Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Fresh Vegetables in Tsukuba

Imagine you can find Farmers buying their fresh vegetables here in Tsukuba.

This fresh mini-market is in Namiki Park every Saturday morning. Namiki area is in the other side of AIST. You can take south direction in the Higashi Odori , after AIST you will find a benzene on the right side, the one in the picture.
Turn left and another left in the narrow street. after you pass the first bridge you will find this sign on right....
Turn right and go strait in this road till you find Namiki Shopping Center on the right side, and you will find the farmers in the left side. The official time for this fresh market is early morning from 10:00 to 12:00. Usually the farmers go their about 8:30 to 9:00. Remember to take bags with you, they are farmers so they don't have many bags to serve all.

You can spend a good time their with your family, there is a nice lake view and small area for children to enjoy playing.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Origami 折り紙


Origami is the Japanese paper fold art. The word origami is composed of two words: 折り(ori) which means folding and (kami) which means paper.
Starting from a piece of paper and using only hands, origami artists, called origamist, can create impressive paper works.


Origamist provide diagrams of their works called orizu. By following the orizu, everyone can create several objects. You can give them as handmade present or use them to decorate your space or teaching you child how to make them. Origami is simple, enjoyable and easy to practice. I selected for you the following origami’s websites, enjoy!

  • The famous tsuru or crane diagram in 3D animation:

http://www.origami.org.uk/

  • Diagrams for beginners:

http://www.origami-usa.org/fold_this.html

http://www.origami-club.com/en/


Finally, it is important to mention that origami can be fun as well as educational for children. Actually, origami is considered as a tool for geometric constructions. In Japan, origami is used as an interactive way for teaching geometry to children.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Braille block “点字ブロック(てんじぶろっく)”


One thing you notice when you are walking in Japanese cities is the yellow lines on some pedestrian roads. These yellow lines are called "braille blocks", in japanese "Tenjiburokku"(点字ブロック(てんじぶろっく)). They are made for people who are visually impaired.

The line is composed of many raised directional tiles or pavers. There are two types of tiles, one with protruded rectangle patterns which means "go". And the other type with protruded dots which means "stop".



You should not park your bicycle on this yellow line because it may cause an accident for persons with visual imparment.