Monday, December 31, 2018

2018.12.31

It is omisoka(大晦日), the end of the year.

How was your 2018?

Mine was good.

I have been to Dubai & Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, and Myanmar.
In Japan I have been to Yamaguchi & Hiroshima, Chiba, Hokkaido, Ise & Kyoto, Fukuoka, and Hamamatsu.

I had many chances to wear kimono.

I attended many seminars and learned a lot and met new people.

There was a grest reunion of high school which happens once in four years.

Today I stayed at home and cleaned the alter, rooms, entrance, and washed the car and windows.

This is the 10th year anniversary of my blog and I applied for the contract to publish abroad today.

It will be a great year 2019.


Sunday, December 30, 2018

2018.12.30

It was fine.

In the morning I received the re-delivered goods which was a choice gift from a company which stocks I inherited from my father. There are a few companies which have winter & summer gifts. Whenever I choose the goods, I remember the days I chose the goods with my father.

I visited a nearby shrine. I met some people who were preparing the New Year decoration.

After that I went grocery shopping and filling up my car. I bought some foods for the New Year's.

In the afternoon I walked to the station because tonight I have a year-end party of high school friends and can't drive home.
On my way I met a woman who was looking for the way to the station. So we walked to the station together and enjoyed talking.

There were 13 classmates at first, and 9 of us went to Karaoke later.
To my surprise the Karaoke was more expensive than the first party.
I enjoyed meeting old friends and singing.

Saturday, December 29, 2018

2018.12.29

It was fine and very cold.
Mt.Fuji looked so beautiful.

In the morning I received the talismans for the new year.

First I went to Ebina to see a group leader to get advice which really cleared what to do now.

Second I went to Tokyo to attend a seminar to set goals for the new year 2019.
It lasted for four hours but passed so quickly.
To write what I am thinking clears what I really want to do.

Third I went to see a professional overseas pubishing producer. He has produced about 170 books in less than one year. Isn't it amazing?

One of my dreams is to publish my books in English and Spanish too. I felt like starting as soon as possible.

After that I went to a year-end party of the seminar of daytime. I enjoyed talking with many people.

It was a nice day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Friday, December 28, 2018

2018.12.28


It was fine but cold.

Today is the last working day of this year at the office. We call this shigoto osame(仕事納め).

Many people are already in the winter vacation. There is no special ceremony at my office but some people visited to greet and brought some calendars and pocket notebooks.

I went out for lunch at a shabushabu restaurant. The wash room there was very unique, and if you were a first comer, you would never know how to open it because it looked like a bookshelf.
There were three different soup tastes, and we can choose either steamed rice or rice with broth called zosui (雑炊) or noodle. We chose rice with broth which is made after enjoying meat and vegetables.
It was delicious.

Thursday, December 27, 2018

2018.12.27

It was fine.

On my way to the office, I visited the ophthalmologic clinic where opens only three days in a week to make an appointment. To my lucky there was only one spot opening and I made a reservation.

I took an hour off at lunch time and visited there. There has been something wrong with my left eye for a few weeks, and I wanted to visit, but I could not because of many reasons. The treatment was so quick and easy that I should have visited earlier.

Yesterday I could not book the hotel in Kyoto for my business trip in March, but today a very interesting thing happened. I have been looking for a hotel by website. While checking a hotel, it suddenly offered in a half price as today's offer. There were only four rooms. While I was inputting my personal data, they were booked one by one because of the special price. To my lucky I could book the good hotel in a very reasonable price. I am very glad.




Wednesday, December 26, 2018

2018.12.26

It was fine.

Toward the end of the year there are many things to do at home and at office.

I am now preparing three programs for Feburary and one program for March.
I will go to Kyoto on a business trip in March, and started to look for the hotel. The travel agency booked the one for a fellow and an interpreter. I was so surprised to hear the price. When we booked in November, it was also more expensive than our designated hotel fee. But it is more than double.

Fall is a good season to see the turning leaves,  so it was understandable. Spring is also the good season for cherry blossoms. But the date we will go is a bit earlier for cherry blossoms. So I am wondering what is going on.

I hope to find a good one.

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

2018.12.25

Merry Christmas!

I started the day earlier than usual because there was a meeting from 9 am.
Next meeting started at 11 am.

During lunch time I went to banks to transfer money.

In the afternoon I had another meeting.

After work I went to see the illumination of the Tokyo Midtown which was very beautiful.

After that I went to Shinagawa to see somebody. It was very interesting to talk about my dreams.

I got some Christmas messages.

By talking with somebody many problems can be solved.

I felt I got many nice Christmas gifts to make my future better.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Monday, December 24, 2018

2018.12.24

Merry Christmas!!

