全355件 (355件中 1-50件目)
-
World Heritage
A Short World Heritage Tour, Inspired by My WifeSince the tea-picking season has settled down, we decided—at my wife's suggestion—to visit some World Heritage sites.From Miyoshi City, the nearest World Heritage locations include Himeji Castle, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Atomic Bomb Dome), and Itsukushima Shrine.With just one overnight stay, we could visit two places, so we planned a trip from Tuesday to Wednesday this week to see the Atomic Bomb Dome and Itsukushima Shrine.We were blessed with beautiful weather on both days.It was our first time visiting the Atomic Bomb Dome. Including the Peace Memorial Museum, we spent about four hours exploring the site. Despite it being a weekday, it was quite crowded, with what looked like school groups on field trips and many international tourists.On the second day, we visited Itsukushima Shrine. The famous vermilion torii gate standing in the sea and the main shrine building looked like a picture postcard with the fresh green mountains as a backdrop.After strolling around for about two hours, we enjoyed a delicious set meal of fried oysters.More than half of the visitors were foreign tourists, and we heard English, Chinese, and other languages we couldn’t identify being spoken all around us.Japan reportedly has about 26 World Heritage sites.According to a ranking of “World Heritage Sites in Japan People Most Want to Revisit,” the top place goes to Itsukushima Shrine.Second is the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, third is Himeji Castle, followed by Shirakawa-go, Nikko, the Atomic Bomb Dome, Yakushima, Mount Fuji, and the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.We’ve already been to Kyoto many times while our daughter lived there for six years.Next, we’re planning to visit Himeji Castle, which ranks third.If we then visit Shirakawa-go, Nikko, and Yakushima, we’ll have completed the top 10!As our remaining years are limited, it’s now a race—whether we complete the top 10 World Heritage tour first, or our time runs out.
May 21, 2025
コメント(0)
-
Cataract Surjery
先日、左目の白内障手術を近くの眼科で受けました。それをネタに今日の公民館英会話教室でしゃべりました。✰✰でした。80% of people in their 70s suffer from cataracts in Japan, and I am one of them.I had cataract surgery this Tuesday at an eye clinic.The surgery was completed in a single day and took only 20 minutes. During the operation, as usual, my blood pressure rose. The surgery was done without anesthesia, so I could clearly hear what the doctor and nurses were saying. My normal blood pressure is between 130 and 140, but during the surgery, it up to 200. Whenever it reached 200, the doctor told me, “Relax.”I was strapped in with a drop injection in my right arm and a blood pressure band on my left, completely fixed. Then, the doctor said to me “Don’t blink.” I said to the doctor “It’s hard to say that. Easier said than done! “I couldn’t control my eyelids.The next day, I went back to the clinic for a follow-up checkup. When the nurse saw me, she said laughing, “You are the first patient to say jokes during surgery!”Anyway, the surgery brought to me a much clearer view.
February 21, 2025
コメント(0)
-
冷蔵庫の話
３０年前の話を新聞のコラム欄に投書しました。三度目の正直なるか？３０年前、家電メーカーに勤務していた頃の話です。当時としては高価なサイドバイサイドの大型冷蔵庫が我が家に運ばれてきました。新製品を発売する前の実用試験品ですが、少し役得のような気がしたのか妻は、当時幼稚園児だった息子に「俊ちゃん、冷蔵庫もらったこと、外で言っちゃだめよ」と言い聞かせていました。数日後、隣の奥さんから「新しい冷蔵庫入ったみたいね。俊ちゃん言っていたわよ」と言われたそうです。妻が「外で言っちゃダメと言ったでしょ」 と息子を責めると、 息子は「外では言ってないよ。愛ちゃんちの家の中で言っただけだよ」About 30 years ago, when I was working for a home appliance manufacturer, a large side-by-side refrigerator—an expensive model at the time—was delivered to our house. It was a practical test product before the official release, but my wife saw it as a little perk.She told our son, who was a kindergartener at the time, "Shun-chan, don’t tell anyone outside that we got a new fridge."A few days later, our next-door neighbor said to my wife, "It looks like you got a new refrigerator. Shun-chan was talking about it."When my wife scolded our son, saying, "I told you not to say anything outside," he innocently replied, "I didn’t say it outside. I just told Ai-chan at her house."
February 5, 2025
コメント(0)
-
童謡を歌う会
田舎の公民館で始まった｢童謡を歌う会｣のメンバーになって三年が過ぎました。講師は里帰りした近所にすんでるプロのボイストレーナーです。月一回公民館に集まって歌います。その様子を講師の義父が写真に収めてくれました。７２歳になりましたがこの会では若手です。まだまだ若いと思っていたのですがアップの写真は７２歳でした。Three years have passed since I became a member of the "Nursery Rhyme Singing Club" that started at a community center in the countryside. The instructor is a professional voice trainer who lives in the neighborhood where he has returned to his hometown. Once a month, we gather at the community center to sing. The instructor's father-in-law took a picture of the situation. I am now 72 years old, but I am still a young member of this group. I thought I was still young, but the close-up photo was 72 years old.
February 4, 2025
コメント(0)
-
再びMe Her
先日公民館の英会話教室に行ってきました。新しい先生はマサチューセッツ州出身の卒業仕立ての若い先生です。 毎週ニュースをしゃべっているのですが、ネタつきてしまいました。今ちょうど将棋の王将戦をやっているので、古いネタをアレンジしました。 孫が藤井竜王と似ているところだけうけました。There are two famous professional board games in Japan: Go and Shogi.Souta Fujii, who is 22 years old, is the most famous and strongest Shogi player. He holds seven out of the eight major titles and is currently competing for the Ōshō title, one of the eight major championships.He has set numerous records in Shogi. At 17, he became the youngest titleholder in history. Since then, he has won one title after another and now holds seven major titles.His success has brought many new fans to the world of Shogi—my wife being one of them. She is crazy about him and watches all his matches on live TV. As a result, she has complete control of the TV in our house, which means I am forced to watch my favorite programs on a small secondary screen.Although my wife knows the basic rules of Shogi, she only understands how the pieces move and doesn’t grasp the complexities of professional games. So, I once asked her:"Why are you so interested in these long Shogi matches when you don’t understand them? Don’t you get bored?"She replied:"Not at all! The commentators talk about the players’ lunch menus, and the AI shows who is winning with a percentage indicator. Plus, I love Fujii because he looks just like our grandson—he’s so cute!"She’s just a groupie!In Japan, we call people like my wife “Me Her” (ミイー ハー). At first, I thought this term came from English, but I later learned that it actually originates from old Japanese girls' names.In the Showa era, about a century ago, names like Miyoko and Hanako were very common. Since "Me" and "Her" sound similar to the first syllables of these names, young female groupies came to be called “Me Her”.
