2016.6.30

It was cloudy.

The end of June. The first half of 2016 has already gone. How was your first half?

Mine was time to learn and to know new things and people.  I have attended many seminars for the past 6 months. Some were free, others cost. Some were big, others were not so big. I have learned many things and got to know many people. Many lecturers  were successful and some of them were even  billionaires.

The biggest event was to have changed the jobs. So I have worked for two jobs for three months each. Both are office works at educational institutions and very international.

I am enjoying this year.

I hope so you are.

2016.6.29

It was cloudy, but hot and humid.

I went to the Post Office to pay many annual membership fees in the morning because deadlines of some payments are due tomorrow. 
I used some transfer forms which are acceptable by ATM. There were two types of them. One is printed in red which payees will bear the remmittance fees, the other is printed in blue which payers need to bear them. 
If you use the ATM, handling  charge is cheaper than paying at the windows.
One invoice was not accepted by ATM, so I asked the reason why at the window. The person in charge said the printed name and address were too small for the machine to read. According to his advice, I added the name, and it went well.

Besides membership fees, I needed to pay residential taxes for the prefecture and the city. The are called kenmin zei (県民税) and shimin zei (市民税) respectively.  They are calculated according to the annual income I earned last year, and divided into four periods.  When you quit the job, the City Office will send you the invoice early June and the first payment due is June 30. This is not possible to use ATM because we need to fill out the document.

After paying everything, my bankbook has just finished the last page, and I made a new one.
They used to show the address and seal, but not any more.

2016.6.28

It was a rainy day and rather cool.

After work I went to the Fuji Film Square again. They still exhibit the pictures of South American Continent.
I really like to see beautiful landscapes and some of the pictures reminded me of my trips to Venezuela in 2007, Peru in 1997, Brazil in 2004, Argentina in 2004 & 2010, Chile in 2004, and Easter Island in 2004.
Others made me feel like going to Bolivia and Ecuador someday.

2016.6.27

It was fine.

We had a farewell luncheon at the Upstairs of the Mercedez-Benz Connection today.
Last week when I saw the menu, I was going to order Chef's Salad Lunch. But this morning when I knew Monthly Special Lunch is Blue Crab Tomato Sauce Lingine, I decided to change. There were 10 people and most of them chose Weekly Lunch. There are two choices: Tuna, Broccoli and Okra Tomato source Pizza or Ground meat and Eggplant Ragout sauce Rigatoni with Young Ginger.
First a small cup of Gaspacho soup was served. Second the main meal came.  Lastly tea or coffee was served. For women only a very small cookie was served too.
It was a fashionable space and there was a new car exhibited in the second floor.

After work I went to a dentist who is my classmate from high school. I have had a toothache for a few weeks.  It was difficult to make an appoinment at night but the treatment did not take long.

2016.6.26

It was cloudy and fine.

I went grocery shopping in the morning.

Then I took a train to go to Tokyo to attend a one day seminar for beauty business launching.  On the train I happened to see my friend at the opposite seat. She was reading a book and did not notice me, so I called. She was with her husband on their way to see their daughters to have lunch.  We have some common hobbies.  But we seldom have had time to talk these days. So I am glad to see her and her husband by chance.

One day seminar was held at a meeting room in Kyobashi. There were about 36 participants and three lecturer for four hours. I met two of them about a month ago at the explanatory meeting for the course. Another one seemed very famous for the Internet marketing world, but I have not known him at all. There were many works and sharing. Everyone is unique and has a different goal.
There was someone I remembered by face but not by  name, and I have been thinking who she is and when I met her.
At the very last session, I knew the answer. She was a photographer who took the group pictures at the luncheon on May 9.

After coming back to my station I happened to see one of my students after a long time. 

It was an interesting day seeing three aquaintances by chance.

The evening sky was so beautiful today.

2016.6.25

It was cloudy all day long, but I am so glad it did not rain because I wore the summer kimono called sha (紗).

First I went to the Kimono-style Miya to get dressed, hair done and makeup. I made this Kimono and bag to join the invitation trip to Hakodate(函館), Hokkaido(北海道) last year. But unfortunately I became sick on that day and could not attend the trip. Hakodate is one of the places I have wanted to visit for a long time. Therefore I was so shocked last summer.
This type of summer kimono is usually worn at the midsummer.

Second I was invited to luncheon at an Italian restaurant in Yokohama. The only condition to join this was to attend with kimono. There were about 20 people. Many people wore greenish colored kimono today.

I left the restaurant earlier to attend a seminar by a  best seller writer Mr. Toyokazu Tsuruta(鶴田豊和). He recently published his second book titled ""Tsumaranai" ga nakunaru hon (｢つまらない｣がなくなる本), " meaning "Boredom will disappear with this book" or "The book to disappear "boring.""
This seminar was also invited one. The only condition to attend this seminar was to bring his new book after registering.
It's been a while since I attended his seminar last.
After the seminar I asked him for his autograph and picture.

