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August 31th. pork fig curry. I made hot sandwiches in the morning. I packed it in my lunch box. I also made my breakfast at the same time.
I had pork fig curry with grilled okra, piman, zucchini and tomato cucumber salad, and caffe au leit for my breakfast.
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August 30th. asari gohan and pork fig curry. I got up early in the morning and made asari gohan(clam rice). I also made pork fig curry. I had a hot sandwich leftover from yestarday for my breakfast.
I had pork curry with grilled okra, mini tomatos, and chopped piman for my lunch also a tomato cucumber salad.
I had asari gohan, wantan soup, granola yougurt, and cooked eggplant for my evening meal.
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August 29th. a contract to sell my Z4. I made hot sandwiches. The ingredients were two kinds of cheese, cabbage, carrots, onions, peppers, figs, and ham. After baking, I left it upright on a plate for 10 minutes to dry out. This way it stayed crisp and delicious even after it cooled down. It is good` for lunch boxes. I ate half of the hot sandwich for breakfast. The other half was for my lunch.
These past few days, typhoons brought humid air from the Pacific Ocean, so it was very humid. The sun was sometimes visible, but it was mostly cloudy, and sometimes it rained heavily.
Today, I went to Tsukuba in my Z4. I wanted to eat soba at my favorite soba restaurant Kimura, but it was closed. It wasn't their regular closed day, so what happened to them ?
I bought the usual granola, yogurt, and sausages at Costco, then I went back to my home.
At 6pm, I signed a contract to sell my Z4 with BMW Moriya branch in Ibaraki at my home. They picked it up at my home, and I sold it for 300,000 yen.
I completed the cancellation procedure for the Z4's car insurance with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company online.
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August 28th. I cleaned up after mowing. I cleaned up after yestaday`s lawn mowing. The work ended at 9 o'clock before it rained.If I leave the grass clippings on the lawn, they will get wet and rot, blocking out the sunlight and preventing grass from growing. Once I have cleaned them up, it is okay to let it rain. Water is good for the grass.
At 10:30, I took my FJ to the Ibaraki Toyota Miｔｓukaido branch for the tow year inspection.
They lend me a different toyota as a replacement car each time they do inspection maintenance. So I drove that car for a few hours. And I had a good feeling at the each toyota. The toyota is not so bad, it's prefer good for me got old.
For my lunch I had curry rice, fried egg, tomato, pepper, cabbage salad, and boiled pumpkin.
I bought two photo frames for a photo exhibition in September at Joyful Moriya. They were the same type as the four I already had.
For my evening meal, I made grilled buttered potatoes and chicken nuggets. I aiso made salad with tomato, cucumber, cabbage, and kiwi.
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August 27th. I mowed the lawn. Miyao hid to avoid taking her medicine, but today she chose a place where I could easily find her.
I mowed the lawn with a karibaraiki. It was cloudy and very humid, but there was a wind so it was relatively easy work.
I took a nap in the afternoon. The nice breeze came, and was very pleasant.
I baked graham bread using my electric automatic bread maker.
I made a tomato, pepper, and fig salad. I also made grilled potato butter topped with tuna, for my evening meal, added Budweiser.
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August 26th. Fig jam. Autoland Suga is a shop for the bikes and the motercycles. It is run by Mr. Suga. His wife is one of my cousins. There are two beautiful fig trees in the shop's yard.
I went to Autoland Suga at 6:00 am. I harvested 2kg of ripe figs.
I made a few glass jars of fig jam.
Here is the recipe.
I wash them, cut them and boil them.
2kg figs
500g sugar
100cc maple syrup
100cc white wine or rose
When it comes out liquid, I blend it with a blender like a Barmix. Then boil it for 20 minutes. and bottle it still hot.
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August 25th. Nampla and Tabasco. I often use Nampla and Tabasco in my cooking as a secret ingredient. Nampla is Thai fish sauce. In Thai, nam means liquid and pla means fish.
I woke up around 5:00 am. I cooked pumpkin with Nampla, Tabasco, fish stock, sake, mirin, sugar and maple syrup. I had pumpkin, boiled egg, grilled pork, grilled eggplant and gohan for my breakfast.
It's been hot every day. I can't survive without an air conditioner. Working outdoors is out of the question. So I stayed in an air-conditioned room and did tasks like entering accounting data and organizing my photo files.
Mr,Suga called me and said that he had finished inspecting and servicing my bicycle. I immediately went to his shop to pick it `up. He replaced the brake and gear lever unit and all the cables. He also did other safety checks. The cost was 17,600 yen.
