Swans were taking rest in Rice Field of Niigata, Northern JAPAN

Today, I went to a DIY shop in this afternoon. The shop is located in rice fields. I needed to walk 3 kilometers (one-way) to get to there.

When I crossed the railway from residential area to rice fields, I found “white creatures” on the fields.

Coming from Siberia, they were taking a rest on the rice field. I wondered if there were anything to eat there. I thought that if I had got closer to them, they would have run away from me. But they were staying there as if they didn’t care of me.

If weather was fine, snow covered Iide mountain could be seen in this direction. But today, Iide mountain was hidden in the clouds.

That’s it for today.

Yesterday, I went to Kanto region (But I am already back in Niigata)

I got on a local train from my village, and got off at Niigata.

Niigata is the starting station of Jo’etsu Shinkansen (High-speed trains).

I saw the mountain whose height is 1293 meters. I was born 50-some years ago at the town near that mountain.

I don’t know the name of the mountain.

I got off the shinkansen.

It’s an urban city in Kanto Region. It looks very different from my village.

I took an X-ray test on chest today in the town next to my village

X-ray test on chest once a year is free-charge under the Japan’s national health insurance system. Although the test was done at the community center in my village last month, I just forgot about it. The last chance for me was today’s test in the town next to my village. So, I got on a local train in this morning.

An object displayed on the west side of the Station; Many dolphins are swimming and jumping.

Yellow leaves; I saw on the way to the venue of X-ray test.

There were two vehicles which have the facilities of X-ray test; one for female, the other for male citizens.

On the way back, I saw this board. It reads; “Morning, day time, and evening, Say greetings loudly and cheerfully”, “Smile each other”, “Greetings Street”, and “Let us try to recycle that eases the Earth”. Telling people these kind of things is good, but I was just wondering; if there are any other countries, cultures, habits that tell people these kind of things on a board by a street or not.

I was back to the railway station. And then I got a local train to my village.

Snow-covered Mt. Iide was not clearly seen, Ginkgo tree in the shrine was not fully yellow

I started walking in this afternoon to the direction of downstream of the river and then I saw this tree standing on river bank.

Today, the sky was not so clear, I could not see the entire Iide Mountains. But as shown in the photo, I could see white snow on the top area of the mountains.

I looked back on the path on the river bank. This road is exclusively for pedestrians and bicycles.

A local train was crossing the river on the steel bridge.

In the day time, I don’t hear the sound of trains running on this steel bridge. But I can hear the sound well in early morning. I think it is the phenomena of diffraction of sound waves because speed of sound changes by the difference of temperature with altitude in early morning. Every time I hear the sound of train on steel bridge in the morning, I cannot help thinking that my dad had listened to the same sound for twenty years he had been living alone in this house.

Leaves of Ginkgo tree in the shrine have not become fully yellow yet. The tree is the symbol of the shrine. Soon they will become yellow and fall onto the ground. It will look like a yellow carpet.

I hung slices of radish (Daikon) to dry them for preservation, today

I harvested three Daikon(s) from my field today. I wanted to make “Dried Daikon”so that I can keep Daikon longer.

Only two in the photo, but this photo was taken after I had cut one radish. You can see some peels which was the first radish.

Since I didn’t know how to tie them to hang, it was difficult for me to do this. But somehow, I made it.

I hope that no mold propagates especially at the part where cords are attaching

I left the beach, and then; The day before yesterday in Niigata

There are many boards to give people a caution, warning, advice, suggestion or whatever.

Droppings of a dog tells you the level of ethics of dog’s master.

To jogging runners: This trail is not only for runners; Construction section of Chuo-ward office of the city hall

Be careful to a Boar

Let us stop throwing Tabacco around this area for fire prevention.

The Bus stop to go to the downtown area

Read leaves and Shinano River

The view on the Bandai Bridge towards Bandai

The view on the Bandai Bridge to West; you can see Yahiko Mountain far beyond

The view of the Bandai Bridge towards Furumachi

And I ate sushi for my lunch that was 1,958JPY.

Though it’s not season for swimming, I went to see the sea.

I made my mother get on the second car of Jo’etsu Shinkansen. Today she has gone to my sister’s house in Kanto Region near Tokyo. Unless I make sure that she is on board of shinkansen (High-speed railway), she might come back to my house after window shopping in Niigata.

I left the platform of Shinkansen before the train departed, I headed to the Number 9 bus stop which is bound for Hamauracho.

There is sand hill between the town and the sea shore. I walked up a slope and stairway a little bit, went down from the low ridge, and then reached the Sekiya-hama (Sekiya Beach).

When I was a kid, my father took me to this beach in summer. There was a beach house that partnered with the teachers’ association. My father was a teacher, so we always went to that beach house. If my memory is correct, that was the 2nd from the corner to the left. In the photo, it is “こがねや”. Probably its management, or even the name might have changed.

to be cont’d