2014.11.12

It was cloudy, but the sun was shining beautifully in the afternoon. It looked white at first.  Around 5pm it was already dark.
We felt cool, but to our surprise a student from Denmark was wearing half-sleeved T-shirt.  And he said he did not feel cold yet.

There was an interesting article in the newspaper.
That is the ranking of beauties in Japan.
Women in Shimane prefecture have been ranked No.1 for their beautiful skin for three years straight. 
The climate influences the making of beautiful skin.
The less time of getting sun light, the more beautiful their skin will  be. 

2013.5.14

I stayed home all day long but there were two guests and they said it was hot outside.
In some places it went up to over 30 degrees centigrade which is called mid summer day though it is still May.  In Okinawa the rainy season has set in.
It's been a week since I came home, but I have not finished making albums.  I took too many pictures to choose.
At night I cooked the dish which was introduced in today's newspaper.  Trying new thing is fun.

2013.3.8

It was rather warm like May.  Spring is nearing.  In the morning I saw beautiful cherry blossoms with some leaves, but in the night they had more greens.
I went to travel agency to book flights for the next months after work.  I had two destinations but it was difficult to book both places at once in my budget and decided to book only one for now.  The person in charge was very kind to answer my requests.

March 8 is International Women's Day.  I was asked to write something for this day from my friend in Australia in January, but I could not.  I knew there is something we need to do for the women in need in the world.  First we need to know the reality such as what they really want.  Because from our standard it may look they need something like more education or something, but if they only know their own world, they may be happy in their world.  We cannot press our sense of value.
However before that we need to make our lives.  Without extra time and money it is difficult to do something for other people.  Even in Japan, there are still many people suffering from the Great East Earthquakes and Tsunami two years ago.   I hope to be rich enough to do something for others too......

2013.2.7

It was cold today and in Shinjuku there was still snow left at the roadside.  But they say in Hokuriku (北陸) area the first gale of spring (春一番: haruichiban) blew today.  In Hokkaido there was snow storm.  Japan is a small country but I feel it is still big having winter and spring at the same time.

2012.11.19

It is very cold today.  Yesterday in the Tokyo area kogarashi (木枯らし: cold winter wind)  No. 1 blew.  Some colleagues said they started wearing the winter overcoat from today.  Outside it is cold, but inside it is warm, so it's difficult to think what to wear. Layering is useful.

十月二十七日（jyugatsu nijyushichi nichi）： October 27

It was very cold today. It seemed winter has come without our having autumn though Japan is known as having distinct four seasons. Many winter clothing, heater, and kerosene were sold a lot just in one day.
In Sapporo (札幌), snow piled 33 cm in one night. People living in Hokkaido (北海道) or northern area had to clear the road of snow. Snow removing vehicles worked in the first time in October since the record started in 1980.
We had extremely hot summer this year. I am afraid to have extremely cold winter.

十月二十六日（jyugatsu nijyuroku nichi）： October 26

It was cool in the morning and very windy and cold in the evening.
The radio said the first cold wintry wind called kogarashi ichigo (木枯らし１号) blew in the Kinki (近畿) area today which was 7 days earlier than last year and the 5th earliest in history since 1955. It's been 8 years since 2002 when it blew in October. The maximum instantaneous wind speed was 21.2 meters per second in Shiga (滋賀).
Sapporo (札幌), Asahikawa (旭川), and Hakodate (函館) in Hokkaido (北海道) area the first snow called hatsuyuki (初雪) snowed. It was one day earlier than usual and 6 days earlier than last year.
The winter is coming.

十月二十五日（jyugatsu nijyugo nichi）： October 25

It was rather cool and slightly raining, therefore I wore the thin turtle neck sweater. However in the afternoon it became fine and I felt very hot.
It will be getting cooler in the morning and evening but still warm in the daytime. Therefore what to wear is a problem of the morning.

九月八日（kugatsu yoka）： September 8

It rained and rained very heavily because of the typhoon No.9 which turned into the torpical cyclone. It's been hot until yesterday so this rain was after a very long time.
I was supposed to walk around the area called Yanesen (谷根千), which means Yanaka (谷中), Nedu (根津) and Sendagi (千駄木) near Ueno (上野), but because of this rain the schedule has been slightly changed. But still I walked in the heavy rain and the water was flooding. After 20 minutes or so the rain was almost stopped. And the flood disappeared soon.
It was so strange.

九月七日（kugatsu nanoka）： September 7

It was another hot day. In Tokyo it went up to 35.7 degrees centigrade and became another moshobi (猛暑日). There are 13 moshobi and it is the tied record as 1995. 21 places out of 154 they renewed the number of moshobi of this summer.
But the tyhoon No. 9 is coming and it may rain in the evening tomorrow this area too.

There were something which did not go on time today, but after all they turned out to be a better way.
There is a saying wazawai tenjite fukutonasu (災い転じて福となす), meaning bad luck often brings good luck. So we should not give up anything soon even if it does not seem good at first.

九月五日（kugatsu itsuka）： September 5

Another record was renewed today. The hottest temperature was 39.9 degrees centigrade in Kyoto, which is the hottest in Japan this year and the hottest in September since the measurement started.
In 128 points it became moshobi (猛暑日), and in 653 points out of 921 it became manatsubi (真夏日).
In Osaka it went up to 36.2 degrees centigrade. And this is the 28th days which became moshobi this summer. This is the tied record with 1994.
The highest temperature in September used to be 39.7 degrees centigrade on September 2, 2000 in Kumagaya, Saitama(埼玉県熊谷市: saitama ken kumagaya shi).

