(Saturday, April 1, 2006)
　Today's April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day, but there's nobody around me to make a trick on. My father's having serious pneumonia and it's not good for us to joke around. We're visiting him in the hospital in Ebina in about half an hour. His doctor said to my mother yesterday that he might not make it this time and that it was all up to his strong will to live. About half a year ago he had serious pneumonia too, but at that time he was physically stronger than now. The problem is that he is not physically strong enough to fight the pneumonia. I'd like him to live long at least until I make my own language school bigger. Never give up, Dad!

(Sunday, April 2, 2006)
　It seems to start raining at any time this morning. The cherry blossoms everywhere is in full bloom. We're unlucky not to be blessed with the bright spring sunshine today. We're visiting our father in his hospital late this morning too. I hope he'll be better than he was yesterday.

　Yesterday I saw an interesting TV program in which some TV personalities and school teachers talked about many problems in today's school system. A junior high school English teacher said that there was no need for elementary school kids to start learning English before getting into junior high school, which surprised me so much. Is he really a teacher of English? As long as we have such innocent English teachers at school, Japanese children will never be able to become good speakers of English. What a shame!

(Monday, April 3, 2006)
　My father passed away at 8:22 this morning. How long he's been in the hospital, I can't say for sure. We all knew that he earnestly wanted to come back to his own home, but it was impossible for us to take good care of him at home. Just after he left elementary school, he started to work for the family on the farm. Although he was such a smart kid, he was not allowed to go on to upper school. His dream was to work for Japan National Railway Company, or Kokutetsu.

　I sometimes wonder if he was satisfied with his life. If I had been his school teacher, I would have let him go to upper school to be an architect or an artist. He was a really talented man. His talent has been delivered to both my brother and me. I wish every good luck and happiness up there in the heaven. Good-bye, Dad. Enjoy your another life in the heaven.

(Tuesday, April 4, 2006)
　A night has passed and many relatives from far away will gather here in Chigasaki this afternoon. When one of my cousins passed away this January because of brain bleeding, they also got together after a long time. But this time it's been just two months since then.

　Tonight we're going to keep vigil over my dead father at Showa-kaido Chigasaki not far away from the station. I wonder how many times I went there to see many people off. And this time I have to go there to see off my own father.

　Will some teachers who once worked with me come to the funeral? Maybe not, because I haven't told the board of education that my father had passed away. And I'm no longer a school teacher. To tell the truth, my father didn't know I had left the teaching field. I couldn't tell him that wishing not to give him any shock. Or even if I had told him that, he might have known what it really meant.

(Wednesday, April 5, 2006)
　Last night my mother, my mothers brother and sister living in Tateyama City, and I stayed at the funeral hall to look after my dead father's soul. One of us sometimes went to my father's coffin to see if there was incense sticks smoking. My mother was, of course, the one who was the most exhausted, so I wanted her to take some sleep.

　My father's funeral started at 11:30 this morning, which lasted about an hour. After that we all went to the crematory. After my father was cremated, we saw a very rare sight. His Adam's apple was in a complete shape and it seemed that Buddha was sitting and smiling at us. The chief priest told us that it seldom happened and that he had never seen such a beautiful-shaped Adam's apple, or nodo-botoke in Japanese.

　Now all the bones of my father's cremated body are in the urn on a simple altar in my house. In 49 days the urn with his bones will be buried under the family's tombstone. Until then his soul will be staying at home with us.

　I'd like to express my gratitude to all those who came all the way to take part in my father's funeral. I hope my mother's grief will be eased soon.

(Thursday, April 6, 2006)
　The busy two days have passed and we've welcomed a calm warm morning today. My mother went for a walk with Ryoma as usual and he looks pretty satisfied after staying alone for a long time at home. When he came back home, I took him out in my arms and brushed his hair, because it seemed that he was asking me to. When I went out into the garden, I noticed the new leaves of hydrangeas grew so big after being blessed with spring rain. I could feel my father taking a gentle care of the plants growing in his garden. Thanks a lot, Dad.

(Friday, April 7, 2006)
　The 19-inch monitor of liquid crystal screen has been delivered and it helps me with my lesson very effectively. When we use the headphone, we can clearly hear the words in the movie and the students like it very much. It's all thanks to my brother who's so good at adjusting electrical equipments. This morning I used the laptop computer and the monitor to show the students a recent movie "Fantastic Four," which impressed them so much.

　Ryoma always looks really happy to have my students at home. He welcomes them at the entrance hall and is loved by all the students coming here to learn English conversation. He's a quite wonderful dog and he has some mysterious power to attract people. Is every dog so special as he is? Or he is the special one who has special power, I guess.

(Saturday, April 8, 2006)
　The new school year has started in Japan. This year I started to teach two of 7th graders' English conversation classes. They're so cute that I've remembered the day when I went into the 7th graders' homeroom on the very first day of their junior high school life. I'll do whatever I can for them to come to love learning English.

　It's getting cold toward the evening. Isn't this what we call "hana-bie" or spring coolness? Too early for that, isn't it? Anyway I feel cold in the evening. I still need an oil heater. So does my wife and our dog. The only one who doesn't need a heater is my mother who seldom feels cold.

(Sunday, April 9, 2006)
　Today is the seventh day after my father's death, which is called "sho-nanoka" in Japanese. My father's memorial photograph's the one I made from a picture taken in Hamanogo. I scanned the picture into my computer and cut it into a proper size. Every morning I can see my smiling father in the photograph. He looks so happy surrounded by lots of beautiful cosmoses.

　My brother has brought us a photograph in which my young father looked so happy holding his granddaughter in his arms. The little girl named Saya is now 16 years old, old enough to understand the sorrows of her grandfather's death. Times flies so fast and people come and go.

(Monday, April 10, 2006)
　I don't see why ECC hasn't given me any classes this April. I've been doing very well at ECC and many of the students in my classes have decided to keep learning English at ECC. What's wrong with me? I've been trying to brush up my English to take 970 points at the TOEIC test. I'm expecting to pass the U.N. English Proficiency Test Grade Special A this year. I cannot trust big company like ECC or AEON. Kokusai Gaigo Center has given me lots of classes for this school year. The principal Mr.Hatanaka is very honest to me. I've been trusting the staff at ECC, but now I wonder if I can. I've thought of applying for other big language schools many times, but I've decided not to. I think I should do my best to make my own language school bigger and bigger. What a society!

　We're sometimes surprised at Ryoma's instinctive actions. This afternoon my mother and I were talking about going shopping at a nearby drugstore. Just when I stood up from my chair, Ryoma tried to jump up at me, which meant he would like to go with us. How did he know we were going out? Maybe he was listening our conversation very carefully and somehow knew that we were going out by car. Ryoma loves going driving and that's why he asked me to let hime out with us. Can you believe that?

　The new leader of the DPJ, Mr.Ozawa, paid a visit to Prime Minister Koizumi with two of the sub-leaders, Mr.Hatoyama and Mr.Kan. In the TV news they were talking with smiles, but at the bottom of their heart no one knows what they were thinking of each other. Will the new DPJ be able to become a bigger opposition party? A big threat to the LDP? I'm not sure.

(Tuesday, April 11, 2006)
　The weather forcast says that we're going to have heavy rain this afternoon. Why do we have so much rain at the beginning of April. Please give us plenty of time to enjoy cherry blossoms. Is it too late to pray for God?

　I came home just past 6 o'clock this evening, and Ryoma was waiting for me in the entrance hall. He usually tries to run away from me when I say it's time to go for a walk. But today he voluntarily jumpen down from the floor to be ready for going for a walk. It seemed that he wanted to go to the toilet. Though it was still raining outside, he walked about an hour in the rain. He really likes walking, which makes him a healthy dog.

　This year the Yomniuri Giants are really strong. I'm sorry for Mr.Horiuchi, the former manager of the team, but the players' motivation changes a lot when they get a good manager as a boss. Mr.Hara is such a great manager who can think of the players' feelings.

(Wednesday, April 12, 2006)
　All my family believe that Ryoma can understand what we're talking about. I'm sure he can also understand me when I talk to him in English. So I usually speak to him in English when I take him for a walk. I suppose he understands the emotion in our language. But sometimes he intentionally pretend not to be listening to us. He's so smart, maybe smarter than usual dull people. We never get bored when we're with him.

