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June 30th: Full Moon Over 119As the full moon rose above the fire station, I pressed the shutter, quietly praying for a peaceful night. A passing car left a vibrant streak of red light, injecting energy into the silent standoff between the station and the moon.
Fortunately, the night remained calm, and no alarms pierced the silence. Photographed with ASAHI OPT. CO., SMC PENTAX 1:1.8/85 No,5240404T
I made a hot sandwich with ham cheese green beans for my lunch box. I placed it by the kitchen window to dry. I wrapped it up a little later.
I made Caprese salad, granola yogurt, and Café au lait. I had them and some inari sushi that i bought torisen for my breakfast.
I walked 6km in Yasaka Park starting around 11am.
I saw a woman picking wild mushrooms under a tea tree in Yasaka Park. Since I had seen some Tengutake mushrooms (poisonous mushrooms) nearby the day before, I was worried and spoke to her. She was Thai, and she showed me a photo of a mushroom hot pot and told me how delicious it was. She kept calling the mushroom "Heppun" (Hed Phueng), which means bolete mushroom in Thai. I really respect her lifestyle of living in harmony with nature.
"Hed Phueng" is a type of bolete mushroom, similar to the Amitake mushroom in Japan. It is highly regarded for its thick, fleshy texture and rich flavor, much like the famous Italian ingredient, porcini. Since I have never tried it myself, I can only imagine how good it tastes, but it certainly sounded delicious!
After lunch, I sprayed herbicide on the lawn. The main reason was to get rid of wood sorrel (Katabami), which has become noticeably more prevalent since last year. Suspecting it might have developed resistance to the herbicide, I consulted Google AI. It said the herbicide I was using, MCPP, was appropriate, but the concentration was wrong—too diluted. I had miscalculated; the amount applied per unit area was far too small. Last year, I continued using a diluted herbicide, which is why the wood sorrel proliferated.
This time, I mixed MCPP with 2,4-D and applied it at the correct concentration.
Today, I got a lot of good eggplants, so I made grilled eggplant for dinner. I also had a pork spare rib rice bowl, a Caprese salad, and a pickled cucumber salad.
The June full moon is called a Strawberry Moon. It was a full moon, and The moon rose at 7:32 PM, with the azimuth of 105 degrees. I finished dinner early and set up my camera equipment in front of the fire station. I managed to take a photo that was pretty much what I wanted.
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June 29th: 119 NightWith a full moon rising, I pressed the shutter, quietly praying that nothing would happen tonight. Fortunately, it remained a peaceful night with no alarms. In the garage below, the ambulances and fire engines rest, waiting in the silence. Photographed with Nikon EL-NIKKOR 50mm 1:2.8 No. 2037188T.
I made instant ramen with lots of vegetables. My wife saw the attached picture and said, "You had ramen for breakfast again!" We text each other what we're eating in real time every day.
My cat kept interrupting my work, so I took a short break during my desk job. This happens all the time, and I would miss it if it stopped.
The last time my wife came to Iwai, she baked a loaf of square bread, froze it, and left it with me. Her bread is absolutely delicious. I defrosted it and made a red bean paste, cream cheese, and kiwi sandwich. That was my lunch, along with a café au lait.
Dinner consisted of Caprese salad, blanched spinach, sausage and vegetable soup, and ready-made inari sushi.
Whenever I see discounted inari sushi at Torisen as part of their food waste reduction efforts, I always buy it. I immediately freeze it for later. This makes for a convenient meal when needed, since I can just thaw them.
The full moon in June is tomorrow night. My plan was to photograph the moonrise from the summit of Mt. Hokyo. However, the weather forecast is bad, and I might not be able to see it. So, I thought of a nearby location to combine with the full moon and remembered 119. The new fire station in Bando City began operations in April at 267-1 Iwai, Bando City. Checking the direction on the Geospatial Information Authority map, I realized it would be possible to photograph it from there. So, I did a practice run tonight.
