KUROSAWA

Do you know Akira Kurosawa... the world well-known film director?

I am sure you've heard of his name, but have you seen his films?

Well,this year is the 100th anniversary of Kurosawa's birth and one movie theater is playing 30 of his movis in 3 weeks.

I hadn't seen his films on movie screens, only on videos and DVDs, so I went to see one of his films called "Yojinbo (The Bodyguard)" made in 1961.

Boy, it's good! Great script, acting, and directing!!

No wonder why Kurosawa had influenced so many film makers including George Lucas.

The next day, I went to see "Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai)" and "Kakushitoride no sanakunin (The Last Princess)".

I am planning to see 4 more of his films this week.

Watching them on movie screens is much much better than on TV, you know?

I especially like his earlier works...black and white movies.

Too many film makers these days depend on computer technologies.

I think he proves what a good film needs is not CG but a good stroy, good actors, and directing.

Lovely season

I went to hanami (a picnic under the cherry blossoms) yesterday. As you may already know, cherry blossom is a Japanese national flower and everybody loves to enjoy it.

The weather has not been very good last week but yesterday was nice and sunny.

We went to Yoyogi park near NHK and it was coverd with pink blossoms and people, people, and people...

One of my acquaintances went to use the restroom and he didn't come back for more than 30 minutes! There were loooooooooooong lines.

I was glad I couldn't drink much alcohol. Otherwise, I needed to wear a diaper!!

How are you?

Dear all

Hi there! Long long time no see...

But thank you so much for your comments. I appreciate all of you for still check this blog.

Well, a lot of things have happend since last summer.

The biggest occurrence was the lost of my family member.

My father fell ill in October and had been hospitalized for two months before he passed away.

I lost a good friend of mine in summer due to cancer (she was only 35), then my father in winter...

Last year was a rather tough year for me.

But it is now a spring time and things are going very well this year!

I will TRY to write this blog more often! (^^;)

dictionary

Well, this is my new dictionary.

I bought it because it contains "Japanese accent dictionary" (it is essential for announcers in Japan).

But at the same time, this small body holds more than 100 contents!!

Let me see what it has... on top of the basic Japanese dictionaries and English dictionaries, encyclopedia, Japanese constitution, 100 well-known novels, handbooks of pills or supplements, medical handbook of dogs and cats, dictionary of haiku, movies, sports, business expressions, Japanese and world history and etc...

It also contains conversational expressions of 11 languages, such as English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Russian, Portuguese, Filipino and it even speaks!!

It's amazing to see how much technology has improved...

Party!

Today, after the recording session, I went out with the members of NHK radio program for nice dinner.

I really enjoy working with them.

Ed is such a nice guy and we have a lot of fun teasing each other!

Well, some people think we never make mistakes during recordings but that would be impossible! If you know me from World Interactive, you know how I am... (^^;)

Yes, our staff members are such good editors.

If I sound somehow unnatural sometime, that could be the reason.

After all, the program is not an entertainment program but an educational program.

Kyoto

I was in Kyoto last weekend.
I had been there many times but it was my first time travelling in summer, and I LOVED IT!!

I had often visited there in autumn because Kyoto is famous for it's beauty of colored leaves. But as so many people think the same way, the place gets very very crowded.

In summer, on the other hand, the place is nice and quiet.
You can spend hours looking at gardens of temples.

Below left is Eikando and right is Nanzenji.

In July, the famous festival called Gion Matsuri is held in Kyoto. The highlight of the festival was over (on the 16th and 17th), but when I went there on the 24th, there was Hanagasa junko parade.

If you ever visit Kyoto, I strongly recommend you to go in summer! (That is if you could put up with the heat.)

Well, well, well...

Wow! It's July now!! Time flies too fast.


Sorry for not updating this blog for...let's see...

5 months!? Oh boy...

It takes too long to catch up last 5 months...
Let's see... I have been to Shanghai, Hanoi, Croatia, and Hokkaido.

If you can read Japanese, please check out http://bionharu.blog49.fc2.com

As for work, I have been enjoying working for NHK raido "Business Communication In Simple English"
Ed is a great guy. We have a lot of fun during recording.
If you know me from World Interactive, you may feel strange by listening to my formal Japanese.... Hey, I could be serious sometime! http://www.nhk.or.jp/gogaku/english/business1/index.html

I will try to update this blog more often...
Uh? Oh... is it a deja vu?? (^^;)