2014-04-30

Mt. Rishiri Fuji !

by Chis.

On the second day of my business jaunt, Mt. Rishiri Fuji showed only its hillside and the peak was hidden by white cloud.
It seemed to be fine but in fact, slight blizzard was on our way to the venue of medical check-up we would provide.

2014-04-29

Season of Flowers ② !


by Kazu

Dog-tooth-violets are blooming on the field. Do they prefer the shade than the daylight ?
 Crocuses also started to bloom in colors of white, violet. The yellow and red flower is tulip.
Soon the cherry trees will take the role of protagonist in the flower season.
 Small stars can be seen on the field.

Kobushi magnolia were showing its white color.
It is the start of the season in the sun.
They are watching us as we do. If we did a wrong they might do the same to us;)

2014-04-28

Feeding field for wild geese in Bibai City !

by the Municipality of Bibai

In order to protect the the buds of wheat crops on the field from the wild gees that drop by Miyajima-numa Marsh on their way from the south to Siberia, the feeding field was made to allure the wild geese by sprinkling wheat crops on the field near the marsh.
On top of the feeding field for geese, wheat crops were cultivated on the paddy field to allure the geese. It will be about one week before the leaving of geese. Considering the damage to the wheat field brought by the geese, we have to be singing the blues but we are doing our best to minimize the damage to the farmers who are looking forward to the bumper crop in autumn.  

2014-04-26

Business Jaunt to Isolated Islands !

by Chis.

I was stepping on my way of business jaunt to Rishiri Island and Rebun Island for eight days.
I was keeping my fingers and toes crossed for the success of this trip without accidents.
The beautiful konide of Mt. Rishiri Fuji could be seen from the ferry as shown above.

Season of Flowers !


by Kazu

The flowers of Fuki, Giant Butterbur started to bloom on the ground. Soon the leaves of this plant will expand their giant flare.
This flower, stem and leaves are edible but the root is poisonous and  even the edible part contains Petasitenine that is not good for liver, so they should be boiled and taken off the scum.  
The bitter taste of this plant stimulates our stomach and appetite. That is what makes us feel we could get over the cold winter.
Bamboo shoots also will soon show up in the bush. Even the bamboo shoots should be boiled with the water that was used
 to wash up rice in order to take off the scum of the plant.
Please feel and savor the spring after visiting talk-hokkaido at















                                                                                                                                           

2014-04-25

Miyajima-numa in Bibai City !




by Municipality of Bibai 

Wild geese arrived at Miyajima Numa marsh . Normally they are away from the lake to eat the crops and insects on the paddy fields but they came back to the lake in daytime for the first time in this season.
They arrived in the lake 9:30 in the morning and there were approximately 3,000 wild geese at the moment of 10:40. It seemed that they were having a rest when the paddy fields got dry.

2014-04-24

Ramen Restaurant in Ajisai


by Kazu

As I posted before, "Ajisai" means Hydrangea. It's the name of the well-established Ramen restaurant headquartered in Hakodate City.
In the building of Bic Camera in Sapporo City, it has a branch.
Above is my wife's favorite "Wantan Men" and the right is pilaf flavored and featured by boiled pork called "Charshu".
 This is my favorite and must-eat "Seabura Charshu Men"that contains enough refined fat of pork and Charshu.
The white topping is shred leek.
Flavored with salt, the ramen bowl is so nice.
I think the restaurant reduced the amount of fat to use for one ramen bowl because I  was annoyed diarrhea 6 hours after having this bowl before because of too much fat.
But this time, I did not feel any problem with my intestine even 10 hours after this lunch. I think the gluten of the wheat may be addictive for Asian people.
Carbon-hydrate and fat make the human being happy but we have to control the intake of them;)

2014-04-23

After the Half Marathon in Date City !


