Japan we are in the mid spring and I would love to show you what kinds of flowers we can see in this season.

A couple of weeks ago, I went into my neighborhood and took some photos of these flowers called Renge in Japanese.

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They bloom only in Spring. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astragalus_sinicus

I love these tiny flowers because they are my favorite color purple! They bloom in rice fields.

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When I was a little girl, I used to make crowns or necklaces with these flowers with my childhood friends.

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Look at the center of the photo! Can you see a bee?

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The bee seemed to be busy to gather honey from the Renge flowers.

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What kinds of flowers can you see in your area where you live now?

I will post other flowers for spring some time soon! So, stay tuned!!

Thanks for taking a look at my blog post! See you around!

 

-Yumi

 

I Miss Spring!

Hello there! It’s getting more muggy here, and I really miss our wonderful spring! How is the weather there? I hope you are having a good one.

Today, I want to show some photos of plum blossoms that I have taken a couple of months ago. Of course, our plum blossoms bloom in early spring. We can’t see them anymore.

I think our cherry blossoms are much popular than the plum blossoms in the world, but actually, they are really cute. I love both of them.  I especially love the rich pink ones.

I took these pictures at a shinto shrine close to our house.

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Plum blossoms sometimes have been used to a Shito shrine, temple or family symbols like the flog.

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This pink plum tree was so cute! I really loved this one.

 

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This tree is white. The white one is pretty too, but I prefer the pink one.

 

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Well, this is new. The shinto shrine has a pray spot for kitties. Since I am a cat person, I couldn’t help taking the photo!!

 

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We have lots of different pink colors in our plum blossoms. This one is my favorite color!

 

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Do you know what it is? This is called “omikuji” in Japanese. You can read about omikuji here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-mikuji This is a part of our shinto-ism or Buddhism. We are kind of superstitious and try to know our fortunes.  When I visited here, I tried it out. We usually leave the used omikuji like this in the photo. The white paper things in the photo are all used omikuji.

 

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This plum tree is my favorite one. I really love the rich pink!

 

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Plum blossoms are a good object for painting, and when you look at our ancient paintings, you can see a lot of them on papers, porcelain, woods and so on.

Now, we are having lots of hydrangeas. Which flowers can you see in your place now?

I hope you start a good week! See you in weeks here again!

 

-Yumi

Rose Garden

Hello there! How have you been?

I am doing good, and I am sorry for the delay. I am glad that I can post something today.

It’s fall and not a season for roses. I took these photos in May when I visited my closest rose garden with my hubby.

Every year I go there with my hubby to take some rose photos, and I am glad that this year the rose photos look much better than last year. I admire a lot these nature. They are just so beautiful, and I think the words, “flawless” or “divine” are just for them.

I hope you enjoy looking at my rose photos and can get some inspiration form them.

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Which color do you like the best in roses? I love pink roses the best.

I am already looking forward to visiting this garden to see them again next year. I hope they will bloom prettier flowers then!

Have a lovely weekend/ week! See you soon!!

-Yumi

 

 

 

Spring Has Come in Japan!

Hi there! How have you been?  How is the weather there?

In Japan the weather is getting warmer, and now plum blossoms are full in bloom in my area where I live.

Last week my hubby and I went out to enjoy seeing the view of plum blossoms and took lots of photos. So, I want to share them with you today. I hope you feel Spring of Japan a little bit from the photos.

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I love this weeping plum tree! It’s so gorgeous!!!!

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My hubby and I were so lucky to see some Japanese bush warblers, called Uguisu (うぐいす)in Japanese. I was so excited when I saw them to cry, “Take some pics of them!!!!!” to him, lol. Actually, he did a great job, lol. I want to paint the bird some time.

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We will have cherry blossoms soon after the plum blossoms. I just can’t wait to see them!

Have a lovely weekend! See you tomorrow on my other blog, my porcelain painting blog!!

-Yumi

My Favorite Flowers in Fall

Hello there! How have you been? I am so sorry for the delay. I went to back to my painting school and I am so busy for this. I am also planning on studying abroad again at the end of this year and busy for preparing things.

Today I want to introduce my favorite flowers in fall. Do you have these flowers in your country? I have heard these flowers bloom in Asia. They smell excellent, and I so love the smell. We have the tree in our small garden, and I took some pictures of them. I am so sorry that you can see the photos, but you can’t smell it.

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They are called kinmokusei in Japanese and Sweet Osmanthus in English. When I took their pictures, they were in full bloom. Now, they all are gone. We are having  nice weather and enjoying autumn here. We will see leaves changing soon. I will post some of pictures when it comes.

Have a lovely weekend!

-Yumi

Plum Blossoms

Hi there! How are you doing?

We are in a rainy season right now, but I want to show our spring pics for you, lol.

Two months ago, my British friend, Martyn came up and stayed at our house. I took him to several places and took lots of pics with him. Today’s entry is one of them.

In March, we have plum blossoms, and it’s before cherry blossoms.

Plum blossoms are very similar as cherry blossoms. I hope you love them!

Enjoy our beautiful spring!

My British friend, Maryn

My British friend, Maryn

 

Plum Blossoms

Plum Blossoms

 

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Plum Blossoms

 

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Plum Blossoms

 

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Plum Blossoms

 

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Plum Blossoms

 

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Plum Blossoms

 

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Plum Blossoms

 

Plum Blossoms

Plum Blossoms

 

I think you already realized that we have so many different kinds of plum trees. That’s why some of blossoms are light pink and others are rich pink or whatever.  Which pink is your favorite? I like dark pink ones the best. They are very cute!

Although spring has already passed, I hope you could enjoy Japanese spring!

