2018.8.31

It was fine and very hot.

The last day of August. This is the last August of Heisei (平成) era. When our empereor changes, so does Japanese calendar name. We are not sure yet what will be next.

How was your August?
Mine was good by going to Hong Kong to open accounts, having fun, and attending the dinner cruise with kimono.

Today after work I went to the trial seminar of REIKI. Do you know REIKI?
It is a way of self-healing. I learned it last year and have been practicing every day. It is so intetesting and useful that I wanted my friends to experience. Unfortunately nobody was available tonight and I attended by myself. It was fun as usual.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

2018.8.30

It was fine and hot.

There was an accident at the JR Yokohama area in the morning, and Keihinkyuko Line accepted those who use JR and trains became so crowded and busy. My train delayed about 30 minutes.
With the certificate ticket, I was not regarded as "late," but I had to stay at the office until 6:45 pm because my working time is 7 hours and 45 minutes using flex system.

I had an appointment of attending a trial seminar at 7:30 near the Tokyo station. So I had to run. Fortunately I was in time. The lecturer is my friend's husband but I have never seen him before. It was a nice experience to look back my daily activity toward my ideal life. He kindly gave the participants his book, booklet, and a charm. I asked him autograph and picture. Thank you very much.

On my way back there was a place I wanted to visit inside the Tokyo Station, and I took pictures. This was the time-limited advertisement, therefore I am very glad to see them.

It was a  nice day.

2018.8.29

It was fine and hot.

I did many things today for both private and public.

There was an interesting post by my friend to the Facebook and I decided to attend her husband's seminar. Unfortunately it was full at tonight's class and I attend tomorrow's class.

2018.8.28

It was fine and hot.

We had a farewell luncheon at an Italian restaurant. There is a business lunch course which consists of salad, pasta or pizza, dolce and drink for yen 1,350. It seemed very reasonable at Roppongi. We were a group of 14 and told the restaurant the orders in advance, and the person in charge confirmed last night too. In spite of that there was miscommunication and some orders were missed. What was worse, they forgot serving dessert and put the bill on the table. It seems the person answered the phone at night did not convey the orders correctly or the daytime shift person misunderstood. After all they served dessert and every participant enjoyed the foods, but we the luncheon organizers felt so bad.

After that I visited the bank. There used to be an ATM of Prestia which used to be Citibank. To my surprise there was no more ATM of Prestia and it was changed to the windows. They say the systems of SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank  are incorporated and now we can use both bank cards at their ATMs. It became convenient.

2018.8.27

It was fine and hot in the daytime, but became heavy rain with thunders at night after I left the office. It lasted for a while and the train stopped for 12 minutes.

This morning I left my commuting ticket at home and had to go back home to get it  because it would cost more than yen 2,000 without it. I am glad to have time to do so.

Usually I buy something to eat for lunch on my way to the office but this morning I gave up and went out for buying at lunch time.

2018.8.26

It was fine and very hot.

I stayed at home all day long.

There were many things to do. I finished some things. One of them is to apply for my number card, the other is to apply for Australian Visa.

Today is the full moon which looks so beautiful.

2018.8.25

It was fine but windy.

In the morning I went to massage. This is my once a month health treatment.

After that I went to Kawasaki to watch a movie "Mission impossible, Fall out." It was a very exciting movie.

Then I went to Kimono-style Miya to get dressed and hairset and went to Osambashi to have dinner cruise. We had a room and enjoyed a delicious course dinner.

The moon and the night view were so beautiful.

It was a nice day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

2018.8.24

It was windy because of the typhoon.

I thought the train would delay but did not.

There were lots of emails after taking days off but I read most of them during my trip. How convenient!

I got a box of Noni Collagen which I ordered last month. I am very looking fo rward to seeing me after three months.

2018.8.23

It was cloudy and rained heavily again.

I started the day early and left the hotel before nine.

The main purpose of this trip was to open accounts for me. So I went to HSBC to do so. As a world traveler to have an international bank account is very important.
I was the first customer there today and all of the staffs welcomed me in line at the entrance. What a good feeling!
I could open the bank account successfully.

