What was the best thing that happened this year?

What was the worst thing that happened this year?

What is your resolution for the new year?

Tropical Island :D

I have to practice 23 pieces of music in a month.

It's too many, isn't it?

By the time these projects are finished, a tropical island will be waiting for me!

Ahhh, I miss warm places!

waku waku kyaha!!  :D

No Holidays for Christmas Here in Japan

We have no holidays for Christmas 

even though there is such a illumination.

Can you read the message in this picture?

If you use your cell phone, it'll be easy to read.

kore omoshiroi

Photos Impairing Memory?

"Eyes are better at mental snapshots than cameras, study suggests."

Founding this headline on CNN, I knew I had been right all along.
Nowadays, you can take tons of photos with your digital camera,
as opposed to an analogue, without even realizing.
The statistical base is small, but I agree with in part.

Experiences which stimulate the five senses leave us with more powerful memories.

The researcher said,
"People just don't pay attention to what they're even looking at,
like just capturing the photo is more important than actually being there."

This holds true with regard to tourists.

They tend to focus too much on talking photos, especially my father!
He brought a single-lens reflex camera and a normal camera to France and
seemed busy taking photos during his trip.
I see such people at sightseeing spots all the time.
After feeling that I don't want to become one of them, I stopped taking so many photos.
When I last went to France, I took only two pictures with my cell phone.

koredake... sukunaiiii :D

Although I know that it will be hard to keep all my memories in several decades.

Capillaries

The length of a human's capillaries is about two and a half times as long as
the circumference of the Earth. It's very long, isn't it?

The exhibition called "the mysterious human body" used to take place in Japan a long time ago.
It has currently been banned from taking place because of the ethical issue.
We could touch real human's organs processed in a special way.
I don't know why I didn't hesitate to touch them at all.
A kidney was very heavy. Thinking back now, there was an ethical issue surely,
but it was interesting. I wish they could have it again by using fake organs
that look exactly like the real ones. It's obviously gross though!

Having that exhibition is banned in Japan, France and some other countries,
but I think it is taking place in New York now.

I found a card of hand's capillaries, which I bought there, yesterday and
it reminded me of this topic.
I think if you see the picture, you would think it's gross!
I might have been a weird teenager for buying such a card.

An Air Cleaner on Her Back!

As you know, China has a serious air pollution problem now.

The other day, a woman was spotted walking
while she was carrying an air cleaner on her back in Shanghai.
As the air quality outside was terrible, she had refitted the machine to be portable.

When I had a layover in Beijing two months ago, I only stayed there for a few hours.
Arriving at my destination, I felt some pain in my lungs at night for two days.

On my way back home, I had to stay in Beijing for about 10 hours.

After coming back home, I felt a lot of pain in my lungs for a week, especially at night.

I thought I might have caught a cold, but my friend who came back to Japan from Beijing had the same experience. We still don't know what the real cause of our pain was though.

Come to think of it, when the pilot was able to land safely at Beijing airport even though a lot of flights were cancelled because of low visibility due to air pollution, the passengers in the plain applauded. Thus, the situation is really bad. 

Learning English is like learning Japanese!

When I look up English words in a dictionary, I sometimes can't read the kanji
and have to look up them in a kanji dictionary again.

My cousin living in New Zealand also said,
"I'm studying a lot of kanji here!"

The kanji used in a dictionary can be old fashioned.
Maybe I should study Japanese before studying English!

Beauty Brain's Fanny?!

I found a hair salon named "Beauty Brain's Fanny."

I didn't know the last word and looked up it in a dictionary.
The meanings that I found were indecent. O_o;
I couldn't find a suitable meaning for a hair salon.
I guess it was just a mistake, but they might actually be able to make my brain beautiful.

If the name doesn't make sense, maybe I should submit this picture on this website.

These were my favorite ones. lol

http://www.engrish.com/wp-content/uploads//2013/12/elevator-in-womens-handbags.jpg

http://www.engrish.com/wp-content/uploads//2013/11/elevator-toilet.jpg

http://www.engrish.com/wp-content/uploads//2013/11/i-love-beer.jpg

Panda Diplomacy

China is currently leading about 50 pandas to several countries that

China regarded as important countries, especially to trading partners.

