2019.3.31

It.was fine here but cloudy and chilly in Tokyo.

I went to Meguro to see cherry blossoms. First we had tea at Yuian and visited Gajoen. I have been there many times but there were so many more to see there. When I went to see the famous rest room, the hotel manager started explaining, and he showed us around the hotel. It was so impressive that I felt like coming again wearing kimono.

After that we went to see cherry blossoms at the river and visited a temple, and went to have dinner.

Today was the last day of fiscal year of 2018.

I hope to have better 2019.

2019.3.30

It was cloudy and chilly in the daytime and became fine, but started raining in the evening.

I went to Kimono-Style Miya to attend a body guard event. This is the second time for me to attend this event. There are two body guards. One of them was the same as last time. The other was from Olympia, WA. Since I was in WA in 1996, we were surprised. After being taken photos, four of us had drink and snack.  There was another coincidence. One of them was from Hiroshima where is my father's registered address .

I went to see a designer of today's kimono who happened to be in Yokohama. He was so happy to see my wearing his designed kimono that he gave me a new designed brooch and took pictures.

I wished to go to see the cherry blossoms at the Oooka riverside, but since it started raining, I gave up and watched them from the train.

2019.3.29

It was cloudy and cold.

Today was the last day for me to work at the office.

Three years ago when I had to find a new job, I had been thinking to take this position or not. Now I am happy with my decision. It was the perfect job for me and I really enjoyed working. I wished to work more but my contract was up to three years. And today was the last day.

We had a farewell luncheon. Four of us left the office today.

I got a bouquet,  a message card, and a gift.

Thank you so much.

2019.3.28

It was cloudy and a bit cool than yesterday.

I had a meeting in the morning.

I went out for lunch with my colleague. We sit next to each other at the office, but we seldom talk about our private life. So it was very interesting to know each other.

In the afternoon I tried to clear everything. It took more than one hour to shred the documents I have filed for three years. I should have thrown away whenever there were unnecessary documents.

I cannot believe there is only one day left.

I hope I can finish everything I need to.

2019.3.27

It was fine.

Cherry blossoms are blooming more and more.

There were two meetings today.

I went out for lunch at an Italian restaurant with a colleague who has also worked at the same center I used to work.
Now we belong to different offices and have no chance to communicate. But we have known each other as a clasdmate of English training for a year. Time was short but we enjoyed our first lunch.

After work I attended a seminar after a long time. It lasted for three hours. It was something different from my expectation, but I am glad to book the REIKI lessons in April and another special seminar too.

When I got to Shinagawa Station, there was a happy yellow train and fortunately I got a seat.

It was a nice day.

2019.3.26

It was slightly raining in the morning, but became cloudy and I did not have to use an umbrella.

There was a commencement.

I went out for lunch with my colleague. We went to a Kyoto style Tempura restaurant. At night it is rather expensive but for lunch it is reasonable.
On my way to lunch yesterday, I happened to hear about the restaurant and decided to go.
Tempura is one of well-known Japanese dishes which are delucious when they are hot. Eating tempura at the counter is very luxurious. They served fast and we finished eating earlier. This was the fourth farewell lunch. She gave me a present wishing my new start.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

2019.3.25

It was fine.

Cherry blossoms started blooming. This weekend must be a good time for viewing them.

There is only one week left at the office, and there are still many things to do.

I went out for lunch at the Midtown with my boss. There is a restaurant I have been interested in where she has been and recommended before.  We shared salad and pasta but they were still volumy.

2019.3.24

It was fine but very cold like winter.

It is the last day of Vernal Eqinox Week.
I went to my parents' graveyard in the morning.

Mt. Fuji looked so beautiful that I went to see it to the Mitohama beach.

After that I came home and had brunch and went to Shinagawa to see friends.

There were four hours between next appointment, and I went to Kawasaki to see a movie. However the one I planned to see was sold out and I could not see it. Therefore I went to Kamiooka to shop.

After killing time, I went back to Shinagawa to see other friends.

