Kyoto Sep 2011

After the trip to Osaka, we went to Kyoto. Our first stop was the famous Kinkakuji (金閣寺). This is a world heritage site. Even on a weekday, there was a big crowd at the shrine. Who can blame them? The beautiful golden building of the shrine is perfectly complemented by the serene garden and pond.

Next stop was Sanjusangendo (三十三間堂). We had the honour of having one of the monks there talk to us about the history of the temple, as well as the 1000 statues of Buddha there. The long corridor is still used for archery competitions today, a yearly event at the temple.

Next stop was the Imperial Palace of Kyoto, known as in 皇居 Japanese. Admission is by appointment only. This was my second visit, but this time I managed to take better pictures.

In Kyoto itself, I managed to spot a maiko hurrying along the streets.

We also visited Kiyomizudera (清水寺), a temple famous for the stage built overhanging a cliff. We were early, so there were few visitors. We even had an unusual visitor at the temple, a grey heron.

And here are some ducks at Kamogawa (鴨川, literally Duck River).

Osaka trip Sep 2011

I took a trip to Osaka in mid-Sep 2011. No trip to Osaka is complete without a visit to Osaka Castle, and it was one of the first stops.

Within the confines of Osaka Castle, there was a shrine dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who built the original castle. The shrine is known as Hokoku Shrine (豊国神社 in Japanese).

We also visited a museum on the history of Osaka's development. There were lots of exhibits, such as the weights and coins used in the past, buttons made from actual shells and an old sewing machine.

We also visited a museum on ethnology, which showcased various cultures in the world, according to regions. This was my second visit there, so it wasn't as interesting to me as it was for my colleagues who were with me on this trip.

We also took a trip to Tezuka Osamu Museum, which is dedicated to Tezuka Osamu, a famous cartoon artist in Japan. He can be said to be the father of Japanese anime. He was the inventor of Astro Boy, and his works can fill shelves. Plus he was very good at drawing... his drawings of beetles looked like photographs.

On the way to and fro Tezuka Osamu Museum, we passed by the Takarazuka Theatre.

Takarazuka is a famous dance opera troupe in Japan, and we saw many fans waiting at the side entrance hoping to catch a glance of the stars as they come in.

Ino Tadataka Museum

I had a chance to visit the Ino Tadataka Museum in Sawara (佐原) of Katori city (香取) of Chiba prefecture some time back. Ino Tadataka (伊能忠敬) was a famous cartographer that lived during the Edo period. He was the first person to draw up an accurate map of Japan, and his maps were still in use well into the 20th century.

If you compare his maps with a satellite picture, you will see that he actually was very accurate for latitude (given his primitive equipment), but he was a bit off in some areas for longitude. The problem of accurate longitude has been a navigation problem in the past, so you cannot blame him. Even so, he was quite close, and I think that if proper corrections are applied, his maps can still be used today for navigation (on land, that is).

National Museum of Japanese History

Some time back, I visited the National Museum of Japanese History (国立歴史民俗博物館) in Sakura (佐倉) city of Chiba prefecture.

It is a very big museum, dealing with the history of Japan from primitive times till modern days. It starts with a gallery on ancient Japan, from Jomon to Yayoi to the Nara period. Then the medieval times from Kamakura till Warring States period. There was a gallery on Edo period, and that was followed by modern Japan starting from the Meiji Restoration till today.

It was very big, so big that it took quite a while to go through the galleries, and even then, I was doing so at breakneck speed. To fully appreciate the museum, you will probably need to spend 5 hours here, 1 hour for each of the 5 galleries. So if you are planning a trip there, it is going to be a full-day affair. But it will be very worth it, since you will be able to learn all the important parts of Japanese history with this one visit.

The importance of being right in translation

From my own personal experience, I can say that translating/interpreting from one language to another is very difficult, since a word may have different meanings when translated into another language and vice versa. And that is why it is very important that the translator/interpreter knows the two languages well, and the context that he is translating. When acting as a middleman between two parties who don't understand each other's language, the translator is of utmost importance, because the mutual understanding that comes out of any discussion hinges on the accuracy of his translation.

Recently, I had a personal experience with how a wrong impression can be left by inaccurate translation. In a question and answer session, because the translator translated the question wrongly, the answer given did not end up answering the original question. The impression left was that the answerer was avoiding the question. Instead of improving mutual understanding (which was the aim of the session), it ended up creating misunderstanding, all because the translator did not translate the question accurately.