My dinner was Hiyashi Chuka(chilled Chinese noodles), grilled eggplant and Budweiser.
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August 24th. I made hot sandwich with flesh figs. For my breakfast, I made a hot sandwich with flesh figs, chicken, and two kinds of cheese. I also made grilled eggplant, flesh figs yogurt, salad with sliced tomatoes, cucumber, and wakame, and cafe au lait.
I had fried rice, tandoori chicken and Budweiser for my evening meal.
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August 23th. Ichijiku Hiyashi Chyuka. I haven`t used a lens hood much until now, but when I modify an old lens to use it with a digital camera, I often need a lens hood.
I made a lens hood by modifying the lens barrel and filter frame of junks. I cut an end of the lens barrel to fit the filter frame. Then the barrelit was painted with matte black paint, and baked. The filter frame was a beautiful silver color, so I left it as it was. Finally, I glued the two pieces together. It's very easy to use and cool. <
Yesterday I won a vintage bicycle on Yahoo! Auctions for 20,000 yen. Today I drove to Ami-machi to pick up the bicycle. I then took the bike to Autoland Suga. I asked Mr. Suga to inspect and repair it. There, Mr,Suga gave me three big beautiful figs.
I made Anko and cream cheese sandwich for a snack.
Hiyashi Chuka means cold Chinese noodles. The soup is often cold and sour. I made myself Ichijiku Hiyashi Chuka for my evening meal. Ichijiku means the fig in japanese. I put fresh sliced figs on top of the noodles.
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August 22th. I wanted to sell my Z4, I had a hot sandwich, boiled egg, tomato wakame cucumber salad, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
I went to the Ibaraki BMW Moriya branch. I wanted to sell my Z4, so I asked for advice. They said they would buy it for 300,000 yen.
I bought some bread at Backenbart. It's a bakery I always stop by when I go to Moriya City.I bought an almond croissant and 4 small piaces of bread with raisins.
I cooked Hiyashi Chyuka by my self for my evening mesl, and drank Budweiser.
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August 21th. Street pianos in YouTube. I got up around 5:00 am and made two kinds of chicken dishes. Tandoori style chicken and grilled chicken with Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce. I also made hot sandwiches with grilled chicken, sliced figs, and two kinds of cheese.
I took a photo of them with kiwi on the plate, but that was for my lunch. For breakfast, I had boiled eggs, sliced tomatoes, seaweed, pickled cucumber salad, grilled eggplant, yogurt granola, and cafe au lait.
In the morning, I sprayed glyphosate-based herbicide, diluted 100 times.
I took a short nap and watched YouTube for about tow hours in the afternoon. Street pianos were interesting. I got curious in other instruments, such as violins, guitars and more.
I had grilled Ganmodoki, salad with sliced tomatoes wakame pickled cucumber, boiled eggs, and some tandoori chicken style for my vening meal.
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August 20th. hot sandwich. The reason why the hot sandwich is placed upright on the plate is to allow the surface to dry. This allows the temperature to drop slightly, making them easier to eat, and also makes the surface crispier, making them more delicious.
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August 19th. I took a nap in the afternoon. I woke up around 4:00 am and cooked the three meals for the day the same as like yesterday. I had Yakisoba without soba, in other words, stir-fried vegetables and meat with yakisoba sauce, tandoori style chicken, sliced tomato, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
I worked in my garden from 6:00 am to 10:00 am this morning. I took a nap in the afternoon.
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August 18th. I took care of my garden. This morning I woke up around 5:00 am and cooked the three meals for the day. I had tandoori style chicken, sliced roast pork, tomato and cucumber salad, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
From 7:00 to 10:00, I took care of my garden. I trimmed the rosemary, mowed the grass, pulled out the weeds, etc. By 10:00, it was so hot that I had to stop working. I took a 5 minute break every 20 minutes to drink water, but even so, I could only work until 10 o'clock. I stopped working even though I was in the middle of it.
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August 17th. Typhoon. The typhoon didn't have a big impact on us. My wife returned to Ueda in the morning. I took her to Shimizu Park Station.
For my dinner, I had curry rice . I grilled the pork that my wife had prepared.
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August 16th. A typhoon is coming, then I had curry rice. My wife was planning to return to Ueda today, but she postponed it until tomorrow because a typhoon is approaching.
She made curry rice in the afternoon. So for our dinner, we had curry rice made by my wife.
