The last day of November. There is only one month left this year. Unbelievable, isn't it?
It was cloudy and cold today.
Today I received the Te Mana Lip set which was only sold in a limited time and won't be sold for the next six months.
I received other autoship goods which were Oolong ginger tea, lemon ginger powder and a bottle of drink. I am looking forward to tasting them.
It was very fine and beautiful.
We call this warm day in early winter "koharu biyori (小春日和)" which literally means small spring weather. In English it is Indian summer.
We use spring, they use summer for the same phenomenon. Isn't it interesting?
It was cloudy.
Today I got two mochu hagaki(喪中はがき), mourning notification card. One is from high school friend whose mother passed away at the age of 88, the other is from ex-colleague whose mother passed away at the age of 75. Both were under the name of couples. So when it says mother, it means husband's mother. And if it says mother-in-law, it is wife's mother. My high school friend's card printed mother but added "in-law." So I am not sure which mother passed away. If it is mother of husband, their surname should be the same, but if it is wife's side, surnames should be different, therefore it should be written by full name.
Both cards used different expression to pass away. The former used "eimin(永眠)," to sleep forever, the latter used "kiten(帰天)," to retutn to the heaven.
What kind of expressions do you have for paasing away?
It was fine.
There was once in a year physical examination. Items are electrocardiogram, eye sight, blood pressure, blood, height, weight, hearing, X-ray, stomach exam with barium, and physician's exam.
Barium became weaker than before and it was not so hard to swallow.
There were slight changes, but not so bad.
It took about one hour and a half.
I hope everything is fine with me.
It was fine and windy.
I stayed home all day long.
I prepared three kimono sets (kimono, obi, obiage, and obijime) for the next weekend.
I sent them to the hotel in Kanagawa.
I am glad to do so because it is very heavy to walk around with.
Thank you for the delivery system.
It was fine.
I went to the Kimono-style Miya to get dressed, hair-done, and to have pictures taken.
Then I went to Daikanyama to attend luncheon with ex-colleagues. There were eight adults with three children. It's been three months or so since I met three of them, but nearly five years to see one of them. I was late because of many reasons but enjoyed the reunion. Daikanyama is a fashonable town and we enjoyed walking around.
Then I went to Shinjuku to buy something.
I was supposed to go to the Natiomal Art Center Tokyo but I gave up and went to Ebisu to have dinner with a good friend. We started around 6 pm and it lasted later than 11 pm. It is a very fancy restaurant and very expensive but worth trying once in a life time. They gave us the souvenir too.
Their maitre d'hotel service is said to be No.1 in the world. Unfortunately I could not see the person who became a world champion because he has already left there.
We ate too much and I missed the last train. So I had to use taxi on my way back.
We enjoyed dinner and learned many things. It was a good experience.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It was fine but cold.
It's Black Friday. Did you buy something?
We had the 20th anniversary event at our institution. We were required to wear the dark suits. I was in charge of guiding and ushering the guests near the reception. I had been standing for more than 5 hours, and to my worse I had to stand in the train for more than one hour on my way back home.
TGIF
It is a national hoiday called kinro kansha no hi (勤労感謝の日), Labour Thanksgiving Day.
This year it falls on the same day of Thanksgiving of the United States. I miss Turkey Dinner.
It was heavily raining this morning but became fine in the afternoon and rained again in the evening.
In the afternoon I went to a study meeting to improve presymptomatic disease, the life style not to be beaten by cancer.
It started at 13:30. There were three parts, First: greeting by city mayor, Second: special session by Mr. Shonosuke Okura and Mr.Hiroyuki Watanabe, Third: lecture "Life Style not to Be Beaten by Cancer" by Dr.Yoshinori Nagumo. There was a hula dance show too.
It was a very informative useful lecture.
I was very surprised to hear that special session was not practiced before.
After the event I bought a book written by Dr. Nagumo and he autographed the book. I read it at night. The contents were almost the same as lecture.
All men on the stage were 62 years old but they looked far much younger than they are.
I met a friend later and went shopping.
It was a nice holiday.
Thank you.
It was fine in the morning but became rain in the evening. From the morning it was cold.