Hokkaido trip Sep 2011

In early Sep 2011, we took a trip to Hokkaido (and a town in Misawa, but didn't do much there). We visited the northernmost part of Hokkaido (and thus the northernmost tip of Japan). It was Wakkanai (稚内), which lies along the Soya Strait (宗谷海峡).

Here, you can find Japan's northernmost sushi shop.

We also visited Nemuro (根室), which is the eastern tip of Hokkaido, from which you can see the islands of the Kuriles disputed by Japan and Russia.

And Nemuro is famous of hanasaki crabs, so of course I bought some to share with the in-laws. My mother-in-law just loves crabs.

One more year again!

Yet another year has gone by and I have to put one more candle on the cake. How time flies! This year is slightly different, since I get to spend this day in Japan instead of the usual Singapore.

Typhoon Roke (2011)

Typhoon Roke (known as 台風15号 in Japan) made landfall in Japan today, bringing lots of rain and strong winds. As of now, 5 have died and 3 are missing. This could have been due to the early evacuation advisories. For example, evacuation advisory to 1 million people in Nagoya was given yesterday, giving ample time for people to seek shelter on higher ground away from the rivers that might breach their banks. It has been a while since such a strong typhoon hit the Tokyo area. Gusts above 60 knots have been recorded in the Tokyo area and rainfall of above 30mm an hour. The saving grace is that the typhoon is moving at quite a high speed (aided by the westerlies) so the ordeal should be over soon.

For me, it has been a while since I have felt the full effects of a typhoon. But that does not mean I am crazy enough to try and go out in this weather. I am staying put at home where it is safe.

Le Soleil Yokosuka

In 2009, we visited Le Soleil at Yokosuka while the kid was still a baby. Back then, it was drizzling while we were there. This year, we visited the same place again in late summer. And were greeted with great weather.

The kids definitely enjoyed themselves. They were able to feed the animals, and enjoyed the rides there as well.

Yokosuka is full of nature. Kites are abundant here, sometimes flying low over our heads. And there was this large sunflower field just right by the entrance, in full bloom.

Lots of gold

Wow! It seems that while the US economy has been in the dumps, and the US dollar has been dropping, the US does have a trump card that it can pull out... with all the gold reserves it actually holds! Look here for the report.

10 years since 9/11

It has been 10 years since the terrorist attacks on US took place on 11 September 2001. I can still remember that day clearly. The attacks took place in the morning of New York, which was night in Japan, and I was just back from a meeting and as I was watching the news, the first images of a plane crashing into the World Trade Centre came in. This was soon followed by the Pentagon on fire. And as a reporter was reporting about the first crash on the World Trade Centre, the second plane crashed into the other tower. And the rest is history. This probably ranks as the first event to shake the world as we entered the 21st century.

9/11 conspiracy theories debunked
9/11: A decade of war on terror

6 months on

6 months has passed since the terrible earthquake and subsequent tsunami has left the northeastern part of Japan devastated. 6 months on, the rubble has yet to be fully cleared, though temporary housing for the refugees have been completed. But the livelihoods of these people have not been reestablished... it will take some time before the people can ever recover from this...

Singing again

I haven't been listening to songs very often for quite a while, and I can't remember the last time I went to a karaoke... and so it was quite embarrassing to finally step into a karaoke today and end up not being able to sing anything decently. In the end... I ended up singing songs from children's animation like Anpanman because those are the songs that I have been most exposed to of late (because the kid loves those songs...)

Guess I just need more practice...

Aftermath of Typhoon Talas (2011)

Typhoon Talas (known as Typhoon Number 12, or 台風12号 in Japan) has finally passed through Japan, leaving in her aftermath 33 dead and 55 missing (as of now). It brought record rainfalls to 44 places in Japan, with some places having more than 1500mm of rain in 3 days. Just for comparison, the average annual rainfall in Japan is 1400-1500mm...

With the heavy rains came floods and landslides. Houses collapse when the ground beneath them gave way or was washed away. Parts of roads were submerged when rivers flooded beyond their embankments. It was a terrible reminder of the forces of nature yet again.

