Japan

STUDENT, 19 Cap – John Lennon Museum T-Shirt – Champion Shirt – UNIQLO Pants – San Fransisco Bag – INCASE Shoes – Op

Today is the day that Japanese history changed forever when Oda Nobunaga defeated Imagawa Yoshimoto at the Battle of Okehazama in 1560. I have a nice video to share with you about the battle by local Okehazama historian Wataru Kajino (Mr. Okehazama). The video is in Japanese and it discusses such topics such as the history of the area, the battle, and the differences between the Shincho-Ko ki and Shinchoki as well. Even though the video is in Japanese, it is fairly easy to understand as Mr. Okehazama speaks at a slow and easy pace. This is a gold mine for the Battle of Okehazama scholar like myself and I highly recommend it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvfIqp73eWcOwari ni hikari woNobunaga no tame!

Some photos from the non-rose garden section of Kyu-Furukawa Gardens. A green spider that is the same color as the momiji (Japanese maple) leaf it's perched on. A black butterfly with Harley-Davidson-like flames on the tail. Helicopter seeds on momiji trees. Turtle again.

Kyu-Furukawa Gardens again. This visit reconfirmed my initial impression that the best thing about this park is its rose garden. Fortunately, the roses are currently in bloom, and from May 17-26, you can even go at night to do some night-viewing! (The park will be open until 9pm.) It may not look too bad in the photos, but the park was fairly crowded, with whole tours of people coming at a time. Barkarole, introduced 1989 by Germany. Barkarole refers to the songs sung on gondola boats. The bud is almost black, but the flower is more a vampy red. Charles de Gaulle, introduced 1974 by France. This one is noted for its scent. Golden Medallion, introduced in 1984 from Germany. These are the roses I imagine the Queen of Hearts making the card soldiers paint in Alice in Wonderland. The color isn't quite right but the shape of the petals is. Kirari ("Sparkle"), introduced 2003 by Japan. Hatsukoi ("First Love"), introduced in 1994 by Japan. What an apt name. It looks like a literal interpretation of the expression "blush of first love". This rose is also noted for its scent. The Queen Elizabeth rose, introduced in 1954 by the United States.

Texas' Elvis Andrus had a career-high five hits as the Rangers beat Detroit 7-2 on Saturday, dropping the Tigers out of first place in the American League Central division. Also Saturday, Colorado scored 10 runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second straight day, Cincinnati also reached double figures…

A 20-year-old female university student was attacked by a knife-wielding man while on her way home from a part-time job in Atsugi, Kanagawa prefecture, at about 2 a.m. Sunday. Police quoted the woman as saying the man was standing near a vending machine and when she walked by, he lunged…

Toyama City, about 3 and a half hours away from Tokyo via bullet train. The population is 1.1 million, around one-tenth of the population of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. I don't want to be the city girl who finds everything outside Tokyo quaint, but I was very much surprised to see that the ticket gate at Toyama Station was still not automated. To be fair, I only saw the south exit. Perhaps the north exit is unmanned? Water fountains close to Toyama Station. In a more populated city, this area would be full of kids running around. Then again, it was Sunday morning. The city had nice manhole covers. A nod to the snow-capped Tateyama mountains. This version was in color. An old-looking bathhouse. The courtyard of the City Hall had a man-made pond filled with koi. I'm guessing the web-like mass of clear string was to prevent humans, crows, and cats from entering. Surprisingly, Toyama also has a bike-sharing system! It's not available for tourists to use so I'm curious where the locals take these bikes. Perhaps they take the train to Toyama Station and then take bikes to get to work. The City Hall building, which also has a conservatory tower (only about nine floors high) that allows you to a 360-degree view of the area. The day I went up, the mountains could not be seen because of the fog, and hence, the photos were spectacularly unremarkable. The flower pots on poles gave the area a momentarily European feel.

Matsukawa River, around a ten-minute walk from Toyama Station. It was rainy the day I went, but the best time to visit would have been early April anyway, when the cherry blossoms bloom. Toyama Castle, which I did not enter. It's said to have been built in the mid-16th century. The area surrounding the castle is Toyama Castle Park, and includes a library and small art museum. It may take a bit longer than Tokyo for the cherry blossoms to bloom, but it seems there is no such delay for wisteria. In fact, during this time of the year, there doesn't seem to be much difference in temperature between Toyama and Tokyo.

Two elderly people perished in a house fire Saturday night in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, police said Sunday. Police said that flames were seen coming form the second floor of the two-story wooden house at around 10 p.m. Saturday. NTV reported that it took firefighters four hours to extinguish the blaze.…

A single winning ticket for a record U.S. Powerball lottery jackpot worth $590.5 million was sold in Florida, organizers said late on Saturday, but there was no immediate word about who won or where in the state the ticket was bought. The winning numbers from Saturday night's drawing were: 10,…