2020.7.31

It was cloudy in the morning but became fine in the afternoon.

The last day of July.

How fast time flies!

There was a big staff meeting today, which is once a year event and this was the first time for me to attend, and I have been curious what it looked like. There were four parts, greeting from the top, explanations by each program head, small group meeting, and sharing the contents of small group meeting.

It was a good opportunity to talk with people from other departments.

After work I headed for Yokohama to see a Japanese movie "The Confidence Man JP Princess story" which is the last movie for Haruma Miura who committed suicide on July 18 at the age of 30. The movie was interesting as usual.

2020.7.30

It was cloudy.

After coming home I watched some TV programs.

Now I am watching the one broadcast at NHK. As MC Juju & Haruma Miura are talking about the dishes around the world.

I still can't believe he killed himself on July 18 at the age of 30.

2020.7.29

It was cloudy and partially rained.

It was rather cool.

Today is ichiryumanbaibi (一粒万倍日), the day when one grain becomes 10000 times.

I applied for the seminar for next month.

Today I got a Facebook friend request and accept it. 

And I requested to be friend someone by mistake.

So I happened yo have two new Facebook friends.

I wonder how these relationship will be.

Today the first patient of COVID-19 appeared in Iwate prefecture.

2020.7.28

It was cloudy and partially fine in the morning but became rain in the evening.

They say it rained heavily in Yamagata and Fukushima area today snd rivers flooded.

There was once a week meeting st work. After that it always becomes clear what to do.

2020.7.27

It was cloudy.  It seemed rained in the afternoon while I was at the office.

I started the day with TV exercise.

I left home a few minutes later than usual and worried about the train, but to my lucky the trains were delayed due to heavy rain yesterday and I could get on the usual train.

At lunch time I attended a zoom meeting. It was free to join and leave once you have registered.

After coming home I wished to attend another one but I could not because it already passed for more than 30 minutes.

At night I happened to see a TV program about fireworks. What I like about Japanese summer is fireworks festival. However this year most of the fireworks festivals were canceled due to COVID-19. 

On June 1 all members of national fireworks association decided to do surprise fireworks festivals around 200 places in Japan. Though I did not see.it.

Fireworks is hanabi (花火), literally means flower fire in Japanese. 

2020.7.26

It rained heavily but became cloudy and fine in the morning. But it rained again and became fine again in the afternoon. I saw the rainbow in the evening.

Today I started the day with "Even Adult Let's Enjoy Kid's Yoga. "

After having breakfast I drove to Morito jinja (森戸神社) shrine in Hayama. I knew its existence but have never visited there before. It is located at the very beautiful place and there are big parking lots. There were some families having omiyamairi (お宮参り), their newly born baby's first shrine visit celebration.

When I was there, the weather was so good and I felt as if the rainy season was over.

After that I came back to my nearest station and took a train to Minami Ota where I have never dropped off. I went to Hie jinja (日枝神社) shrine. It was heavily raining while I was there.

I went to Hinodecho next to visit Iseyama kotai jingu (伊勢山皇大神宮).  

And I visited Narita san (成田山) temple as usual.

When I visited there they were having a ceremony.

After that I went to Shinagawa to attend a special meeting. I am glad to see friends there.

After coming back I headed for Kainan jinja(海南神社) shrine. Usually shrines close at 5 pm, but today there was a music event and opened until 6  pm. Therefore to my lucky I could visit all 13 shrines for Keikyu summer shrine visit campaign within this long weekend. Unfortunately the first 200 small bag gifts were already given at the Kainan jinja, therefore I will try at other shrines.

It was a nice four days weekend.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

2020.7.25

It was a rainy day.

I started the day with Laughter Yoga.

From 10 am I attended a zoom reading meeting. There were about 15 people. I enjoyed knowing new people.

It was heavily raining in the morning so that I was not going out, but when the meeting was over, it was not raining so I decided to visit some shrines.

First I went to Uraga. There are two Kano jinja (叶神社), shrines across the sea. So after the west side shrine, I took a small boat to go to east side shrine. There was a hill of 50 meters high above ses level. There is a memorial monument of Katsu Kaishu (勝海舟). Uraga is the famous place for the first four blackships from the USA lead by commodore Matthew Perry arrived in1853.

People watched them from that hill.