My equipment consisted of a 50mm lens and a 70-300mm zoom lens. As a result, I found that a lens with a field of view between 50mm and 100mm would be appropriate.
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June 28th: BubuzukeFor breakfast, I had a katsu sandwich that I bought yesterday at Torisen,.and café au lait.
For lunch, I made tofu and ve.getable soup.
For dinner, I ate grilled eggplant, kakiage tempura, blanched spinach, sliced tomatoes, tofu and vegetable soup, inari sushi, and non-alcoholic beer.
Because it was raining, I used the treadmill in the training room at the central community center and walked 7km while watching Prime Video, which I had downloaded beforehand, on my iPad.
Miya-O loves looking out at the street from the balcony, which she does from time to time. Sometimes, I completely forget she’s out there and accidentally close the window on her.
Since she has kidney problems, she is prone to dehydration and ideally needs to drink 240 ml of water a day. Wet food, which is 80% water, is great for hydration, but it’s hard to keep things clean, so I prefer using dry food.Then, I had an idea: when feeding her, I started adding water to her dry food at 1.5 times its weight. It’s working out great, and she eats it without any hesitation!
I call this recipe "bubuzuke." "Bubu" is a Kyoto dialect word meaning a warm drink such as hot water or tea.
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June 27th: Time Thyme!I was gifted a bunch of tomatoes and eggplants, so I whipped up a big batch of pork offal stew with tomatoes and made plenty of grilled eggplants.
Previously, I planted thyme and other plants in the flowerbed. Gradually, the thyme spread and now occupies 70% of the space. This environment must be perfect for it.
Let's just fill the whole bed with thyme!
Where the thyme spreads, other plants can't grow. In other words, I won't have to weed anymore.
I had pre-made tempura that I bought at Torisen, sauce yakisoba, grilled eggplant, and a Budweiser.
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June 26th: Pork PiccataToday was the monthly meeting of the Photo Kano club. We went to Chikusei City. Three of us showed up, but unfortunately, I was the only one who brought any photos.
On my way home, I stopped by Aeon Mall Shimotsuma. I wanted to compare the size of their cheese section to the one at Aeon Obihiro. Obihiro's is much bigger—about three times the size of Shimotsuma's.
Yesterday, I bought pork tenderloin at Torisen. I should make tonkatsu (pork cutlet). I love it. But making it myself is a hassle and there's no guarantee it will turn out well. So, I made pork piccata for lunch. It turned out well. It's just a shame that it doesn't have the crispiness of tonkatsu.
It was drizzling, but I walked 6 kilometers through Yasaka Park with my umbrella. I walked slowly, taking pictures along the way. It wasn't hot, but the humidity was high, and I worked up a sweat.
For dinner, I ate half of the pork piccata I made at lunchtime and some bread my wife made.
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June 25th: Senior Discount DayI boiled green beans in salted water and mixed them with raw carrots and mayonnaise. I also mixed shredded carrots and cucumbers with black vinegar. I had these dishes, along with mochi with sweet bean paste, granola yogurt, and a café au lait for breakfast.
Today was Torisen's senior discount day. If I am hungry, I tend to buy much more than needed, so I ate some senbei before going out.
I had bonito sashimi and a Budweiser for dinner. I bought some meat as well, so I will have to cook something tomorrow.
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June 24th: Two Types of YakisobaI made two servings of sauce yakisoba with plenty of vegetables.
Yakisoba can be broadly divided into two types. Although they share the same name, "Yakisoba," these two are completely different.
One is the yakisoba served in Chinese restaurants, which consists of Chinese noodles stir-fried over high heat and topped with meat, seafood, and vegetables thickened with starch.
The other is the sauce-based yakisoba served in Japanese diners, which is made by stir-frying cabbage with tonkatsu sauce and then adding steamed Chinese noodles. The sweetness of the tonkatsu sauce is released through the Maillard reaction when cooked over high heat, and the savory aroma of the charred cabbage adds to the deliciousness. It is said that this recipe originated in food stalls after World War II.
