2014.3.31

March 31 is the last day of the fiscal year in Japan.   Today is the last day of 5% consumption tax.  From tomorrow it will be raised to 8%. 

It was fine and very warm.  Mt. Fuji looked very beautiful.

Today the long run variety program of lunch time finished after 32 years.  The title was waratte iitomo ! (笑っていいとも!), meaning "You may laugh."  There were 8,054 episodes in 32 years.  And Tamori (タモリ), a.k.a. Mr. Kazuyoshi Morita (森田一義) has acted as MC for 32 years.  He and the program were acknowledged the records by the Guinness World Record.
The titles were:
Most live TV episodes of a variety show hosted by the same presenter (8001 times)
Longest running live TV variety show (episode) same channel (8054 times)

At night there was a special grand finale program.  There were so many ex-regular members.    I used to watch the program, especially on Sunday when they had a special version of the week.  However these days I have not watched.  The most popular part was telephone shocking.  It is the guest's talk show who was introduced by telephone one day before.  The concept is "friend's friend is a friend, let's make a circle of friends bigger." On Friday two weeks ago, even Japanese Prime Minister appeared as a guest.

What is the longest TV program in your country?

 

2014.3.30

It rained heavily in the morning, but became fine in the evening.  Strong wind is blowing.  There was an earthquake in Fukushima tonight.

I went grocery shopping.   Today is the last Sunday before consumption tax will be raised from 5% to 8% on April 1.  Many people tried to buy many things.

They say more international flights use the Haneda Airport from today which is a good news to me.  I hope to travel abroad soon.

2014.3.29

It was fine.　The cherry blossoms have started blooming.

I went to Yokohama (横浜) to attend a seminar.  On my way there I happened to see my friend at the station and sat together and enjoyed talking until she left at Kamioooka (上大岡).
After the seminar we went out for lunch at a Chinese restaurant where I wanted to go for a long time.
When I came back to my station, I was called and I happened to see my friend whom I met in the morning again.  We went to different places but met twice today.  So interesting.

I have just watched the women's figure skating.  Ms. Mao Asada (浅田真央) became a champion.  Congratulations!

2014.3.28

It was fine.

I went to Shinjuku to attend a general meeting of stockholders in the morning.  This happens once a year and this was the third time for me to attend this.  The good things are they give us souvenirs, two free movie tickets, and you can see a movie by the attendance sheet.  Souvenirs are different every year.  This year it was a Japanese sweets called karinto (花梨糖) Japanese fried-dough cookies.  I watched "Lone Survivor."  It was another true story.  Whatever happens we should not give up which was I felt through this movie.

I have lunch with my three high school classmates at my favorite bakery restaurant.  We are served by fresh baked bread as much as until we refuse.  We enjoyed eating and chatting for three hours.  They are all mothers.  So we talked about their children, our parents and our classmates.  There are many problems we are facing especially nursing care and property management of our parents.
We have spent time together for three years every day when we were high school students, but now everyone has totally different lives.

At night I attended another meeting.  I enjoyed the talk of manipulative practitioner because he taught us easy exercise which prevents us from stiff shoulders or something wrong with our body.



 

2014.3.27

It was a cold rainy day.

I went to tea lesson in the afternoon.  March 27 is a very special day for Omotesenke (表千家) school.  It is known as Rikyuki (利休忌), the anniversary of Rikyu's death who committed harakiri in 1591.  On the alcove there was a picture of Rikyu.  
I was the first today.  Therefore I could practice sumidemae (炭点前) charcoal procedure followed by koicha (濃茶), thick tea procedure.  Today's sweets was named hana no utage (花の宴), the feast of flowers and looked very beautiful.  Koicha procedure took longer time than usucha (薄茶), weak tea procedure.  So in total it took three hours for two procedures.

There was All Japan Championship for Mogul today.  Ms. Aiko Uemura (上村愛子) became a champion.  Congratulations!!  Since she will retire after this season, I am glad to know that she became a champion at the very last event in her hometown Hakuba (白馬).  This was her 8th victory after two years.  She has attended Winter Olympic games for 5 times, but unfortunately she could never get the medal.
 

