going to みたままつり (mitamamatsuri) at 半蔵門 (hanzoumon) was like being in a manga for me. these never-ending street presided with three huge torii (shinto gate) that take you to [靖国神社](yasukuni jinja, a very controversial shinto shrine dedicated to the spirits of dead soldiers) was lined from start to end with hundreds of small matsuri stands.

焼そば (yakisoba) sauté noodles with vegetables, meat and soy sauce.

お好み焼き (okonomiyaki) in its most popular version.

たこ焼き (takoyaki) just like the one we have at musashi!

I don't remember what this was called so I privately named it "yakizakana" (grilled fish)

チョコバナナ (choco-banana), chocolate dipped banana sparkledwith toppings.

jelly-fruit (or fruit dipped in jelly and frozen)

you see, the most popular were takoyaki, okonomiyaki and yakisoba stand for salty food - though there were a few others - and jelly-fruit, choco-banana and 氷 (koori) - no pic for this one, sorry - for sweet stuff. [koori] means literally "ice", and that's what it is basically: smashed ice on top of which you pour different fruit-flavoured syrups and then eat with the flat end of a straw. you could also find sweet potato and [dango]! the first time I tried dango was at home when miki brought some from a store. but this was completely different, you could choose between salty - mitarashi or with [nori] - and sweet - with [kinako] or dipped in [anko]. there were so many things to try that you wouldn't know where to begin... also there are dozensof stands offering the same thing - note: take a careful look before buying because prices sometimes vary slightly from one stand to the other.

most stands with prices announced big bargains like psp's, wii's or nds for 500￥a go. obviously these things are arranged so you never get the top price, so we didn't even try - it's like UFO machines,  no matter how many times I walk around watching eager teenagers after cute plush(or grownups trying to catch an anime female-character figure wearing hardly anything) I have yet to see someone getting their price. all those things are just money eaters and tokyo is full of them.

then there was this "hunted house" or "house of horror" thing that really reminded me of [nobuta wo produce] and their school festival. it was pretty lame and shabby, but it was cool. entry was about 500￥; if we didn't give it a try was because we were dead tired - we had been to 池袋 (ikebukuro)  that morning and our feet were killing us.

as in every matsuri there was traditional dancing and drumming and a lot of people in yukata - light piece of clothing resembling a robe that is worn generally in summer. people danced around a small rounded stage were the music was played - anyone could join in and try to copy his neighbours movements, though this was not always the wisest thing to do.

drummers, an obaachan dancing and a caption of a woman's yukata I liked.

cute japanese kids. please look at the boy's panda uchiwa!

yukata+converse=cool!!!

when you approached the temple you would see line after line of yellow lanterns. it became apparent when we started reading them that they had family names, school names and associations written on them some even had army sections and the like - at the time we found this awkward but after I read the wiki-article on　靖国神社 I begun to understand. all in all they looked beautiful, glowing yellow and ink-black in the middle of the night.

 yes, one of this pictures went to my new banner :3

oh! I finally found the best way to store my photos. I went for picasa and it works fine, so the rest of the album is here if you want to take a look. :)

ps: closest subway station is 九段下 (kudanshita), tokyo metro hanzoumon line, tokyo metro tozai line and toei shinjuku line.

my sig made entirely from stock screenshots i took of the clean dango ending of CLANNAD

(click to enlarge)

also sensei asked for a special wallpaper for his psp

So cool that he made it too, because it looks great on the PSP!

Some really warm, feel-good work by squee666. Great stuff.

http://endlessparadigm.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=10721

El grupo de Johnny´s E., Arashi, será el encargado de interpretar la canción principal de la película “Hana Yori Dango Final”, que se estrenará en los cines de Japón el 28 de Junio.
La canción central de la película, que será interpretada por los chicos de Arashi se titulará “One Love”, mientras que la canción de Makino Tsukushi será interpretada por Aiko, y esta no tiene aún título oficial.