I went to Kanazawa hakkei to visit Sedo jinja (瀬戸神社) Shrine.

Next I went to Keikyu Tomooka to visit Tomiokahachimangu (富岡八幡宮) shrine.

All these four shrines have long histories from 12th century or so.

I felt history.

On my way back at Kurihama I did grocery shopping.

It was another eventful day.

2020.7.24

It was cloudy, partially rained, and became fine and slightly rained again.

Today is a national holiday called Sports no hi (スポーツの日), Day of Sports.  It was used to be taiiku no hi (体育の日), on October 10 to commemorate the Opening of the Tokyo Olympic 1964 from 1966 to 1999, and the second Monday of October from 2000 to 2019. From 2020 it became Sports no hi. This year was specially decided as July 24 because of the Tokyo Olympic 2020.

I attended the Morning Activity after a long time. Today's themes were sports and what we are trying every day to make our dreams come true.

I attended Laughter Yoga after that.

Around noon I left for Kamata to visit some shrines and temples. Some were listed in the Natsumode (夏詣) campaign but others were not.

I went to Haneda shrine first. Since I got off the train at Otorii (大鳥居), I decided to visit Anamori inari (穴守稲荷) for the first time. There were so many small shrines there.

Next I went to IInage jinja (稲毛神社) shrine near Kawasaki station.

And I went to Wakamiya hachimangu (若宮八幡宮) shrine near Kawasaki Taishi station.

Finally I visited so-called Kawasaki Taishi (川崎大師) Temple. It's been a long time since I went there last.

Before coming back I ate the famous kuzumochi (久寿餅) sweets there.

I came home around 7 pm.

It was a fruitful day.

2020.7.23

It was cloudy and became rainy.

Today is a national holiday called umi no hi (海の日), Marine Day. It usually falls on the third Monday of July, but this year it was decided on July 23 to facilitate the Tokyo Olympic 2020.

July 23 is also known as fumi no hi (ふみの日), Day of Letter. On this day special stamps are issued. These days we seldom write letters. But I often buy those special stamps for sending Christmas cards in winter.

This morning I went to see a movie "Rambo Last Blood" in Yokohama.

After having lunch I headed for Asakusa.

I visited Sensoji (浅草寺) temple, Asakusa jinja (浅草神社) shrine, and Bentendo (弁天堂) as usual. On my way back I bought ningyoyaki (人形焼) doll shaped sweets after tasting the freshly made one.

I took a wrong train to go to the next stop, and had to change trains again and visited the second shrine called Ichogaoka hachimanjinja (銀杏岡八幡神社).

After that I went to the beauty salon to have my hair cut and permed. This is my refreshment of once in two months.

I visited a kimono shop to pick up nagajuban (長襦袢), underwear and obi (帯), sash. I am looking forward to wearing them.

It was a fruitful day.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

2020.7.22

It was cloudy.

Today is taisho (大暑), one of nijushisekki (二十四節気), 24 solar terms. Last one was shosho (小暑)  on July 7 and the next one is risshu (立秋) on August 7.

Taisho literally means big heat, but it was not so hot today.

From tomorrow we have four days off. This was the special arrangement for the Tokyo Olympic 2020. Today should have been the first day of the Tokyo 2020.

2020.7.21

It was fine.

Today is a new moon. It is a good time to make wishes. I make a rule to write 10 wishes every time. Most of them are the same. What kind of wishes do you have?

Today is doyo no ushi no hi (土用の丑の日), the day of ox during the mid summer. On this day it is recommended to eat eel (鰻).

At night I watched the Facebook lives and a movie.

2020.7.20

It was fine.

There was a flower ceremony today. It is a gathering to give a bouquet to the person who is leaving the office. These days we use zoom for those who cannot come to the office.

After coming back home, there was axoom m meetinllng.

2020.7.19

It was fine after a long time.

I stayed at home all day long.

I attended a zoom seminar in the afternoon.

I was going shopping after that but felt pain on the back and decided to stay home.

It was a relaxing Sunday.

2020.7.18

It was heavily raining in the morning.

I started from Laughter yoga today.

If it was fine, I would wear kimono but because of the heavy rain I gave up.

First I went to Yokohama to see a movie. There were two choices, and I chose Fukushima 50.

After that I had lunch and went to Ueno to visit the Kimono exhibition at Tohaku.

