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Another famous American place I visited in Osaka was Krispy Kreme! They are the best donuts in America and they tasted so sweet and delicious!  

Yuzu is an east Asian citrus fruit cultivated and grown in China, Korea, and Japan. It is similar to a grapefruit in appearance and taste, but unique in its own right. It is rarely eaten as a fruit, and mostly used as an ingredient in Japanese cuisine. The rind or outer skin and the juice are used in vinegar, soups, and a variety of drinks as well as wine and alcoholic cocktails.

Sometimes it takes as much as 10 years for the yuzu to develop and ripen, so it can be a while before you can use it. Still, it is worth it if you like the taste of sour goods.

You can make your own yuzu jam with the fruit and some sugar, and then use it to make yuzu tea. Yuzu is also used to make sweet foods such as cake and jams, and also many local Japanese snack products. I love yuzu and highly recommend it to people who want to discover a new and exciting taste!
  

This is a picture of different brands of chocolate Easter bunnies. These are the most famous Easter candy, and are practically the symbol of Easter. As you can see, there are many sizes and types of bunnies. Some are made of high-quality, fancy chocolate, and are very expensive, but you can also buy cheap ones at the dollar store. Some are hollow inside, so there's less chocolate, but they're easier to eat than the solid ones, which can be very hard to bite into. Either way, I think they're all delicious! You can only find these in the stores a month or two before Easter. It doesn't seem like Easter without a chocolate Easter bunny to eat! Have you ever eaten one before?  

We went to Round One for Elizabeth's birthday! It was such a super fun day! We bowled two games at the bowling alley. The first game was terrible, but the second one was very good for me! I got so many strikes and spares! It was a personal best.   

Recently, the Japanese baseball team, which represented the country of Japan, won the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is somewhat like the World Cup of soccer. Each team represents their country in regional tournaments throughout the world every 4 years, and the winner of each region goes to a pre-selected site to compete in their final games to find the ultimate winner. 20 teams ended up participating in this round-robin, double elimination tournament.

This year's pre-selected site for the final championship games was in Miami, Florida of the USA. Japan was the winner of the Asian region by beating powerhouses like Taiwan and South Korea. The USA was the winner of the Americas Region, which includes the Caribbean, and has powerhouse teams like Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Venezuela. The Netherlands represented the European region, and Australia represented the Oceania Region. Japan beat Mexico to get into the final game, while the USA beat Cuba.

The final, winner-take-all championship game was between Japan and the USA. The USA's team had many stars from MLB, but its pitching, both starting and relieving, was weak. Japan had many of its stars form its NPB League as well as some who play for MLB. The Japanese team probably had better balance overall considering hitting, pitching and defense. The Japanese team beat the USA 3-2, with Japanese star Shohei Ohtani striking out MLB star Mike Trout, and his LA Angel teammate, to end the game.

Congrats to Japan -- well deserved!  

Look how cute!!

I went to a garden in Marugame that was holding an art exhibit. The exhibit held art that was hidden away in storage by business. What a shame the art was hidden away for so long.


Do you like to see art exhibits?   

Next Thursday, April 20th, is a very exciting astronomical event: a total solar eclipse! It’s the only total solar eclipse happening in the world this year, in 2023.
What’s a total solar eclipse?
The word "solar" comes from Latin, meaning "sun", and the word "eclipse" comes from Greek, meaning "to disappear". A solar eclipse is an event when the sun appears to be covered by the moon. If only part of the sun is covered, it is called a partial eclipse. If all of the sun is covered, it is called a total eclipse. During a total eclipse, the moon covers the center of the sun, and the edges of the sun’s rays are visible all around the moon. A moment before it is covered completely, the last edge of the sun twinkles brightly like a diamond, as you see in the photo (credit Aubrey Gemignani, NASA.) We call this moment “the diamond ring”.
Where can we see it?
The total eclipse is only visible, or able to be seen, from parts of Indonesia, Timor-Leste and one edge of Australia. A partial eclipse will be visible from most of southeast Asia and Australia. As for Japan, the partial eclipse will be barely visible from Kyushu and of course, Okinawa. If you’re planning to travel south next Thursday, check if it’s visible in your area! You can see animations for the path of the eclipse, as well as visibility times for different parts of the world at the link below:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2023-april-20
Unfortunately, the eclipse won’t be visible from Kagawa, but the site will also be doing a livestream from the northwest cape peninsula of Australia. It will begin at 11:37, peak at 13:16, and end at 14:56.
https://www.timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-solar-2023-april-20
Wait! There’s More!
In addition to the solar eclipse, April 20th, should be an excellent night to catch a shooting star! Come back next week for an exciting post starring the Lyrid meteor shower and the new moon.
  

