2016.5.31

The end of May.
How fast time flies!

I came to Nagasaki on a business trip.
It's been a long time since I came here last, maybe at the high school excursion.

We took a flight from Haneda at 14:15, but it arrived a little bit later than schedule.  But to our lucky we could get on the limousine bus soon. We checked in the hotel around 17:45 and went out for dinner. I chose the local dish called kakuni teishoku (角煮定食), pork dish. It was tasty.
After that we went to see the Nagasaki night view from the Mount Inasa by Ropeway. They say it was chosen as the world's top three night view in 2012 with Hong Kong and Monaco.  It was also chosen as the top three night views in Japan along with Sapporo and Kobe in 2015.
I enjoyed the view.

2016.5.30

It has been raining.

The new program for a Thai fellow has started, and I was rather busy for the preparation today. From tomorrow we will visit Nagasaki prefecture.

It's been so long since I went to Nagasaki last time, maybe for the high school excursion trip. At that time we had a free day and my friends and I walked and walked around the city without having lunch.
This time I don't think I have a free time, but I hope to taste local foods.
Two soul foods there are Nagasaki chanpon and Sara udon. Both are noodles. 
Nagasaki related with Holland and China.  So they have a china town.

If I have a chance, I want to visit Dejima where was only open to the world during the period of national isolation of 17th to 19th centuries.

2016.5.29

It was fine and hot.

My friends and I went to the Kainan jinja (海南神社) shrine in Misaki (三崎) and paid a formal visit, which means we entered into the shrine building and the Shinto priest recited the Shinto chant called norito (祝詞) and we dedicated the Sakaki twig called tamagushi (玉串) and prayed. After that we wrote our wish on the Ema (絵馬) and hung them.  There will be a festival there next Sunday, to our lucky we could see a portable shrine called omikoshi (御神輿) by chance.

Misaki is famous for tuna so we went to eat tuna lunch at Kurobatei (くろば亭) restaurant where is very famous in that area. My student's father runs the restaurant and we had a good service of kabutoyaki (かぶと焼き), the grilled tuna head. Before eating he prayed and played the trumpet shell and served. His perfornance was very impressive. There are many different meats in tuna head and we enjoyed various taste.

After that we had tea at the nearby cafeteria and enjoyed chatting.

After saying goodbye, I went to grocery shopping and filling my car up.

It was a nice Sunday.

  

2016.5.28

It was cloudy.

I went to the Kimono-style Miya to have my pictures taken. Today's background settings were special versions. One is a white wall, the other is a black wall, another is a red carpeted sofa in front of very expensive obi called sahari(佐波理), and there is one more, a gold folding screen with a light stand. In front of the white wall I used the Japanese paper unbrella. In front of a black wall I used a frame. In front of the gold folding screen, we used the cherry blossom flower petals. All these were special arrangement for oiran (花魁) picture taking, but since I did not feel like trying oiran style because oiran is a high class prostitute so that I wore the newly made semi-formal kimono with the most expensive obi I have.
After taking pictures, I tried some summer kimono and others. It is fun to try on beautiful kimono.

In the afternoon I went to Tokyo to attend an explanatory meeting of the beauty business college for adults. There were 12 participants. I was intetested in speakers because one of them was a very successful broadcast writer, and the other was the one I met at the luncheon of color beauty studies on May 9,  so that I attended this meeting, and their talk was interesting but I did not apply for the course.

In the evening I went to Shinjuku to attend the best investment seminar.
One of my classmates from the International Business course was a speaker. It's been two years since we studied together.
I wished to have dinner with her, but it was already passed 10:30 pm when it was over. So I gave up. I missed the last train again.

At those seminars I attended with kimono and many people praised me and I felt good.
Here are some pictures.

2016.5.27

It was raining in the day time but stopped in the evening.

At lunch time I went out with a research fellow from the Philippines and an interpreter and my boss.
We were going to an eel restautant but unfortunately it seemed they closed the business. Therefore we tried a Japanese restaurant nearby.  The name is Mifune (三船). Yes, it is named after the famous actor Toshiro Mifune. I ordered the beef cutlet  set which was yen 1200.
They were served as medium condition and we grill them on the small dish as long as we like. Since when I knew its existence, I wanted to try.  Therefore I am glad to taste them finally.
Here are pictures.

2016.5.26

It was fine and very hot.

I had a very long day.
In the morning I left home earlier than usual because I had a new program starting today. However there happened something and my train was delayed nearly for an hour.
On the train I tried to send an email to inform my colleagues of this situation but it was not sent.
Program went well, but there were many changes and I had to deal with them.
And in the evening, I needed to visit the related Ministry.

