I like dissonant chords

I don't really know much  about music, but I know what music I like. I like dissonant chords. Of course I listen to not only music that has dissonance, but...

I informed an error in a Ukiyo-e description to the library

I tried to inform the library of an error in the gallery regarding the description on Ukiyo-e. (http://tanakasan-ningen.blogspot.ca/2016/02/mistakes-in-gallerys-description.html) Thanks...

Mistakes in the Ukiyo-e description?

This post is related to my previous post, “A to Z exhibition”. In the gallery of Toronto Reference Library, I enjoyed seeing a small exhibition. "K”...

"A to Z" Gallery in Toronto Reference Library

I saw an interesting exhibition in the small gallery in the Toronto Reference Library. They hold a small but pretty good exhibition regularly, previous...

Cancelled snowshoeing tour

I just got a disappointing call. The tour agent said the snow shoeing tour was cancelled. I booked it last week so I wouldn't miss this winter opportunity and...

I really didnot imagine everyone could get airline tickets cheaply and easily

Flight ticket prices used to be expensive. When I was a child, my parents had to go to a travel agency to book a flight. These days, many LCC airlines have...

Can Japanese read Hiragana on Ukiyo-e?

Have you ever seen Ukiyo-e before? If you have seen it, and also if you know Japanese letters, you might have been told that the letters on Ukiyo-e are different...

Taking a walk in Toronto

Today, it was warm, amazingly the temperature was 5°C, so I took a walk for hours. Come to think of it, It's a little weird thing thinking "I'll go outside...

Snowshoeing.

Ever since  I did snowshoeing in Japan for the first time, the activity has attracted me. Snowshoeing is an activity that is slightly different than skiing....

Which platform will ’The Last Guardian’ release on? 人喰いの大鷲トリコ

Which platform will the video game entitled 'The Last Guardian' eventually release on?  It's been eight years since I heard that Fumito Ueda, the game's...

Shortened word for McDonalds

When I was about to write about McDonald's, I was unsure whether or not to shorten the word "McDonald's" to "Mac", which we call "Mac" or "Makudo" in Japanese. Japanese...

Contents of Fairy Tales Have Changed

I wrote the article in the following link based on the fact that the contents of  fairy tales have changed  with the times. http://lang-8.com/1427067/journals/116843267540647470272920577438056042192 However,...

Fairy Tales and Evil Stepmother

The stepmothers of Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and so on star in many fairy tales and they are generally evil. However, the stereotype is undoubtedly...

Japan Rail Pass (You can freely take almost any train in Japan)

If you are interested in visiting Japan, the following information will be useful. Have you ever heard of the "Japan Rail Pass"? It's a kind of discount pass...

Practice, how to write

…何年ぶりに 4年ぶりにジャズのライブを見た。 I saw a jazz concert for the first time in four years. …こんなところは他にない 別府ほど温泉がある場所は他にない。 No other prefecture in Japan has more hot springs...

No Wifi, No Internet, Going To McDdonalds

My homestay family's internet connection died. I have a laptop, a Wifi-only iphone which is from Japan and an extremely slow cellphone which I've rented in Canada....

From Japanese Idiom to Cover song "Hurt"

This is a Japanese idiom. 人のふんどしで相撲を取る (ひとの ふんどしで すもうを とるHitono hundoshi de sumo wo toru) Literal translation: doing sumo with someone's cloths (loincloths) The...

The reason they fly

A Petrosaur, which is a type of flying dinosaur, is really mysterious. (Technically, they don't belong to any species of dinosaur). So, every time I see their...

Devonian sea

I came back from Royal Ontario Museum. It was too large to see all the rooms in one day. I saw a lot of dinosaur fossils, as well as other things which were both...

The percentage of foreign workers in Canada

The percentage of foreign workers in Canada The graph showed 23% of the labour force in Canada are immigrant or temporary foreign workers. Considering the percentage...

I cannot tell pomegranate and permanganate apart

I can't tell pomegranate and permanganate apart. I mistook a word in a book for pomegranate but it was permanganate. They are really similar so I can't tell them...

Next Lingua Franca

There is a word, lingua franca, which means international common language. Today, English is virtually a lingua franca, but many linguae francae were used in the...

Lebanon cedar

Cedrus libani or, Lebanon cedar is seen on the Lebanese flag. Although it symbolizes Lebanon and is related to ancient Mesopotamia, the cedar forest has almost...

Japanese Idiom ひとはた あげる raising a flag

I had an interesting activity in my class. Each student chose one country's idiom, and literally translated it to English. After that, students guessed what the...