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August 15th. Gentle towels and rough towels.In the morning, I went shopping with my wife in Tsukuba City. She bought towels at MUJI. She regularly replaces all our towels every few years because she really hates the feel of old towels. I don't really mind the feeling of the old towels we alrady have. I actually like it. I like that it's a little rough, I have no right to choice. too bad.
We had soba at soba restaurant Kimura for our lunch.
In the afternoon, my younger brother bought me some Mizumanju, Daifuku, Kanoko and more at the Suzuki Manju shop, because at Obon.
When I was young, I thought Obon was a bothersome custom, but now it's not so bad. It's one of the reasons that acquaintances get together and talk.
I took a photo of Miya-O chan, to test an old lens.
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August 14th. pumpkin pudding.My wife made pumpkin pudding to entertain guests.
I went to my wife's parents family home. There were my family, my wife's brother and his wife, my wife's niece and her husband, my wife's nephew and his wife, my wife's aunt, and my wife's cousin. I was happy. It was just like the old days, there were so many people came together in the house.
Mr,Ando is my wife's niece's husband. He treated everyone to some delicious coffee that he recommended.
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August 13th. high-performance, large-capacity SD.I used to use SD card memory 8GB or 16GB. I thought it was better to use a small capacity SD card, 8GB or at most 16GB, for my digital camera. This is because the digital camera I used previously had a problem and I lost all the image data on the memory card. The smaller the capacity, the less I have to lose.
However I have never had the same problem since that time. When I used burst mode to photograph an angler's fishing line in the rain, the SD card was empty quickly. Furthermore, high-performance, large-capacity SD cards have become cheaper recently.
So I bought a new SD card. It cost 3045 yen. SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I - C10、U3、V30、4K UHD、SDSDXXD-128G-GN4IN
My son went back Ueda in the afternoon for work tomorrow.
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August 12th. Usami tei. I went to Steakhouse Usamitei with my wife and son for dinner. My son said he wanted to eat the steak of Usamitei. He hasn't had it for a long time, because he hasn't come to Iwai much since he ｍoved to Ueda. Maybe just towice a year, Bon and Shogatsu, so if he didn`t take this opportunity he would have to wait for next year.
Anyway, the steak of Usamitei is always delicious. This time was also excellent, marvelous, excellent, great.
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August 11th. My wife and son came back from Ueda.. 。In the morning, I organized and uploaded to Flickr the photos I have taken recently. I also reviewed my lenses that I have used recently.
I got a response on Flickr from one of the people I met at Lake Chuzenji. She seemed very happy to see the photos on Flickr. Apparently she downloaded them.
In the afternoon, my wife and son came back from Ueda. I went to pick them up at Shimizu Koen Station. My wife bought some trout sushi, so we went to her parents' house and eat it for dinner, togather with her father.
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August 10th. Camping Equipment Maintenance. I took out all the things that I used for staying in my FJ. I cleaned up the outside and inside, and removed many cat hairs carefully. I left all the doors open to dry the inside. It was nice weather and it dried well.
I washed camping dishes, and maintained cooking items and trekking items. There was a lot of my laundry.
I was so sleepy in the afternoon that I didn't feel like doing anything. I was watching street piano videos on YouTube, and took a nap with the air conditioning.
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August 9th. the Lake Chuzenji round trail.I had many leftover foods from yesterday. So I did not cook on the morning.
I moved and parked in the Ryuzunotaki upper parking lot, and choose a shady spot, because I left my cat in my FJ.
I actually wanted to leave at 6 am, but I waited until 7 because there was a high chance of encountering a bear early in the morning. So I set off at 7 with two my cameras, three lenses, a packed hot sandwich and some other foods, drinks, a kumasuzu(bear bell), and a folding umbrella. I walked down the promenade beside Ryuzu Falls and entered the Lake Chuzenji round trail from Shobugahama lakeside.
It was my first time walking this path so early in the morning, so the scenery looked completely different from anything I had seen before. I didn't see anyone on the way, of cause I did not meet a bear. However, a male monkey was walking ahead of me for a while, so I had to slow down to match its pace. The monkey was about 40-50cm tall, and occasionally stopped to look back and glare at me. I picked up a dead branch and struck it on a nearby tree, making a lot of noise as I continued walking.
I reached Senjyugahama at 8 am. I walked the Lake Chuzenji round trail from Shobugahama to Senjyugahama lakeside. I love this part.
A man and a woman came from the opposite shore in a kayak, bringing along some stylish dogs. When they arrived on this shore, they played with their dogs. I took some photos. It was 8 am, the sun was already high in the sky, and their performance was shining in the backlight and the sparkling waves. By chance and without intention, I thought I had taken some really great photos. I gave them my Flickr name card and asked them to see my photos later.