2014.3.26

I got up early to go to Tokyo to attend a seminar starting at 10 and finishing at 18.  It cost yen 21,000  including lunch.  There were about 10 participants.  The woman next to me was from Kumamoto (熊本), Kyushu (九州) and I was surprised to hear that she would go back there by bus.  The woman next to me the other side was from Yokosuka (横須賀) and I was so surprised to hear that because we live so close each other and use the same station.  
We had a course lunch at the Italian Restaurant at the first floor of the building, which was also a nice surprise because I thought we would be provided the boxed lunch so called obento (お弁当).

After that I went to Shibuya (渋谷) to see my friend and we ate Spanish course dinner.

2014.3.25

It was fine and warm today.
They say it was the climate of early May and the cherry blossoms have finally started blooming.  It was one day earlier than average but 9 days later than last year.   Japanese people really like to see beautiful cherry blossoms.  And the season has come.   The name of cherry blossom is somei yoshino (ソメイヨシノ).   I hope you will have a chance to see them someday.

2014.3.24

It was fine.
Finally my fever went down to normal and I felt better.

Yesterday the spring sumo grand tournament was over and Ozeki Kakuryu (大関鶴竜) became a champion by 14-1.  It was his first victory.  Today there was an announcement of his becoming the 71st Yokozuna (横綱).  He is from Mongolia.  Yokozuna Hakuho (白鵬) and Yokozuna Harumafuji (日馬富士) are also from Mongolia.
Sumo is a Japanese traditional sport.  I hope more Japanese sumo wrestlers will become active.

2014.3.23

It was fine.
Father and I went to visit my mother's graveyard in the morning.  On our way we could see the beautiful Mt. Fuji (富士), Oshima (大島) big island, Boso (房総) Peninsula, and Izu (伊豆) Peninsula.
At night there was something wrong with my father and I called my brother.  We decided to take him to the hospital to take CT scan.  Fortunately there was nothing wrong with his brain.  He had a high fever though.  It was influenza.  I thought I had influenza so I also asked to check it.  The test was very easy.  A long cotton kit was inserted to my nose and it was brought to check.  It was negative.  I do not know why.  I still have a fever and pains here and there.  So it is very strange.

2014.3.22

It was fine outside, but I did not go out at all.

I have been sick in bed.  I have a high fever, a shivering fit, muscular pains and so on.  I tried to sleep, but it was rather difficult.  I hope to get well soon.

2014.3.21

Today is a national holiday called shunbun no hi (春分の日), the Vernal Equinox Day.   So many people have a three-day weekend.  It is a middle of spring equinoctial week.  We usually visit our ancestors' graveyard at this time.
Since I still have a fever and feel dull, I stayed at home and canceled this weekend's schedule.
It seems my friends who attended last Saturday's reunion also have a high fever.

There was an opening ceremony of Spring Sembatsu (選抜) Baseball Tournament of High School. 
 

2014.3.20

It was a cold rainy day.

I went to Ikebukuro (池袋) in the morning, then to Kawasaki (川崎) in the afternoon to watch a movie "The Butler."  This was another Black people's movie inspired by the true story.  The Japanese title is "Daitoryo no shitsuji no namida (大統領の執事の涙)," meaning "Tears of the President's Butler."  The Japanese title of "12 years a slave" is also quite different from the original title.  It is "Soredemo yo wa akeru (それでも夜は明ける), " meaning "Even so the dawn comes."  After watching these movies, I feel I did not understand the reality of the civil rights movement.  There must be still many discrimination here and there in the world.  We need to change this.

In the evening I went to tea lesson and grocery shopping but did not go to stretching exercise.

2014.3.19

It was fine, but I did not go out anywhere because I had a fever.  It went up to 38 degrees centigrade and I felt dull and have some coughs.  I tried to sleep in the morning, but the fever did not go down. I do not like to take medicines.  I hope to get well soon.

 

2014.3.18

It was fine and windy.  They say it was haru ichiban (春一番), spring No. 1, the first gale of spring.

I went to Shinjuku (新宿) to attend a lecture of the president who is very famous for translation and interpretation world.  There was something happened around Shinagawa (品川), so I changed the train at Yokohama (横浜).  There was a woman who was climbing stairs with so many bags and I offered her a hand.   In Europe and America in such a situation men offer carrying the goods, but in Japan it does not happen so often unfortunately.  I often wonder what this difference is.  Does this come from education or religion? What do you think?

After the lecture I went to Yokohama to see a Japanese movie which was based on the true story.  At the very last the real video was used.
 