  1. by Seiji

  2. After running in Date City Half Marathon, I dropped by Hotel Yumoto Meisuitei in Kitayuzawa Hot Spring Area because it was the part of the marathon tour  by shuttle bath as well as the short stop at Nakayama Path on way back from Date City to Sapporo. Beautiful Mt. Youtei called Ezo Fuji which means Mt.Fuji in Hokkaido in Japanese could be seen and this angle is my favorite.



So-called Magic Hour ?


by Kazu

On a certain Sunday, just before sunset, the usual scenery showed me a different countenances.
It may be called "Magic Hour" that allures many photographers.
 The orange sunshine from the west made the beautiful contrast with deep shade.
The eternal flame millions miles away is giving us everything we need and everything the creatures on this globe have to be blessed..
 Even the artificial structures were given the sophisticated contrast with the light.
Soon the prince of darkness would cover the area and have a rest.
There were not any passengers nor the students of the Hokkaido University on the famous poplar boulevard.
It would be fine tomorrow !        






















































































































































                                                                                                                                                                             

2014-04-21

On my way of jogging !


by Kazu

I was wondering what was the gray object beside my jogging course.
It is the memorial of developing the hybrid wheat.

As shown above, "Wheat genetics entered a fresh phase with SAKAMURA's discovery(1918) that the species might have 14,28 or 42 chromosomes(diploid), and with KIHARA's work on the cytology of hybrids between with different numbers of chromosomes. It is a very small memorial object but the contributions made by two researchers must be huge in the history of agriculture. I think.

2014-04-19

Hokkaido Shrine in spring !


by Chis.

In Japan, the old talismans that might finished their mandate should be brought back to the shrine with some gratuity.
I brought a "EMA", a votive picture tablet of horse and a talisman to Hokkaido Shrine.
There were not so many people  on the premises of the shrine. At the north entrance of the shrine, one of the most popular and famous confectioneries in Hokkaido, ROKKATEI has a small branch shop where hot rice cakes with sweet red-beans paste inside can be savored. They were warmed up on the steel plate and served to the visitors.
Would you pray for the peace and happiness of the world your family in the shrine ?

New Colleagues in Sapporo City !


by Kazu

It is with honor to introduce my new colleagues to revitalize the municipalities facing many challenges such as sparsely populated areas, isolated islands and the hidden communities in Hokkaido.
 On the day of the first binge drinking with these members, one of my colleagues informed us that it was his ??th birthday.
Showing his driver's license as the proof of his birthday, the bistro of half-Italian taste made up this sweet dish and sang "Happy Birthday" for him.
It must be the best start of this team !

The address of the bistro is
〒060-0005
北海道札幌市中央区北5条西5丁目
JR55SAPPORO 6F

 Phone: 011-222-8818
イタリアンダイニング グラッツェ JR55店
Italian Dining Grazie 


On the last day in Sorachi !


by Kazu

Normally, on the day before the colon check with optical fiber camera in the clinic of general practitioner, I can have only cups of tea and two pieces of bread without butter for breakfast and lunch.  
It seemed that the regulation was moderated this year. I could have buckwheat noodle without chopped leek and other toppings.
It was curious that what I could have last in my mandate of Sorachi sub-prefectural area was the most appropriate food before the annual colon check and at the same time it was one of the flagship crops in Sorachi s well.
Even after the deregulation of food before the medical check-up, the dinner had to be two serves of congee , rice porridge and miso soup without featuring.
I had the plain buckwheat noodle in "Shoh-an" that I introduced with a variety of rice bowl some times on this blog.
After the peak of lunch time, I was the only person having noodle with big noise, zzz- !
The chef kindly made up the quality buckwheat noodle for me with smile.
It was the time to leave Sorachi but the story of Hokkaido including Sorachi will never stop "till death do us part";)
This was the way to go back to Iwamizawa City and it led to Sapporo City where I would start my new mandate and the reason to live was and is living. Yes, my better half is waiting to be taken care of by me everyday !
Gung ho, gung ho !