See you next week on my blog again!

 

-Yumi

 

 

 

The Best Season Ever in Japan!

Hi there!

How have you been? I still have had a really bad cold and can’t stop coughing…….. Cough, cough, cough…….

A couple of days ago, a friend of mine lives in Tokyo came up, and I took her to Kyoto!  That’s because it’s the best season ever for us to enjoy viewing leaves changing!!!

It’s my first time to see her in person in 4 years. We used to go to the same porcelain school for years, but after I moved to Osaka, I quit the school. Since then I hadn’t met her for a while.

We had a great time in Kyoto!!

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Since the day was clear and fine, it was the best day for me to take a lot of photos.

I hope you can enjoy the Japanese leaves changing season through my post!

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

The place where I took my friend is called, Arashiyama, and it’s very popular in spring and fall.  When you come to Arashiyama in spring, you can enjoy viewing cherry blossoms and it’s a completely different scenery from this one.

This time everything here is red, and at that time everything here is PINK!

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

I love spring the best, but I love fall as well.

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

I love the place and it reminded me of Hayao Miyasaki movies a lot.

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

Arashiyama, Kyoto

I am planning on going back to my previous porcelain school in Osaka again next year. I am really looking forward to it.

I asked my friend if she could come up again in spring. I hope she can make it. Then, I can take her here again to enjoy viewing cherry blossoms!!

Cherry Blossoms in Osaka!

Hi there!!!

Looooooooooooooooooong time no see! I’m really sorry for the delay.

I finally came back to my blog again!

As you know, in Japan we have a great cherry blossoms season right now. I live in Osaka since last year, and my family and I enjoyed both night viewing and day viewing of cherry blossoms this year.

I hope you also can enjoy viewing cherry blossoms via my blog post!

 

We went to the Osaka Mint to enjoy looking at the night views, but we also met so many people there.

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

 

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

 

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

 

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

 

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

 

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

 

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

 

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

Cherry Blossoms in the Osaka Mint

 

I learned I should go to the place at day time because there were so many people. Next year, I want to go there then.

 

I walked to a different place where we also can enjoy looking at cherry blossoms especially called “yae-zakura” in Japanese.

 

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

 

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

 

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

 

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

 

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

 

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

Yae-Zakura in My Neighborhood

 

I really love this sort of cherry blossoms, and I really enjoyed them!

I painted the cherry blossoms on a plate and have showed the photos on my another blog.

If you are interested in my artwork, please visit here: http://sommerstein0411.wordpress.com/

 

Thank you so much!

Bye Bye Fukui, The Last Time in Fukui

Hi there!

It’s been a while since I posted my last blog entry. Last week I returned to Japan from my trip in America and Mexico and have been really busy for settling up our new house.

Before moving to a new town, I took a lot of pictures of our previous city where we lived. At the time the cherry blossoms in Fukui were full blooming.  To keep memories in Fukui, I want to post this blog entry for myself.

Asuwa Liver was really close to our previous house and it’s only a minute on foot. The place is very popular among people in the Hokuriku area as one of the best spots for cherry blossoms.

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

I think Fukui has a lot of cherry trees and one of the best prefectures for cherry blossoms. My favorite season in Fukui was of course the cherry blossoms season.

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

This day I took these pictures with my daughter. She and I stopped by a Pizza restaurant. We ordered Teriyaki Pizza.

My Favorite Japanese Style of Pizza at Texas Hands

My Favorite Japanese Style of Pizza at Texas Hands

Cherry Blossoms on Sakura Douri

Cherry Blossoms on Sakura Douri

Cherry Blossoms on Sakura Douri

Cherry Blossoms on Sakura Douri

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui

My daughter and I also enjoyed the night view of cherry blossoms in Asuwa, Fukui.

Night View of Asuwa, Fukui

Night View of Asuwa, Fukui

Night View of Asuwa, Fukui

Night View of Asuwa, Fukui

I really love the place! We have a very pretty cherry tree that is 100 years old in Fujishima temple, Fukui. I think the night view is the best.

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Don’t you think the cherry blossoms seem to be a fire work? The blossoms is called “Shidare Zakura” in Japanese.

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Cherry Blossoms in Fujishima Temple, Fukui

Night View of Asuwa

Night View of Asuwa

Night View of Asuwa

Night View of Asuwa

My daughter and I stopped by some food stands.

Night View of Asuwa

Night View of Asuwa

Night View of Asuwa

Night View of Asuwa

We ate the fried potatoes. According to the food stand that was selling the fried potatoes, the idea came from Korea.

Cherry Blossoms at Fukui Castle

Cherry Blossoms at Fukui Castle

The following day I went out to take some pictures of cherry blossoms again.

Cherry Blossoms at Fukui Castle

Cherry Blossoms at Fukui Castle

Cherry Blossoms at Fukui Castle

Cherry Blossoms at Fukui Castle

Cherry Blossoms at Fukui Castle

Cherry Blossoms at Fukui Castle

Cherry Blossoms at Fukui Castle

Cherry Blossoms at Fukui Castle

Since I took some pictures of our moving, I want to add some of them.

Moving

Moving

Moving

Moving

Some moving people are moving our furniture from upstairs while using a machine.

Moving

Moving

Moving

Moving

Moving

Moving

Our Previous House

Our Previous House

I moved to a new town a couple of months ago. I left Japan a week after I moved to the new town to America and couldn’t updated my blog entry at all. While posting the pictures, I miss our previous house, pretty cherry trees, nice views and everything in Fukui.

I hope one day I can go back there as a tourist. Bye bye Fukui! I really think I was lucky to be able to live in such the pretty city for three years!

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