Detta har hänt

Flowers in the sun

2010-06-10T04:48:00.000-07:00

Big field of green.... Sweden in summer

Flowers everywhere. Soft and fresh.

Everywhere.

A veterinary. I liked the statue outside of a Cocker Spaniel. This is where I used to take my cat. It is almost neighbour with the hotel I live in.

Ye old company

2010-06-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pictures from Sony Ericsson, pride of Lund. This is the new building.

Here are the meatballs I had for lunch at the public restaurant in the new Sony Ericsson building. Nice, big and juicy....yummmm

Picture of interior of the new building, taken from the entrance at the reception. Very very interesting and dynamic architecture.

The old building is not so bad neither. I really like the edges and the round middle part.

Swedish nature and stuff

2010-06-10T04:34:00.001-07:00

I happen to be in Lund this week, on business trip. It is pretty crappy weather even for Swedish summer. But despite that, there is so much beauty that I had forgotten about. Here is the view from my hotel room.

OK, not a swedish nature picture, but i took it in the sun.

More green. This one I took 5.30 in the morning. You can see a couple of hares if you zoom in. The hare closest to me ran away real quick.

More early morning pictures. I couldn't sleep so I took a walk around.

Birds singing, the grass smell, everything was nice.

Leftovers

2010-06-09T05:36:00.001-07:00

Here I am buying takoyaki at Kyoto station 8F or something

...And me posing in front of golden pavilion.

Where are the geishas?

2010-06-09T05:26:00.001-07:00

So, we checked in at the ryokan, and asked the nice lady there "Where are these geishas and maikos that everyone talks about all the time?" and she told us exactly on which street we could find them. Also we learned that maikos and geishas could be distinguished by which lip they paint. Seriously. I think beginner maikos only paint their lower lip no pun intended. And the fully trained ones paint both lips red.

So we went out and started looking for that street. As you can see, the streets were pretty empty around that time.

Only people we could see were a couple of young girls with severe iron deficiency judging by their extremely pale faces.

So I asked them where that road is which the ryokan lady told us about. They had no idea.

Kyomizudera

2010-06-09T05:19:00.001-07:00

Say cheese! I think while Martin was taking this one, he caught the attention of the couple of boys posing for their school trip photo.

We met some youngsters (I am not old. They were just younger than me.) who offered us free guide as long as they got to practice their English (By reading from a piece of paper) here they are posing with me.

If you look real carefully you can see me in the crowd. The blue dot.

Very beautiful this temple. Majestically rising above the tall trees. We could see it all the way from our ryokan balcony.

Inari Martin

2010-06-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

The Inari gates were everywhere, and to actually walk them would take some serious effort, and time.

We just walked maybe around 1 km and called it quits, cause it started to look pretty much the same, once you saw the first couple of hundred meters.

I tried real hard to get this picture right, but failed. Martin caught it at a nice angle.

You are here. And as you can see the red tori roads lead pretty much everywhere in the nearby hills. This place is huge... I think at the bottom it says how long it takes to hike to different spots. 2 hours.. no way!

Martin's batch

2010-06-09T05:06:00.001-07:00

Martin is a much better photographer than I am. And I am happy he took pictures of me with his camera. Anyway, the following posts are the Kyoto trip pictures which he took.

Peek-a-boo!

I think this was near Inari gates

And here I am firing up my camera to start a busy tourist day.

Kyoto Tower

2010-06-09T03:35:00.000-07:00

Just before leaving Kyoto, waiting at the station we decided to pay the not so tall Kyoto Tower a visit. So we went up there and checked out the view, throughthe rain. We saw shinkansen and some temple and lots of other stuff.

And we took pictures with the mascot of Kyoto Tower. I think this was Tower Mama Chan.

And these are Mama-chan's baby-san

The Kyoto central station is enormous. I mean it is huuuuuge. And it reminded me of all the sci-fi movies I ever saw. Amazing. And huuuuge. We didn't even know that we were inside the station until the 3rd time or so...

Kinkaku-ji

2010-06-09T03:08:00.001-07:00

Or the Golden Pavilion temple. We got tickets, although we actually knew that no one would check if we took the return route through the temple, without a ticket.

Le Pavilion d'or a la Gold with rooster and red wine sauce.

Even when rain was pouring down, it was beautiful.

The money god

Still in kinkakuji. It was a very nice trip all in all, and I had great time. I hope Martin enjoyed it as much.

