Have you been regretted something you did so badly and wish if the time could return to fix your regrets?
Long time ago I’ve watched j-drama called “Proposal Daisakusen” that series was amazing!

Iwase Ken and Yoshida Rei have been friends since elementary school. Ken, is obstinate and unskilled in love, but he fell long ago for the lively and cheerful, Rei. But Rei is about to get married to another man. While Ken and other friends from high-school attend the wedding ceremony, a fairy appears and sends Ken back in time, giving him a second chance to win the girl he loves. *

anyhow,it isn’t the series what I’m talking about ,I’m talking about life regrets ,that boy has another chance to fix his regret, but do we? I mean everyone has regrets or mistakes or wrong decisions and wish if there is a time-machine to go back and fix them.
I’ve regrets,of course, and I want to fix them… for example in high school when I remember that days- some of that days- I feel so sad like when I had to transform to another school I stupidly refuse and let others effect my transformation’s decision I wish I could go back in time to fix them, and I miss teenage I want to live them more I wanna live high school days till the end AGAIN.
But lets face it ..we,human being, do mistakes so we should learn from our mistakes or our “regrets” to not do it again,right? And That is fated we can’t change it, so let’s not be sad over something has happened and let’s live our present and think of bright future

hopefully all of you ppl live your life without any regrets

catch ya soon!

*

by Nao

naka, chū, jū

The inside of something is “something no naka.” For example, the inside of a box is hako no naka. Hako is a box. No is joshi (a particle). We use the particle, no, to combine two nouns. The latter belongs to the former.

The center is chūshin or chūō. Both shin and ō mean the center. Be careful not to write chūshin in the wrong order, shinjū, which means to commit suicide together.

Chūshi is cancellation. Shi means to quit. Chūdoku is addiction. Doku means poison.

Nicchū is the daytime. Including the same characters, both chūnichi and nicchū mean China and Japan. China is Chūka Jinmin Kyōwakoku. We call it Chūgoku for short. Goku means a country.

Draw the rectangle first.

1. Draw the vertical stroke on the left.
2. Draw the upper horizontal line and the right side of the rectangle. The horizontal part is narrower than the vertical part. When you change the direction of the brush, stop shortly and put down some more part of the brush to make the line bolder.
3. Draw the lower side of the rectangle.
4. Draw the vertical line in the middle.

Stuff that you may lost…

みんなさん、こんばんは!
Hello everybody!
Hola a todos!

Estas fueron unas de las primeras lecciones que tuve, decirle a alguien que se le ha caído su pasaporte, pero el pasaporte no es lo único que se te puede caer, cierto? he aquí una lista.

パスポート（ぱすぽーと）pasupooto, passport, pasaporte.

帽子（ぼうし）boushi, cap,hat, sombrero, gorra.

財布（さいふ）raifu, wallet, billetera.

ノート（のーと）nooto, notebook, libreta.

ボールペン（ぼーるぺん）booru pen, ball-point pen, bolígrafo.

携帯電話（けいたい　でんわ）keitai denwa, cellular, teléfono celular.

カメラ（かめら）kamera, camera, cámara.

時計（とけい）tokei, watch, reloj.

本（ほん）hon, book, libro.

Cuando dije nooto = notebook pensé en una “laptop” porque en Chile, les decimos “notebook” a este tipo de computadores. No sé si ラップトップ” (rappu toppu) está correcto?

When I say nooto = notebook I thought in a “laptop” because in Chile, we say “notebook” to this kind of computers, I don’t know if “ラップトップ” (rappu toppu) is it correct?

Acer Japan has announced a new multi-touch all-in-one PC for the Japanese market in the form of the Gateway One ZX 4800-41. The system boasts a 20-inch 1600 x 900 (HD) multi-touch display, an Intel Celeron T3000 processor, a Mobile Intel GL- 40 Express chipset, a 4GB (2 x 2GB) 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM, a 750GB SATA (7200rpm) HDD, 3rd. generation Dolby Home Theater audio and supports for Windows 7 Home Premium OS. The Gateway One ZX 4800-41 will go on sale in Japan starting on November 27th for around 100,000 Yen (about $1,125).

found @ www.techfresh.net

Hola, esta palabras las debo usar cada vez que tengo clases de japonés. Iré colocando en japones > romanji > español. La idea es que en mis convesaciones diarias, el idioma japonés este más presente, en vez decir “I’m sorry I don’t understand it”, acostumbrarme a decirlo en japonés.