Nowadays, sauce-based yakisoba has surpassed Chinese-style yakisoba in popularity. I've never ordered sauce yakisoba at a diner. It tastes better when I make it myself.
For lunch, I had two ready-made inari sushi and some dishes made by my wife. I also had granola with yogurt and a cafe au lait.
I received some green onions. More and more green onions keep coming, and I can't eat them all. I grilled some of them to eat.
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June 23th Get Back to IwaiWe stayed at Hotel Grand Terrace Obihiro. Breakfast was buffet style, and the variety of dishes was more than sufficient for my needs.
My classmates checked out immediately after breakfast and went golfing.
At buffets, I like to try everything. Today, I tasted everything except rice. I woke up early this morning at 4am and walked 6km before breakfast, so I was very hungry. That's because yesterday I wasn't hungry, so I only ate soba noodles and a few kinds of Japanese food, so this was my way of making up for it.
So, I checked ouｔ an hour later than them, left my luggage at the hotel, and went sightseeing around the city on foot.
I walked to Midorigaoka Park. I walked to the entrance of this park before breakfast, but this was my first time actually going inside. There's a 400-meter-long wooden bench that can seat 1282 people. It once held the Guinness World Record. In front of it was a 500m x 200m lawn called Green Park. Midorigaoka Park has various facilities scattered throughout, including an art museum, a zoo, a children's center, a botanical garden, and a museum. I stopped by the museum and the botanical garden. I must have walked more than 2.5km just within the park.
We met at the hotel at 1:00 AM, and then spent the rest of the trip together until we reached Iwai.
We had lunch at a cafe in Ikeda town, visited the wine castle, and then headed to Chitose Airport. We arrived back in Iwai at exactly midnight.
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June 22nd Rokkatei Art Village Nakasatsunaiit was cloudy the whole time, and sometime drizzling.
After buying a Tokachi Bus Route 60 ticket for Hiroo at Obihiro Station, with 90 minutes left until departure, I walked 20 minutes to the Aeon Obihiro stop. To kill time, I spent 60 minutes browsing Hokkaido cheeses and sweets inside Aeon.
I took the bus to go to Rokkatei Art Village Nakasatsunai. The bus eventually left the city and drove through vast wheat fields.
At a bus stop, a small trouble happened. An English Asian woman on the same bus was talking to the driver. The driver didn't understand her English, so they were communicating with hand gestures.
At first, I was just watching. I was afraid of my poor English. But it continued for two minutes, so I used my courage, walked up to them, and said, 'May I help you?'
She missed the announcement for 'Kofuku'. She wanted to know the distance and if she could walk back.
I asked the driver about the distance, but he said, 'I don't know.' He was busy keeping the bus on schedule. So, I told the woman, 'You have no choice. Waiting for the next bus is the best way.' She said okay and got off the bus with her partner.
I checked on the way back this problem and it's about 5.
6 km, which would take about 70 minutes to walk. I think the bus came 15 minutes later. So the bus is better than walking.
My English is not perfect, but I am very happy because I helped them!
Rokkatei Art Village Nakasatsunai has two areas. The free forest museum area is about the same size as Yasaka Park and has seven small museums and one restaurant. The paid area has a flower garden and one old house museum. It costs 1000 yen. It was drizzling, but I stayed for four hours and walked around the whole place. The eight museums were lovely, and the flower garden was wonderful. The drizzle created a special atmosphere and it might have been better than a sunny day. I will visit again when I go to Obihiro.
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June 21st. HokkaidoI woke up at 4:00 AM to go to Hokkaido with five of my junior high school classmates. They picked me up at 4:30 AM.
We took a 6:35 AM flight from Haneda and arrived at Chitose Airport at 8:05 AM. We rented a large van, and Shige drove the entire time as we headed around Cape Erimo toward Obihiro.