Today is shosetsu (小雪), one of nijyushisekki(二十四節気), the 24 solar terms. It literally means small snow. It is the time to start snowing from rain.
Today I asked the dealer to have my car inspected. It was a regular routine of every six months. They found my tires and the filter of air conditioning were in bad condition, so I asked them to replace.
After work I went to the China Town in Yokohama. There are so many Chinese restaurants there. I think it is the biggest China Town in Japan.
I wonder how people decide which one to go. Every place looks delicious.
In my case I checked "Groupon" which is a coupon site. Since I wanted to eat Shanghai crabs, I checked "Shanghai crab." I called one restaurant in Tokyo, but they were full because tomorrow is our national holiday. There were some restaurants in China Town which offered the full course Shanghai crabs dinner. I called the one, but they did not answer. So I called the next one. They said without Groupon Coupon we would serve you as the same price. So I did not buy the coupon but just reserved.
There were 11 dishes with a glass of drink. Shanghai crabs were rather small and there were few meat. Texture of kanimiso (かにみそ) was different from Japanese crabs and rather sticky. It was interesting to know about the hair of the big claw.
It was fine and cold. Mt. Fuji looked very beautiful with snow. Air is clear, sky is blue, there was no cloud. Red leaves of cherry trees were becoming less and less these days but looked very beautiful and I took pictures.
Today I booked the hotel in Hanoi for the next business trip next month. I have known I go there when and how long, however we could not decide the venue for the meeting and I could not book the room. Cheaper rooms are sold fast and more expensive rooms are left. I wish I have booked earlier when they still have reasonable rooms.
The earlier your decision is, the cheaper you pay.
From next time I will book the accommodation where they do not charge for cancellation to secure the good place.
It was cloudy and very cold, the coldest morning of this winter.
From today Limited Time Offer sales of Te Mana Lip care products started. Since I could not pre-order early this month, I called at lunch time and fortunately got one set.
I am looking forward to receiving them near future.
It was cloudy and cold.
I went to Shinjuku to attend a trial financial seminar. It started at 13:00 and lasted till 16:30 or so. There were two parts and I learned many things, got a book and a special gift after the game. I happened to see someone I knew by face there.
Then I went to buy a portable battery. But I found the sign says they trade in the old one by yen 500. Since I did not bring the old one, I postponed buying today.
It was cloudy and slightly rained.
First I went to Shibuya to attend a seminar by Robert Allen, the New York best seller author. It was supposed to be held from 9:30 to 12:00, but it lasted longer. Unfortunately I had another appointment and could not listen till the end.
Next I went to Shimbashi to attend the joint talk event of Mr. and Mrs. Koya Yamakawa who are very famous translators of spiritual books such as "Out on a Limb" by Shirley MaCraine and "The Secret" by Rhonda Bryne and so on and Mr. Koichi Hagiwara who used to be a UNIDO official, and was my teacher about 13 years ago.
It started at 13:00 and lasted for three hours followed by Singing Ring meditation time and tea party.
I asked them for their autograph and taking pictures.
I enjoyed the talk show and getting to know new people.
After that I went to Meguro to visit Otori shrine to see Tori no ichi (酉の市), the Cock Fair with a new friend.
Then another one from the event joined and had dinner.
Today is the day of the new month and ichiryumanbaibi (一粒万倍日) which is a good day to start something.
It was a nice day.
It was fine.
TGIF
After work I went to Fuji Film Square where has a new exhibition of Ansel Adams.
Since they are ready for the calendar next year, I got it in exchange for a stamp card of 24 visits.
Then I went to a kimono shop where was having Tori no ichi (酉の市) festival. There was a draw and I got a special prize of Ibaraki specialities.
Then I tried the very expensive kimono called Tonaka (十中) which uses very fine threads.
They say tonight is the time for the Meteor shower. I hope to see some shooting stars.
It was fine and beautiful.
Today is the opening of Beaujolais Nouveau. For wine lovers this might be exciting to taste the new wine of the year.
For me I prefer Japanese sake or cocktails.
What is your favorite drink?
After work I went to a travel agency to book the trip to Kanazawa for early next month.