Creditos: Ai pop

"Aqui ta" >_<!!!
[audio=http://www.goear.com/files/sst4/24674bc9d6db44f02c74ccd7b818d020.mp3]
Download Mp3 - 10,4MB

Dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
Dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku

Yancha na yaki-dango yasashii an-dango
Sukoshi yumemigachi na tsukimi-dango
Osumashi goma-dango yotsugo kushi dango
Minna minna awasete hyakunin kazoku

Aka-chan dango wa itsumo shiawase no naka de
Toshiyori dango wa me o hosometeru

Nakayoshi dango te o tsunagi ooki na marui wa ni naru yo
Machi o tsukuri dango hoshi no ue minna de waraiau yo
Usagi mo sora de te o futte miteru dekkai o-tsuki-sama
Ureshii koto kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete

Nakayoshi dango te o tsunagi ooki na marui wa ni naru yo
Machi o tsukuri dango hoshi no ue minna de waraiau yo
Usagi mo sora de te o futte miteru dekkai o-tsuki-sama
Ureshii koto kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete

Lalalala lalala la la lalala lalala la lalala la la lala la
Lala la lalala lalala lala la lala lalala la lalalalala la
Lalala la lala la la la lalala lalala lalala la lala lala
Lalalala lala lalalala lala la lalala lalalala...(x2)

Dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
Dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku

Dango dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
Dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku

Tomodachi demo koibito demo nai chuukan chiten de
Shuukaku no hi wo yumemiteru aoi furu-tsu
Ato ippo ga fumidasenai sei de
Jirettai no nan notte? baby

Arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
Sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

Amai dake no sasoi monku ajike no nai doku
Sonna mono ni wa kyoumi wa sosorarenai
Omoitoori ni ikanai toki datte
Jinsei suteta mon janai tte

Doushita no? to kyuu ni kikareru to "uun. nandemo nai"
Sayounara no ato ni kieru egao watashi rashikunai
Sinjitai to negaeba negau hodo nandaka setsunai
"Aishiteru yo" yori mo "daisuki" no hou ga kimi rashii janai?
The flavor of life

Wasurekakete ita hito no omoi wo totsuzen omoidasu koro
Furitsumoru yuki no shirosa wo omou to sunao ni yorokobitai yo

Daiyamondo yorimo yawarakakute atatakana mirai
Teni shitai yo kagiri aru jikan wo kimi to sugoshitai
"Arigatou" to kimi ni iwareru to nandaka setsunai
Sayounara no ato no tokenu mahou awaku horonigai
The flavor of life

Hikaru Utada - Flavor of life (Hana Yori Dango Drama - Season 2)

Aenakutemo kioku wo tadotte onaji shiawase wo mitainda
Ano kaori to tomoni hanabi ga patto hiraku

Ikitaiyo kimi no tokoro e imasugu kakedashite ikitai yo
Makkura de nanimo mienai kowakutemo daijoubu
Kazoe kirenai hoshizora ga imamo zutto kokoni arundayo
Nakanaiyo mukashi kimi to mita kireina sora datta kara

Ano michi made hibiku kutsu no oto ga mimi ni nokoru
Ookina jibun no kage wo mitsumete omounodeshou
Chittomo kawaranai hazu nanoni setsunai kimochi fukurande ku
Donnani omottatte kimi wa mou inai

Ikitai yo kimi no sobani chiisakutemo chiisakutemo
Ichiban ni kimi ga sukidayo tsuyoku irareru
Negai wo nagareboshi ni sotto tonaete mitakeredo
Nakanai yo todoku darou kirei na sorani

Aenakutemo kioku wo tadotte onaji shiawase wo misetainda
Ano kaori to tomoni hanabi ga patto hiraku

Ikitaiyo kimino tokoro e chiisana te wo nigiri shimete
Nakitaiyo sorewa sorewa kirei na sora datta
Negai wo nagare boshi ni sotto tonaete mitakeredo
Nakitai yo todokanai omoi wo kono sora ni

Ai Otsuka - Planetarium (Hana Yori Dango Drama - Season 1)

The only thing that irks me was how everyone seemed to hype about Season 2 and I was just caught up in the hype, I didn’t realize how draggy of a series it was. Frankly, Season 2 was just a pain to view. I basically skimmed through the episodes, hoping to see something that was entirely appealing to me.