February 3, 2025
コメント(0)
-
New year headacheｓ
久々に英会話教室に行ってきました。今年の正月は富士で過ごしました。今回から長距離の車での移動がおっくうになり、四国との往復の途中一泊することにしました。三重の湯の山温泉と琵琶湖のほとりの雄琴温泉にそれぞれ一泊しました。それをネタにしてしゃべりました。✰✰でした。 私の英作文をChatGPTに修正してもらったら全く別物になりました。 I usually stay at the previous house on new year holiday. It’s located far from my hometown; it takes ten hours by car. As I am getting feel that hard to drive for me. So, I reserved the hotels on the way and the beck way, at the middle between Fuji and Shikoku. The hotel on the way to Fuji was Yunoyama hot spring in Mie prefecture. It was a nice hotel especially hot spring. That hotel has one big bath room and three kinds of open-air bathes. I enjoyed taking bathe three times, soon after arriving, after dinner and morning. It was so cold in the morning, so I caught a cold due to cold air at out side. I was suffering from a heavy caught and headache during holidays. I was obliged to cancel for visiting my daughters house as my wife ordered me to stay home alone. I couldn’t meet my granddaughters in Tokyo. Fortunately, I recovered in a week later. On the return way to Shikoku, I reserved the Ogoto Onsen beside Biwako lake. That hotel was nice viewing Biwako lake. That hotel had the big open air bath room too. I took an indoor bath room only. I learned about catching a cold at the last hotel one week ago. As the dinner was so sumptuous, I enjoyed drinking much. As the result, I had a hangover next morning. I was obliged to skip the morning buffe lunch. I stayed two hotels on the return way and I had two headaches.ChatGPT ↓ During the New Year holiday, my tradition was to stay at my previous house, a serene retreat far from my hometown that required a ten-hour drive. However, the long journey began to take a toll on me, making it increasingly challenging to drive. To break up the trip, I decided to reserve hotels on the way to and from my destination, strategically choosing a spot between Fuji and Miyoshi.On the outbound journey, I discovered Yokoyama Hot Spring in Mie Prefecture. Nestled amid picturesque landscapes, this charming hotel boasted not only a comfortable stay but also a rejuvenating hot spring experience. With a grand communal bath and three enchanting open-air baths, I indulged in three soothing sessions—immediately upon arrival, after a delightful dinner, and the next morning. The cold morning air, however, took its toll, and I found myself battling a pesky cold.Despite my initial setback, I pressed on with my plans to visit my daughter's house. Unfortunately, my persistent cough and pounding headache led my concerned wife to insist that I stay home alone, forcing me to miss the chance to meet my granddaughters in Tokyo.The holiday turned into a week of discomfort, but fortunately, I managed to recover. On the return journey to Shikoku, I decided to treat myself to the Ogoto Onsen beside Biwako Lake. The hotel provided a stunning view of the expansive lake, and its large open-air bath became my sanctuary. Having learned my lesson from the previous hotel experience, I opted for the indoor bath this time. A lavish dinner tempted me to indulge in a bit too much drinking, resulting in a regrettable hangover the next morning. Sadly, I had to pass on the morning buffet in favor of nursing my headache.In the end, my return journey involved two hotels, two headaches, and a series of memorable adventures, proving that even the unexpected twists can make a holiday unforgettable.
January 23, 2024
コメント(0)
-
圧迫骨折
My wife and I have a medical checkup every year, so she went to a hospital in the City on Monday to do it. Although her results were good overall, her blood glucose level (BGL) was not. A High BGL is caused by a lack of exercise, obesity, and stress. People who love sweet cakes and noodles often suffer from high BGL, as they contain high amounts of sugar. So the doctor said to her “you need to exercise more.” She promptly joined an exercise class at the community center, per her doctor’s advice. Her first lesson was last Wednesday, and she enjoyed it. However, she couldn’t get up the next morning without my assistance, due to pain in her back. She went back to the hospital four days later. Her back pain was caused by a compression fracture. So, I have to do all the housework, washing, and cooking, instead of her. In Japanese “breaking bones” has two meanings: to break bones, and to put in a great amount of effort to do something. In our case, my wife broke her bones, and I had to put in a lot of effort to do our housework.
March 26, 2023
コメント(0)
-
Slip of the tongue
英会話教室に行ってきました。配偶者の言い間違いをねたにしゃべりましたが、すべりました。猿股は死語みたいです。Slip of tongueA high school student invaded a junior high school and injured a teacher by the knife two weeks ago.When he entered the class room ,the teacher evacuated students from the class room. So, they were safe. But when that teacher and other teachers tried to captured him, one of teachers was stabbed by the knife. He was seriously injured but escaped the death. My wife whispered while watching that TV news.“If there were a men’s short pants, the teacher would catch him.”My wife wanted to say,“If there were a criminal catcher tool, he would catch him. She made a slip of tongue.Men’s short pants “Sarumata” in Japanese,And Criminal catcher tool “Sasumata “in Japanese.She wanted to say, Sasumata not Sarumata.
March 10, 2023
コメント(0)
-
Posting on The Newspaper
英会話教室に行ってきました。投稿が採用された話をちょっとだけ自慢してきましたが、ほとんどのひとが「何それ？」って感じでした。I received a phone call from Mainichi-Shinbun this Monday. The person in charge of the column said,“Your post was selected , so it will be on paper soon, so I will revise it a little.”To which I said, “OK.”After the call, I waited for it to come out for four days. I went to bed at 2 o’clock and woke up 4 o’clock to see a online edition of the Mainichi Shinbun. I was so sleepy for four mornings straight .Then this morning, my article has came out on the paper.H３rocket didn’t launch.Don’t mind by the Space Jet.My original was,“H3 rocket’s launch failed.Don’t mind by the Space Jet.”I was so glad, I sent the copy of the article to my children, brother and friends by email.But nobody responded. After all my children said,“It doesn’t make sense.” I had to explain to them about the H3 rocket and the Space Jet projects. In the meantime, I’ll get a book coupon worth of 1,000Yen, not dollars.
March 4, 2023
コメント(0)
-
Tottori Sand Dune
鳥取に蟹を食べに行って来ました。英会話教室で喋りましたが、蟹の肉と同じようにpunch line がイマイチでした。The winter is a good season for eating delicious crabs.I went to Japan’s sea side area to eat them with my wife two weeks ago. The famous king crabs are only allowed to be caught for 5 months, November to March. We stayed at a hotel in Tottori prefecture this time, and used received a discount from a travel discount campaign.The hotel and the spring were so, so good, but the crab dinner was just so-so, as the portions were small. The next day we went to a famous sightseeing spot, the Tottori sand dunes. It was cold and windy, but I enjoyed walking on the sand dunes. We could see beautiful wind ripples on the sand, and I learned that they appeared on the sand dune at the visiter centre. The guide made wind ripples artificially by using the wind machine. It was interesting.When we were leaving there, I overheard a young couple arguing about whether they should walk along the coast beyond the sand dune. The coast was a little bit far from there, so the girlfriend didn’t want to walk.I worried about that the ripple between the couple would spread.
February 13, 2023
コメント(0)
-
autumn leaves
近くの山に紅葉狩りに行った話を,英会話教室で話しましたが、punch line がセクハラではないかと言われました。I went Mt.Ryugatake for viewing autumn leaves yesterday. That mountain is one of the famous viewpoints. It is deep in mountainous and the road was winding and narrow. It was the best time to see. In Japanese, the autumn leaves viewing is called “Momiji Kari” Japanese “Kari “means three meanings,hunting,picking,and watching.In old time noble people didn’t go out and walk. Walking was classless for them. So they didn’t want to use the word of walking. Thy used the hunting instead of walking. While I and my wife were enjoying the beautiful mountains,I came up with a funny poet. But I couldn’t say in front of her.The women fades times going by,but the beauty of the autumn leaves comes every year
November 19, 2022
コメント(0)
-
New PC
市の英会話教室で新しいパソコンを買った話をしてきました。我が家では 畳と○○は新しい方がよいなどとは、口が裂けても言えません。I usually use an iPad for browsing the internet. When I made the documents, I had to use my PC. My PC was a very old model, so it takes a long time to start, and the OS is windows 7. Whenever I used the PC, the PC would say “this computer is out of service”. Furthermore,it was hard for me to see the small screen,as I have poor eyesight.So, I decided to buy a new desktop type PC. I thought that the new PC would be the last one I would shop for my life. So I choose the high spec model. I checked it at the web site. It seems to be over 200K yen. Which is hard to pay for as a pensioner.I went an electric shop in Kawanoe last week. I found a desireable type and it’s a cheap model, 170K yen. It is a floor model and windows 10 model not an 11 model. I asked the sales person for a discount as I’m a pensioner. He said “OK 153K yen, I said “a little bit more”.All right it’s just 150K yen. I finally got it for 150K yen. The new PC is so nice, it starts up only 20 seconds and the screen is 28 inches wide. And all software works quickly twice speed compared to the old one. A French proverb says, wives and wine, the older the better, but for the PC the newer, the better.A Japanese proverb says, for the Tatami mat and wives, the newer the better.And Japanese women say that for kitchens and husbands, the newer the better
May 25, 2022
コメント(0)
-
English Pronunciation And Otani Shohei
英会話教室で大谷翔平さんにひっかけて英語の発音について喋って来ました。⭐️⭐️でした。 This week, two news of the baseball player Otani Shohei happened. The first news is good one. Yesterday Otani shohei hit 40 home-runs and is leading hitter in NBL. My wife is crazy about him. She cheers him and loves that he is good-looking, tall and young man. But she doesn’t know baseball rules so she sometimes asks me some strange questions. “How many kinds of ball does he have. “ I said “Of cause one.Why do you think so?” She replied that the announcer said “he pitched a curve ball and slider ball. They are very nice boles.” She has thought that he throws some kinds of ball every-times. The another news was that Detroit Tigers famous broadcaster said the racist comments to Otani. He used East Asian accent when he was asked by other announcer in the game”how the Tigers should pitch to Otani?” He answered “Be very very careful. “ This sentence is well known as the expression to mock the Japanese accents. He pronounced “Bi berii berii keahuru.” He apologized in that game but he was fired from the programs. We can’t pronounce V F R L words accurately. In Japanese Ra and La are same pronunciations. Also Bu Vu are same. Japanese Fa doesn’t bite the lips. Actually in my experience, when I ordered two cups of coffee to a cabin officer in the airplane, however two cups of coke were served at the honeymoon flight to Hawaii. My wife mocked me then. Anyway I have to be very very careful with my carefree wife in my life.