We had breakfast at the family restaurant "Bikkuri Donki" around 9:00 AM. The reason we chose a family restaurant was simply because nothing else was open.
We stopped by the Dimaccio Museum, but it felt more like a sideshow than an art museum.
We took a commemorative photo in front of the Yushun Memorial Hall.
At Cape Erimo, the temperature was 14 degrees Celsius, and it was windy with light rain, so we didn't feel like taking a commemorative photo or any photos.
After checking into the hotel, we had a fun get-together at an izakaya (Japanese pub) just a block away. I drank a draft beer for the first time in a while.
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June 20th. Levi's Type 511My wife made breakfast.
This morning, she went to her favorite hair salon. That was the main reason she came back this time.
I took some MomofuQ croissants to visit my cousin, who is battling cancer. Despite his illness, he was still working on his farm. It seems he will be hospitalized for three weeks starting next week. I came home with a huge amount of vegetables, far exceeding the value of the three croissants.
I made lunch.
I went to Aeon Tsukuba with my wife to buy some jeans. I've been wearing jeans for 55 years now, ever since high school. I always buy Levi's Type 511s at the jeans shop "Right-on." But since the Right-on near me closed down, the nearest one is now at Aeon Tsukuba.
I can't remember how many years ago my last purchase was, but back then they cost around 10,000 yen. This time, the price had gone up to 15,000 yen. I bought two pairs with slightly different fabrics.
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June 19th. Asari-gohan (Clam Mixed Rice)Yesterday, I picked up two packs of boiled clams at Torisen. Today, first, I prepared the ingredients for the mix. I made a savory mixture by combining the clams with chopped carrots, onions, green onions, fried tofu, and fukujinzuke pickles. Then, I mixed this into rice cooked with sweet corn, creating a delicious clam mixed rice. I divided it into 200g portions and froze them, leaving some to eat right away.
It tasted just as amazing as Oginoya's famous "Touge no Kamameshi."
At 9:00, I went for a 6-kilometer walk in Yasaka Park.
At 3:40, I went to Shimizu-koen Station to pick up my wife, who was returning from Ueda.
My wife cooked dinner tonight. Whenever she takes over the kitchen, the dinner table instantly feels so much more festive.
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June 18th. WindbreakFor breakfast, I made instant ramen packed with vegetables.
I made a windbreak for my camping stove out of a repurposed 20L oil can. Even a slight breeze makes the flame flicker and lowers the heat efficiency, so a windbreak is essential. Although there are great compact, foldable windbreaks made for mountaineering, this DIY one is perfect for using right next to my FJ Cruiser.
Since today was Senior Discount Day at Torisen, I went grocery shopping. I picked up some Futomaki sushi too. Sometimes I really crave those thick nori rolls loaded with ingredients, but they are too much hassle to make from scratch. I just bought them at the store and had them for dinner. I roasted some potatoes in a Dutch oven, and had them with butter and soy sauce.
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June 17th. The Free Vegetable SeasonI made tofu gyoza soup for breakfast. I also had granola yogurt.
I walked 6 kilometers in Yasaka Park.
My younger brother gave me cucumbers, tomatoes, plums, and green beans. I boiled the green beans in salted water. I made a salad with the tomatoes, cucumbers, and plums. I ate them for dinner. I also had vegetable soup and granola yogurt.
Around this time of year, my younger brother brings me free vegetables three times a week. The varieties aren't fixed, but it's the season when I can eat lots of vegetables.
My younger brother's business is selling agricultural machinery, so this season is very busy for him. He's constantly traveling around farms repairing machines, and he receives free vegetables and other produce from his farming clients. Some of it ends up with me.
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June 16th. Big EarthquakeFor breakfast, I had curry rice with a fried egg on top, sliced tomatoes, boiled green beans, granola yogurt, and milk.
I mowed the lawn with a brush cutter (karibarai-ki) this morning. I left the mowed grass out for half a day to dry.