Bye bye ryokan

2010-06-09T03:05:00.001-07:00

The morning after, rain had started pouring down, but we didn't let it ruin our plans. We said bye to the nice people at the ryokan and took off towards the Golden Pavilion

Ponchoto

2010-06-09T02:58:00.000-07:00

Last thing to do that day was to check in to our ryokan, and then take a walk out to see if we could find anything fun. And we did in Pontocho which is the bar district.

Narrow streets with geisha at night

At the dinner table in ryokan

And some more engrish from a bar menu that night. I like the fact that they handle their chicken every morning (!), and that you can order different species of chicken... Also we learned that we were sitting on 2nd floor, just in case we missed it when coming in.

Kiyomizydera

2010-06-09T01:59:00.000-07:00

One part of kiyomizudera, with three jets of water running down. Each representing something (Love, Health and Money if I remember it right) and you have to pick one and pray. People standing in line to do just that. But I think I already have all three so I didn't line up.

This part is quite high up. The first thing Ayako told me when she heard I am going there was "Don't jump!"... I didn't intend to but I guess it is a pretty normal thing to do here.

Real nice view, real high up

View of the three jets part, from above...

If you look real close, you may see Martin.

Getting to Kiyomizudera

2010-06-09T01:50:00.000-07:00

Next we went to one of the most popular temples in Kyoto, Kiyo-Mizu-Dera. On the way there, which was very very crowded, observant as we are, we found some engrish.

This is what the entrance looked like. On the left, some parts were under renovation...

Martin taking a break from all the walking. Kiyomizudera in the background.

Inari

2010-06-09T01:41:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, me and Martin went to Kyoto for a weekend. The pictures here are the ones I took with my Camera. He also took some pictures with his, but I will post them seperately.

First thing we did upon arrival was to go to Inari and visit the beautiful Fushimi-Inari Shrine, the shrine of business....

Each of the gates is sponsored by a company.

Very suitably, without knowing it, Martin had chosen the perfect colors for the day.

Random

2010-05-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, here are some random pictures from weekend when we went to Kawasaki to shop/eat.
First off, is a couple of beautiful clock flowers.
Next is an interesting ad I saw on the street. Wonder who the genius behind it was. I can really relate to that, being a smoker and wanting to build up my beautiful body in the process... "Why not take a break from your hard work's day at the gym and have a relaxing breather with our fine cigarettes to enhance your lungs".... Plus he kind of looks gay. What happened to the Camel and the Marlboro man? At least they looked cool. This one looks like a ballerina on steroids.
Then there was a visit to the huge Ultraman
And last is a shot of the fancy buffet we ate at. Very nice design of the plates, and we made sure to pick matching dishes. Taste was 4/5.
That's all for now

Simple Christmas

2009-12-26T21:06:00.001-08:00

We had a nice and cozy christmas eve at home. It was great to be together at home after such tough and challenging year of work and struggle. We look forward to a productive and successful 2010 together.

Ground control to Major Tom

2009-12-26T20:56:00.001-08:00

We also managed to discover the secret headquarter of the aliens, with its giant transmitter, also known as Hakkaku-sanju-to (Built 1289)

Onsen Hanaya tour

2009-12-26T20:43:00.000-08:00

We went to the Hanaya Ryokan to have lunch and onsen. The building is very very old and is designated as juyoubunkazai (important cultural property). Food was traditional healthy food in the usual 15-17 courses and we were really full after lunch. And then we jumped into onsen, proving once more that it is not dangerous to go in bath after a big meal.

Is this a god dam?

2009-11-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

The fog was really thick and at times we could not see more than a few yards ahead. So our hopes of seeing the Fuji was getting smaller and smaller....
During our trip we passed the Okutamago lake and its huge dam.

I think I am jinxed. Everytime I take a trip to see Fuji-san in its glory, it is too cloudy and Fuji-san is sleeping that particular day. This day was no exception. After 4 years in Japan I have yet to see Fuji on purpose from closer than say Tokyo. I have seen it from my balcony, from the airplane etc etc. But every time I get close to it, it hides from me. Last time same thing happened at lake Yamanakako. And the time I took a tour to climb the big mountain. We couldn't see it although we were standing right on it. Both times due to cloud and fog. And these are just a couple examples.

But although we missed the main attraction, the rest of the trip totally made up for it. Just look at this beautiful shot Ayako took. Wow. And the picture doesn't do the scene justice.

Chasing waterfalls

2009-11-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

Just enjoy the nice day.