I had a good day.

I hope you do too.

2016.6.24

It was cloudy in the morning, and rainy in the afternoon.

After work I went to see two photo exhibitions. One was held at the Fuji Film Square in Roppongi and pictures of South American continents were exhibited, the other was held at Hikarie in Shibuya and so many pictures of Tokyo Camera Club members were exhibited and there was a talk show too.
Unfortunately I had an appointment at night so I could not see them taking time.

If you have time, I recomnend you to visit there.

My appointment was at Higashi Shinjuku where I have never been to.  On my way to go I used Fukutoshin line and on my way back I used Oedo line.

2016.6.23

It was raining heavily in the morning so I brought a big umbrella, but it stopped raining and became fine in the afternoon.

Do you know the board game Othello? The black and white stone turning over game on the green board. It was invented by a Japanese whose name is Hasegawa Goro (長谷川五郎) after the World War II and started selling on April 29, 1973.
A minute to learn, and a lifetime to master is its catch phrase.
I have not known the reason of the name and the inventor until today to hear the news about his death on June 20 at the age of 83.

2016.6.22

It was cloudy at first and rained when I got to Roppongi but stopped raining later.

I went out for lunch with a colleague of a different section who used to work at JICE too. We were in the same department but different section for a year and have mutual friends at JICE.
I met her after five years this spring. During this time she became a mother of two children.

I chose the special pasta of sea urchin and eggplant with tomate sauce, and she chose the lunch pasta of mussels. The pasta itself was rather thick and hard to chew.
We enjoyed having lunch together to share our old and new experiences.

2016.6.21

It was raining in the morning, but stopped raining after lunch.
It was hot, but became cool at night.
The moon looked very beautiful.

My colleagues and I went out for lunch to celebrate a professor's recovery from eye surgery. 
There were 10 people. We were in the same small partation, but there were two tables for six and four.
There were only three lunch menus: one for grilled fish, the the other for daily lunch (sauteed pork and cabbage), and another was stewed cubes of pork called buta no kakuni (豚の角煮). I chose the last one. It was tasty.

Today is geshi (夏至), summer solstice, which is one of the nijyushisekki (二十四節気), 24 solar terms.  Last one was boshu (芒種) on June 5, and the next one is shosho (小暑) on July 7.
The day time is the longest today.

2016.6.20

It was fine and very hot.

I have made a big decision to make my dreams come true. When I heard about this, I was not sure to take this chance or not.  But when I think of my past seven years' record, I thought this is a rare chance offered to me. So I called to make sure what were actually offered, what were the benefits I could receive,  and what would happen if I did not take this opportunity.
They say this is a kind of chocolate booth offering the samples. If we like, we buy. If we don't, we don't buy.
I think to try something is important. So I took this opportunity. I hope I will make use of it and grow.

After work I went to the Fuji Film Square. And I saw many beautiful landscape pictures. Surprisingly one of them was taken in my city.

2016.6.19

It was fine but became cloudy and finally rained.

It is Father's Day.
This was the first Father's Day without father.

There was something to be delivered this morning and I changed my schedule. However it didn't come. So I called the driver of the delivery company. He said he needed another hour or so.  When he came, he said "Since it is Father's Day, there are so many goods to deliver. "
Happy Father's Day to all fathers!!

After receiving the goods, I went grocery shopping.

2016.6.18

It was fine and hot like summer.

I walked to the station because I took a taxi last night. 
On my way there I talked with my friend's brother. My friend lives in the USA and I have not seen her for a long time, so I asked him to leave her a message.  I hope to see her when she comes back.

I went to Shinjuku to attend a seminar in the afternoon.

On my way back I went to a bookstore and bought five books.
Then I went to a kimono shop.

It was a busy day.

2016.6.17

It was fine.

I took a half day off to go to the tax office. The documents were so complicated to complete so that I was going to give up to submit today. But the officer strongly recommended to submit the documents and pay inheritance tax today to avoid extra charge of 5 % and more and she was kind enough to tell me how to complete.
To pax tax I needed a seal of the bank account and I had to come home once again.

Fortunarely I coud submit the documents and pay tax.

After that I went to work.

After work I attended the party for travel lovers. This was the first time for me to attend. There were 14 women and a man.  I have only met four of them before about a month ago. Since everyone loves travel, it was fun to hear the experiences.

2016.6.16

It was a rainy day.

I took a day off to prepare the dacuments for inheritance tax.
They were somehow comlicated and difficult to do in a short time.