September 7, 2021
コメント(0)
-
Triple Jump
Tokyo Olympic game ended last month . During the Olympic I watched many competitions on TV. I was interested in Athletics, speciously the triple jump and the pole jump (vault) because I was a player of them when I was junior high school student.At that time I was selected as a representative player of the triple jump and the pole jump for Miyoshi area junior competition. There were only 3 competitors of the triple jump competition in my junior high school. So it’s easy to be selected as a representative in spite of the poor records.That’s why I couldn’t pass these qualifies. The cut line of pole jump was 2m30cm. My best score was only 2m. It was less than the high jump record. Another result of the triple jump was more miserable.The triple jump have 3 kinds of Jump, Hop Step and Jump. So the landing area is a sand box. The distance from a take-off board to a sand box was 11 meter. However my best record was only 10m.So I couldn’t reach a sand box when my landing. My jump was the hard landing. In the Olympic period ,I ignored my wife’s favorite TV programs. I monopolized TV channel for watching the Olympic games. She was in a bad mood then.So when I told these miserable experiences to my wife , she said,“Your life is similar to your triple jump.Your Hop Step were so-so, but your Jump was always failure.”
September 7, 2021
コメント(0)
-
マンション
英会話教室に行ってきました。日本と海外でのマンションの意味の違いをオチにしましたが滑りました。 My daughter lives in the apartment in Tokyo. My family sometimes chat with her family on FaceTime.This Sunday, she said that they will move to a new house next March. Although she purchased the condo seven years ago, it became too small for her family. When we heard her plans, I worried about their finances and wondered if she would ask us to help. On the other hand, my carefree wife asked her will there be any rooms for her to stay in when she visits. Her apartments are 3LDK. In Japan we call three bedroom type apartments 3LDK and call apartments “mansions”. A high- rise apartment is called “a tower mansion “ So we call people who live there “Towaman tribe “. And many students in the urban area say “I live in a one- room mansion “
June 28, 2021
コメント(0)
-
Prime number Cicada
英会話教室に行ってきました。アメリカで大量発生した素数ゼミの話をしました。 The prime number cicada(素数ゼミ) I studied the prime numbers (Sosu in Japanese) in mathematics when I was in junior high school. A prime number can only be divided by itself and one, like 2, 3, 5, 7, 11…… Last week I watched the news about a huge outbreak of cicadas in northern part of America. They are cicadas that have a seventeen year life spam. Also the thirteen year life interval cicadas will explosively appear in the southern part of America . 13 and 17 are both prime numbers so they are called the prime number cicadas. The prime number are good for avoiding the predator like birds for cicadas. If the predator has three year interval life spam and the cicada life spam has fifteen year, they would meet every fifteen years. (Least Common Multiple 15) But the thirteen year cicadas only meet predators once every 39 years (LCM 3×13). So the prime number cicadas have increased throughout history. This is the first time in my life I heard this news and the reason why these cicadas exist . It’s interesting that the prime number connect with nature. But the speech of the prime minister isn’t interesting.
June 3, 2021
コメント(0)
-
Success law
英会話教室がありました。毎日新聞のコラムの話をしました。 Success Law When I began to prepare a story for today’s lesson last night,I asked my wife, “How were my previous stories ?” She was reading the newspaper at that time,and said, “Hmm your stories don’t stay with me. Your messages don’t catch me. This column shows the reason why your stories don’t move me.” I read the article. It said that six important points make good messages, The six points were 1. Simple 2. Unexpected 3. Concrete ( Not Abstract) 4. Credible 5. Emotional 6. Story The six initials make the word success, so it’s called the SUCCESs law. This is from the US best seller book called “Made to stick” The columnist also said ” I can easily come up with the people who make perfectly opposite messages; I hesitate to say who . “ I can easily guess who. They must be a certain Japanese politicians. My wife also said that my stories don’t have any important points. So this is my unsuccessful story.
June 3, 2021
コメント(0)
-
スイフトにドラレコを付けた。
英会話教室でドライブレコーダーの話をしました。⭐️⭐️でした。 Dash Cam End of this March I bought an another dash cam and installed in my wife’s car. Two years ago, a middle aged couple was arrested for a road-rage incident. They stopped a car and punched a driver on the express way. That scene was recorded by the dash cam and it was aired many times on the news. After that I installed a dash cam to my car . My wife got her driver license when she was 40 to take our children to high school. We lived in the suburb of Fuji city. My children’s high school was about 8 km away and travelled by bicycle So she needed to pick them up from school in case of a rainy day or when they come home late. She wasn’t good at driving. Actually she failed the driving test three times. She quit driving after they graduated from high school , and started to drive again after coming back to hometown . This year, her car had several dents on it. She insists that they were caused by me because she doesn’t aware when they happen. As I sometime use her car, I’m not sure who did it. Whenever a new dent happens on her car, we argue who did it either. This is the reason I bought the dash cam. This dash cam will record who makes dents. I hope the dash cam will decrease our fights.
April 17, 2021
コメント(0)
-
メジロ
英会話教室でメジロの話をして来ました。 punch line がイマイチでした。 Japanese white- eyes bird (Mejiro in Japanese) and black eye. There are some plum trees in my garden. I can see white-eye birds sing on it in this season. They sing very well with good voices. I take photos through the window with a new camera bought with my 100,000 cash handout. I used to catch white eyes when I was young. Now all birds is forbidden to catch and keep since 2012. But I used to catch many birds with birdlime in the1960’s. I lure a bird with a mandarin orange on the branch that was covered by birdlime. As soon as I saw a white-eyes hanging on the branch, I’d dash from a hidden place and catch it. After catching one, I’d use it as a decoy. The decoy bird calls its fellow birds with its cry in the cage. I was able to catch one after another. That is a nostalgic memory from my childhood. I spent most of my free time in the forest or in the river for catching birds, fish and so on. Also we sometime say that Japanese have black eyes. It’s a wrong expression. The correct expression is “Japanese have a brown eyes.” A black eye means “bruise”. For example I got a black eye after fighting with my wife.