After that I attended a seminar about Anthony Robin's UPW program explanation seminar.  I know his name but I did not know his coaching methods at all. A few days ago there appeared the information about this seminar on my Facebook Page, and the place was the next station from my office station, so I decided to attend.
It was supposed to start at 19:30 and end around 21:30. However it started later than schedule and ended around 11 pm. Therefore I missed my last train to my station. So I need to take a taxi.
At the seminar I happened to see my Facebook friend whom I met on May 9.
I enjoyed the seminar and applied for the special discount seminars.
It seems this is the year of learning.

2016.5.25

It was cloudy but warm, and windy at night .

I left home earlier in the morning to leave the office earlier in the evening to go to the beauty salon.

I was rather busy today.
At the lunch time I went out for three reasons.
One was to transfer the money from the Japan Post, but I could not make it without having a card nor a bankbook.
The other was to buy eye drops which I could not get last Saturday, but this was also unsuccessful because not only the prescription was valid until 21st but also they did not have stocks again.

Another was to buy a bouquet for our colleague who gets married today.
We held a surprise party for her in the afternoon. It was successful. She has not noticed until she entered the room.

After work I went to the beauty salon as  planned. Here is the picture after having my hair cut.

2016.5.24

It was fine and warm.

After work I went shopping a present for my colleague who will get married tomorrow.  It is fun to choose presents. Tomorrow I will buy a bouquet. And we will have a small celebration. It is a surprise.  I hope she will be pleased.

In today's newspaper there was an announcement of the top 10 of the 29th Salaried men's Senryu (サラリーマン川柳) contest. Senryu is the shortest cynical poem of 5-7-5 letters. In February the best 100 were posted, and Internet voting was held. There were 112595 votes and best 10 senryu were selected.
This year's best one senryu got 6305 votes. It was Taishokukin moratta shunkan tsuma drone (退職金 もらった瞬間 妻ドローン). It means as soon as I got the retirement allowance, my wife disappeared. Drone can fly to many places. And the Japanese sound "doron" means to disappear. This shows the divorce rate of mature married couple is increasing and elder ladies tend to travel with their friends.

2016.5.23

It was fine and very warm. It is still May, and with this nearly 30 degrees centigrade, we are afraid of summer coming.

It was a long day. 
I left home earlier than usual.
There were many events happening at the same time, and all of our team were busy to prepare and coordinate.
When I left the office it was nearly 9 pm and unfortunately there happened the signal check or something on the way and my train had to wait for sometime and I came home nearly 11:30 pm.

The moon looked very beautiful.

2016.5.22

It was fine.

Today is the second day of Dr. John Gray's special seminar about partnership at the Tokyo Big Sight.

I left home earlier to reach there before opening, but when I arrived there,  there were so many people already waiting. 

Today it started from the meditation, which I felt so good.

He shared the stories of his father's tragedy and his two marriages and a divorce.  Yesterday we heard about his younger brother's tragedy and teasing from older brothers. He is such a world famous successful writer, but he has had such hard experiences too.
Everyone has a hard time, but it gives us compassion and wisdom.

There were some exercises. One of them was to hug.  To my lucky I could hug with him too. In the Japanese culture we seldom touch others. One of the American culture I miss is hugging. Hug has a power of healing.

It has been nice lecture and seminars. So I am really grateful to be invited to these events. Than you. Thank you.  Thank you.

He promised to come back to Japan many times. I hope to attend his lectures and seminars at the VIP seat next time.

On my way back by Yurikamome, I saw the beautiful night scenery of the rainbow bridge with the fullmoon, but I could not take pictures.

2016.5.21

It was fine in the day time, but slightly rained in the evening.

I am having a long day.

I left home early to go to see an eye doctor in Ikebukuro.  After making an  appointnent, I visited the HR section of the university I worked until this March to submit something.
After going back to the eye doctor I was called soon and finished examination soon but the accounting part took longer time than I expected and I gave up dropping at the phermacy there.
I could not get the train which I wanted to take and took about 15 minutes later train and I was a bit late for the Dr. John Gray's Special two days seminar at the Tokyo Big Sight. So I had to take the seat of the very last row.
He was so energetic today too.
At the lunch break I visited three pharmacies all the way across the bridge, but they did not have what I wanted.
After the lecture I tried three pharmacies but it was too late.
Usually they do not open late for weekend. So I may not be able to get certain eye drops by Monday.

