2017.7.31

The end of July. How fast time flies!
How was your July?
I was rather busy with two business trips to Hokkaido and Tohoku which are in the north and an invitation trip to Fukuoka and Oita which are in the south.
I have attended many seminars, met many people, and had delicious lunch and dinner with different friends.

It was fine and hot today.
Since this was the last day for one of the colleagues, we had luncheon at a Spanish restaurant where we went before. I ordered the seafood paella lunch set which includes salad, soup, paella and soft drink. It cost yen 800 which is rather reasonable.
There were two other staffs who left the office in other departments.

2017.7.30

It was cloudy and partially rained but I did not have to use the umbrella.

I went to Shinagawa to attend the one-day seminar of Energy Master Light. There were nearly 50 participants. It started at 10 am and lasted until 7 pm. In the morning there was a lecture, and we had a light lunch. In the afternoon there was work and finally we heard about some experiences who attended the courses before.
The work is called Inner Journey. We reach our inner self and release the mind block to enhance the self-image.
I thought I did not have specific problems, but this work reminded me of my childhood past and the relation with my 3rd and 4th grade teacher. I regret not to have thanked my parents enough while they were still alive. I felt the things I am doing now would lead my ideal future.
I met some people I knew and enjoyed talking.

After that I went to a bookstore to buy Mr.James Skinner's newly released book.
At night I saw the Facebook talk live with Ms.Natsuko Yokota and Mr. James Skinner. It was very interesting.

I connected with some people by Facebook and Line and enjoyed messaging.

2017.6.5

It was fine in the morning, but started raining heavily in the afternoon. To my lucky I overworked until 9:20 pm or so, therefore it has stopped raining already when I left the office and I did not have to use an umbrella.

I was going to leave earlier to go grocery shopping but I could not.
 
When I got home, it was already 11:30 pm. I got the books I ordered at Amazon on May 31.  I am glad to get them because I have known the author for a year and I know her experiences mentioned in the book when she was actually experiencing through her blog and Facebook.  By knowing her life style I was inspired to travel cheap but luxurious.
I am looking forward to reading the book.

2017.7.29

It was cloudy.

There were many interesting events which I wanted to attend today.  However I decided to stay at home all day long.

 I kept household accounts which I missed for nearly three months, ordered the Limited Time Offer of Te Mana, talked with the customer service for the refrigrator repair, and booked the flights to Florida for summer vacation. Since it is the high season, they are very expensive. By changing one day, the cost differs about yen35,000. I checked about 5 websites and tried four destinations (West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Orlando) between August 10 and 20.  After all I booked from August 12 to19.  To go I need to transit twice, to come back once but the waiting time is 13 hours!
Then I applied for ESTA.

Now I am listening to the seminar which I wanted to join by Zoom.  This is very good.  Without going to Tokyo I can learn what they are talking. To go and come back it takes more than four hours.   So I could save the time.
Thank you.

2017.7.28

It was fine and hot.

Since it was the last day of the program we were rather busy.

In the afternoon we went to the University of Tokyo to attend the lecture. This may be the first and last experience of listening to the lecture at the top university in Japan.

The landscape from the main gate was beautiful.The building was elegant and letters were written in the classic style from right to left.There was a big ginkgo tree.

In spite of the premium Friday, I overworked.

On my way home there was an accident on the Keihinkyuko line, and I had to wait at Keikyu Kawasaki for a long time. Then I gave up waiting but decided to transferred transportation service by JR. I took Keihintohoku line up to Yokohama, changed to Yokosuka line up to Kurihama, and change to Keihinkyuko line at Kurihama.
What a long way to go home tonight!

2017.7.27

It was fine.

There were many things to do at office and I overworked.

This morning I was very shocked to find out that there was something wrong with the refrigerator. The light is on, but temperature is not cold and ice was melted. It may be broken at last and it may be the time to buy the new one.
This unexpected event made me throw away many frozen foods. In a sense this was a good time to do danshari (断捨離), literally means cut, discard, and leave. It means cleaning out past accumulation.

I need to do many danshari to live comfortably in near future.

2017.7.26

It was very fine in Tohoku today though it seems heavy rain in Tokyo. The weather changed after passing Fukushima in the evening.

I saw the beautiful sunrise from the hotel room this morning in Miyako.