Those countries have to pay about one million US dollars a year, per panda to China.

Even if rental pandas gave birth to a baby in your country, 

the baby panda belongs to China in a rule so that 

the country has to pay additional rental fees.

When a panda died a few years ago in Japan, 

we had to pay five hundred thousand US dollars to China in compensation. 

A few years ago, when President Barack Obama continued meeting with Dalai Lama, 

China got mad and took back two pandas from the Sates. 

If I'm not mistaken, there is no pandas in America now.

I admit that pandas are soooo cute, but to pay for them is obviously waste of money!

Alfie

I'm always grateful that I can do my job and meet such a person.
She is so sweet :)

Appearances Are Decptive

There was a rumor in my workplace that one of my co-workers,
who looks quiet and nice, actually has fierce temper.
I had a chance to talk with her the other day and I realized, rather than having a fierce temper,
or she sometimes acts a bit strange.

For example, arguing with her husband one night, she ran away out of her apartment and
hit the building fire alarm.
The residents had to evacuate.
In another squabble, she had an urge to push the emergency button
to stop the train at the platform.

Although I think pushing a fire alarm is also terrible.
I forgot to ask her why she has such a strange tendency.

Does anyone know why she does this?
I have no idea.
Maybe she just wants to get her husband's attention.
In any case, that's quite strange!

The Negative Effect of using a PC

We can easily type kanji by using PCs or cell phones,
but it's getting harder to remember kanji when we write them out by hand.
This is currently an issue in Japan.

Do computers negatively affect native English speakers
when they write things out by hand?
Is it harder to remember spelling
when you write things out by hand?

I was wondering about them and asked to Native English speakers.
They said that there is a negative effect that comes from using a PC,
but it isn't as big or visible as it is in Japan with Kanji.

About 2000 kanji are used commonly in Japan.
As you know, kanji has two ways of reading so
we have to memorize at least about 4000 ways of reading.
Hmm... I doubt I know all of them!

What my friend who is going to get married soon said

One of my friends who is the most beautiful lady whom I've ever met
invited me to her wedding ceremony. I'm really looking forward to it!!

She said, "it's easy to decide to get married with a partner
when I feel that I would be able to be happy with him,
but I've also felt that I want to be with him through even the troubling or painful times
and deal with them together.
That's why I decided to get married to him!"

I'm sure she will have a happy marriage! I'm so happy for her.

I wanted to write about something happy today because the last entry was too gloomy. :P

Medical Checkup

I had a medical checkup for the first time in two years two weeks ago.
I got the result and found that there was a big problem.
I was so shocked at this result and almost cried on the train on my way home
that I pretended to read a book to make an excuse of my red eyes.
It is not a life or death matter, but I bet my parents will cry much more than I did.
Therefore, I can't tell this to my parents or friends yet.

By the way, I think having internet friends can be good under such the circumstance.
Since our relationship is not so close even though we sometimes talk with each other,
we can talk such a topic and don't need to worry each other too much.
It's strange to write about this here even though I can't tell it to my parents.
I just don't want to make people around me sad.
It seems to be impossible to change this situation,
but I think I'll be able to accept and deal with this.
That's it! I'm totally okay now. :)

It's the last month of the year.
I'd like to make this month wonderful to end this year off.
All's well that ends well!

Guys!
Please get a medical checkup at least once a year even if you are young!
Enjoy your life!

Celtic Music!

I worked with Celtic musicians the other day. 

It was super fun!! 

Ahhhh I want to learn Tin whistle!! 

For your information, here are some links if you have never listened to Celtic music.

This is him whom I performed with.

That Can Be True

Men forget things that women want men to remember.
Women remember things that men want women to forget.

Reading this, I feel like I'm bisexual because I usually forget the important dates
such as the date that I met my boyfriend for the first time,
and I remember the things my boyfriend wants me to forget.