　This morning I drove my wife to the station. She's going to go to the dentist in Takenotsuka, Tokyo. Why does she go that far? Because it was the dentist she used to work for. It's also refreshing for her to make a short trip, even if it's a day trip.

　I'm very sorry for my wife. About an hour after she left the station, Ryoma ran away and I had to send her an e-mail to ask her to come back home. When our dog runs away, we need some people to work together to capture him. I called my mother too. After all Ryoma was caught by my mother while visiting his favorite old woman who passed away about two months ago. Just then my wife called me, so I told her that she could go back to Takenotsuka again if possible.
　When I came home from KGC, I suggested we go to an Italian restaurant. Of course she agreed with my idea. I was happy she enjoyed having Italian food. I'm really sorry, Kayoko. Of course Ryoma was waiting for us to be back in the car. It was not a punishment, though.

(Thursday, April 13, 2006)
　I'm sorry to say this again and again, but I'm so mad at women drivers who don't know what to do when they're out on the road. Sometimes I see a smoking driver who don't notice the traffic lights have been changed and never let her car move. "You get out of here!" I cry to the driver in my mind. There will be more and more women drivers and aged drivers. I think we're having more and more traffic accidents in the near future.

(Friday, April 14, 2006)
　There was a surprising incident today. On my way to the post office, I saw Lucky, a big female mixed-blood Siberian Husky, sitting outside the convenience store. I first thought her owner was doing some shopping inside. But soon I knew that she ran away from home and that she was caught by a shopclerk. When the shopclerks saw me playing with Lucky, one of the came out to ask me if I knew the dog. I said I knew her very well and that I was going to take care of her. I came back home to get the leash of Ryoma and went to Lucky to get her. I asked Lucky to take me to her home, because I was not sure where her home was exactly located. Surprisingly she took me to her home soon. She was so smart. But unfortunately nobody was at home, so I had to bring her back to my home again. I tied her to the pole in the garden using a rope. I had to go to KGC at 3:00, so I asked my mother to take care of her instead of me. Then my mother finally found out the owner and Lucky went home safely again.
　Because Lucky has the blood of Siberian Husky, she looks so beautiful. I wish she was a Shiba dog to have babies with our dog Ryoma. You could see her when you visit Ryoma's Room of this website.

(Saturday, April 15, 2006)
　5,000 copies of advertisement inserts of my language school were delivered with this morning papers in this region. Do them work? I hope they will. I hope they will help my school invite more than 20 students including elementary school kids and junior high school students.
　Now that I'm the owner of a language school, I notice that effective advertisement is critical. I asked the barber I usually visit to let me put two of the posters on the wall of the shop. Then some days later three of AEON's posters were put beside mine.
　My posters were a little smaller in size than theirs, but I have a confidence that I can offer much better English lessons than they do. I know very well what's going on in major language schools. I know how difficult for them to hire good instructors. I know how good usual Japanese instructors of English conversation. That's why I'm so confident. Everybody, why don't you come and visit my school. You'll be surprised at the high-tech equipments that you can never expect in major language schools. I'll be looking forward to your visits.

　I sent an e-mail to the personnel office of ECC, Shinjuku, tell them that it was unreasonable to have hired an instructor and that they didn't give him a job. I don't quite understand what's going on at ECC headquarters, but they shouldn't forget that the language schools are supported by lots of good instructors. Once the instructors lose interest in the school, it will only have a dark future. I don't see why they don't understand such a simple logic.

(Sunday, April 16, 2006)
　It's been drizzling since early this morning. This year we're having too much rain in April. I feel sorry for most of the cherry blossoms that have missed chances to show themselves to lots of people coming to see them. I think I'm going to find a stump of a cherry tree which bears quite pretty flowers of white and pink. I don't know what it's called, but I often see one growing in a garden, which always attracts my attention even while driving.

　I've ordered a new TV set which was rather cheap for its size of 32 inches. It's going to be my present for Mother's Day. The TV screen in the living room was affected by the magnetic field produced by the speakers I had set on both sides of the TV. I didn't know that would happen. So now the screen has lost its colors, looking like a black and white screen. Sometimes all the colors come back suddenly for a very short while, but soon they're gone. I hope my mother will like the new TV set, which might be too big for her.

(Monday, April 17, 2006)
　The loan company AIFL, which has made a sensational advertisement using a pretty dog "Ku-chan," a chihuahua, has been ordered to stop every business because of some illegal collection of its loans. Some of the employees of AIFL pushed its clients and tried to collect loans quickly, which has been revealed by a lawyer. This incident has some problems behind. Japan is now a soceity where rich people can make a loan at a low interest rate and poor people at an incredibly high rate. Is the government going to take some action about this?

　I have to say sorry for the staff of ECC headquarters in Shinjuku. I was gradually doubting their management, but now that I've received an warm-hearted e-mail from them, I notice that I was completely wrong. I'm so glad ECC's such an honest language school as I expected it would be.

(Tuesday, April 18, 2006)
　The murderer who killed a wife and her child was sentenced to life in prison, to which her husband strongly raises objection. It's quite natural for him to object to the judgement. How can a man who killed two people be kept in prison alive. Unless the killer is sentenced to death, he might someday be released thanks to amnesty. If I were the husband, I would wait for the killer to be released and kill him myself. Punishment in Japan is too light for criminals.

　It is often said that children grow up looking at the backs of their parents. But is it really possible today? On my way back from KGC I ran into a mother who was pulling her bike in the middle of the road with her daughter beside her. She noticed I was coming on my motorbike from behind and slowly kept on walking in the middle for a while, and then went aside. I could hardly believe my eyes. What was she doing? Isn't it a mother's responsibility to think of her kid's safety first? Maybe she was the typical example of today's mother.

(Wednesday, April 19, 2006)
　I tried to get a new fax machine with multiple functins. It can be used as a ink-jet printer, a scanner, and a copier. I took part in the Internet auction and the price went up to 32,000 yen just before the ending time. I suddently decided to check the lowest price in online shopping just to make sure and found that a company offered a lower price. I was lucky to find the shop before I won a bid for the machine. I ordered the same fax machine from the shop. The price was a little over 29,000 yen including sales tax, postage, and so on. It's a Sharp which usually costs more than 60,000 yen. I did a great shopping.

　This morning I had a introductory course of English conversation at my school. I enjoy teaching English to adult people very much. You may be surprised to know so many older people are interested in learning English conversation these days. They have stiff motivation, so it's a lot of fun to have English lessons with them.

(Thursday, April 20, 2006)
　One of my students at ECC last year has gone to Canada now. Sometimes she sends me an e-mail. This morning I got an e-mail from her with her full name at the top. She usually uses her nickname "Lala," which I also use to call her. Maybe it means she wrote the mail so seriously. In the mail she says sha has lost all her confidence. She's afraid that she can't make herself understoon in English at all. Most of her foreign friends are Koreans, but it's difficult for her to communicate with them in English, which has made her so shocked.
　I don't think she was wrong in deciding to go over to Canada. She says that she should have prepared for staying abroad more fully as one of her teachers at ECC advised her to. But I don't agree with the teacher. Sometimes it's important not to think twice before you leap. I believe she'll soon have happy days getting used to living in a far country.

　I went to the Pachinko Parlor to play "Fuyu-no Sonata," or Winter Sonata, a famous South Korean TV drama, which has made a debut as a new Pachinko Machine. I've heard that it's so interesting and I've long wanted to play once. It was really interesting. When it comes to a lucky chance, some drama scenes are shown on the small screen in the midlle. It didn't help me earn some pocket money, though.

(Friday, April 21, 2006)
　It's been almost a month and a half since I started to advertise my language school. But so far no junior high school students have applied to my school. Do they or their parents feel it's safe to study in a "juku" school, or a cram school? Do they think learning English conversation is too early for students who will take the entrance exams at the end of their 9th grade? I think I have to think of a new strategy to invite them to my language school.

