2013.10.31

It was fine today.

The last day of October.  It's already passed 10 months.  There are only two months left this year.  How fast time flies!  What have you accomplished by now?  And what would you like to accomplish for the next two months?

Trick or treat?  Today is Halloween.  It has been popular nowadays in Japan too, and there are parades or parties here and there.   But I did not do anything special.   How about you?
I hope you have a Happy Halloween.

2013.10.30

It was fine but cool.

Today there was the last lesson of Marketing I and we discussed the strategy by using SWOT and Cross SWOT analysis.
After the training I went to somewhere in Sakuragicho and walked to the Hinodecho station after that.  I expected to get more steps but not so much.

2013.10.29

It was cloudy and cold this morning and started raining too.

I came back to Shinjuku from Matue this morning around 8 AM.  Since the Tomei Highway was under construction, it delayed than schedule. 
I went to training soon after that in Yokohama.
My classmates were surprised to know that I came back from the trip this morning and attended the classes.

2013.10.28

It was a very fine autumn day.

I went to Miho jinja shrine and a light house in the morning.  There was a commemorative five pines park at the top of a mountain and I climbed there too.

Then I went to the Adachi Museum of Art after having a heavy lunch at a seafood restaurant in Sakaiminato, Tottori.  Adachi Ｍuseum is very famous for its Japanese Gardens which have been chosen as No. 1 garden for the past ten years and a collection of the works of Mr.  Yokoyama Taikan.  Therefore there were so many visitors there.  This was the second place I wanted to visit during this trip.

Then I came back to Matsue and visited the Matsue castle and ate dinner.

Now I am on the bus bound for Tokyo.

2013.10.27

I arrived at Matsue around 7 AM.

In the morning I went to Tamatsukuriyu jinja (shrine), then took a bath at Tamatsukuri  Onsen (hot spring).

In the afternoon I went to Izumo taisha where is the main reason I came here.

Izumo taisha is one of the most famous shrines in Japan.  And this is the very special year because they repaired the shrine which takes place every 60 years.

I visited there nearly a quarter century ago, so it's been a long time.  There were so many people there today.

After that I visited at the Hinomisaki todai,  the light house.  I went up to the top. The panorama view was very beautiful. I visited Hinomisaki jinja, shrine.  I saw the sunset near the light house.

I had a nice dinner at Matsue.

2013.10.26

It's been raining.  This morning around 2:15 AM, there happened a rather big earthquake.

In the morning I went to Yokohama to have my pictures of wearing kimono taken.  We were supposed to take them outside but since it rained because of the typhoon No.27, we only took them inside.  I wore the new dark blue kimono with my family crest with three different obi (sash) , a coat, a bag, and zori (shoes).  In total I had four sessions.

After that I went to see a Japanese movie titled "Oshin" which is heroine's name.  This is the story which was on air at the NHK's morning drama about 30 years ago for a year and has been very famous and popular among Asian countries.

If my memory is correct, it dipicted Oshin's life, but this movie only dealt her childhood.  To my interesting the main characters of the drama acted in the movies as different roles.

After that I went to Shinjuku.  

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Now I am on the bus bound for Izumo.

2013.10.25

It was a rainy day.
The typhoon No. 27 is nearing.  It is raining.  I hope it will be fine tomorrow. 

2013.10.24

It was cloudy and slightly rainy today.

At the Logical Thinking lesson we practiced to analyze the data by MECE (Mutually Exclusive and Collectively Exhaustive).  Group work is effective because we can notice what we are missing.

After the lesson I went to tea ceremony lesson.  Today we learned the procedures of o koicha (お濃茶), thick tea.  In the world of tea ceremony, November is the first month to taste the new tea of the year.  And the style of pot is changed from furo (風炉) to ro (炉) which is placed in the tatami (畳) mat.  Before using ro in November, there is a special procedure at this time of the year when you make koicha, thick tea by furo which is placed on the tatami mat.  We put a scoop of cold water into a hot pot just before we make thick tea to soften water because the tea powder at this time is kind of old, the last tea of the year, boiling water won't make tasty tea.  I think this kind of manner is very considerate. 
According to the news Japanese Foods Culture will be listed at the UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage. It is very honor.  I hope many people have a chance to taste authentic Japanese Foods.

