Fireflies

Yesterday we went to see fireflies in Tsukuba. I tried to take a video but it didn't come out clearly - here you can only see one firefly, but in fact there were many.

In the video you can also hear many amagaeru frogs - they were so noisy! And we could also hear an ushigaeru which is a kind of bullfrog.

It is really important that we don't use agricultural chemicals and try to keep the small rivers in Tsukuba clean because fireflies only live in clear water. I hope that in a few years there are more places in Tsukuba we can enjoy watching them.

Swimming again

Photo from Hotel Okura's website

On July 1st I started swimming again after a seven month break. At first I was busy, then the earthquake hit and the pool was closed, then the hours were shorter. From July the schedule returned to normal and I thought, "Right, now is the time to start again!"

For now, my swimming week starts on Wednesdays, so every Wednesday I'll try to give you an update. The week starts on Wednesdays because Tuesday is my total rest day. Last week I started on Friday (it was the 1st, and my holiday).

On Friday I was really shocked because my body simply wouldn't move like my head thought it would. I stopped after 1.5km. Before when I was swimming seriously, I could swim 5.5km five times a week. I guess it will take me up to New Year to return to my full strength.

By the way, I'm a member of Masters Swimming Japan. Of course I don't race, but it is interesting to read the members magazine and see the times of races for each age group. It is amazing that men and women in their 90s still swim races!

Super easy cucumber salad

This season cucumbers are very cheap so I buy a bag every week. There are lots of ways to eat cucumber and here is an easy salad:

Chop cucumber and mix with one small pack of daikon kimchi that you buy from the supermarket. Finished!
It is nice if you keep it for a day and allow the kimchi to flavor the cucumber, but you can eat it right away.