Bottles of water to share

共有水ボトル

It was really a wonder for me. On our home way from Thamel , San and I  dropped by a cafe which was not for tourists but for local people.　That was a small cafe having four or five tables. There is a show case for white sweets near the entrance.
When I sat down, I found there were a bottle of water on each tables.

you can see a bottle on the table over there and two in front 

Happy Holi!

Holi カラーフェスティバル

Spring festival in Nepal

It is Holi today in Nepal. Holi is known as festival of colors to celebrate arriving Spring. It starts one week before the main day on the full moon. Full moon is "Purnima" in Nelali and this festival is called Fagu Purnima Festival too. Fagu is the eleventh month in Nepali calendar. Holi is official holiday and offices are closed. People get together with their family and friends, relatives to smear their faces with colored powder, sometimes painted from head to toe.
ネパールは今日Holiです。Holiは色のお祭りとして知られており、春の訪れをお祝いします。満月の日が祭日ですが、1週間前から始まります。満月はネパール語で「プルニマ」といい、このお祭りはFaguPurnimaとも呼ばれます。Faguとはネパール暦上の11月です。
Holiは祝日で、会社はお休み。みんな家族や友達、親戚などと集まって顔に色の粉を塗りつけますが、体中塗りたくられるときもあります。

Curry! Curry! Curry!

カレ!ーカレー！カレー！

"Curry" is just one category of dishes?

We Japanese sometimes joke about meals in India like, " their meals must be always curries". Actually we don't expect that they really eat always curries while saying it. Because if it so they must be tired with them.

But the answer is.... Yes they mostly have curries for their meals! Ah.. this is about Nepal, not India. But I believe they have similar customs.... And somehow you don't get tired with meals of curries even if breakfast and lunch, dinner are curries.

Because curries vary more in their kinds and tastes than you think.
When I visited my friend San's mother, she cooked curries for me.

the Seto Machhendranath and the Swayambhunath vs Japanese shrines

スワヤンブナートとセト マチェンドラナート

Eyes on four sides of Swayambhunath 

Speaking of Nepali temples, this eyes painted on the four sides of the spire of stupa may be famous.This is the Swayambhunath in Kathmandu and the eyes are Buddha's eyes.
We also have Buddhist temples and shrines here in Japan but it is not common for them to have eyes. And the eyes are actually like cartoons and even they have eyebrows too. They look funny a bit.... But these Buddha's eyes mean a lot. Question-marks between each pairs of eyes is the Nepali character for the number 1. They lead us to one way to reach enlightenment or became awakened.
Anyway this style is pretty different from our temples and shrines.

Spring in Japan

日本の春

Official announcement of Sakura's blooming

Spring is arriving in Japan.
Today the Weather Ministry made an official announcement that the cherry trees are in bloom in Fukuoka and Nagoya today. Actually I found on tree in full bloom last week in Tokyo. But they haven't announced it for Tokyo.

I found this Sakura in the night

That is why there are some kinds of Sakura trees and when to bloom depends on them. For instance, Kawazu-sakura blooms in the middle of February but the most bloom from the middle of March to the middle of April.