Last Sunday, we went to Koshien stadium to watch the Hanshin Tigers play the SoftBank Hawks in the Western League. Western League means the minor league in Japan. So, I’d like to explain the difference between the organization of the MLB a…

I went to Kaneyama town in Fukushima prefecture on business last week. Kaneyama is located in a region called Oku-Aidzu and surrounded by high mountanes. In 2011, Fukushima was the site of a major nuclear disaster caused by a Tsunami which…

A state of emergency has been declared in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hyogo, Aichi, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Okayama and Okinawa prefectures at this time. However, the number of infected people has not decreased now and finally the Japanese government…

We went to Kobe to watch the ORIX Buffaloes play the RAKUTEN Eagles last Friday. The Hot Mott Field Kobe has forty thousand seats in the ballpark, but only five thousand were sold for that game, because there was the state of emergency in …

Rainy season has started this week in the Kansai area. It’s about three weeks earlier than usual and is the earliest start in history. I’ve been hoping the rainy season would come early this year, because the high levels of UV and humidity…

Our skiing finished up in GW, because most ski resorts closed last weekend. The ski resorts in Kansai were closed around the end of March, however some ski resorts in the northern part of Japan or in the high altitude areas were open until…

We went to the Tateyama Mountains in Toyama prefecture and stayed one night in Mikuriga-Ike hot springs last weekend. We enjoyed skiing, viewing the beautiful mountains covered with snow, eating local food and relaxing in the natural hot s…

We stayed home last weekend for the first time in about four months. We were originally planning to go Wakasa stadium in Kyoto to watch the baseball game, but we had heavy rain last Saturday and it was really cold on Sunday, so we changed …

All players and coaches in the big league wear number 42 each year on April 15th and they call it Jackie Robinson Day. He opened the door to a new era in MLB, because he was the first black player to play in the Majors. That was in 1947. B…

The cherry blossom season has finished in Kansai area, however you can still enjoy them in the northern part of Japan. Actually, we went to Nagano to ski last weekend by car and enjoyed skiing and viewing the cherry blossom too. There’re s…

We went to Gifu for skiing last weekend and stayed at Oku-Hida Onsen one night. We enjoyed skiing at Honoki ski resort under nice weather on last Saturday, but unfortunately there was heavy rain on Sunday. Therefere, we changed our plan on…

Spring has come and many schools have their graduation ceremonies this week. I respect the students, because many of them had an unusual school life, due to the Corona virus. I hope they are successful in the next stage of their lives. Con…

The cherry blossoms are starting to bloom in Hirosiama, Fukuoka, Kochi and Tokyo. Finally, the cherry blossom bloomed in Kyoto yesterday, however it is still not in full bloom. I think it's the best time to see the fully bloomed blossoms a…

Spring has come and also the baseball season has started in Japan. The spring training has finished and right now pre-season games are taking place with baseball fans in the stadiums. I can't wait to see the regular season, because RHP Mas…

Spring has come and a lot of pollen is released into the air in Shiga. I have a runny nose and my eyes itch because of pollen allergies. I take a allergy medicine, but pollen is still killing me. During allergy season I always want to esca…

The state of emergency in Kansai area was just lifted last Sunday, because the number of people who were infected with COVID-19 has been decreasing since the February. However, the prefectural governments request restaurants to close early…

The temperature changed a lot last week, I think. Actually, there was snow last Thursday and it was really warm last Saturday and Sunday in Nagano. Plus, it will be cold and snow again this week, so try not to get sick. Skiers and snow boa…

A state of emergency was declared and the Goto campaign has been suspended since January. Everybody thinks these are needed to prevent the collapse of healthcare in Japan. Finally, everything like highways, railways, restaurants, hotels an…

I bought new ski wear last month and can't wait to wear it.

I had Hida beef last night as sukiyaki.

The Japanese government announced a state of emergency for Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama on 8th January. Plus, other prefectures like Osaka, Kyoto and Aichi have requested the national government to declare a state of emergency. It's …

Recently, there have been cold days, because the cold air is staying in Japan. Actually, there was heavy snow in Fukui, Ishikawa, Toyama and Niigata prefectures last weekend. The snowfall one night in Toyama city was 60cm and more. Usually…