Where have I been?

Hi! Long time no see!

Where have I been?

Last month I was in Langkawi, Malaysia!

There were monkeys...

and of course a beautiful beach...which I did not get to swim in...

but I did get to stay in a very nice hotel in the middle of a rain forest...

and I did get to enjoy a night on the town with colleagues...

where there was food from around the world...

and after Malaysia I came back to Japan and visited the zoo.

Something I have not done in a long time.

This guy reminds me of someone...

compare the facial expressions with the monkey at the top of this blog post...is it just me or does this dude look bored?

These two were kinda sweet...

The busiest time of the year for people in my industry has arrived... I was really worn out last week but am feeling much better now. Autumn in Japan is my favorite time of the year.

The scent of fragrant olive blossoms, the cool and light breeze, autumn leaves...

Dear Diary, my tiny shopping spree

It was rainy in the Kobe, Osaka area today.  It was also my day off.

Since I needed to get out of the house after being cooped up a lot, I went to Motomachi, Kobe.

The suppressed shopaholic in me went a bit bonkers at my favorite bookstore.  You can seen what I bought here.

The following picture is a stack of papers I bought at a Fair Trade store at the very end of the Motomachi mall.

Made in Bangladesh and very beautiful.  The textures are rather unique too.

Then I went to a lovely store that sold all things Japanese.  

Kimonoesque patterns for hair bands and clips.

I wish I could have taken pictures but the books were pretty heavy....lol

dear diary, today I went to the Herb Park...

It was a cloudy day off, but nice and warm for a walk in the hills...AND miraculously, my husband had a day off too!  I can't remember the last time that we had a day off together!

So, to "celebrate" we went to Kobe's herb garden.

This is the city of Kobe seen from the ropeway that goes up to the Nunobiki Herb Park (altitude 400m).  A 10 minute ride.

The Herb Park is up there...with hundreds of different types of flowers and herbs.

My blog "debut"... I'm standing in from of one of the greenhouses next to a "unique sculpture".

In the greenhouse...

In the park...

  

I thought this was interesting...a bit of Pennsylvania in Kobe...

The above "pavilion" was made in the USA..."just like you" my husband said.

So many flowers, so many pictures...I can't choose!

It wasn't overly crowded being a Monday... I did "spy" a group of people from the UK admiring the herb garden, couples having lunch on the grass and park benches and a silly man who kept asking his wife to take a picture of him adding "be sure to get the ropeway gondolas in the picture too!"   

We strolled around for about 2 hours.  The air was nice and clean compared to what we've been breathing down in the city.  But my husband kept looking for an ashtray.  He is a walking, talking chimney.  His "blog debut" will be coming soon.

Dear Diary, out an about in Kobe

It was raining, so not really the best day to take pictures...but this funny looking bus/boat drove by and I couldn't resist... almost didn't get it in time!

One of my favorite spots in Kobe is the entrance to the Motomachi arcade.  

And of course the place I always visit when I'm in Kobe is the foreign book store Random Walk Books.  They are in the Sannomiya arcade and if you look up, you will see this sign.  (The first floor is a shoe store.)  The web address is an old one...here is the new one: RWB

You have to go up these stairs to get to the second floor.  They are narrow and if you aren't on the look out you will easily pass the stairs by!

I remember, about a year ago, when I used to work at this book store, a customer came up and told us that "Darth Vader is standing on the stairs".  We never figured out exactly what he meant...

I bought two books while I was there, when I still have a hundred books I haven't read yet. "Territory" by Emma Bull and "No Plot? No Problem! a low-stress, high velocity guide to writing a novel" by Chris Baty.  I think I will turn this "30 day step-by-step-how to write a novel" guide into another blog project.  Let's see if I can hold on to two jobs, write a novel in 30 days AND blog about it!

Stay tuned!

Random Walk Books -English Book Store-

Today was a fine day to be out in Kobe! I had a wonderful breakfast with some friends. 

After that I went down to the English book store "Random Walk Books" in Motomachi. 

They were still busy moving books around and not all of the boxes are open yet but there was still plenty to choose from.

I bought "Wild Ducks Flying Backward" by Tom Robbins and the first two books in the Dresden File series by Jim Butcher. It may not be a smart thing to buy two books of a series without reading the first one...but I had a feeling I would like it so went with my instincts. 

Did not want to get off the train on the way home because I got so wrapped up in it!

The bookshop's website is not up yet but you can send inquiries to

randomwalkbooks@yahoo.co.jp

My "books I am reading now" list is getting way too long, even for me. I have one I read before I go to bed, two I read in the living room, two for train rides...BUT I think the Dresden File book one "Storm Front" is going to keep me busy for the next couple of hours.

Here's a look at the entrance half of the bookstore:

.....and this is their picture book corner.  I love Dr Seuss!

all English Book Store in Kobe

I don't have a picture of the store...yet, but it is back in business.  The only all English book store that closed it's doors this January 15th has reopened!  It is now a 100% independent book seller.

Located at the southern tip of the Sanomiya Mall, it is now called Random Walk Books and is still on the second floor, 3rd shop down from the Chinese restaurant on the corner of the mall.

Right now they will be keeping the doors open every day of the week.  I'll try to post more details as soon as possible, but I just wanted to let anybody out there in the Kansai area know, that there is a place where you can get (or order) English books.  

For those of you who don't know the former store, it is unlike any of the other mega-chain book stores in Japan.  This one makes you feel like you've stumbled into an old shop back home with great books from science fiction to philosophy to choose from.

They are supposed to have a website online soon and I will be posting that link here too.

Please help support the only independent English bookstore in the Kansai area.  I know I will!