Wednesday, August 16, 2006

いらっしゃい

デイモンの日記(にっき)です。

ここで日本語(にほんご)頑張(がんば)ります。

ふつう、マイミク使(つか)うんですけど、ふりがなができません。

それで、このブロッグを(つく)りました。


Hi welcome to my small attempt to create a space of my own that helps me, and maybe you, with reading and understanding Japanese.

Firstly I recommend using Firefox to view these pages. Other than loving this browser, my current fave, it also has an extension called Ruby, that allows my XHTML markup text to display furigana. That's small subscript hiragana over/or under Kanji so that you know how they are said.

Without that extension the Japanese text below should show the hiragana in brackets after the said Kanji.

The extension can be found with Google
and I last found it here
nb. It's unsupported but I haven't had any issues with Firefox (1.5 and up) since I installed it.

Let's hope Ruby markup becomes a norm online for helping us all come to grips with Japanese/Chinese characters.

I also use this site to both provide furigana for Kanji and it can also create the ruby text for you if you are making web pages with Jp content. Nb. I seem to need to edit the spaces out of the resulting text, please double check your html after doing the translation and inserting into your page.

Hmm now I just have to translate all of that into Jp!!! aaa

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Origami

()(がみ)
Folding Paper.

Kenji sent me some kewl links, one of some amazing origami

The other of an amazing desktop ornament

Enjoy.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Tsuyu

梅雨(つゆ)
rainy season.

Spring is here, supposedly, in Hokkaido but it's slow to show its face. The snowy conditions have been replaced by rain. The mountains of snow on either side of the road are slowly subsiding, getting dirtier as the passing traffic sprays road grit to the sides. The temperature still isn't above 7C on a fine day so there's still ice determined to hang around the edges of houses and such. The rafting companies have started up but with all in dry suits to try and keep the snow-melt cold water from chilling them too much. The pension village, as they call the lower part of the village filled with mostly, as you'd expect, pensions is quite like a ghost town. One goes up to the convienience store to see the life of the town. To know that there are more people here than the ones you share a house with.
But the promise of a warm green island has me waiting, keenly. Apparently one can barely see the view for the growth that bursts up when the snow's gone and the sun can do its work.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

BBQ in the Snow


Twas a moonlight night, so some scrounged wood and kerosene later we were roasting meat under the pale moonlight.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Haru Ichiban

春一番(はるいちばん)
The First Winds of Spring.

Which are apparently hitting some parts of Japan now but although there have been warm days here on Hokkaido it's yet to stop snowing.

We've had our breaks from it to be sure, and there is, sporadically, a big melt on but this morning I had to sweep another 10cm of snow offa the car since parking it last night.

Of course all the tourists are happy but the folk that live here are keen to see the sun and green hillsides showing their faces. Keen to be able to open those long lost doors to cellars and garages where all the summer toys and such have been in storage. Keen to stop living with the smell of kerosene heaters that have to be run nearly constantly so that the rooftops have enough heat to self shed the ever building snow that threatens to collapse them.

Still no net for me at my residence but hopefully soon, then some more photos of course.

The view is definitely here, and I know you're all beautiful.

D

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Mid January in Snow Country

Been fighting a cold since last year, I think the frozen toes and constant runny nose make the environment a cold loves to grow in. But I spent a hundred dollars on new shoes yesterday and am spending my current 3 days off going slow. Eating, emailing and onsening. So hopefully near 100% when I get back on the road in 2 days.

Interestingly though, I do not find it seems cold anymore. minus 3 seems balmy after a minus 15 night.

Have had no snowfall and cloudless skies the last couple of days, and a full moon. Incredibly beautiful night scenery, not to mention being able to see the surrounding mountains, a rarity, both day and night. But moonlight snow covered landscape is something spectacular to be sure.

Monday, January 09, 2006

Snow Cats in Hokkaido


Went and helped a friend get his Snow Cat going today. Frozen Diesel doesn't work so well.. then we drove up to his house in the forest. SO much snow even the cat had trouble. The cat being designed to groom ski slopes rather than force it's way through deep drifts in the forest.
Then the bleeder valve, which was broken by another driver who meddled, started leaking air and we konked out and had to walk back home.
While I was diggin the cat out before we left, I stepped off into the 2m high powder snow and simply disappeared! No snow shoes (those tennis racquet things) no chance of standing or walking on this stuff. At least when we walked home we had the compressed snow the cat had made on our way up. 10 mins would have been over an hour otherwise I think.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Kamakura


This pic doesn't do the setting justice. There are candles inside this hole in the snow, real cute Jack 'o' Lantern stuff.

Xmas and NY went by in a blur as I was working right up till 2005 ended but a few days off to let me chill have helped. Went to a fantastic onsen in Rankoshi, near Niseko, and then to Sapporo for a night.

Feeling better but still not sure about having to jump back in the saddle tomorrow oh well. Need the Yen.

More pictures of the whiteness here.
http://tinyurl.com/77yos
http://tinyurl.com/8th2b

Hope your new year is all it can be.

D

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Niimi Onsen Ryokan


Spent the 1st of January at Niimi Onsen, about an hour from Hirafu, Niseko. One of the nicest Onsen Ryoukans I've stayed in so far in Japan. The meal pictured is for two people, took us nearly an hour to work our way through it!

Hope you're warm wherever u are :)