It was a long day.

2019.3.23

It was cloudy, windy, and rather cold compared to spring-like weather yesterday.

I took a hot spring from the morning. How nice it is!

There was a training in the morning.

After that I went back to Yokohama to attend a walking lesson for the Kimono fashion show in September. They expected to have two participants but it seems she canceled. Fortunately I could learn many things by man to man. How lucky I am! The instructor has a very unique experience and it was fun to talk.

After that I went to massage which is my once a month health maintenance.

It was a fruitful day.

2019.3.22

I took a comp for last Saturday.

I wanted to go Oiwa jinja shrine tour at first, but before applying there appeared the more attractive overnight training and I decided to attend it.

It started at 1 pm at Hamanako, Shizuoka and lasted till late at night.

This was the second time for me to attend this training. I left home around 8:20 am and used puratto kodama, special discount super express train ticket.

We had a dinner party and meeting later.

After everything I enjoyed hotsprings.

2019.3.21

It is a national holiday called shunbun no hi (春分の日), Vernal Equinox Day.

It was slightly raining in the morning but became fine in the afternoon, and windy and cloudy in the evening.

I am not sure when it was exactly, but I found a very interesting course to learn Japanese traditional culture extensively  and asked for the brochure. Recently they sent me an email about the free trial lesson at Yokohama branch and I attended today.
It was interesting, but one year course of Wednesday morning seems difficult to complete if you have a full time job.

There I made a friend and decided to have lunch together. The restaurant I wanted to go was not available and we went to a Japanese style resraurant nearby. We were very lucky to be able to enter soon because there were so many waiting lines at other places. We had a square meal and went to have tea at the different place. We enjoyed talking a lot and had a good time.

After saying good-bye I went to banks and went to Shinagawa to buy train tickets for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

It is the full moon today though I could not see it here. They say it's been 19 years when the fullmoon falls on the Vernal Equinox Day. Last time was 2000 and it was at the millenium. This year we have the change of Japanese name of era.  It seems to happen at the time of change.

There was an announcement of blooming cherry blossoms officially which is rather earlier than usual.

The baseball player Ichiro decided to retire.

There will be many changes.

What do you want to change?

2019.3.20

It was fine and warm. Spring has come.

Cherry blossoms at our institution are about to bloom. Next week when there is a commencement, students will enjoy taking photos with beautiful flowers.

Today was the last day of the program I have been in charge.

I went out for lunch with a colleague who happened to have worked at the center I have worked for 4 years. We had not worked together there but we have some mutual colleagues. We went to a Japanese-style restaurant nearby where I have been interested in visiting. We ordered the most popular menue. For me it was the first time to go there. But my colleague has been there several times and she recommended me the menu. However it seemed different from the one she ate before. She treated me.

There has been something wrong with my PC and it took so long to do anything. There are so many things to do within this month and I overworked and missed the last train.

2019.3.19

It was fine.

In the morning I went to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace. It's been a long time since I visited last. It is very big and entrance is free of charge. There was a special commemorative exhibition of Emperor's poems of 30 years.'  There were so many foreigners there. Different from foreigners in Kyoto, there were many westerners. It must be very beautiful in spring and autumn.

After having lunch at a fish restaurant, we went to the incineration plant. It's been also a long time since I went there last.

After that I went back to the office and overworked.

It was another long day.

2019.3.18

It was fine and cold. Mt. Fuji looked so beautiful. I wished we could see this beautiful landscape yesterday.

In the morning I was busy for paperwork.

I went out for lunch with my colleague to a sushi restaurant where was on the way to the office and I have been interested in visiting since it opened. I found the sign said if you uploaded lunch picture to SNS, you would get a piece of sushi. So I tried.

In the afternoon I visited the Statistics Bureau. There is a museum adjoined to it.  It was so interesting to see the history of development of census counting machineary. I recommend you to visit there if you are interested in national census.

2019.3.17

It was fine in the morning but cloudy in the afternoon and became fine in the evening again.

