2014.5.31

The last day of May.  How fast time flies!

It was fine and very hot.  In some places it went up to more than 35 degrees centigrade which is called moshobi (猛暑日), heat wave day.

I dried futon (布団) for kotatsu (こたつ) at last and changed some clothes from winter to summer.  Usually June 1 is the day for changing clothes called koromogae (衣替え).  In Japanese public high schools and junior high schools, students' uniform are changed from winter one to summer one.

There was a toilet problem in the morning and I called the plumber to fix it.  It cost yen 8,640.

In the evening I went grocery shopping.

 

2014.5.30

It was another hot day.
It is still May but it seems summer has come.  I wonder what it would be in July and August.

After work I attended the UNDP career seminar.  I have long wanted to work at the international organizations.  I wish there would have been such a seminar when I was much younger.  These days we can get information through Internet, so I think the young generation of today is blessed.
For those who are interested in UNDP and have an intention to learn additional foreign languages, they suggested either Arabic or French.

2014.5.29

It was fine and became very hot.  In some places it went up to more than 30 degrees centigrade, which is called manatsubi (真夏日), mid summer day.

I took a day off to take my father to the hospital.  There were so many patients today and it took so long to get urine and blood examination. 
After doctor's consulting, we went out for lunch .

In the afternoon, there were two visitors to talk about the care for my father.

Finally the new PC and  printer arrived!

2014.5.28

It was cloudy but rather hot.

 

There was a big event at work. And I overworked till 9 PM.  That means I came home nearly 11:30 PM. 

 

2014.5.27

It was cloudy today.

I went out for lunch at a Japanese restaurant to see somebody whom I met at a seminar two weeks ago.  It is a small restaurant therefore I made a reservation a few days ago.  To our lucky we were led to the Japanese style room in the end and we felt comfortable having a delicious lunch.

 

2014.5.26

It was very windy today.  At night it started raining.

Finally the set up of the new PC was over and I started using it at the office.  So far so good.

Nadeshiko Japan, women's soccer team became an Asian Champion in Vietnam yesterday.  Congratulations!
Next month the FIFAWorld Cup in Brazil begins.  And there was a big send-off party for Samurai Blue yesterday.  There were 7200 fans got together at Yoyogi National Stadium which will be soon closed for the renovation for the Tokyo Olympic 2020.  Brazil is too far to go to see the games for most Japanese people.  However I hope Samurai Japan will make a good record too.

 

2014.5.25

It was fine.

In the morning I attended the community clean event.

After that I went to Roppongi to see the 66th Sanki（三軌）art exhibition at the National Art Center Tokyo. It is a huge museum and there were many exhibitions.  Every year around this time my friend from the 44th Peace  Boat cruise sends me an invitation card and I try to go to see it as much as possible.

Then I went to Hibiya to see a movie Enchanted Kingdom by 3D. Its Japanese title is Nature.

Then I went to Kamioooka to buy PC and printer. I am very glad to have bought them finally after a long time.

After coming back, I went grocery shopping.

It was a long day, but fruitful.

2014.5.24

It was fine.

I went to Kawasaki Taishi (川崎大師) in Kawasaki. There is a special exhibition of the statue of Kukai (空海) aka Kobodaishi (弘法大師), which happens only once in ten years for a month. It is called Daikaicho (大開帳).
I arrived there after noon.
There are many stores of candies and sweets called Kuzumochi (久寿餅) along the street in front of the temple.
There is a pole which has three pieces of long strings tied with him in front of the main temple. There we hold them and greet, which is a  kind of shaking hands with him.
Then I proceeded to the main building for the visit.
After that I wanted to receive a piece of  paper on which the sutra is printed in red called akafuda (赤札), but there was a long long line waiting and I knew it would take a long time to get it. Therefore I decided to see other places first such as the statue of Kobodaishi visiting eighty eight temples in Shikoku, or fifth story tower, or the statue of  Yakushinyorai (薬師如来).  And I had a chance to see the tea ceremony and I could taste green tea with Daruma cookie for nothing. The school is called Sohenryu (宗偏流), and the manner is different from Omotesenke (表千家) which I have learned long time.
After that I waited and waited under the tent and entered the main building at 3:45 PM finally.  There was a talk first and the ceremony called o goma shugyo  （お護摩修行）started at 4 PM.   At the exit we were given a piece of the paper of red character written Namuamidabutsu （南無阿弥陀仏）. When I got out, there was a much longer line, and I  wondered if they can enter today or not.  I felt lucky.
On my way back to the station I entered a small restaurant and ate Good luck noodle and Kuzumochi for early dinner.
Then I went to Roppongi to see a Disney movie Frozen by 3D. I like the song ゛Let it go.゛
There was one more thing I wanted to do today,  but it was too late to do so . Maybe tomorrow.