I had a donut and milk for lunch. In the afternoon, I removed the cut grass from the lawn. It was easy to do because it had dried and become lighter.
The blackcurrants in my garden were falling off before they could grow any larger. They seemed ripe, so I harvested them all today. I washed them thoroughly, boiled them in white wine for five minutes, mashed them, and then added sugar (30% of their weight) and boiled them again. I ended up with about 150g of delicious blackcurrant jam.
There was a big earthquake while I was making jam. It felt as if a large truck were passing by on the road in front of my house. Of course, it lasted longer and was more intense. But there was no damage, except that the gas safety valve activated and the gas supply was cut off.
I reset the valve immediately.I had blackcurrant jam yogurt and a steamed bun for dinner.
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June 15th. Mixed Grain Rice On the 10th, I cooked sweet corn rice in an empty donabe(clay pot) Oginoya’ｓ Toge no Kamameshi, using my Coleman Peak 1 stove.
Today, I tried a recipe for cooking mixed grain rice. Oginoya say that this donabe can cook 1 cup of rice. 1 cup of rice is 150 grams. In my experience, up to 180g is OK.
First, I mix 150g of raw rice, 10g of pressed barley, and 30g of a 12-grain blend with 220cc of water directly in the donabe. I let it soak for 30 minutes without washing the rice.
Cooking on the PEAK 1 requires technique because the direct flame can easily crack the clay pot. But thanks to the 2-lever control, I can maintain an ultra-low simmer. I cook it on low, crank it up to medium for just the last 1 minute to get that perfect light crust (Okoge), and then turn it off. Iit steamed for 15 minutes.
It was a great success. That's all for today.
Actually, I'm thinking of making this one of my camping meals. When camping, I'll take half of the cooked rice out of the earthenware pot, add 120g of individually packaged andfrozen selfmade braised pork spare ribs, and the residual heat from the pot will create a warm braised spare rib rice bowl.
Breakfast consisted of freshly cooked mixed-grain rice, a fried egg, coleslaw, sliced tomatoes, and leftover cream stew from last night.
I went to Ishikawa Eye Clinic at 10:00 AM for a check-up. It was a regular check-up. The doctor checked to see if I had any allergic reaction to the eye drops he prescribed. There was no change, so my next appointment is in three months.
Japan Post offers a flat-rate shipping service called "Click Post" for 185 yen nationwide. Although it has size and weight restrictions, the fixed price is a huge advantage for auction sellers, so I use it all the time.
The thickness limit is strictly 3 cm. When I packed a book I recently sold, it was exactly 3 cm. Normally, I would have just dropped it into a postbox, but to be safe, I brought it to the post office counter to have it checked. They told me it wasn't acceptable. Even though it was technically 3 cm, they explained that it might get stuck in their automatic sorting machines.
I had no choice but to open the package, remove one layer of cardboard, and tape it back up. Thankfully, it passed the second time around.
As I was walking from the post office towards Torisen, I spotted a plate with characters from Disney's Monsters, Inc. printed on it in front of a second-hand shop. It was only 10 yen, so I bought it without hesitation.
I planted four types of seedlings in the field and then spread out empty cardboard boxes to use as mulch.
I received some green beans. I boiled them in salted water. I also made a hot sandwich with them, ham, and cheese for my evening meel.
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June 14th. Wild Rose and AngelaI bought eggplant, green bean, cucumber, and bell pepper seedlings from Homac and planted them in my vegetable garden.
Wild roses produce a lot of small white flowers. Angela, a variety close to its original species, is also stunning, blooming with tons of small red flowers. However, both are vigorous growers that constantly produce new branches. If left unchecked, they become very difficult to manage. Therefore, they need to be pruned regularly.
I pruned the rose branches that were growing on the fence. I also cleared away the pruned branches that had been left lying around. I'm exhausted, but I'm aiming for a beautifully maintained garden.