The incident with the climbing lady

2009-11-14T18:36:00.001-08:00

So we set up our camera, and found the perfect spot for us to pose, and set the timer to 12 seconds. Unfortunately this was exactly enough time for the lady ahead of us in the tour to reach us when climbing down from the path we were standing by. The result was beautiful.
This time we had more luck.

Later Ayako found herself in the same climbing down position as the disturbing lady.

Small bus trip to outskirts of Tokyo

2009-11-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

We set off on a quest to see Fuji-san rise majestically from amidst the clouds and fog. So we took a bus ride through many beautiful autumn sceneries...
Japan's nature at its best. The first station was Mitake. A half hour or so stop to have some Yuzu-Manju and take a couple of pictures.
Second stop was Hatonosu. We were going higher and higher up the mountains and the nature around us getting more and more poetic.It was a bit wet everywhere from that morning's rain. But it didn't stop us from having a great time.

Not Shinagawa

2009-07-27T18:39:00.001-07:00

We made a stop somewhere in the river and went for a walk along the huge rocky walls.

You can see how huge?

You can see how huge!!!

Also wherever we went, mountain, park or even from the rocks, we were met by wild japanese lilies. These have the largest flowers of any lily species in the world. And they smell heavenly.

Boat on the styx

2009-07-26T18:26:00.000-07:00

Highlight of the day was the trip on the boats. Not sure right now about the name of the river (Tengawa?)

We floated on the river accompanied by huge koi fish and guided by the entertaining oar-dudes about the nature and the history of the place.

It was very quite and magical and relaxing. The view of the river between high rocks was amazing.

We could see an odd shrine hidden in the rocks.

Wanko-noodles and other goofy things

2009-07-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

We took into a nice hotel with genuine Swiss theme and yodelaeeooo

A place for meditation.

During that next day we found many goofy things in the woods and the surrounding temples and shrines.

How about this 50000 year old bonsai tree? That long time ago giants lived in this area so that explains the unusually big size of the tree. But to them it was as miniature as can be. When they died out, the tree remained and is cherished daily by lost tourists...

And we topped it off by eating wanko-soba. Many cups of noodles in one mouthful size and as soon as one cup is consumed, the waiter refills the cup with yet another mouthful. Very yummy and fun. Although in the end it started dawning on me that the waiter enjoyed filling my cup just as I was about to sign that I am full by putting the lid on. She beat me to it 5 times until I successfully placed the lid before she gave me more serving. All in all I had around 30 cups. The record currently is around 550 cups!!!!

Phlegm Dish???

2009-07-20T02:02:00.000-07:00

The Miyagi prefecture speciality is cow tongue. We found lots of things flavored with cow tongue, and most of it is yummy. So when we stopped by a Matsushima restaurant it was kind of expected to see it on the menu. Although it was not the most attractive word they had selected from the dictionary. (TAN means tongue. TAN means phlegm. Difference is in how you pronounce it)

Matsushima...one of the Three Views of Japan. Beautiful and the pictures here don't really do it justice. I was enjoying it too much to concentrate on taking pictures.

We rented a small boat which took us out in the lake and around...

Our boat was constantly followed by flocks of seagulls close enough to catch bait from our hands. Normally they gathered on the tiny pine islands waiting for boats to "surf with".

Roadtrip in Miyagi

2009-07-19T01:44:00.000-07:00

Not mister Miyagi from Karate Kid, but the Miyagi prefecture up north. Three couples in the family bus enjoying the weekend and the astonishing nature.

Windmills in the distance and lotus covered lakes all around.

Again, we were lucky with the weather.

Looks like the long arm of the COOP konsum has reached even here....

Grooming

2009-06-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

Everyday, there is the ceremonial combing and taping the hair from the cats routine. The result is fantastic, and it's kind of fun and therapeutic. So you could say it is a sort of grooming for the soul.

Hey! What are you looking at? Go take someone else's picture for a change.

Everyone gets nice and tidy

I am a real tigerrrr.

More kitties

2009-05-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

Our Sakura bonsai tree in full bloom. It either looks like this or just like a dead stick, depending on the season, and how much the cats have been chewing on it.

Tora is a shy boy....
...NOT!

Princess Chubby the 3rd taking some rest.

