A Place In the Sun

Today was a fine autumn day. A construction work just started today. I looked Pacific Ocean from the highway on the way to the construction site in Manazuru town. 70 % of my field of vision was the clear, blue sky and deep blue water of the sea for about one hour. I don't know why, but whenever I rush to a construction site to solve difficult matters, they look dull color. But the sea glinted in the sun today. It made me happy.
"A Place In the Sun" is a title track of Miki Imai album. I've been a fan of her since she just made her first appearance on television commercial of a miso-paste "Hanamaruki".
In those days, she had long hair and was not slender as now.
I was sure that she would become a major figure. She stood out from the others.
Probably "A Place In the Sun" is an autumn song. I like this song and also think this album is the best one in her albums. Of course Tomoyasu Hotei wrote songs and Ryuichi Sakamoto composed the tune for a song too. It's a really gorgeous album.
I imagined she wanted to be an actress but she suddenly declared that she was going to be a singer in her radio program. When I listened to her declaration, I paid no attention.
Her singing was terrible when she was young. But she has grown up to a singer. I wish she would appear on television more often. She is attractive. I like her face, voice, and her taste. And I might like her guts hidden under her calm demeanor and sophisticated appearance. I looked a poster about her concert at a 7-Eleven in Manazuru today. She wore a black dress and hardly any makeup. Yeah! She has style.

Writing blog reminds me I really liked writing. Writing gives me rests to think over things. The habit got me. So I'll set up my web site about my speciality and write about architecture, folklore and something cultural. I'd like to form a new plan about my job. I don't know the exact reason why, but I feel I have enough motivation to do it now. For the time being, I will concentrate my energies on it. When I see light at the end of the tunnel, I can have my web site again.
I always enjoyed writing and sometimes I was unconscious of the passage of time.
I know that even though my English was strange, my friends read my blog.
Thank you for coming to "A Place In the Sun".

Born to Be Creative.

Kanazawa

I went Kanazawa city where was my mother's hometown this weekend. A memorial service for my grandmother who died 5 years ago was going to be held. So her daughters' families got together to attend it. After the memorial service, we had a drinking party, called "naorai".
Naorai means that the religious service ends and a daily life starts again. Some ingredients in dishes of the naorai are offerings to a deity.
My grandmother's home is a Japanese-style hotel in Kanazawa. Naturally, the naorai was held at the hotel. It was my first visit to the hotel. I don't pay a compliment to them because of distant relative. Even though the hotel wasn't big, it was really nice.

Kanazawa is sometimes called "small Kyoto in northern Japan". There are a lot of Japanese traditional hotels, restaurants, shops and so on. The competitions are very fierce.
I know a case that a well-known store selling Japanese style sweets lost its reputation because of its bad taste. The store was a highly reputed shop that has continued in business since Edo period and it was once a purveyor of the lord of Kanazawa castle.
I think this case is a matter of course. But I heard an unwelcome change about Kanazawa yesterday.
Nationwide hotel groups have built big hotels around Kanazawa station for last two decade. Once a number of old Japanese hotels which selling point was Japanese traditional dishes was over 100, but now it is only 14.
Why do tourists want to stay at a big hotel? I can't understand. We can't feel the atmosphere of old Japan there.

Dishes of naorai were not only delicious but also beautiful. Some dishes were in shape of a rock arrangement of Kanazawa castle, a chestnut shell, an autumn leaf, and a chrysanthemum. They delighted our eyes.
We stayed at a Japanese room. It had a pillar made of Japanese cedar at an alcove in the room, called "tokonoma". And its ceiling was made of real wooden boards of pine trees. A ceramics vase put on tokonoma was a noted local product, called "kutaniyaki".

The right things in the right places. Good. I really enjoyed them.

If you're going to Kanazawa, please check this site!
http://park10.wakwak.com/~hashimotoya/