Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Just remembering my sis Mariko...















Well, as I wrote on Face-book ― one of the popular social net working service I've currently mingled with ― today is my then sister Mariko's birthday, who passed away at the age of 30 in Feb 2002.

She turns to be 39 if she were alive, so her life was very short considering the tragic incident...and she will never come back, of course.

But at least what I can do for her is to mourn over her sudden passing with her daughter (my niece) every year for her. However, my niece and I are far apart, I live in Tokyo, while she lives in Sendai with her dad (my brother-in-law), gland-ma and gland-pa, which is about 400km away from my place. Still I believe our bond is solid enough to be as one, no matter how we are apart. So it should be no problem for us…I believe.

I still don't know whether Mariko led happy life or not during her lifetime, and still don't know why she had to end her life not by accidentally, but by choosing her death of her own accord.

Well, I don't intend to speculate about the cause of her death at this time at all.
But I only wanted to bear this in my mind forever as long as I live.
What is more, today is the day to pay my tribute to the past when she was still alive, spending her days with us family, which are my then dad ― who also passed away at the age of 70 in Nov 2004―, my mom ― who has been hospitalized for a long since Nov 2006 ―, and me.

I remember my sister was a bit clumsy in terms of leading her life just as me, which means she was unlikely to let things go away, rather she let all her troubles pile up inside of her mind and never tried to consult with us whenever something wrong happened to her.

It is so hard to imagine how she was stressful…even couldn’t let it all hang out to her husband, and consequently ended up committing suicide, leaving her 1 year old daughter behind.

And the time passed by after years down the road, my niece has grown up, now she is 9 year old, also in the 4th grade in elementary school.
Provided that she had been older than her current age, which supposed to be 15 or 16, the incident of her mom’s death must have been much more shock to her…I assume.

Luckily enough, she still doesn’t realize much about her mom’s death at present, yet she has a right to know about the truthfulness in the course of getting grownups.
The chances are that my niece must be far more robust in her spirit than we expect, even though she had lost her beloved mother, thereby her mother could rest her soul peacefully in heaven.

In my last word to all the visitors reading this topic, I would like to say thank you so much for sharing your time with me.

And also at the very end of the story, I would like to say to my sis Mariko,
Just be relaxed sis, so that God’s love showers upon you though I’ m not faith in Christianity,


Tuesday, May 04, 2010

I'll recommend you to visit Hakone when you visit Japan


















Almost 4 months passed since I posted here last time, forget it!
Now it is during the GW (Golden-Week, which are consecutive holidays from Apr 29-May 5 in Japan), and many people flocking to the sight-seeing spots across the country during this season, and Hakone is not exempted!

Imagine dozens of vehicles are getting bumper to bumper, which is 30 miles long or longer, even pedestrians are going faster than cars...lol

So I guess mass transit (I mean...train) is the wiser choice when you hang out elsewhere than using vehicles because of this fuckin' crazy traffic Jam!

Speaking of traffic Jam...I remember Bangkok is also dreadful...even worse than Tokyo!

Sorry...I went off on a tangent. Let's get back to the topic.

The reason why I brought up Hakone for this topic is just because I feel attached to this spots.

Maybe I've already visited Hakone more than 10 times in my life, when I was in teen-ager, my 20s, 30s and the current 40s.

The first time I visited here was as far back as 1979, which I was 14 (9th grader). I visited here with my family also my relatives (my uncles, aunts, cousins...Grandma and Grandpa).
There were actually many parties involved (maybe 20 people or more, since my Grandma and Grandpa were still alive at that time), and I remember we celebrated their Golden-wedding (50th anniversary) nearby when we were staying in Hakone...yes!!
My Grandma was 69, and Grandpa was 74, but they were still young.
But both passed away after years down the road (Grandpa passed away at the age of 88 in 1993, while grandma was 84 in 1994)...so nearly 2 decades has passed already.

The second time I visited Hakone was maybe in my age of 25 or something with my friends. I remember we visited nice spa (hot spring) nearby, being soaked in hot water together with full of joy! It's called “Hakone Kowakien”,
If you have visited Hakone already...guess that name rings a bell, you know.

Now I'm 45 year-old, and I seem getting senile...sorry I'm just joking...but even I get order, Hakone draws me a lot, nonetheless!
Why is that? I don't know for sure, but one reason that could explain is the bunch of sight-seeing spots here and there which attract people regardless of their age!
Take a look at the link;

http://www.hakonenavi.jp/english/index.html

This web must be helpful for new comers to Japan. Hope it helps.

Only the problem is its fuckin' outrageous price while staying in Japan, compared with other nations such as South East Asian countries...Once you have visited Japan you'll be flabbergasted at its fuckin' expensive price wherever you go...even me as locals feel the same…oh Jesus!

So make sure to carry more bucks with you when you come to Japan...they don't rip you off, but incredibly expensive here…I’m not joking at all!

But anyway, I'm sure it will make your day.
Why not visit Hakone first when you come to Japan?
I’ll show you around for sure, he he
Breathtakingly beautiful sky with beautiful Mt and lakes surely heal your heart, I suppose^^

Ok have a nice day, minasan!