There was a big news today. The professional baseball player Ichiro Suzuki broke the historic record of
4256 hits. It is great.
Congratulations !!

2016.6.15

It was a slightly rainy day.

In the morning there was a disaster prevention evacuation drill.
There was a scenario, but it took longer than that. 
There came an email to confirm the safety.  And we evacuated to the big hall at the first floor to receive food and water.
If there happened a real disaster, there will be a panic. 
I saw the paper partation for refugees for the first time. They weigh 26kg.

After the drill, there was a seminar to get drinks from the vending machine when there is no electricity. I tried to generate the power. It requires energy. I had a useful experience.

2016.6.14

It was fine today.

I am working at an International Liaison Office. Therefore there are many chances to know foreign people and their  culture.
My colleague recently took care of a delegation from Thailand and it seems they brought some souvenirs. She was kind enough to share some sweets with us. One of them was durian jelly which I have never seen before. It looked like a fish sausage in a plastic tube and tastes like burnt sweet potato with strong smell.
The other was durian chip which was also new to me. 

After work I  visited the Fuji Film Square after a while.

2016.6.13

It was a rainy day.

I took a compensatory day off for June 4.
In the morning I called a tax office to make an appointment and visited there in the afternoon. There were many things to ask and an hour passed so fast.
It will be 10 months since my father passed away and we need to declear and pay the inheritance tax by this Friday.

In the evening I went to see a Japanese movie titled "Kodaike no hitobito (高台家の人々)", People of the Kodai family.  It is a love comedy of a woman who loves imaging and a man with younger sister and brother who are telepath.
It was interesting.

2016.6.12

It was fine in the daytime and became cloudy in the afternoon and now it is raining.

Today I got an email from Ms. Nicole Gordon who is a daughter of Ms. Beate Sirota Gordon who passed away in December 2012.  I saw Beate-san at her apartment in New York in October 2012 last and handed my book. She was so kind and encouraged me.

Nicole-san informed me that my favorite her book"The Christmas of 1945" was recently published again as a pocket sized book.
It's been more than 20 years since I read it for the first time.
This is a really nice book, so if you are interested in, please read it.

This morning I went to Kimono-style Miya to get dressed, set the hair and makeup.
I wore the Kimono which I bought more than a quarter century ago but it has been in the chest of the drawers since that time.  We call this situation "タンスの肥やし: tansu no koyashi, " the fertilizer of the chest of drawers.
I am so glad to have worn it at last. To my surprise the length of sleeves became about 10 cm shorter for the past 25 years. I knew this by the sleeves of "長襦袢: nagajuban, " the underwear of  kimono.

After that I went to the Telecom center with my schoolmates of business course to attend a seminar by Ms. Chikako Lee who used to be a poor waitress for five dollar per hour but now is a billionaire. 
I have not known about her at all until the day before yesterday when my friend invited me to this seminar.
Her catch phrase is "Super genki! (スーパー元気!)," super energetic. And she was very cheerful.  She now lives in Florida with her mentor husband Mr. Angel Lee and  a four months old baby boy. Fortunately I took a picture with her.

It was a nice day.
I hope you had a nice weekend too.

2016.6.11

It was fine.

I had an appointment in the afternoon, however, I canceled it by mistake and stayed home all day long after all.
There were many things to do at home,  therefore I was glad to be at home.

Tomorrow there was a training I wanted to attend, but I was not registered on the contrary to my will.  And my friend invited me another event.  After all I decided to attend it.
So I think what seemed bad is not always really bad.

I could do many things I wanted to do today. 

2016.6.10

It was fine.

I had business lunch at a nice Japanese restaurant.

Today I got a happy "Thank you" email from the million seller writer, Ken Honda. He used to live in Boca Raton, Florida and I used to live in Delray Beach, Florida. We happen to have a mutual friend but he has lost the contact and wanted to see him. Since I know the contact and connected them about four years ago. And finally they could meet each other again after 28 years yesterday.
I am pleased to hear that.

2016.6.9

It was a slightly rainy day but I did not use an umbrella.

I was going to leave earlier after work to visit the Fuji Film Square because every Friday they change the exhibition and I have not visited there for a while. However I could not leave the office earlier nor visit there today unfortunately.

They say it has been 23 years since the  Crown Prince and Princess got married.

2016.6.8

It was cloudy and fine.

I went to Kawaguchi (川口) city and Kasukabe (春日部) city in Saitama (埼玉) prefecture.

Saitama prefecture is located to the north of Tokyo and not so far from Tokyo but I seldom had chances to visit there.

