tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287703982012-01-06T09:35:47.826+09:00Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.comBlogger271125KappaNoHehttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-40315720200543624172012-01-01T11:39:00.014+09:002012-01-01T13:50:04.150+09:002012-01-01T13:50:04.150+09:00

I can't believe it's already the end of 2011 and I haven't even broken 20 posts here. Definitely going to fix that in 2012. I wanted to wish all my blog friends a fantastic New Year. Again I'm going to aim for being more organized and productive this year. That way I can post here and stop by and see everyone at least once a week. We spent New Year's Eve at the local temple. Voila'. I still love

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com4http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-new-year.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-60599275140385166422011-09-24T19:13:00.007+09:002011-09-24T19:38:07.650+09:002011-09-24T19:38:07.650+09:00

Sometimes translation is hard. English to Japanese. Japanese to English. A lot of the time phrases just turn nonsensical, sometimes they turn hilarious, and sometimes they turn fabulous.Every Friday I park at this parking garage and it makes me happy. Why? Because there's a fire extinguisher on each level, clearly marked.Yeah, baby, yeah!Rwarrr!

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com7http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2011/09/best-fire-extinguisher-ever.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-72014417583058855352011-09-06T11:33:00.009+09:002011-09-07T19:46:37.552+09:002011-09-07T19:46:37.552+09:00

I'll start off by saying my husband and son are really pretty darned good about not leaving dirty laundry laying around the house. Usually. Every once in awhile, I don't know if it's the position of the moon in the sky or a shift in atmospheric pressure, but they'll forget to walk the twenty or so paces to the laundry room to toss their clothes and instead leave them on the floor.Which wouldn't

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com8http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2011/09/plan-c-or-maybe-d.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-40855394882843511512011-08-30T17:27:00.002+09:002011-08-31T19:01:56.269+09:002011-08-31T19:01:56.269+09:00

You'll get a giggle out of this. Today was J's first day back to high school after summer vacation and he almost got himself suspended. Yeah. That's what I said. Now, let's see if you can figure out what the big offense was. Here's a photo. No, he didn't bring the dog to school. And no, he didn't wear his ipod to class (if you noticed the dangling earphone cord). It's his hair. During

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I've been visiting a bunch of local temples recently. Part of it is research for the book (I !must! finish by the end of the year!) and part it is a longtime hobby of mine. Buddhism, Buddhist history, temple architecture, gorgeous gardens, and ancient stone statues -- I love it all.Today I climbed two mountains, visited two temples and saw hundreds of Buddhist statues. The last temple, of course,

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Last year I planted a butt-load of daikon radishes. I planted tomatoes, eggplants, and green peppers too. And then I spent my days working up menus with all the fresh veggies I was going to harvest. Boy, I couldn't wait to eat them. And as it turned out the bugs couldn't either. My entire crop was devoured before I even had time to Google how to non-toxic-ly beat the pests.*sigh*This year I

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I first heard the Hagoromo myth (A Robe of Feathers) soon after coming to Japan. I was an exchange student in Shizuoka and the story was said to have taken place on a beach not too far from where I lived at the time. I learned there are several versions (and even an old and popular Noh Play based on the tale) and while they all differ slightly, they are more or less the same.A fisherman comes

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com2http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2011/05/robe-of-feathers-story-end-notes.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-38087041048785038562011-05-01T07:37:00.013+09:002011-05-01T10:12:50.562+09:002011-05-01T10:12:50.562+09:00

My father asked me to do this a long time ago, and I've had a handful of requests since. And then again another just recently, so I've decided to give it a go.That is: once a month I'll spend a blog post or two on one of the stories from A Robe of Feathers and Other Stories, shedding a little light on the mythology/superstition/folklore or why on earth that story came to be. A kind of "end notes"

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com4http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2011/05/robe-of-feathers-end-notes.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-34313346725485292182011-04-20T16:02:00.009+09:002011-04-20T17:36:07.538+09:002011-04-20T17:36:07.538+09:00

Anyone who reads this blog knows about my mother-in-law. And I guess it's no fault of her own that she must uphold the mother-in-law creed and keep her cheeky, addle-headed daughter-in-law in line. Yes, we've butted heads.But she is also pretty cool too.This little known fact came to my attention the other day.My son came in from school with two pieces of cloth that needed to be hand sewn onto

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2:46: Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake#quakebookThis is the product description of 2:46: Aftershocks:Stories from the Japan Earthquake"In just over a week, a group of unpaid professional and citizen journalists who met on Twitter created a book to raise money for Japanese Red Cross earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. In addition to essays, artwork and photographs submitted by

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We're back in Japan after our week long, super-chillaxing vacay in Hawaii. Sometimes just stepping away for a few days really does help. That is until your back home and your mother-in-law knits her brows and tells your son it's going to rain his first day of school and since he has a 30-minute bike ride there and back he must dress head to toe in a rain coat, hat, and gloves as well. Why?

