2019.4.30

The last day of Heisei (平成).

It was a rainy day.

At 10  am there was a ceremony of Emperor wearing the traditional costume to report his abdication to gods and ancestors at the holy place of the Imperial palace.

At 5 pm there was another ceremony of abdication at the Imperial palace.

With these two ceremonies all the official events of Emperor's abdication finished.

It's been 202 years since the living Emperor abdicated last.

From tomorrow the new era REIWA (令和) will start with the new Emperor.

This morning I went to nearby shrine to thank for the past 30 years of Heisei era.

After that I went to Yokosukachuo to visit some banks, Yokohama to see a movie and Kawasaki to see another movie. I could have seen one more for free of charge, but if I see I would miss the last train and I gave up.

Many Japanese people feel today is like a new year's eve.

Let's have a happy new era!

2019.4.29

It was cloudy and cold.

Today is a national holiday called "Showa no hi (昭和の日)." It used to be "Midori no hi (みどりの日)" from 1989 to 2006. Before that it was Emperor Showa's Birthday.

Current Emperor's birthday is December 23, and next Emperor's birthday is February 23. Therefore there will be no national holiday of Emperor's birthday this year.

Today I stayed at home and watched TV programs of Destiny Story of current Emperor and Empress. There are many special programs dealing with 30 years of Heisei era these days.

2019.4.28

I am sick in bed. I have had a fever, stomachache, and headache since yesterday.
Lying in bed too long makes backache too.

This may be Heisei detox.

I hope to get better soon.

2019.4.27

It was cloudy at first, rained in the afternoon, and stopped raining in the evening.

I wore the brand new kimono to attend luncheon at a prestigeous restaurant in Isogo.  About 20 people attended wearing kimono. At my table there were 5 participants. To my surprise one of them was 82 years old but looked younger than she was. She said after retiring from the prefectural government office she has worked at another place for 19 years until 79. Isn't it amazing? Her hobby was social dance and she said she spent as much money as she could buy the house. I was so surprised to hear that.

After that I went shopping at Kamioooka and consulted about smartphone. I will change my smartphone near future for my birthday present this year.

2019.4.26

It was a cold rainy day.

For the most of Japanese people they will have 10 days golden week from tomorrow. It is about the double length of usual year because of chainging Heisei (平成) era to Reiwa(令和).

At the end of last year I wanted to go to Cuba for cruising around this time, but while thinking the course was sold out.
I should have taken action sooner.

At this time last year I went to Dubai and Kuala Lumpur.
However I do not go abroad this time. I wish I could!

Have a nice Golden Week!

2019.4 25

It was slightly raining in the morning but became fine and rather warm.

I went to Nakameguro to do REIKI. It's been 7 years since I saw her first and last. We became Facebook friends and she was interested in my post about REIKI and contacted me and we decided the time early morning. We seldom know each other but know somehow by Facebook Post. She had back pain but after REIKI she got better. We talked a lot and had a good time.

After that I went to Hellowork to attend the explanation meeting.

After that I went to Shinagawa to attend a lecture by Mr.Toshitaka Mochizuki. I met a lady whom I talked before. We became LINE friends.

The last regular train has gone and I decided to take a Wing car by paying yen 300. I am glad to take the last train.

2019.4.24

It was cloudy, and partially rained.

I went to Tokyo to attend a career  seminar  from 3 pm to 8 pm.

They provided a blue bottle of water from Spain and a bag of assorted sweets because there is no supper break.  At the common place of the rental meeting room floor they provided free coffee and tea, hot wet towels, masks, candies, and so on.
Seminar was rather long and consisted of lecture, writing exercise and group works. I learned a lot.

On my way back at the Tokyo station I found many interesting shops.

2019.4.23

It was fine.

First I went to the J.F. Oberlin University Shinjuku Campus in the morning to attend my teacher's lecture about "Economy and Environment." The campus opened in this April, and everywhere was so clean and beautiful. Lecture started at 10:40 and ended at 12:20. I was accustomed to 90 minutes lecture, therefore 100 minutes was rather strange. There was a quiz time  from "Fact Fulness." And the result was quite different from our imagination.
After the lesson we took pictures and had lunch together.