After thst I walked around the Shinobazu no ike pond. I am glad to see some lotus flowers.

Then I walked around Ameya yokocho street. I wanted to go to Chocolate shop, but it was closed.

I ate crab dinner. There was a lottery and I got the second prize. 

It was an eventful day.

2020.7.17

It was a rainy day. It was heavily raining when I left home so that I wore a raincoat and rain shoes and brought a big umbrella.

During lunch time I went to banks and post office because today is a payday.

Today is ichiryumanbaibi(一粒万倍日), when one grain grows 10,000 times. I paid a seminar fee for August. It should be intersting and rewarding.I believe this will be a good investment.

2020.7.16

It was cloudy and a bit cool.

There was a delivery at office. It was a ready-to-assemble desk. Two men came and assembled. To my surprise they are not allowed to put the plug into outlet.

Tonight I watched a new TV drama program. It was a story of hospital pharmacists. It reminded me of my dead father's disease.

As a today's news Fujii Sota, 17 years old professional Shogi player got the first title as the youngest in history. Congratulations!

2020.7.15

It was a rainy day and cool.

I am glad to get up early to go to visit tbe shrine as a 15th day of the month ritual before going to work.

The trouble of Dropbox continues, and there are many things to think about it at office.

.

2020.7.14

It was heavily raining in the morning and I used an umbrella just a short distance. I only used it in the morning.

At office I dealt with Dropbox. I don't know but there happened something wrong.

On my way back I missed the train. I was too concentrated on smartphone to get off where I should.

I bought a commuter ticket for a month.

It was ichiryumanbaibi (一粒万倍日), when one grain grows 10000 times today. I started talking about my event in August. I hope to realize it.

2020.7.13

It was cloudy in the morning and slightly raining in the evening.

Because of COVIT-19 many TV programs were in trouble. They can't make new episodes and many prograns are showing old stories. Last night I watched such kind of program and tonight too. I have never watched this series which were broadcast 20 years ago. All actors and actresses looked younger. The songs sung in the drama were very popular at that time, and I felt nostalgic.

2020.7.12

I started the day with Kid's yoga.

I stayed at home all day long.

I did not do anything special, but I could have a relaxed Sunday.

I enjoyed the sweets I bought yesterday with Green tea.

I picked up some butterbur and cooked. This might be the last hervest.

These days we have heavy rains, especially in Kyushu area.  We had thunderstorm last night.

I feel lucky because while I was outside, I did not have to use an umbrella.

2020.7.11

It was cloudy at first and became fine.

I went to Iseyamakotai jingu shrine first, and I saw many families with newly born babies. It is called omiyamairi (お宮参り).

After that I went to Naritasan as usual.

And I went to Kimono-style Miya for the wearing lesson for an hour and a half and headed for Shinagawa to have lunch.

Then I went to Hie jinja shrine to have a study meeting. There were three participants, and one left earlier. Just before starting, we heard a very sad news of our friend's sudden death. How sad!

After that we went to a sweet shop of headquarter's where I could not visit last time, expecting to eat something there but they did not have places now because of COVIT-19. How shocked!

We decided to walk to Nogizaka and visited the Nogi shrine, but it was already closed.

We kept walking and arrived at Roppongi and visited Fuji Film Square where had an exhibition of pictures of Michael Jackson.

We tried to have dinner and looked around and finally entered the one I dicided in my mind before looking. We enjoyed eating and drinking and talking.

It was a sad but an eventful day.

2020.7.10

It was a slightly rainy day.

After work when I saw Facebook, it showed what I did today last year. So I decided to go to Asakusa. There was Hozuki ichi (ほおずき市) Market every year, but not tjus year. All the shops at the Nakamise street were closed. What a sad scenery!

I visited Sensoji (浅草寺), temple and Asakusa jinja (浅草神社), shrine. On this day if you go to Sensoji, it is said that it is regarded as you visit there for 46000 days.

2020.7.9

It was a rainy day.  In the morning I did not have to use an umbrella. At lunch time I dared not to use it. So in the evening and at night.

On my way back home on a train I happened to see an ex-colleague at the previous job. She has also left the office and has started a new job since April.

Today the number of infected COVIT-19 increased to 224 in Tokyo, which is the biggest by now.

2020.7.8

It was slightly rainy in the morning, but I did not have to use an umbrella.

