Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Moribito wins the Batchelder Award !

Congratulations! Moribito was written by Nahoko Uehashi and translated into English from Japanese by Cathy Hirano.

Click here to read about The Batchelder Award .

Alison Lester

Author/illustrator Alison Lester disappeared for a few moments in Tokyo the evening of the 23rd. She was here to visit international schools. She came to our SCBWI Tokyo chapter to speak to us.

After her presentation, on our way to dinner, she saw a member's electric bicycle and wanted to ride it. She took off and disappeared around the corner. When she reappeared, I took this picture of her as she rode past me. She disappeared again! She's a blur in this picture not because she was going so fast but because there wasn't enough light.

Here she is earlier in the evening autographing a book. She autographed mine and drew a picture of her dog, Fatty.

Alison Lester is a lot of fun. She showed us photos of her trips to Antarctica and talked to us about her other projects and books. She has done a lot of work with the indigenous people of her native land, Australia. She's funny and interesting. You might want to invite her to your school for a visit.

Water Pipes Replaced

Our street has been a mess for over two weeks. They cut into the concrete to replace our neighborhood's water pipes. In this picture, the worker is smoothing out the gravel. First, he used the other machine to pound the gravel. This picture was taken from the roof garden. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Obama Headlines

Obama's Era Begins. Come Together for Change. (rough translation)

President Obama. First African-American President. Appeal for America's Rebirth.
(rough translation)

The pictures were in color, but I reduced and copied the articles in black and white at MiniStop. It costs 50 yen per color copy!

Things to buy at the Shrine on Coming-of-Age Day

Daruma for sale. Buy one, make a wish, fill in one eye and then when the wish comes true fill in the other eye. They are taken to the temple on the first visit of the new year to be burned.

Caged balloon animals.

Bagged cotton candy.

Small punch balls filled with water. You don't really punch them, you pat them. You wrap the string around your finger and bounce them under your palm.

Coming-of-Age Day at Okunitama Shrine

Paper hanging from the torii.

See the young ladies in kimono? Check out the link and labels below for more information.

Kids Web Japan--Coming-of-Age Day

Behind the Scenes at the Shrine

That's not a wreath. It's wire and bulb sockets.

Best Wishes for the New Year!

Best wishes and fresh air! Aunt gave this to me. It is an air freshener. The cow decoration is made of paper, but the back is a thick piece of charcoal/charwood.

The New Year Sunrise