I’m thankful that they’re planning to make this movie. However, I’m quite worried that my expectations for the movie will not hinder my viewing of this movie.

One thing that intrigued me was how they filmed this movie in Hong Kong. Just by chance, I was thinking of travelling to Hong Kong. Perhaps, I would have been able to see them filming? Lol

Hana Yori Dango will premiere in the summer of 2008, which is coming up pretty soon. So for those who have not watched the commercial clip, here you go. See here

Durante el concierto de  BIG BANG  a finales del pasado año, el grupo hizo una parodia del drama "Coffee Prince", que recibio una gran reaccion de los aficionados por lo que ahora el grupo esta haciendo uno nuevo sobre el famoso manga - Serie de television, "Hana Yori Dango".

T.O.P. Es, Tsukasa, Daesung como Tsukushi (la chica) G-dragón como Rui. Akira  y Sojirou seran Seungri y Taeyang, respectivamente.

"Porque no somso chicos muy guapos, pensamos que seria interesante parodiarla. Al principio era muy dificil y estabamos riendo mucho, era dificil que Daesung llevara bien el papel de la chica durante el rodaje pero fue divertido ", dice BIG BANG.

Justo cuando pensaba que en el próximo capitulo de Clannad (el 23) me despediría de la Dango Daikazoku, Nagisa y compañia, veo el anunció en ANN donde confirman la producción de Clannad After Story una sequela a la actual serie de televisión :)

Aca un bastante corto promo...

Ingredients: (材料)

Tofu (豆腐) 300 g

Shiratamako （白玉粉）250 g

This is a rice flour made from glutinous rice. Glutinous rice is dried to create this floor. It is commonly used in Japanese desserts and dumblings (dango).

Kinako （きな粉）to taste

Kinako is soybean flour. To make the flour, soybeans are toasted and then ground into powder. It’s taste is similar to peanut butter.

Katakuriko （片栗粉）1/2 tablespoon

This is starch of the dogtooth violet. You can also use cornstarch.

Aonori （青のり）to taste

This is a type of seaweed that is crumbled into powder. Aonori is very good for you and contains minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and vitamins. It is often used in its dried form in Japanese soups and tempura. It is also used to add flavor to Japanese food by sprinkling the powder onto hot food.

Goma （ごま）to taste

Sesame seeds. Black sesame seeds work well also.

Shoyu (しょうゆ) 1 tablespoon

Soy sauce.

Satou （砂糖）

Sugar. Brown sugar works well also.

Mizu (水)

Water.

Utensils and Supplies:

Bowl, ladle or mesh scoop, large pot, stove/burner, plates, forks and spoons.

Instructions: (豆腐団子のつくり方)

1. Put the rice flour in a bowl.

2. Put tofu in the bowl.

3. Mash and need it in the bowl until mixed well.

4. When it becomes the thickness of an earlobe (pinch a bit to check) tear it apart and role it into small balls with no more than an inch or 3 centimeters diameter.

5. While rolling the balls, fill large pot most of the way with hot water and heat the water to a boil.

6. Put the balls into the boiling water.

7. When they float to the surface they are done. Remove them from water and place on a plate. They will become very sticky.

8. In one plate, spread about 1 tablespoon of kinako （きな粉）and 1 teaspoon of sugar (砂糖). On other plates, put goma (ごま) (sesame) or black sesame.

To make a common dango sauce, mix 1 tablespoon shoyu (しょうゆ) (soy sauce), 2 tablespoons sugar or brown sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon katakuriko （片栗粉） or corn starch and heat until it becomes thick.