2014.5.23

It was fine.

The new PC arrived at the office in the morning and I asked persons in charge to install what I need to use it in the afternoon.  It takes longer than I thought and I left the office nearly around 7:30 PM.  From next week I can use it finally.

I hope to have the new PC at home too.  So I will go to see it tomorrow.  I hope to find a good one for reasonable price.

TGIF!

2014.5.22

It was fine in the morning, but cloudy and rainy with thunder in the afternoon, then became fine again in the evening.  These days the weather is so strange.

After work I went to see my friend who came to Tokyo on a business trip.  She was very busy therefore I just said hello and we met just a few minutes but we were glad to see each other.  I hope to have dinner next time to talk a lot.


 

2014.5.21

It was raining and rather cool in the morning but became fine later today.

It takes about two hours and a half for me to commute one way.  One hour and a half riding on the train first and change them for another 30 minutes ride. 
About 20 years ago, there were only two ways to spend on the train, one is either to sleep and the other is to read newspaper or books. 
Now I have a smart phone, so there are many ways besides them.  For example, I can read or hear or watch the news,  play many games, check emails and write replies, post  blog or SNS. 
I first write some emails. then check Facebook, and play games listening to the news.
For the past few days I read blog of someone who got a cancer and wrote his daily thought according to my friend's recommendation by Facebook.  This morning I saw many You tube movies posted by Facebook of my friend, and enjoyed watching them.
Though my commuting is very long, I think I can make use of them.

2014.5.20

It was cloudy but very hot.

I bought my lunch at a supermarket on my way to the office.  Good thing about my work is time management.  It is very flexible.  Today I took lunch time around 12:40 to 13:40.  From 12:45 to 13:00 I watched NHK's morning drama by my smart phone while eating.
Then somebody from the other office came into the lounge and I enjoyed talking.

Going out for lunch is enjoyable but costs higher.  Eating inside is saving time and money. 

What do you do at lunch time?

 

2014.5.19

It was fine and warm today.

In the morning there was something wrong with my PC at the office and I could not log in and use it at all.  The person in charge tried hard to fix and I could use it in the afternoon.
About a quarter century ago PC was not so popular yet.  I can't imagine how people made the things done any more.  We are so accustomed to the convenient life.

2014.5.18

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

I went to Tokyo to attend the public open recording of the Internet radio program "Dear Ken." This is the 200th anniversary recording.  They say the program has been downloaded more than 12 million times.  It was an interesting experience.

After that I had lunch with friends whom I met at the seminar the other day.

Getting to know new people is interesting, isn't it?

2014.5.17

It was very fine and hot like summer.  Mt. Fuji looked beautiful.

In the morning I went grocery shopping.  The road the other way was so crowded that I was worried about the returning time, but I could come back in time.

In the afternoon I went to Kinugasa to attend the 19th Friendship Concert in which my friend from high school sang.  There I could meet two of my classmates and a teacher.  Usually we go to have dinner after the concert but we did not go this year.  I was glad to talk with my classmates after a long time.
After that I went shopping.

2014.5.16

It was fine today and the moon looked beautiful tonight too.

A supermarket nearby to my office was opened this morning and I bought my lunch on my way to the office.  Since there was a special opening offer for rice ball, onigiri (おにぎり), I bought some of them.  Onigiri is a very convenient food to eat outside because of the two reasons.  One is you can eat it with your finger and the other is it is composed of the main dish and side dish.  There are many variation by changing the fillings.  It is usually wrapped by seaweed called nori (海苔) or made with  mixed rice.  As fillings you can use salmon (shake: 鮭）, salmon roe　(ikura: イクラ), cod roe (tarako: たらこ）, spicy cod roe (mentaiko: 明太子), tuna (tsuna: ツナ), dried plum pickles called umeboshi (梅干し), kelp (konbu: 昆布), and so on. 

 

2014.5.15

It was raining and cool in the morning, but it became fine in the afternoon.
At night I could see the beautiful full moon.

According to the news the life expectancy of Japanese people is 84 years old and it is the longest in the world, and that of Japanese women is 87 years old and the longest in the world too and that of Japanese men is 80 years old and it is 8th in the world.  Icelandic men have the longest lives of 81 years old.  The shortest is 46 years old of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
There is too much disparity between Japan and sub-Saharan countries.
We need to think about something to help them.

2014.5.14

It was fine and became very hot today. In some places it seems to have been more than 30 degrees centigrade.  It is in May but looks like the summer.