元気でしたか？
Konsyu nani wo shimashita ka?
¿Qué hiciste esta semana?

しつもん　は　ありますか？
shitsuton wa arimasu ka?
¿Tienes alguna pregunta?

わかりません
wakarimasen
No entiendo

もういちど　いって　ください
mouichido itte kudasai
Una vez más porfavor

わかりました
wakarimashita
Entiendo

かいて　ください
kaite kudasai
Escribe aquí por favor
** Generalmente ocupo skype, así que se refiere a que si puede escribir lo que no entiendo en el cuadro de conversación.

きいて　ください。
kitte kudasai.
Escucha porfavor.

あとに　ついて　はなして　ください
atoni tsuite hanashite kudasai
Repite después de mi.

はい
hai
Si

いいえ
iie
No

はい、そうします。
hai, soo shimasu
Si, así lo haré.

Ayer mientras preparaba algunas cosas del blog, llegue a una nueva versión del traductor de google, me tradujo las palabras al japonés como de costumbre pero también me mostró el romanji y la pronunciación.

Definitivamente aprender un idioma, a estas alturas solamente depende de uno.

If you liked Koji Suzuki’s freakishly scary Ring/Spiral/Loop trilogy, you’ll definitely appreciate this fairly recent (I just discovered it at our local library!) horror series. Uzumaki means whirlpool, swirl, vortex … and that bottomless maelstrom visually represented by spiral shapes here is at the root of unspeakable horror (not to mention gruesome deaths) in the small Japanese coastal town of Kurôzu-cho.

The town’s name is definitely a warning … I haven’t seen the kanji for the name, but I’m guessing it’s derived from kuroi, which means black or dark, but could also be a Japanization of the word ‘closed,’ which gets phonetically translated as kurôzu in katakana, the Japanese phonetic alphabet used specifically for foreign words. The addition of  ’-cho’ merely means town. In contrast, the next town over is Midoriyama-shi, or ‘green mountain village.’  Now we know exactly where all the evil lurks, right?

Teenager Kirie Goshima suspects something isn’t right, especially after witnessing the strange behavior of her boyfriend Shuichi Saito’s father who becomes suddenly obsessed with spiral shapes of all kinds. Shuichi, who gets out of Kurôzu-cho every day to go to school in green mountain Midoriyama-shi, is distraught enough to suggest to Kirie that running away might be their only option for survival. But Kirie won’t leave her family, even when Shuichi’s father dies violently and his mother is on the verge of her own desperate demise. No one is safe in their dark, closed town … from lovers to classmates to any unsuspecting bystander.

Oooh, and a day after reading the book I went to our son’s doctor’s office … and what did I see on the wall but an anatomical chart of the inner ear – the cochlea is a spiral! –  a duplicate of such a chart in the psychiatric ward of Kurôzu Hospital where Shuichi’s mother ends up! I have to admit, I definitely had a visceral moment of EEEEK!!

Readers: Young Adult, Adult

Published: 2001 (United States), 2007 (VIZ Signature Edition)
Uzumaki 1 © Junji Ito
Original Japanese edition published by Shogakukan Inc.

I have been studying Japanese for sometime, yet if you are to ask me if I’m proficient in the language, my answer is no. The funniest thing is, I can type Japanese faster than my mother tongue, Chinese. The reason why I brought up this interesting point is because, today I was speaking to a friend and he was asking for my opinion about this. I’m not trying to say that I’m proficient in Japanese, I mean, I don’t even think I’m proficient in English or Chinese.  Everyone has his or her definition of being effectively, yet if you ask me, I would say my definition of proficiency is being able to think in that language, that is, when speaking English, think in an English way, when speaking Chinese, and when speaking in Japanese, think like a Japanese. Yet, the interesting thing to know is that we are brought up differently, so how does one define, what is English, Chinese or Japanese, or even other languages? Regardless, learning a language involves a great deal of learning, not only the linguistic aspect, there’s also the cultural aspect, the historical aspect, the communication aspect, and so much, so much more. It is indeed a long journey filled with many interesting experiences.

Our great and humble president Barack Obama bowing before all of the world’s leaders. First it was the king of Saudi Arabia, now the emperor of Japan. Woohoo!

Alternate Christmas music series.