We visited the Tsunami affected coastal area today. It's been six years since I visited there last. There were many changes since then. I was surprised to see the big seawalls here and there, and accumulated lands. There appeared many new buildings including housing complex, public facilities, and shops & restaurants.
At the same time there were still many  temporary houses and shops too.
Many places were still under construction.

I wish their early recovery.

2017.7.25

It was cloudy and slightly raining.

I had a big breakfast including Sendai speciality, beef and sweets called Zunda Shiratama (ずんだ白玉), white rice cake with green bean paste.

In the morning we learned about 2011Grest East Japan Earthquake and the first response and measures by three lectures.
The building was two years old and very neat. We could observe the Headquarter of Emergency Measures for Akita Heavy Rain.

We stayed at Sendai where is the capital of Miyagi prefecture in the morning and headed for Morioka where is the capital of Iwate prefecture in the afternoon by Shinkansen.

At lunch I ate eel dish because today is "Doyo no ushi no hi (土用の丑の日)" . the Day of the Ox during the hottest period of the summer.

We had another lecture and headed for Miyako. It's been about six years since I came here last. When we came here soon after the Earthquake, there were no signals available, but I felt the progress in many ways.

We had a nice seafood dinner.

2017.7.24

It was cloudy.

In the afternoon we visited a univetsity in Urayasu. To my surprise they open their facilities such as tennis courts, gym, sauna, and restaurant to the public therefore they have a big parking lot.

In the evening we took Tohoku Shinkansen to Sendai. At Tokyo station we entered from the Nihonbashi entrance however there was no escalator nor elevator. Since we had a heavy luggage, we got out and went to the north entrance.
I hope every exit has a slope and lift by 2020 of the Tokyo Olympics.

It was almost full in the Shinkansen. When we arrived at Sendai, it seemed to have rained.
At the hotel there was a decoration of Tanabata.
I liked the elevator.

2017.7.23

It was cloudy and rainy.

I had a relaxed Sunday.
I went grocery shopping in the afternoon and did some house work.

At night I received two re-delivered goods. One of them includes a tablet and started using it soon.
The other was a gift for a stock holder. I inheritated the right from Father. So whenever I receive these things, I appreciate my father. This one was a catalog gift, and I chose Eiheiji Tofu which I ate early this year when I traveled to Hokuriku.

Today it is a new moon when it is a good time to make a wish list. What kind of wishes do you have now?

2017.7.22

It was fine and hot.

I went to Sakuragicho to attend monthly meetings after a long time and met many people.  It's been a few months since I met them last but I felt it has been much longer than it was.

After the meeting I visited the Iseyama kotai jingu (伊勢山皇大神宮) and Naritasan (成田山) temple after a while. I felt serenity there.

Then I went to Kimino-Style Miya to have a walking lesson.

Finally I went to get a massage.

It was a nice day.

2017.7.21

It was fine and very hot.

We had a farewell luncheon for a professor whose term was over and went back to the office he used to belong. We went to the French restaurant where we went before. There were three courses: today's special for yen1000, lunch menu for 1500, and Chef's recommendation for 2800. Today's soecial is a fixed menu and looked nice. Lunch menu has three choices each for appetizer and main dishes. There was gazpacho, Spanish sumner soup of Tomato which I like very much. Therefore I chose it with beef dish. They were delicious.

2017.7.20

It was fine and hot.

After work I went to Shinjuku to see a friend from Osaka who is a publisher. We met each other at the seminar of Mr. Ken Honda or the Golden Life Program for the first time a few years ago. We have met several times at the seminars after that but did not have much time to talk taking time.

I have found a nice place and made a reservation by Internet this morning but there was no confirmation therefore I have been worried if I could book or not.

At seven I arrived there and met my friend aftet a year or so. My booking was valid. It was a 6 dishes course dinner for yen 3000 but using the coupon it was the half price.
Everthing tbere looked attractive include the staff. There were many groups celebrating birthdays.

I was surprised to find many things in common and enjoyed dinner.

It was a nice day.

2017.7.19

It was fine and hot.

They say the rainy season is over and it is going to be very hot summer.

In the morning at the station I saw the four small birds in the nest on the clock. The other day I saw two of them.

In the aftetnoon I went to MLIT. Around 5 pm there was an announcement to leave earlier.
Since I went back to the office, I overworked.

2017.7.18

It was fine and hot in the morning.
But it rained heavily in the day time.They said it hailed too.