I went out for lunch at a small Japanese style restaurant with my colleague.  The menu said yen 1200 but it was not included the tax.  It's been a week since I started working and visited 6 restaurants but this was the first one which took tax additionally.  Since April the consumption tax became 8% from 5%, the calculation became a little bit complex.  If it is yen 1000, it is easy, but it was yen 1200, and it became odd pricing.

 

2014.5.13

It  rained in the morning, but became fine in the afternoon.

There was an earthquake while I was on the train in the morning, and there was something wrong with the signals. Therefore trains delayed and there were so many people on the platform when I got off the train at Shinagawa.
Since I had an appointment at 10 AM, I was afraid of being late but fortunately I was in time.

At lunch time my college and I went out for lunch at a small Chinese restaurant. Most customers were eating the same spicy noodle ゛Dandanmian （担々麺:tantanmen）゛because it is their speciality. However I am not good at eating too spicy foods, so I ordered chicken with cashew nuts. I looked for cashew nuts but they used peanuts instead and I was disappointed.
One interesting thing was the menu. Since their dishes are so spicy, they recommended customers to try from mild one, and they say they can adjust the level of spiciness.  Spiciness is karasa （辛さ）in Japanese.  But it was written as they can adjust happiness （幸せ: shiawase）instead.  Can you see the difference?  They look similar but quite different in the meaning.  So Kanji characters are very interesting to learn.

2014.5.12

It was fine, but very windy.

I am very happy to know that we can see Mt. Fuji from our office of the 6th floor.
It´s been four days since I started working there but today was the first day I noticed about it.
Another good thing was to know I can watch NHK TV with this smart phone in the room, therefore I can see the morning drama at lunch time.
One more good thing is I can get the new PC at the office in the near future because the one I use now takes time to do anything and I can´t process many things at a time.
I feel it was like the saying, ゛Turn misfortune into a blessing. （wazawai tenjite fuku to nasu:  災い転じて福となす）゛

2014.5.11

It was fine.

I went to the Tokyo Big Sight to attend the Golden Life Program.  It started at 10 AM and finished around 6:30 PM.  Today was the last day of the three-day program.
The first speaker was Mr. Roger James Hamilton who cam from Bali last night and go back there tonight.  He came to Japan just to attend this program.
The second speaker was Ms. Lynne Twist who wrote "The Soul of Money.".
The third speaker was Mr. Phil Town who wrote "Rule #1."
I did not know any of them.

At the last part there was the birthday celebration whenever there is at Mr. Ken Honda's seminar.  And I could climb up on the stage.  How lucky I am!  We were given birthday song and Ken Honda's ball point pen.  I was honored to be able to shake hands with all the speakers for this three day program.  I am glad to attend the program.

2014. 5.10

It was fine today.

It's been 12 years since my mother passed away.  We had jyusankaiki (十三回忌), the 13th year anniversary service for her at the temple.  Before that my father and I went to her grave yard too.  At the service my father, my brother and I attended.
Then we went out for lunch at the Russian restaurant and had a course dinner.  We were surprised at the volume.
After that I went to the Tokyo Big Sight again to attend the 2nd day of Golden Life Program.  I missed the morning session of the Passion Test by Janet Attwood.  When I got there, Mr. Ken Honda was talking.  The next speaker was Marci Shimoff, who wrote "Happy for No Reason," though I have not read that book yet.  It was a nice energetic lecture and everybody enjoyed.
After the seminar my friend and his today's partners and I went out for dinner.  It was an interesting meeting.

2014.5.9

It was fine in the morning, but rained with thunder suddenly in the afternoon, and became fine again in the evening.

I went out for lunch with my colleague at a Vietnamese restaurant after 1 PM because they offer yen 100 discount after 1PM.  That is a good idea to collect customers effectively.

After work I went to the Tokyo Big Sight to attend the Golden Life Program.  It is a two and a half day intensive seminar by world famous speakers.  Today's speakers were million seller writers, Mr. Ken Honda and Ms. Janet Attwood.  It started at 7 PM and finished around 9 PM.  Participants enjoyed the work with people and made friends.
I am looking forward to attending two more days this weekend. 

2014.5.8

Happy birthday to me!

It was fine today.

I had lunch with my teacher of university.  It has been a long time since we happened to see each other at a post office of Shinjuku. He treated me.

At the office I got a bouquet of pink roses by chance. How lucky I am!

I got many massages from my friends by various ways such as phone call, Skype, letter, card, e-card, mobile short messages, long messages, emails, Line messages, and Facebook post.

Birthday is a good time to know how happy to have good friends.

Thank you my dear friends.

2014.5.7

It was fine and warm.