Pour Que Tu M'Aimes Encore by Celine Dion

J'ai compris tous les mots, j'ai bien compris, merci
Raisionnable et nouveau, c'est ainsi par ici
Que les choses ont changé, que les fleurs ont fané
Que le temps d'avant, c'était le temps davant
Que si tout zappe et lasse, les amours aussi passent

Il faut que tu saches

J'irai chercher ton cœur si tu l'emportes ailleurs
Même si dans tes danses d'autres dansent tes heures
J'irai chercher ton âme dans les froids dans les flammes
Je te jetterai des sorts pour que tu m'aimes encore

Fallait pas commencer m'attirer me toucher
Fallait pas tant donner moi je sais pas jouer
On me dit qu'aujourd'hui, on me dit que les autres font ainsi
Je ne suis pas les autres
Avant que l'on s'attache, avant que l'on se gâche

Je veux que tu saches

J'irai chercher ton cœur si tu l'emportes ailleurs
Même si dans tes danses d'autres dansent tes heures
J'irai chercher ton âme dans les froids dans les flammes
Je te jetterai des sorts pour que tu m'aimes encore

Je trouverai des langages pour chanter tes louanges
Je ferai nos bagages pour d'infinies vendanges
Les formules magiques des marabouts d'afrique
J'les dirai sans remords pour que tu m'aimes encore

Je m'inventerai reine pour que tu me retiennes
Je me ferai nouvelle pour que le feu reprenne

Je deviendrai ces autres qui te donnent du plaisir
Vos jeux seront les nôtres, si tel est ton desir

Plus brillante plus belle pour une autre étincelle
Je me changerai en or pour que tu m'aimes encore.

A song that I really like, even though I don't know French... I chose this version from Youtube since it has the English translation.

 

Update 22 May 2023: I used Google Translate and edited it a bit for the meaning in English.

 

J’ai compris tous les mots, j’ai bien compris, merci
Raisonnable et nouveau, c’est ainsi par ici
Que les choses ont changé, que les fleurs ont fané
Que le temps d’avant, c’était le temps d’avant
Que si tout zappe et lasse, les amours aussi passent

I understood all the words, I understood correctly, thank you
Reasonable and new, that's how it is around here
That things have changed, that the flowers have faded
That the time before was the time before
That if everything is forgotten and tires, loves also come to pass

Il faut que tu saches

You have to know

J’irai chercher ton cœur si tu l’emportes ailleurs
Même si dans tes danses d’autres dansent tes heures
J’irai chercher ton âme dans les froids dans les flammes
Je te jetterai des sorts pour que tu m’aimes encore

I’ll go to look for your heart if you bring it elsewhere
Even if in your dances, others dance your hours
I will go to look for your soul in the cold and in the flames
I will cast spells so that you love me again

Fallait pas commencer m’attirer me toucher
Fallait pas tant donner moi je sais pas jouer
On me dit qu’aujourd’hui, on me dit que les autres font ainsi
Je ne suis pas les autres
Avant que l’on s’attache, avant que l’on se gâche

Shouldn't have started attracting me, touching me
Shouldn't have given me so much, I don't know how to play
I am told that today, I am told that others do this
I am not the others
Before we get attached, before we mess up

Je veux que tu saches

I want you to know

J’irai chercher ton cœur si tu l’emportes ailleurs
Même si dans tes danses d’autres dansent tes heures
J’irai chercher ton âme dans les froids dans les flammes
Je te jetterai des sorts pour que tu m’aimes encore
 

I'll go get your heart if you take it somewhere else
Even if in your dances, others dance your hours
I will seek your soul in the cold and in the flames
I'll cast spells on you so that you love me again

Je trouverai des langages pour chanter tes louanges
Je ferai nos bagages pour d’infinies vendanges
Les formules magiques des marabouts d’Afrique
J’les dirai sans remords pour que tu m’aimes encore

I'll find languages ​​to sing your praises
I'll pack our bags for endless harvests
The magic formulas of the marabouts of Africa
I will say them without remorse so that you love me again

Je m’inventerai reine pour que tu me retiennes
Je me ferai nouvelle pour que le feu reprenne
Je deviendrai une autre après qui tu soupires
Ces jeux seront les nôtres, si tel est ton désir

I will invent myself queen so that you hold me back
I will make myself new so that the fire resumes

I will become those others who give you pleasure
Your games will be ours, if that's your wish

 
Plus brillante plus belle pour une autre étincelle
Je me changerai en or pour que tu m’aimes encore

Brighter, more beautiful for another spark
I will turn myself into gold so that you love me again