I made cream stew with potatoes, daikon radish, carrots, onions, and pork for my evening meal.
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June 13th. I Love Budweiser I had a hot sandwich with fried horse mackerel, zucchini, onion, and cheese for my breakfast. I also had granola yogurt, and a tomato and carrot salad.
I had sautéed daikon radish, carrot salad, sliced tomatoes, granola yogurt, and tofu topped with chopped daikon leaves for my lunch.
I made garlic grilled chicken, and a tomato and carrot salad for my evening meal. I also had a Budweiser.
I love Budweiser. I used to hate beer. I couldn't stand any brand—Asahi, Sapporo, or anything else. Beer was bitter and gave me headaches. But one hot summer day when I was 30, I drank a cold Budweiser and it tasted great. It was refreshing and had a clean aftertaste. Since then, I've loved Budweiser.
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June 12th. Home Vegetable Garden I made a hot sandwich with fried horse mackerel, zucchini, onion, and cheese for my breakfast. I also had granola yogurt, a tomato and carrot salad, and milk.
Last night, I cooked pork spare ribs and leeks in a pressure cooker for 25 minutes. The resulting broth was delicious. Today, I added soy sauce, sugar, rum, and maple syrup to the broth and simmered it with the boneless pork and vegetables.
I made spaghetti with clams, carrots, zucchini, and onions for my lunch.
I made a rice bowl dish with the braised pork spare ribs and a tomato and cabbage salad for my evening meal.
Adding chopped basil leaves to tomatoes instantly elevates the dish. So, I grow basil in a pot. But I felt like trying to grow something in a proper garden plot. I tilled a part of the garden, removed the pebbles, and created a one-meter-square vegetable patch. It's where my wife used to grow vegetables. For years, it had been neglected, becoming a pile of dead branches and overgrown with weeds. Now, it's finally ready.
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June 11th. MCPP 2,4-D and AsulanI made granola yogurt, dumplings, and green onion soup for breakfast.
I applied the selective herbicide MCPP to eliminate broadleaf weeds growing in my lawn.
Previously, I thought MCPP was ineffective, but that was because I had been using the wrong amount per unit area. I was probably only using about one-tenth of the correct amount. It's necessary to apply it so that the entire leaf surface is thoroughly wet.
I use MCPP and 2,4-D for lawn maintenance. Both are very well-known and historically established "plant hormone type (phenoxy)" selective herbicides. MCPP is particularly effective against wood sorrel.
The active ingredient in Asulan, which I saw at Homac, is asulam. It's a non-hormonal lawn herbicide that is absorbed through the leaves and roots of grass weeds such as crabgrass and annual bluegrass, as well as horsetail, stopping cell division and gradually causing yellowing and death. My least favorite weed on the lawn is wood sorrel. However, Asulan doesn't seem to be very effective against it.
I had dumplings, green onion soup, and shiruko for lunch. Shiruko is a sweet red bean soup with a piece of toasted rice cake in it.
I walked 6 kilometers through Yasaka Park starting at 3:30 p.m.
Today was Torisen's Senior Discount Day, so I went there to buy groceries. I also bought some chocolate-covered donuts.
I wrapped the horse mackerel in aluminum foil and baked it for dinner. Wrapping it makes cleaning the cooking utensils easier, but it didn't look very appetizing.
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June 10th. Donabe-cooked Sweet Corn Rice For breakfast, I made cheese toast, grilled atsuage (thick fried tofu), cabbage and green onion soup with aburaage, tomato slices, and coleslaw.
The Charles de Gaulle rose in my garden has bloomed beautifully. It also has five more buds. The compost I added last year seems to have worked. The Ortran insecticide I added last month is also working, and there are no aphids.
I cooked sweet corn rice in an empty donabe（clay pot）"Oginoya’ｓ Toge no Kamameshi", using my vintage Coleman Peak 1 stove. It worked. It tasted great.
I topped the freshly cooked rice with frozen braised pork spare ribs to make a delicious rice bowl for my lunch.