The program in charge started today. I will be busy for the next two weeks especially next week.

2017.7.17

It is a national holiday called Umi no hi (海の日), Marine Day. It used be on July 20, but it has become on the third Monday of July since 2003 to have a longer weekend.

I went to Asagaya (阿佐ヶ谷) again to visit some shrines. There was the Yaegakisai (八重垣祭) festival at Shinmeiguu (新明宮). So I visited there first to get the special red stamps called goshuin (ご朱印) and a specal gold band only sold at a special occasion called Kanmusubi (神むすび) meaning knot with god.

Then I visited  Mabashi inari jinja (馬橋稲荷神社) shrine, and Sarutahiko jinja (猿田彦神社) shrine, and Koenji (高円寺) temple in the area and came back to Shinagawa (品川) to visit Shinagawa jinja (品川神社) shrine.
The aim of visiting these places today was to see the main gate called torii (鳥居). In their gates two dragons were carved. One goes up, the other comes down. There are only three places which have this kind of gate in Tokyo. They are called Tokyo san torii (東京三鳥居), three torii gates in Tokyo. So I visited them all today.

In the evening I watched the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell NoTales" in Yokohama with my colleague to celebrate her birthday.

It was a nice holiday.

2017.7.16

It was fine and hot.

I got up early to take baths. The hotel has 9 different baths. I tried 7 of them. The best one is located outside and the view from there was very nice. The only problem is it is a mix bath which means both men and women can take a bath together.
From 8 pm to 10 pm it becomes only for women.
I was not sure if there was someone or not. There were three open air mix baths and for two of them I could take alone. There were two peole at the best one. I thought they were women at first but they might have  been a couple. So I got out in a few minutes.

We left the hotel at 11 am, and headed for Yufuin (湯布院) where I have wanted to go for a long time. It is a famous hotspring place but we only had two hours there. So I walked around the pond called Kinrinko(金鱗湖), then visited suvenir shops and enjoyed shopping.

We went back to Fukuoka and I went to Kushida Shrine again to get the red stamp called Goshuin (ご朱印).

We took 18:35 flight back to Tokyo.I got a window side seat to see the beautiful sunset. We arrived earlier than schedule.

At Haneda Airport two staffs came to see us. What a nice hospitality they serve!

It was a really nice trip.

Thank you for everything.

2017.7.15

It was fine.

I stayed up all night. After eating Ramen at the stand, we came back to the shop, and we went to the box seat before 2:30 am and waited for nearly two hours and a half, then the Yamagasa Festival started at 4:59 am.
They said to get a seat at the box is almost impossible. They were sold out for 15 minutes.

It was really amazing. I liked the first & the last races very much.
After the festival we went to a public bath. There were two types of hot springs.

I met a friend from the 44th Peace Boat Cruise. It's been 13 years since we met last. She has not changed so much. We ate breakfast at a coffee shop seeing the planes coming to the airport. They say the Fukuoka Airport is one of the busiest airports in Japan and we saw airplanes coming every three munites or so.
We visited the first temples of Kyushu eighty eight temples. There was a big statue of the Buddha.

We left Fukuoka for Kurokawa onsen hot spring via the Nabegataki waterfalls. It was one of the waterfalls I wanted to visit because we can walk through the back of the fall.
It was a wonderful experience.

On our way to Kurokawa hotsprings, we saw the remain of the damages from the heavy rain last week.

I walked around the town and found the history of the place and knew that they celebrate May 8 which is the same as my birthday.

Dinner was very rich.

I enjoyed the open air bath which is attached to our room at the detached house.

It was a very nice day.

2017.7.14

It was fine and hot.

I took two hours off at lunch time to see my busy friend. We promised to have lunch or dinner but it was hard to set up the date. There is a restaurant where I wanted to go for a few month, but it was too good to go on a weekday when I have only one hour for lunch. So at first I asked for an hour off, but it took a long time to be served. Therefore I asked for two hours off instead. The course meal was so nice that we really enjoyed everthing. Moreover I got a coupon for a half price, we felt happy.
I had many questions to ask her and most of them were answered. There are some more, so I am looking forward to the next time.

Next Monday is a National holiday. Therefore I go to Fukuoka to see the Yamagasa (山笠) Festival which I knew early this year. They say it starts at 4:59 am on July 15. I am very looking forward to seeing it.