　The new multiple function fax mashine was delivered this morning. I'm planning to start using it tomorrow. It looked so nice, but at the same time so fragile that I'll have to take care of it carefully. I know some guy made a claim about the Sharp before, but I believe in the high technology. How the machine works depends on how you use it, I believe.

(Saturday, April 22, 2006)
　A 17-year-old high school boy has been arrested for killing his 13-year-old junior high girlfriend, which trembles whole the society. It seems that the girl was hit in the head with a kind of a thick stick and was choked to death. The crime scene was in the abandoned floor of the old Pachinko Parlor. More detailed information is expected.

　While I was walking Ryoma this evening, I saw a group of people who I thought were looking for houses that they could be converted to Jehovah's witnesses. It's OK that they believe in any religion, but they don't have the right to push their favorite religion on other people. They're not official missionaries, do they?

　Also when I was walking with Ryoma, I met Keith, my co-worker at KGC, for the first time I came to know him. I knew he lived in my neighborhood, but I haven't have any chances to meet him while I was walking Ryoma. I was happy because he first noticed me and stopped his bike to say hello to me. He said Ryoma was such a shy dog. What kind of wild dogs has he been watching? Ryoma's a shy dog? No way!

(Sunday, April 23, 2006)
　I'm going to play catcher in the softball game that will start at 10:00 this morning. It's been such a long time since I played last that I'm not sure I can throw in the right direction. Will I be able to make a hit? Let's see what will happen to me in the game. Details later.

　Recently I've been so much interested in Korean. It's a very attractive language, which I'd like to learn how to speak. When I see Korean movies, I always wonder why the Japanese people abused them during World War �U. They're no different from us Japanese. I think they're very attractive people. Our country should try our best to rebuild good relationship with them again. Do you listen to me, Mr.Koizumi. You can pay a visit to the Yasukuni Shrine at any time secretly if you really think the relations between Japan and Korea are important.

(Monday, April 24, 2006)
　Development is a difficult thing to maintain. It can't stop going on. A new Microsoft operation system called VISTA will be installed into the computers that appears next spring. Many shops have lots of stocks of computers with Windows XP as an operation system. How can they sell all those stocks? Can we walk more slowly? If we go on at this pace, many of us will be out of breath to disappear from this world.

　These days Ryoma eats a lot. It's because of the warm season? But interestingly enough, he's lost weight! I envy him. I eat a lot too, but I never lose weight. On the contrary I'm gaining weight, which is quite dangerous in my case. Do I have to jog every morning? Maybe yes.

　My family is actually not in a good financial condition, but I've been buying a high-tech equipment one after another. This is a kind of investment. If you look at the present situation, your dicision will be limited. But if you look far into the future, you'll have wider choices. You pay a lot, and you'll gain a lot more later. That's my policy.

　After a long long time I finally understood how to use my HDD player, and now my wife's enjoying listening to her favorite music. I recorded 5 albums which included about 90 songs. It's a high-tech age, isn't it? In such a short time about 90 songs could be recorded into the HDD player, which is just the size of a business card. It's miracle!

(Tuesday, April 25, 2006)
　This morning I heard about the new photographing traffic system starting this June. In the new system a citizen could photograph an illegally parked car and send it to the police station. Then the owner of the photographed car will have to pay the fine of 15,000 yen. It could be a good system and a bad system also. There might be someone who wants a specific third person to be trapped in the new system. But it's true that there are more and more cars that are illegally parked in narrow streets and that they are sure to bring about a dangerous situation.

　When I went for a walk with Ryoma this evening, I came to know a six-month-old female Shiba dog who was born in Iwate. She looked so beautiful that I felt as if I was looking at a picture dog. The woman, who was walking the mixed-blood between a Black Shiba and a Red Shiba, told me that the dog named "Suzu-chan" was brought up by a Shiba dog breeder and that she was supposed to show up in the contest. That's why she was so good-looking.
　I usually tend to think that pure blood has nothing to do with the value of a dog, but I can't deny pure blood makes a beautiful dog.

(Wednesday, April 26, 2006)
　Recently I've noticed a lot of gardens full of pretty flowers and some beautiful trees. It might reflect the Japanese society filled with lots of stress. Yesterday afternoon I went to a nearby supermarket to see if I could find a sapling of my taste. I was surprised to see so many young trees at the supermarket. And they were so cheap! I'm going to buy one and plant it in our garden for my dead father. I'm sure he'll be glad to see it grow.

　I always enjoy watching the beautiful flowers I found in the garden not far from my house. I tried to find the name of the flower, but still I'm not sure of it. Maybe they're rhododendrons, or "shakunage" in Japanese. The vivid pink color of those flowers is really impressive.
　This is a picture of the flowers. You can tell if they're peonys or rhododendrons when you take a close look at the shapes of the leaves, which was written in the webpage I saw. But I can't understand the difference. If you know the exact name of these flowers, please send me an e-mail.
　Anyway, don't you think they're so beautiful? Today the color of pink is favored by men rather than by women. I also like the color of blue, though.
　I guess they're not Japanese flowers. Maybe they're of the western kind.

(Thursday, April 27, 2006)
　Did you hear the shocking news about the Mitsui-Sumitomo Bank? They urged one of their clients to buy their monetary goods as a condition for lending money. It was only a few days ago that a big finance company called "AIFL" was punished for their illegal loan collection.
　We're now in an economical depression here in Japan. Many people are having a hard time asking for loans from financiers or bankers. But once the situation changes into a better one, those companies would be ranked top on the consumers' blacklist. They should know better.

　This morning I left home at 7 o'clock to go to Odawara. The roads were busier than usual because of the cold spring rain, but I reached the school about 20 minutes before the first class started. However all the teachers there were surprised to see me in the instructors' room. I was not supposed to have a class this morning. I was such a stupid guy that I didn't check my schedule before leaving home. I didn't feel like driving along the busy roads back home, so I used the expressway along the beaches. It cost me only 250 yen, which was rather cheap if I thought of the comfortable trip back to Chigasaki. On my way back home I dropped in at a book shop to buy NHK textbooks for two of advanced English courses with the CDs.

(Friday, April 28, 2006)
　About a month ago we noticed the navel of Ryoma had been swollen red. We took him to the vet and he gave us some liquid medicine and tablets, which cost us nearly 10,000 yen. But the other day an acquaintance of ours who also keeps a Shiba dog advised my mother to use ointment we can easily get at a drug store. We tried the ointment called "Oronain" around his navel and it worked so well. Some people say you should let your dog take "Seirogan," or traditional Japanese stomach medicine balls, when the dog has some trouble with its stomach. It's all because the consultation fee of the animal hospital is too expensive.

　Just as more and more children have allergies to wide range of things, today's dogs also have certain allergies to food. One of Ryoma' friend, who's about a-year-old black Labrador, has got a circular loss of hair on the head, because of allergy to certain types of food. She's now taking medicine, but it might take her a long time to have her hair back. I'm sorry for her.

(Saturday, April 29, 2006)
　The mother of the abductee, Megumi Yokota, went to the United States to make a speech at the Congress. The mass media of America was not interested in her speech at all, but there was a surprised proposal from the U.S. government for Ms.Yokota to meet President Bush for half an hour. Mr.Bush was very angry to hear about the abduction and he told that he'd like to put pressure on North Korea and try his best to prevent North Korea from comitting the crimes.

　I bought a new fax machine for my parents-in-law. Tonight my wife and I visited our parents' apartment with the high-tech equimpent. They looked so happy to have the machine, which, of course, made us feel happy too. The color of the fax machine was ivory white, which made the room look brighter than before. It's so exciting for everyone to have a new equipment at theri house. I understand how they feel now.

(Sunday, April 30, 2006)
　Are you for the idea of the NHK to collect subscription fees from all the citizens on Japan? I wonder why the HNK is the only broadcasting company that can collect subscription fees. I think they should also try to get advertisements form various companies to maintain its boradcasting services. I'm not going to pay the fee, because my dead father once worked for the NHK and I know something about the dirty situation with the company.

　It was a midsummer day in Tokyo today, and tomorrow we're also having another midsummer day in Kanagawa Pref. During the the first three fourths of April it was rather cold, which made many people, including me, feel something was wrong with the weather this spring. And this time suddenly comes a midsummer day. Why so changeable?