March 11, 2021
コメント(0)
-
かまどと餅つき機
英会話教室に行ってきました。 田舎のかまど小屋が壊れて建て替えようとした話をして来ました。 小屋の設計が完了して着工目前でしたが、配偶者が新しい餅つき機を買ってきました。私のことは最初から当てにしていなかったということでした。 ⭐️⭐️でした。 Kamado Grill and New rice cake machine I have a hut beside my house where a stove is set there. We call a traditional stove “a Kamado”in Japanese. My father built it 50 years ago by himself. We used it to steam sticky rice for rice cakes in the New Year or making red rice for the different celebration. In spring we boil bamboo shoots by it. Last October the roof tiles of the hut began to slide down due to the rotted wooden structure. I planned to rebuild it by myself. My wife said it would be difficult for me. But I said to rebuild it by the end of this April. Because we are going to make the red rice for the celebration of Boy’s day on May 5th. Also I told her since I was a mechanical designer when I worked; I could design a new hut perfectly. First, I bought a textbook of the free CAD software and installed it to my PC. Then I finished designing a new hut by the end of last Dec as, I planned. So what happened? The old hut remains. My wife is now 65 years old. She began to receive her pension from this February. As soon as she got her pension, she bought a new rice cake machine. She can not only make rice cakes but also red rice with using new one inside the house. She doesn’t need a new hut now. She didn’t count on me from the beginning.
March 7, 2021
コメント(0)
-
四人目の孫が生まれた
My fourth grandson was born on the morning of 19th December. The baby and his mother have been fine. And they came back to the apartment on Christmas Eve. We celebrated the baby’s birth with Christmas dinner. My wife and I had been staying at this apartment till the end of January and helping my son’s family. In japan, my daughter in-low usually ask her mother to help when they give birth. However she asked my wife to help and stayed in the apartment. My wife asked her “Why me not your mother.” She said “My mother is too old and could not endure my first baby’s crying 2 years ago.“ That’s why we stayed in Yokohama for two month. My wife helped with housework and I helped my granddaughter with going to the nursery school. So my two houses,in Fuji and in Miyoshi, were vacant for 2 months. When we came back to my house last Saturday, I found no water supply. The main pipe of water had been shut off by someone. I found the paper from the city office in the mail box. It said “As your water supply meter was running even though you are vacant,we shut off the water.” The water pipe outside had broken off due to the cold weather. And another paper from the water meter reader showed that the water bill was nearly 20,000 yen for 70 square meter. My wallet will be vacant.
February 4, 2021
コメント(0)
-
Hornet
Tokushima prefecture is famous for Yuzu (Japanese citron) production. I also pick up Yuzu in my field last Sunday. When I moved to another Yuzu tree, many hornets attacked us suddenly. I tried to escape from then, but two of them stung me, my right arm and my head. I felt terrible pain on the arm. We stopped picking and I went to the hospital as I had been stung in 20 years ago. Some people often happens an allergies reaction when people are bitten ants, centipede and bees etc, that is called Anaphylaxis shock. Especially I had to pay attentions in the case of the second stinging by the bees. Fortunately I didn’t have any symptoms after being stung. The doctor just applied the ointment. The medical procedure ended only 5 minutes. I went to the accounting window of the hospital. The clerk showed the bill and said, “You need to pay the extra fee as you are a new patient and you don’t have the letter of introduction. Your total fee is 8,240 Yen.” I was shocked as well as Anaphylaxis shock to hear that.
November 30, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Travel In Kochi
I sometime want to eat delicious seafood and to see a ocean because I live in a mountain I travelled through Shikoku last Monday with my wife. It was a round trip of 3 prefectures,Tokushima Kochi and Ehime. And I also wanted to go to the famous capes in Kochi as I’ve never been there. I stayed at the hotel in southern in Tokushima Prefecture on the first day. I ate a dinner of lobsters. It was very delicious. The second day I visited Muroto cape. It’s one of the famous capes in Kochi. The other is Ashizuri cape. These two capes are located at both ends of east and west. It took 6 hours to drive to Ashizuri from Muroto . I drove along the beautiful coast of the Pacific Ocean. At the hotel in Ashizuri , the Sahachi dishes were served for the dinner. The Sahachi dishes are a local cuisine of Koch. Many kinds of seafood, raw fish, clam and crams, are arranged on a big plate. That was nice too. And that evening I could see the sunset from the horizon through the seaside window of the hotel The next morning, we got up early to see the sunrise from the observatory of the cape. Many tourists were there to see the sunrise. The red and big sun appeared just in time as expected. We can see corals and tropical fish nearby the hotel in Tosa bay. I could watch them from the glass boat. I came back to my home from Kochi via Ehime prefecture. I drove over 700 km in 3 days. This round trip is far from the drive to Shizuoka, it’s 600 km drive. There are three first events in my life on this trip. One is eating 3 lobsters at once and two is seeing the sunrise from the horizon. They are impossible for someone who lives in the mountain. The last one is about my wife. My wife sleeps 90 % of the time when I drive in the passenger seat on the way to Shizuoka. But she was awake in 90 % of the time on driving the seaside drive.
November 21, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Nursery Rhyme Club on TV
先日所属している田舎の老人会の童謡を歌う会がローカル局で生中継されました。わたしは後頭部の写真だけの出番でしたが、ご近所の夫婦が出演しました。これをネタに英会話教室で喋りました。 ⭐️⭐️⭐️でした。 Nursery rhyme singing club on TV I have been in the nursery rhymes singing club of the old man society in my district since this July . The teacher is a singer song writer and had worked as a voice trainer in Tokyo. She has come back to her husband’s hometown and has started teaching for the old man club members . She lives next door to my home. Three weeks prior that club was aired live on the local TV. (Shikoku Broadcasting Co.) She and 3 club members were introduced on the program. Actually 6 club members, 3 couples, were scheduled on the program. My wife and I also were one of the 3 couples and should have been on TV. It was supposed to be the first TV event in my life. When we heard that event from the chairman of the club, my wife had started thinking about what to wear, going to a beauty salon and who to tell.But it ended in vain. He told us that we would not appear TV anymore. He said that we had traveled to Tokyo Disney Sea, so we should stay home for two weeks. Therefore two couples went to the public home that day to be on air. The program went smoothly. But we only saw two singers not 2 couple. I heard later that the director changed the plan. He decreased the singing members to maintain a social distance in the small hall. Next day I met one of the couples who live close to my house. I knew that the wife was canceled to sing suddenly. I told her husband, who was on TV, that he sang very well. But I couldn’t say anything to her as I saw that her hair style had changed and trimmed perfectly by the hairdresser.
October 10, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Rice Harvesting
How to make white rice Last week we harvested rice for this season. It was a good harvest compared to last year. But we are very tired in spite of it now. We use some farming equipment for harvesting rice. We use “ combine” machine for harvesting rice.That machine is named from combining functions of harvesting and threshing. We got a wild rice from the combine machine. Wild rice contains 30 % moisture. We dry them using a rice dryer to decrease the moisture to 15 %. It takes a half day. Dried wild rice is put into a paddy machine and a sorting machine in the next step. Finally we got a brown rice. We generally eat white rice . A brown rice turns into white rice by the polishing machine. We have 4 machines, a combine , a dryer, a paddy machine and a sorting machine. We purchased them together by 4 neighbors 20 years ago.They are rather old machines. Three of them,the dry machine the paddy machine and the sorting machine had broken one by one this season. The one reason because they are old and other is because of mice. Some mice ate and cut the wirings and the leather belts . So we had to rent the machine or take wild rice to another farmer’s house many times. Most of joint harvesting member were very exhausted due to machine troubles. At the home party after harvesting, the oldest member whispered, “Our aging bodies may break next year.”