In the late fall of 2014, I have visited to the west part of Saitama called Chichibu (秩父) to visit 34 temples for the pilgrimage for five times or so.
Besides that I only go to Saitama for business trips.
Two days ago I visited Saitama city. Since it was hard to find a place to eat lunch, I asked the local people where to eat today.  It seems the restaurant recommended is very popular and when I went out from there, some people were waiting outside.
I felt lucky to have been there at the good timing. Their speciality is tantan men (担々麺), Dandan noodles, but I do not prefer spicy foods, so I ordered the daily special lunch.

2016.6.7

It was cloudy in the day time and started raining at night.
Now we are in the rainy season, so there will be more rainy days.

Since I was on a business trip to Nagasaki last week, I wrote a report for travel expence adjustment.  I met so many people last week, and it is rather difficult to remember everyone's name and their position. I am glad to have written memo every time and taken some pictures.

2016.6.6

It was cloudy.

I went to Saitama prefecture to visit two places in the day time and back to the office in the evening.
There were many souvenirs (sweets) on the desk. Three from business trips from Niigata, Kyoto, and Nagasaki, one from private trip from Nagano, and two from someone that left the office recently. I enjoyed these sweets respectively .

I will distribute mine from Nagasaki tomorrow.

2016.6.5

It was raining in the morning, but stopped raining in the afternoon. However it seems the rainy season has come.

I went to Shinjuku to have lunch with my ex-colleagues of JICE, where we worked from March 2009 to March 2013. There came 8 adults and 4 kids. Three of them got married and became mothers during the past three years. Most of us got together at the wedding of another colleague on May 2 last year. But we did not see the children at that time, so we were surprised to see their growth.
Two of them still work at the same  organization after leaving there once.
We enjoyed the reunion and delicious Fench lunch.

After coming back I went grocery shopping.

2016.6.4

It was cloudy and slightly raining in Tsushima.

We left Tsushima around 9 am and arrived at Fukuoka around 9:20 am, and changed the plane to Haneda, and arrived there around 11:50 am and came back to the office by taxi to leave PC and documents. 

I feel lucky because the weather during our stay in Nagasaki was very good, and the business trip was fruitful.

On my way back to Haneda I could see the Mount Fuji and Miura peninsula where I live from the plane.

In the afternoon I went to Shinjuku to get a monthly meeting document and to measure AGE.

Then I met my teacher from the graduate school and had afternoon tea at the 41st floor of the Park Hyatte Tokyo. At first we went to the Keio Plaza Hotel but the afternoon tea set was already sold out, and I called the Peak Lounge which is the most popular afternoon tea place in Tokyo and made a reservation and went there. I thought it was in the Hyatte Regency Hotel, but was not. Afternoon tea set is rather expensive, but you can drink any tea which is seved by pot and usually costs yen 1400 as much as you like, and there is a plate service which you can eat as much as you like. Therefore it is worth trying. 

Here are some pictures.

1 Tokyo Metropolitan Governmental Buildings and other buildings from the 41st floor

2 Afternoon tea set

3 Mt. Fuji and Miura peninsula from the plane

2016.6.3

It was fine.

There were two meetings today.

At lunch we ate the famous conger eel.
Then we visited the Watazumi Shrine (和多都美神社: watazumi jinja). Two of the Torii gates are in the sea. To our lucky we could approach the gate because it was at the low tide.

After the meeting we visited the Banshoin (万松院) temple.

After coming back to the hotel we visited the the Tourism Information Center.

At night we had a dinner party and enjoyed the local foods called Ishiyaki (石焼き), Stone cooking.

It was another nice day.

2016.6.2

It was fine and very hot.

In the morning before leaving Nagasaki, I went to see Meganebashi (眼鏡橋) the famous spectacles bridge, which is the oldest two-arched stone bridge, by tram. In the river there were many carps. Along the river there were beautiful hydrangea.

We went to Isahaya City to have a meeting.

After that we headed for Shimabara through the Isahaya enbankment road. It was windy there.

Then we had a local food called Guzouni (具雑煮) at the road station. There were remains of houses damaged by the eruption of Mount Unzen Fugendake (雲仙普賢岳) and we visited the Mt. Unzen Disaster Memorial Hall. 

The big eruption happened on June 3, 1991. It has been 25 years.

I just happened to know there was a ceremony today by the news.  I was moved by the 1000 crane arts there, and I knew they were made by children and exhibited today.

In the evening we flew to Tsushima Island and had local foods.

It was a nice day.

2016.6 .1

It was cloudy. 

A new month has started. June is rokugatsu (６月), its old name is minazuki (水無月).

There were two official programs. In between we could visit the Nagasaki atomic bomb museum, the Peace park, and Dejima (出島), exit island. This is the only window open to the world during the isolation policy.

We used the tram which cost yen120 for any distance.

We ate champon for lunch.

We had dinner at a restaurant in the China Town.