9. Roll the dango in the coating of choice, or coat with brown sauce. When finished, aonori (青のり) can be sprinkled on the savory or plain dango.

update: the name of the restaurant is Shunmi, which means the essence of flavor.

Dango is a Japanese snack food made from rice flour and served on sticks.

Đap lại sự nhiệt tình của khán giả đối với bộ phim, công ty Group 8 cho biết "Chúng tôi sẽ chọn diễn viên phù hợp với vai diễn chứ không dựa trên mức độ nổi tiếng của người diễn viên đó". Phim dự định gồm 24 tập, mỗi tập dài 70 phút và sẽ phát sóng trên truyền hình vào khoảng cuối năm 2008.

Dưới đây là những diễn viên do khán giả bầu chọn là thích hợp nhất:

Makino Tsukushi/ 杉菜
1. Yoon Eun Hye
2. Goo Hye Sun

Doumyouji Tsukasa/ 道明寺
1. Jo In Sung
2. Kang Dong Won
3. Lee Dong Gun
4. Jang Hyuk
5. Hyun Bin

Hanazawa Rui/ 花泽类
1. Im Joo Hwan
2. Choi Si Won
3. Jang Geun Seuk´

---------------------------

credits to coolsmurf
http://coolsmurf.wordpress.com/
Date: Feb. 29, 2008
Vietnamese Translation: CAT, biên tập: cunvitcon @ iuphimhan.com
Tin IPH ngày 01/03/2008
Liên Hệ news@iuphimhan.com để đăng lại tin này
http://www.iuphimhan.com/sarang/index.php?act=news&code=02&cat=2

今日は日本語で書くよ！　日本のドラマを見始めました。　先週までＧＴＯだけ見たけど、　今週からよく見ようと思うよ。　何回も花より男子について聞いたので、　見たかった。　めちゃくちゃ面白いと思ってる！　日本のドラマはブラジルドラマより楽しいと思う。　テーマはいつもへんなテーマなので少し見ると、　ぜんぜんドラマを見ること辞められない！　助けて！　笑

花より男子のキャラクターで花沢類(小栗旬）が一番好きになった。　だから、　小栗旬にインターネットで調べて行った。　びっくりした！！！　小栗さんは僕が大好きなＧＴＯのキャラクターだった！　顔や体など変わったので分かりにくいね。　9年前なんですね。　今小栗さんが参加したドラマ全部見たいよ。　笑。　音楽の世界　－＞　橘慶太；　ドラマの世界　－＞　小栗旬　＊＿＊！

ＧＴＯの小栗旬　　　　Ｘ　　　　　花より男子の小栗旬

まだ花より男子全部見ることができなかったけど、　マキノさんは花沢さんの恋人になってすごく嬉しくなるよ。　笑！　みんなさんりんごの食べ方気をつけてね！　かみのために！

This is the second recipe that Pat, over at The Asian Grandmothers’ Cookbook, sent me to test. If testing new recipes sounds like fun to you let her know.

This recipe is "Grandma Mivoshi's Dango Jiru." It's a Japanese-Hawaiian soup with lots of greens, Spam ™, and dumplings. "Dango" refers to the dumplings, which in Japan are usually made with rice flour, but in this Hawaiian variation, the dumplings are made with all-purpose flour.

I used my King Arthur Flour dough whisk to mix the flour and water to make the dumpling dough. It's a great tool that's surprisingly effective for mixing batters and dough, easy to use, and easy to clean. If you look closely at my pictures you'll see evidence of a minor household emergency that distracted me while the dough was resting: The beautiful round smooth ball of dough dried out and developed a pebbly texture on the surface. I went ahead and rolled the dough to 1/4" thickness and cut the noodles. The dumplings were fine once they were cooked.

The recipe called for mustard cabbage, and after a quick Google I found that it's sometimes called "gai choy." There was a note on the site that a good sub would be mustard greens, so I grabbed a small bunch.