あさきゆめみし

いろはにほへと

ちりぬるを

わかよたれそつねならむ

うゐのおくやまけふこえて

あさきゆめみしゑひもせす

これ作った人すごいな

やっぱ日本語っていいね

Typo :D

My mother had an annual checkup last week. 

One of the clinical test items is examined once in a decade.

She had it when she was 41 years old and 50 years old.

It should have been 61 years old this year, but ..... !!!!!

She gets old so fast. :)

Thanks!

1. If you like someone, wait.

2. Give lots of compliments, even if you're shy. Everyone else is too.

3. Change. Get a haircut, try new perfume, get new sheets. Become better than you were before.

4. Eat healthier. Learn to cook something fancy.

5. Get up earlier and watch the sun come up.

6. Wear soft clothes, take a bath, drink something warm.

7. Meet someone new, even just a friend.

8. Become closer with your friends and your family. Call your mother. Cry with your best friend. Tell everyone how much you appreciate them.

9. Keep your room clean. Buy some candles. Let the natural light in. 

10. Make a list of reasons why you’ll be better off without them. Believe they are true, because they are. 

11. Listen to new music. 

12. Write everything you’re thinking and feeling. Write letters. Write happy letters, sad letters, and angry letters, even if you’re never going to send them.

13. It’s okay to be sad, but not forever. Sadness is not as beautiful as music makes it seem. Lack of sleep makes your eyes droopy, not deep. Wake up every morning and tell yourself you’re going to have a good day.

14. Go to the library. Don’t forget to look in the music section. 

15. Remove them from your life. Get rid of the things they gave you if they make you sad. They’re not worth it. You will never be happy if you continue to hold on to the things that make you sad.

16. Make new memories.

17. Try to find something to appreciate in everything you do or experience.

18. Being alone is okay, you don’t have to surround yourself with people. 

19. Become your own best friend. Buy yourself coffee and drink it alone in a cafe. Take your time. 

20. Learn to love every bit of yourself.

Thanks for sharing this, C!

Don't Feel It Too Much!

When I play melancholic music, I feel the sadness of the piece too much,
and sometimes it makes ma almost unable to play the flute
because I get short-winded.

Other members usually know what's going on with me and say
"Don't feel the composer's emotions too much."

It rarely happens, but I can't stop feeling the music!

Don't Make Me Get Lost In You!

Since I was absorbed in playing with you on my way home,
I almost forgot to get off the train.


That's why when I was getting off the train, I got caught in the train door!

Thank you for playing with me.
My cell phone game is the best time killer!

色即是空 空即是色

いつか こういう日がくるであろうことは 
うすうすと いゃ はっきりと 感じてた

なんか もうこういうの疲れた 扱い方違いすぎるでしょ


もぅ 分かったよ


大好きな秋があっという間に過ぎちゃった
季節はあっという間に変わるのに
実は何も変わってない
なんか変わったようにかんじてたのに


色んなことを考えて
人生楽しく生きよう 後悔のないように と 
改めて 感じた日でした




さ、何の話でしょ？

Bar Code

In my favorite English podcast, an English speaker said that
we don't have an exact word for a certain hairstyle.
We call it "bar code" in Japan.
Is there any name for the hairstyle in this picture?

http://blog-imgs-30.fc2.com/e/b/i/ebilog/DSCN5164.jpg

There is an anecdote about this particular style.

A convenience store assistant dropped the bar code reader. 

It fell onto the bar code-style head of the shop owner who was crouching down and 

wound up scanning his head. 

The cash register rang up "0 yen".

I think if they do away with the bar bode style, they would be more sexy. 

If you are bald and concerned about that, don't worry!

People who are bald are supposed to be sexy because they have much testosterone! 

Typhoon is coming and the concert may be cancelled tomorrow. 

I like the program for tomorrow's concert though... 

Amazing Pickpocket!

Please take a look.
It has Japanese subtitles, so you can study Japanese too!

We can't reply on our ability to focus our attention.
The man helping the host was not his assistant, was he?

Beautiful Tunnels Made of Vegetation!