2014.3.17

It was fine and warm. 

I stayed at home and watched two movies I recorded before.  One is Japanese Doctor's story and its Part II will be released this weekend, and the other was American movie which I saw at the theater before.  I watched some TV programs too. 

The Sochi Paralympic was over.  Fewer events were broadcast on TV and I only saw the results by news.  Japanese team got 3 gold medals, 1 silver medal and 1 bronze medal.  Congratulations!

2014.3.16

It was fine, and the moon was very beautiful.

I went to Yokohama to attend my friends' first seminar in the morning.  They have prepared the Power Point Presentation, however the cable of the venue did not match their PC and could not use them.  In such a situation, I think they did well.

Then I went to Shinagawa to attend my ex-colleague's birthday party.  Eight of us got together and enjoyed very delicious Italian lunch and chatting. 


 

2014.3.15

It was fine.

In the morning I went to the beauty salon to have my hair cut after a long time.  I took the different way to go there than usual.  So it took longer than usual.  After that I enjoyed window shopping at the station.  I was so surprised to see the price of washable kimono, extremely cheap, only yen 777.  From April our consumer tax will be 8% from 5%, therefore they had a special bargain before that though I did not buy anything.

In the afternoon I had a high school reunion for all classes.  There were 10 classes and 450 students.  Today more than 210 students and 5 teachers attended the party.  In our class 23 people included the teacher attended.  There were 2nd and 3rd party too and most of them attended.  Our class have had some reunions after graduation, but this was the first reunion for all the class.  It was so interesting to see old friends.  Some looked younger, others looked older.
 

2014.3.14

It was cloudy.

March 14 is known as White Day in Japan.  It is a Japanese custom for men to present sweets to women who gave them chocolate on St. Valentine's Day for a return gift.  On St. Valentine's Day, different from American culture, girls and women give chocolate to boys and men whom they like.
Which custom do you like?

2014.3.13

It's been raining and very windy.  It is expected to rain heavily from now.

In the afternoon I went to tea lesson.   I was the first and two pupils came later.  I practiced first, and drank tea twice.  Today's sweet looked like rape blossoms. 
After tea lesson I went grocery shopping.  It was 10 % off day though I did not know.  So I felt lucky.
After dinner I went to stretching exercise.  Usually we practice for two hours, but since the strong wind was expected, it finished earlier.

2014.3.12

It was fine but very windy.
Depends on the place it was very warm today, but not here.   In Hokuriku (北陸) area it blew haruichiban (春一番), literally spring No. 1, the first gale of spring.  Spring is coming.
The cherry blossom tree I planted last month started blooming.

Today I went to Yoga lesson in the morning.  There were two instructors today. Both of them thought today was their day.

 

2014.3.11

It was fine but very cold.  Mt. Fuji looked so beautiful.

It has been 3 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami happened.  There were many memorial ceremonies here and there.  In Tokyo there was the one hosted by the Japanese Government and about 1,000 people attended including the Emperor and Empress, Prime Minister, and representatives from the bereaved families of Iwate (岩手), Miyagi (宮城), and Fukushima (福島).
At 2:46 PM most people offered a silent prayer for the dead. 
According to the newspaper, 15,884 peoples' lives were lost and 2,633 people are still missing, and 2,973 people died related to this occasion.  And 267,000 people are still evacuating.
On March 11, 2011, 104 babies were said to be born in the above-mentioned prefectures.  Some of them have not been celebrated on their birthday because many of their family members or relatives or friends were lost.

I wish the early recovery from the disaster and happiness of the people.

2014.3.10

It was fine but very cold.
I went to Tokyo to attend an explanation meeting in the afternoon.  It costs more than yen 2000 to go and back therefore I try to do many things when I go out.  Today I did three things.
After that I went to see my friend's art exhibition in Omotesando (表参道).  It's been a long time since I went to Omodesando last.  There were very nice shops though I did not buy anything.
After that I walked to Shibuya (渋谷) to see a movie "12 years a slave" which got the Oscar.  Japanese title is "Soredemo yo wa akeru (それでも夜は明ける)", which means "Even so, it dawns" which is quite different from the original title.  It was a heavy movie and there were lots of things to think.  The woman next to me was weeping.  Situations are different but the abduction reminded me of Japanese abduction victims to North Korea.