(Monday, May 1, 2006)
　Why do women often have pains in the back? My wife's had a dull pain in the back for a few weeks. I know a little about how to put the pelvis in the right position. I tried that many times, but it didn't work well. When she was a little kid, she learned swimming in the professional course. She must have grown strong mustles around her waist. I'm sorry for her.

　The suspect tycoon Horie has been released from the Tokyo Detention House on 300-million-yen bail. I believe he's thinking of starting a new Internet business using his property of estimated 20 billion yen. The question is why he could get out of the detention center without admitting his crimes. I have to suspect he has someone special at his back.

　In the afternoon I saw a famous baseball movie "Pretty League" on AXN TV. The original title in English is "A League of Their Own," though. I saw the movie more than three times, maybe. I didn't know there were such great women baseball players in the past of the U.S. history. They're so impressive! Everytime you try to start something new, you have a lot of hardship to overcome. You need the so-called pioneer spirit. I really like the movie, and I hope I'll be a pioneer in the field of English education.

　Ryoma had a vaccination against hydrophobia this morning, so he looked a little bit tired while taking an evening walk. It's usual for him to be particular as to where to do the toilet. Today he also took a long time to find a good place to do it. Around this season of the year we have to be careful not to let the dog get overheated. You should bring a bottle of fresh water when you go out for a walk with your dog.

(Tuesday, May 2, 2006)
　It's a cold morning which is quite different from yesterday. Usually we don't have so much diference in temperature around this season of the year, but this year many people would expect something wrong with the weather judging from the heavy snowfall in the northern Japan last year.

　It seems that Ryoma is still a little tired. He's now sleeping under the same blanket as my wife. Maybe tomorrow he'll be fine again. My wife and I ate strawberries with some condensed milk on them. Then Ryoma soon smelled the milk and tried to get some. Of course he didn't like eating strawberries, but he loved licking condensed milk. No good for his health.

(Wednesday, May 3, 2006)
　From this month all through Japan, the traffic regulations for bikes will get more strict. That's what we've long been waiting for. The following will be leagally punished.
　1) Running the red light or not halting before getting into a wider road.
　2) Using the cell phone while riding.
　3) Riding tandem.
　4) No lights turned on at night.
　5) Threatening riding against the pedestrians.
　6) Drunk riding.
I feel it's too late for the police department to introduce this system. It is said that many of the traffic accidents have something to do with bikes. All the bike riders should stop acrobatic riding right now!

　Now that Ryoma has run away from home four times, everytime we're having a guest, he is kept in his cage. Today I had a morning lesson. When the student came around 11 o'clock I rushed him into his cage, where he stayed still even though the door was open. It seemed that he understood the situation he wa in. I was surprised to see him behave so smartly. There are many people who say the Shiba dog is one of the cleverest, which is true.

(Thursday, May 4, 2006)
　We've had a cool spring and we've needed a lot more oil for heaters than usual. But because of the rise in the price of the crude oil, the price of oil products is getting higher and higher. For example the price of oil has doubled compared to that of last year. It's a crazy situation. Poor people cannot buy enough oil and they might have been dead from freezing coldness.

　Prime Minister Koizumi's now paying a visit to some of the major counries in Africa. Is it for asking them to vote for Japan to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council? Why didn't he wait for Ms.Yokota to be back from the United States? What has he done to solve the abduction problem? I feel as if he's running away from the difficult question. I'd like to ask him in person: Have you got balls? Sorry to have used vulgar language.

　We've made a lot of laminated bookmarks with the pretty photo of Ryoma. On May 8 I'll attach a vinyl box full of those bookmarks with a note that goes, "Please feel free to take a bookmark in this box with you." Will the idea help me invite some students to my language school? I'm not sure of the effects, but I think I'm going to try everything I could think of.

　What a surprise! When I saw the table, there were pieces of watermelon on it. Is it already that season? Isn't it too early? I don't hesitate to eat them, though. I love watermelons.

(Friday, May 5, 2006)
　According to this morning TV news, more and more teenagers are interested in sexual intercourse and the number of young girls who get pregnant is rapidly increasing. Many people insist that we should take some action. But do you think it's possible to take away all the vending machines for adult goods from the cities? Japan is said to be an adult-oriented soceiety, and that's the biggest difference from European countries. If you really want to make healthy society for young kids, you should decide to have inconveniences for adults.

　It's only too natural for many American citizens to be against all the wars that the U.S. government has been involved in. They've been having lots of victims and their taxes have been used for maintaining the military forces staying in foreign countries. Until World War �U the U.S. government has been politically isolated from other countries. Isolationism was the main policy of the U.S. government. But the Pacific War made the U.S. government get involved in world affairs. Since then America has been involved in many wars. However when they had a very hard time continuing the Vietnam War, most of the American people felt that they would not like to be involved in any more wars, though in vain.

(Saturday, May 6, 2006)
　When Ryoma meets another dog, I can tell which one will be nice to him and which one is no good. I can tell when I look at the dog's eyes and the owners facial expressions. You can say for sure that a dog with a bitter-looking owner has also a terrible personality. He will surely bark at Ryoma without showing any friendliness. Even in that case Ryoma never panics and stays calm, even wagging his tail sometimes.

　The principal of the Totsuka Yacht School has just been released from the prison after about 6 years in there. He still insists that physical punishment is absolutely needed in education. But I feel he stresses too much on physical punishment. I agree that it's someimtes effective, but you should know that physical punishment is not almighty. You have to listen to the one who's made a big mistake for hours and hours until he/she understands what was going on. Education is not such a simple job as Mr.Totsuka insists it should be.

(Sunday, May 7, 2006)
　The Golden Week is over, and people are coming back from their vacations. The Tokyo International Airport in Haneda should now be crowded with people with souvenirs in their hands. A real blue Monday is waiting for them to be back to their work the day after tomorrow.

　One of the Japanese major leaguers, Mr.Otsuka, often shouted "Yosshaa!" when he did a great job, which became very popular in the U.S. baseball world. Sometimes it's on the signboard of the baseball park and the announcer of the game explains the meaning of the Japanese words. What a funny thing!

　Ryoma became 2 years old on February 15 this year. Now he's got his own self more strongly than ever. When he's walking with me, he sometimes insists that he'd like to go his own way. I have time I let him do whatever he likes unless it's against social rules or dangerous. Even when we want him to do the toilet as soon as possible, he tries his best to find his favorite place to do it. It sometimes takes him more than 2 hours, and sometimes after two hours' of walking he decide not to do it after all. It's true taht he's just a dog, but it's important for us to respect his individuality just as we do with human children.

(Monday, May 8, 2006)
　The big Golden Week is over and many business people start working today. It's literally a Blue Monday for them, I'm sure. I hope many hard-working people have been fully refreshed during the long vacation.

　This evening a TV news says that more and more Chinese women wish to marriy Japanese men. Actually one of my frineds married a young Chinese woman and now they have a little baby. They look very happy. My friends once told me that he couldn't believe in Japanese women and that he waned to marry a Chinese. I was quite against his idea at that time. I could imagine lots of difficulties lying behind the international marriage. But my friends and his wife got over all the barriers. Now I know that he was right in his decision.
　The main reason that Chinese women wish to marry Japanese men is that they could get a rich life when they come to Japan. Even if we see a sudden economic growth of China, most of the usual Chinese people are still poor. Much poorer than poor Japanese men. But the interesting thing is that the increasing number of marriages between Chinese women and Japanese men has never helped promote better relations between the two countries.

(Tuesday, May 9, 2006)
　Last night I got a phone call from the mother of one of my ex-students, who is already a 25-year-old woman working in a department store in Chigasaki and Hiratsuka. She heard about my website and checked all through it with her mother, who decided to call me at my house. You can't imagine how happy I was to talk to her for the first time in about 15 years. I realized how lucky I was to have so many almuni like her. They're my treasures.

　The U.S. President George Bush has been banned for eavesdropping certain group of people in order to get rid of terrorism from the country. Do you think a similar system is here in Japan too? Some secret agency's trying to secretly catch our conversation or to check our opinions in written forms? If so, am I in great danger because I express my ideas too frankly?