My friend showed me this link today.
These tunnels are so beautiful. Please take a look!

http://bigpicture.ru/?p=381663

Three of them are from Japan! I've been to two of them.
The ginkgo tunnel in Tokyo was at was beautiful, but the smell of ginkgo was so overwhelming and terrible that I couldn't even stay for even for 15 minutes and had to leave.

When you come to Japan, I think you should try to visit them!
You can see the bamboo tunnel throughout the year. :)

What a Lucky Day!

Since my father came to Tokyo, I showed him around Tokyo and Yokohama.

When I went to once of the famous temples in Tokyo,

I saw an incredibly popular kabuki star named Ebizo Ichikawa there.

Most of the people there were foreigners so that nobody noticed him. 

It's really unfortunate that I can't share how lucky I was with readers
who don't know who he is. 

I have a feeling that I will meet him again soon.

My intuition with this type of thing often come true, so this may happen!

    

Not to Regret

When I was depressed about work, my boyfriend was worried about me

and flew to Tokyo to see me. 

While he was staying in Tokyo, he took a lot of pictures on his new camera. 

When we came back home from out side that night, he was still taking photos of me. 

I had to think about work for the next day and was so stressed with it that 

I snapped at him and said in a fed-up tone, 

"That's enough. Stop taking my picture." 

Then, I went to bed before him.

After a few months, he passed away and his sister gave some of his stuff. 

I found a picture of my sleeping face among them. 

It was taken at my apartment that night. 

I was at a loss for words.


Since then, I still hesitate to have my picture taken because
I sometimes feel like that the person who takes my picture may soon be gone.

I'll write about the rest of this story next time or someday.

Well... This is not my story, but a true story.

Yaaayyyy!!!

I'm going to brag of myself today!

Since I've been feeling down recently, please forgive me if I scream here!
This is what happened to me on the train on my way home.

A stranger said; 

"You look like someone. Well.. who is that? 

Ah... I can't remember, but you really look like someone. "

He repeated that phrase many times and was so persistent 

that I was scared and didn't react to his words. 

When I was about to get off the train, 

he said, "Oh! I remembered! You look like that actress, -------. "

Me: "I don’t know that actress. Is that a compliment?"
He said, "YES!"
Me: “Hmm…. Thanks…. -_-;”

After coming back home, I researched the name on the internet.

She was beautiful! I was so glad! 

If I knew that actress, I would have reacted with a big smile! 

Thanks for the compliment, stranger! 

I was glad to hear that, but I think she doesn't look like me, 

so I can’t tell this to my friends and don’t want to tell her name here. :P 

His eyes must be broken in a good way at least for me. :D

Moaning...

I caught a cold and had to go home early yesterday...
I have a lot of things to do though...
Oh no...... I will miss the deadline at this rate......

I found it was really hard to breathe while I was sleeping.

My moaning noise woke up me several times.
I’ll stay at home all day today.

It's getting cold here in Tokyo.
Don't catch a cold, everyone!

Odd Japanese Musical Education

We learnt musical notes in English in elementary school.
ex: Do Re Mi....
However, if we want to learn music seriously,
we have to learn the musical notes in German and Japanese.
What's more, the words used on music sheets are usually Italian so we have to study Italian too.

There are some homonyms of musical notes between German and English
so when I talk about notes with English speakers, it sometimes makes me confused!

The time of day when women look the most ugly

According to a survey from a French cosmetic company,

women look their worse at around 15:30 on Wednesdays. 

This is in the midst of weekday and it's also
when people feel the most stress during a week.
This is the point in which people's skin will show the most sign of fatigue.

Weekend's fatigue starts setting in around 72 hours after Sunday. 

After that, the skin will gradually start to recover again.

I doubt that this is a credible analysis, but when I was an office worker, 

I really hated Wednesdays! :)

Many Tears Washed My Sorrow Away

One of my friends decided to get married to her boyfriend.
Since they had been having many problems until now, I'm so happy for them.