2014.3.9

It was fine.

I went to Yoga lesson and machine training in the afternoon.  Last time I tried to climb the highest course, the Eiffel Tower for the step counting machine and it took about an hour.  Therefore today I chose the lowest one, the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  It took less than 5 minutes.  The body fat percentage before training and after training was quite different.  There must be something wrong with the measure.
Regarding health care, what do you care most? Weight? Body age? Body fat percentage? Blood pressure?  I care truage.  Do you know what is your truage?  If not, please check the following site.
truage.com/2891884/en-us





 

2014.3.8

It was fine but very cold .

I went to Yokohama to receive magazines and attend a monthly meeting in the morning.  My friends and I went out for lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant.  In the afternoon I attended the meeting again.  There were four speakers.  Their stories were very nice.
After the meeting I went to nursing home to visit someone whose story I would like to write a book in the future.

XI Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi started.  It seems there are some Japanese athletes who got medals.  Congratulations!

2014.3.7

It was fine but very cold.  They say it snowed in Tokyo.

Today the highest building, 300meters high, in Japan was opened in Osaka.  Its name is Abeno Harukas (あべのハルカス).  The entrance fee for observatory is yen 2000.  Until yesterday the Landmark Tower in Yokohama, 70 floor, 296 meters high has been the highest building in Japan for 21 years.



 

2014.3.6

It was cloudy and very cold.　Mt. Fuji got snow again and was so white.
Today is keichitsu (啓蟄), one of nijyushisekki (二十四節季), the 24 solar terms.  The last one was usui (雨水) on February 19 and the next one is shunbun (春分) on March 21.  Keichitsu is the day on which an insect's hibernation ends.  It should be warm, but it was very cold like winter.  It seems this coldness will continue till next Tuesday or so.

I went to tea lesson in the afternoon, and stretching lesson in the evening.

2014.3.5

It was a cold rainy day.

I went to yoga lesson in the morning.

There was a good news today.  Kerama Islands (慶良間諸島：Kerama shoto) in Okinawa (沖縄) was designated as the 31st National Park in Japan.  It's been 27 years since the last National Park Kushiro Marsh (釧路湿原：Kushiro shitsugen) in Hokkaido (北海道) was designated.  Hokkaido is the northernmost island, and Okinawa is the southernmost island. 
I have been to Okinawa twice, but never to Kerama though I have long wanted to visit.  I hope to visit there someday.

2014.3.4

It was fine but very cold.

Yesterday there was an announcement of the 86th Academy Awards.  The Oscar movie "12 years a slave" will be released on March 7.  So I am looking forward to seeing it soon.
There were Nine movies nominated, but I have only seen "Gravity."  How about you?

2014.3.3

It was very cold today.

March 3 is known as hina matsuri (雛祭り) or momo no sekku (桃の節句), that is doll's or girls festival. The family with daughters decorate the dolls called hinaningyo (雛人形).  I decorated the small one of the couple.  Male is called odairi sama (お内裏様) and female is called ohina sama (お雛様).  Sama is suffix of respect.
On this day there are special foods, drink and sweets.  I cooked chirashizushi (ちらし寿司: scattered sushi) and hamaguri no osuimono (ハマグリのお吸い物: clear clam soup with field mustard) for dinner.

At night I went to small ball exercise.  It is just one hour practice but I sweated a lot.

2014.3.2

It was a cold rainy day.

We will have a big reunion of high school in two weeks.  There are still some classmates whom we can't contact.  Therefore I tried to reach some of them.   Fortunately after calling to their parents' house I could talk with them.  It's been so long to have talked with them, maybe after graduation. 

In the afternoon I went to Yoga lesson, then to training.  At the stepping machine, I chose the highest goal, the Eiffel Tower.  I had no idea how long it would take.  It took nearly for an hour to complete.   Usually I use that machine for 10 minutes.   So I used it 6 times longer than usual.  I hope I would not have muscular pain tomorrow.
 

2014.3.1.

A new month has started.  March is sangatsu (三月), its old name is Yayoi (弥生) in Japanese.

It was slightly raining and became very cold today.

I went to Shinjuku (新宿) to attend a monthly meeting in the morning and had lunch with my friends.  
Then I went to Yokosuka (横須賀) to attend another monthly meeting and had dinner with other friends.  We had a good time eating delicious foods and chatting.