Archive for January, 2010

Big Time Snow in Kumamoto!

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Yesterday, we had a lot of snow, I mean A LOT of snow, for us at least. I heard this morning that yesterday’s snowfall was the most in 60 years here in Kumamoto. Some public transportation was either canceled or slowed down quite a bit. Yesterday’s snow was also a bit unusual because it continued to fall until around mid-morning, and it stuck. Below are some selected shots from around the campus where I teach:

Snow on Campus: The PUK River

This is the main part of campus. It looked very different with the white and dark contrasts.

Snow on Campus: PUK's Library

If you entered school from the west side gate, this is the view you might have seen yesterday morning. It almost looks like a black and white shot, but I can assure you it’s a color photo (look carefully and you can see some red).

Snow on Campus: Near PUK's Library

This is about the same area, but from a different angle.

Snow on Campus: PUK Lang. & Lit Building

Not much to comment on, except I like the shot and the contrasts. This one is pretty close to the center of campus. I hope we get another shot of snow this winter. It was a fun morning yesterday…

Check out my new bicycle

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Trek 7.9 cross bicycle

Last month I decided to upgrade from my mountain bike of 12+ years. With the mountain bike, I could never get the speed going that I used to enjoy with the Motobecane 10-speed I bought in the mid 1970s. I’m getting a bit old for the drop-down handlebars, so I decided to go with the cross-over style: basically a road bike with its thin tires, but with a mountain bike’s flat handlebars.

I chose the Trek brand for its reputation, and since this may be one of the last bikes I buy, I thought I’d step up a bit and get a mostly carbon-framed bike. That pretty much left the 7.9 FX (the U.S. site) (in Japan). We’ve had really cold weather recently, so I haven’t ridden it so much. Having written that, though, I have to say it’s the most comfortable bike I’ve ridden, and it is a shear pleasure to navigate. One review I read complained of the thumb shifters, but I haven’t been bothered at all. I’ll post more as I ride more.

Etiquette in Japan?

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Here’s an article on etiquette in Japan, although it’s kind of a mish-mash of topics. Brush up on some of your knowledge before you visit, or read to get some vocabulary if you’re a student of English.