Here’s another of my favorite pieces associated with Christmas. It has a simple melody that tends to get into your head as it did mine when I heard it featured in the movie “Empire of the Sun“. My favorite version is from a Christmas album by the Irish Tenors. I don’t have the english words from that album which really carry the message I’m focusing on: The Cosmic event of this present age. (I’ll try to find the words- meanwhile enjoy the beautiful Welsh version by Katherine Jenkins)

Empire of The Sun version (Japanese-Umi Yukaba)

Kirin Beer is 120 years old.

To commemorate, they are selling beer in retro cans in all of their past designs.
The blue can from the 「明治時代」 (Meiji Period), white can from the 「大正時代」 (Taisho Period), gold can from the 「昭和時代」 (Showa Period), and the current silver can from the current 「平成時代」 (Heisei Period).

Of course, I have bought many of the current silver cans. I don’t save those once they’re empty…but I like to save special edition unique beer cans.

I already have the gold 「昭和時代」 (Showa Period) special Kirin Beer can.

I want the other two.

Re-issue special edition "Meiji Period" Kirin Beer can

Re-issue special edition "Taisho Period" Kirin Beer can

How about you? Do you save special-edition or unusual beer cans?

何かの理由や訳を話すとき使う「～から」と「～だから」の使い方

「～だから」は
●「な」形容詞
●名詞
の後に使います

「～から」はその他（動詞、「な」形容詞を除く形容詞、Ｅｔｃ）。

⇒例

（「な」形容詞）
きれいだから好き
きれいだからすき

（名詞）
ごみだからいらない

（「な」形容詞以外の形容詞）
太いから入らない
ふといからはいらない

（動詞）
買うからお金を使う
かうからおかねをつかう

uso do “~kara” e “~dakara” para explicar motivos (equivalente ao “porque” ou “por causa que” do português)

exemplos:

(“NA” keiyoushi)
Kirei dakara suki
“gosto porque é bonito”

(substantivos)
Gomi dakara iranai
“Não quero porque é lixo”

(adjetivos)
Futoi kara hairanai
“Não entra porque é grosso”

(verbos)
Kau kara okane wo tsukau
“uso dinheiro porque compro”

A new ramen shop opened across moi’s office building, ah oi and moi went to try it out during lunch.

Eh~ but when we saw the menu, the words 百舌 was written on it instead of Kitakata…why??

This 百舌 used to be located at Market street too, before they relocated all of the shops to make way for Koufu food court.

Maybe it is only the ramen that’s from Kitakata ba…

Ah oi’s oyako don

Moi’s chicken cutlet curry rice – yum yum

Well, it surely is a hot candidate… !

By the way… I might be working on a different version of this PV soon. If some of the band members coincidentally read this (who knows, everything is possible) I would be glad to get a “go” on this… it is just for this blog, a pure fan project (and at the same time promotion for you guys).

It is just the fact that I rather dislike most of the metal-videos (who are rare anyways) out there… well, this PV is one of the better ones – but only regarding the topic. Which is, what a surprise… the band performing. It has a special look, no doubt… and the moves are just SICK (by this I mean great). I totally adore this song, ans especially the instrumental part from #3.06… Boom ! Just look at the guitarrist and the other guy “flying” in with the keyboard… !!!

But there has been one thing I always wished for… for a band to 1. produce a great, great PowerMetal song and 2. to produce a video, and 3. to produce a really fantastic video. Unfortunately, most of the better and a little “epic” metal music videos are rather coming from well known bands who are not really playing a pure PowerMetal, but rather female-voice metal with orchestral stuff (like Nightwish) – or are just a little too brutal in terms of the music (you know, the harsh stuff).

So let us see… for now: great band, great song, great abilities and moves… would love to see them live (or at least get the album somewhere)… ! /m\

Katie and I were running errands when I got a fun text message from my friend Dave. “On Convoy. What asian food place should I go to for a quick-lunch?” Little did I know that he was with Mana and they were at the end of a long day of test driving cars. Since Katie and I were already out, I suggested meeting them at Tajima in Kearny Mesa for some noodles.

Tajima is my favorite place to go when the craving for Japanese noodles of any variety hits. Everything there is amazing, besides the baby squid served in its own ink.

I ordered something off the menu that I never have paid much attention to. The omelette yakisoba, stir fried egg noodle with pork and vegetables served with the best miso soup in San Diego and salad.

I had no intentions of finishing this by myself. Leave it to my stomach to finish this entire meal and move on the Katie’s Half bowl of ramen with pork belly that she could not finish.

