Today, Wednesday July 30, I got a haircut - actually, I got a few cut!!!! Sorry.
This great couple is
Tsunemi & Fumiko Fukase
Their barber shop is called
KAMISHIBAI
Kamishibai is just a 5 minute bicycle ride from home,
across from the O-Street Shopping Center.
Tsunemi san has been cutting my hair for almost 4 years now. Him and Fumiko san know me very well by now. Perhaps better than I know myself!!!
Thank you Tsunemi san & Fumiko san, for keeping me clean-cut when inside I'm a wild boy!
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帰りの飛行機の中で、（通路側に座った）私の通路挟んで座った隣の人がやたらと白いなぁ～と思っていたら、なんと漫才師 Non Style の白い方の人でした。 ∑o(*'o'*)o ｳｵｵｫｫｫｫ!! 普段テレビで見るみたいに、白いシャツ・白いネクタイ・白いパンツ・白い靴・・・だったので、服装を見ただけで一目瞭然！チラッと顔を見るとまさに本人！後ろの方には相方の人も座っていました。知ってる人は知ってる・・・っていう知名度なんで、分かる人何人くらいいてるかな～～？？ ( ｣´0｀)｣ｵｫｰｲ! 最近全国区の番組とか出てたりするけど。 | |
一週間でグリーンカードが郵送されると言われていたのに、月曜の朝にアメリカ大使館で面接があって、火曜日の朝には届きました ヽ(*'0'*)ﾂ ﾜｧｵｫ!! 激早！これはまだ仮で、パスポートに貼られただけのモノです。アメリカに入国して数ヶ月で本物のグリーンカードが届きます。その後は何年かごとに更新していきます。（忘れると権利放棄になってしまう）
最近「グリーンカードはグリーンのカード？？」っていう質問をよくされるので、ここで説明。アメリカ永住権、通称グリーンカードはず～～っと昔は確かに緑色のカードだったコトから、今でもそう呼ばれてる愛称です。今は普通の運転免許証みたいな、白色のプラスチックカードで緑色でも何でもありません。永住権を取得すると、アメリカ入国の際、外国人の列じゃなくって、アメリカ国籍の人たちと同じ列に並んで通過できます（多分・・・）。なので、待ち時間が激減。あと、労働の自由と権利が与えられ、学校に行きたければ、ローカルの人たちと同額になる（留学生はだいたい、ローカルたちの１０倍の授業料）。ただし、ただの永住できる権利なので、アメリカ人になるという訳では決してなく、市民権を申請しない限り日本人のままです。つまりはアメリカに長期間滞在できる日本人で、制限なしで仕事も出来れば学校にも通える・・・ってコトです。選挙権はありませんが、特に必要もないので、一生アメリカ人になることはないと思います。日本人であることに誇りを持ってるし・・・。
アメリカの永住権を取るのは、必要書類が不備なく揃っていれば、スムーズに進んだけど（準備期間を入れずに２ヶ月くらい）、それでも審査が厳しかった～、と思う。 ♪└∵┐♪└∵┘♪┌∵┘♪
This is Janie. That's not her real name, it's an English name similar but easier to pronounce than her Chinese name. She is from Taiwan. Janie looks about 15 or 16 but is actually 22! Her and a few friends came to Japan 6 days ago for a holiday. They were supposed to have left on a plane the day before, but missed it because of confusion with trains going to the airport. They were though lucky enough to find another flight the next day without any extra charge. Unfortunately this meant a night in the airport for Janie and her friends. They slept on waiting seats and lived off convenience store food. It certainly isn't the end of the world, but I'm sure they would have preferred a home cooked meal and a good nights rest in their own bed. Janie made the best of it though. I met her when she solicited me outside the Lawson Convenience Store as I was walking to my baggage. "Excuse me sir, can I have the little stickers from all of your things?" she begged! In Japan there are many many shops which offer small tacky gift rewards in turn for "points". These points are sometimes in the form of seals, but may also be punched cards or other gimmicks. I had no intention of using the little round stickers on my products for anything. To tell the truth, I wasn't even aware that there were any stickers! "Okay!" I said. Janie pulled seals from my drink and eclair while I battled to remove the one on my chicken lunch. I was very hungry at this point and found this situation to be just a little bit of an obstacle. However I obliged and Janie was beaming over her score. I went and sat down next to a bank. While I ate, Janie continued pleading for seals from every costumer to exit the store. After a while I saw her come running over to her friend waving a paper covered in these multicolored stickers. Then she strutted into Lawson and quickly returned proudly holding a Miffy Bunny Bag. I gobbled down the chicken and rice and about halfway through the chocolate eclair, Janie came hopping over and bounced into the seat next to me. Her energy was contagious. She spoke hardly any Japanese, but pretty good English. We chatted away about her trip, my trip, and all sorts of other small talk topics. Then my mother in law showed up and I introduced Janie. Atsuko was to arrive from Tokyo anytime now, so my mother in law, Janie, and I made our way over to the arrival gate. Janie was eager to meet "my wife", ATSUKO! Momentarily Atsuko came walking through the gate at which time I introduced Janie to her. Finally we said goodbye to the friendly little Taiwanese girl and headed for the parking lot. I was happy to have met Janie. Good luck Janie! May your dream of being a tour guide come true! You'll be a great tour guide for sure.