Then I walked 500m to Senjyugahama bus stop. I had my breakfast there.
I took a bus to Odashirogahara. I think there isn't much to see in Odashirogahara in summer. Alpine plants that can't be seen in an ordinary faeld are in bloom, but overall it looks like the area is overgrown with weeds. From there, I walked back to the Ryuzunotaki upper parking lot, taking photos.
Before going home, I stopped by the Utsunomiya Museum of Art to see a special exhibition showcasing the evolution of 20th century art.
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August 8th. Yumoto Onsen. I got up at 4:00 am and made my breakfast just like yesterday morning. I carried it to the outdoor table and bench by the lakeshore and ate it. While I was eating the breakfast, it started to rain so I took shelter under the eaves of the boathouse.
Then I spend times in my car with my cat. I cleaned my lenses. About 7:00 am the rain stopped. I walked around the lakeside from the parking lot with my cat and took a few pictures. I wanted to have something to do here, because the weather forecast was rain.
This morning I gave my neighbors here a cup of coffee I made fresh. I got some information about the parking lot stay from him.
He has been coming here every summer for the past 30 years. And It seems after he retired he spends about a month here every summer.
In this parking lot were many people staying in their car. I counted them maybe more than 20 cars including me. Their reasons for coming were varied, fishing, mountain climbing, trekking, taking curing hot springs bath, escaping the summer heat, and picture taking.
My neighbors here said they have a community. They're now connected by " line ". They share supplies with each other. Sometime they trail around lake Yunoko together. Sometime they have a party in someone`s camping car.
I spent much time at the work vacation corner in the Vigiter Center. I charged my battery. I wrote my picture diary. I edited my photos. I watched Taiga drama and Asadora on NHK, YouTube, and more on line. Untill 5:00 pm.
In the end I decided since it was not rain today. It was beter I should have gone out somewhere.
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August 7th. The angler's lines. I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and I went to the public toilet, and I got a pot of water.
My cat was good while I was cooking today, if she had been bad I would have put her in her cage. I boiled water and made a pot of coffee. I cooked a hot sandwich for my lunch, and I defrosted the frozen Yakisoba in hot water.
I had Yakisoba, sliced tomatos, pickles, granola yogurt, and cafe au leti for my breakfast at an outdoor table by the lakeshore.
It was early in the morning and elementary children were doing radio exercises by the lakeside. I gave the cat medicine just like I would at home.
I took a few pictures by lake Yunoko. Also I took a few pictures by Yudaki waterfall. I spent a lot more time photographing than yesterday, today at Kodaki waterfall. It was raining just a little bit. I continued on without caring, shielding my camera and lens from the rain. Suddenly there was a loud rumble of thunder and a heavy rain came. Naturally, I stopped shooting, and put my equipment away in my bag, and used my portable umbrella as thunder roared overhead. The rain got stronger so I returned to the Yutaki Rest House. I stayed about 20 minutes there, however the rain didn't stop. So I decided to return to my car.
When I returned to Lake Yunoko, many anglers were still fishing. It was a nice scene. The angler's lines were a nice motif for me. I chased them with continuous shots. I returned to my car once to change my lens to 300 mm. I continued to shot the angler's lines, their shadow bounced on the lake's surface, leaving a white trail that danced in the rain.
It rained again today and I was soaking wet. I went to the hot spring
Onsenji Temple at 3:00 pm. I enjoyed the hot spring at a leisurely pace.
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August 6th. Onsenji Temple.I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and I went to public toilet 100m away, and I got a pot of water. Fast I boiled water and made a pot of coffee. I cooked a hot sandwich for my evening meal bento. I defrosted the frozen food in hot water and made curry rice and eel bento. I had curry rice and tomatos for my breakfast. Afterwards, I gave my cat medicine just like I would at home.
After breakfast, I walked along the road beside Lake Yunoko, down the mountain path beside the Yutaki waterfall, to the Kotaki waterfall, and over the Yumihari Pass. At that point, I had already walked more than 4km. I walked another 4 km to reach Sainoko lake. I had the eeｌ bento, tomatos, kiwi and cafe au lite foｒ my lunch at Sainoko lake.
The rain started to fall and got heavier. I walked to the Senjyugahama bus stop, and took a bus to Akanuma. Then changed buseas and went back to Yumoto. I changed the day`s plans because of the rain, but I still walked over 10 km in the nature of Nikko.