I can usually hold back tears when I'm sad, but I can't stop crying when I'm so happy!
I think it's a miracle if you can find someone whom you love and the person loves you back.
When I came back home last night, I watched my wedding video and cried a lot for some reason.
I wrote some ironic sayings about marriage here yesterday,
but I still believe married life would be wonderful.
My eyes were swollen this morning...

Since I've been torn with conflicting emotions recently,
I may have been kind of sensitive now.

I couldn't stop shedding tears when I was hurt with friend's words today.
I usually don't cry in such a situation though...
Now I don't know what's going on in my head and don't know how to deal with it.
I just knew this situation is almost always best "nipped in the bud" though…

Anyway, I'm feeling a little refreshed after crying.

What seems an incredible obstacle today
may turn into an easily resolved issue tomorrow!

The Sayings about Marriage

I laughed at four pessimistic sayings last night.
I'd like to share it with you here.


Wedding cake is the most dangerous food in this world.

Love makes you blind.
Marriage gives you your sight back.


When I got married with my wife, she was so cute that I felt like I wanted to eat her.
Thinking back now, I feel that I should have literally eaten her.


Marriage is the lack of judgement,
divorce the lack of patience,
and remarriage the lack of memory.



These are so pessimistic, right?
The people who told these must have had a terrible marriage life.

How could this happen to him????

This news is from several days ago.
I was so surprised at this headline "Toothless man bites off neighbor's penis."

After a guy complained to a neighbor about his noise,
this accident happened.

An American guy who talked about this news in his podcast said,
"His willy might be so fragile or the criminal's jaw might be so strong
because he could bite off a guy's penis over the pajama.”

I'm not going to write about details, but if you would like to read this news,
you can read it from this link.
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000093818

What a Coincidence!

I've already stated on this blog before
that interesting things sometimes happen to me during my trips.
A similarly thing happened again to me.

I returned home to Japan last Tuesday, after being in Russia on holiday.
Not long after coming back, I got a text message from one of my friends
for the first time in six months.

He siad; "Hi, long time no see! I flew back from Russia on Monday."

What a strange coincidence that was!


He also went to Russian on holiday.
I didn't know that.

Albert Einstein

The value of a man should be seen in what he gives
and not in what he is able to receive.





Oh my.. I have nothing to give to others.

Suffering from the summer heat

I ate fruits for breakfast.



I drunk a cup of grape fruit juice for lunch.



I've been having a terrible migraine recently



and don't have any appetite at all.........



I want cool weather!

The moment when I felt that I was an adult.

When I went shopping last month, I found cute shoes and skirts.

Since I couldn't choose which color was would suit me better, 

I bought two shoes and two skirts!

They were not costly, but I felt this way of shopping is like 

the way that I dreamed of in my childhood. :)

おゆりの言葉

あたしの手の中にはこれだけです

あたし自身もきっとこれだけです 

それ以下とも思われたくないです 

それ以上も求められたくないです 

それだけです只それだけなんです 

私はあたしとも言いたくないです 

たまに勇気だして頑張りたいです 

常に人に甘えようとして 

きっと我儘なんです それだけです

沁みる

Is This True??

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, 

you won't have anything to laugh at when you grow old. 

Beijing Residents Head for IKEA to Escape Heatwave

IKEA in Beijing has such a special spirits for customers!

This looks like almost their home.

THE Smell of Nerds

The other day, a huge event for anime, which is called Comiket, was held in Japan.


This is in the news;
After the event, since many anime nerds got on a train all together at once,
a lot of other passengers tweeted;

"I feel like throwing up"
"This is an unbearable foul smell"
"Some girls are covering their mouth and nose with their handkerchieves."


According to the news, residents around the convention site complain of a foul smell every year.
When I heard this news, I was skeptical because I thought that people wouldn't smell so bad
even though they stayed up all night waiting in a line for the event.

This is no offence, but I found out this is true when I went to a cafe.

When a guy looking obviously like a nerd sat next to me,
I smelled dried milk from him as if he took a shower with milk.
Now, I'm writing this entry while being surrounded by this smell.

He is focusing on watching an anime now.
When he started watching it, his headset was not connected to his laptop and
I heard a distinctive girl's voice like she was from an anime.