After work I went to Haneda Airport directly and took the 19:00 flight arriving at 20:50.
It is hotter and humid here.

2017.7.13

It was fine and hot.

I was going to leave the office earlier to receive the goods I ordered yesterday. However in the evening there appeared many things to do and I had to overwork.

Recently I became in charge of national flags with two other staffs. There are  commencements twice in our institution. One of them is in September. Since two third of the students are foreigners this time we need to prepare  more than 50 flags. Three of them were missing and I ordered them.

While checking the list of flags we have, we knew many things about them.
For example, I did not know that there is a country whose national flag has different designs for both sides.

It was very interesting to know new things.

2017.7.12

It was fine and hot.

Yesterday I got a delivery notice. I was not sure if I can come home early tonight but just tried to be delivered at the latest period.

To my lucky I came home earlier than usual and received the re-delivered goods from my friend whose house we visited early this month. At that time we brought a gift for her baby boy born earlier this year.
So this was a return gift called uchiiwai (内祝), family celebration.
It was a towel set in a wooden box. Those hand towels were made in Imabari (今治) where is very famous place for towels. I liked rhe messages to driver of the delivery.

2017.7.11

It was fine and hot.

After work I went to Shinagawa to have dinner with my Expo 2005 friend who came from Nagoya on a business trip.
It's been about 2 years since we met last in Nagoya.

She finished the work at 5 pm and got on Shinkansen and arrived at Shinagawa around 7 pm.

I made a reservation through the coupon site and we enjoyed 6 dishes course dinner for yen 3,500.  All were delicious and I liked the dessert very much.

I asked two other friends, but both were not available unfortunately.
However to our surprise one of them appeared suddenly due to the schedule change and we enjoyed our reunion after two years.

I tried the Passion Test for them and their goals for life became clear.

I had a good time.

Thank you.

2017.7.10

It was fine and hot.

I went out for lunch with four colleagues at a Japanese style restaurant where I have been interested in recently. It was a nice one with nice rooms. I ordered ladies' lunch which had a dessert and cost yen 1480.
They have a tea room too. If you order more than yen 25,000 course dinner, they will serve green tea made in the tea room.

There was a leaving and arriving ceremony for directors in the afternoon. They say the changes happen suddenly and they have not been informed at that time of last week yet.

On my way back I visited the Fuji Film Square to see the new exhibitions.

I am glad to leave the office earlier today.

2017.7.9

It was fine and hot.

In the afternoon I went grocery shopping.
Besides this I stayed at home, prepared kimono for this weekend, and cooked for dinner. It's been a long time to have had such a relaxed weekend.

I asked the pickup service to deliver my suitcase to Fukuoka through Internet. It was easy, and they came rather earlier.

It is the fullmoon tonight, and very beautiful.
Mountain lilies bloomed and very beautiful.

2017.7.8

It was fine and hot.

I had an appointment at Gaienmae (外苑前) in Tokyo at lunch time with my classmates from Ability Garden where I attended from October 2004 before working at Expo 2005.

Therefore I decided to visit some shrines in Asagaya. I heard about these shrines just two days ago and I felt like visiting there and decided to visit this morning before meeting my friends.
I went to Shinmeigu (神明宮) first, Mahashiinari jinja (馬橋稲荷神社) next, and Sarutahiko jinja (猿田彦神社) third.
All were very nice.

Then I went to attend a luncheon. It's been more than a year since we met each other last. Two of us have changed our jobs since then. We had a course menu of chicken from Kumamoto (熊本) and they were all very delicious.
I was impressed to receive the hot towels of lemon flavour and the welcome message and thank you message of hand writing.
My friend's salary went up at the new company and she treated us.

After lunch we walked around Omotesando (表参道) where there were so many people. We tried to find a tea room but it was very difficult. Finally we entered a famous confectionery shop.

We had a very good time of reunion.

Since it was very close to Meiji jingu (明治神宮) shrine, I visited there too. It's been a long time since I visited there last though I visited there at New Year's every year at my early 20s.

It was a nice day.

2017.7.7

It was fine and hot.

July 7 is called tanabata (七夕), star festival, litetally 7th night. This is the day when Altair and Vega meet once in a year across the milkyway. We decorate the bamboo tree with strips of colored paper in which we write wishes.