Today's seminar was interesting again. He taught us that it is OK not to be perfect, and trying your best is important , the different ways of thinking between men and women, and his personal experiences.
The seminar was supposed to start at 10:45 and end around 19:00, but as we expected it lasted longer than that.
I enjoyed today's seminar too.

2016.5.20

It was cloudy.

After work I went to attend Dr. .John Gray's lecture about partnership. I went there by myself but I happened to see a friend from Expo '92 at the entrance. 
It started a little bit later than schedule,  and during the break I saw another friend from Expo '92. To my strange both of them said they were invited by their friends.  I was also invited to this lecture.
His lectures tend to be longer than schedule and there were only two questions accepted.
His lecture was interesting and fun.

I am looking forward to attending two days seminar tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

2016.5.19

It was fine and hot.

It seems I got a cold. Yesterday I had a sore throat, and today I have a running nose.

After work I went to Kimono style Miya to get presents for special valued customers. They were specially made wine or cocktail glass which will also be a vase for a flower, and a specially made roll for summer kimono.  A roll itself is a present but we need to pay for dying and sawing.  So we are happy to get presents but discouraged to know the cost.
At the shop I saw my picture used for the poster for this summer cruising event.

2015.5.18

It was fine.

Last night I went to bed very late. When I woke up, it was already the time I usually leave home. After all  I took about 30 minutes later train than uaual, but to my lucky I was in time.

At lunch time I went to a bank and a post office where I was going to this morning.

Today I applied for the free lectures for my favorite lecturers in June and July. This year I have been to many lectures and seminars and enjoying learning something new.

I have a sore throat.

2016.5.17

It was raining heavily in the morning but stopped raining in the evening

Today was a pay day.
Last time it did not include the commuting fare.
I wonder what will become of commuting fare for April.

I went to five banks on my way back, but there are still two left to confirm.

2016.5.16

It was fine.

I took an earlier train in the morning than usual to leave office earlier this evening.

One of the good things of my office is introducing the flex time system. Core time is from 10 am to 3 pm when we need to work. We can choose starting and ending time. Basically 7 hours and 45 minutes is the regular working time in a day. But we calculate in total.

At 4:30 I left the office and went to Sakuragicho to attend the open recording program of Cosmopolitan podcast from 7 pm to 8:30 pm with my old friend from Expo 92 whose birthday happens to be the same as mine on May 8.
Today's guest was Mr. Takayuki Kuramoto who runs a cafe in Byron Bay in Australia.
After the talk show, I had a chance to talk with an interviewer and the guest. The guest has lived in Florida for five years long time ago. What a coincidence!

After that my friend and I enjoyed the beautiful night scenery of Yokohama Minato Mirai Area. While we were having tea, there happened a big earthquake in Ibaraki, and suddenly siren of people's smartphones and cellphones started sounding which made us surprised.  Trains back home delayed for a few minutes due to this earthquake.

2016.5.15

It was fine.

I went to grocery shopping at a supermarket in the morning. Today was a lucky day because they offer 10 percent off and five times points to the members.

After lunch I went to Tokyo to attend a seminar for world traveler bloggers. I thought it started from 2 pm but actually it started at 2:30 pm. Since I arrived at 1:55 pm, I needed to kill time. I walked around the place and went to a convenience store to buy drink.
There were about 16 participants, and I believe most of them love traveling.
The seminar laste for three hours. It was interesting and useful.

One of my dreams is to travel around the world without having lots of things. And the other dream is to be a bridge between Japan and other countries. Another dream is to be a snowbird to live both in Japan and USA. It might be possible to make my dreams come true in the future.
I enjoyed the seminar a lot.

2016.5.14

It was fine and warm.

I got up early to attend a reasonable bus tour to Shosenkyo (昇仙峡) in Yamanashi with my friend from primary school.
We took 6:26 train, and the bus left at Yokosukachuo around 7 am. The bus was full, and there were 43 participants. Some were family, others were friends.
There were 6 places to stop. First was sweets shop where we could buy very lucky sweets which might bring us fortunes. There was a sweets Empress Michiko likes too.
Second was winery. We could taste many different wines.
Third was the Jewery Factory. We saw the lazer hole diamond, far-infrared necklace and so on.  To my surprise to make one plutinum ring, a ton of ore is needed.
Fourth was trellis of wisteria of a general household. However it was rather late unfortunately.
Fifth was lunch and shopping place. We finished eating earlier and visited the nearby temple called Erinji (惠林寺) where is said to be graveyard of the famous Japanese warload,  Shingen Takeda (武田信玄). They have a beautiful garden.
And the last was the main spot for me, Shosenkyo.  It had been chosen as one of the best canyons in Japan for three years in row in 1980s. There were two places to see there, one is of course canyon, waterfalls and river and the other was a museum. However there was only one hour there and we chose the canyon.  The waterfalls were very nice, and we enjoyed walking along the river and taking pictures.