How are you spending Christmas this year?

It was cloudy, but I saw the beautiful sunset. After that it partially rained in the evening.

Today was a transferred holiday, and it was the last day of three day weekend.
I stayed at home in the daytime.

In the evening I went to Le Soleil, a French restaurant which is run by my high school friend's sister and her husband, to have Christmas dinner with her. This is our annual event.This year only two of us got together. We ate delicious course dinner. It's been a year! How fast time flies! We enjoyed talking and eating.
We promised to get together more often next year.

After taking her to the station, I went grocery shopping on my way back.

Sunday, December 23, 2018

2018.12.23

It is Emperor's 85th birthday today. It is Sunday today, so we have a transferred holiday tomorrow.

It was slightly rainy this morning but I saw the very beautiful full moon.

I went to Shibuya to attend one day seminar which was very interesting. After the seminar there was a party and I talked with some people and became Facebook friends.

From them I was introduced somebody else and became Facebook friends. People attending seminars have high motivation and it is easy to find something in common.

I enjoyed meeting new people today.

Saturday, December 22, 2018

2018.12.22

It was rainy but became fine. The moon is so beautiful now.

Today is toji (冬至) winter solstice, one of nijyushisekki(二十四節気), the 24 solar terms. Last one was taisetsu (大雪) on December 7  and the next one is shokan (小寒) on January 6.
Toji is the day when the daytime is the shortest in a year. On this day we take a yuzu bath, and eat pumpkin not to get cold.

I went to Shinjuku to attend the four-hour seminar which I happened to find by Facebook ad and applied for a few days ago.
There were 8 participants and most of them were women. It was very interesting.

After that four of us went out for dinner. We enjoyed talking and eating.

It was a nice day.

Friday, December 21, 2018

2018.12.21

It was fine.

I walked to the station thinking of tonigh's party

My morning train delayed again but I was in time.

After walk I went to Higashi Shinjuku to have the second year-end party. I selected the place from coupon site. It was about 51% off. We enjoyed sea urchin related dishes and 10 kinds of Japanese sake.

Thursday, December 20, 2018

2018.12.20

It was fine.

I went to Ochanomizu to attend one day seminar about writing. It started at 10 am and ended at 4:45 pm. There were 6 participants including myself. Before one minute self-introduction, we decided the first person by waking up time. The earliest got up at 6 am but she said it was very late compared to her regular hour which is 4 am. We were surprised. The seminar itself was very informative and useful. There were four women and two men. We, four women went out for lunch at a Taiwanese restaurant which was ver reasonble.

After the seminar I went to Kawasaki to see a Japanese movie "Ningyo no nemuru ie (人魚の眠る家)" meaning a house where a marmaid sleeps. It deals with brain death and was a very deep story. I have wanted to see but could not have a chance by now. I am glad to see it before it finished showing.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

2018.12.19

It was fine, and Mt. Fuji looked so beautiful.

These days morning trains often delay. This morning Toei Oedo Line delayed because of multi reasons.

We use flex system and need to work for 7 hours and 45 minutes per day. If we start early, we can leave early.
If our trains delay and if we get a certificate, we are not regarded as late, and it is counted from 10 am, and we need to work until 6:45 pm. It is also OK to work more in other days and leave earlier. We can also get hourly off which is very convenient.

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

2018.12.18


It was fine after rain. Mt.Fuji looked so beautiful.

There were three meetings and one English lesson.

There were about 15 participants at three tables for English lesson. First we discussed good or bad about 8 things by taking a turn to be a chairperson. They say there are differences between Japanese way of discussion and cross-cultured participants' discussion.

They say there is a package sold for Australian who became homesick. There are small items such as tea bag, match, postcard of recipe of Australian dessert, a badge, and so on in it which makes them feel Australia.
We had a group discussion to choose 8 items something Japanese to include in the package. What do you choose? Something Japanese which is small, not so expensive, and reminds of Japan. We thought of green tea bag, dried plum called umeboshi(梅干) related food, soy sauce and wasabi tube, postcard of Mt.Fuji and cherry blossoms, origami and its instruction, bookmark of pressed cherry blossom, Totoro goods, and fregrance bag called nioibukuro(匂袋). Other groups suggested chopsticks, seaweed, miso soup, furikake (ふりかけ) which is flavorful food additive consisting of dried seaweed, salt, and so on that is sprinkled over steamed rice.
Most of them were foods. Flegrance was only related to the sense of smell.

After work I went shopping at Kamioooka  where I could not go yesterday.

Monday, December 17, 2018

2018.12.17

It was rainy in the morning.
My train delayed again due to the jam caused by rain.