I took a day off yesterday.

This morning when I got on the elevator of the office building, I was surprised to see the tapes on the floor dividing four parts. It seems they decided to allow only four people to use the elavator at a time to avoid  3Cs (Closed spaces, Crowded places, Close-contact setting). 

There are many changes in our daily lives, aren't they?

2020.7.7

It was slightly raining in the morning but stopped raining when I was walking outside. 

July 7 is known as tababata (七夕), Star Festival. It is the only day in a year when the Altair and the Vega meet across the Milky Way.

In Japan we decorate the bamboo trees with strips with written wishes and paper decorations. Depends on the region it is celebrated in the lunar calendar.

I took a day off and went to learn Reiki 5 finally. It started at 10 am and finished around 7 pm. There were 24 Reiki teachers. There were many pair works. For me the name and the mission part was very interesting. My name Kimiko is written as 公子. 公 means public, official, fair and so on, 子 means child. My father wished me to be someone works for the public. To investigate the mission through name was the work. I will live my precious life by serving public to contribute for the world peace while appreciating beautiful things.

It was a nice day.

2020.7.6

It was a rainy day.

After work I went to a monthly meeting after three months or so. Many things are moving so fast. The participation fee was doubled.

What I learned was those who were successful last month have never given up until the very last minutes, and miracles happened to them. Smiles bring happiness and fortunes. If you want, you must make efforts.

I hope to achieve my goals as soon as possible, and hope to be happy with my friends.

2020.7.5

It was heavily rainig in the morning and I felt lucky that it did not rain so much yesterday. 

I was surprised to hear the news of heavy rain in Kumamoto prefecture yesterday.

I stayed at home all day long today to relax.

Today there was a Tokyo Metropolitan Governor election. Ms.Yuriko Koike was elected again.

2020.7.3

It was fine but became rain in the evening.

Every Friday morning my REIKI friend has held morning discussion activities. I have been wondering what it is for a long time. When I started teleworking in April, I had chances to attend some meetings for two months. 

There are usually five themes every time and participants think each of them for a minute and share. We should accept whatever they say and are requested not to deny anything.

Today I could not attend but I asked the organizer what were the themes.

The first question is always the same, i.e. what was good thing or what was happy thing this week.

The second question is what is the one kanji character which describes the first half year of 2020.

The third question is what is the relation of the kanji and character and the New Year's Resolution you thought.

The fourth question is what do you enjoy most feeling you are living your own life?

The fifth question is is it what your soul seeking or what should we do to make our souls happy ?

What are your answers?

2020.7.2

It was fine.

Today is another ichiryumanbaibi (一粒万倍日), the day when one grain grows 10000 times. 

Did you start something?

I made up mind to hold a shrine visiting event wearing Kimono. First will be Hie Shrine in August. I hope to visit 10 shrines in Tokyo and some is Kanagawa.

It includes the official prayer and dinner to celebrate. 

For a few years main target will be Japanese who are interested in shrines.

After returning to the normal life to welcome foreign visitors, I hope to guide them to Asakusa, Kamakura, Hakone, Nagoya, Nagano, Kyoto, Hiroshima and so on.  

It should be fun.

2020.7.1

A new month has started. July is shichigatsu (七月 or７月), the seventh month or fumizuki (文月) , letter month in Japanese.

It was slightly raining and very windy in the morning and is heavily raining at night.

Before getting on a train I visited the nearby shrine as a ritual of the first day of the month.

Today is hangesho (半夏生), which is one of the 72 seasonal terms. It is a time when the herb called hangesho appears. This kind of time frame is very important for agriculture. By this time planting rice should be finished.

Today is the day of snake which is deeply related with money, and ichiryumanbaibi(一粒万倍日) when one grain becomes 10000 times. So it is a good day to start something related money or investment.

At office I had a meeting from 11 am. I thought it would be about an hour long, but it lasted for three hours and a half without having a break.

I hope to have a better half of 2020.

2020.6.30

It was a rainy day.

June 30 is the end of the first half of the year. How fast time flies!

On this day at many shrines there is a special event called Nagoshi no ooharai (夏越の大祓い). 

There is a big circle standing in front of the main building.. If you pass the circle for three times as if writing the number 8, you would be purified.

There are twice when you can experience this event, one is for June 30, and the other is for December 31.