Our seats are not close to each other, but
when the wind comes from his side, I feel awful.
I know that nerds are busy in playing games and
don't have time to take a bath and sleep,
but I really wish they would take a bath before going out!

I would understand if it was a sweaty smell,
but I wonder why he smells like dried milk...
Disgusting!!

...

All things happen "for the best."

I got this phrase from my friend tonight.

I have to believe this at least for now.

Is this percentage high or low?

Two-thirds of the world can't use the internet now.
I would have expected more people would have internet.


We're so lucky to be able to be online. :D

おもしろー！

こんなお別れはいかが(笑)

それにしても 字が汚いな…

名前の綴りが途中で変わってるぞー

参照元：http://imgur.com/SxGIhRx

Insomnia

Somewhere out there is another little freak 

who will love me and understand me and 

kiss my head and make it all better.

Oops!

I was supposed to be talking to my friend's student that sat next to me at a concert,

but he was just a stranger. I talked too much about myself to him. 

Since I would have expected that he was a student of my friend, 

I thought I should not have been rude and answered his questions politely.


After I answered his questions, I asked; 

“So.. you are her student, aren’t you?” 

“No, I’m not. I just like classical music and sometimes go to concerts.”




Eh?! Oops! （；・д・）




When my musician friend invited me to her concert, she said, 

"this is a very small private concert and most of the audience 

will be my students or people whom I know." 

Some other reasons made me misunderstood.

I'm at a loss for words

Light troubles speak; the weighty are struck dumb.
I can't laugh at anything for now.

Accident Residence

The other day, when I was searching for an apartment on the internet
for my friend while I was talking on the phone, I found a strange advertisement.

This is from a real estate website.

――――――――――――

Popular accident residence♪
The cost is cheap♪
It's close to Tokyo Disney Land♪
We recommend this apartment to people who feel lonely because even if you live alone,
you can feel someone's existence♪


――――――――――――

Whhhhhaaatt?!
It's obviously saying that you would be able to sense ghosts,
but they are trying to make it fun with ♪, but it's too scary!

People can rent an apartment for a very cheap price in Japan if something such as a murder or suicide has happened there before.
Real estate companies have to let the residents know that had happened before in the property before lending it.

If you want to cut costs for your rent, try to tell the real estate agent
that you are looking for an accident residence♪

Be careful when you wear yukata and kimono!

As you may know, yukata were used as pajamas quite a long time ago in Japan.
Nowadays, we wear yukata as casual clothing on special occasions
such as fireworks festivals in the summer.

I saw some foreigners wearing yukata on the train the other day and
one of them was wearing it in the wrong way.
She was wearing it in a way meant to signify a burial outfit.
Yukata and kimono should be worn with the right side tucked under the left.
If it's done the opposite way, it signifies a burial outfit.

It is not only foreigners that I see wearing yukata incorrectly.
I sometimes see young Japanese girls wearing yukata in the same manner.

This is common sense to people raised this way, but if you have a chance to wear them,
you should seek help from a person who know the proper way to wear them.

Surprise party!

One of my colleagues took me to her home last month. 

When we got to her apartment, some friends were already there and said, 

"Happy birthday!"

They held a surprise birthday party. 

I was not so happy for some reasons, but I was glad what they were trying to do. :P

La musique et l'ecriture

La musique a sept lettres, l'ecriture a vingt cinq notes.



sept ???

......

Non! 

douze!!  

Is This True?

"Many New Yorkers express pronounced dislike of California, 
citing its frivolous culture and overy liberal lifestyle."


This example sentence came from my textbook.
Many people from Tokyo are prone to dislike Osaka in some cases.
This might be sort of the same thing it it were true.

One of my colleagues from Tokyo broke off her engagement because 
her fiance was from Osaka and wanted to move to his hometown in the future.

I've heard from some people who are born and raised in Tokyo that
Osaka is like a different country. I've been living in Tokyo for quite a long time,
but my hometown is Fukuoka, which is close to Osaka than Tokyo.
I can see the pros and cons of Osaka, and now
I understand why Tokyo people are prone to dislike it.