(Wednesday, May 10, 2006)
　The U.S. government still continues to develop up-to-date high-tech weapons. Especially the development in producing fighter helicopters is quite surprising. They're just like fighter jet planes. They can carry some high-tech missiles that can accurately hit the targets. By the way what are they going to use those weapons for? Do they expect World War �V will happen someday in the future? Or do they expect the development of weapons will help the U.S. economy grow steadily?

　I had a class for TOEIC at KGC tonight and I had an obserber student, which was told me just before the lesson as usual. She was a 17-year-old high school girl who had an experience of learning how to speak English from the age of 5 to 10. She could understand what I was talking about in English. But if possible I'd like the principal to make another TOEIC class especially for high school students, because I feel sorry for the office worker who's aiming to get over 700 in the next TOEIC test to be held at the end of this month.

(Thursday, May11, 2006)
　The lawmaker Taizo Sugiura is such a stupid guy. He declared that he would marry a young office worker two months ago, which was not necessarily made public. He should know that he's a public servant who has to concentrate on political affairs. He's not a TV personality, which he might think he is. How could such a crazy guy become a lawmaker of Japan? We never want to pay tax for his salary.

(Friday, May 12, 2006)
　It's so funny to see those statesmen who are trying hard to get more popularity to succeed to Prime Minister Koizumi this September. Mr.Fukuda has been visiting the United States to talk with some important people. But what is this for? He's not in that position to go around the world. And there should be a lot more serious problems here inside our country. I guess he just want to be in the spotlight.
　On the other hand, Mr.Abe is staying in Japan not doing anything for the abduction problem. Once he was so earnest in trying to seek the ways to solve the problem. But now it seems that he has lost his interest in that problem any longer. Statesmen are more changeable than the strange weather we're having this April. I hate them so much.

(Saturday, May 13, 2006)
　I was so much surprised to get an e-mail from one of my ex-students when I was a coach of the softoball team of Tsurugadai Junior High School. She married an American and now lives in Hawaii with his husband and two daughters. She was a good athlete and played the third base when she was on the team. Her team was finally ranked third in the Shonan Area where only the top two teams could go on to the Prefectural Championship Tournament in those days. She keeps a diary in which she writes about her daughters and make it public as a blog, which I recommend you visit and see. There's a link on the index page of this website.

　I think I was right in my decision to make my own website, which has been building up my links with many people. I was born in the year of the dog, so I'm the man for this year. When the new year started, I felt there was going to be a lot of happy things this year. And now I'm getting tough with my old acquaintances. This really is a lucky year for me!

(Sunday, May14, 2006)
　The Korean actress Choi Ji Woo is one of my favorite film stars. Is it true that the 174-centimeter-tall beauty had cosmetic surgery? It is said that most of the Korean actresses could have had cosmetic surgery. How can they be so sure about that? Does that mean there're less beautiful women in South Korea than in Japan?
　In Japan too, some people envy a certain pretty woman and say that she must have had her face remodeled. For example Matsuda Seiko was said to have had cosmetic surgery soon after she had made a sensational debut. Nobody knows the truth.
　You can't insist that women should not want to change their faces, because in most cases pretty women have so many advantages. You can't deny that many Japanese men fall in love with pretty women. Then it's quite natural for women to feel like having cosmetic surgery to be loved by men. But it's also true that you're not so ugly as you think you are.

　We held a Buddhist service of 49th day after my father's death today. In Buddhism on the 49th day after the death, the dead soul is said to go on a travel to the heaven or the hell. My father was such a good person that we're sure he's now on his way to the heaven. I sincerely wish my father will have a happy time up there waiting for us to join him someday.

(Monday, May15, 2006)
　The suspect killer Chizuko is said to have finally confessed that she had killed her three kids and that that all the bodies found in her apartment in Hiratsuka were all her kids'. Nobody can understand how a real mother could kill her own kids. When she first killed her 5-year-old boy, she asked the police to look for her kid. Soon a TV reporter went to visit her husband, she suddenly came out from her room to cry and ask the reporter to look for her boy she herself had already killed. It seemed that she was acting on a TV drama.

　We Japanese often say that something has given us goose skin when we are really impressed. Tonight I heard Ms.Senju Mariko play the violin for the first time and I was very much impressed by the sweet tunes of her violin, which she said had been made by a famous maker for the Pope in his days. Now it belongs to her and makes her so involved in playing the violin and too busy to find a husband.

(Tuesday, May 16, 2006)
　Yesterday was my pay day. I went to use one of the ATMs of the Bank of Mizuho and checked my bank account first. When I saw the amount of my pay, I was so much shocked. I withdrew the small amount of money and came home. It's been hard days for part-time workers.

　Shigeru Yokota, the father of the abductee Megumi Yokota, has paid a visit to South Korea to see the parents of his daughter's husband. Before this his wife visited the U.S. and talked with President Bush. Why Japanese citizens have to go around the world to ask for help about the abduction problem by North Korea? Whe don't the Japanese government try to do a lot more things to solve the problem? It should be Prime Minister Koizumi that have to visit both the United States and South Korea to ask for help.

(Wednesday, May 17, 2006)
　This morning my mother was worried that Ryoma didn't have a good appetite. So I took the bowl of meat to him, then he suddenly started to eat it and finished eating within a minute. He was such a "spoiled" dog, which we are to be blamed for making him, that he sometimes act like an Emperor. "I'll be happy to eat food if it's served before me," he sometimes seems to be saying. Too funny, isn't it?

　Is it going to be rainy tomorrow too? My wife and Ryoma have been looking forward to a beautiful Thursday, when they could go to Odawara with me in my car. Last Thursday it rained a lot. It was also rainy the Thursday before last. They're so unlucky.

(Thursday, May 18, 2006)
　The following is the article about Typhoon Chanchu, meaning "Pearl" in Macao language.

　It seems as if we were already in the rainy season. Too much rain for the spring. The only ones who are happy to have much rain at this season of the year are plants. They're now rapidly growing to have plenty of green leaves.

(Friday, May 19, 2006)
　Why do so many high school girls wear their skirt incredibly short? It's getting into the season when men are sensitive about sexual attractiveness. You yourselves should be more careful about your clothes. You wanna let the men see your secret parts? Are you inviting them? Look at yourselves in the mirror once again to see if you're so attractive enough.

　If a girl with super-mini skirt walking up the stairs just in front of a man, what does she want him to do? Just to keep looking down and going up the stairs? Those girls are, in a sense, disgusting obstacles. They should be responsible for whatever will happen about that. I don't understand why some men are so willing to look into the mini skirt, but I don't understand how young girls could walk wearing such super-mini skirts either. They're both crazy.

(Saturday, May 20, 2006)
　We're having a cloudy morning today. The influence of Typhoon Chanchu is not so great as we expected it would be, but we can't expect fine days next week. Is it true that we've already got into the rainy season? The hydrangeas in my garden look so happy, though.

　Now the time has come when we suffer from noisy mosquitoes. They deliver filariasis to dogs, so those who have pet dogs have to be careful and let the dogs take anti-filariasis pills. It's a very dreadful disease which gives dogs lots of pain until the very end of their life. In most cases the vet will mix poison into the food and let the sick dog die in peace. No way!

(Sunday, May21, 2006)
　It's a beautiful morning we're having today. The fine weather will continue until the evening of tomorrow and after that we're having cloudy or rainy days. It's too early for the rainy season. Before the wet season we'd like to enjoy the burning green leaves of the trees. We'd like to enjoy walking through the forest. A wet weather is much better than a dry weather, because we don't have to worry about water shortage, but it's too early. Give us time to get ready for the season, please.

　This afternoon I went to play Pachinko wearing only a shirt with short sleeves. It was such a hot day like we were in summer. It was so refreshing riding my motorbike through a warm air. This year all the four seasons seem to be mixed up to come one after another. One day you're in a warm spring weather and the next day you're suddenly in a cool fall weather. Is anything wrong with the weather system on the earth now? I'm afraid a big earthquake will occur in our region as has been said to happen for a long time.

