Taiyo's Blog

 When I was a student, I used to eat a bowl of ramen for 400 yen at a shop near my house. It was a small local ramen shop, and I often went there after school with friends. The ramen was 400 yen so it felt very reasonable. Now, the same ramen costs 700 yen. The taste and size are the same, but only the price became higher. I feel it is not fair and disappointing because nothing else improved. I also noticed shrink flation in daily life. For example, I used to buy mini anpan. It was 160 yen for five pieces, and I often ate them as a snack during breaks. But now, it is only four pieces for the same price. That made me very surprised and confused because the package design did not change. Another example is the pizza at Saizeriya. It used to be bigger, but now it looks like only two-thirds of the original size. They even changed the plate to make it look the same. I think this is also a kind of shrinkflation. I think the reason for this is the COVID-19 pandemic. After that, prices wen...

 The dead website I want to introduce is  おもしろゲーム大百科 (Omoshiro Game Daihyakka). When I was in elementary school, I used to play on it a lot using the city library computers. The site was fun, weird, and vary buggy, but that made it even more interesting. You could just click and play. As an elementary school student waiting at the library for my parents to finish work, this site was a huge help and a great way to pass the time. You could easily play simple games on the site. Even now, most of the games work, though a warning message may appear. Some games don’t work anymore, and in some cases, you might get redirected to strange websites. https://omoshiro.gamedhk.com/

 One of my favorite comics is  “The Adventures of Tintin”  by  Hergé . Tintin is a young reporter who travels around the world with his dog  Snowy . He solves many mysteries and sometimes has adventures with his funny friend  Captain Haddock . When I was a child, my father showed me  Tintin cartoons  on YouTube. Most of them were not in English, but I still enjoyed them. Even without understanding all the words, I could understand the story from the pictures and actions. It was very fun to watch. We also had one  Tintin comic book  at home. It was in  English , and I read it many times. I didn’t understand all the words at first, but reading it helped me learn more English. The drawings were beautiful, and the stories were full of action, mystery, and jokes. I really like the rhythm of the story. The story moves fast and is easy to follow. It feels like a mix of  Indiana Jones  and  Sherlock Holmes , so it is both exc...

 Tanabata is a Japanese festival held on July 7th. It comes from an old Chinese legend about two stars, Vega (Orihime) and Altair (Hikoboshi). They are lovers who are separated by the Milky Way and can only meet once a year. People in Japan celebrate this story by writing wishes on small pieces of paper called tanzaku. These papers are then hung on bamboo trees. In some places, people still celebrate Tanabata in August, based on the old lunar calendar. During the festival, people wear yukata, eat summer foods, play games, and enjoy fireworks. Even Tokyo Disneyland has its own Tanabata event. When I was in elementary school, we had special Tanabata jelly for school lunch. It was very fun and colorful. Sometimes, we went to a bamboo forest near the school and cut bamboo to use for decorations. I remember writing wishes like "I want to get rich" or "I hope homework disappears from school." This year, I’m planning to write a wish on the bamboo displayed in the lounge of...

Actually, I didn’t grow up playing video games. My family had a rule that didn’t allow me to play games at home. But there is  one  game I’ve been playing since I was in high school—and I’m still playing it now! That game is called.....  Cookie Clicker . Cookie Clicker  is a browser-based  idle game  released on  August 8, 2013 . It was created by a single programme. In the game, you click the giant cookie to produce more cookies. Then, you can use those cookies to buy items or buildings that  produce even more cookies. It’s a game where you don’t need to do much.But it’s really addictive!(for people like me.)I first found it on my  school iPad  in high school, and I have been playing it for  1,232 days  (more than  3 years ) now. If you’re interested, you can play it directly in your browser from the link below. ( I bought the  paid version on Steam .)I highly recommend it!!! https://orteil.dashnet.org/cookieclicker/...

One of the most famous Canadian dishes is poutine, it is  made of crispy French fries topped with cheese curds and hot gravy.   I was born in Japan, but my father is Canadian. When I was in kindergarten, I used to watch a VHS tape at home that showed how to make poutine. I used to watch it often in kindergarten, and my father would say, “This is  delicious!” Me as a kindergarten boy, I imagined it to taste amazing.   Finally, when I visited Canada in elementary school, I had my first real poutine. But it was much heavier than I expected. I couldn’t finish it, and I gave most of it to my grandfather. I remember feeling very disappointed. But now, as a university student, I really want to try it again! As I wrote this, I started to really want to make and eat poutine! I’m planning to make it this weekend! Why not try making it too? https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/authentic-canadian-poutine-recipe/