Participants of this tour were from Haneda, Centrea, and Kix. The typhoon is approaching to Japan. The flights to Centrea and Kix were unfortunately canceled.

The plane suffered turbulence sometimes, but landed at Haneda safely.
Inflight I watched Cinderella.

It was a fruitful trip.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

2018.8.22

It was cloudy in the morning and rained heavily again in the afternoon.

In the morning there was a lecture by CEO. I was so surprised to hear his vision.

In the afternoon seven of us went to the Peninsula Hotel to enjoy the Afternoon tea. There was a long line. One person is  HK$388, and two persons are HK$688 with 10% service charge. There are two scorns, sandwiches and sweets. We ordered 7 different tea to share. Before checking chocolate was served. Furthrrmore they gave us BVLGARI chocolate for souvenir.
What a nice service!

After that we went to the Lady's market by taxi and enjoyed shopping.

We enjoyed dinner at a local restaurant.

2018.8.21

It was cloudy in the morning but rained heavily after lunch and became fine.

I happened to see my Kirei Design Instructor on TV in the morning.

There was an Econony seminar in the morning.

Lunch was dim sum. They were tasty.

After getting out of the restaurant it was raining so heavily. I had a folding umbrella but still got wet a little bit.

There was another seminar about Finance in the afternoon.

I went shopping for a while.

There was a dinner reception at night.

After the party  I went to see the $ Million Night View of Hong Kong Island. It was so beautiful.

After coming back there was a group meeting until late at night.

It was another long day.

2018.8.20

It was cloudy in Japan, so was in Hong Kong.

I started the day earlier than usual to go to the Haneda Airport.

When I was looking for the pickup counter  of the suitcase, an airport staff told me the wrong floor. There was a long line. But it was a dropping place and I had to go back to the right place. I was lucky to have arrived much earlier to deal with these troubles. To have plenty time is important.

There was another long line at issuing a boarding pass and checkin counter, but security check and immigration were very smooth.

There was more than an hour before departure and I waited at the card lounge.

Flight to Hong Kong delayed about an hour. I am glad to see "A Theory of Everything" which I have wanted to see for a long time.

After arriving at the hotel we have an explanation meeting.

At night we went to a Chinese restaurant and ate a lot. Unfortunately I got a stomachache later.

After coming back to the hotel we had a group meeting until very late.

It was a long day.

2018.8.19

It was fine and hot.

I went to Shinagawa to see some friends, and ate lunch at Akita foods restaurant.

In the afternoon I went to Yokohama to see two movies. One is a Japanese movie and the other is an American movie.  I wanted to see the Japanese movie first, but when I got to the theater about 30 minutes before starting, it was already sold out. So I changed the American movie "Ocean's Eight" first, and the Japanese movie "Kamera wo tomeruna (カメラを止めるな)," which means "Don't stop shooting!" second. Both were good.  I was recommended the latter by my Expo '92 friend about a  month ago and wanted to see it by all means.
There is a reason for someone to recommend something. So whenever someone recommends me something I want to try at least once.
I hope all of my friends take the same attitude.

2018.8.18

It was fine but rather cool.

I went to Shiroganedai to see an art exhibition of my friend's mother. The venue was very unique. Unfortunately I could not see the artist.

After that I went to Shinjuku to attend a lecture by Morinda's CEO Mr. Makoto Ohki. This is my once in two months event. After the lecture I measured my Tru Age which was about 10 years younger than actual age today.

I went to Yokohama to pickup kimono on my way home.

After coming home I prepared for dinner and went out again.

At Soleil no oka I attended Aurora view night with my friend from primary school.
It cost yen1000. We should have brought Yoga mat.

After coming back home at night I watched the fireworks festival from my house. This is the only fireworks festival I can see from my house. How lucky I am!

Thank you. thank you, thank you,

2018.8.17

It was fine and hot.

Today is my father's death anniverdary. It's been already three years since he passed away. It is a weekday this year so I went to the graveyard last Sunday.

I took three hours off to attend an SRC convention in Nippori today. This hourly off system is also one of my favorite things at my office. Convention lasted from 4pm to 9:20pm or so. I am glad to see some friends.