(Monday, May 22, 2006)
　There was a hit-and-run accident and the driver took away the injured boy to leave him on the road far away from the accident spot. It was such a terrible accident that you can call it an attempted murder. The driver will be arrested soon and should be punished severely. We're happy to hear that the boy was saved with a broken skull. He might have been dead if he had been found an hour later. I hope he'll get well as soon as possible.

　Toward the summer season the dog has to be careful not to be infested with fleas, not to be bit by mosquitoes. My mother tells me not to let Ryoma go into tall grass, but it's actually his most favorite place to visit. So before going for a walk, I try to spray insecticide over his body. I hope it will work well.
　For this evening's walk I used a pedometer to see how long I would walk with my dog. It showed a little more than 4,600 paces which show I walked about 1.6 kilometers with him. Not bad, isn't it?

(Tuesday, May 23, 2006)
　Ryoma is crazy about cheese. Sometimes when I come home with McDonald's cheeseburgers, he comes to me and ask for some with his innocent eyes. But we have to be carefull not to give him too much cheese, because it contains certain amount of salt. Even a small amount of salt for us human beings could be a poisonous amount of salt for small dogs.

(Wednesday, May 24, 2006)
　Today I had an English class in Odawara which I usually have on Thursdays. As usual I left home at 7:00 in my car and after driving about half an hour I noticed that my car was running out of gas and I didn't have enough money to fill the gas tank. I hurriedly went back home and rode my motorbike all the way to Odawara. I got there around 8:45, early enough for the lesson, but I was quite tired.
　After the lesson I rode back home, which took me only a little less than an hour, but which made me so tired that I slept about three hours after the afternoon lesson in my language school. From 6:05 to 8:30 I taught at KGC. It was such a big day for me today.

(Thursday, May 25, 2006)
　The middle-aged man, who hit a school boy and left him in the mountains, was arrested last night after being found standing in front of the vending machine by his boss. If he had carried the boy to the hospital, it was just a car accident. But he ran away after hitting the boy, which made it a case of attempeted killing. It is said that the boy's been unconscious. I'm really sorry for his parents waiting the boys consciousness to come back.

　Yesterday another accident happened in which a school girl fell from the 8th floor of her apartment building. She was found dead in the parking lot, but the police has not yet decided it was an accident or a murder. No strangers have been seen in the guarding videotapes. But is it possible for a little girl to climb over the tall fence to jump off from the building to kill herself? Why so many children have to die almost every day in a country where the number of kids is getting smaller and smaller year by year?

(Friday, May 26, 2006)
　Both Iran and Iraq are blessed with oil, which makes it impossible for other industrialized countries to have reasonable relations with those two countries. The United States wanted to have strong influence on Iraqi goverbnment and made up some reasons to attack Hussein Administration. After he was captured it turned out that the country had no massive destructive weapons as the U.S. government had claimed it surely would. Now the country is in great confusion because of the war that America started.

　Now again the U.S. government is banning Iran for its development of nuclear energy. How can they say anything about other country's energetic policy even if it might result in developing nuclear weapons. America once said in public that it was going to use small-scale atomic bombs to attack some important nuclear plants in Iran. Are they insane? This time do they want to control the oil production in Iran? What a selfish nation we have as a friend!

(Saturday, May 27, 2006)
　Almost every Saturday or Sunday, people called "Jehovah's Witness" visit from house to house to see if they're interested in the Bible and Christianity. According to the Oxford English-English dictionary, it says that Jehovah's Witness is a member of a religious organization based on Christianity, which believes that the end of the world is near and that only its members will be saved from being damned. Don't they know it's not a good idea to try to invite people into their religious group here in Japan where most of the people believe in Buddhism. It's our right to choose the religion we believe in, and at the same time nobody has the right to push a certain religion to others.

　The weather forecast says that it's going to rain tomorrow too. We don't need so much rain at this time of the year. Some say that we're having a very short hot summer this year. No kidding! Summer is my favorite season. I've been waiting for the hot season to come for such a long time. Please God bless us a long super-hot summer in August.

(Sunday, May 28, 2006)
　I took the first renewed TOEIC test in Odawara today. Frankly speaking, I didn't feel like going to Odawara to take the test today. I felt I was not yet ready for the new version of the test. But I couldn't run away from unfavorable situation, because I had been working as an English instructor for major language schools.

　The listening test was as confusing as I had expected. I'm no good at listening comprehension every time I take the TOEIC test. Any problem with my listening ears? Or is it just that I lack listening practice? Anyway I have to try something effective to improve my listening ability.

(Monday, May 29, 2006)
　The separation of religion and politics or government and religion is one of the most important principles of Japan. In that sense, Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine is obvioulsy against the idea. He insists that his visits are purely personal, but does it make sense? As long as he stays in his position of the political leader of the nation, whatever he does is always considered as what the Prime Minister of Japan does officially.

　Why Mr.Kanzaki, the leader of the New Komeito, sticks to maintaining the coalition cabinet, we don't understand. Because his party is based on the Soka Gakkai, one of the Buddhism groups, the New Komeito has to be against the idea of Mr.Koizumi's visiting to the Yasukuni Shrine, which is based on the Shintoism. Something's wrong with them all.

(Tuesday, May 30, 2006)
　The big earthquake of magnitude 6.2 on the Ritcher scale that occurred in Indonesia have killed more than 5,000 people so far. The energy of the earthquake itself was not so great, but many of the houses and public buildings were not built strongly enough to stand a big tremor. I'm really sorry for those who are suffering from the damages caused by the quake.

　The evening TV news said that there were more and more people who don't hesitate to do illegal activities on the dry riverbed of a major river like the Yodo River in Osaka. Some would ride around their motorbikes and others would play golf. The golfballs hit by those stupid guys might hit people resting along the river. Actually such an accident happened in Tokyo. But they would not stop doing the dangerous practices. They have no sense of manners.

(Wednesday, May 31, 2006)
　Our dog Ryoma's so sensitive that he knows when a member of my family is leaving home or coming back. He knows if I'm leaving on business or for shopping. When I'm going shopping, he rushes to me to ask me to give him a ride. He's so crazy about going for a drive. He loves sticking his nose out of the car window to feel the breeze. I guess he can recognize lots of kinds of scents that come into his nose.

(Thursday, June 1, 2006)
　Today the weather was just the same as that of the end of July. The temperature went up as high as 30 degrees Celcius. What's wrong with the weather here? The introduction of the summer version of clothes started today. It's so-called "Cool Biz," which may not have been admitted by English-speaking people. The opposite term for the warm winter version of cloothes is called "Warm Biz."

　I don't believe a politician who tries to look friendly and who tries to act differently from other politicians. You know who I'm talking about? Yes, it's the Prime Minister of Japan. When he made a debut as a prime minister, I expected a lot from him just as many other people did. But now it's turned out that he's really out of our expectation and he just looks like a wild lion that is interested in killing its rivals.

(Friday, June 2, 2006)
　It was cloudy today, which the weather forecast didn't expect. Some people say that we're getting into the rainy season next week. It seems as if we had already got into the wet season, though. Will the rainy season last for a longer time this year? Are we really having a short hot summer?
　
　Mr.Murakami, the chief executive of the Murakami Fund, is now suspected to have done a insider trading(dealing) when the notorious Horiemon tried to buy a large amount of Nippon Broadcasting Company stocks. But those who are interested in stock trading maight always walk along the border between legal and illegal areas.

(Saturday, June 3, 2006)
　Why are the mass media always interested in personal things of little importance? The struggle between Wakanohana and Takanohana is the problem of their own and we have nothing to do with the matter. I think it's a waste of time and money to report their personal information. There are a lot more important things that the mass media should let us know.

　I watched a DVD movie tonight whose title was "Stalker," in Japanese version. The original English title was "One Hour Photo." It was a story about a lonely old man who gradually got into a particular woman's life to regard her family as his own. The title itself made me imagine a frightening story, but actually it was not. I was sorry for the old man in the film.

(Sunday, June 4, 2006)
　It shoud've been a more beautiful day today according to the weather forecast, but actually there were so many clouds. In the evening my wife and I went out or a walk with Ryoma. He looked so happy walking with two of us. But there was one problem. My wife's so curious and she sometimes stops to play with a cat or watches flowers carefully. Ryoma naturally looks for my wife, so I sometimes lose control of him. I felt as if I were walking both my wife and Ryoma, which I couldn't tell my wife, though.

