Eleanor's favourite song - Inochi no namae"

 To begin with, my favorite song's name is "Inochi no namae" (The Name of Life), which is the song used in Ghibli's movie "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" (Spirited Away). This song was written in 2001 by Hiroshi Joe, Kimura Yumi and Kaku Wakako.

 Following this, the message of this song is words that express simple feelings we feel every day I think. This song's lyrics and melody makes me relaxed and cheerful. The songs lyrics is not exactly thing, but this abstract words gives us inspiration, and I feel like I understand it somehow. What's your opinion?

The song has got the "Orikon" 43rd in 2001 and 136th in 2002. Also, the song has got gold medal in 43rd Japan Record Award. This is amazing thing, don't you think so too? 

I recommend you watch Ghibli, "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" at first, and I want you to listen carefully of BGM. You can hear this song too.

Posted for Eleanor

A postcard from Taiwain

Dear Damian, Yukari, Hirokatsu

I am in Taiwan now. It's late summer holiday. I went to Jiufen. Do you know Jiufen? This place is said to have become a model of Japanese movie 'Spirited Away'. I am enjoying everyday.


See you next week.

From Chikako

Postcard from...Pingxi District, Taipei, Taiwan

I traveled in Taiwan for three days last week. I and my daughter went to old towns of Shifen & Jiufen. Shifen & Jiufen were small towns where gold was found.

In Shifen lanterns are blown into the sky, during festivals once a year. Tourists can fly lanterns even if it is not a festival day. We wrote a wish on a white lantern & it flew up into the sky.

Next I went to Jiufen which became a model for the story of "Spirited Away" (Ghibli's animation). A lot of red lanterns lit the sky. It was a really fantastic scene.

We went to the National Palace Museum on the second day. The Chinese Cabbage, which has green & white beads, was a very delicate & beautiful piece. It is made of precious stone & crystal. We found a dumpling restaurant. It was very delicious.

On the last day, we went to a skyscraper called Taipei 101. I could see all the places I went on this trip from the observatory at the top of the tower.

Posted for Kaoru