If you are ever in the Kearny Mesa area and have a hankering for some noodles, look no further than Tajima on Convoy. They always have what you are looking for.

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema. It is a yearly festival that has been going on for nine years. I have been going to university in Waterloo since last year, but I had never heard of this event.

Fortunately, this year I received an e-mail from my campus’s gaming oriented club informing me about this festival. And once I learned from their website that they would have a showing of the North American premiere for Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0, I knew I had to go.

Initially, I expected that most of the films that were to be shown would be Japanese. I was surprised when I found out that only 3 out of the 14 were Japanese anime films. They had films from many diverse countries countries including Ireland, Hungary, Australia, Sweden, Belgium and Serbia.

The theme of this year’s festival was Russian animation. Specifically, the focus of the event was on a select number of some of the oldest films in Russian animation which had their start in the Soviet Union. I even got to see the Soviet Union’s first animated feature film, The Lost Letter, which was made in 1945.

I also have to give a big kudos to the team who put this event together. They did an amazing job with the programme booklets, ticket system, and the overall aesthetic quality and organization of the festival. The staff was also very friendly and made me feel right at home. I had a great time and definitely plan on going next year.

ushijima again~ ohohohoh

Japan isn’t a big country really, at least if you compare it with other destinations as China, India, USA or even my home country, Argentina. Despite that I think Japan has the most extensive transportation system I have ever seen, including trains, subways, metro, tram, busses, monorail, cable cars… and they are all linked to each other, even sometimes they merge so the railway becomes a subway. It’s hard to make a generalization about how to use the system in all the country so I will focus on the place that I know and traveled more: Kansai

Kansai is the name of the region I live in and basically compresses the cities of Osaka, Nara, Kyoto and Kobe, and everything in between. What are there boundaries is hard sometimes to describe. Normally the limits for the cities are in the hills or mountains. For Example, The Nara Prefecture and the Osaka prefecture are divided by the Ikoma mountain range, but you could hardly notice that.

The JR (Japan Railways corp.) operates the Government transportation system, including the High speed Shinkansen (bullet trains), Highway busses (meaning Inter-city) and some subway lines, but normally subway lines are operated by the city or prefectural governments. The thing is that in Japan there are also several Private Railway Lines, often huge corporations that own Trains, Subways, busses, Hotels, Shopping malls, and even clubs. This Companies normally link their services to the Government JR and between them as well, which bring for the visitor a complete chaos when trying to ride outside the JR lines.

Back in Kansai there are 5 private railway  lines: Hankyu, Hanshin, Kintetsu, Keihan, Nankai and the public JR. This lines combine between them, the JR and the subway in an integrated transportation system, conforming a huge commuter network. This lines sometimes serve the same destinations. You can get from Osaka To Kyoto by Kintetsu, JR (Shinkansen and normal train), Hankyu, Nankai… and they all have different terminals. Sometimes the terminals are connected like in the case of the JR terminal in Kyoto that is connected to the Kintetsu one in a massive building that’s both a Train Terminal, a shopping mall, a Hotel and a transportation hub, linking with local and intercity busses, subway lines and between train companies.

Lets see some important points on Japan transport:

Fares
Fares are measured by distance, and each company has its own fare chart, resulting in cheaper and expensive lines. Basic fare for up to 3 stations is 150 Yens, and fares between 2 cities between 900 and 1700 Yens. Conveniently for foreigners there is a  machine called “fare adjustment machine” located right before the exit in which you insert your ticket and the machine calculates the fare from the station you boarded until the station you are adjusting for exit. So what I do is just get the cheapest ticket and worry only how to get to my destination, and I will pay the full fare before exit.

Transfer
Transfer between lines and subways is available at connection points. Some times transfer stations have gates with ticket machines inside the platform, so you have to purchase another ticket or adjust the fare like mentioned previously. You can also purchase a transfer ticket at your boarding point, so It’s possible to be in a JR terminal a connecting ticket for Kintetsu. All machines have English explanation but not always is understandable.

Types of train
Trains in Japan have many different names depending on the stations in which they stop. A local train stops on every station along the way, then there are express, semi express, sub-semi express, and rapid trains. This appliesfor the Shinkansen also . The system is created for bringing far away commuters back and forth from the main city, so all the express trains will skip the stations in the middle of the trains trajectory, making stops inside the city (in the main terminals) and at the end of the way. Many private companies also offers Rapid Express or super express Direct rains that costs more money, they are direct because there is no need to transfer trains to get to the final destination. Sometimes they are convenient sometimes they are not, since the transfer is very well calculated and you need only to get down from one train and wait one minute until the next one arrives, other times one trains waits for the other so passengers can transfer.