Back again

2009-04-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry, been too busy to blog (again...)
Anyway, here is a couple updates from cat world. First two pictures showing them while watching TV. Tora got bored and wanted attention so he had to move closer to the TV...
Here is Chubby minding her own business, exploring the apartment Jungle...
...Only to discover the big cat-monster (played by Tora)

Breakfast in heaven

2008-11-12T21:51:00.000-08:00

If there is anywhere close to heaven, this must be it. I have not seen blue this beautiful...Made me want to stay forever. Oh well, we will be back for our anniversary (50th?) Pictures of the main restaurant in the island, with view over the bungalows etc...

Honeymoon

2008-11-11T20:37:00.000-08:00

Yep, We had a beautiful Honeymoon in a small Fiji island. Experienced a lot of new things, and lived in a isolated and nice bungalow on water, where we could from the terrace go for a swim or snorkeling among the wonderful tropical fish and the coral reef anytime we wanted. Note the glass floor beneath the sofa table, where we could watch the colorful fish swim by. At night time, they were drawn to the light from our hut. When swimming, the fish around us were not afraid at all... I even saw a black rayfish (almost like a mini manta)...

Married 1

2008-10-13T03:53:00.000-07:00

Yepp.. got married with my dream girl. The ceremony was held in a more than 1000 year old shrine (hikawa) in Saitama. We had perfect weather, the day before and the day after were both rainy, so we were real real lucky. Here you can see Ayako's very supportive family and relatives.
Both sisters and Mom and Dad were real real kind and happy for us. It was a very very magical day and we felt like celebrities as everyone around, tourists, strangers etc were taking pictures and congratulating us. It felt like the whole shrine was celebrating. I have a million words to say here, but instead I will just let the pictures talk.

Married 2

2008-10-13T01:49:00.000-07:00

After the ceremony we headed for the wedding party. Very nice people, great food, music and atmosphere. Happiest day of my life.

Done fishing

2008-07-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

Slowly the fish was all gone, so were the drinks and the night was starting to end. We had lots of fun.

Happy fishing

2008-07-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

We tried our fishing luck a bit more while waiting for our tai fish to be prepared as we ordered. Our order was to salt grill it and it turned out very nicely. It also turned out to be the only fish we caught that night, with the side dish of other stuff it made a good meal.

Fishin-guuu

2008-07-14T18:39:00.000-07:00

Had a nice and fun time at the local fishing restaurant with Ayako and her sisters. It was a bit difficult to catch the fish that day, we were almost giving up. But after a while and a couple of drinks we managed to catch one somehow. A big tai fish. It's a bit blurry in the picture, but the restaurant had a quite dark and moody interior and I didn't wanna use the flash too much.

Back home to the cats

2008-06-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

Last pictures from ze park. After coming home, we could not find chubby no matter how hard we looked. I guess she was hiding.

More Park

2008-06-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

More park pictures... many dogs out.

Park Life

2008-06-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

Random images from our stay at the park...

Park

2008-06-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

We had a nice long and relaxing day at the Yoyogi park, eating some snacks we brought with us, and enjoying the nice air and the view.

Macrobiotic restaurant

2008-06-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

After the bar we headed for a macrobiotic restaurant in Shinjuku which I had spotted earlier on. Quite interesting menu.

Ice Bar

2008-06-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

We had a small birthday surprise in the middle of the week at the ice bar in Tokyo. Ice and liquor imported all the way from Sweden made the night start in a nice way... too bad we didn't eat much before, but the stay at the ice hotel was only around half hour so after that we got to eat afterwards. I tried a sip of Aya's violet curant drink which had a pretty nice taste.

I really am smarter than I look...

2008-06-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

Chubby woke up one day from a nap and had this look on her face for about three minutes.

More tiger cleaning

2008-06-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

Tora really stretching out to reach all spots on his body to clean...

Cleaning time

2008-06-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

Yep, Sunny day again and a sunny spot for a tiger to do a bit of self cleaning before taking a nap. I knew Tora must have the looongest tail in the world, now I think he also holds the record for the longest tongue.

Back again

2008-06-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

Chubby having a sun bath. She always crosses her hands when lying down. Very elegant.

Hunting

2008-05-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Above, pretty views of a typical Sakura-day. Below, Tora trying to be smart and give Sumomo a surprise visit while she was out running in her little pink ball as her cage was being cleaned. Looks uncomfortable.

Neighborhood blooming

2008-05-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

One sunny spring day, the areas around my home. Sakura trees blooming and everything is beautiful. There is also a very very small koi-fish pool right outside my building.

Tamu tamu

2008-05-13T23:50:00.000-07:00

Yepp! I wouldn't be able to keep my paws to myself neither.