Next I went to Shinjuku to attend a lecure by Mr. Makoto Oki in the afternoon and measured AGE and bought Noni tea for my friend.

After that I went to Jujo to visit the friend at the hospital in the evening.  I practiced REIKI for her. We enjoyed talking.

From Itabashihoncho I went home.

It was a fruitful day.

2019.4.22

It was fine.

I went to Roppongi after three weeks. First I went to two shrines.  Second I went to the National Art Center, Tokyo.

I had lunch with my 3 ex-colleagues at a Japanese restaurant. Since we seldom talked about our private life at office, it was interesting to know each other.

In the afternoon I went back to NACT and saw the exhibition of calligraphy.

I walked around Mid town and shopped. Then I visited the Fuji Film Square where has a very beautiful exhibition of Tiger.

There were some time before the next appointment and I went to Shinagawa to buy a ticket to Nagoya next month and come back to GRIPS to attend the GRIPS Forum.

I had dinner with another 3 ex-colleagues at izakaya (居酒屋) where you can eat and drink. The place was very unique.  It looked like just a door to the apartment room which had no sign board of the bar.  There were counter seats at the first floor and tables at downstairs and second floor. We ordered some appetizers, salad, and sweets. As otoshi(お通し) which is a small dish apetizer, they served stick vegetables.
We enjoyed talking and eating.

It was a fruitful day.

2019.4.21

It was fine.

In the morning I went to vote for the city councilors.

After that I visited the nearby shrine and went to Sugita for shopping.

Then I went to Magome to attend the ISD instructor' s lesson from noon to 6 pm. It's been a while since I learned last time. Therefore there were some changes and new information. I am glad to attend it.

At night I went to Shinagawa to meet some friends.

It was another eventful day.

2019.4.20

It was fine.

In the mirning I went to Hinodecho to get massage which is my once a month health treatment. There I heard about a very attractive tour which will be held on my birthday and I applied for it.

In the afternoon I went to Magome to attend ISD Instractor lessons again after a long time. There were two new students today.

At night I went to Shinagawa to attend a seminar to be a photographer which was very interesting. It lasted for three hours.
Instructor's name was Mr. Sho Ogura who used to be a musician. Now he is a business owner as wll as photographer and will publish his first book near future. His tension was very high throughout the seminar.

It was a nice day.

2019.4.19

It was fine.

In the morning I went to Hello Work to proceed the necessary procedure. It took longer than I expected and I was late for the next appointment.

In the afternoon I attended a medical seminar. It was a trial class.

After that my friend and I went to have tea and she analized my type from the four soul windows. There were two questions: if you are passionate or cool and if you are rational or emotional.
Four windows are wisdom, courage, kindness, and love. It was interesting

After that I went to Shinagawa to see friends.

It was an eventful day.

2019.4.18

It was fine.

I went to Shinagawa to support two REIKI Experience meetings.  One was held in the afternoon, the other was held at night. There were about 30 particiants and mote than 10 staffs in the afternoon session and about 20 participants at night. In between 6 of us supporters practiced the atunement.

The night session lasted until 10:40 pm. I was afraid of the last train. Fortunately I could be in time.

It was a nice experience.

2019.4.17

It was cloudy.

I wore kimono at home and went to Kimono-style Miya to get hair-set and dressed.

I happened to see some friends who could seldom join at the weekday event.

We went to Asakusa in the afternoon and had dinner at a very famous Japanese restaurant.

We enjoyed eating & taking pictures.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

2019.4.16

It was fine.

I went to learn REIKI Fourth Degree again. This is the lesson to be a teacher of REIKI. I took it about two years ago, but tried again. After going four days, I feel like being a certified  REIKI teacher and decided to come to learn again and be a sub-teacher next time.
I need to collect 30 cartes of more than 30 minutes healing session. So I will start soon.

2019.4.15

It was fine.

I went to the nearby shrine before going to Shinagawa.

Yesterday and today I took the same train, so I went to the station to take that train. But at the station I noticed it was weekday today and the schedule is different.
My friend also thought the same thing and took the same train and we enjoyed talking on our way.

In any case I am glad to be in time.

Today we learned REIKI the third degree.
It was interesting as usual.

2019.4.14

It was fine.