I attended one day bus tour to Izu with my old friend.

This was an invitation trip I happened to get by answering questionnaire at a restuarant where I went to in the early November.

First we visited the jewelry shop and we headed for Izu. We ate barbecue lunch of fresh seafood and took a short cruise. There were so many seagulls.

Next we went to Izu no kuni Panorama Park by Ropeway. Unfortunately we could not see Mt.Fuji from the sea and the mountain. However on our way back we could see the beautiful Mt.Fuji.

The tour started around 9 am and we came back around 8:30 pm.

It was a nice day.

2019.3.16

It was rainy and chilly in the morning.

We visited Kyoto gosho (京都御所) the Kyoyo Imperial Palace first. When we got out of subway, it was fine.  We were suposed to take an English guided tour but they did not have because they have the Special Exhibition Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Enthronement of His Majesty the Emperor. From 10 am we could watch Gagaku (Imperial Court Music and Dance). The buildings and Japanese gardens there were so beautiful.

After eating lunch at the Palace Hotel, we walked while and got a bus to Kinkakuji (金閣寺) Golden Pavilion Temple.  When we got off the bus it started raining slightly, however when we entered inside, it became fine. I felt we were fortunate.

After Kinkakuji, we took a bus again.
and changed to raiden (嵐電) train which had only one car or two and went to Arashiyama (嵐山) to see the bamboo forest.  There were so many tourists there.  We saw many people wearing Kimono.

We took 5:21 Shinkansen back to Tokyo.

2019.3.15

It was fine.

In the morning we went to Karasaki, Shiga and  in the afternoon we came back to Kyoto.

After afternoon session we went to Kiyomizu temple. There were so many visitors there. We saw many prople who wear kimono.
There was a lightening up event nearby and we enjoyed the landscape.
We happened to see the performance at the Yasaka shrine.

We enjoyed dinner at Gion area.

It was a fruitful day.

2019.3.14

It was fine in the morning.

I came to Kyoto on a business trip. On our way here up to Shizuoka it was fine and we could see the beautiful Mt. Fuji.  But it became cloudy and when we arrived at Kyoto, it was rather cold. First we went to hotel to drop the luggage and moved to Otsu where is the capital of Shiga prefecture.

We had sometime before the appointment and we walked to the Lake Biwa where is the largest lake in Japan.

It's been a long time since I went there last. They say it is about 250km around the lake, and we could only see the southern part of the lake.

After the meeting we went out for dinner at a local food restaurant. I could not eat funazushi (鮒寿司) because of the smell before, but today I could eat it.

2019.3.13

It was fine.

In the afternoon I went to Ministry of International Affairs and Communications. I was surprised to see a robot working there. 

2019.3.12

It was fine and warm. I felt spring has come.

In the morning I went to Kasumigaseki.  I arrived about half an hour earlier than meeting time so that I visited the Hibiya Park nearby. There were fountains. I enjoyed seeing rainbows.

In the afternoon I went to Hongo sanchome to visit the University of Tokyo. Before that we enjoyed eating lunch at a popular Japanese style restaurant.

After that there was one more place to visit.

I came back to the office in the evening.

2019.3.11

It's been 8 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake happened. 15,897 were killed, 2,533 are still missing, and 51,778 were evacuated or relocated. Many people are still suffering.

It became fine and warm in the afternoon today.

We went to the Toyosu Market in the afternoon.  This was the first time for me to visit there. You can visit there from 5 am to 5 pm. There were  three big complex. Restaurants overthere were so expensive and I was so surprized to see the menu. There is an open-air roof garden but there were no benches. I wonder what are reasons to have made it.

2019.3.10

It was fine in the morning but became cloudy in the afternoon, and rained in the evening.

Today is my dead mother's birthday. So I decided to visit my parents' graveyard.

After that I went grocery shopping and filled up my car.

In the afternoon I went to a beauty salon to have my hair cut and perm.

2019.3.9

It was fine today.

I went to Shinjuku to attend Morinda's monthly meeting and measured AGE.