Looking out the window together

2008-04-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

Best friends watching the outside world together...

I bagged me a cat

2008-04-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

Cats looove to crawl into cozy and small places. Plastic bags are perfect to creep into and chase ghosts from...

Speaker

2008-04-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

We got some ointment for Tora because he was getting a bit scabby in his face. Poor thing was very depressed because he had to wear the collar to keep the ointment in his face. Chubby was of course very concerned for his sake, and probably a bit amused.

Catpital

2008-04-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the kitties, caught in rare thoughtful moments.

Fight in the sun

2008-04-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

Tora and Chubby, just being themselves and goofing around in the sun-spot... Kawaii deshou

Fun in the sun

2008-04-18T19:31:00.000-07:00

The kitties look extra soft and cuddly in the sun. And they seem to really enjoy lying and sunbathing. :)

Hinako

2008-04-17T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here is Hinako, Ayako's dog. She is veeeeery cute and has a very special, adorable and strong personality. The pictures are from one time when we were over Ayako's parents' house for lunch.

Monja yaki

2008-04-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

Above, when we went to have monjayaki for lunch. Fun to do. Below, me waiting for the lights in Shibuya crossing to turn green, and a satellite overhead shot from google where my house can be seen, together with the sakura tree next to it.

Birthday party

2008-04-08T20:26:00.001-07:00

It just happened to be the birthday of me and two others in my office, so we all went to TGIF and had beer and stuff.

Weddingu

2008-03-27T18:59:00.008-07:00

We spent the rest of the time watching the beautiful wedding ceremonies held in different parts of the park. The bride got real special attention all the time, and everyone was very happy, even though few smiles can be spotted in the group photo.

Here, fishie fishie...

2008-03-27T18:59:00.007-07:00

The koi fish in the pond were of pretty impressive size. We spent some time playing with them, didn't have anything to feed them with, but they seemed nevertheless interested in people.

More from the park

2008-03-27T18:59:00.006-07:00

No comments. Pictures of the nice pond in the Happoen.

Happo En

2008-03-27T18:59:00.005-07:00

Various views of the wonderful Happo park with its cherry blossom.

Kimono

2008-03-27T18:59:00.004-07:00

While the weddings were ongoing all around us, we kept posing with the nice trees and the kimono ladies.

Bonsai maturi

2008-03-27T18:59:00.003-07:00

After the lunch, we took a stroll in the nice park and witnessed ongoing wedding ceremonies. This park is known for its many chapels, and many people get married here. There was a display of old bonsai trees, some of them a couple of hundred years old. I was very impressed.

Sakura lunch

2008-03-27T18:59:00.002-07:00

Ayako invited me out to Sakura lunch for my birthday last weekend. It was a beautiful day and the Sakura trees were in bloom. The lunch was in Happoen near Meguro station. I enjoyed it a lot. :)

Football

2008-03-27T18:59:00.001-07:00

One day we let Sumomo out in her exercise ball while her cage was being cleaned and of course this led to great appreciation among the feline family members. Tora and Chubby initiated a friendly match of soccer. Not sure who won though.

Watching TV

2008-03-23T20:57:00.003-07:00

We discovered some days ago that Tora and Chubby can see the flat screen TV, as they were chasing the small men around the screen in some action scene in a movie, and looking behind the TV to check where all the people came from.
So we rented a DVD with cats only on it and voila, it can work as baby-sitter for them. Tora is very very interested in the TV, especially if things move around the screen fast. Chubby is more interested in chasing the mouse cursor on my laptop.

Portrays

2008-03-23T20:57:00.002-07:00

A couple of nice cat pictures I took the other day when they were looking at the walls and stuff. They are real beautiful.

Chilling out

2008-03-23T20:57:00.001-07:00

Yup, they are best friends now, Tora-chan and Chubby-chan. Good thing too because when I am working and not at home, I don't need to worry about them getting bored or depressed. :)

Peace?

2008-03-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

Jag har märkt att min blogg läses av många nationaliteter... så nu skriver jag på engelska istället för det mindre språket svenska som bara talas av en handfull människor :)
Tora has now come to realize that Chubby is here to stay. They even share Tora's favorite basket. Still, from time to time one of them wakes up and takes a bit bite of the other one and they start to fight, but soon they fall asleep in each other's arms again. It is very very kawaii and I just love to see them sleep like this together. Although, I have to wake them up because if they sleep too much during the day, they will be running and playing around during night and I won't get any sleep.

