Konbonwa ‘Er’body!

I’ve been meaning to draw this comic for a while.

When I first arrived to Tottori, I noticed something…

http://www.natureoz.net/zukax301.htm

This is Joro-Gumo, scientific name Nephila Clavata. This is considered the queen of Japanese spiders, because it is found EEEEEEEeeeeeverywhere in the fall, from Hokkaido all the way to Okinawa. Even when I visited Tokyo, this spider was found in city far away from parks or nature of any kind.

With the onset of Winter, most of these spiders will die off, leaving their eggs to hatch late next summer.

Oh Joy!

Until next time, STAY AWESOME!

-R

Konnichiwa Ya’ll,

The temperature here is dropping, so we’re not going out as much, but we’re still having a pretty good time.

Here’s a Sunday Summary of some of the little every day things we do.

Book on Japanese Culture I’m Reading:

Bushido

by Inazo Nitobe

In the late 19^th and Early 20^th Century, Japan was undergoing a huge cultural shift. Inazo Nitobe sought enshrine and explain the Samurai Martial Culture in this book.

Food I’m digging:

Donburi

My favorite japanese dish being KatsuDon, Donburi is a dish that puts an egg, onion, and broth mixture over rice, usually with a meat. I occasionally make a variation of it for breakfast.

Book I’m Using to Learn Japanese:

Read Japanese Today

by Len Walsh

Many Japanese learning channels will preach the “gospel” of Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji, which is a fine reference book, but is a terrible starting point for kanji beginners as the book has NO pronunciation, and is altogether as exciting as reading a dictionary.

I instead recommend Read Japanese Today which not only gives you the On’Yomi and Kun’Yomi pronuncations, but also the etymology (Word History) of 400 basic kanji and radicals.

Until next time, Stay Awesome!

-R