　A 33-year-old jobless woman was called to the local police station and is now being questioned about the murder of the 7-year-old boy named Goken Yoneyama. If she is a real killer, we all want to know what motivated her to do the terrible crime. Of course we should not easily decide she's the one who committed the murder.

(Monday, June 5, 2006)
　I wish there was a politician like the 8th shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune. In the history of Japan there have been a lot of heros who have done great jobs to make the country a better place for usual people to live in. A historian said that there would be no heros in the peaceful age and that heros will appear when there was a state of emergency. Isn't Japan today in a critical situation? If it is, a hero should appear to save the country. I'm looking forward to having such a great guy in our country today.

(Tuesday, June 6, 2006)
　It was so humid today. The starting of the rainy season will be delayed according to the weather forecast. By the way Ryoma has started bark next to me showing that he needs some help. He wants to eat some cookies, which will affect his health if he eats too many. But when we look into his pure eyes, it's difficult to reject all his demands.

　The suspect Suzuka Hatakeyama has been lying to the mass media saying that she has nothing to do with the murder of the 7-year-old boy Goken Yoneyama. She still admits only little about the murder, but the police is sure that she is the one who killed the boy. But the question is why she had to kill the boy who was once a good friend of her dead daughter's. Is it also true that she also killed her daughter and that she wanted the police to start investigation again by killing another kid?

(Wednesday, June 7, 2006)
　It's not going to rain tomorrow, so my wife is expecting to go to Odawara with me. Of course our dog Ryoma will come with us. While I'm having the lesson, my wife will take Ryoma for a morning walk near the school. After the lesson, if the weather is fine, we'll go and visit the Saijoji Temple which resembles the Ohara Sanzenin Tenple very much. You can enjoy walking among very old cedar trees of about hundreds years old.
　My wife has still some pain in he left ankle, so we're not going to climb to the top of the mountain, but it's good enough to just walk around in the yard to refresh ourselves.

(Thursday, June 8, 2006)
　My wife and I went to Odawara together with our dog Ryoma in the backseat of my car. While I was teaching English, my wife and Ryoma enjoyed walking around the area. According to my wife, Ryoma looked so excited to walk around a new place that he's never been to.
　After the lesson, we drove about half an hour to the Saijoji Temple that is one of our favorite places. Along the road to the temple, there grow lots of cedar trees as I wrote yesterday. I took many photos of the trees and the large yard of the temple.
　It's so refreshing to walk among lots of trees. That's what we Japanese call "Shinrin-yoku," or forest bathing. The forest is full of negative ions that are said to be good for the stability of human brain. As a matter of fact, we were really refreshed after visiting the temple.

(Friday, June 9, 2006)
　While we're interested in Japanese pro baseball games and the World Cup succer, Ichiro of Seattle Mariners has been doing a great job including making the 2,500th hit in his baseball career in Japan and the U.S. I hope the Seattle Mariners will keep on winning the games and get the ticket to take part in the champinship tournament at the end of the regular season.

　Today we had an observing student at the KGC English Conversation Lecture Course, who liked the lesson very much and went me an e-mail at night. Her two daughters are pianist and violinist living in New York for more than 15 years. She says that she is being invited by her daughters to live with them in New York. That's why she'd like to learn English before going to the United States. I'm happy I could meet a lady like her.

(Saturday, June 10, 2006)
　After finishing the morning class for the TOEIC test, I had a quick lunch and went to my favorite Pachinko parlor in Fujisawa. Because it's Saturday today, I expceted some income given by staying there. However I happened to have a terrible time there. Maybe I didn't have good luck. When I decided to leave the parlor, I had lost lots of money, which discouraged me so much. I didn't tell my family about my great loss. "How was it?" my mother asked me. "Well, not so good but not so bad," I answered. Of course I lied.
　You would say that it's stupid of me to spend such a lot of money doing Pachinko. But this is the only way to earn some extra money. I'm not just enjoying it. Sometimes I've got to do it. This may be what you don't understand, though.

(Sunday, June 11, 2006)
　It's been raining since early in the morning. Yes, it's just like the weather it should be at this season of the year. You should come and visit my garden. The hydrangeas have grown so huge that you wouldn't believe that it started as a small stock planted in the small pot.

　After coming back from the morning walk, my mother let Ryoma take a shower, which is now easier for us to do than before. But drying his hair is such a tough job. We usually use the electric hairdryer to do the job, but Ryoma will not stay calm while hot air is blown over all his body. You couldn't imagine how much hair was taken from his body after all this. I wonder why he still has so much hair. I guess it was tiring for him to take a shower, because he's in his deep sleep now at the foot of my my mother under the futon.

(Monday, June 12, 2006)
　The Hydrangea Festival 2006 held in Kaisei Town until yesterday seems to have been a quiet one because of the late frost this March. Some hydrangeas in my garden are not likely to have flowers this year maybe because of the cold rain of last month. We've been looking forward to seeing some new flowers this year, so the situation is kind of discouraging.

　Japan lost the World Cup soccer game against Australia. The first goal went to the Japanese side, but after that Australian players kept on going toward the Japanese goal. I felt Japanese players were obviously physically weaker than Australian players. I'm really sorry for the game today, but it's no use crying over spilt milk, isn't it? I'd like them to forget everything and prepare for the next game.

(Tuesday, June 13, 2006)
　It's a cloudy morning we're having today as if the weather was also showing regrets about the soccer game last night. It's OK. As an athlete you sometimes have to admit that someone else is much more talented than you are now. When you feel like that, the only thing you've got to do is just make every effort to improve your ability. It's that simple, isn't it?

　I came across a funny scene this evening. On our way back home from an evening walk, Ryoma hit his face against a brick wall. He was walking with his attention attached to the cat behind. That's why he didn't notice there was a wall just ahead of him. I was surprised to hear a big bang at my feet. I soon understood Ryoma had hit his face against the wall to ask him if he was all right. He didn't even look back at me and kept walking as if nothing had happened. He's such a funny dog. Can you believe a dog walk into a brik wall? No way!

(Wednesday, June 14, 2006)
　It's getting more and more dangerous to ride a motorbike through the city. More and more drivers are too careless to get into the main street from the side roads without making sure it's safe to do so. Car drivers are OK, because they're protected inside a tough steel box, but how about bicyclists or motorbike riders? They're exposed to the danger as if they went to war with no armors or weapons with them.

　I don't especially understand why so many drivers still use their cell phones while driving. It's against the law because it's quite dangerous to do so. Whe they're concentrating on the talks on the cell phone, they might hit someone and kill him/her. Every traffic rule has its own reason to exist. They should think about it once again.

(Thursday, June 15, 2006)
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, a Korean minister who fled from North Korea during the Korean War.

The formal and legal name is The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (HSA-UWC), reflecting Moon's original vision as an ecumenical movement. This vision, however, was not along the lines of the democratic model of ecumenism common in the West. Moon views himself as the new messiah, and as such Christianity (and by extension all religions) should unite around him. In the face of opposition by established churches, it developed as a separate sect rather than as a movement, and became known as the Unification Church.

In the 1990s Moon began to establish various peace organizations, including the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, which took over many of the spiritual and organizational functions of the Unification Church. In many parts of the world, the movement was incorporated as HSA-UWC, and that name remains on legal documents.

While members call themselves "Unificationists", the U.S. media dubbed them "Moon Children" around 1973-1974. This nickname was quickly shortened to the even more pejorative "Moonies," a term now used only by critics.

The Unification Church is among the more controversial religious organizations in the United States and other nations. Although the governments of most countries have recognized it as a bona fide religion entitled to tax exempt status, a number of opponents denounce it as a cult which brainwashes its members into blind obedience to Moon.

　Above is the article from Wikipedia about the Unification Church in South Korea, which is now getting active again to cause lots of problems all around the world. Once a Japanese woman singer was crazy about the group and went over to South Korea to take part in the unified wedding ceremony. I don't know what happened to her after that.