The rosemary in the corner of our parking lot had grown too much and spread too far. So, I pruned it outside the asphalt.
I walked 6 kilometers through Yasaka Park starting at 4:20 PM.
I had sweet corn curry rice, granola yogurt, sliced tomatoes, coleslaw, onion soup, and a bottle of Budweiser.
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June 9th. Nata de coco Expired in 2017For breakfast, I made a ham, cheese, and onion hot sandwich and vegetable and glass noodle soup.
I ran 4 kilometers and walked 2 kilometers in Yasaka Park from 1 PM.
Lunch was a sandwich and milk.
For dinner, I had sliced tomatoes, tofu topped with tuna flakes, coleslaw, and nata de coco granola yogurt.
Nata de coco was once very popular. The expiration date on this nata de coco was back in 2017. I found it at the back of the refrigerator. I probably bought it towards the end of its popularity. It had been forgotten, hidden away among other foods. I opened it and tried a little. It seemed fine, so I added it to the yogurt.
Miya-O loves looking out the window. She definitely wants to go for a walk outside. But the outside world is full of dangers: infections, traffic accidents, and attacks by stray cats. So, absolutely not.
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June 8th. Cook Rice I got up early. I reheated the stir-fried noodles with lots of vegetables that I made yesterday and ate them for breakfast. I also had granola yogurt.
My younger brother gave me some new potatoes. I boiled two of the larger ones and ate them for lunch with chopped shiso leaves, mayonnaise, and sausage.
I walked 6 kilometers through Yasaka Park starting at 3:30 p.m.
I tried cooking rice in an empty Kasama-yaki pot of Oginoya's Touge no Kamameshi, using a vintage Coleman Peak 1 stove. Oginoya say this pot can cook 1 go of rice. "Go (合)" is a traditional Japanese unit of measurement for rice. One "Go" of rice is equal to about 180 milliliters (ml) or roughly 150 grams.
It cooked perfectly. It was delicious. I made a rice bowl topped with braised pork spare ribs using freshly cooked rice. For dinner. I also made vegetable soup.
I
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June 7th. Tsukuba Photo ClubI got up early. I made two servings of sauce yakisoba with lots of vegetables. One serving was for breakfast. I also had granola yogurt.
Fuel adds extra weight to a car, so the less fuel you carry, the better your fuel efficiency. That's why I used to refuel only 20 to 30 liters at a time. In fact, I've run out of gas three times in my life. Lately, however, in preparation for disasters such as earthquakes, I've been trying to keep my gas tank as close to full as possible.
My FJ has a 72-liter fuel tank. I had already driven 37 kilometers since the low fuel warning light came on. I refueled at Costco and filled it up. It took 61.04 liters, which means there was still about 10 liters left in the tank, and I could have driven another 50 kilometers. Therefore, my FJ should be able to drive around 80 kilometers after the fuel warning light comes on.
The Tsukuba Photo Club seems to be based at the Tsukuba Exchange Center, 5060 Hojo, Tsukuba City.
I went to an exhibition being held there.
I ran 4 kilometers and walked 3 kilometers in Yasaka Park.
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June 6th. Whipped CreamFor breakfast, I made instant ramen with plenty of vegetables and a raw egg. I also added lots of chopped shiso leaves.
To protect the shiso from herbicides, I had transplanted it from my garden into a pot and am now growing it on my balcony.
I took my Saturday English class at 10 AM. I talked about Yachiho Plateau during the lesson.
For lunch, I had tofu topped with stir-fried negi, chopped shiso leaves, and sesame seeds.
I ran 4 kilometers and walked 3 kilometers in Yasaka Park.
For dinner, I found some leftover heavy cream that my wife had left in the refrigerator. I added sugar to it, whipped it, and spread it on toast.
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June 5th. Bakery CocoradeIt was a beautiful, clear day from early morning. Mount Eboshi looked absolutely lovely.