2013.10.23

Today is soko (霜降), one of nijyushisekki (二十四節季), the 24 solar terms.  The last one was kanro (寒露) on October 8 and the next one was ritto (立冬) on November 7.  Soko literally means frost falling.  It was not so cold as frost falls however it was cloudy and cool today.
Our classroom today was different from the regular one.  It was ocean view room and bigger than usual, and we could enjoy the beautiful Yokohama view.

2013.10.22

It was cloudy.

I went out for lunch at a Chinese restaurant with 6 classmates.  There were three lunch menus.  I chose shrimp chili source for main dish.  It includes rice, soup, salad, and dessert.  The price was very reasonable, and serving was very speedy.  We enjoyed eating and talking.

I took 3 hours off to take my father to once a month physical check up.

2013.10.21

It was very cool today.

Two big typhoons No. 27 and No. 28 are nearing.  Since No. 26 left a big damage especially on Izu Oshima (伊豆大島), we are worried about their courses.

I have just watched the TV program of Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2013/2014.  Yesterday a Japanese Skater Mr. Tatsuki Machida (町田樹) became a champion, and today a Japanese Skater Ms. Mao Asada (浅田真央) became a champion.  What a nice start for the grand prix series for Japanese team!  Congratulations!!

2013.10.20

It's been raining and very cold today.  It seems winter came before autumn comes.
I went to see a movie "Diana."  It reminded me of the summer of 1996 in Chicago where I saw her in front of the Drake Hotel across the street.  There is yojijukugo (四字熟語), a four-character idiom in Japanese, bijin hakumei (美人薄命), literally means beautiful person short life.  Beauty and luck seldom go together.　I think she is the case.
After that I bought another ceiling light for a living room.  Last time I asked someone to come to fix it, but this time I managed to install it by myself.  I am glad to have done it finally after having inconvenience for a few days. 

2013.10.19

It was cool and rainy today.

I went to Shinjuku to attend a lecture in the afternoon.  It's been a long time since I attended his lecture last time though I have heard his speech many times.
In the evening I had a dinner meeting.  Nine of us got together and enjoyed eating and chatting.

2013.10.18

It was rather cool.

At the training of Logical Thinking there were a few case studies. By group working we found what we did not notice by ourselves.  Presentation is a fun part.  Every group has unique way of presenting though groups consist of different members every day.  

2013.10.17

It was fine but rather cool today.
Today is jyusanya (十三夜), the thirteenth night.  It is September 13 night in the old calendar.   The moon on this day is the second beautiful one after jyugoya (十五夜), the fifteenth night in September which is August 15 in the old calendar.  Different from jugoya which came from China, the custom of jusanya is only observed in Japan.
After the training, I went to tea lesson.  Today's sweet was tsuki usagi (月うさぎ), moon rabbit.  In Japan we see rabbits on the moon.  How about in your country? 

2013.10.16

The typhoon No. 26 was very big and left many damages here and there.

It was raining heavily in the morning but stopped raining around 8 AM or so.  However strong wind was blowing and the trains were stopped.  They did not run until 12:30 PM.  It takes more than one hour to get to school.  The class ends at 16:10 PM.  So I decided not to attend today.

Instead I went to a bank and a post office to send money and bought some commemorative stamps too.
  

2013.10.15

It's been raining.  The big typhoon No.26 is nearing.

After the training I went to see a movie "Abduction The Megumi Yokota Story," Talk & Mini Concert sponsored by Kanagawa Prefecture.

They say today eleven years ago five Japanese abducted by North Korea returned to Japan.

Ms. Megumi Yokota was abducted by North Korea at the age of 13, and it's been 36 years since then.

She has been said to have committed suicide at the age of 29, but I think she is still alive there, and I hope her family got together as soon as possible.

2013.10.14

It is a national holiday called taiiku no ni (体育の日), Sports Day.  It used be on October 10, but because of the happy Monday system it has become on the second Monday of October since 2000.

It was fine and warm today.

This is the last day of the three day weekend.

I went to Yokohama to visit Hachifukujin (八福神), the Eight Gods of Fortune  in Seya, Yokohama (横浜市瀬谷区：yokohama shi seya ku).
You may have heard about Shichifukujin (七福神), the Seven Gods of Fortune, but this place is famous for Eight Gods.
They are Daikokuten (大黒天), Ebisushin (恵比寿神), Bishamonten (毘沙門天), Benzaiten (弁財天), Hoteison (布袋尊), Fukurokuju (福禄寿), Jurojin (寿老人) and Daruma (達磨).  The course is about 12 km long. My classmate and I started at 11 AM and finished 17:15PM at Seya Station of Sotetsu Line (相鉄線瀬谷駅：sotetsu sen seya eki).  We visited not only temples which enshrine those gods but also interesting places and shrines on the way to visit the next temples.  I saw many flowers including soba (そば) and fruits such as persimmons and Japanese oranges called mikan (みかん) here and there.  I did not expect Yokohama has such fields.  It was a nice walking.

