summer woodstock
i just think that this is sooo... cool. i was riding my bicycle in the university one lonely day when i chanced upon this amateur rock band performing near the pond. there were only about 11 people (including myself) in the audience but the band gave it their all, sweating under the noonday heat and belting out song after song. i was just as impressed with the set-up which even had amps, and a sound control booth.
it was a nice break from the monotony of summer. (^__^)
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Ibaraki Artifact Exhibit at Seibu
Ibaraki Artifact Exhibit & Sale started today on the 6th floor of Seibu Department, and it'll go on until Wednesday, 16th. Hours are the same as Seibu's business hours, 10AM to 8PM, but the exhibit closes at 5PM on the last day.
https://www2.seibu.co.jp/wsc/023/N000013645/0/info_d
http://kanko.pref.ibaraki.jp/kyoudo.html
I went to this Exhibit about a year or two years ago, and I actually had fun! I bought several small "Ukiyo-e" prints, and am planning to go buy some more this time. If you are going to be in town during the "o-bon"period, then this would be a really nice to place to visit (to kill your time)!!
You can ...
enjoy the works of art and appreciate the craftsmanship,
buy artifacts if you like them (or should I say if you can afford to buy them? LOL),
try making some of those artifacts at mini-craft school which is held twice a day every day during the exhibit,
or you can just go there to pick up the brochures from various tourist spots in Ibaraki!
Have a safe Obon*-break!!
*If you are not familiar with Obon yet, please take a look at this site. Please note that the site describes the "original Buddhist mythology behind Obon traditions." Most Japanese people just think of Obon as time to spend time with the souls of the deceased by "picking them up" from the graves at the beginning of Obon and "taking them back" at the end of the Obon period.
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Onegai
Hi Tsukubloggers,
I would like to ask the bloggers here a favour. I have not yet figured out what the relationship will (eventually) be between Alien Times, Tsukuba Wiki, and this blog. In a perfect world, they would each have a large team of volunteers and a unique purpose or goal in the community. As it stands, they all kind of overlap one another and generally seem to serve similar purposes. I'm all for redundancy, however, since that helps to ensure that people get the information they need, from one source or another.
So, until (or unless) we come up with some sort of master plan for all of these sites, I would like to propose the idea that Tsukublog act as a sort of feeder for Alien Times articles. I want to make sure that the blog posts you write get maximum exposure to the Tsukuba community, and I also want to make sure that the information you provide gets archived in at least two places, so it has a better chance of surviving. To that end, I would like to ask your permission to create Alien Times articles out of some of your posts. I won't necessarily post all of them on the AT site, but when there are ones that have the potential to help people in the future (like the ones about Sakura and monthly passes, etc.), I would like to be able to post them on the AT website and occasionally have them printed in the paper version.
Any objections? Please let me know what you think in the comments section or by emailing me. (If I don't hear anything from you within a week or so, I will take your silence as consent -- but I would really much rather have your explicit permission.) Of course, if you ever write a post that you would rather *not* see in Alien Times, just let me know and I will honour your wishes. Sound fair?
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Lantern Festival at Ushiku Daibutsu
There is a lantern festival at Ushiku Daibutsu on August 15 from 5:30pm. I think the grounds are open from 5:30pm and the lanterns are lit at 7pm. It seems to be free.
Please see this page for pictures:
http://daibutu.net/cgi/news/index.cgi
Has anyone attended this event in the past? If so, please leave a comment about the best way to enjoy this festival.
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Fukuroda no Taki
I went to Fukuroda no Taki (waterfalls) today with some friends. The picture here really doesn't do it justice, but you can get the general idea.
Fukuroda no Taki is one of Japan's top three waterfalls. The other two are Nachi no Taki in Wakayama Prefecture and Kegon no Taki in Tochigi Prefecture (near Nikko). I have now seen two of them (Fukuroda and Kegon). Do I get some sort of prize if I see all three?
I think it is probably a bit difficult to get to the falls by train. If you go by car, it is probably best to take the Joban Expressway. I think it takes between an hour and a half and two hours to get there. (Hard to say because, for once, I wasn't driving!)
There isn't really much to do but look at the falls and then shop for omiyage afterwards, so it probably isn't the best place to bring kids. It is a beautiful sight, though, especially after the rainy season when there is a lot of water. I have heard that the best time to go is in the fall when the leaves have turned colour, but the winter waterfalls are also interesting because the whole thing freezes up and people apparently try to climb it (at least, there were some pictures of people trying to climb it).
I would recommend going to Fukuroda no Taki if you have a lazy Saturday or Sunday with nothing in particular to do. It's not overly exciting, but it's a good destination for a bit of a drive with friends.
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