My wife and I went to Bakery Cocorade in Ueda around noon. It is a very popular bakery with a wide variety of breads. They also offer free hot coffee for customers, so we enjoyed our coffee, bread, and conversation for about an hour.
After that, leaving my wife in Ueda, I returned to Iwai with my cat.
I arrived in Iwai around 4 PM. For dinner, I had pork offal stew with tofu and cabbage.
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June 4th. Yachiho PlateauMy wife made breakfast. Mount Taro was shrouded in clouds, and the summit was not visible.
My wife and I went to Yachiho Plateau in central Nagano Prefecture. Our cat came with us on the trip, but we didn't take her hiking. She spent the whole day inside our FJ.
We did this because I had a tragic experience in the past where one of my previous cats got lost in the mountains. I had searched and searched for him, but I couldn't find him, and he never came back. So, we wanted to keep our current cat completely safe.
My wife and I hiked through a birch forest said to be one of the most beautiful in Japan. The forest was incredibly quiet; we could hear nothing but the chirping of birds. It was foggy, but the clusters of mountain azaleas were in full bloom, creating a beautiful contrast with the birch trees. It was a wonderful place. I am definitely going to visit there again in the summer.
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June 3rd. Katana-yaMy wife made breakfast. I also had a slice of Wazawaza's square loaf of bread.
Today, my wife went to a yoga class in the afternoon. Meanwhile, I had lunch alone at my favorite soba restaurant in Ueda, Katana-ya. After that, I visited Ueda Castle Ruins Park and several shrines, taking pictures along the way.
The shooting equipment I used today consisted of two sets: a Canon EOS M5 with a MINOLTA ROKKOR-PF 1:2 f=45mm No.2306462 lens, and a Sony A7R III with an OLYMPUS OM-SYSTEM S ZUIKO AUTO-ZOOM 1:4 f=75-150mm No.276091 lens.
Around 4 PM, my wife and I went to Kokubu Marche to buy groceries. For dinner, my wife made braised pork belly.
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June 2nd. Kadokko Pizza and Wazawaza BreadMy wife made breakfast. It was cloudy all day today.
My wife went to Ueda Health Plaza for exercise. Meanwhile, I took a walk from Yanagimachi to Ueda Castle Ruins Park, taking pictures along the way. The equipment I used today was a Sony A7R III with a TEFNON H/D-MC ZOOM 1:2.5-3.5 f=35-70mm MACRO No.106553.
For lunch, I met up with my wife and we went to Kadokko. It is a cafe renovated from an old traditional Japanese house, and their specialty is authentic pizza baked in a wood-fired oven. On weekdays, they offer a lunch set with a mini salad and mini dessert for 1,700 yen. They also have a half-and-half option where you can choose two types of pizza. It is located in Tokida, Ueda City.
(Lunch: 11:00-14:00 L.O. / Cafe: until 16:00)
In the afternoon, my wife and I went to "Wazamart Tomi Store" in Shimonojo, Tomi City (along Prefectural Road 166) to buy bread from "Wazawaza."
My wife often bakes her own bread, so she is very particular about the bread she buys. Basically, she only buys bread that would take too much time and effort to bake herself. What she was looking for today was Wazawaza's square loaf of bread.
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June 1st. Go to Ueda My wife made breakfast. The two of us set off for Ueda, I drove my FJ the way of the first and end part, my wife drove middle part. And my cat also was with.Around 1 PM, We got hungry. We stopped at Yokogawa Service Area for lunch, I had soba noodles and my wife had curry rice.
We arrived in Ueda around 3 PM. First, we went to Kokubu Marche to buy groceries. This is a supermarket run by JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives). My wife says that their agricultural and livestock products are high quality and cheap. For other things, she says Tsuruya is good.
For dinner，My wife made. It's a bit chilly at night in Ueda.
Tatsuya Kimura releases this page. Since Mon 05 Oct 1998. All Rights Reserved.