Then I noticed this interesting looking vegetable that looked just like the picture online—right there in my regular grocery store! It's pretty, don't you think?

The recipe also calls for mizuna, but hey, this is winter and not much is growing here. I did find it, at great price for a very small package. Then I noticed that it was labeled "Arugula / Rocket" and there was another green labeled "Arugula / Roquette" in a much more generous bunch. I bought both. And some watercress.

It looked like a mountain of greens by the time I'd prepped them all!

Other vegetables for the soup are carrot, and onion. This is the first time I've bought Spam™ in more than 30 years! I opted for the "low salt" version. I suppose with all the rabbit food, this is still a relatively healthy meal. I cut the meat into 192 cubes; that's three layers of 8 x 8 squares!

The soup is very easy to cook once the prep work is done. The dumplings cook right in the broth so the liquid thickens a bit. I served it with a garnish of green onion slices, and Chinese mustard paste and soy sauce for dipping. No, we did not eat all of that mustard, but it's hard to make a smaller amount.

So, how was it? It was good. I made the whole recipe (serves 4 to 6) and because there are only two of us, there is a lot left over. I don't know if it will re-heat well. I took some to work with me and nuked it, and the greens just got overcooked. The dumplings were better, though.

Edited to add that I made another Dango Jiru.

Pork Dumplings and Mung-Bean-Noodle Hot Pot, page 448
Nikudango to Ryokuto Harusame no Supu

This soup is great for the cold weather we're having. The dumplings can also be made with a mixture of pork with chicken or shrimp, which I'll definitely try. The dumplings are flavored with shoyu, scallion, ginger, garlic, and chopped coriander leaves. I don't know if cilantro is commonly used in Japanese cooking. I haven't seen it in other recipes.

Funny, but I've always thought cilantro smelled and tasted like cat p!ss. Recently we've been going to a Mexican place for tacos de lengua and they are THE BEST. They are even better than the ones I made last spring! The reason is: cilantro.

The meatballs are partially cooked in plain water so the chicken stock will remain clear when they are added. Other ingredients in the hot pot include dried shiitake mushrooms, carrot, Chinese cabbage, and long onion. Ms. Shimbo notes that mung-bean-noodles (ryokuto harusame) can be cooked a long time and still retain their shape and texture. Don't use harusame (potato starch) noodles, and certainly do not use rice noodles.

I forgot that Mr. Tess goes to choir practice on Thursday evenings and this rehearsal was extra long for the big day on Sunday. So he ate when he got back, but I was too tired to wait. There was a lot left over, and this hot pot was excellent the second day with some added vegetables.

I've been a loyal fan of Clannad ever since its anime started and it has reached episode 9 thus far. This is also the episode where Fuko's story arc finally comes to a close. I've read lots of reviews from many anime blogs and most of them said that this episode has made them cried terribly.

I don't wish to be branded as a poikilothermic human, but is this episode really that emotional? Just to let you know, I haven't shed a single tear yet in Clannad, whereas I have in both its predecessors, namely Kanon 2006 and Air.

Oh and another thing, the 2 sentimental BGMs and the song called 'Ana' by Lia are embedded after the break. Do enjoy. I know I did.

Yes, I do admit that this episode is very touching and it has certainly moved my heart, but I still feel that it can't hold a candle to the stories of Makoto and Misuzu. I believe most of you who have watched both Kanon 2006 and Air would agree with me on this. I totally broke down upon watching them, especially during Makoto's.

I'm actually quite angry with myself for not crying nearing the end of Fuko's story arc. You can say that I'm mad or insane but I've pledged beforehand that I MUST at least cry once in Clannad, so that it will be complete (In the sense that I would have cried in all 3 of Key/KyoAni's animes). I can then proudly say to all, "Hey, every one! Kanon 2006, Air, and Clannad are the best animes ever made! They are so emotional that they made me cry!"

