
Kangaeroo got a much better day than expected today, Japan’s National Foundation Day but not a holiday because it fell on a Saturday.
Waking, Your Humble Narrator (to borrow a turn of phrase from Anthony Burgess) was greeted by a winter wonderland from the previous day’s snowfall.
There would be no customary morning bike ride on this day.
Instead, with great community spirit, Mrs. Kangaeroo suggested Kangaeroo get his morning exercise by shoveling the snow off the paths so none of our neighbors slipped and hurt themselves.
So, it was out on the shovel and into the snow. And great fun it was, seeing the path re-emerge on the northern side of the apartment block that gets little sun.
By the time the task was over, it was becoming clear that it was gonna be nice weather.
With Mrs. Kangaeroo working nightshift there wasn’t gonna be much riding this weekend, either, and Kangaeroo enjoyed a delightful morning together, punctuated by a call from Kangaeroo Mum, who continues to thrive.
Then, on the cusp of lunchtime, Kangaeroo’s closest cycling cobber offered the chance of a ride. With some trepidation due to lingering ice, Kangaeroo jumped at the chance (especially having refused repeated invitations in recent months) and it was off on a ride of sheer delight in the unseasonably warm day with a tantalizing taste of spring. The day was made better by being with a great made and then topping it off with a fantastic nut caramel slice at Cross Coffee that was simply delectable.
From there, it was home and back to the original plan of riding the Death Machine into town for the Saturday night evening, comforted in the knowledge of not needing to rush home.
Well, the ride was probably the best-ever on the mercurial recumbent. The warmer weather was simply wonderful and the Death Machine performed superbly.
As is often the case as age makes it mark further, Kangaeroo slept like a baby throughout the meeting.
The highlight of being in town was getting to see an alarming lifelike Yayoi Kusama robot. If the artist who has spent the past four decades or so living in a mental hospital is not immortal, LVMH has certainly immortalized her (in a kinda creepy fashion to be honest).
The journey home was uneventful and fast, though the series of hills around Aoyama and the Kaidori Wall meant the overall average speed of the trip was not great.
All in all, an absolutely wonderful day!
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- Some of the Cycling Camerawork that can be Expected These are the types of shots that I’ve been able to take of bikes....
- Nagoya Nothingness I rode my new Brompton bike from Tokyo to Nagoya over the long weekend to meet my nephew who lives down there only for him to sleep in and not meet up before I had to catch the train back. The trip not only taught me that I am capable...
- Exy/高過ぎる exy Australian English An abbreviation of “expensive,” used when referring to the price of something. Sometimes, the synonym “pricey” is also used. 日本語 高過ぎる(物の値段・価格が高過ぎると思う場合に使う)。Expensiveの省略。 Plain English Expensive Strine Dictionary...
- Trackies/ジャージー Trackies Australian English A tracksuit. In some cases, trackies may refer only to the trousers part of a track suit, in which case they may also be called trackie daks. Also see: daks 日本語 ジャージー。トラックスーツ。時には、ズボンの部分だけを穿くことがある。この場合は、trackie daksという。Daks にも参照。 Plain English A tracksuit, leisurewear. Strine Dictionary...
- Goings On It’s been a strange old start to the year, really, mainly because Kangaeroo is strange and old. Tokyo has been experiencing a mild winter. So far there has been no snow and daytime temperatures have been closer to what you’d expect in March than the opening month of the year....
- Hello Cello, Watch Out Aussies! 2CELLOS Are Headed Your Way Japan has given a final farewell to the 2CELLOS, the amazing duo of cellists on a world tour they have promised will be their last. Stjepan Hauser and Luka Šulić are already on their way Down Under, where they will play a series of shows before a final performance together...
- Tripping on the Tama River Kangaeroo cycles pretty much daily. Due to a number of time constraints, nearly all the rides are along or near the Tama River. This river is one of the main waterways in Tokyo and has been supplying the city with water for centuries. River-side cycling is on bike tracks and...
- Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 1: Izumi to Hinagu The tour kicked off on the bikes with a ride through a samurai household neighborhood in Izumi and then moved its way through mandarin groves while heading toward the coast. Riders reached Minamata, which gave its name to one of the world’s best-known instances of industrial disease. Despite it’s bleak...
- Marsupial Attacks! このようにmarsupials、要するにカンガルーやコアラなどの有袋類がオーストラリアで生き残るようになった。世界中に哺乳類が主流となっているがオーストラリアだけが違う。...
- 豪のクリスマス・ソング:Twelve Days of Christmas Aussie Style クリスマス・ソングと言えば恐らくまずこの「クリスマスの12日間」を思い浮かぶ人が多いだろう。 それで、珍しいがオージー版もあるんだ。 曲の流れやメロディが伝統的な曲と同じだが、「梨の木のヤマウズラ」などじゃなくてもらう物がコアラなどオーストラリア独特なものだ。 TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS AUSSIE STYLE On the 12th day of Christmas My true love sent to me 12 parrots prattling, 11 numbats nagging, 10 lizards leaping, 9 wombats working, 8 dingoes digging, 7 possums playing, 6 brolgas dancing, 5 kangaroos, 4 koalas cuddling, 3 kookaburras laughing,...
- Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds A Slice of Oz in Sleepy Saitama Campbelltown, which is situated about 50 kilometers from Sydney’s central business district, were almost made for each other, even if only serving as satellite cities for their respective countries’ largest cities. Koshigaya and Campbelltown are Campbelltown Forest of Wild Birds in Koshigaya could arguably be one of the Kanto Plains...
- Tokyo’s Strange Socceroos Japan has a strange affinity when it comes to using Australian animals for its advertising. A number of major Japanese corporations use koalas and roos to plug their products and services. One with a difference is Hayashi Corporation, a construction company with a history of over 100 years and based...
- May It Always Be May May is gorgeous in Japan, even this year when the world is confronting the bleak tragedy of the covid-19 outbreak. The warm, dry, mostly sunny month brings some much-needed delight....
- Tour of Japan’s Taste of Oz The Tour of Japan 2018 ended Sunday in Tokyo with Spaniard Marcos Garcia of the Kinan Racing Team claiming the general classification title. Slovenian Grega Bole of Bahrain-Meridatook the Blue Jersey for the points classification. Local hero Yuzuru Suzuki took the King of the Mountain crown riding for Utsunomiya Blitzen....
- More Climbing Continuing on from yesterday, today was another day of climbing through the mountains on the beautiful Belladonna (a Cervelo R5 road bike). Kangaeroo is too exhausted from the energy-sapping ride and a rush to get out to go into much detail. But he is eternally grateful to cycling for giving...
- Boomerang Shrine And Shooting The Rapids Mrs. Kangaeroo and I got another wonderful experience shooting down the rapids in the delightful Saitama Prefecture town of Nagatoro, which is also home to a shrine hoping to draw people back with something of an Aussie touch. Boomerang Kaeru Shrine, just outside Nagatoro Station, is dedicated to the worship...
- Don’t Think! A good mate of mine often quotes William Shakespeare’s Hamlet by reminding me that, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Kangaeroo is prone to over-thinking, and this week is looming as a tough one. There’s plenty on the schedule, both professionally and privately. And...
- Warm in the Winter Dino the dinosaur is no slouch in finding a warm place in the winter, which is a handy trait when you’re a rosy faced lovebird. She huddles up next to her heaters, on the nest she builds out of the strips of paper she so dexterously rips off with her...
- Calamity Free Ride! After several days featuring a series of stumbles, fumbles, bumps and bruises, it was fantastic to finally have an early morning ride that went without a calamity. Sort of. Riding La Cangura much slower and more cautiously than usual, the morning ride went without a hitch. There were many fears...
- Mystery bag/不思議な袋(ソーセージ) Mystery bag Australian English A sausage. The name comes from the unfounded rumor that sausages are made from scraps of meat and whatever other item can be found wherever they are made, thus making the actual ingredients a “mystery.” Sausages, which are dearly loved as staples of the barbecue, are...
- Too Far Ahead Of Ourselves We tried to make a concerted return to normality at the start of the month, but within a couple of days, it was clear that things are not the same and it’s still not safe to be out and about, and it was back to isolation. I’d enjoyed the rides...
- Better To Be Quiet About It, But It Wasn’t All Bad This has been a terrible year for the world, but from a personal viewpoint, it has actually been a bit OK, spending less money, riding like a madman and having a quiet life of basic solitude undisturbed by the need to accommodate others. It would be nice to have the...
- Perfect Blending of Iconic Aussie Tastes TimTams, chocolate biscuits fast becoming one of Australia’s greatest exports and a presence in just about every supermarket in Tokyo nowadays, has started a collaboration with Vegemite, the yeast spread symbolic of Down Under. 今般、東京内ほとんどのスーパーに見かけてオーストラリア発名物輸出品となりつつチョコクッキー「ティムタム」とオーストラリアを代表とする発酵ペースト「ベジマイト」が共作を発表した。 Vegemite flavored TimTams blend two of Oz’s most iconic food products. ベジマイト味ティムタムがオーストラリアの二つの代表的な食品を融合する。 The sweetness of...
- Enjoying the Cycle of Life Kangaeroo is not a young marsupial. He is old, fat and lazy. Exercise is not his thing. Yet, thanks to the humble bicycle, this exercise-averse old codger can enjoy a relatively healthy lifestyle. Every morning, almost without fail, Kangaeroo wakes, dresses, has a cup of joe and gets on his...
- 豪2012年最も苦情が多かったテレビCMワースト10 女性の生理用品、宗教そして性的なことをほのめかしが2012年オーストラリアテレビ業界で最も苦情が多かったCM課題だった、とメルボルンのヘラルド・サン紙が18日付で報道した。 CM苦情ワースト10中、身だしなみ関係が5件を占め、残りが宗教、性差別、内容が過剰に刺激的などの順となった。 ワースト10テレビCMが下記(苦情が最も多い順)のようだった。 ワースト1 Carefree Actifresh liners ワースト2 Redbull ワースト3 Lynx Body Buffer ワースト4 New Idea ワースト5 Libra Tampons ワースト6 Lynx Shower Gel ワースト7 Frixion Pens ワースト8 Kleenex Cottonelle ワースト9 Transport Accident Commission ワースト10 Energy Australia 元記事: The year’s most complained about ad – Carefree Acti-Fresh Liners commercial...
- Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 6: Uchiko to Matsuyama Shikoku’s glorious mountains seemed less and less attractive at times while pounding the pedals to push on upward even higher, but a wonderful descent followed on the final day of riding on the smallest of Japan’s four main islands. Leaving Uchiko later than most starts, it was a steady climb...
- So It Goes… Today marks farewell to Premiership Palace. Kangaeroo is no longer a Kanagawa kenmin (resident of Kanagawa Prefecture) from Kurokawa. Well, at least not after today. If nothing else, at least the pandemic allowed Kangaeroo to explore the neighborhood, getting to know what a delightful place it was. Time in Kanagawa...
- New Roads Kangaeroo won’t be doing much riding along the Tama River for a while. For the next few weeks, it will be back in the homeland again. Riding will be a bit of a challenge while there. But also a bit exciting! Oz is far stricter on policing road rules than...
- Reflective More and more is going on to inspire reflection on life. It’s a constructive development. Life is good when life exists. Realizing it’s good is another matter. Fortunately, for various reasons, it’s becoming easier to find elements of all things to contain the pleasant. It’s not my nature to do...
- Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 0: Izumi Participants rolled in, bike fittings are over, the briefing dinner is done and all are off to bed to ready themselves for the real ride, starting tomorrow. People assembled from across Australia, but mostly Sydney, to take part in the trip. The journey will start from Izumi, traverse Kyushu, head...
- Autumn in Aoyama Winter is coming to the Kanto Plain, but 2019 still has a final flourish of beauty before the bleakness. A stroll around the Aoyama/Omotesando areas produced some late-autumn gems. Autumn 2019 has been a mixed bag in terms of weather. Terrible typhoons wreaked havoc on many areas in the Kanto...
- Enough of the Rain, Already! Kangaeroo is on holiday. Has been for 37 hours now. And it has rained almost that entire time. And due to continue falling for almost the next 24 hours, too. Ah, well…not much that can be done about it....
- オーストラリア特有の恐竜、カンタス、、、サウラス The Spirit of Australia, the flying…dinosaur? オーストラリアの魂が以前から言われている「飛んでるカンガルー」ではなく「飛んでる恐竜」って?ええ?飛んでるのは考えRooじゃないの? Australia’s fauna is unique, and that trend may even extend back hundreds of millions of years to the Cretaceous period, at least in terms of naming patterns. 皆が分かるようにオーストラリアの動物が特有だ。そして、その独特さが1億年以上前の白亜紀に及ぶかもしれない、、、少なくともネーミングの面では。 One of the few known endemic Australian dinosaurs was discovered only recently; 1996, to be...
- Ridgy-didge/本物 Ridgy-didge Australian English Something original, genuine, the honest truth. See also: dinkum, dinky-di, fair dinkum 日本語 本物。本格的。本当。誠実なもの。 Plain English Honest, genuine. Strine Dictionary...
- Rainbow Over Allah And Putting A Tiger In The Tank Work slowed down and it was a little easier to enjoy life, which allowed for stopping to smell the roses and capturing such opportunities as a rainbow shining above the Tokyo Mosque and beefing up Bargearse the bike. Mrs. Kangaeroo and I also got to visit an exhibition by the...
- Dekochari, Proud Member of Japan’s Itasha ‘Cringeworthy Cars’ Family Long past their heyday, even in English-language coverage, dekochari, decorated bicycles, continue to survive in miniscule numbers even in today’s Japan. Dekochari derived from the dekotora, decorated trucks, that became hugely popular throughout the archipelago in the 1970s on the back of the Torakku Yaro series of films, and which...
- CHAMPIONS! Tigers Premiers 2019 as Dimma’s Dynasty Does us Proud Richmond had its greatest-ever Grand Final-winning margin, smashing the Greater Western Sydney Giants by a whopping 89 points, winning 114-25. The Tigers overcame an injury-riddled season to demolish their closest rivals and establish a powerful dynasty. Dustin Martin won the Norm Smith Medal for being the best player on the...
- 豪キャブラリー: Nuddy Nuddy Nuddy is all about getting into a natural state....
- Art World Aoyama It’s hard to believe that I was deeply disappointed to leave our old workplace near Odaiba because I loved the walk across the Rainbow Bridge but the art-filled district of Aoyama where I work now is really making up for it. I love wandering the streets at lunchtime to find...
- 「やばいリンガル」Go off (盛り上がる) 米・英語では、何かがgo offすると、爆発するという意味を示すが、オージー英語の爆発はかなり違う。さて、どのようにだろう? When something goes off in the rest of the English-speaking world, it often means it’s explosive, but it’s an explosion of a different kind in Strine....
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