I went to learn REIKI second degree. It started at 10 am and ended 6:30 pm or so. There were about 60 participants today. It was the third time for me to attend the second degree. We can send heaing energy through distace after learning the second degree.

I will send them some people who need it.

2019.4.13

It was fine.

I went to learn REIKI First Degree again after a long time. We can learn again by free of charge after finishing the course once. Nice system, isn't it? I learned REIKI about 2 years ago for the first time. REIKI is one of the self-healing methods. It started at 10am and ended around 6:30 pm followed by tea party.
I happened to see my friend from the different community.
I came back with one of the participants up to Kurihama. On the train we met a German guy who speaks Japanese, and we enjoyed a little conversation.

2019.4.12

It was raining in Hong Kong.

There was a seminar in the morning and there were two special guests.

After that we headed for the airport. Again my seat was in the middle and could not change.
I watched a Movie titled "The Fovorites" which my friend said she did not understand. I did not understand either.

Flight from Hong Kong was about 3 hours and I only watched one movie this time.

I am glad there are still trains back home.

I came home safe and sound.

2019.4.11

It was fine.

In the morning there was an economic seminar.

We had delicious Dim Sun lunch.

In the afternoon there was another seminar.

After that I went to the Ladies Market to shop.

There was a dinner party and I wore the China dress which I bought a long time ago in Singaore.

At night we went to see the night view at the Victoria Harbour.

After that there was a night meeting.

It was another long day.

2019.4.10

It was raining and very cold from the morning.

I went to the Haneda International Airport by Keihinkyuko Line which delayed about 20 minutes.
I picked up the luggage and checked in.
To travel light is one of my dreams, and on my way it was done because of the Amex Gold Card. I exchanged money and went to the lounge.

Flight to Hong Kong was supposed to take four hours and 15 minutes but it delayed a little bit. We left around 10:35 am.  Unfortunately I was in the middle and could not change the seat nor got mileage.
There were snack and lunch. I watched two movies, Mary Poppins and 50th First Kiss.

I got out of the custom around 3:10 pm which is 4:10  pm in Japan. It is 30 degrees centigrade here!!

Today I attended the seminar.

We had delicious Chinese dinner and saw the beautiful nightview.

After that we had a long meeting.

2019.4.9

It was fine but very cold. They say it would be very cold like winter and may snow tomorrow.

Today's big news was the renewal of yen 10000, yen 5000, and yen 1000 bills in 5  years. The last renewal was happened 15 years ago. 
This time the face of yen 10000 will be Mr. Eiichi Shibusawa (渋沢栄一) who is regarded as the Father of Modern Economic World or Father of Japanese Capitalism. He established many companies including the first bank in Japan.
The face of yen 5000 will be Ms. Umeko Tsuda (津田梅子)who was one of the first girl students who studied in the United States, and established Tsuda College after coming back to Japan. 
The face of yen 1000 will be Dr. Shibasaburo Kisasato (北里柴三郎) who found Yersinia Pestis and is regarded as Father of Bacteriology and established many medical institutions including Kisasato University.

New Japanese name of era and new bills. Sounds nice, doesn't it ?

2019.4.8

It was heavily raining in the morning but stopped raining and became fine around noon.

The repair serviceman of TV antenna  was supposed to come between 12 and 2 pm. However I was told if it was raining he could not climb the roof, therefore I canceled.
After a while it stopped raining and I called him again if it was possible or not. He said after becoming fine, it would take a few hours to dry the tiles of the roof and we promised to check tomorrow in the first place.
However he called me back around noon and said he was near and would finish the work in 15 minutes, and it wouldn't rain any more and he asked me the permission to visit today as scheduled. He checked inhouse and climbed up the roof.
After all antenna itself was fine but the connection had problems and he fixed them.
It didn't take long and cost yen 5,400.
I am glad that the problem was fixed.

2019.4.7

It was fine and warm.

There was an election for the governor today.  In the afternoon I went to vote to the gym of the elementay school. There is a shrine nearby where I visit every 1st and 15th of the month. There is a tree of cherry blossoms and it is very beautiful.

After that I decided to go to the station to see the cherry blossoms. Some patels were dancing in the air and so beautiful.