Take over

2008-03-10T19:05:00.003-07:00

Chubby har börjat ta för sig..eller om det är för hon inte är smart nog att fatta vad som är vems. Här tar hon över Toras sovkorg som är hans favvo. Så från och med nu får de dela och sova ihop. Nästa är hans leksaker. Men dem försvarar han hårdare.

No idea

2008-03-10T19:05:00.002-07:00

Jag läser overallt om vilka perfekta jaktmaskiner amerikan shorthair är, och hur alerta och smarta osv de är och hur snabbt de utvecklas...Men än har jag inte märkt nåt av de egenskapen hos Chubby. Faktum ar att Chubby tvärtom är rätt klumpig av sig och har fortfarande inte lärt sig sitt namn. Tora visste efter 2 dagar vad han hette. Iallafall, Chubby brukar sitta där och stirra i tomma intet medan hon blir jagad eller förföljd och observerad av Tora. Jepp, Tora verkar mer som en alert och smart jaktmaskin , hehehe. Fast Chubby är mjukast för hon har inte all muskel som Tora har.

Stalker

2008-03-10T19:05:00.001-07:00

Även om de blev ganska fort vana vid varandra, fanns det de första dagarna viss mystik kring den nye. Detta led till att hon jämt var observerad, och förföljd. Oftast slutade det med ett överraskningsanfall som var för snabb för att fångas på bild. Tora vägrar fortfarande dela med sig av sin favoritleksak. Och lilla korgen är hans sovplats, till en början...

The trial

2008-03-03T17:48:00.001-08:00

Första kontakten var inte så farligt som jag trodde. Tora hade inte hunnit bli van vid sitt nya hem och såg inte allt som hans. Men ändå, fanns det viss friktion och Tora ville absolut inte dela med sig av sin favoritleksak till exempel.
Jag gjorde som de visa säger, och lät dem sniffa lite på varann och brottas och fajtas och ordna det mellan sig själva. Och efter nån dag så började de komma varandra närmare...
Chubby är lite ful, hon hetsar upp Tora så att han börjar bita henne och samtidigt som hon spelar oskyldig biter hon Tora riktigt riktigt hårt. Och så fort Tora nafsar tillbaks det minsta skriker hon högt att ajajajaj, jag är skadad, jag blir överfallen, hjääälp! :)

Chubby

2008-02-21T23:02:00.003-08:00

Så i Söndags köpte vi en kompis till Tora. Till skillnad från Tora är hon av fin härkomst. American Shorthair, 4 månader gammal och har enligt familjeträdscertifikatet riktiga legender till förfäder. Föräldrarna heter nåt i stil med Alfons the 3rd of Macedonia och Queen Milklover af Mjauland. Hon är liten och knubbig, även om hon är lika gammal som Tora, är hon hälften så stor, och ser rätt tjock ut. Så vi döpte henne till Chubby. Första dagen tog jag henne till Veterinär och fick reda på att hon har kattherpes och magen full med elaka bakterier, dessutom var hon sen med sin vaccin. Fick massa medicin till magen och ögondroppar för att lindra herpessymptomen. Då hade jag valet att behålla henne, eller återlämna henne till djuraffären för enligt lag får de inte sälja sjuka djur. När jag läste om kattherpes, verkade risken för att Tora också skulle redan blivit smittad ganska stor, och jag vet nog vad de gör med sjuka djur som de fått tillbaks i djuraffärer...
Så jag tog henne tillbaks för att klaga, och affärsägaren sa att "ojoj, detta är första gången nåt sånt nånsin händer vår affär (Yeah right) och hon verkade ju så kry och bla bla". Samtidigt som han pratade gick han runt och fixade med de olika djuren i affären och det var då det slog mig att han aldrig tvättade händerna mellan de olika djuren. I andra djuraffärer bad de oss alltid att skölja händerna med alkohol innan de lät oss röra vid djuren, men i denna affären räckte de bara fram vilket djur vi pekade på och struntade i om vi bar på nåt farligt.
Iallafall, long story short, han gjorde allt för att verka oskyldig, och vi gav honom fakta och sa att de kan förlora sin licens enligt lag om vi klagar hos ministeriet. Då sa han OK, OK, jag tar katten, och betalar tillbaks era pengar, men bara hälften av det. Jag bara, "WTF? vi håller din katt i en dag och lämnar tillbaks den och du dessutom får massa pengar? Det är jättesnyggt. Glöm det. Förresten kom vi inte hit för att lämna tillbaks katten. Vi gör så att vi behåller katten, OCH du betalar tillbaks halva våra pengar." Han visste att han låg illa till, för han sa OK direkt och betalade. Sen bad han oss skriva på en lapp att vi har fått pengar och lovar att inte klaga hos ministeriet att de sålt oss ett sjukt djur. Hur korkad kan man vara egentligen? Vad ska det pappret hjälpa honom när vi ändå klagar? Jaja, vi skrev under pappret och tog hem Chubby the XVII.
Hon är världens sötaste kattunge och är jättetyst och elegant. Har aptit som en varg och leker med allt som rör sig. Hennes svans är jättekort, i motsats till Tora, och är jättejättemjuk, till skillnad från Tora som är mer muskulös. Hon får sin medicin och verkar bli bättre. Sen när hon byggt upp sitt immunförsvar behöver vi inte oroa oss om herpesviruset blir aktiv mer.

