Happy Halloween???

Halloween is big here in Japan.  Shop windows and posters display the weirdest and scariest Halloween figures. It seems like the Japanese , especially the young ones, are definitely not easy to scare.  The more horrifying , the better.  Japan is known all over the world for its J-horror films.

When Halloween time is near, posters of events in our town are put up along the main streets.  There's usually a local "Trick or Treat" thing - no, the kids do not go house to house for that, but they go to certain shops in the area for those treats, usually in cute Halloween costumes.  The girls as fairies, witches or Disney characters while the boys go around the blocks as Draculas or zombies.  Halloween parties for kids and youngsters are also common here.

In our classes, I block off one week of special Culture Lesson for Halloween.  The students learn new words and phrases and we play games to master those vocabulary.  They answer worksheets, do word searches and puzzles.

My real aim for this lesson was to let the students know the evil foundations of Halloween.  So as a supplement to their Bible time in class, the chaplains and I made sure that each student understands that God is not happy with this tradition, He is not happy when His children are scared or when people do scary, evil tricks to one another.

For a fun snack time , this year we made Apple Lips.  I didn't want them to have something scary and evil-looking so I Googled for some new ideas.  I found this one on Martha Stewart's website called Apple Lips -  easy yet interesting activity for kids.

We had to get  slices of apples, peanut butter and mini marshmallows for this activity.  And needless to say, we had so much fun. This was one happy Halloween time :)

Kobe City

Today as I was browsing my old photo albums on my Facebook account, I chanced upon these photos of Kobe places that I took in 2005.

This is the famous Kobe Harborland wheel.  It's a colorful, giant wheel that one rides to get a good view of the harbor and the hills of Kobe.  Sadly, I see only a few people taking this ride. One day, I'll try this with friends.   This wheel is lit up at night and changes colors every few seconds or so.  Spectacular sight at night, I say.

Across from the Harborland wheel is another famous landmark - the Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel.  Does this look like a ship?  I've been to this place many times, no, not for a night's stay but to have lunch with a lady friend from church.  She often takes me here whenever we have time to sample its gorgeous buffet lunch spread. 

See the cross ? This looks like a church, right?  Sorry, it isn't.  It's a wedding chapel in Kobe Harborland.  It's practically empty when there are no wedding events.  Many Japanese like to have a taste of Christian weddings.  Not so much because they want their married lives blessed by the God of Christians but more because it's the "in" thing to do.  They get "a pastor" to officiate their weddings in English - just about any blonde-haired, blue-eyed dude will do (a lucrative  sideline for male foreigners here , I heard).

Now, this is the real deal.  A Protestant church in the middle of the city. Been here once to attend a concert.  This has a bellfry , brick tiles and wooden pews inside. 

Kobe Port Tower.  You need to take a photo of it to show that you've been to Kobe.  Went up to its top with a lady student of mine many years back. We went up by elevator.  It has a revolving restaurant where diners will have a good view of the city while enjoying their food.  It also has a mini display of mounted photos of all towers in Japan.  (The Japanese have this thing about towers and tall buildings.)  

Next to the Tower is a skyscraper with offices, hotels and residences.  That's a small, prettily-decked  bay cruise boat for tourists that you see in the foreground. 

Here's  the Kobe Port Tower at dusk.

Before the Leaves Fall

Autumn is a favorite season of mine, next to spring.   Just like the sakura (cherry blossoms), the changing of colors of the leaves on some trees here depends on the weather.  So people always check the Autumn Leaves forecast of the Year if they want to go to some famous places just to see the awesome hues.

A couple of years ago, friends and I went to Rokko Mountain here in Kobe for the autumn leaves.  We went by car through the winding road up the mountain.  The view was breathtaking.

Doesn't this look like a painting?  Who would have thought that in the midst of those trees there one can find a scene as awesome as this one?

                                  Here's another angle of the same spot.  Isn't that gorgeous?

                                                    This reminds me of a Monet painting.

Isn't it truly nice of our God, the Creator of this beautiful world , to paint awesome hues to nature before He lets the leaves fall so the trees can  rest during the winter?