There was an event in the evening and I helped the preparation in the morning, reception in the afternoon, and clearance in the evening. It was a surprise to know how to remove/set the seats from/ on the floor.

After work I went to the Fuji Film Square after a long time, and got 2019 calendar by exchanging a stamp card full of 24 stamps. There are beautiful pictures of Japan.

I went shpping after that.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

2018.12.16

It was cloudy in the morning, became rain in the afternoon, but it stopped fortunately.

In the  morning I brought old newspaper, advertisement, catalogs, and card boards to the designated area. It used be collected by PTA once in a while but the rules changed. I brought them for the first time, but it was not so difficult.
Then I went to a bank to tranfser money. Of course the bank itself is closed but we can use ATM which is very convenient.
After that I went grocery shopping.

In the afternoon I went to Kimono-style Miya to have hairset, makeup, dressed, and taken pictures. When I got off the train, it started raining, so I was worried about the new kimono. But to my lucky it stopped raining later.
Thete were so many people there today and I had to wait for a while. I happened to see some kimono friends there.
After shooting, I was supposed to have a cake set, but it was rather late and it became to have dinner. As per my request I could eat delicious sushi at a famous Japanese restaurant with a kimono friend, which was really a happy surprising.
Foods were delicious, Christmas decoration was beautiful.

It turned out to be a very lucky day.

Saturday, December 15, 2018

2018.12.15

It was fine.

I went to shrines today, which is my 15th day rituals. One is near my house, the other is in Yokohama.

I went to massage in the morning, which is my once a month health treatment. After that massager offered me apple. She cut it horizontally, which she said is in fashion. As a matter of fact I felt it was a good way to eat most.
Then we visited Iseyama kotai jingu (伊勢山皇大神宮).

In the afternoon I went to Shinjuku to attend Morinda's CEO Mr. Makoto Oki's lecture. There were so many audience today because of the big announcement.

In the evening I went to Shinagawa to see some people. It was fun and I enjoyed the delicious cake set.

It was a nice day.

Friday, December 14, 2018

2028.12.14

It was fine and Mt.Fuji looked very beautiful.

I walked to the station because there was the year-end party with office members.
It started at 6:30 pm and lasted for two hours. 10 staffs out of 13 joined. It was held at an Indian foods restaurant. There were many foods and drinks. To my surprise many staff did not drink alcholic drinks. We ate a lot for sure. It was hard to talk with all, and  there were two groups. Our group talked about the places in the world where we have been to and not been to yet.

There are still many places to go.

Thursday, December 13, 2018

2018.12.13

It was fine.

But I was not.
This morning I had a fever and decided to take a day off.

Good thing was I could get delivery goods which I arranged to receive this Saturday night.

I hope to get well soon.

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

2018.12.12

It was rainy in the morning but stopped in the afternoon.
It was very cold.
I have had a cold since last Sunday or so and become worse now.

There was an announcement of the Kanji of the year. Sai (災) which means disaster was chosen as the Kanji of 2018. There happened many disasters such as big earthquakes, heavy rain and typhoons, record-making heat and so on.

The Kanji of the year has started since 1995. This was 24th. Sai has been chosen once in 2004.

How do you describe your 2018?

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

2018.12.11

It was cloudy in the morning and became rain in the evening. It was very cold.They say it was the coldest day of this winter.

There were two meetings today, one is office meeting which is held biweekly, the other is team meeting which is held weekly.

We share the schedule at the meeting, and many people look like taking a longer year-end and year-beginning vacation.

How will you spend this year-end?

Monday, December 10, 2018

2018.12.10

It was very cold.

I had a slight fever this morning and felt dull.

Soon after the business trip there were so many things to do therefore I went to work..

Today was a pay day of Bonus.

Sunday, December 9, 2018

2018.12.9

I came back from Myanmar this morning. It took about 6 hours from Yangon to Narita.

It was so cold in Japan today.

I sent a suitcase by free delivery of Amex. The earliest will be tomorrow, but I am not sure if I can come home early so that I asked them to deliver at the weekend.
If I ask at other company, it was possible to be delivered within today.

I arrived at home around 10:30 am. There were many mails and newspaper for a week.

There was a notice of delivery so that I arranged to be delivered today. However they did not come after all, and I had to re-arrange.

Because I waited for the delivery, I could not go out for shopping today.

2018.12.8

It was fine.

I got up early to see the sun rise. Bagan is very famous for seeing the sunrise from the air balloon. I  hear it costs $200 or $300. I saw some balloons from my hotel.

We visited Tuyin Taung pagoda, Phaya Thonezu Temple, Nara Thiba Patae Temple, and Minnan Thu Village.