2013.10.13

It was very fine today, again very hot like summer in the daytime.

I went to grocery shopping in the morning, then to refresh yoga for an hour in the afternoon, then exercised for two hours.

The road was so crowded that I used the other way to come back from shopping.   Since this is the middle day of the three day weekend, many people must have come to the Miura Peninsula. 

2013.10.12

It was hot like summer again.

I went to Yokohama to have some pictures taken in the morning.  My friend from primary school and I wore the new kimono and walked around Bashamichi area and the professional photographer took our pictures.

We met some people who went to Gokayama & Hida Takayama together in July.

After that we went out for lunch at a Ｊapanese restaurant.  It was very delicious.

Then we attended the monthly meeting in the afternoon and I met some friends there.

I headed for Ichigaya to attend the reunion of the university in the evening and I met some of the same graders and enjoyed meeting and chatting.

It was very nice to see friends.

2013.10.11

It was another very hot day.  It's already October but we are still wearing half sleeves.  They say this heat was the hottest record in October.

After the training I walked to Yokohama Port to see the Peace Boat which came back from the circumnavigation of 3 months.  I have circumnavigated from December 25, 2003 to March 31, 2004 for 3 months by Peace Boat.  It's been almost 10 years since that time.  Our boat was TOPAZ, but it is Ocean Dream now.  I expected to see someone I know from our trip, but I did not see anyone.  I took some pictures there.

On my way to the pier, there were a few museums.  One of them will be free on the 20th, so I hope to visit there next month.  The other was Yokohama Custom Museum which was admission free and I took a look inside.
At the Osanbashi pier there were many people taking pictures.

2013.10.10

It was fine and very hot today.
October 10 used to be a national holiday called Taiiku no hi (体育の日), Sports Day to commemorate the opening of the Tokyo Olympic in 1964.  This day is one of the singularities of being fine.

I went out for lunch at JICA's water front restaurant with two classmates and enjoyed chatting.
After the training I went to tea ceremony lesson.  The name of today's sweet was "harvest fall."

2013.10.9

It was fine in the morning, but became very windy in the afternoon.  It was very hot like summer.

There was no training today. 

 I went to hospital to take CT of the chest after 3 months.  There was nothing  wrong.  That is a good news.  But the Doctor and I do not understand why I have a pain, that is a bad news.  It cost more than yen 5,000.

After that I went shopping for my father's clothes because I got a discount ticket a few days ago.  There were so many people there.

2013.10.8

Today is kanro (寒露), one of nijyushisekki (二十四節季), the 24 solar terms.  The last one was shubun (秋分) on September 23, and the next one is soko (霜降) on October 23.  Kanro literally means cold dew.  But it was very hot like summer today.

After the training I went to China Town with my 4 colleagues.  It's been a long time since I visited there last.  We did not go to a Chinese restaurant but to a Karaoke room.  But it was not for singing but for chatting because it is very cheap, less than yen 300 per person for an hour with free soft drinks in a private room.  We enjoyed talking for an hour. 

2013.10.7

These days there were many good news regarding the men's performances at the 2013 XLIV World Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Antwerp, Belgium.  Mr. Kohei Uchimura (内村航平), 24 years old, has become a champion for the  individual all-around for 4 times straight which is the first in history. He became a champion at the Parallel Bars and became a bronze medalist at the Horizontal Bar.   Mr. Ryohei Kato (加藤凌平) , 20 years old, became the silver medalist for the individual all-around.  Mr. Kenzo Shirai (白井健三), 17 years old, became a champion at the Floor by introducing a new technique at a level of difficulty of F which is named after "Shirai."  This is the youngest record.  Mr. Kohei Kameyama (亀山耕平), 24 years old, became a champion at the Pommel Horse.  Congratulations!!!!!!
We can expect good results at the next Olympic and the one after the next at the Tokyo in 2020.  I hope to see the live Gymnastics games at the Tokyo Olympics.