There will be leaves soon.

There was the antenna trouble again and I could not watch TV.

2019.4.6

It was fine.

I did not notice the alarm this morning but fortunately I was in time for the monthly meeting in Shinjuku. There were special guests today and the venue was full. To my lucky I found the seat.
After that I measured AGE as usual, but the result was not good maybe because of sleeping hours and diet.

In the afternoon I went to Shibuya to see my friend at the talk show event of our travel club friend who published the book. I could not listen to the talk but got the autograph at least.

My friend and I went to coffee shop to talk. First one was crowded and we went to the other one. I ate Mont  Blanc. I only had 30 minutes or so and headed for Hinodecho.

I went to the Kimono-style Miya and have my hair set, make-up, dressed and taken pictures.
Today I wore the rose ensemble kimono and obi which I bought about 5 years ago or so. At that time I liked them by the first sight.  When I buy kimono, I love by the first sight.
There was a very nice one and very good offer but I did not buy it today.

On my way back I walked to Koganecho along the Oooka River where is a good spot for Cherry blossoms viewing. Many people were enjoying viewing and drinking.

It was a busy day.

2019.4.5

It was fine and windy. Depends on the place, it seems to be a summer day which was over 25 degrees centigrade.

Yesterday I could not watch TV and asked the repair. However I could watch TV in the yesterday evening and this morning. Therefore I canceled the booking. However in the afternoon I could not watch TV sometimes. I do not know why this happened but I thought I'd better know the reason. So I called and asked the repair again.

In the evening I cooked after a long time.

2019.4.4

It was fine and beautiful.

Cherry blossoms are so beautiful here and there.

I was going to stay at home all day long. But there has been something wrong with antenna of TV and I have not been able to watch TV since yesterday. So I called the repair center but they said I needed to go to the shop directly and ask the estimation. Therefore I went to Kamioooka. It cost yen3,240 to book the date which we do not know the exact time. After checking I will know how much it will be and when they can fix. So I do not know how long I have to live without TV.
Even if I do not watch the program, I usually turn on TV. So I want to fix it as soon as possible.

After booking, I went to see a Japanese movie at Kawasaki because I did not want to book the repair schedule only. Some people recomended the movie so I decided to watch it. However it was not my taste. It was OK because I used the invitation ticket, but if I pay for it, I would have regretted.

2019.4.3

I got up late because last night I stayed up until early morning to finish writing a paper.

It was fine but very cold today.

First I went to Kudanshita to attend a lecture from 2 pm.

After that five of us went to have supper at a porridge restaurant. Then three of us went to see the cherry blossoms at Chidorigafuchi (千鳥ヶ淵) where is the very famous viewing sopts. Cherry blosdoms were full in bloom.

In the evening I attended a monthly meeting. After that I went to Chidorigafuchi again to see yozakura (夜桜), the night cherry blossoms. There were more people than afternoon. At the most popular spot there was a waiting line for about one hour to take a beautiful picture. We walked through till the end taking beautiful pictures, and on our way back we decided to lineup there. Indeed it was a nice spot to take a picture. But the lightup event was up to 10 pm, that we took the right way.

I feel lucky to have seen such beautiful scenes.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

2019.4.2

It was fine.

I stayed at home all day long washing sweaters and clearing old documents.

In the afternoon I concentrated on writing a paper of 2000 words in Japanese.

2019.4.1

A new month has started. April is shigatsu (四月) the fourth month or uzuki(卯月) in Japanese.

April is a starting month in Japan. New academic year and fiscal year have begun.

The 100th new NHK's morning drama Natsuzora (なつぞら) started too.

It was fine and beautiful in the morning but became rain in the afternoon.

There was a big announcement today. The new name of the era from May 1 will be Reiwa (令和).  This is the 248th name from 645 Taika (大化).

Usually these names, nengo (年号), were consisted of two Chinese Characters which were made from Chinese legend. However this one was made from Manyoshu (万葉集), Japanese oldest poem anthology.
Usually these names were changed  when the Emperor passed away, but this time the current Emperor decided to step down and the new name was considered before that.
After the announcement, Prime Minister explained his wishes for the new name.

There is only one month left for Heisei(平成). I hope to do something memorable within 30 days.