At the pagoda we offered roses and prayed in front of each person's gurdian gate. I was born on Tuesday which is lion.

The gardians of the week are as follows:
Sunday-Garuda, Monday-Tiger, Tuesday- Lion, Wednesday morning-Elephant with tusk, Wednesday- Elephant without tusk, Thursday-Rat, Friday-Guinea pig, and Saturday-Dragon.

What day were you born?

We came back to hotel and after a while we went to have lunch.
Myanmar lunch includes many small dishes. Most of them were oily and bit spicy for me.

After that we came back to the hotel and check out later. One hour extension cost $5.

On our way to the airport I saw the very beautiful sunset from the car.

It was a fruitful business trip.

Saturday, December 8, 2018

2018.12.7

It was cloudy but became fine.

We went to Bagan by car. It took about five hours by stopping for lunch.

We checked in the hotel which looks very nice.

We visited Shwe Zien Zedi, Anand Phaya, Dammayongyi temple,Ohh Htein Taung Hil to see sunset and Mya Thit Sa Lacquerware shop.

Then we went out for Thai restaurant for dinner. They were rather spicy.

After that I tried the massage for 10 minutes.

It was another long day.

Friday, December 7, 2018

2018.12.6

It was fine.

I stayed at hotel almost all day long.

We had a progress report meeting. There were about 140 participants including a Minister.

There was dinner after that.

Then I went shopping and visiting a pagoda with a participant of JENESYS Program. It's been 9 years since we net.
It was fun.

Thursday, December 6, 2018

2018.12.5

It was fine and hot.

I checked out the hotel at 9 am but had to wait the correct invoice to be issued for a long time.

We just arrived at the Aitrport one hour before the flight. Flight from Yangon and  Naypyitaw is about one hour but they offered snack and drink.

Naypyitaw is a capital, but there are nothing but govermental offices. Roads are wide and long.

We had very delicious lunch. The place for dinner had a view of the beautiful sunset.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

2018.12.4

It was fine.

We stayed at hotel almost all day long.

In the morning we re-arranged the seminar venue and prepared.

From 11 am we had a meeting and luncheon.

The seminar started 15 minutes later than schedule. There were 5 presentations and finished 30 minutes later than schedule.

We had a dinner party and I attended with a Burmese dress.

After the dinner, I went to make another Myanmar traditional dress.

It was a long day.

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

2018.12.3

It was fine and very hot.

Traffic jam here in Yangon is terrible. One of the reasons must be luck of train transportation system, the other is bad condition of the roads, and another is traffic signals.

We visited two construction sites, one industrial housing zone, two offices, central station, and so on.

Foods in Myanmar are very tasty.

It was another fruitful day.

Monday, December 3, 2018

2018.12.2

I arrived at Bangkok early morning.
There were two hours to transit to Yangon.
I came to Yangon behore nine, and someoe came to pick me up. We went shopping the traditional Myanmar dress which was fun.
After that I checked in the hotel, and visited their house which was big with a pool. I tasted 10 sweets which tasted similar.

Then I went to a Myanmar restaurant to have a reunion of JENESYS MES group. This program was done about 9 years ago. There were 20 in total. Today 12 of them got together which was really nice.
We enjoyed talking about memories, eating Myanmar foods, and taking pictures.The visiting Japan for 10 days gave them a big impact. I am very glad to kow that.

After that  I went back to the hotel to do some jobs.

At night we went to a restaurant "House of Memories" which was used to be an office for the General Aung Sun. We enjoyed Myanmar dinner.

It was a nice day.

Saturday, December 1, 2018

2018.12.1

The first day of December.
December is jyunigatsu (12月), the 12th month or shiwasu (師走), teachers run in Japanese.

It was fine and warm today.

I went to the nearby shrine as otsuitachimairi (お朔日参り), the first day's custom.

I went to Shinjuku to attend Morinda's monthly meeting from 11 am and had a luncheon with ex-colleagues. It's been 9 years since we met each other and worked together in Shinjuku. After luncheon we visited the building where our office used to be.  There was a nice Christmas tree as usual.

I went to Kawasaki to see a movie. At first I was going to see a Japanese movie but I left Shinjuku later than schedule and could not see it and decided to see other movie but it was full and I could not see either. So I decided to see another one, The Nutcracker and the Four Relms instead.

Then I had dinner with my advising professor of graduate school. There was kegani (毛がに), hairly crab which is my favorite.

Then I headed for Haneda Airport to leave for Myanmar via Bangkok. I picked up the suitcase and checked in.  I wished to buy some souveniors, but most of shops were already closed.

It was a fruitful day.