I went to Onsenji Temple at 4:00 pm to take a bath in the hot spring. Anyone can take an onsen bath for 500 yen. Onsenji Temple is located next to the Yumoto Onsen spring source.
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August 5th.Yumoto Onsen. I made 2 kinds of hot sandwichs, one with ham pepper cabbage and cheese, and another with fried squid and cheese. They became 2 bentos.
For breakfast, I had curry rice, sliced tomatoes, granola yogurt, and
cafe au lait.
I bought graham flour from KALDI in Tsukuba City. So I baked graham bread using my electric automatic bread maker.
For lunch, I had the fried squid sandwich that I made that morning, and cafe au lait.
I left at 3:00 pm and headed to Nikko Yumoto with my cat. I took a photo of the timetable at the Ryuzu Falls Upper Bus Stop. Tomorrow, I plan to take a bus from here to Yumoto at the end of my trek.
We arrived at the Yumoto Onsen parking lot at 6:00 pm. It was raining lightly. I had the evening meal under the eaves of the Boat House.
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August 4th. soba restaurant Kimura. I bought frozen grilled kabayaki eel from the Co-Op. So I made Unadon(eel rice bowl). I had it, salad, granola yogurt, cafe au lite for my breakfast.
I started weeding from about 8:00 am. and it was very hot so I ended at 10:30 am.
I went to my favorite soba restaurant Kimura in Tsukuba to eat soba. I filled up the gas tank, and bought some coffee and yogurt at Costco.
It was so hot that Miya-O chan has been lounging around all day. I had tofu, yogurt granola, salad with sliced tomato, cucumber, carrot, and wakame for my evening meal.
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August 3rd. french toast cream cheese anko sandwich.I made two servings of the sauce yakisoba, one for my breakfast and the other packed and frozen. I had sauce yakisoba, granola yogurt, and cafe au lait for my breakfast.
I made a sandwich with french toast, cream cheese and anko for a snack.
I had a curry rice, salad, and Budweiser for my evening meal.
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August 2nd. Ueda is comfortable.My wife made our breakfast. Ueda is comfortable because the temperature is low in the mornings and evenings and the humidity is also very low. However, the sunlight is strong and painful.
I had soba at my favorite Katanaya with my wife.
I went back to Iwai in the afternoon.
I had sliced tomato, fried horse mackerel, tofu, and Budweiser for my evening meal.
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August 1st. Mt. Murakami.I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and I went to the public toilet at Jizo Pass public parking lot, a 50m walk. Then I moved my FJ to the parking lot in front of the Renge Azalea colony at Yunomaru Plateau 400m away so I could prepare breakfast without being disturbed. Technically the parking lot is not a camp cooking place. So I moved to a spot away from the manager.
I brew a pot of coffee. I made curry rice for my breakfast and baked clam rice with cheese for my lunch. I gave my cat medicine just like I would at home.
Along the road from Mihari in Tomi City, Nagano Prefecture, over Jizo Pass to Kazawa Onsen (1,530 meters above sea level), statues of Kannon numbered 1 to 100 are placed at approximately 110meters intervals. These are known as the One Hundred Kannon. Of the One Hundred Kannon, statues 1 to 81 are in Tomi City, and statues 82 to 100 are in Tsumagoi Village.
Kazawa Onsen belonged to Shinano Province (present-day Nagano Prefecture) before the Meiji period. The 1st Kannon in Mihari is 2.7 meters tall. Along with the 100th Kannon standing next to the Kouyou Kan( onsen inn) in Kazawa Onsen, it is said to have been made by stonemason Nakayama Kiun of Takato, Shinano Province. The names of eight people who made wishes are engraved on the pedestals of the One Hundred Kannon.
I have long known about the One Hundred Kannon, so I thought I would like to take pictures all the kannons. This morning, I took photos of the Kannon statues from number 100 to number 95.
My wife came from Ueda to Jizo pass at 10:00. My wife and I met up at Jizo pass parking lot. We went together to the Kazawa Information Center in Tsumagoi Village to visit the alpine botanical gardens located next to it.
Then we climbed Mt. Murakami. It is 1746m above sea level and 400m above the trailhead. It is a very easy mountain. It took only an hour to the top, but still the view from the top was great. I want to go again.
Next, we went to see Tamasudare Falls near Prefectural Route 94. It's small but beautiful. I'd like to come back in the autumun.
My cat and I went to Ueda to have an evening meal with my family. We stayed in Ueda that night.
I have trouble seeing small letters due to my presbyopia, so starting this month I doubled the font size and changed the layout a bit.
