Last weekend, we took a ski trip to Nagano and Gifu prefectures. On Friday, it was warm and rainy in Kansai. However, the cold air from Russia came over Japan after the rain and it was snowing in the northern part of the country. We were h…

Last weekend, we took a ski trip to Nagano and enjoyed skiing and the hot springs. There is an amazing Japanese sweets shop in Shimo-Suwa town in Nagano prefecture. We bought some Wagashi, (Traditional Japanese sweets) there and we enjoyed…

We took our first ski trip to Nagano last weekend. After skiing, we enjoyed Soba noodles. It’s a one of the most popular foods in Japan and Nagano is very famous for them. There are many Soba restaurants in the area and you can eat many di…

Last weekend we took our first ski trip of the season. We went to Shirakaba 2in1 Ski resort in the town of Tateshina, Nagano prefecture. On Saturday, we woke up around 6am and we started our five-hour drive to the resort and arrived around…

This weekend we’re planning to go to Nagano for our first ski trip of the season. Some ski resorts are already open and they have lots of natural snow. We need to get our ski gear ready for the trip. We’re going to ski every weekend this w…

We went to Tsuyama city in Okayama prefecture last weekend. That city is located in the north of Okayama, so we took the bullet train from Osaka to Okayama and then changed to a local train. Around noon, we arrived and went directly to my …

Tsuyoshi SHINJYO, 49 years old signed as the new head coach with NPB, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters last week. He was once an outfielder, clutch hitter and he played with the Hanshin Tigers, Nippon-Ham Fighters in the NPB and NY Mets, SF Gi…

Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves on wining the American Baseball Championship! However, NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) is still in the post season, because they suspended their regular season during the Tokyo Olympic games. The ba…

I heard some good news yesterday. The U.S. government has announced new entry regulations on November 8. According to the new rules, you can enter the US with a certificate of vaccination and a negative certificate for COVID-19. You don’t …

Over time, the number of COVID-19 infections in Japan have decreased compared to just a few months ago. Especially, there are less than 50 new cases daily in the Tokyo metropolitan area. I think the vaccine helps to prevent the pandemic. N…

RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched against Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters on 19th October and it was his last game. He started his career with the SEIBU Lions in Japan and then got a big contract with the Boston Redsox in the MLB. After Boston, h…

Last Friday, Snow Park Yeti in Shizuoka prefecture was opened. Right now, this is only ski resort open for skiing and snowboarding in Japan. Of course, there is only one trail open, it’s very narrow and uses 100% artificial snow, so the co…

We took a trip to Kyushu last weekend. We enjoyed a watching baseball game, relaxing in the hot springs and amazing food in Kagoshima and Miyazaki. There is a lot of great sea food, because Kyushu is surrounded by the sea. We ate silver-st…

I had a medical check in our office. In Japan, companies have to arrange for their employees to have full medical checkups every year. Today, they checked my height, weight, eyesight, blood, cardiogram and X-ray. Finally, I have for a rech…

Last weekend, we flew to Hokkaido. I’m a member of the mileage club with ANA. Right now, they provided discounted mileage from Kobe to Chitose, so we got flight tickets with reasonable mileage. I want to say, “thank you to ANA”. Last Frida…

Last Friday, I went to a public clinic in Minami-Kusatsu to get my booster shot for the COVID-19 virus. I was given the Phizer vaccine. Last time, I didn’t have side effects from COVID-19 vaccination. However, I felt tired, muscle pain and…

A state of emergency has been declared in Metropolitan areas throughout Japan including Shiga prefecture. Unfortunately, the Japanese government has decided to extend the lockdown until the end of this month, because the number of infected…

We stayed home last weekend, because my wife got the vaccine last Thursday, so she wanted to relax at home. We rented the movie “Contagion" on a streaming site and watched it at home. It’s an American thriller film directed by Steven Soder…

Overnight the low temperature was 18 degrees and it was very comfortable this morning. Plus, I heard that the first snow had fallen on top of the Mt.Fuji yesterday. So, autumn will be here soon. I think it’s the best season for sightseeing…

A fourth state of emergency has been declared in Tokyo, Osaka and other Metropolitan areas including Shiga prefecture. Japanese pubs are closed and other restaurants are prohibited from serving alcoholic drinks until 12, September. I heard…

Last Sunday, I went to Omi-Kusatsu hospital and got vaccinated to prevent the COVID-19 virus. We need to get this vaccine twice in three weeks and it was the first shot for me on Sunday. I heard there are a lot of reports of severe side ef…

We had a summer vacation last week and visited Akita, Iwate, Aomori and Hokkaido prefecuers by car and ferry boat. We enjoyed amazing sea food, relaxing natural hot springs, canoeing on the lake Kuttari and driving through the scenic cuntr…

Now, the Olympic games are taking place in Tokyo without any major problems and I’m happy, because many Japanese athletes have won medals. It’s so good. On the other hand, unfortunately the number of people, infected by the new delta varia…

We enjoyed a four day holiday last weekend. We visited Nagano prefecture and stayed three nights there and enjoyed canoeing on the lake, eating local food, trekking through the mountains and relaxing in the natural hot springs. They were v…

Last Saturday, we visited Mt.Koya in Wakayama prefecture. We took the JR and Nankai trains, then rode to the cable car to the top of the mountain. There are so many old and historical temples located on the high mountains. These are some o…

The rainy season has just finished in the Kansai area and the summer is here. However, the cold air from the north and the warm humid air from the Pacific Ocean meet over Japan and as a result, we will have sudden heavy rain showers in the…

The Tokyo Olympic Games were originally planned to take place in 2020, but they were postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Right now, there is a state of emergency in Tokyo, so they are planned to take place this summer and sp…

Last Saturday, I visited the Samegai Trout Farm operated by the government of Shiga Prefecture in Maibara with my wife and friend. Now, it is the rainy season in Kansai, but it was a fine and hot day. Samegai was a nice place to visit, bec…

The Sagano Romantic Train is a scenic railway in Kyoto. We had the chance to board this railway last Sunday from Kameoka to Sagano and take a 30 minutes ride. To sum up my feelings, I highly recommended to take this trip, because the view …

Last Sunday, I watched one of my favorite players, Shohei Ohtani hit his 23rd homerun for the Angels in front of a sold out crowed. I was very surprised both by his amazing performance and by the fact that the stadium was full of fans with…