Hotaru - Fireflies

"Hotaru" or fireflies, are amazing little creatures that Mother Nature has given us.  The season for firefly watching is very short, only about 2 weeks and usually from the end of June to early July. Even in this period, they may not always be out.  The weather conditions have to be perfect, ideally having rained during the day, then stopped before the evening, so that heat can make the surrounding hot and humid.  The wild ones are even hard to come by these days.  We don't have fireflies in Vancouver, so I was always fascinated by them and begged to go see them in their nature habitat.

I was very fortunate to have witnessed this wondrous sight of wild "hotaru" flying about, back in July.  They were so beautiful! Though cannot say the same about the mosquito bites I got from that evening.

Hikaru-kun

Hikaru-kun (or くん is like -chan , is a cute way to call someone in Japanese, but is usually used for boys).  Hikaru means "light" or "ray of light" in Japanese.  It is a common but beautiful name used for both boys and girls, that I have always loved.  So, was happy when I found out that my friend decided to call her energetic little baby boy, Hikaru.

Hikaru-kun is a traveller at heart, constantly exploring the world.  Full of energy, but calm and gentle, his strikes a balance that I myself strive to achieve.

Lala

Lala, for once is not named after a friend's child.  Instead, Lala was named by someone very dear to my heart.  It's cute, no?  I know this isn't the real reason behind her name, but maybe she too is daydreaming a lot, adventuring in her own little world--hence Lala (as in la la land).

Tokyo is really crowded and when it rains, there is hardly any room for us to maneuver in the crowds with umbrellas coming at you at all directions.  I wish that I could skip freely in the rain......

Ringo-chan, Umbrella

The real Ringo-chan is now around 5 years old.  Again, I named my Ringo-chan after a friend's daughter.  For the most of us, we might associate the name with boys and the famous Beatles, but in Japanese, it means apple and a name well suited for girls.

Coming from Vancouver where it always rains, and with the weather being very unstable in Tokyo lately (a lot of sudden downpours), thought that this image is perfect as a little cheer on a rainy day!

Yes, don't forget to bring an umbrella with you!

Urara-chan, Matsuri

Urara-chan (-chan or ちゃん, is a cute way to call someone in Japanese.  You add it at the end of someone's name), is a character named after a very cute daughter of a friend of mine.

Here, Urara-chan is at a summer matsuri (festival), in a Japanese yukata (bathrobe, that may look like a kimono to most), and she is just about to bite into that sweet traditional candy apple.  I love matsuri in Japan, and couldn't resist painting about one!