Separationsångest

2008-02-21T23:02:00.002-08:00

Här är Tora när han satt och deppade för han hade ingen katt att leka med. Vi letade kompis till honom varje dag men de är rätt strikta här, vilket i och för sig är bra. De kollar familjeförhållanden, allergi, hur stort lägenhet man har etc etc. Om man till exempel är par som bor ihop, är chanserna små att man får en katt, för att de tycker att man splittas upp sen och då vill ingen ha katten. Eller om man redan har en kattunge, vill de flesta inte ge sin katt till en. Ibland känns det konstigt. Så varje dag som gick blev vi tröttare och tröttare på att bli dömda av folk, så vi gick till slut till en djuraffär och köpte oss en kitte. Då var det bara en fråga de ställde. "Har ni pengar att betala för att köpa katten?" "Jepp" "Jaha, varsågod, katten är ert"

Hello Kitty

2008-02-21T23:02:00.001-08:00

Vi adopterade katter. De är syskon och är 4 månader gamla. Brorsan heter Tora (Betyder Tiger), och syrran Haiji (Betyder loser). De är vanliga Japanska bonnkatter och är jättepigga.
Dock varade inte det länge, för Haiji var bortlovad till en annan familj. Så de separerades efter 2 dagar, vilket fick Tora att bli rätt deppig såklart. Så vi började leta kompis till honom direkt.

Vyer från Hakone

2008-02-21T23:02:00.000-08:00

De sista bilderna jag tog innan vi lämnade Hakone. Jättefin dag :)

Mera träd

2008-02-05T01:32:00.004-08:00

Inga kommentarer...

Stora träd

2008-02-05T01:32:00.003-08:00

På väg ut såg vi stora majestätiska träd som imponerade mig :)

Shamanen

2008-02-05T01:32:00.002-08:00

Väl inne fick vi på oss lånedräkter och fyllde i vad vi önskade och vad vi hette och vad vi hade för adress. Efter en tids väntan leddes vi in i shrinens hjärta där shamanen väntade på oss. Inga bilder fick tas inne... Vi satte oss ner och såg hur han dansade runt och mässade och bad för vår välbefinnande, vilket inkluderade att han läste (mässade) igenom våra namn och adress och postkod etc etc, antagligen för att gud inte vet var vi bor annars så han kan inte leverera vår lycka till rätt dörr. Iallafall efter det blev vi välsignade och gjorde nån halvkomisk ritual och efter det kunde vi fortsätta vallfärda i den vackra och harmoniska miljön. Vi fick även var sitt påse med suvenirer med böner och sprit som munkarna gjort och godis etc.

Snögubbe

2008-02-05T01:32:00.001-08:00

Inne i shrinen hittade vi en liten söt snögubbe som stod och vaktade.

Brrrr....

2008-02-05T01:32:00.000-08:00

Jag glömde väl inte säga att det var snö? Men men, man ska följa reglerna och tvätta händerna och munnen innan man går in i shrine. Även om vattnet är iskallt. Det tog mod att göra det.

Power supply

2008-02-04T03:36:00.000-08:00

Så var man framme i Hakone. Steg av vid Hakone Lake och letade efter nåt matigt att fylla på tanken med innan man begav sig uppför kullen. Hittade små friterade fiskar som är rätt unika för Hakone. De fångas i sjön här och friteras hela med huvud och skärt och inälvor och allt. Låter äckligt att äta fiskbajs men såg rätt gott ut ändå och man fick ett dussin var som skulle dippas i nåt remouladliknande. Och det var faktiskt jättegott..mmmm.
Översta bilden är typisk gammaldags japansk shrine-ingång (fast i sjön) och jag tyckte kontrasten var rolig, med piratskeppet fullt med turister i bakgrunden, och svanbåten som man kunde hyra... Nedersta bilden visar shinto shrinen... ja, man ser inte den men ni får tro mig, bakom och innanför all skog så ligger den där.

