Today is September 9, 2009--also known as 9-9-9.
There will be people lined up at the automated ticket machines at train stations to buy a ticket stamped 09-09-09, and better yet if it is printed at the hour 09:09, just because it is an interesting number.
People in Japan who care about the secret meanings of numbers will avoid 9, however. In Japan, the word for 9 sounds a lot like the word for pain and suffering.
In China, however, today is the day for eternal romance. Wedding halls will be booked solid. In Chinese, the word for 9 sounds a lot like the word for eternal, as in eternal love.
How is it in English? Nine, fine, mine, wine, thine, dine...
I will choose "fine", as in everything will be fine.
Okinawa Looks Like This
Peaceful: a beautiful place for a walk
自己紹介
- Chura
- Born and raised in the USA (NJ), I’ve spent most of my adult life in Japan. One of my favorite places in Japan is Okinawa. To me, Okinawa is a land of stories and an island of music, magic and mystery. The music is shima-uta, songs sung to the rhythm of a three-stringed lute called a sanshin. The magic is in the colors of land, sea and sky. The mystery? Mystery begins where the line between legend and verifiable human memories begins to blur. I am a member of the Archaeological Institute of America, chapter chief of a sanshin study society, and a founding member of the Marine Culture Research Association of Okinawa.