2013.10.6

It was a nice autumn day.
I went grocery shopping in the morning.
Then I went to practice Yoga in the afternoon.  This is a new lesson starting today.  It cost yen 1,000 for an hour.  I was wondering why it costs yen 1,000 because the small ball exercise is yen 500.  So I asked.  And I found out it included the cost of the gym which is yen 300.  So I used the gym for the first time.  There were many machines to train muscles.  I have practiced for two hours.  I may have muscle pain tomorrow.

2013.10.5

It was a cold rainy day.
I went to Shinjuku (新宿) to attend a monthly meeting in the morning, then went to Yokohama (横浜) to attend the 40th anniversary lecture of Ms. Setouchi Jakucho (瀬戸内寂聴) who entered the Buddhist  monastery at the age of 51.   Though she is already 91 years old, she is very active and her talk was very interesting.  She has written many books and she is still writing.  I was going to attend the lecture with my ex-colleague but she could not come and I went there with my colleague from Expo 92.  After the lecture we went to have a cake set at the nearby restaurant.  To our interesting our father's birthdays were just 1 week differences.
After that I went to see a Japanese movie "Shazai no osama (謝罪の王様)" literally The King of Apology.  It is a comedy written by Mr. Kudo Kankuro (宮藤官九郎) who also wrote the NHK's morning drama "Amachan (あまちゃん)."  I went to see this movie because one of my classmates said she appeared there as an extra.  It was an interesting movie. 

2013.10.4

It was very cool today.
We learned Logical Thinking.  We had some group works and enjoyed discussing.
At lunch time I went out for French restaurant to have a birthday lunch for one of the classmates with 5 classmates.  Lunch menu included soup, main dish with a piece of bread, dessert, and coffee or tea at yen 1,200.  I think it is a very reasonable price.
I got some pictures from friends in Chile whom I met in the USA in 1999.
At night I watched a video which I recorded on October 1.

2013.10.3

It was a nice and warm day today.

A new subject "Marketing" began at the training.  The first lesson was self-introduction for one minute each.  There were always something new even if we have already been studying together for two months.  The last period was a group discussion to number the things to bring when we were left in the desert after the plane crashing accident.

Since the tea lesson was cancelled, I went to see a movie "Soshite chichi ni naru (そして父になる: Like Father, Like Son)" directed by Mr. Hirokazu Koreeda (是枝裕和).    It was an award (Jury Prize) winning movie at the 66th Canne Film Festival (Festival de Canne).  It was a story about two families whose sons were exchanged 6 years ago at the hospital.   After 6 years raising as a family, which should be taken, biological parents or foster parents?  It is a difficult decision to take.

2013.10.2

It rained heavily in the morning.  When I got out from the room in the afternoon, it has already stopped raining and I saw the beautiful rainbow.

Today was the big day in Japanese traditional event.  The most famous shrine in Japan must be Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮) in Mie (三重).  Every 20 years they build the new shrine and transfer the god body.  This is called shikinen sengu (式年遷宮), and this year is the year and today is the day of the transferring the god body.  It is called sengyo no gi (遷御の儀).  And it was conducted from 8 PM.
This was the 62nd event from the year 690 and it's had 1300 years history.  Because of this event there are so many people who visit Ise Jingu this year.  And I was one of them.  I went there on June 9.  I could see both new and old buildings in a sense.
In Izumo taisha (出雲大社) it is also the year of sengu (遷宮).  They conduct every 60 years, and this year's event is called heisei no dai sengu (平成の大遷宮).
In Japanese shinto (神道) history this is the big year. 
I feel happy to experience such big events.

2013.10.1

A new month has start.  October is jyugatsu (十月), its old name is kannazuki (神無月), literally god without month. All of the gods get together in Izumo (出雲), therefore October is called kamiarizuki (神在月), literally god with month in Izumo area.  Izumo is very famous for its big shrine Izumo taisha (出雲大社).  In every 60 years the body of the god is moved to the new shrine and this year falls on that year.  I hope to visit there this month. 

2013.9.30

The last day of September.  How fast time flies!  It's already 9 months passed.  There are three months left.  What have you done?

It was a nice autumn day.

I was busy tonight.  After coming back, I dropped at Yokosuka to buy textbooks.  But again there were no text books.  Then I went grocery shopping.  After coming home, I prepared supper for my father and went to practice small ball exercise after long time.