September 24, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Me Her
Me Her There are two famous professional table board games in japan. One is Go and the another is Shogi . This July Souta Fujii , who is the youngest professional player, won Kisei title, which is one of seven major titles. He made a record of the youngest at 17 years old. One month later he got the second major title Oi. His success brought a lot of Shogi fans then my wife became a fan among the rest. She is crazy for him. Therefor she watches Shogi programs. She watches all his matches on TV. My wife has the monopoly of TV channels in my family. I was obliged to watch my favorite baseball games on another small TV. My wife knows how to play Shogi, but only knows how to move pieces. She doesn’t understand the professional games. I asked my wife, “Why are you interested in a long Shogi match as you can’t understand. Aren’t you bored? “ My wife said, “No I’m not. The commentators talked about their lunch menus and the AI shows which is winning by using indicator and shows the best following moves. However I am satisfied with watching his facial expression. “ She is only a groupie! We call the people like my wife “Me Her “in Japan. I had thought that words is from English. But it’s from old Japanese girl’s names. In Showa era, about 1 century ago, there were many Miyo and Hana . Their names begin Me and Her sounds. So we call them especially young girl’s groupie “Me Her”
September 18, 2020
コメント(0)
-
JR vs Shizuoka
英会話教室で静岡ネタをしゃべりましたが、四国の人々は関心がありませんでした。I used to live in Shizuoka prefecture for 40 years. So I’m interested in the article of Shizuoka on the newspaper. I found the news that the new Shinkansen line will be delayed due to the opposition of Shizuoka governor. The new railway has been building by JR Tokai since 2014. And it was scheduled to connect Tokyo to Nagoya by 40 minutes by the linear motor car until 2027. It’s planed to go through 6 prefectures including Shizuoka. The Shizuoka governor doesn’t agree about the construction yet. He insists that the construction causes decreasing water flow into the river. JR can’t progress the construction without his approval even the length of the rail is only 10 kilometers passing in Shizuoka.The background of this issue is from discord with JR between the governors. There are 6 Shinkansen stations in Shizuoka but the fastest type Shinkansen Nozomi doesn’t stop any stations. The governor asked to stop Nozomi many times ,but JR refused flatly.Shizuoka is sometimes called “marmot prefecture”. Most of factors show that Shizuoka is average prefecture like income, distribution of residence ages etc. So many companies try to sell first in Shizuoka before selling all over Japan. And the climate is very mild. Acutely I had never seen snowing in Shizuoka. The characters of Shizuoka people is conservative ,so Shizuoka prefecture rarely against the national polices until now. In Shizuoka, there is a legend that male of Shizuoka is carefree so they are weak for business.On the other hand, it’s legend that Kagawa’s men and Tokushima’s women will be the best couple in Shikoku. Kagawa’s men are also carefree and honest and Tokushima’s women are diligent and beautiful.My wife sometimes says that “if you were Kagawa’s man, we should be a best couple.”I used to live in Shizuoka prefecture for 40 years. So I’m interested in the article of Shizuoka on the newspaper. I found the news that the new Shinkansen line will be delayed due to the opposition of Shizuoka governor. The new railway has been building by JR Tokai since 2014. And it was scheduled to connect Tokyo to Nagoya by 40 minutes by the linear motor car until 2027. It’s planed to go through 6 prefectures including Shizuoka. The Shizuoka governor doesn’t agree about the construction yet. He insists that the construction causes decreasing water flow into the river. JR can’t progress the construction without his approval even the length of the rail is only 10 kilometers passing in Shizuoka.The background of this issue is from discord with JR between the governors. There are 6 Shinkansen stations in Shizuoka but the fastest type Shinkansen Nozomi doesn’t stop any stations. The governor asked to stop Nozomi many times ,but JR refused flatly.Shizuoka is sometimes called “marmot prefecture”. Most of factors show that Shizuoka is average prefecture like income, distribution of residence ages etc. So many companies try to sell first in Shizuoka before selling all over Japan. And the climate is very mild. Acutely I had never seen snowing in Shizuoka. The characters of Shizuoka people is conservative ,so Shizuoka prefecture rarely against the national polices until now. In Shizuoka, there is a legend that male of Shizuoka is carefree so they are weak for business.On the other hand, it’s legend that Kagawa’s men and Tokushima’s women will be the best couple in Shikoku. Kagawa’s men are also carefree and honest and Tokushima’s women are diligent and beautiful.My wife sometimes says that “if you were Kagawa’s man, we should be a best couple.”
July 24, 2020
コメント(0)
-
River side grass & Empress Yuriko Koike
Last Sunday I mowed the grass of the river streams in my district . Every July the mowing of the river is held by the residence. The district is divided a few group. Each group has to mow the river side grass of the crossing river area. It took 2 hours. After finishing that event, we took a break with some beverage and beer. Neighbors gathered the first time in a year . We enjoyed chatting.That day was also the election day of Tokyo governor. So we talked about unrelated govoner Yuriko Koike for Shikoku people.She has the scandal of her educational background carrier. She said before that she graduated Cairo Univ. as the head of her class. She had stayed in Cairo with the lodger who is Japanese . Recently the lodger testified “She didn’t graduate the Cairo Univ.“ And the book ,the title is Empress Yuriko Koike, was published based on her saying. That book was at the top of bestsellers. The false educational carriers of politicians have happened many times in Japan . The former PM Aso pretended studying abroad of Stanford Univ. A present PM Abe also did same thing of studying abroad of Univ of Southern California . I think their fake background of educational carrier is that they must have wanted to make themselves look more important . And they couldn’t graduate famous universities in Japan like Tokyo Univ. At the lunch time after mowing, I told my wife that the chatting was very lively about Tokyo Governor’s scandal. But my wife predicted her victory . She said that Tokyo citizens especially women don’t mind that fake carriers. As expected by my wife,she was re-elected as as a new governor and got the landslide victory. Women’s six senses are already right not only love affairs case but also elections.
July 15, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Fire Flies
今日も英会話教室に行ってきました。田舎の川に増えてきた蛍の話をしました。 ⭐️⭐️でした。 I’ve been living in the countryside for 7 years. The river streams in my district. Now I can see many fire flies in the river at clear nights. My friend in neighborhood goes to the riverside to take pictures. He goes to the riverside 8 o’clock to 11 o’clock every clear nights. One night he invited me to go there and to take pictures of fire flies. As knowing there are Japanese viper Mamushi in the riverside, I hesitated to go there. On the other hand I wanted to use the new camera. After all I followed him wearing long boots and hanging the mosquito coils on the wast . It’s little difficult to take a picture in a dark night. So we prepared a tripod and spend 2 hours there. The seen of many fire flies’ flying was very mysterious and nice. The type of a fire fly is Genji fire fly and it’s the biggest one of fire flies. After few days later , the front page of the public information of the hometown was the photo of fire flies. I told my wife “ I think that my best shot is good no less than that photo .” My wife said boringly, “Your picture costs 100 thousand yen of Government’s delivering money. Fire flies lives only clear water river. They have been increasing gradually in the river for 7 years compared to when my coming back to hometown. Fire flies are the barometer of the environment. And the barometer of my wife’s temper is number of side dishes at breakfast. Only breads or with bacon&egg and salads.
June 19, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Emergency Declaration
The emergency declaration was the first time in my 65 years life . In this period many things happened around me. I’ve gotten three things,100 K yen, two masks and unconvinienced by my car license plate. Government has been delivering 100 K yen for all people in Japan. My citizen registration is Shizuoka city not Shikoku .So I applied by internet using My number card 1st May . I got 15th May them promptly. Last week 100 K yen changed to a new camera. I bought the camera by amazon without noticing to my wife. After her knowing, she asked me that money to transfer to her account promptly. Also Government has been delivering 2 masks for each people in Japan. I got then yesterday. But I’ve already gotten 50 masks in Ikeda. Too late and too small! I live in countryside near the border. Governor made the self-restraint request not to go another prefectures. People of my district usually go shopping to another prefecture rather than hometown . So we had to hesitate closing the border. Many funny poets concerning with these three things were made on Mainichi newspapers . I also posted many. But no my funny poets is on the newspaper . 十万とマスク二枚で生き延びよ Survive with 100 thousand and 2 masks. マスク着く 前に上達 作り方 Before distributing masks,Japanese improved mask making. そのうちに関所ができそ 県境 In the meantime,check gate will be on the prefectural border.