Schedule:
Trains run from 5 AM to around midnight (last departure) and are extremely well organized and punctual, so if you check you clock and the itinerary and you think the train is late, adjust your clock. The trains and transfers are linked, so the last train in one side doesn’t leave until the last train arrives to that station. This last train system in quite inconvenient and if you miss the train you will be left on the street, but you cna check other posts on this blog or in www.worldnomad.com.ar for info on what to do if you miss the last train.

Passes
All companies provide different passes for discounted travel. As a tourist the most famous is the JR pass, covering all public transportation, including long distance Shinkansen train and inner city trains as well. This JR pass excludes subways and privately operated lines.
But the private companies also offer passes, normally:
Day Passes: For a day for 3 days and also for week. For commuters there are monthly passes calculated on amount of trips not by day (you don’t get a 30 day pass, you get 40 trips to go to your job on weekdays)
Destination passes: To go to a certain location and back in the day, this kind of ticket may include busses, cable cars, subway and all necessary things to spend a day in certain place. Popular for mountains, important temples and Onsen
Seasons: Season passes are available throughout the year, sometimes for vacations, or Sakura sightseeing, etc
Student Discount: Reduced price tickets for students

Orientation
Its really hard not to get lost in train stations, specially those big hubs where 2 or 3 train lines and subway connect, such as Namba and Umeda in Osaka or the JR terminal in Kyoto, but to avoid that you have to look at the details: the signs are different in the JR and the Kintetsu terminals and the floor is a different color. Also the gates are slightly different. To add trouble JR is the only one that have announces and trains signs entirely in English for the whole length of its journey.I used to live in the Nara Kintetsu line and there where no announces in English at all, and at some times stations names and maps are not in English as well.

Basically and to finish this post I I would recommend to travelers to get a JP pass to avoid this mess and move only in JR lines. But for the person staying a longer time in Japan this is impossible. As a foreigner with basic Japanese abilities is really hard to get on the information you need,   I received a lot of help from my Japanese friends, and to be honest there is no other way around it. Information in English is scarce and the websites of the private lines sometimes they include only basic information such as schedule and company data. You friends, acquaintances, co workers or classmates might  help you out if you need to travel. 

November 26 —

At the Worldwide Symposium on Survival held in Tokyo, Carol Macleay spoke throughout the week on survival techniques, psychological counseling and post-traumatic stress disorder. “The syndrome is an entirely normal reaction to overanxiety,” she said to the delegates. Coming fresh from a rescue mission in Oshima, she knew the importance of helping survivors to recover quickly.

“People should talk about their experiences,” Carol emphasized. “They shouldn’t feel unworthy or guilty. There’s no magic cure, but there are various ways in which those afflicted can be helped through their trauma and therefore recover more quickly and completely—just talking through their experiences allows them to release their feelings and emotions.”

The long session and the need to repeat her theme exhausted Carol. Even her Zen mediation with classical music did little to settle her frazzled nerves.

Toward the end of the symposium, Eileen asked Carol where she headed next.

“Okinawa,” Carol said, “The place is gorgeous—lush green islands and sugarcane plantations. I’m taking a vacation there to meditate. Would you like to come?”

“I’d be glad to go there to investigate,” Eileen said.

Although Carol had to calm down and collect herself, she knew there was an added curiosity. “There’s a total solar eclipse in two days’ time, and the folks believe it’s a bad omen. This coincides with a lunar perigee. Some scientists speculate that the greater gravitational pull from the moon could trigger a major quake.”

Eileen frowned. “A bad omen?”

“Yes, a bit of a stretch,” Carol said. “At last both fanatics have something in common.”

SO EILEEN BOOKED her flight and flew with Carol to Naha for the opportunity of watching a solar eclipse at its most perilous time. She had finally completed her article, ‘The Doomed Archipelago,’ and faxed it to the Raging Planet’s office for publication. With a prospect of a bad omen, it would be another timely article of how speculators and fanatics reacted.

The Ryukyu chain had been a place of intrigue. Earlier in the year, seven Hornets had disappeared northeast of the islands. Since then, fishermen had reported numerous strange sights and sounds all along the Ryukyu that fueled alien abduction speculations over numerous tabloids.