After having lunch  I went to Yokohama to see a movie "Green Book."  I feel It's been a long time since I went to the theater last. I am glad to see the academy award winning movie which has been just released.

There was another train accident tonight.

2019.3.8

It was fine in the morning. I thought it would be warm, but it was still cold.

I finished reading a book which I bought on July 15 last year when I attended a seminar of Mr. Ken Honda. The author was a guest at that tine and I got his autograph.
There are some books which are just piled. Since I commute more than 4 hours every day I should have read many books. But the truth is I have not read real books these days. We can easily downroad the books and read whenever we like.

The book recomnends to publish books to be an influencer.

I have wanted to publish a book for a long time. After published, I have hoped to translate it into English and Spanish. But it has not done yet.
I hope to publish the English version near future.

2019.3.7

It was another cold rainy day.

My desktop PC at the office has no more memory and does not work properly. I have already ordered the new one and been waiting for it.

I wonder how we could work without having PC, Internet, and smartphone about 30 years ago.

2019.3.6

It was cloudy.

I had a meeting in the morning. It was expected to be one hour but lasted longer without any solution.

In the afternoon I took a half day off to attend a lecture.  After that I asked a question which I have been annoyed for a long time. Fortunately it was solved and I feel good about it.

There was about one hour before the next meeting so I had early dinner. I chose the menu by the first sight because it looked like my favorite ingredients were included such as sea urchin, salmonroe, scallop, and shrimp.

Contents of monthly meeting at night were informative and attractive and I feel like trying my best for my future. Being in a good environment is very important. Life is a succession of choice. The richer becomes richer. Having confidence without reason is strong. To set a definite goal is important. I learned important lessons.

After the meeting I went out for tea with friends and there was something looked delicious and I ate it.

Having companion who share the same goal is important.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

2019.3.5

It was fine and warm but became rain slightly in the evening.

It's been almost three years since I started the current job. It is one year contract basis up to three years renewal. Therefore this will be the last month for me to work here. There are still many things to do within this month, and I am already worried about it.
I did not know anything about this job before starting, but it was very interesting and I enjoyed working. I liked the location of the office and the flex time system too.

I have been trying to find the next job but it is rather difficult. Getting old makes difficult to find the job in most fields in Japan. I live rather far from Tokyo. So I do not want to start early....

I want to do something international to be a bridge between Japan and other countries.

I hope to find the one before I leave here.

Please wish me luck!

2019.3.4

It was another very cold rainy day. Many petals of cheery blossoms were blown away.

They say it will be fine and warm tomorrow.

There is a word sankan shion (三寒四温), which means three cold four warm. That is after three cold days four warm days continue.

2019.3.3

It was a very cold rainy day.

I stayed at home all day long.

March 3 is known as Hina matsuri (雛まつり), Doll's Festival. Those families who have girls decorate hina ningyo (雛人形) dolls and eat chirashi zushi (ちらし鮨) and clear clam soup to wish their daughters' healthy growth.There is sweets called hina arare (雛あられ), too.

March 3 is also the Day of Ears from their shapes.

2019.3.2

It was fine.

I went to Kimono-style Miya to have hair-set, makeup, dressed and pictures taken.
After getting dressed I had time for a while, so I enjoyed trying on some expensive kimonos. They were so beautiful and looked like the collections of museum.

For shooting I went to Osaragi Jiro(大仏次郎) Memorial Museum again. There were some flowers blooming there and the view was very beautiful.

After went back to Miya I changed the obi and had some more pictures taken.

I visited Iseyama Kotai Jingu (伊勢山皇大神宮) and Naritasan (成田山).

2019.3.1

A new month has started. March is sangatsu (三月) or yayoi (弥生) in Japanese. It is a time to say good-bye. There are graduation ceremonies in many schools. Usually at high schools it is held on March 1.

It was rainy in the morning but stopped raining later. Petals of cherry blossoms were starting to fall because of rain and a puddle was filled with petals when I came back at night.

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

I hope this will be another nice month.