After that I went out for dinner at a curry restaurant where my friend recommended the other day with my friends. It was so impressive. We enjoyed a lot.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

2018.8.16

It was fine and hot in the day time but in the evening it started raining. Fortunately I did not have to use an umbrella.

After work I went to Shinagawa to meet my friend.
We enjoyed a delicious cake set.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

2018.8.15

It was fine and hot.

In the morning I visited three shrines before going to the office.

Today is the 73rd anniversary of the end of World War II. At noon we offered the silent prayer for the war dead.

In the afternoon I attended an English workshop of writing emails. One of the benefits of my workplace is this kind of seminars offered to staffs for free.

Tonight on my way home I could watch the fireworks festival at the Tama River
which was very beautiful and I felt lucky.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

2018.8.14

It was fine and hot.

Many people are taking a summer vacation during the bon festival, and there are less people on the trains than usual these days.

Last year at this time I was in the USA and went to the Caribbean Cruise. How fast time flies!

2018.8.13

It was cloudy in the morning but became rain heavily in the afternoon. To my lucky when I left the office at night, it was not raining.

Many people take summer vacation from August 13 to 15 when is called obon (お盆). It is the time when the departed ancesters come back home. We make fire called mukaebi (迎え火), welcoming fire on Aug.13 and let them know the way home. We decorate the buddhist alter with fruits, vegetables, and sweets. We visit the graveyard. On Aug. 15 we make fire called okuribi (送り火), sending fire.

Today is Monday, so I went to the graveyard yesterday.

2018.8.12

It was cloudy and hot.

I went to a shrine, my parents' graveyard, and grocery shopping in the morning.

I went to Tennozu isle to attend a lecture about preventive medicine in the afternoon. I got lymphatic massage during the recess. The talk by the CEO was informative and very interesting.

I was going to visit a gallery or see a movie after that, but it finished later than I thought, and I came back straight.

2018.8.11

It was fine and hot.

I went to Morishita to get Metatron treatment which I have not known at all. It was very interesting but I am not sure if it is really working.

To my lucky I saw the festival in Morishita by chance.

Then I went to Yurakucho to attend a lecture about the Myth in Iancient zumo. There were about 1000 audience and most of them looked senior.

After that I had dinner at Shimbashi.

It was a rather busy day.

2018.8.10

It was fine and very hot.

I took a half day off to attend a meeting in Yokohama. I thought it would start at 10:30 and dropped at Kimono-style Miya but when I checked the schedule there and I found out it was scheduled to start at 10:00. So I ran and ran in the hot weather and was in time fortunately.

There was a Pocket Monster event in front of the Sakuragicho station and there were many people there on my way there and back.

I was glad to see a friend from USA by chance at lunch time.

I went to the office after that.

2018.8.9

It was slightly raining in the morning because of the typhoon No.13. It seems it passed away while I was working and it became fine when I left the office at night.

In the afternoon I attended the Japanese Speech Contest. There were 6 speakers from Asian countries such as Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Half of them talked about their lives in Japan, and the other half talked about the cultures of their home countries. It was interesting to know what foreign students are interested in.

I think reading and writing Japanese language are very difficult for foreigners because there are three different writing modes: hiragana (ひらがな), katakana (カタカナ), and kanji(漢字).  To read Japanese newspaper you need to know more than 2000 kanji characters.

They say at first there were 97 registrations for Japanese language course last October, and after two semesters there are only 25 left.
Students' majors are not Japanese language, and without Japanese language knowledge it is possible to get degrees.

However I think as long as to live and study in Japan they should learn Japanese language and Japanese culture. That would enrich their lives in Japan.

2018.8.8

It's been raining because of the typhoon No.13.

In the morning after getting off the car I saw the sun in the rain and thought I might be able to see a rainbow. After one station I saw the big rainbow from the door and windows from the train. I felt lucky from the morning.