Okinawa, the largest and most famous of the islands, was the hub of the Nansei-Shoto chain. Once they landed, Eileen could feel the tension among the rowdy crowds; people moved at a brisk pace.

Carol rented a Land Cruiser and sped out the airport. “We’re about to see an ancient kingdom,” she said once they hit the highway.

“I can see that.” Eileen’s face lit up as she gazed at the relics of ancient buildings. “Just feel that sub-tropical heat now. What a wonderful place to swim, even in winter.”

Carol drove toward the heart of Naha and pointed at the curved roofs. “Look!”

“Incredible statues.” Eileen stared at the carvings of gargoyles, demons, monsters and pained human faces. Some facades had fallen; others were peppered with bullet holes. “This place still looks like a war zone.”

On the highway toward the city, a crowd chanted as it careened from one side of the street to the other, blocking the traffic. Drums and gongs sounded in a steady, unflagging rhythm.

Unappreciated and frustrated by a thankless task of maintaining global security, the US Navy had only a week before packing off for good.

Still, the locals were grieving over the exoneration of three servicemen over the rape of a schoolboy. Caught and charged, but they were acquitted by the local court as the law defined only the weaker gender being susceptible of rape.

“Bye bye, Yankee,” they shouted. “We are glad to see the tails of you.”

More rioters came close to the Cruiser. “Yankees, go back to hell. You can spend your filthy dollars at home.”

Glaring and shouting, more demonstrators drew near, but Eileen remained composed. They slowed the traffic to a crawl. Coming in waves, the demonstrators continued with their slogans. “Judgment Day is on America,” one shouted. “But why are you still making your spy trip here?” The rumble tore louder through the air as the rioters edged closer, pushing and thumping on the Cruiser.

Eileen sighed when they finally left the crowd behind. “We’ve been championing stability, yet the locals are drunk with madness.”

“Mother Nature is bashing her head in anger,” Carol said as she parked in front of Hotel Sankyo. “And they’re shoving us off like some damn shits.”

After checking into a two-room suite on the first floor of the hotel, they headed to Kokusai-dori for dinner. The polite and courteous waitresses helped to ease the day’s tensions.

The following morning, after breakfast, they drove to the beach and joined scores of scientists and journalists gazing at the sky for the anticipated eclipse. The cloudless blue sky offered an ideal view. After a long moment of waiting, the atmosphere darkened, leaving an ominous glow. Eileen and Carol wore special glasses. Other cautious spectators used a pinhole in a piece of paper to peek at the shadow of the eclipse. At noon, the moon slid over the sun until darkness reigned.

“Look!” Carol said. “Now I understand why fanatics believe the end of the world is at hand.”

Eileen kept her eyes on the eclipse. “Like other popular sayings, there is always a kernel of truth.”

Seconds ticked by before a brilliant crescent peek out from behind the moon. A spectacle! Sprays of horrifying light shot out like a ring of fire. No wonder such events mystified ancient cultures. The image of a Greek God, in grisly detail, came to her mind. A series of oohs and aahs from the spectators broke the silence. Then, bit by bit, the sun emerged in a crescent before it returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Back in the hotel suite that night, Eileen frowned as a heavy rainstorm rumble outside. It reminded her of the eclipse earlier that was considered an ill-omened sign by ancient folks. Too exhausted to chat with Carol, she shuffled straight to bed, and fell asleep instantly.

A quarter moon hangs as Eileen sprouts wings and soars over the Daisetsuzan National Park, casting shadows over its hot springs and geysers. Eerie silence fills the night over the exotic landscape. A crackling fire draws her attention to the north. Looking for her husband, she flies closer.

A thundercloud laced with lightning booms below. Accompanied by columns of ash and smoke from underground, the muffled roars grow in intensity. Then gigantic flares burst in the sky. Like fiery meteors that dart and crisscross each other, the flares brighten the landscape, heading toward her.

She flaps her wings faster to rise, but the flares follow. She flies higher, yet the flares inch closer, their heat searing her skin. Shattering the air, more blasts of lava, debris and cloud spew in her direction. The danger continues, but she escapes the flying projectiles.

When the blasting missiles abate, she slows to catch her breath. She looks down—the flares precipitate into a sea of bubbles, waters from the hot springs burst forth, mingling with those from nearby rivers, converging to create a huge waterspout. The process continues, rushing in, rising up, forming a lake. It widens and lengthens, until the lake becomes a sea.