What kind of wishes do you have?

Usually since it is in the rainy season, it often rains on this day. Therefore this year is exceptional.

We went out for lunch at a very nice Japanese style restaurant.

2017.7.6

It was fine and hot.

I took a half day off to attend the seminar of CEO in Kudanshita. It cost yen 1000. He spoke very fast but interesting.

After that I went to eat out with friends. I met three of them for the first time, but it was fun. I knew about the card reading called Kamioueki (神応易) for the first time there.

At night I went to Ikebukuro to attend the monthly meeting for the first time. It cost yen 500. There were five speakers there. I heard about very interesting experiences.

I was lucky to be able to get the last train.

2017.7.5

The typhoon No.3 has gone and it was fine in the morning, but it looks like rained in the afternoon.

In the morning I took an earlier train than usual. After getting at Daimon, I went to JR Hamamatsucho station to buy some tickets to Tohoku area for the business trip in the late July. I could get the ideal seats near other delegation members.

After work I visited the Fuji Film square to see the new exhibitions. I liked the beautiful pictures of Mt. Fuji.

Then I went to Ikebukuro to attend the Economy seminar. It lasted for one hour and a half.

It was another long day.

2017.7.4

Happy Birthday to the USA!!

It was cloudy in the morning, but rained in the evening.
They say it rained heavily in Niigata and Nagano according to the noon news.

On my way back there was an accident on the Keikyu Line, and the train was stopped between the stations for a while.  Destinations were changed and I had to give up using the Keikyu line. I changed at Shinagawa station to JR line.

I hope it will be recovered when I get to Kurihama.

2017.7.3

It was fine and very hot.

One of the colleagues left the office at the end of June and a new temp staff started working from today. Therefore we had a welcome luncheon.

I chose the pasta set of shrimps and spring vegetable this morning,  however they could not get white shrimps from Toyama prefectur, therefore I changed to the pasta with cod's roe.

2017.7.2

It was cloudy but hot.

I went to Kamiooka to buy a present and a card on my way to visit the house of my ex-colleague who gave a birth this January.

Six of us started working at JICE in the spring of 2009. We had a reunion at her house. At first six of us were getting together, but one of them could not come because of the sickness of her daughter, and the other could not come because of her father's sickness.
After all four of us and three liittle boys got together.
We had a good time.

After that I went to Kimono-Style Miya.

I had dinner with my kimono teacher.

It was a nice day.

2017.7.1

A new month has started. July is Shichigatsu (七月,７月) or Fumizuki (文月) in Japanese.

Usually I go to the nearby shrine on the first day of the month. Since I was on a business trip to Hakodate, I went to Hakodate hachimangu (函館八幡宮) instead.

In the morning I went to the famous morning market called asaichi (朝市). They offered sampling many things. I ate kegani (毛ガニ) crab which was very tasty.
I bought a slice of Yubari melon (夕張メロン) which is very expensive.
I saw someone fishing squid.
I ate seafood bowl for yen 500. It was fun to walk around the market and bargain.

After coming back to the hotel I tried the second breakfast little bit.

We checked out the hotel around 8:30 am and headed for Giryokaku (五稜郭) tower, one of the symbolic sightseeing places in Hakodate. Since I am a member of JAF, I got a special post card. Entrance fee is yen 900. The view from there was very nice. We can learn the history of Edo to Meiji when Japan opened the door to the world after Commodore Perry appeared by the  black ships in 1853.
Unfortunately we did not have enough time to walk around the park.

Next we went to Tachimachimisaki (立待岬), the tip of the peninsula. There was fog and we could not see the Aomori prefecture. The movement of fog and clouds was interesting.

Then we visited the shrine and the church.
We went to the famous slope called Hachimanzaka (八幡坂) where the films were often shot.

We ate another softcream. Every day we ate softcream which is very rare in my daily life. Today I chose the mix of melon and milk. I liked the first day's one at the monastery the best.

We went to the bay area and enjoyed shopping.

We went to the Shin Hakodate Hokuto station to get the shinkansen Hayabusa back to Tokyo. It took about four hours and a half.

It took four hours from Sapporo to Hakodate, and four hours and a half from Hakodate to Tokyo by bullet train. How big Hokkaido is!

We have been blessed with fine weather for four days and had a fruitful business trip.

I went back to the office to leave PC and documents which are very heavy and did some work.