And so this is Christmas 2015 ....

my pop-up Christmas cards collection

@St. Morgan Church in Kobe (this is actually a wedding chapel)

Christmas cake for the Tue 5pm class brought by Fujimori-san (class chaplain)

the Kobe Fire Dept band performing at Sannomiya Center Gai

Mr. Hippo says, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..."

Romeo, the Lion says, " Juliet, oh Juliet, where art thou, my Juliet?"

the chorus of Ring Those Bells (song for Christmas that I taught in all elem classes)

plastic poinsettias adorned the walls, ref door and cabinet tops

@Sannomiya Center Gai

Turned Double Five

the birthday cake slice at Hiroko's bday dinner for me

Turned 55 this year, Dec 10th.  Thankful and grateful for God's grace, love, mercy, faithfulness, etc and etc..on my life.  Last birthday celebration in Japan.

lovely bday gifts from Hiroko's mom

Hiroko and her mom @their place in Sumiyoshi Route 2

sweets with bday notes from Saki-chan

bought yakisoba for my traditional bday pancit

had this dessert @Comfy Cafe the Sunday before my bday

Revisiting Kobe Oji Zoo - part 3

the sea lions

giraffe's den

see how tall it is compared to a man's height

he got closer so I could take a nice photo of him

quite a large area for this baby to walk around in

put his face out to say hello to two admirers outside of his den

look closely at their stripes...each one has a different design on his skin

the side view of their stripes

now they're three 

a closer look at the face and the eyes

Revisiting Kobe Oji Zoo part 2 - Dumbo's Den

male Indian elephant

He wanted to get a quick shower so he touched the water sensor on this pole with his trunk.

the shower ...yay!!!

He knows it's near feeding time and he's looking around for his caretaker to toss him his dinner.

Still no caretaker in sight so he paces around.  Poor baby, he must be really hungry!

He raised his trunk when he saw his caretaker coming near!  Food, glorious food!!!

His caretaker tossed him one huge slice of bread.  He caught it with his trunk and gobbled the entire thing in his mouth.  Now he's asking for one more....

Just had dinner, folks!  That was yummy...now back to my pacing....

He saw his caretaker.  Now, he's asking for water to drink.  The caretaker turns the big knob around the corner of the den and water gushes up where this baby is.  He drinks it using his trunk. Happy Dumbo !!!

Revisiting Kobe Oji Zoo Part 1

First time to visit this zoo :  December 2000 with Yukiko and Aiko

Second time to visit:  November 30, 2015 with Toriyama-san

Entrance fee: Y600 for adults, free for senior citizens

How to get there:  take the Hankyu train that goes to Umeda from Sannomiya, get off at Oji-koen Station, Y150

We saw these noisy flamingos on our way to see the panda.

the sign that says,"PANDA"

and here is cutie Panda-chan walking about her den that is enclosed with high-voltage wires

here she is going to that small door that leads to her feeding area...it's nearly 3pm and she's getting hungry

"I'm hungry"

3pm at last....feeding time!  

eating something that looks like gross yet probably has lots of vitamins and minerals for this baby

then on to the bamboo feast...while sitting on her tire.  

It's amazing to see this cutie break those bamboo branches in one bite.  Leaves must be a delight!  

Must-stop-by place for all Panda fans!

Halloween in Japan

The tradition of putting up Halloween decorations for shop displays or street corners may come from foreigners living in Japan.  Most decors are the mild types not the really scary, gory and ugly kind.

It's also pumpkin season so plenty of the Halloween decors are jack-o-lanterns or decorated carved pumpkins.

Trick or Treating

Some areas, schools or companies celebrate this event with the usual costume parties, neighborhood trick-or-treating and games.  This KitKat here is for those who go trick-or-treating.  Pumpkin flavor for the kids this time of the year from KitKat.

Shop Displays

Fuji-ya's Peko-chan in Halloween costume greets the customers during this season. More cute than scary, I think so.