Suddenly, her wings catch fire from a missile. She flaps faster, but the fire spreads to her back. Like a pilot ejecting from a jet, she detaches herself from her wings in a frantic effort to escape. Her arms flail, but her dive accelerates. She crashes into the approaching missiles head-on before plunging into the boiling lake.

“Not for a thousand years! Not for a thousand years!”

Eileen awoke with a jolt, her heart pumping. “Oh—my leg!” she screamed. Sensing sunlight filtering through the curtains, she blinked to clear her vision. A piece of the ceiling, a wooden beam, had fallen and hit her leg. A searing sensation caused her to shove off the blanket. Blood! She pushed off the beam and looked up. Above her, the ceiling had cracked.

“What the hell’s happening?”

Her bed bounced up and down like a ball. With her chest convulsing, she rolled out of bed as the sound of falling metal filled her ears.

“Let’s get out,” she said while crawling to the living room.

“Let me help you.” Carol grabbed her.

“No, I can manage.” Eileen stood and limped to the door.

OVER HEAPS OF debris, Carol stepped into the lounge, offering her hands, and Eileen accepted. Shards of glass sprinkled the lounge.

“Grab the radio,” Eileen said. “And turn to the Voice of America.”

Carol searched for her portable radio; her heart tensed. “It’s the US military station.”

Rainwater spilled into the living room. Electricity had been cut off, but crackles of lightning flashed through the morning rain. A thunder roared amidst cries from other guests.

“We’re caught in this damn shit.” Carol rushed to her bedroom for her car keys. She returned with a few belongings. “It’s a war out there.”

“It’s 9.6 on the Richter scale.” Eileen repeated from the radio reports. The airport tarmac had broken in places. “You hear that? Water already flooded parts of the island. Where should we go?”

“To our jeep.” Carol offered her shoulder to Eileen as they limped down the flight of stairs from the first floor. “And we’ll go to the American base.”

Dodging fallen debris, Carol struggled with Eileen to the car park.

“My leg really hurts,” Eileen said.

Carol glanced at Eileen’s leg. “Put more of your weight on me, but let’s keep going.”

Once on the road, Carol floored the accelerator, pushing the Cruiser so fast that it flew over bumps and potholes, skipping through the wind and tropical downpour. Chunks of concrete had shattered on the sidewalk.

Carol maneuvered around stalled cars that resembled floating vessels. She drove through the flood, spraying water on both sides. Once they hit the freeway, she stomped on the accelerator again.

“Where are we?” Carol shouted over the rain that drummed on the roof.

“Keep going north,” Eileen yelled over the roar. “Toward Okinawa City.”

Carol peered through the rain, following the headlights. Through the blur of motion, she felt dizzy, swinging back and forth as though she were on top of a high-rise.

“We’re in deep shit,” Carol said.

The windshield wipers couldn’t keep off the downpour. Carol rolled the window down to see better but her view became worse. “Where do we go from here?”

“Just keep going. Soon we’ll reach the US base.”

After rolling the window back, Carol stared at sheets of water streaming down the sides of the windows. Rain continued to pour and a swift current rushed across the freeway ahead. She slammed the pedal so hard the jeep hydroplaned. The pounding of the rain overwhelmed all other senses; its drumming carried its own beat and rhythm.

Carol slowed the jeep, her vision blurred. “Why do earthquake always come with such terror?”

“Chaos theory might offer an answer,” Eileen said. “But right now, we’re passing through a bad storm.”

The rain dissipated and slowed to a drizzle. Ducks quacked ahead, swimming through the flood. Chickens fluttered on fence posts and rooftops. Dogs ran around trees and into bushes where squirrels hopped and jumped.

Trucks and cars lay scattered everywhere. People screaming and crying. Families assembled in groups, old and young huddled together, seeking rescue.

Carol stopped the Cruiser. “Let’s take a few with us.” She jumped out and waved.

A family ran toward them. Two small girls clung to their parents. Carol looked at their shivering faces. “Get into the jeep,” she shouted. After helping them inside, she slammed the door closed.

Creeping creatures and lizards stirred in the undergrowth. Among the debris, she could see other creepy-crawlies floating along—rats, spiders, scorpions.

Stepping on the accelerator, Carol continued on the freeway, which looked more like a series of islands than a road.

A dog leapt in front and banged before the Cruiser. She stopped the vehicle and jumped out. The dog lay crushed—dead. She examined the jeep: the bumper and grill were dented. But she had to go on.

