Asahi-dake and Tokachi range

For the last few days, the weather of Asahikawa is fine but very cold. So it looks very beautiful scenery of Asahi-dake and Tokachi range. Then I took photos. I uploaded a few photos to this blog which were taken by my digital camera, Panasonic's lumix G-1. I also used a film camera, Canon T-90 with new FD 20-30mm, for shots of mountains but I have not developed the film yet.

Anyway I have never seen these sceneries in Japan except central Hokkaido aria. It looks like Canadian mountains.

Kita-no-miyako Ashibetu / Hokkaido

Mr. Tom Royal reports the present situation of Kita-no-Miyako Ashibetu in English. His research is very precise and informative. So the information of  huge statue of Kannnon is enough that I should report the other side of Kita-no-miyako, the hotel.

I stayed this hotel two times. It was almost ten years ago, first time visiting Ashibetu. I knew that there was the huge kannon statue with a curious hotel. At that time, I didn't have reservation but I could check in of the hotel. There are two lodgings, one is imitation building of Sanjusangendo temple in Kyoto and the other is also imitation of the Gojyu-no-tou of Houryuji temple in Nara. I stayed a former accommodation without reservation. Inside the hotel, I found a display of suits of amour for Samurai and a classic car with large portraits of Western ladies. In contrast to curious entrance and corridor, a room is confortable Japanese style. Then I took a bath of a large Roman style and enjoyed a dinner show of historical drama with a typical tray service and beer.

Next, we revisited there four years ago with reservation. Because I requested to stay the tower (Gojyu-no-tou), I could do that even the gust was just only us. The top of the tower has various statues of chinese goddess, paintings, and so on but the room was really simple Japanese style. After a bath, we enjoyed dinner show like before except that this time there was the only one audience, us ( my wife and I),  for the performance of popular songs by sisters Umizawa.

Unfortunately we can not stay there any more because a religoius organization bought these lodgings last year. But the Kannon tour is avarable for all people.

Photos are here, 2002, 2011 (Nika-no-page, sorry Japanese only)

Takehachi

Last night we went to a restaurant in the downtown of Asahikawa, the name of Takehachi. They serve very delicious game meet of deer, venison, and so many kind of wines with a glass. The owner of the restaurant knows all of wine and advices the best much wine for foods. We also enjoyed a seafood, curpaccio of fox jacopever (Ma-soi in Japanese ) from Hakodate with dry white wines that were made in Hokkaido.  If you want to have a rich dinner of European style in Asahikawa, I strongly recommend this restaurant. I'm not sure that the owner can speak English, but maybe he can.

A makeup of OSCE

Yesterday I had a makeup of the test of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) of OSCE. At my first trial of CPR, I did not pay full attention to helper when the defibrillation was performed for a simulator. So this time I was so careful not to forget it, and the test was passed.

Shige-chan Land / Abashiri, Hokkaido

I went to there a few years ago. That is real artistic odds place! Wooden aliens ( the Nano-Nano tribe), peanuts creatures, gourd people etc. You can find exciting exhibition in this place. Shigenari Ohnishi (Shigechan) is now making his own secret base in the middle of Hokkaido. He was the art director in Tokyo, and moved to Hokkaido to expand his creative life. It occurred him to create the wooden alien when he found a throned coconut at the chinatown of Yokohama. Right now, there is large army of wooden aliens in Abashiri.

Shige-chan also use a driftwoods and roods for his work. I prefer a huge driftwood work, the drunken Mexican man because of his funny shape. A part of his works have price tags, so you can buy one if you have enough money because the price is so high. But these are art works and all is one of a kind, so the price is reasonable, I think. If you do not have much money, don't regret it because there is a souvenir shop in the land. I bought a bandana on which the little gourd people printed.

I like his characters and also his way of life. Please visit this secret land when you come to the eastern part of Hokkaido.

Place: 256 Aza-Aioi Tsubetsu-cho Abashiri-gun Hokkaido

Official Page (English!)

Skip Town 

Nika no Page (Japanese only)

A farm of Ezo Red Foxes / Rubeshibe Hokkaido

I want to introduce one place to go in Hokkaido. Last summer I went there. That is "Farm of Ezo red foxes" in near Kitami-city. There are so many wild red foxes in Hokkaido, but breeding farms are few. Over half of wild red foxes in Hokkaido have a parasitic worm echinococcous, so you don't touch them and don't drink a spring water in where they live. But this is a farm of foxes and the worm should be stamped out from the body of fox, I hoped. I was looking for the instruction panel or sign like this,  " Foxes in the farm are free from the worm, don't mind to touch them", but I couldn't. I was so disappointed and was so careful not to touch anything in the huge cage.

Foxes are cute and look like healthy. So I could enjoy to take pictures of them. But when you go there, be careful to touch them.

Place: Hanaoka-52-1, Rubeshibe-cho, Hokkaido

Farm HP (Japanese only)

Where is Rubeshibe?

What is Hokkaido fox?

Battery of RX-7

In this winter vacation I prepared the Computer Based Testing (CBT) that was perforrmed at 6th Jan. then I could not drive my car. Almost one month I left my RX-7 as it was. A few days ago when I switched on the ignition of the car, there was no response! The battery went almost flat. I just changed a new battery last year. So this dead battery is now recharging at Mazda garage near my home. I hope a revival of the battery. Anyway cold and snowy environment is not good for a battery.

31 Jan. 2015 OSCE

Last year on this day, I broke my leg by falling down on the ice road. That was terrible experience because it was the first time for me to go through an real operation. After operation I have forced to use crunches for a month. So in this winter season I really pay attention to walk on the snowy road.


Today there was the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Japan. This exam. is for all medical students in Japan to attend the clinical training at a hospital. I could not finish a medical interview and an auscultation of heart within my time limit. So I am afraid of the result of the exam.