The most emotional scene in the episode

After failing to cry during the first time when I watched, I re-watched episode 9 once again and when it reached the part where Fuko handed a starfish to her sister, I forced myself to cry as hard as I could. Yes, I really forced myself to cry literally. The result?

~A Total Failure~

It seemed that this episode wasn't really that sad after all. Even with 'Sora ni Hikaru' playing in the background, the tears just refused to come out. I gave up in the end.

Now, I could only count on the rest of the 4 story arcs, namely Nagisa's, Tomoyo's, Kotomi's, and Kyou's, to make me cry. Episode 10 and onwards will be the beginning of Kotomi's story arc. I really hope that it will be more emotional than Fuko's.

For now, let's just enjoy some more beautiful pictures in episode 9 and the 3 masterpieces playing in the background.

They really look like a happy family...

Ibuki sure is pretty, just like Fuko =)

Bye Fuko. We'll remember you forever.

Shining in the Sky (Sora ni Hikaru)

[audio=http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/11/21/1597563/07%20sora%20ni%20hikaru.mp3]

The Place where Wishes Come True (Negai ga Kanau Basho)

[audio=http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/11/21/1597563/06%20ganiga%20kanau%20basho.mp3]

Ana by Lia

[audio=http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/11/21/1597563/13%20Ana%20%28short%20ver.%29.mp3]

I got bored, and this song... Well, the first time I heard it, my response was "wow, what a kiddie song. I'll never like it." But....it really grows on you. Especially when the bass part comes in, and you're like )TTATT ) "It's so haaapppyyyyy".

Soooooo I randomly decided to translate it. It was pretty easy this time, considering it IS a rather kiddie song...

SO!

Kanji:

だんご　だんご　だんご　だんご　だんご　大家族
だんご　だんご　だんご　だんご　だんご　大家族

やんちゃな焼きだんご　やさしいあんだんご
すこし夢見がちな　月見だんご
おすましごまだんご　四つ子串だんご
みんなみんなあわせて　１００人家族

赤ちゃんだんごはいつも幸せの中で
年寄りだんごは目を細めてる

なかよしだんご　手をつなぎ　大きなまるい輪になるよ
町をつくり　だんご星の上　みんなで笑いあうよ
うさぎもそらで手をふってみてる　でっかいおつきさま
うれしいこと　悲しいことも　全部まるめて

*repeat previous verse

だんご　だんご　だんご　だんご　だんご　大家族
だんご　だんご　だんご　だんご　だんご　大家族

*repeat previous verse

Romanji:

dango, dango, dango, dango, dango daikazoku
dango, dango, dango, dango, dango daikazoku

yanchana yaki dango, yasashii an dango
sukoshi yume mi ga china, tsuki mi dango
osumashi goma dango, yotsu ko kushi dango
minna minna awasete, hyaku nin kazoku

akachan dango wa itsumo shiawase no naka de
toshi yori dango wa me wo hosometeru

nakayoshi dango te wo tsunagi, ookina marui wa ni naru yo
machi wo tsukuri dango hoshi wo ue, minna de warai au yo
usagi mo sora de te wo futte miteru, dekkai otsukisama
ureshii koto, kanashii koto mo zenbu marumete

*repeat previous verse

dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku

*repeat previous verse

English:

dango, dango, dango, dango, large dango family
dango, dango, dango, dango, large dango family

mischievous fried dango, kind sweet-bean dango
they tend to watch the moon and dream
sesame men dango, four child dango on a skewer
gather everyone, everyone together, a family of 100 people

baby dango are always cradled in happiness
older dango have squinty eyes

dango friends will hold hands and form a huge circle
they will make a city in the stars and all laugh happily together
even the rabbit in the sky waves his hand, attached to the huge moon
happy things, sad things – take them all and put them in the circle

*repeat previous verse

dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku
dango dango dango dango dango daikazoku

*repeat previous verse

 Wow, You gotta admit that they are good, Really good.
Good idea on the video.