På väg till Hakone

2008-01-30T18:33:00.001-08:00

Förra helgen tog vi tåget till Hakone. Klart väder och frisk luft. På väg dit tog jag lite bilder på Fujisan och andra berg :)

Nyår

2008-01-29T18:04:00.001-08:00

Åkte till Disneyland för nyårsnedräkningen. Det var mååånga som ville in och vi stod i kö i mer än en timme. När man väl kommit in och skulle hitta plats för att titta på paraden var det nästan omöjligt. Till råga på allt så störtregnade det mitt i paraden. Förutom paraden fick vi se fyrverkerier och lasershow osv

Kista

2008-01-27T19:55:00.000-08:00

Tjänsteresa till Kista. Det var inte så kallt som jag trodde det skulle vara. Tyckte den vassa skyskrapan såg rolig ut, och äppelträdet utan löv. Sista dagen tog jag en tur i lokala shoppingcentret...

Kisse

2008-01-25T00:35:00.001-08:00

En lat kisse som inte orkade öppna båda ögonen...

Ryokan

2008-01-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

Dagen efter onsen-hotellet, det var en solig och vacker morgon. Nedan, hotellets enda egna katt...Gick runt som han ägde stället, och jamade högt efter mat/personal när det var frukostdags.

Broar

2008-01-16T21:25:00.001-08:00

Mera broar och vattenfall och grönska....

Natur

2008-01-15T20:45:00.001-08:00

När vi kom fram till den fridfulla lilla orten, gick vi runt ett tag och tittade på den vackra naturen. Vi såg en begravd bil, några begravda människor, fantastiska vattenfall och täta bambuskogar. Det var fint.

På väg

2008-01-10T17:47:00.000-08:00

Jag var på affärsresa denna veckan så det blev inga nya bilder... Här är några foton jag tog när vi skulle ha semester på landet. Vi skulle på grönte Onsen (Onsen med riktig grön te i, så man ser ut som Hulken när man kommer ut). Bilderna är tagna på väg dit, när vi åkte först tåg och sen tog bil genom spiralvägen (nedan)

Gott Nytt År

2008-01-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

16 September var vi ute i Roppongi Hills och gick runt. Åt på en kinarestaurang, med minst sagt intressant interiör...Väggarna var också fulla av diverse suspekta skulpturer. Min favorit är den enorma klockan i mitten som liknar de traditionella klockorna och pinnarna i tempel. På sidan av Roppongi Hills finns stora siffror som räknar upp/ner...jag blev aldrig klok på om det är en klocka eller nåt, men de är vackra. Sen blev det för mörkt för att ta några vettiga bilder, så jag experimenterade med lång shuttertid och bilden längst ner blev resultatet...

God Jul

2007-12-20T18:13:00.001-08:00

Ja, snart är det Jul och jag tar ledigt, även från bloggandet. Avslutar 2007 med några vardagsbilder jag tog när jag var ute en vacker Septemberdag.

Ut och handla

2007-12-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

Bilderna är från i September då vi var ute och handlade... överst en av mina absoluta favoriter när det gäller mat, yakitori. Under den en rolig bordslampa (inte bord slampa) som jag såg. På och av knappen satt mellan gubbens ben. :) Nedre bilden är dalahästar, som är rätt populärar bland japaner.

Teflonbilder

2007-12-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

De härna bilderna tog jag för nån månad sen med telefonen, då jag inte hade kameran med. Överst, Tokyos stolthet, Godzilla som hyllats med egen staty. Nedan menyn till en stejkrestaurang som jag passerade. 200 grams steak från inhemska ko/ox/tjur (framgår inte av menyn, bara att det är biff) kostar beroende på var på djuret den satt innan de avlägsnade den, mellan motsvarande 1600 och 8700 kronor. Finns fyra val på menyn: vanlig, special, superb och superduper special.

Grönt

2007-12-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

Här är lite bilder på den lokala vegetationen där jag bor... tagna i September.

Oppa!!

2007-12-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

Grekisk restaurang i Yoyogi. Yum yum.