June 7, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Climbing of Mt.Kunimi
Avoid non-essential outings Government has been requiring “Avoid non-essential outings”due to Colona virus . I have to avoid 3 conditions, closed spaces ,crowds and close contact too. Under the such circumstances ,I climbed the mountain, Mt.Kunimi ,with my brother last week. We didn’t meet anyone. It was rather hot weather, temperature was 27 centigrade. The view was very nice from the summit. Tokushima prefecture began to check the non-Tokushima license car plates at the express way. I’m unable to act freely in Shikoku island as my car’s license plates are “Fuji-san” . I drove by the right truck to reach the parking at the trailhead of the mountain . That’s why that right truck have only Tokushima license car plate of my three cars.
May 16, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Ocha Girls
In my district the tea leaves picking season has began in this week. The work of picking by hand needs many person’s hands. So we help picking tea leaves each other by 4 families. Last Friday one neighbor’s picking was done. 10 people gathered that day including 7 Ocha-girls. My hometown,Shizuoka, is the main place of tea production. Fuji city in Shizuoka Ocha-girl queen contest is held every year. At that contest 7 Ocha-girls are selected. Ocha-girl with Mt. Fuji is famous for a photo spot. (See the attached photo) Our district’s 7 Ocha-girls are little bit different from Fuji city Ocha-girl. (See the attached photo if you like) When we were having lunch at my parking, the mobile sales vehicle “Tokushi-mal”came up there. The driver came up because he found the many people in such country side. The driver said” Are there always many people in this place?” My wife replied “ No no, we are tea leaves picking member just today . I live in this house only two, with my husband “ Tokushi-mal was established by a junior of my alma mater (Anan Technical Collage).And I asked the driver” the president of your company is my junior . So please give us a discount more at the next time?” The Tokushi-mal probably will not come here.
May 16, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Wild Vegetables
The season of picking wild vegetables has begun. I pick up the bamboo shoot, bracken ,cod sprouts and aralia cordata(Udo) today. My wife cooked them Tempra tonight . Their wild vegetables have a strong scum. We need to remove scum before cooking. For example, we need rice bran for bomboo shoots, ash for bracken, vinegar for Udo etc. Templas of Udo are very delicious but Udo sometimes is used for a poor person expression. Udo grow up quickly but isn’t used for the buildings material as they aren’t hard and isn’t edible. So we call a person who is big and useless “He is a big Udo tree.” The wild vegetables have strong scum. Scum also is used as not so good expression. We call a harsh tasting person, “He is scum.” I often talk with my brother recently by using Internet services for a long time at dinner.. We have no chance to go out for Corona virus. So we spend a lot of time by chatting about Udo persons and harsh tasting persons around us at dinner. We did the same thing tonight.My wife who was listening our conversations beside us said, “The neighbors probably says that you are very scum brothers.”
April 16, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Fishing at Naruto
コロナウイルスでほとんどの行事が中止となりました。そんな中、海の近くに住む弟一家から釣りの誘いがあり行って来ました。初めての海釣りでしたがアジがたくさん釣れました。夜は近くのロッジでバーベキューをしていただきました。英会話教室のネタに用意してたのですが、そちらもキャンセルになりボツになりました。 Fishing Many events have been canceling all over japan. In my district, among the rest, the old man chorus club, the annual Buddhist ceremony at the temple and my wife’s attending paper craft club have been canceled. At such time my brother invited me to do fishing. He sometime goes fishing at Naruto fishing port. I and my wife went there with his family yesterday. We arrived at 11 am at the port. There were many fishermen on the break wall. The weather was very fine but the wind was rather strong yesterday. My brother said “Today’s fishing may be “Buddhist priest” ,Bouze in Japanese. Bouze means that we have no catch in fishing. There was nothing to worry about that. I caught the first mackerel 2 hours later. After that we caught many mackerels next to next till sun set. That night we stayed the lodge and spend a barbecue time. The baked mackerels were very nice. We also enjoyed chatting about fishing. One of topics was about that what is the origin of “Bouze”. Buddhist priest doesn’t eat fish and meat as they are vegetarians. That is, they don’t kill any fishes. No catching fish means no killing fishes. That’s why Bouse means no catch of fishing. My brother said seriously, “ The priest of my family temple loves eating meat and fish. In addition he often goes fishing. More to say he plays the punch ball in his spare time. He is perfectly against Buddhist teaching.”
March 30, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Chain Stories
Chain stories I have been harvesting mushroom in my mountains. Last Sunday I began to insert the mushroom fungi to the oak trees. I insert 1000 fungus they are shaped like bullets to the oak trees at this time every years at. The oak trees are cut 1 meter long by using a chain saw . But the chainsaw didn’t start for the fist time in 2 months. So I bought a new one at the home center . I could finished the work by the new chainsaw. I bought the chainsaw at the chain store. At that night I watched TV news about a bankrupt hotel for a steep fall customers due to the corona virus. The announcer said that many hotels and the tourist business companies may go bankrupt in chain. Otherwise my brother had worked for a provincial bank. His department of the bank lent money to the many companies. He also worries about the former business partner’s going bankrupt due to the corona virus. He sometime talked me that the bankrupt issue was the most stressfully work in his banker life. That’s why he has been chain smoker for the stress in 40 years despite his family’s opposition. I quieted smoking after birthing my child. My wife ordered me to stop smoking strictly 30 years ago. I have been chained to my carefree wife.
February 29, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Wisdom Teeth
英会話教室に行ってきました。親知らず について話しました。⭐️⭐️でした。 I went back to Fuji for pulling off the wisdom teeth last month. I go to the dentist for brushing every 4 months. Last December the dentist told me to go to the oral surgery to pull out the wisdom teeth. So I went the Fuji Central Hospital with the letter of introduction . I was very nervous the operation as I remembered another wisdom teethe’s operation 2 years ago. Before the operation the nurse measured the blood pressure. As I have a white robe symptom , the blood pressure went up 170. The dentist said “it’s too high to do the operation. You need to treat about the high blood pressure. The operation was postponed till April. Wisdom teeth is called “parents unknown “(OYASHIRAZU )in Japanese. It’s from that the parent already have passed away when their child’s wisdom teeth teethed. The wisdom teeth appears about 20 years old. In old time as the life span was only 50 years the parents can’t see their children’s wisdom teeth. Nowadays some of Japanese don’t have the wisdom teeth. The ratio of having that teeth is going small due to the change of the life style. The 80 % of Japanese may had the wisdom teeth 10,000 years ago (Jomon period). And 700 years ago (KAMAKURA period) ,it may be 50%. The less than 40 % of modern Japanese have the wisdom teeth. My wife have only two wisdom tooth. She always says proudly to me, “ I’m more modern than you.”
February 21, 2020
コメント(0)
-
うだつの町と藍色ブルー
I went to Wakimachi Town with my brother and his wife. The famous flower arranger Shogo Kariyazaki arranged the flowers at the big old house in Wakimachi. Wakimachi is famous for Udatsu (fire wall) houses town . House with Udatsu is the symbol of the rich merchant house. So Rising Udatsu in Japanese means “success “. The non successful man sometimes are called “Not rising Udatsu men” by their wives. My wife and my sister-in-law may call their husbands so. Wakimach’s merchant succeeded with dealing indigo in Edo period. Nowadays Tokushima prefecture is No 1 of indigo production. We can buy indigo dyeing goods in the flower arrangement’s house. My wife bought 2 indigo dyeing scarfs for my children’s mothers-in-law. Since ancient times parents have to be considerate for children’s parents-in-low. The indigo blue also is called “Japan blue” So the indigo blue is used to 2020 Tokyo Olympic symbol mark and Japanese national football uniform. The professional Tokushima baseball team is named Indigo Socks. Japanese proverb says, Although the blue comes from the indigo plant and is bluer than the indigo. It means that the student surpasses the teacher. My wife whispered after my saying that proverb, “The son surpasses the father.”