In the afternoon I attended a lecture about Japanese history of politics and society for foreign students. Daily news seems different by listening in English.
When I was a college student, most lectures were only by textbooks, OHP, and talk. Mostly we were just listeners.
When I went to Washington State University in 1996, some professors used computer and Power Point and showed many visual data using digital devices. There were many discussion and presentation opportunities.
Today's lecturer provided many videos and slides. The amount of data is huge these days but visual information is easy to understand.

Technology progresses day by day. We need to learn many things.

2018.8.7

It was a slight rainy day and rather cool.

I had been looking forward to seeing the fireworks festival in Miurakaigan tonight, but it was canceled yesterday due to the coming typhoon No.13. How disappointing! Fireworks festival is one of the best things in summer in Japan.
I hope to see any of them during this summer anytime.

Today I had three meetings. One is a weekly team meeting, the other is bi-monthly meeting, and another is annual meeting to discuss the plan of next fiscal year with an external related organization.
All went well.

I visited the Fuji Film Square with my colleague after work. There were new exhibitions. The main part was about the 100 years history of High School Baseball Tournament Games which began yesterday. There were many pictures of old stars who became professtional baseball players later in their lives.

2018.8.6

It was rather cloudy but still hot.

It seems the typhoon No.13 is approaching and the fireworks festival tomorrow is canceled. How disappointing!

Today is the 73rd anniversary of Atomic-bomb dropping in Hiroshima. The total death toll by Atomic-bomb became 314,118.

The 100th High School Baseball tournament has begun. The 56 schools, whichi is the biggest in number, aim to become the champion.  The final match will be held on August 21 if every game goes smoothly. Good luck!

2018.8.5

It was fine and very hot.

I waited for four deliveries in the morning and went grocery shopping.

After coming back I ate a quick lunch and went to the Tokyo Big Sight to see the Healing Fair 2018. Yesterday when I got there it was too late to see. So I decided to go again.
Today's main event was Ms.Kano sisters' talk. Their costumes were so gorgeous and beautiful. It was an hour session but all they did was to answer the questions from the floor.

After that I visited some booths to see teachers, friends and acquaintances. I got signatures on the books too and enjoyed taking pictures.
I did not have much time but I am glad to visit there.

2018.8.4

It was fine and very hot.

I went to Shinjuku to attend Morinda's monthly meeting. I ordered some goods by the accumulated points for the year.

I had lunch at a curry restaurant using Groupon. It seems the regular price is yen 900, but I paid only yen 500 instead.

Then I went to Shinagawa to see some friends.

And I headed for the Tokyo Big Sight to attend "Healing Fair 2018." Unfortunately the fair itself closed at 6 pm and I could not see inside. However today's main purpose was to see the talk of my teachers, Mr. Koichi Hagiwara (萩原孝一) and Mr.Toshitaka Mochizuku (望月俊孝) at the World Mentor Conference. I could see another pair talk too.

I took Yurikamome (ゆりかもめ) on my way back and enjoyed the night view.

2018.8.3

It was fine and very hot from the morning.

This morning I was called from a new staff. She said she has wanted to talk with me because she had worked at the same office as I worked ftom 2009 to 2013 in Shinjuku. We did not have much time today but decided to have lunch next week.

It's a small world, isn't it?

2018.8.2

It was fine and hot.

I happened to know that one of my friends would come to the Art of Portraiture in the Louvre Collections at the National Art Center, Tokyo by the group chat of Facebook.

I work very close from the museum, therefore we decided to have tea after work.

There are some coffee shops where I have been interested in but never visited around the office. So we, three of us, went to one of them and ordered a cake set and enjoy talking for two hours or so.

We chose different cakes and shared, so we could taste three different cakes. Each of them was delicious.

We talked and talked so many things and time flied.

We had a good time and promised to have dinner next time.

I seldom go to coffee shops or tea rooms in the evening, but enjoyed a lot.

2018.8.1

A new month has started. August is hachigatsu(八月) or hazuki(葉月), leaf month in Japanese. It is the hottest month in Japan.

It was fine and very hot.

In the morning I went to shrines for the 1st day visit.

At lunch time someone mistook the lunch in the refrigerator. I was wondering what to do. After 5 minutes or so it was returned and I could eat what I bought.

After work I went to Kanda to attend a monthly meeting.