Just outside the main doors to the airport, I preceded to disassemble Mr. Green and organise all my gear for flying. This whole ordeal took about an hour and afterwards I made my way inside the terminal where I was directed to several areas before finally finding the proper counter. All of the airline personnel were extremely friendly and accommodating. Once I had my boarding pass I rushed to the gift shops to pick up some last minute souvenirs which can only be found in the airport. By the time I had gotten what I was looking for, there wasn't really anymore time to spare. I dashed over to the security check where my bags were thoroughly ransacked and every item turned topsy turby. I had forgotten to remove a lighter and camp stove gas canister from my carry on items. This made things drag on quite a bit as you might imagine. Finally the "interrogation" was through and I sprinted over to Gate 8 and found my seat aboard the large and spacious jet. Before boarding I had hoped to get a bite to eat, but those plans fell through. So I packed away my exploding back packs and gift bags in the overhead bin and with a great sigh melted onto seat 15D where I slept for the duration of the flight. Upon arriving at Kansai Airport I accumulated my baggage and Mr. Green, and followed my nose to a Lawson Convenience Store. There I a bought fried chicken and rice lunch, Calpis Water Drink (a sweet, white, chalky beverage preferred by kids), and a chocolate eclair.
After we had finished breakfast, Hideo san drove me in his van towards the Airport so that I'd know the easiest way to get there without getting lost. He said he would have dropped me and my bicycle off there himself if not for a previous work engagement he had at 9:00. What a guy!
At about 8:30am Hideo and Junko Shioi saw me off as I made my way to the nearby Chitose Airport on Mr. Green.
Thank you so very much for everything Hideo san & Junko san. You made my last night in Hokkaido one I'll surely never forget!
Last night after filling my belly with delicious food and drink, and heart with warmth, I made my way upstairs to a guest room in the Shioi's home. There I slept on a cloud soft futon. After the last 3 weeks of camping on hard ground, the futon was extraordinarily comfortable. I laid down on it and fell unconscious presumably within seconds! I awoke the next morning at 6:00.
With a rotor tool, Hideo san has inscribed "Happy Road" on this beautiful frame he made. The picture is of Junko san and Hideo san last spring on their cycle tour in Shiretoko. They are a cute couple indeed!
Hideo is about 54 if I recall correctly. He used to fuel fighter jets at a military airstrip close by. Now he is retired and does what he enjoys most of all in life - making wood crafts in his incredibly immaculate garage! The man's garage looks like a sporting goods shop, only much more elaborate and welcoming. Hideo san takes great pride in his garage. And I am proud to say that I was the first guest to step foot in his newly finished hobby room! Shioi Hideo san has even copyrighted his wood crafts under the name "Moku" which means wood in Japanese. Inside their home as well, Hideo and his lovely wife Junko enjoy the warmth of Hideo's wooden crafts. He has made everything from book shelves to picture frames. He orders his wood from various parts of Japan via the Internet which he lives by! If there's a deal, Hideo will find it and won't let it get away. Inside his garage are numerous bicycles and his big black 250cc motor scooter which he road 6000 kilometers on to Kyushu and back again to Hokkaido. When I met Hideo in Yakushima over 3 months ago, it was on that bike he'd come. Bicycles and motorcycles are a passion of hideo san, but it's a family affair as well. Him and his wife Junko also go on cycling jaunts together. Last spring they cycled in Shiretoko during Hanami (Cherry Blossom Season). Their 29 year old son Teppei lives in Tokyo and makes his living as a bicycle messenger. They couple also have a daughter named Satoko who lives nearby.
In the picture above, Mr. green is taking 5 in Hideo's garage. Mr. Green fits right in!
At about 5:00pm a big white van showed up in the Salmon Park parking lot and behind the wheel was Hideo san! It was great to see him. We loaded Mr. Green into his conveniently LARGE van and were off for his home.
Shimizu san is a teacher. During his Summer vacation each year, he comes up to Hokkaido to cycle tour. Every time he comes for one week and cycles around a new place in Hokkaido. He came here, and will return by ferry. From Hokkaido, Otaru is the port of embarkation and Maizuru will be his destination.
Nice meeting you Shimizu san!
スイスーイと通過出来ると期待してたのに、急遽預け荷物として乗せてもらって、今羽田空港の荷物受け取りで待機…。同じ間違いを二回もしてしまって悔しい (≧へ≦)
それにしても、今思い出したけど、最初に機内持ち込みが出来ないと知らせてくれた空港の係りの人の一言目が「見送りの人がいないなら、万能ツールを預けられる人がいないですよね。こちらで破棄させて頂いてもいいですよ」って！ きーーーーーっヾ(*｀Д´*)ﾉ"彡☆ 無茶苦茶や！