Today is the first day of my new job. I left my house around 7：15 to take 7：30 train and got to the office around 9：45.
It took two hours and a half to go and l left the office around 18：10 and srrived at home around 20：40.  That is I use about five hours four just commuting.
Many people think it is ridiculous and a waste of the time. But living in Tokyo costs a lot therefore I will commute as long as I can.
There are four people in my office and I went out for lunch at a nearby Japanese style restaurant. There were only four menu, but there were many side dishes on the plate and they were delicious and reasonable.

2014.5.6

Today is the last day of the Golden Week for many people.  May 6 is not a national holiday, but Midori no hi (みどりの日) falled on Sunday, it became furikae kyujitsu (振替休日), a transferred holiday or an extra holiday.
For me this is the last day of the long vacation.  My new job starts tomorrow.　

It was cloudy today.
Besides going to the bank, I stayed at home and mainly washed many winter clothes and pressed summer clothes.
 

2014.5.5

There was a big earthquake this morning.

Today is a national holiday called "Kodomo no hi (こどもの日)," Children's Day.  The family with boys decorate "kabuto (兜)," helmet at home, and "koi nobori (鯉幟)," carp-shaped streamers outside.  We eat the sweets called "Kashiwa mochi (柏餅)," rice cake with sweet red bean paste wrapped with oak leaves.

Today is rikka (立夏), one of nijyushisekki (二十四節季), the 24 solar terms.  Last one was kokuu (穀雨) on April 20, and the next one will be shoman (小満) on May 21.  Rikka literally means stand summer, it is the first day of summer by the old calendar.

It was a cloudy and rainy day.
I went to beauty shop to have my hair cut and perm, and went shopping micro SD card, mobile battery, and protection seal for the new smart phone, and grocery shopping too.



 

2014.5.4

Today is a national holiday called "Midori no hi (みどりの日)" Greenery Day.  Since today is Sunday, and tomorrow is another holiday, Tuesday will be transferred holiday.

It was fine and warm.

I stayed home and tried to set many things to the new smart phone. I tried to watch TV, but could not.  So I will go to the shop and ask near future.

At night there was a monthly meeting for the community.

2015.5.3

Today is a national holiday called Kempo kinenbi( 憲法記念日), Constitution Day.

It was fine and warm in the daytime but cool in the night.

I went to Shinjuku to attend a monthly meeting.  I met some friends there and had lunch together.

Then I went to Yokohama to buy a smart phone, a tablet, and a watch.  I was going to buy iPhone5 but the sales person recommended me other smart phone after listening to my wish list, and fortunately I got a tablet for nothing but just change a provider for Internet as a special offer.   How lucky I am! With these devices I can enjoy TV and movies on my commuting train from next week!  I got a nice watch for a reasonable price. All these are early birthday presents for myself.  Whoopee!

After that I went to Yokosuka to attend another monthly gathering and dinner.  There were 11 people today.  I was late because of the shopping above, but enjoyed eating and chatting for 3 hours or so.

2014.5.2

Today is hachijyu hachi ya (八十八夜), eighty-eighth night from risshun (立春), the first day of spring.  It is a good time to pick up tea leaves.
It seemed it became the hottest day this year in Tokyo today.

I stayed home.  Since yesterday there has been something wrong with my iPhone, and most of the data were disappeared.  I could recover the contact addresses and pictures fortunately, but some useful memorandum and schedules were gone unfortunately, which makes me so irritated.  I need to make back up from next time which I often think but I couldn't do.
I believe after bad things something good will come.
I may buy the new one in the near future.

In the afternoon I watched a Japanese movie "Fune wo amu (舟を編む)" meaning compiling the boat on the ocean.  It got six Japanese academy awards, I think.  It is a story of editors at a dictionary making publisher.  To make a dictionary it takes a long time more than 10 years.  Editors have to choose and define the words.  For example, how do you describe "right" in the sense of opposite of left?  In our daily life we regard left and right as a matter of fact and we dare not define them.  But a dictionary has to explain the word.  So in this case, when you face west, "right" is north, or something like this. 

2014.5.1

A new month has started.  May is gogatsu (五月) in Japanese.  Its another name is satsuki (皐月).  I like May very much because it is my birth month.

The weather today was fine but a little bit windy.

I stayed at home in the morning, and had some visitors in the afternoon, and went to see my friend from high school later.   We had a fun time.

There happened a bad thing for me tonight.  While I was writing a reply to my friend from the iPhone, everything disappeared and I lost all the data including contact addresses, photo, schedule and memo.  I feel so depressed and tried to recover them again and again but besides saved addresses and photos in Dropbox I lost data.
This must be a sign of getting something new.