Fishes... clown, bat... fingered dragonet... etc...

Was sorting out some of the pics in the hard disk...

On this final day of 2011, thought I should post some more photos from our last trip to Mabul and Sipadan...

Took this shot of the resort just before going for dinner one day...

Forgot my tripod, so I rested the camera on the railings for the shot...

We did a lot of self-dives that time...

We just enjoyed the freedom to stay as long as we like, underwater...

The clown fish... they were just so, so pretty...



Batfish are common in those waters...

And they were not afraid even when I went close.... slowly, that is...

Think these guys are called Bengal snappers...

They have some blue lines on the upper body and the white belly being quite distinct...

Was really fascinated with this fingered dragonet...

It was using its ventral fins to 'walk' on the sand...

I followed and followed...

It walked and walked...



'

Wondered why would anyone call these pretty things 'pink skunk' clownfish...

They are so pretty to look at, and to photograph...

This cute, little bi-color blenny was sitting on the corals...

and waiting for me to photograph it?

Mantis shrimps are really super colorful creatures...

This one made its home in a sunken coconut root stump...

Patience is needed while waiting for it to come out from its burrow...

Penang the beautiful...

Was in Penang, Malaysia, for some business related to research...

Stayed at the Equatorial Hotel at Bukit Jambul...

Nice hotel, pretty views...

Sneaked around a bit during off-hours....

Was happy to see that trishaws are still flourishing in the city...

Took a peek at the house where P. Ramlee lived...

A refreshing, humble, little abode it was...

One of the many bites we had in Penang... 

the peanut-sauced rojak from the mamak stall...

The fried tofu, cucumber, and bengkuang (or jícama) were my favorites...

Was pleasantly surprised to see my favorite fruit, the durian, on display...
Had thought that the season was sometime in August...

Urmm... this was the D24 specie...
Tried the Musang (猫山王) as well, but think the D24 fits my taste buds better...

And as the cliche goes, smells like hell but tastes like heaven...

Ahh, lovely, lovely... 

Am now in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, ready to fly back to Japan in two hours time...

Shall touchdown at Kansai International in the early hours of Christmas day...
after that, it will be four more hours by limousine bus before we touch base sometime around 1:00 in the afternoon... 

So, for you wonderful folks who are celebrating or not celebrating...

Merrrry Christmas!!  

Woodstove in action...

Throughout my 20 over years of residing in Japan, I have never been really fond of the winters...

Too cold for me... and I get cold rashes sometimes... 

For some 'wintry' folks, the winters here may be considered 'mild', with the temperatures just hitting zero in the coldest times...

Still, as in the last winter, it could go down to minus four or five...

Till we installed the wood stove, that is...

Thanks to this stove, winters are more 'fun' now...

We started putting on our woodstove a few days ago...

My suweeto haato is becoming quite an expert in handling the stove...

The flame was burning really well as can be seen in the picture above...

While my missus specializes in handling (starting the flame, maintaining it, cleaning the glass, the ash, etc) the stove, the responsibility of yours truly is in securing the firewood...

Sometimes I fell trees, other times, I get the cut logs from someone who just wanted to get rid of them...  

These were cut and piled up to dry from last February...

It takes about a year to have the logs dried up...

And for wood that are not split, the time needed to dry them is even longer because moisture in the wood finds it harder to escape through the bark...

Wood that are split, dries faster...

And we can literally hear the 'pichi-pichi' sound that the wood constantly emits as it dries...

Walking the hills in mid November 2011

One morning mid November...

Was blessed with an opportunity...

Some moments, to accompany my love... 

The paddy fields, naked...

A farmer's house or two...

An 'out-of-place', over-sized villa...

Japanese pampas grass...

gracefully dancing...

Up the hills we walked...

a fishing village, vaguely...

Perched high up a concrete wall...

Cheering his heart out...

Stood Daikokuten, the god of wealth...

 

A few meters nearby... 

Ebisu the god of fishermen, smiled... cheekily

We carried on... unhurried...

A pond appeared... 

I took a deep breath...

listening to the soft wind, speaking...

At a corner, a mirror stood, overlooking...

I tilted my head up...

Greeting me, a big round eye...

I held my love's hand, whispering... 

Life is so sweet...

Takamatsu Station, Gifu Station...

Had some business to do at Takamatsu JR Station the other day...
Why not grab the opportunity to shoot some pics, I said to myself...
The above picture shows the 'Sunport Symbol Tower'...
They used to allow the public to go up to the top floor and the view was really good from there...

This was shot from inside the JR station...
The building on the left is an ANA hotel...