八月三十一日（hachigatsu sanjyuichi nichi）： August 31

The end of August, that is the end of the summer vacation for most of the elementary, junior, and senior high schools in the Kanto (関東) area.
How was your summer?
It has been extremely hot this summer. The sweltering night when the temperature does not go down below 25 degrees centigrade is called nettaiya (熱帯夜), tropical night. There were 47 sweltering nights in Tokyo this summer, which is the No.1 tied record as 1994. It's been sweltering nights since August 10, and the record will be renewed tonight.
It is estimated that this heat will continue during September.

八月十七日（hachigatsu jyushichi nichi）： August 17

It was another very hot day. In Tokyo it went up to 37.2 degrees centigrade which was the highest in this summer. The highest in Japan today was 38.2 degrees centigrade. 124 people were brought to hospital because of the heat injury.
The price of vegetables is increasing. The production of beer is also increasing 10% up.
It seems to be very hot this week in the Kanto (関東) area, and the next week too in the Kansai (関西) area.

八月十六日（hachigatsu jyuroku nichi）： August 16

It was very hot today. There are 134 points where it exceeded more than 35 degrees centigrade which is called mosho bi(猛暑日),day of very hot, and 680 points where it exceeded more than 30 degrees centigrade which is called manatsu bi(真夏日), day of midsummer all over Japan. In Tokyo it went up to over 36 degrees centigrade which is higher than nomal human temperature.
Many people were brought to the hospitals by ambulance because of heat injury. They say not only in the daytime but also at night even in the rooms heat injury happens.
Therefore we need to be very careful about the room temperature.

七月二十二日(shichigatsu nijyuni nichi) ： July 22

It has been getting hotter and hotter. Today the highest temperature exceeded 39.4 degrees centigrade in Tajimi, Gifu (岐阜県多治見市：gifu ken tajimi shi) which is the hottest this year in Japan. 144 places among 921 points it went up to higher than 35 degrees centigrade. That is mousho bi (猛暑日) again.
Many people were carried to the hospital by ambulance because of necchusho (熱中症), heat injury. Some of them even passed away.
If the average temperature goes up 1 degree in Tokyo and　Osaka, they say the personal consumption nationwide will increase up to yen 433,300,000,000. The beer gardens are becoming popular and popular.

四月二十一日（shigatsu nijyuichi nichi）： April 21

It was fine and warm, depends on the place it was very hot like summer. It went up to 25.5 degrees centigrade in Tokyo, which was the first time in this season. If it goes up to 25 degrees centigrade, we call it natsu bi (夏日), summer day. But they say it will be very cold like winter tomorrow.
There is a saying san kan shi on (三寒四温), three cold days four warm days. But these days the weather changes day by day, summer to winter, winter to summer, very hot to very cold, very cold to very hot. It is unusual.
How is the weather in your country?

三月二十四日(sangatsu nijyuyokka) ： March 24

Today was higan ake (彼岸明け), the end of the equinoctial week. There is a Japanese phrase "Atsusa samusa mo higan made（暑さ寒さも彼岸まで）" which means the hotness and coldness will last until the equinoctial week and the good climate will start. There are two eqinoctial weeks in spring and in autumn.
So samusa (寒さ), coldness will last until the Vernal Equinox Day, and atsusa (暑さ), hotness will last until the Autumn Equinox Day.
However it's very cold today,even sleeted. I miss Florida!

三月二十一日（sangatsu nijyuichi nichi）： March 21

Today is shunbun no hi (春分の日), the Vernal Equinox Day. It is one of nijyushisekki (二十四節気), the 24 solar terms. The last one was keichitsu (啓蟄) on March 6 and the next one is seimei (清明) on April 5.
It is one of national holidays which falls on Sunday, therefore tomorrow is an extra holiday. It is called furikae kyujitsu (振替休日), literally transferred holiday.
Today is higan no chunichi (彼岸の中日), middle day of the equinoctial week, that is the equinox.

It was very windy, and the yellow sand which is called kosa (黄砂)was blown widely. The maximum instantaneous wind speed was 38.1 meters per second in Chiba (千葉). 26 points of the average instantaneous wind for 10 minutes became the maximum record in history. In Asahikawa, Hokkaido (北海道旭川) it became 24.6m/s at 1:42 pm which renewed the record after 92 years in September 1918. This storm left many people injured.

The 82nd Selected High School Baseball Meeting (a.k.a. senbatsu：選抜)has begun. It will last for 12 days and selected 32 high school baseball teams will fight each other. There are 6 schools which joined for the first time. There were 2 teams from Okinawa (沖縄) prefecture.

二月十七日（nigatsu jyushichi nichi）： February 17

It was very cold again. They say today is yuki no tokui bi (雪の特異日), the particular day of the high possibility of snowing in Tokyo. During the 7 years between 1981 and 1987 it snowed at the rate of 70% on this particular day. It maybe snow tonight too.
On February 17, 1978 in Hokkaido the coldest temperature was recorded. It was -41.2 degrees centigrade. I can't imagine how cold it was.
But I often think the human body is great because I have experienced from around -36 degrees centigrade in Alaska to around 49 degrees centigrade in Spain as long as I remember.

二月十二日（nigatsu jyuni nichi）： February 12

It was very cold today. In the morning it was even sleeting. When it snows or sleets, I feel the coldness especially on my feet. Those who have poor blood circulation are called hie sho (冷え性). Their feet and hands are very cold.
Therefore I like to take a bath just before going to bed. Japanese people's way of taking a bath is different from the westerners. We soak into the hot water (around 42 degrees centigrade) to get warm and relax after washing our body outside the bathtub.
There are many hot springs in Japan. As I get older, I like to soak in hot springs.