They are like water and oil.

Amazing!!!!

I didn't know about this and was impressed by it!!
If you have time, try to take a look!
If you want to skip the beginning, you can start from 6:24.
It will become common shortly. Or has it already become common in America?
I liked that he pinched a file on a piece of paper and moved it to his PC with his fingers.

Super Moon with an Airplane

It's super moon tonight. It's cloudy here in Japan 

so it'll be difficult to look at full moon. 

I'm going to post the link from last year.

It's beautiful, isn't it?

The Day Came

I might have been dimly foreseeing that the day will come someday
, and the day finally came tonight.




His huge disservice really made me weep.

憂き身を窶す

有明の

つれなく見えし

別れより

暁ばかり

憂きものはなし

As our society has become more convenient, have we lost something important?

The other day, I discussed this topic with a British man

who has been living in Japan for a long time. 

In Europe, a lot of stations don't have an escalator or an elevator so 

people help each other when someone has heavy luggage. 

Every time I see that situation, I'm impressed by that.

On the other hand, most stations have an elevator or an escalator in Japan. 

So we don't have a habit of helping people who are in slight trouble. 

When Japanese companies get complaints from customers, 

they try to improve it as soon as possible to make more profits than other companies. 

I think European people still have this habit so they don't need escalators or 

elevators and don't complain about it even if it's an inconvenience.

The most shocking news was that since coming to Japan, 

the British friend stopped helping people who are in trouble 

because he doesn't want to stand out helping people. 

He said Japanese people are really kind, but they don't know how to help people smoothly 

and just don't have experience helping very much.

That makes sense.

A service has become more advanced and has made society more convenient. 

Instead of that, we might have lost something important. 

When you lose your way in Japan and you are just looking at a map, people rarely help you,
but people will help you if you approach them and ask them for help.

At top of BARNEYS NEW YORK in Ginza

I had really fantastic night last night. :)

His username means "Die" in Japanese

I got a message from a person named SHINE!!!

His name surprised me very much because, 

as I already wrote in the title, "shine" means "die" in Japanese.

The way they are pronounced is different, but their spelling is exactly the same.

If the word was not capitalized, I might not have noticed it.

The meaning, capitalized letters and three exclamation marks looked very angry 

and made me laugh. 

I hope he uses the word to mean shine.
He is not a Japanese learner, he should not know this meaning.

There were many names that he could have chosen, 

but he chose that one, SHINE!!!

It is a Season When Molesters Show Up

You may not believe this, but this is a true story in Japan.


During this time, as the weather turns warm, 

schools teachers would warn the students to be careful of gropers or perverts. 

I'm not very sure about other schools, but at least in my school, 

teachers used to warn us about them every year. 

A typical groper wears a spring coat and nothing underneath. 

On dark streets, you can easily find signs with warning 

"Be careful of molesters" during this period in Japan.

I guess a lot of girls and women have ran into various type of molesters in Japan. 

I usually can sense it if a person might be a pervert, and I avoid them quickly. 

However, my instincts sometimes do not work.

One afternoon a man in a wheelchair had gotten stuck in front of the company I work for. 

Some people helped him before I could help, so I walked away, 

but I felt someone in a wheelchair following me. 

I was not sure if he was a pervert, but I kept away from him just in case.

Since I kept feeling something weird, I went back to the company. 

After 30 minutes, I went out, but he was still there. 

After I did some maneuvers, I noticed that it was unusual that he was still following me 

so I ran away from him. Usually, I would make sure that I don't walk ahead of a pervert, 

but that day, I thought he couldn't move faster than me and I ran away. 

After running several meters, I looked back. Then, I saw him standing right behind me. 

The person who can't walk and who needs people's help 

when he got stuck in the street was running and was standing!!
I became scared and rushed into a small shop to seek refuge. 

Even though nothing happened and he didn't touch my body, 

he was the strangest of perverts whom I've met before.
I'm usually very good at fleeing from them. haha :)