At the Sake Factory

Today [It was last week, but this is the first day to report it!], I went to [a] brewery near the harbour. [Actually, it was a sake distillery]. It was very old-looking and quiet! We went to the brewery because it was my mum's dad's birthday! and so we bought some [sake] for him. [Though it may sound strange to take children to such a place, it was more like a temple than a factory: we had a short tour and then I got to sample a great range of delicious sake, while the children played in the courtyard outside. They also had a beautiful restaurant and shop with fantastic pickles, fish, bread: we'll be back soon]

About Japanese beetles!

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Japanese beetles are slightly different from English ones because they have horns, to fight with other insects and each other. There are two types of beetles: there's a beetle that has one long horn, and there's another beetle that has two horns that snap together so that they can attack other things. And the one with one horn is on picture 1, and the one with two horns on each side is on picture 4. 

and apparently the one with one horn has a mini horn above the long horn.

     

Yesterday at the beach

Yesterday, we went to the beach [near my grandparents' apartment]! First we played in the park then we made a sand castle near the water, and it was as big as me so we made a tunnel that we could fit through [then a wave swept through the sandcastle, and then we got really soggy! But since the sandcastle collapsed, and all that was left was a little block of sand. Then we made a sandcastle that had a river in itm and the waves were fine in that river, and we made it look like the real sea...We dug a really big hole that all the water got caught up in.... Later on, we let the praying mantis free...]

Visiting Universal Studios

Yesterday I went to Universal Studios Japan [in Osaka]. I went on lots of rides but I could not go on the ride that I thought will be the best because I was 1 cm away from the top of the height stick. I liked the Jurassic Park ride best. After USJ we watched a funny clown who came from the US. 

A Day at the Park

Today I went to the park. There were a lot of grasshoppers, and they were hard to catch [but Ayumi managed to catch one for the praying mantis (see earlier post)!] But the equipment there was very fun to play with, and there was a 10m long slide..and I call it the "ten metre slide".

[Here is a view of Kobe from the park: as you can see, we're up on the mountain --Nigel]

A Rainy Day in Kobe

Today is the Autumn Holidays at my school (like Half Term holiday). First we were aiming to go to the zoo, but since it was raining we went to the cinema. I went with my new friend. We saw a confusing film! Later on we went to lots of shops... [Here's a picture of downtown Kobe in the rain, taken by Javi Motomachi]

At the onsen (Japanese Baths)

Today I went to the spa it was a lot of fun there. First I washed myself and then I went  in to the spa. There were lots of places to sit in and lie in and you could either lie outside or sit inside or have a massage (for grown-ups!).

After that we went into a freezing cold spa and that's what cools you down from the boiling hot spas. And then we went back to our first locker, and then we got changed. Then we went to the locker for the shoes and we took some pictures of the spa and of me at the shopping centre nearby. Here it is:

My first blog (The praying mantis)

Yesterday we went up Rokko mountain. On the way we found a praying mantis. Here's a picture of it. (We also found a freshwater crab walking by the side of the road). Apparently they can eat mice. And they eat spiders and crickets. It only eats things that look alive so now we are off to look for some...ants.