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In Hawaii we're staying at the Hale Koa, a military hotel. I was raised an Air Force brat so being back in this kind of environment is extremely nostalgic to me. Even more than being back in the States it feels like being home. A visit to the PX and that special PX smell brought back memories, made me feel like a kid. I was just waiting for an MP to step around the corner and ask me what I was

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com9http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2011/03/sunset-at-waikiki.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-84439702866482529802011-03-20T20:17:00.007+09:002011-03-24T17:48:06.123+09:002011-03-24T17:48:06.123+09:00

I've been utterly overwhelmed and humbled by the number of people who have gotten in touch with me (or my parents) since the earthquake. Relatives, old friends, even people who read this blog but have never commented. Thank you!We're okay. My story is amazingly lame but here goes...First, we're in Shizuoka (Yaizu), something like 400 kilometers south of the epicenter. So unlike the temblor we

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Today we'll have a quiz.What color are shrimp eggs?　　　　 η゛ Red?　 ∧ ∧(≡)　(´∀`) /⊂　　 ノ　(つ ノ　(ノ　　　　 η゛Brown?　 ∧ ∧(≡)　(´∀`) /⊂　　 ノ　(つ ノ　(ノ　　　　 η゛Yellow?　 ∧ ∧(≡)　(´∀`) /⊂　　 ノ　(つ ノ　(ノ　　　　 η゛White?　 ∧ ∧(≡)　(´∀`) /⊂　　 ノ　(つ ノ　(ノ　　　　 η゛Black?　 ∧ ∧(≡)　(´∀`) /⊂　　 ノ　(つ ノ　(ノ　　　　 η゛Pink?　 ∧ ∧(≡)　(´∀`) /⊂　　 ノ　(つ ノ　(ノNope.Blue!(Finger courtesy of my buddy P)

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I've been fighting this post for over a year. Here's the non-emotional, stunningly short version -- more of a set up -- so I can talk about snacks and erasers.You don't just go to high school in Japan. You must test into high school. Very, very good students go into very, very high-leveled schools (with very, very difficult entrance exams). This works all the way down to the "special" schools

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com11http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2011/02/high-school.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-46431442597210599012011-01-25T19:03:00.020+09:002011-01-26T20:06:48.324+09:002011-01-26T20:06:48.324+09:00

So what does a 70-dollar per person meal look like? I took pictures.To celebrate my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary we took them to a nice Japanese restaurant on the side of a mountain, a 70-bucks per person -- drinks not included -- lunch. The restaurant is called Shofukaku. The price-wise is about mid range.First we were shown to a nice tatami-matted room with views of the mountains and the

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Not mine.From what I gather Japanese people aren't real keen on wedding anniversaries. That is, they don't make a big deal about them in front of others and most times you never even know when a friend's or relative's wedding anniversary is. Unless you ask.Luckily my brother-in-law asked his parents when theirs was and when they said this week he asked what year did it happen to be. That's how we

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(A photographic reenactment)I hope this isn't and indication of how my year is going to go.A few days ago I was going for a walk with Cha. We decided to feed the wild ducks that have been frequenting our little street-side rivers. I brought a pocketful of bread. And I learned something too. Wild ducks don't eat bread. Who woulda thought? Mostly they see the beagle coming and fly away in a spray

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And here is how we celebrated our New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Japan this year.For dinner I made toshi koshi soba, Year-End Soba. We had our noodles in a cold dipping sauce (instead of hot) and a couple pieces of tempura on the side. As my mother-in-law will tell you these noodles symbolize living a long and "narrow" life. Narrow meaning not to any extremes. "Adventure" is not her middle

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It's the end of 2010 and as I see it The Year of the Tiger really didn't do me any favors. I'm ready for some 2011, Year of the Bunny.Seriously.I wasn't able to get a single short story published this past year despite being short-listed a few times and waiting almost a year on two other queries. My mid grade book -- that I'm still dearly in love with -- hasn't been picked up yet and my agent

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com17http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-lucky-cement-ball.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-65085212780924421942010-11-15T18:26:00.004+09:002010-11-15T18:44:45.535+09:002010-11-15T18:44:45.535+09:00

The wonderful people at Horror News Net are allowing me to do a monthly guest blog. It's called Frightful Japan. There I plan on exploring Japan, the scary stuff. Because seriously this country does horror so freaking well. I probably won't go into movies as the Horror News Net people already have some great movie reviewers on their site. I'll be looking into urban myths, strange traditions, and

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com8http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2010/11/guest-blogging-gig.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-38946820337191648982010-11-03T18:54:00.006+09:002010-11-03T21:08:33.921+09:002010-11-03T21:08:33.921+09:00

When nothing is going on talk about the weather.We had a typhoon blow through last week. It wasn't too bad. Kinda wimpy actually. Lots of rain and a few gusts. I lost the garbage can lid again. But that always happens.When the typhoon was mostly over I looked outside and it was yellow. Yellow! Outside! I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures.Here's the after-typhoon rainbow. It *was* a

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Okay, I'm trying to get into the swing of weekly blogs again. Still, I've got some other things vying for my time so posts might be short. Like a photo of my cat pulling a face at me or this:An autumn-flavored quiz.What is this?(click for close up)(Note: Readers in Japan will know right off the bat.)Actually, this is too easy, isn't it?Wait for it...Wait for it....Okay! Here it is sliced in

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com6http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2010/10/autumn-quiz.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-82802781476575552010-10-05T08:58:00.004+09:002010-10-05T09:00:51.533+09:002010-10-05T09:00:51.533+09:00

So I'm sitting at the computer when Soda hops up on the table to hang out.She's busy cleaning herself in various rude ways -- which was kind of funny --so I grab the camera and go, "Say Cheese!"This is what I got.

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com17http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2010/10/cute-non-flat-cat.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28770398.post-1443800318363370192010-09-25T09:41:00.005+09:002010-09-25T09:53:13.153+09:002010-09-25T09:53:13.153+09:00

...but kind of cute in a morbid way.Last week the dog and I came across this:I knelt down to get a better look.What IS it?Is it really some small animal? Or maybe a stuffed animal that got smooshed? You can't tell the size from the photo but it could probably fit in the palm of my hand.Right now my money is on stuffed animal for the simple fact that Cha Cha displayed zero interest in the thing.

Kappa no Hehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00909580462578058631noreply@blogger.com7http://kappanohe.blogspot.com/2010/09/potentially-disturbing.html