Back on the road, Carol thought she heard a hissing noise, then felt a searing pain surging in her right leg. “Something has bitten me,” she screamed. “A snake!”

WITH A QUICK HAND, Eileen leaned over, caught the snake by its neck and threw it out the window amidst screams from the children in the backseat. A series of bite marks appeared on Carol’s right leg. Eileen took the first aid kit and wrapped a bandage over the leg. “Stay calm!” she said, noticing its peculiar markings. “A habu snake. It’s poisonous, I think.”

Carol couldn’t move.

“Let me take over,” Eileen said. “I can drive.”

After Eileen helped Carol into the passenger seat, she drove through more patches of crumpled road. Staring ahead, she groaned as the rain came down heavier. Her breath turned shallow while fighting the fear of the incoming water that surrounded them. Bushy treetops loomed ahead where a pineapple plantation once stood.

Eileen stepped on the accelerator; she could see something. An arrow with a sign indicated the US Navy Base. But the Cruiser stalled. She tried to restart the jeep. “What’s wrong?”

“Keep trying.”

Eileen shivered with cold and exhaustion. “Maybe water has choked the engine.”

Carol remained silent.

“Something’s wrong. The engine is dead.” Eileen swiveled to the back of the jeep and got the children out. “Let’s run.”

They struggled as fast as they could, following their parents. Carol limped behind, and Eileen offered her arm.

In another hundred yards, a guard in foul weather gear hailed them. “Follow me.”

Feeling more of Carol’s weight resting on her, Eileen knew that her companion was unable to carry on by herself. Then Carol finally collapsed.

“Help!” Eileen yelled.

The guard rushed to them. Within a minute, he and his colleagues loaded Carol on a stretcher. While two men carried her, Eileen ran back to assist the Okinawan family. But the guards quickly whisked them onto the USS Ronald Reagan.

Once on board, the hellish roar of aircrafts in action overrode every other noise. As the guards helped the family to safety, several more helicopters operated at frantic pace on the starboard side of the carrier.

Rescuers took the survivors straight to a medical station.

As Eileen rushed back to the deck, assisting survivors when they arrived, the carrier raised anchor. The crew, their uniforms already splattered with blood, attempted to restore order to a near panic-stricken stampede. They cleared a section of the deck to make space for helicopters to take off and land in their search and rescue missions.

Despite the storms, the seamen threw liferafts into the sea and they filled quickly. Helicopters dropped ropes, and pulled the survivors up like catches of fish onto the deck. Others used scramble nets, but the rescuers’ task became hopeless in the face of violent storms, and many of the stricken disappeared from view. It could have been her, swept away, if she had arrived a little later.

She strolled to see over the horizon, searching the shore for the jeep, but the land had disappeared. A destroyer, also rescuing survivors, passing from left to right across the carrier’s bow, caught her attention. Seagulls flew in circles and hovered like airplanes waiting to land. But a succession of explosions lit the atmosphere. Big spurs of land thrust into the sky, rising high and higher and down they crashed into the sea, disappearing with a bo-o-om, creating mountainous waves, tossing the USS Ronald Reagan up and down. The waves roared over the sea, and a display of pyrotechnics made the sky glow.

Unable to comb through all the debris, the Captain called off the search and USS Ronald Reagan began her lonely journey to Honolulu.

Eileen wrapped the blanket around herself and gazed out over the empty sea, wondering how her recent article about the doomed archipelago might possibly have warned of these dangers. Could Wulfstein have known this? His terrifying prediction of a magnitude ten loomed in her mind. Nothing seemed real. Okinawa was gone. And what fate was still to come?

The full MV for ‘Bandage’ by LANDS is out!!! I’m totally digging the song and MV. I’ll say it again for those that don’t know; LANDS is a made up band created for the movie Bandage, of which Akanishi Jin of KAT-TUN stars in.

Jin’s good at singing and all, but his lipsynching in MVs is LOL XD he needs to work on that

Japanese business has strong bond between companies.  Japanese business contract is not so specific. Japanese contract has much trust between company. Japanese care or trust people too much. This is what I like about Japan. It is called OMOIYARI or KIKUBARI. Think about others or for tohers. Why do Japanese think that way? It is Culture. 

For international business, this thought is kind of strange but it is real. It might be difficult to understand this. But there is one love between human. I mean everything is not just for yourself. It is also others. We live in one world.

taketa