We came back to Yokosukachuo around 7 pm, therefore this was 12 hour trip with lunch by bus.
The original price of this tour was about yen 10,000 but since I was a repeater of these tours and they sent me a special discount invitation mail and we could join this for less than a half price.

Here are some pictures from the tour. I hope you enjoy.

2016.5.13

It was fine and hot today.

After work I went to the Fuji Film Square. Every Friday they start the new exhibitions.
There are two types of them. One prohibits taking pictures and the other is welcome to take pictures and share.
Today there were three new exhibitions and they were former and I could not take pictures.
I enjoyed seeing the beautiful sceneries and flowers.

This is one of the best things I am enjoying working in Roppongi.

2016.5.12

It was fine and hot today.

I took an earlier train to go to the post office before working. There happened something on the JR and they offered to transfer to other routes and trains became crowded and delayed. So even I took 30 minutes earlier train, I arrived at the office almost the same time as usual.

Today I got a souvenir from Thailand. It was dried and seasoned tamarind.  The other day I got dried tamarind which diid not have seeds, but this time there are many seeds inside. I wonder if they wil grow in Japan or not.

2016.5.11

It rained in the morning.
It was windy today.

During the golden week, many people traveled somewhere.  Therefore we get many sweets these days.  Some went abroad, others traveled in Japan.
Today's sweets was a piece of cookie made from rice powder with wheat and the pressed flower was decorated on the top. I have never seen the edible pressed flower. I got some small chocolates which looked like candies. They were nice.

2016.5.10

It was cloudy in the morning and became rain in the evening.

It is my mother's 14th death anniversary.

I have a good news today. From April 29 to May 1 I attended the seminars of the Institution of Self Discovery Characteristic Psychology. First day was for Advisors, and next two days were for Instructors.  There was an examination at the very last period.
Today I got the result of the examination by email and fortunately I passed.

Yesterday I attended the luncheon of the Color Beauty Studies and decided to get another license for color beauty studies near future.

If you are interested in your characteristic and rhythm of your life, I will be able to let you know soon.

2016.5.9

It was cloudy in the morning, and became rain in the afternoon.

I took a day off today.

In the morning I went to my mother's graveyard because I could not visit there for Mother's Day yesterday, and tomorrow is her 14th death anniversary.

Then I went to Nihonbashi to attend a luncheon of Color Beauty Studies.
There were about 25 people there and all of them were women. There were four instructors and they looked shining.
The reason why I attended this luncheon was I  happened to know about this research last month and I happened to attended the Birthday Marketing seminar last month and enjoyed the seminar of ISD (Institute of Self Discovery) Characteristic Psychology during this Golden Week and I wanted to know the differences between ISD Characteristic Psychology and Color Beauty Studies because both of them judge the personality from one's birthdate.

There was a suprise. Since my birthday was yesterday, they celebrated my birthday with a birthday plate and a  birthday song.

I met very attractive people there and enjoyed this luncheon and the following second party today.

Thank you, everyone.

2016.5.8

Happy Birthday to Me!

It is a new year beginning for me.
This became another unforgettable birthday.

There was a big event. I joined the one of the biggest Kimono Fashion Shows in Yokohama. Hoshoen (芳裳苑) group challenged the Guiness Record for the most models in a Kimono Fashion Show.
This was the third time for me to join their kimono fashion festivals. First in Yokohama in December 2013, next was in Kyoto in October 2015, and this time.  I believe last year at Toji (東寺)Temple where is the UNESCO's World Heritage Site they already broke that record because there must be around 500 models.
This time they had this kind of fashion shows for three times at Fukuoka, Yokohama, and Nagoya to have 1500 models in total.
This was held to celebrate their CEO Mr. Omori's (大森) 20th anniversary of his position. There was a big party of about 200 people. I met some model friends and enjoyed the delicious course dinner with an entertainer's show.

I sent an invitation to many friends and some of them came to see the event which became a very nice present for me.

As per my friends' request, here are some of the pictures I took today.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, those who sent me messages and shared time with me.
You made my day very special.