It is strange but to book train and hotel together is far much cheaper than to book separately. If you book the former way, your hotel fee is nothing. Unbelievable, isn't it?
It was cloudy but the sun was shining.
In the morning I went to two shrines, one is near home, the other near the office.
It is my ritual to visit there on the first day and the 15th day of the month.
November 15 is shichigosan (七五三) when families of children at the age of three and five for boys and three and seven for girls visit shrines to pray for their healthy growth.
Boys and girls are usually dressed up with kimono. There are special candies for this day which is called chitoseame (千歳飴), meaning 1000 years candy.
It was cloudy today.
I sent some birthday messages today. Some are from messengers, others are from emails. We can read the history of dialogues from messengers and I noticed that it was the day of the Super moon last year today.
There were some snail mails I have to deal with. One of them was to report "My Number" to the Bank. There were two ways to do: one is by smartphone the other is by post. I chose the former. First you need to install the application, but it was very easy, fast, convenient, and economical.
It was fine but started raining in the evening.
At lunch time I called at a customer service and learned two things. One is from cellphones there is a possibility of not to be able to call free dial starting 0120. The other is there are some credit cards which automatically lead to revolving payments if it is used abroad.
Today I booked a hotel for a business trip from Internet site. After that I found other website had cheaper price. So I sent an email for price adjustment to customer service. I do not know what will happen yet.
It was fine and beautiful but rather cool.
I went to Kimono-style Miya to get hair-done and dressed in the morning.
Then I went to Takeshiba to attend the Diamond Rally 2017 to which I was invited by my Lymphatic massage instructor. After all it was the award ceremony of one year accomplishments of the company members.
Those who accomplished their goal were dressed beautifully and celebrated on the stage by being given a status pin, a commemorative gift, and so many bouquets.
I wondered how they bring back them home and how much money the flower shop at the venue made just one day today.
After that there was a reception party.
I happened to see an acquaintance there.
It was a very long day.
It was fine and rather warm this morning.
I went to Kanda to attend a seminar in the afternoon.
Then I went to Shinjuku to have dinner with 4 old tennis friends at a Taiwanese restaurant. We started around 5:30 pm and ordered many different dishes. The contents of the talk are tennis ranking, injury & gossip of tennis players, health, overwork, business trip and so on. It is interesting to hear about the world I do not know.
I left there around 7 pm and headed for the next destination, Hinodecho.
I went there to get massage. It is my once a month health maintenance activity.
It was fine.
After work I went to Shibuya to attend the trial seminar of the 9 Steps to Success.
It started at 6 pm till later than 9 pm.
It was a pity that we were not allowed to exchange our information such as Facebook or Line. I understand their intention to avoid troubles, but based upon each other's responsibility becoming friends is a good thing.
Since I left a charger behind at home today, I had been worrying about losing battery and could not use the smartphone as usual. It was very inconvenient.
It was fine and beautiful.
I took a compensation holiday of Nov. 3.
I went to Kimono-style Miya to have hair done, make-up, and got dressed. Today's kimono is Sahari(佐波理), one of the most beautiful & gorgeous kimono that I have.
Then I went to Shimbashi to attend Beauty Activity Symposium. I attended Inner Beauty Collection. There were 11 models who have tried many different ways of beauty-related activities for the past three months. We took our before and after pictures and compare the results. We needed to make one - minute speech in front of the audience who had a chance to vote.
I have got the lymphatic massage for the past three months.
At the recess someone talked to me and said "You are changed a lot so I voted to You!"
I was very glad to hear that because I see myself in the mirror every day, and I did not feel so much change by myself.
For lunch I enjoyed the delicious Japanese cuisine.
I enjoyed talking with beautiful models and was surprised to hear their experiences.
It was a nice holiday.
It was raining in the morning but stopped raining later.
After work I stopped at the Fuji Film Square. There were two new exhibitions.
At Shinagawa station I bought the commuting pass for the next 6 months which will be expired on my birthday next year.
So today is my half birthday.
Today is ritto (立冬), the first day of winter in the luner calender. It is one of nijyushisekki (二十四節気), 24 solar terms. The last one was soko (霜降),frost falling on October 23, and the next one is shosetsu (小雪), little snow on November 22.
