Karaoke

Today, I went to karaoke with the members of Radio Japan. Some of you may know Yuriko and Kaori--the hosts of "What's Up Japan".

It was a lot of fun!! Karaoke is a good way to relieve the stress. (^^)

Lions for Lambs

Yesterday, I saw a movie "Lions for Lambs" (the Japanese title is "Ooinaru Inbo" which means the "great conspiracy").

I didn't know much about the movie beforehand, so I was imagining it would be like one of those Hollywood type movies with many action scenes and sentimental story but...it wasn't. It was more like a movie of Robert Redford, a director , telling us to stop and think on your own about the war.
There are no good guys nor bad guys in the movie. Each charactor has their own stance and they try to convence the audience through their debates.

http://www.lionsforlambsmovie.com/

After I watched the movie, I have been thinking about it over and over.

I am a volunteer member of a NPO which supports children in Iraq suffering from leukemia. They became ill due to the cluster bombs. So many people including children have lost their lives all over the world because of war and terror...

What can we do?? What do we need to do now?? ..............

Beautiful flowers

Although I am still suffering from allergy, I enjoy this season very much.

Azaleas (Tsutsuji in Japanese) are beautifully blooming now!!!

PS. Chindon-ya gives out fliers of shops to people while playing music.

Nice day!!

What a beautiful day!!

"Kimochi ii desu" which means "it feels good"!

Yesterday, I saw Chindon-ya on the street. Chindon-ya is a Japanese marching band wearing eccentric costumes which advertises for shops and special events. It used be quite popular but nowadays we rarely see them on the street.

So, while I was taking a picture, some of elderly people came out of their houses to watch them, saying "natsukashii". I think the Chindon-ya brought them back old memories...

Mie chan

This is a caw... I mean a cat in my parents' home. Her name is mie chan. She used to be very skinny when she first came to my house...but now...as you can see, she has a metabolic syndrome...

My mother loves pets and we have had many dogs, cats, rabbits, and birds...but they have all tended to get rather... BIG!

I wonder why none of my brothers and sister get fat...

English class

Today, I gave a lecture about learning English for the recruits of a company. It was fun and exciting for me to spend some time with freshmen!! Hope they enjoyed my presentation as much as I did!

Here is a beautiful flower of camellia and exotic looking fish with flowers on the head...(^^;)

Kobe

Thank you guys for asking me when you can hear my voice at Radio Japan again.
The answer is...I don't know.
If there are many letters and e-mail to NHK requesting for me, I might get an offer as a host for some other program. But who knows?? They are trying to minimize the shortwave radio...

Anyway, I am on a business trip and have been staying in Kobe since yesterday.
This is the second time for me to visit the city. It is a nice place with both sea & mountains and international atmosphere.
It's too bad I don't have much free time to explore! (;_;)
But the hotel is very nice at least...

I am going back to Tokyo tomorrow night.

Rainy

It is wet and chilly in Tokyo today...

Well, some of you may be wondering why I spell my name Kay, not Kei in this blog. Let me explain that.
Kay is not my real name. My real name is Akiko. When I started working as an announcer, my ex-manager suggested me to use somewhat "international name". So, I became Kay since them.
That is why I don't care if it is spelled Kay or Kei! I thought it is easier for English speakers to remember when it's spelled Kay. But you can also call me Aki! (^^)
No...that would be too confusing. Let's stick with Kay in this blog. How about that?

Thank you guys!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog!! I am glad to hear from many of you. (^^)


I listened to the new World Interactive program with Sumiko. Her English is way better than mine!! I think the listeners would like it. But honestly, I was a bit sad listening to it and not being in the studio...


Well, I enjoyed the last ohanami on Saturday in Shinjuku Gyoen, Tokyo. It was such a nice day and my friends and I enjoyed it's sakura so much!! I love that park. You have to pay 200 yen to get in but it is worth going there. Even after someiyoshino (the most popular kind of sakura in Japan) have fallen, you can enjoy many different kinds of cherry blossoms there.


Anyway, here is my picture with kimono. I practice nihon-buyo (Japanese traditional dance) twice a week now. We have a performance in May!! Gotta practice more!!!

Hello!

I changed the blog site because I learned that with Yahoo the viewers also have to sign up to write a comment.

This is how Japanese hanami (flower viewing party) is like. So many people place blue sheets under the trees and enjoy eating, drinking, sleeping, and sometimes singing karaoke. (^^;)

Well, I was away for two days going to the hot spring in Shizuoka prefecture. The weather wasn't very good but I really enjoyed taking bath several times and the relaxed atmosphere.

I love ONSEN!!