Next Thursday, April 20th, is a very exciting astronomical event: a total solar eclipse! It’s the only total solar eclipse happening in the world this year, in 2023.
What’s a total solar eclipse?
A solar eclipse is an event when the sun appears to be covered by the moon. If only part of the sun is covered, it is called a partial eclipse. If all of the sun is covered, it is called a total eclipse. During a total eclipse, the moon covers the center of the sun, and the edges of the sun’s rays are visible all around the moon. A moment before it is covered completely, the last edge of the sun twinkles brightly like a diamond, as you see in the photo (credit Aubrey Gemignani, NASA.) We call this moment “the diamond ring”.
Where can we see it?
The total eclipse is only visible, or able to be seen, from parts of Indonesia, Timor-Leste and one edge of Australia. A partial eclipse will be visible from most of southeast Asia and Australia. As for Japan, the partial eclipse will be barely visible from Kyushu and of course, Okinawa. If you’re planning to travel south next Thursday, check if it’s visible in your area! You can see animations for the path of the eclipse, as well as visibility times for different parts of the world at the link below:
https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/solar/2023-april-20
Unfortunately, the eclipse won’t be visible from Kagawa, but the site will also be doing a livestream from the northwest cape peninsula of Australia. It will begin at 11:37, peak at 13:16, and end at 14:56.
https://www.timeanddate.com/live/eclipse-solar-2023-april-20
Wait! There’s More!
In addition to the solar eclipse, April 20th, should be an excellent night to catch a shooting star! Come back next week for an exciting post starring the Lyrid meteor shower and the new moon.
  

I had an absolutely wonderful birthday weekend! I've made some amazing new friends while working here at Gem, and they took me out to Round 1 to celebrate turning 29! We had so much fun, and I can't wait to hang out with everyone again. Bowling, playing games, singing karaoke? Literally three of my favorite things to do!  

I have been living in Japan for over 3 years, but I never left Shikoku in all of my time here. Last weekend, I finally left Shikoku and visited Tokyo. Tokyo was really fun, I went there to see the Cherry Blossoms. I was very worried about taking the train all the way to Tokyo, but it was not very difficult. Once I was in Tokyo, traveling was very easy. The train system there is amazing! I feel like the trip was too quick and I can't wait to go again!  

Lush is one of my favorite splurges when I'm in the states. Whenever I travel to a bigger city in Japan, I can't miss the opportunity to stop by and treat myself to some expensive soap. Well the other week when I was in Tokyo, capitalism won again, because they had the most adorable bath bomb set that was Japan exclusive. It was made to look like wagashi, with three scents for each of the four seasons. I should have said no...but I didn't! I am now the proud owner of twelve bath bombs that are too beautiful to use.


  

It was COLD in Idaho. I took my wife to my favorite lake and it was still frozen over. The drive was pretty and my wife enjoyed seeing the frozen lake, it was a special experience for both of us.


  

I'm a Bob Dylan fan and my current favorite album
is The Basement Tapes. The songs were recorded in 1967 in the basement of the now-famous
Big Pink House.... Dylan is backed by The Band. I would recommend the Complete Basement Tapes
which can be found on YouTube.  

I went to Cafe Sorabi again! I hadn’t been back since last year and the wait was definitely worth it. This cafe’s food and service is truly unmatched. The spring rolls and the karage were just divine. I can’t wait to go back.   

I went to a famous American burger place while in Osaka called Shake Shack! I went there a lot when I lived in New York and it was so delicious and very comforting to taste again!  

Ramen originated in China and made its way to Japan, where it is quite popular. There are many types of ramen, but the most common in Japan are soy sauce, salt, miso, and pork bone ramen. It is made in a soup broth with various added vegetables such as bean sprouts, seaweed, eggs, all along with the noodles.

There are even freeze-dried ramen in shops and supermarkets all over Japan. There is no shortage of ramen in the country. It is a dish available everywhere and eaten by most every citizen here. The cost is very reasonable and the tastes are excellent. Please try a bowl of ramen sometime – you will likely enjoy it!
  

Easter is coming up soon! In America, parents usually fill a special basket with fun Easter goodies for each child. They give the children the Easter basket on Easter morning. Easter baskets used to be very simple, but nowadays parents are pressured to give their children many large gifts with their Easter basket. It has become almost like a smaller Christmas! But many parents like me just give a traditional Easter basket, with candy and maybe a few small toys or activities.



These are the Easter baskets my children received one year. We gave them lots of Easter candy, as well as some coloring books and crayons. In the past I have put in fun outdoor things too, such as new bubbles or chalk, since the weather is becoming nice for playing outside at Easter. Crafts like a new paint set or stickers, or very small stuffed animals are fun things to put in too. Have you ever had an Easter basket?  

I don't like very many video games. The few that I do, I really love. Resident Evil 4 was remade, and it's one of my favorite video games. It's not too hard, and I have good memories of playing it with my sister. I used to make her kill the bosses! The company made some funny anime style commercials for the game! Check them out! They're so weirdly cute and funny.   

Occasionally I like to enjoy a meal at a fast food restaurant. This past weekend, a friend and I went to a local Japanese restaurant and ordered the large beef bowl (Gyudon), which comes with rice and onions in a little bit of soy sauce, along with a side order of miso soup. This particular restaurant is a popular and successful restaurant chain with outlets internationally as well.

In fact, I realized there are some outlets in my hometown in Southern California, though I had never tried this outlet before. I should have, as the meal was delicious. I also particularly liked the seating arrangement because we could sit at the counter while our meals were being prepared and chat casually. We then could enjoy eating it there, too. Although this restaurant was not too crowded and was rather quiet when I went, counter eating can be a great way to enjoy a meal from time to time, such as in a big city or a busy train station. All the action and the atmosphere is joyous and relaxed.

It was an excellent way to enjoy a rather quick and delicious meal.  

Hi hi!!

I went to Unpenji and WOW. I was not expecting to see a snow covered mountain! I’m pretty sure I got sick because of this trip (I didn’t wear enough clothes for the cold expecting it to be warm because of the sun).


Do you like snow?