February 16, 2020
コメント(0)
-
センター試験ヒアリング
In Japan,many relatives gather at hometown in new year like China .So my brother’s family came to my house with his daughter . She goes to a high school in Tokushima city. She will go to University next spring.So I told her that I found the funny English hearing question of the entrance examination.The question was; Which is the most suitable picture about a next conversation?The conversation is,Man; Look this picture is from last spring.Woman; what’s a beautiful garden!M.; Amazing isn’t it? And the skyscrapers in the distance.W.; Uh hue . By the way, who is the woman beside you? The person who made this question must be based on his own experience.I sent the photo which was taken in the same situation to my home 40 years ago. And my mother had been keeping on her album. Unfortunately my wife found it 40 years later.My wife asked me “who is she?” watching her album.Actually she is one of women who damped me.
January 10, 2020
コメント(0)
-
Speach Of Nobelist
今日も中高年英会話教室に行ってきました。punch line の発音が悪くて滑りました。 Japanese engineer Akira Yoshino got the Nobel prize . The 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries Yoshino is the fellow engineer with Asahi Kasei Corp ,credited as one of the pioneers in developing the battery , which is used for cellphones and other electronic devices . Yoshino made the speech at the award ceremony of novel committee. When he was a childhood he repeatedly read the science book ,the title is “the chemistry history of a candle” by Faraday. That book became the bestseller immediately in Japan. And he said that his best 3 decisions in life in his speech. The first good decision is entering Kyoto University . Kyoto Univ. is one of the most novelists graduated universities , 8 scientists got the Nobel praises. In the world Harvard University has produced 120 novelists. The Second one was that he joined Asahi Kasei corporation. He had worked in Fuji city. There are the factory and the laboratory of Mr Yoshino in Fuji city. The city office hanged the banner when he got the Nobel prize. Furthermore my ready built house was built by Asahi Kasei corporation in the land for sale. Many Asahi Kasei workers who lives in neighborhoods was very proudly. The last good decision was that he got married with his wife. He described her a wonderful woman worldwide in front of his wife. I watched this speech with my wife. I told my wife, “If I got the Nobel prize , I would have made a same speech for you.” My wife replied, “Probability of your getting Nobel prize is less than my getting the 1st prize of year end lottery.
December 13, 2019
コメント(0)
-
Paprika
今日も英会話教室に行ってきました。 先週の日曜日に行った老人会主催のコーラスの話をしました。 I joined the old man society in my hometown 3 years ago. The chairman of the old man society asked me to join as the number of the members are getting small. And he set up the chorus club recently. Last year one young family returned to my living district. The wife of that’s family is the voice trainer. She worked in Tokyo for several years. So the chairman asked her to become the teacher of the chorus club. I and my wife attended the fist meeting of the club last Sunday. 20 members gathered at the public hall. They are 62 to 93 years old. The chairman said that singing loudly prevents the aspiration and the dementia for the elder people. The first day we sang the typical 3 nursery rhyme, Rolling acorn ,Mt Fuji and Home country. Our generation leaned their songs in the elementary school. Their songs are called the songs of Ministry of education. About 100 years ago,200 songs were on the music text book of the primary school. And nowadays ,about 10 songs remains on the music text. I was surprised that my favorite Japan fork song “Give me wings” are on the 6 grade text. And “El Condor Pasa “ by Simon & Garfunkel , famous classic music are also on the text. I went to Tokyo to attend my granddaughter’s open day at the nursery school last month. She sang in front of many grandmothers and grandfathers. After her coming back home I praised her, You sang” Replica” very well. My daughter replied, “Grandpapa , I sang Paprika not Replica.”
December 6, 2019
コメント(0)
-
Japanese English
There are two big supermarkets in my hometown. Their name are “Brilliant ”and Dairy market.Brilliant’s fishes and Sushi are very nice. And the pizza also is good. So I often go shopping there.But there has been something that is bothering me about the store for 5 years.That is the English on the building of the supermarket.They are written on the front wall of the main gate showing below;Health is from a meal. We want to be helpful by offering delicious safe foods,So that you of an area may be healthy and can live fortunately.As I’m Japanese I can understand what the store want to say. It probably means;Food makes health.We would like to help your healthy and happy life by offering the delicious and safe food for the people in this area.I guess the reasons of these misses.“Be from” is the same Japanese KARA as “Be caused”“Fortunately” is the same Japanese SACHI as” happy”. Now I’m wondering if I should send the letter to that store. If I do so, I’m already ready the punch line.If you change the signboard ,your store will be more brilliant .
November 30, 2019
コメント(0)
-
Kiss & Ride
今日も英会話教室に行って来ました。先生の出身地ハワイの鉄道計画について喋りました。 ⭐︎⭐︎でした。 I heard the news about the new railway in Hawai on TV last week. It’s called Honolulu Rail Transit and the first time in Hawai. The new railway will run partially on 2020,and fully on 2025. That railway connects East Kapdei and Ala Moana Shopping Centre. That’s distance is 32 km and have 21 stations. This new railway helps to ease the heavy traffic jam in Honolulu. I remember that it took a long time to get the airport from the hotel 7 years ago when I traveled Hawai. I was interested 3 things in this news. The vehicles for this railway have been made by Japanese company Hitachi. Hitachi also presents the railway control system. This train is an unmanned train the first time in USA. I’m so proud of exporting Japanese railway technology. The second interesting thing is that there are enough space to carry the bicycles and the long surf boards in the vehicle . It’s so Hawai. The last thing is that many stations have the big parking for Park & Ride. Furthermore there are Kiss & Ride space where the wife takes the husband to the station and kisses him good-by. I wonder if my wife will not kiss me at that area if we live in Hawai.
November 15, 2019
コメント(0)
-
New Rice Driver
英会話教室に行って来ました。稲刈りの話とおやじギャグの話をしまし I reaped this season’s rice this Monday in my rice field with neighbors . Recently we use a combine harvester for rice reaping. That machine is very expensive. As the each rice fields aren’t wide,we purchase that machine in cooperations and share it for each rice field. The rice reaping have begun this Sunday and will continue till next Wednesday. We help each other. So this season is so busy. After finishing the each reaping, we always have a long break with eating cakes and drinking near the rice field.At that time,one of neighbors talked us while chatting,“ I am so busy that I have to work after reaping.”He came back from Kochi to take care of his mother with his wife 3 year ago and his son came back from Tokyo this year with his wife and daughter. So his family are 6 members.We thought that he was busy for taking care of a big family. It was wrong . He has been repaired his car for several days .His daughter in-low made many dents and holes on his car. She is a beginner driver.She has gotten the driver license just one month ago.She hit the car when she was tried to go out the garage.End of talking,He said the father gag,My daughter in-low is” the real new rice driver” In Japanese New rice means beginner “All neighbors laughed except my wife,That’s why 20 years ago, my wife , when she was a beginner, broken two doors of my car when she had gone out my garage.
September 17, 2019
コメント(0)
-
鼻から胃カメラ
英会話教室に行ってきました。人間ドックで受けた胃カメラの話をしました。⭐︎⭐︎でした。 ドックも胃カメラさえ無ければ、美味しい食事もついてるし、おっくうでないのだけれど。 This Wednesday ,I went to the hospital to take the medical checking called “human dock” in Japanese . The medical checking is not so hard except the stomach inspection. It is usually done by an endoscope . I can choose the way of the inspection from among of 3 options . The fist is done by a scope through the throat. The second is done with the anesthesia through the throat. Tha last is the scope through the nose. The painless way is done by the second one, but the patient can’t drive after the inspection due to the anesthesia for several hours. I chose the last option, the endoscope from the nose not throat,last year. The reason is that the nose inspection was done by the beautiful female doctor. So Wednesday I choose the same way with hoping to meet the same doctor . But against my wish,when I entered the inspection room, I found an old male doctor not her. I disappointed . I felt that the inspection had taken a long time. It seemed to take twice time of the last year. After coming back to my house,I told my wife, “Today’s stomach inspection was done by the old male doctor, so I had to put up with the hard inspection. I had better taken the inspection through a throat if the pain is same.” My wife said, “You have brought it on yourself.”