Today it was rather warm.
When I got off the Roppongi station this morning, there were many policemen because of the US President's Japan visit.
At lunch time I met my friend from Kobe and ate at the healthy Japanese food restaurant. This was the second time for me to go there. I chose daily special which includes deep-fried
oyster & salmon.
If you show the coupon, you can get free soft drink which cost yen 350. Last time I could not order carrot juice, so this time I ordered it without hesitation.
There was only one hour break, but we enjoyed the reunion.
In the evening I attended the meeting at Kanda. There were some people I have not met for a while, but because of my Facebook posts, they feel they often meet me.
We feel connected by Facebook. Isn't it nice?
It was fine.
These days there is something wrong with my battery charger for the smart phone. I tried to charge but it did not.
Usually I check emails and write blogs on my way home. However there was no battery today and I could not do anything but sleep on the train.
Today is the day that crab fishing in Hokuriku area is open.
I hope to eat delicious crabs.
I came back from Thailand early this morning. I saw the beautiful sunrise.
The best part of taking the night flight is this.
First I went to the office to leave the baggage.
Then I went to the 6th lymphatic massage.
This is the last session.
I do not know how much I have been changed. But there is one thing I changed. I have practiced to adjust physics since the first time.
It was fine.
After checking out, we headed for Nakhorn Pathom and visited many places.
One of them was Phra Pathom Chedi, which is known as the tallest tower. There we dedicated the flower, inscents, leaf-shaped decoration, and put the gold foil leaf to the statues.
There were silver and gold bells which are thought to bring fortune. So I bought two of them which cost baht 20 each and hung.
There were bigger bells which cost baht 100, 200, 300 to put at the upper place of the tower.
We visited the water market where sells fresh fruits and vegetables.
We dropped at the cafe called
the three little pigs. I ordered their specialities. One of them was Shibuya toast. I wonder why they chose the name.
We had big lunch and dinner again and came to the airport.
It was a long but a fruitful day.
It is a national holiday called bunka no hi (文化の日), Culture Day in Japan.
I am in Bangkok. Today is full moon. There is a special festival called Loy Krathong, "Floating Lantern" which is held in the fullmoon night of the twelfth month in the lunar calendar.
People make baskets of flowers and fruits and light a candle and inscents, then make a wish and let it float on the river.
Since I knew about it the day before yesterday, I have wanted to see and experience.
Today we had a big event followed by the reception. Since the festival lasts until late at night, I went out to experience.
I am glad to see the beautiful sunset, fullmoon, and the special festival.
It was fine.
This is the second day in Bangkok.
From the morng I ate a lot.
I do not like the spicy foods.
One of my favorite Thai foods is Mango and sticky rice with coconut milk. When I saw this for the first time, I felt weird because forJapanese rice is staple food.
Once I ate it I loved it.
Today I could eat both for lunch and dinner.
They were tasty.
I recommend you to try it when you come to Thailand.
Thai people use spoon and fork to eat.
A new month has started. November is jyuichigatsu (11月) 11th month or Shimotsuki(霜月), frost month in Japanese.
Hello from Bangkok!
It's been four years and a half since I came here last. At that time after coming back from Hawaii, I came via Hong Kong. Since I got sick, I could not take the planned flight. I had stayed in Thailand for a few weeks and visited many places including Cambodia.
This time I came here as a business trip.
I left home around 6:30 am and visited the nearby shrine for the first day visit and took 7:01 train arriving at the Haneda Airport around 8:30 am. It was rather crowded.
Weather was fine and I saw the beautiful Mt.Fuji.
It took about 6 hours to Bangkok. I thought we arrived earlier than schedule, but there were so many people at the immigration. So I arrived at the scheduled time.
I exchanged $100 to Baht 3133. They gave me a ball point pen.
It was cloudy here but hot like 29 degrees centigrade..
Someone came to pick me up and took to the hotel. At the hotel TV drama was shooting. They say it is a popular drama and appear next year.
We had a meeting and went out for dinner.
I wished to get the Thai massage but it was too late.
