Japanese Learn English From Pres. Obama's Speeches

We've actually seen this on Japanese TV recently . . . http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2009/02/090223_witn_obama.shtml

Hiroshima Shopping Trip 3/28

Nancy just returned from the US late last night, & not quite up for travel again today, so Stan & I are on our own. We're on a shopping quest for a couple of different things, so we're heading to Hiroshima. Driving to the Iwakuni Station, I thought this sign was interesting. "No going straight and no right turn" so, wouldn't it be easier to just show "left turn only"?


After a short train ride, we've arrived at Hiroshima Station. Outside, we find a couple of guys reassembling (or disassembling?) their bicycles so they can be carried in a bag.

Margie outside the station. It's quite cold today & I'm wishing I had worn socks & a scarf!

Waiting at the streetcar stop.

This little girl has a big career ahead -- the moment she saw my camera, she gave me a huge smile!


Oh, here comes the #6. Not all streetcars will take us to Hondori Street, so we're waiting for this one.


Inside the streetcar as we cross a river.


A few small cherry trees in bloom.

Twins?

Since we're on a shopping quest today, we take the streetcar to the Hondori stop.


Here's the entrance to this covered mall.


Stan inside a narrow shop. There are some very simple shops & some very upscale ones in this area.


A sign inside this shop caught my eye . . .

After a little while, we got hungry & started to look for a restaurant. This plastic food looks delicious, so we're going to eat lunch here. The restaurant is just off the mall & up a flight of stairs.


Here we are waiting for our lunch.


Yum -- my fried oysters, slaw, pickles, soup & white rice lunch set. I've never had oysters served with mustard and red sauce though. Usually it's tartar sauce.


Stan ordered a grilled red snapper lunch set, which he said was delicious as well.

Looking through the window, I see a sign for a hair salon named Chaos across the narrow street.

I love these cute bags!


Wow -- look at all this hair stuff! I'm looking for ponytail holders for Sherri today. I sent her one for Christmas & she would like more, but I don't remember where I found it. She even sent a photo . . .


These are so cute -- they even have "googley eyes" but not the ones I'm looking for.


And more cute socks.

Happy cat socks . . .

Oh, these are the bicycles you can take apart, put in a bag & carry on any train. Not bad prices -- around $100.


See where it comes apart (or bends?) on the black frame?


There were lots of fun things here in the Kiddy Land toy department, but not what we were looking for . . . Lisa had asked for more of the beachball world globes for the girls' school, but we haven't been able to find any today -- yet.


Lots of Hello Kitty stuff . . .

View inside the Hondori Street covered shopping mall.


Oh, I love that cute "cat scuba-diving" umbrella! Our time is up today and I didn't find either thing I was looking for, but I'll keep looking . . . tomorrow we'll check out Iwakuni shops.


After a short streetcar ride, we're back at Hiroshima Station. Look at these pretty decorations celebrating cherry blossom season. After purchasing a ticket, it's really easy to return to Iwakuni, because our train is always at the first track, and runs about every 10-15 minutes.

It's crowded on the local this afternoon.


But this nice young couple got up & gave us their seats. We were very grateful! (It's nice to be "old & respected" in Japan!)

View from the train as we blow through a station. We caught the express today which makes fewer stops. This train ends in Shiminoseki, so we have to pay attention to get off in Iwakuni, where it makes a "brief" stop.


Although it was Saturday afternoon, there were lots of teenagers dressed in their school uniforms on the train. Students here spend a lot more hours at school. This girl's skirt is VERY short. My friend Junko told me sometimes they shorten them higher than they should. But the boys are totally engrossed in hand-held video games.

Back at the Iwakuni Station parking lot, we can see that the palm trees in the traffic circle (round about) have been uncovered after their winter rest, and the fronds are bright green.

Bus with Kintai Bridge mural at downtown bus station.

Downtown Iwakuni. We're about to be squeezed between a "stopped" car & a bus! That car cannot "park" here (partially blocking the traffic lane), but he can "stop" for 10 minutes . . .

We're waiting for a freight train at the crossing close to MCAS. This very rough crossing has been smoothed out recently and has bright new paint.

Back at the front of our building. Ayame means iris.

Our front door area reflects all the holidays celebrated in early Spring. We're home early enough to catch the last hour of Sumo. Today is the next to last day for Sumo Spring Tournament. After it ends at 6 PM, we're going to pick up Nancy & Eldon & go for sushi.

Hiroshima 3/21/09

We're going to pick up Eldon so we can ride the local to Hiroshima today. Nancy's in the US for a couple of weeks & we told her we'd keep an eye on him. We're passing the hanger near the Crossroads where the new fence cover has relaced the old-style slats. Doesn't it look nice?

Eldon & Stan buying our tickets at Iwakuni Station.

We're in the covered walkway that runs above the tracks, which are indicated by the large numbers. If we miss this train, there will always be another one in about 10 minutes.

On the platform looking across the tracks at part of the stairs we just climbed -- there are over 30 steps going up and then another 30 or so to go back down to the platform. No elevators or escalators at the Iwakuni local station. New this year, is the nice center handrail and arrows painted on the steps indicating which side is for going up (left) and which side for going down (right), but not everyone is used to the change yet.

On the train now looking out at the oyster beds near Miyajima.

The train's getting crowded, but fortunately, the guys I'm with both have gray hair, so we qualify for these "special" seats.

This clock tower near the track tells us it's already 11:30. It will be lunchtime by the time we arrive in Hiroshima!