September 2, 2019
コメント(0)
-
New Teacher And Slip Of Tongue
英会話教室に新しい先生が来ました。お盆やすみにもかかわらず英語の勉強をして来ました。 A new teacher has come. I went to the English class in spite of Obon holidays. Slip of tongue The big news has happened this week in Japan. One is that Japanese woman golf player HINAKO SHIBUYA has won British open. The other news is a law maker Shinjrou Koizumi has engaged, His farther is a former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi. He is the most popular politicians of the ruling party. He is expected after next prime minister. And the fiance is TAKIGAWA CRISTEL. She's well-known for her presentation in English and French in the Olympic Committee . Her effort helped Tokyo win the bid for the 2020 Olympics. His farther, a former prime minister Junichiro ,called her “TAKIGAWA CRISTAL”. His announcement was surprised to Japanese as nobody knows their dating. So TV news ,especially TV talk show spend a lot time for his engagement. My Wife loves this kind of story, like love affairs ,a engaging and a divorcing topics. While she was watching the talk show she said “He must ordered the martial law to everyone around them.” Martial law? I though that she might be watching Honkon demonstrators news. I asked my wife.”what news are you watching?” She replied “Of cause Shinjirou’s engagement “ I talked her”if you say ,you should say that Shinjiro ordered the gag law around him.” My wife had a slip of tongue because the martial law in Japanese Kaigenrei(戒厳令),is similar to the Gag law in Japanese Kankourei(箝口令) These slips of tongue by my care free wife are always seen in my home.
August 16, 2019
コメント(0)
-
冷蔵庫
今日も英会話教室に行って来ました。タイトルは 冷蔵庫 評価は⭐️⭐️⭐️でした。 A new convenience store was supposed to open till last August in my district . But it’s plan may disappear due to nobody applying owner. Residents fell sorry because there are no store in my district. I feel very sorry about another reason. If a new store” Lawson” opens, my old designed refrigerator would installed there.l lost the chance to be proud of saying to my wife. I had worked the refrigerator designing division when I had worked. Some refrigerators was soled and installed many Lawson stores in japan. As I had been belonged that division I had some perks . I could get some new refrigerant equipment,like home refrigerators and air conditioners as using field testing new equipment. I got a new big size refrigerator”side by side type “as field testing 30 years ago. That type was very rare and expensive in that day. My wife was very glad to get a new big refrigerator free. So she told my son, when he was 4 years old “Hi you ,don’t tell about a new refrigerator outside of home “ . A few days later a housewife in the neighborhood said to my wife” “You got a new big refrigerator didn’t you? Your son had talked in my house.”As soon as my son came back from playing, my wife asked my son”why did you say in spite of my saying not to mention about new refrigerator?“My son said “ I just said that thing in inside of his friend’s house not outside.
June 29, 2019
コメント(0)
-
散髪屋さんでの出来事
英会話教室がありました。 散髪に行った出来事を話しました。 I got a hair cut and dyeing hair yesterday. I usually go to the barber in close to my city. That barber’s cutting is fast and cheap. Further more the fee would be discounted for over sixty years old people.The cashier has been asking me “Are you over 6o?”,That why I go to the same barber. After getting a hair cut , I can feel a little happy feeling. A famous English proverb say, Let him that would be happy for a day, go to the barber, For a week, buy a car, For a month ,get married, For a year, built a house, For a lifetime ,be honest. I could not be so happy yesterday. Because when I pay the fee, she discounted a fee without asking. After coming back from the barber,I told my wife about the sad incident at the barber and English proverb. My wife said, “She might be honest.
June 24, 2019
コメント(0)
-
都市伝説
Urban legend I went to Fuji and Tokyo last week alone. As soon as I came back, my wife started to talk about many things that happened in my absent days. She said that she went to the barber for her dyeing her hair. The beauty artist said to my wife that one man have won a lottery. He got 1 billion yen by Lot6 lottery and have built a new gorgeous house . They got excited over talking about spending money if they win the lottery. That is the third times in 6 years I heated that story after my coming back to Shikoku. He won the lottery ,got much money and built a new house. They are same stories. But the prize money has been increasing, as 10 million yen 6 yers ago, 50 million yen last year and finally 1 billion yen last week by gotten the carry over money. This story is one of urban legends. There are many stories like this. In 40 years ago, the company I was working had produced the electronic oven. The members of the oven designing division said , In USA the electric company was sued by the customer who put the cat in it and the cat died ,so paid big money. This is the beginning incident of adding the sentence“Don’t put in animals.”in the oven manual. Another famous story is about the rich part time job workers who work in hospitals of universities. They work in the dead peoples pool in hospital. Their work was to sink the body when it float from the pool by using the long bar. This story is from the novel which is written by the Japanese Nobel prize writer Oe Kenzaburo. In 20 years ago, the car number list diffused in my office. The criminal group of auto mobil accident fakers have been appeared in Fuji city.The paper says “Be careful showering below car numbers.” This kind paper appears many times in spite of denying by the police officer . Space ship Apollo 11 didn’t land the moon, Coke melts born, Rolls Royce have never broken. They are famous urban legends. Many urban legends are harmless, include a little bit fact, sometime have the punch line. That’s why there are many urban legends all over the world. My wife had believed those urban legends before I explained .Especially she have been believing the part time job in dead human pool of hospital. Because she heard that story in the class of high school 40 years ago. The teacher told that story as his own experience.
June 23, 2019
コメント(0)
-
同窓会
Last Saturday I went to Tokushima to attend the reunion of the technical collage. This is the first time in thirty years the party was held after my graduation. Thirty schoolmates attended and spent a nostalgic talking with them. At the beginning of the party, attendants made a speech of one’s introduction and a recent situation. They worked in out of Tokushima and came back to hometown after retirement. So most of them told about their pension life and it’s hard to live only their pension. I made a speech about my farmer’s life． Last speaker was different from others. He is a president of the prep school based on Tokushima city. He was very skillful of English in college and he opened the cram school of English shortly after graduation. And 35 years ago he established the prep school. Now his school got the good reputation in Tokushima and became one of the big 3 schools. He came to my table in the party to talk to me. He was a only man who have a name card. I said to him a congratulations about his promotion. In our conversation I said that my dream is driving by the convertible car. He said; I have already gotten 10 sport cars and 3 of them are exactly your saying type car. I asked ; why do you have 3 same cars? He replied; I tuned up 3 different types, street driving, winding driving and circuit driving. After coming back from the reunion, I told my wife that his success stories and his car collections. She said; that is the first time I heated that your dream is driving a convertible car. By the way, who will be sitting in the passenger sheet of the sport car?
May 27, 2019
コメント(0)
-
東西日本の違い
英会話教室がありました。東西日本の違いについて喋りましたが、女性陣の顰蹙を買いました。Next Sunday I am planning to do rice planting with my neighbors. So we needed to clean the water channel to the rice field. When I was digging the channel , I said to a neighbor “please pass me the scoop?”He replied with a suspicious look,“Scoop ? I have a shovel not scoop.” I found that western Japanese people call the big scoop as shovel. But eastern Japanese people call small scoop as shovel. There are not only different expressions but different customs in Japan between eastern and western. One is escalator riding. In Tokyo , people stand on the left side of escalators and right side in Osaka. I don’t know why.But both ways must be wrong.We should stand on the escalator .My worked company have been producing escalators and the designer of escalators said that viewing of safety, escalator should be used standing not walking. Electric frequencies are different in Japan . The border of frequencies is Fuji river, it runs Fuji city very close to my Fuji house. This difference cause the extra expense.If we would have moved to opposite side of the river, we had to change washing machine, fluorescent lights, timer, and electric ovens etc. Besides that, there are many differences like as shapes of rice cakes , udon soup’s soy sauce types.But the same thing is women’s changeable feeling.
May 24, 2019
コメント(0)
全355件 (355件中 1-50件目)