Was at Gifu at the end of October for a seminar...
Slept one night at a business hotel in front of Gifu JR Station...
Didn't have my tripod with me, but managed to shoot a night shot from the window sill...

And the next day, took this limited express train to Nagoya on the way back to Takamatsu...

Fishes... angel, bat, butterfly, among others...

Actually have loads of underwater shots that I need to sort out and post...
I suppose I will have a lot to do after I retire from my day job in 12 years' time...

This blue faced Angel fish was busy looking for food...

A coral trout resting on the corals, posing for the cameraman...

Think this is a juvenile bat fish...
Very shy and 'unsettled' at the approach of the camera... 

And this, a mature bat fish...
It looks like the pomfret fish and I sometimes wonder if they are sold in the markets...

Beaked or Copper-banded Butterfly fish...
A very attractive fish, and it seems like they like to move about in pairs...

Think this is some kind of cardinal fish...
They appeared to be very comfortable hanging out in the artificial reef...

Right below the jetty, a staff member found this moray eel...
Apparently, it tried to swallow its prey but got entangled with a net...

Ferry boats, fishing boats, etc...

Derive a lot of pleasure looking at boats that ply the routes around here...

Takamatsu Port aka Sunport is serviced by several ferry companies... this particular one connects Takamatsu Port and Shodoshima... 

Sometimes the Japanese Navy (or is Self Defense Forces?) boats dock at Takamatsu Port... 

Nearer to home at Aji, fishing boats moor at the fishing port in the center of the little town... 

Always a joy to see the reflection of the fishing boats in the mornings...  

The water surface, still as a mirror that morning...

This orange colored fishing boat kind of like, stands out among the others...

Two mundane views of the Japan Inland Sea...

Am now actually in Gifu city, Central Japan...

Spent a night here after attending a seminar...

Would have loved to rent a bicycle to cycle around Nagara River, famed for its cormorant fishing for 鮎 ayu, a sweet river fish... 

But... there is always a 'but'...

Anyway, just a short post on two views that I enjoy whenever I cycle to work from home...

 

This was shot from 屋島大橋 Yashima O-hashi (Yashima 'Big' Bridge) during one of the low tides...

That table top hill is Yashima... the surrounding area is known for being the venue of a historical battle fought between the 平家 Heike and the 源 Minamoto, two warring factions in the early 12th century...

This is 詰田川 Tsumeta River, which is situated in an industrial part of Takamatsu city...
'Industrial'... yet, 'leisure' boats are often parked by the riverside...
It is but an ordinary scene... I said to myself...
Still, for fun's sake, I had to capture it...

Potluck party with neighbors on a windy autumn's day

We had the honor of hosting the 3rd potluck party for our neighbors last Sunday...

Seven families got together for a day of yakking and for delicious, homemade food...

The wind was pretty strong and the temperatures, somewhat chilly...
But that didn't stop us from having a ball of a time...

First, home-made buckwheat noodles aka soba made from scratch...

According to our friend, the combination was 90% buckwheat flour and 10% wheat flour...
Excellent, excellent taste...

Some salad, oriental style with cucumber, tomatoes, egg, ham...

 Fried dumplings... crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside...

Ginko nuts... peeled and lightly fried in oil, and served with a pince of salt...

O-yaki... in other words, Japanese yam, lotus root, glutinous rice flour, and seaweed fried in light oil over a flat pan...

This dish was new to us and while the dish did not look that 'photogenic', the taste was good... my missus ended up asking for the recipe...

Update for Alice:
(Managed to ask our neighbor about the recipe... )

Grate Japanese yam（山芋）, lotus root and keep aside...
Mix with 上新粉（top-grade rice flouｒ）
Add seaweed (after softening in water)
Blend all ingredients in bowl and make into patties...
Fry over flat pan over some sesame oil until slightly brown...

Serve with some soy sauce...

Braised(?) pork with fresh veggies done up by one of the husbands...

Our contribution... horse mackeral, deep fried outdoors in our garden...

Fire and utensils were prepared by yours truly while the lady of the house took charge of the cooking...

The fish was immediately dipped into a concoction of vinegar, Japanese rice wine, and lots of fresh vegetables...

And left to season for one night for better taste...
I ate the fish whole... bones, fish head, fins, meat and all...

Plus, vinegrette Spanish Mackeral... also prepared by my suweeto haato on the previous day so as to 'enhance' the flavor...

This dish proved to be very popular among the attendees...

The sweets, various types, were brought all the way from Kobe...

Besides these goodies, there were drinks soft and hard, chocolates, persimmons, grapes, and freshly brewed black mint tea...  

We were very happy that our neighbors enjoy the party as much as we did...

And we are looking forward to hosting the fourth gathering for sure...