(Friday, June 16, 2006)
　The LDP lawmaker Yukari Sato is said to have an affair with another lawmaker. Of course she denied the rumor by answering questions from TV reporters. Japan is such a peaceful country. The mass media is interested in gossip. Once they find some interesting news that is not very important, they forget to make further reports about other much important problems. What has become of the suspect Suzuka Hatakeyama, for example? Using public radio wave should be different from publishing gossip magazines. What do you think?

(Saturday, June 17, 2006)
　Tomorrow Team Japan will fight a World Cup soccer game against the Republic of Croatia. But I don't think I'm going to watch the game on TV tomorrow night, because I don't want to keep yelling lying on the sofa. I'm sorry for the Japanese soccer fans, but I don't think Japan will win the game. Both mentally and physically the players on Team Croatia are much better than Japanese players. Am I too pessimistic?　

(Sunday, June 18, 2006)
　In our garden there are more than seven kinds of hydrangeas. They're not planted in pots. They were replanted into the soil of the garden. As you know, the colors of flowers change according to the pH value of the soil. This year my mother scattered some cow dung around the foot of each hydrangea stock, and they bear brilliant blue flowers. They're so beautiful. I used to like the color of skyblue, but now I like the deep brilliant blue of our hydrangeas.
　I used to believe that hydrangeas only grew in Japan, which was wrong. Some hydrangeas are originated in Japan, but some come from abroad. It's interesting that people evaluate hydrangeas in almost the same way all around the world, isn't it?

　It's such an exciting game they're playing. Both Japan and Croatia are doing their best to get their first goal. Japanese players look more active than they were when they fought against Australia. Croatia was once part of Yugoslavia, which later was divided into five countries. Yugoslavia was famous for its strong soccer team. Its blood is still alive in the players of Croatia. I don't think there're many chances for Japan to win the game, but I'm happy to see them play so tough. Especially the two middle-range shots Hidetoshi Nakata made were really outstanding. I now admit again that he's such a great soccer player.

(Monday, June 19, 2006)
　It's been humid all day today. Are we really in the rainy season? It's so-called "Karatsuyu" or the rainy season with only little rain. We can't tell exactly about the weather, can we? It's been often said that women's minds are as changeable as the weather in fall. I'm sorry for women who are much more decisive than fragile men. Anyway weathers are so chageable not only in fall but also in other seasons.

　This afternoon the results of the renewed TOEIC test has been delivered on the Internet. I was worried about them, but my score was not so bad as I expected it would be. Of course I can't be satisfied with the score of 950 out of full 990, because I'm a professional instructor of the English language. I think I have to think of more effective way of improving my English.

(Tuesday, June 20, 2006)
　After teaching for the three-month intensive course, I went to the Pachinko Parlor. I was so discouraged that my favorite machines were gone and some new ones were there. I didn't check if they were moved to other section of the parlor, so I'll go there tomorrow again to look for my favorite ones. I'm not the type of a guy who plays various types of pachinko machines.

　We don't have much rain these days, but the air is so wet. It's been humid all day today too. In a weather like this, many people try to cool themselves by turning on the air-donditioners, which will make them even sicker. Air-conditioned rooms are so comfortable to stay in, but if you stay there for a long time, your body may lose the natural system of controling the temperature of your body in accordance with the changes of the weather. It's no good.

(Wednesday, June 21, 2006)
　On my way back from Odawara this morning, I dropped in at a nearby department store to get two pots of new hydrangeas for our garden. They have different colors from other hydrangeas growing in our garden. I especially welcome bright pink flowers. One of the is the mophead, and the other is the lacecap.

　This evening I had a TOEIC class at KGC and knew that one of the students, who works in Fujisawa, scored more than 700 points on the May 28 TOEIC test. She did a great job, which really made me happy. She was surprised to hear that I had scored 950, but I'm a professional English instructor, so her 720 is much more precious than my 950, I'm definitely sure.

(Thursday, June 22, 2006)
　If it was an accident or a murder, the local police of Akita Prefecture still can't decide. It's been too long a time since the little girl Ayaka's body was cremated, which makes it even more difficult for the police to make further investigation of her case. Many people including me believe that her mother Suzuka Hatakeyama, who has been arrested for slaying the little boy Goken Yoneyama, also killed her daughter to get a big sum of insurance money. We now know that part of her body was broken when she was found dead in the river. Why is such important information made public now? I suspect that the Akita Police Department want the public to believe Ayaka's case was just an accident as they first decided it was.

　Every day something dreadful is happening somewhere in Japan. This morning a 16-year-old high school boy set his house on fire to kill his step-mother and her two kids who was sleeping upstairs. The fire is thought to have broken out in the kitchen downstairs. The boy was missing for hours after the fire. He was found in Kyoto where he broke into a house to take a rest. Now he has started to confess the crime, but his motive is not clear yet.

(Friday, June 23, 2006)
　In five hours the soccer game between Brazil and Japan will start in Germany. It is said that Brazil use some unknown players in the game against Japan. I feel they think it's OK to lose the game by 0-2, because they have already obtained the right to go on to the 2nd stage. Japan is coached by Zico, the hero of Brazil, which has something to do with the unfavorable rumor.

　Well, after all, Brazil was such a strong team, scoring as many as four goals against Japan. They lost a goal for the first time in the last 30 or 40 games, which means that Japanese players did a good job. Now everybody know there's a long way to go for the Japanese soccer team to become one of the top teams in the world. The history has just started.

(Saturday, June 24, 2006)
　I've never seen such a smart dog as Lucky, a 4-year-old mongrel dog with the blood of a Siberian Husky. Her owner has now received four other dogs kept for a long time by an old woman who passed away at the end of this February. So every day he has to take five dogs for a walk. But he never pulls Lucky with a leash, because Lucky is smart enough to accompany him pulling the other two old dogs herself. When I first saw the scene, I couldn't believe my eyes. But Lucky was really helping her owner walking the other four dogs.
　I asked him if he trained Lucky himself and he answered in the affirmative. He's also a great trainer. He told me that Lucky was an mischievous active dog when she was younger. Now she has become 4 years old and has a very calm personality. I like her very much. It seems that she like me too.

　Well, I have to go to bed early tonight. We're going to have a softball game tomorrow. I'll have to be careful not to get injured. God bless me!

(Sunday, June 25, 2006)
　Now that all the 16 teams that have gone on to the 2nd stage have been decided, we're going to see splendid games until the final game is over. I'm sorry that South Korea couldn't get the ticket for the 2nd stage. They lost the game agaisnt Switzerland at the very end.

　The TV sports news tells that Germany has become the first of the top 8 teams to fight the quarter-final games. Congratulations! I hope to see the final game between Brazil and Germany.

(Monday, June 26, 2006)
　Mr.Koizumi is now visiting President Bush in the United States. Mr.Koizumi will become the first foreign statesman to be on board the Air Force One to visit Elvis Presley's Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. We don't care who Prime Minister Koizumi personally admires, but it has nothing to do with the relations between Japan and the United States. What is he going to visit America for? Back here in Japan there are lots and lots of important problems to be solved immediately.
　It is obvious that President Bush wants to use this occasion to make up for his great mistake about the War in Iraq. Many American citizens now know that it was a great mistake to get involved in the war agains Iraq. How many U.S. soldiers have lost their lives after the war had ended there? Now Iraq has its own government, but it's still in chaos that seems to cover the country forever. Mr.Koizumi was one of the first leaders to support the war, so Mr.Bush welcomes Mr.Koizumi warm-heartedly to appeal that his decision to start the war was not a great mistake. It seems to me that they're helping each other.

　The father of the little girl Airi Kinoshita, who was slayed by a Peruvian man, told the press that her daughter's full name should be made public in order to let many people know the true aspect of the murder. The girl was killed after being sexually abused by the man, who was also a father of two children. It is believed that the suspect will be sentenced to death at the beginning of next month.

(Tuesday, June 27, 2006)
　I've had a sore throat more than a week now. It seems that my wife has got a cold from me. She says she also has a sore throat. This may be a good chance for me to quit smoking. I've been thinking of quitting smoking because the price of cigarettes will be raised in July. Now I don't feel like lighting my cigarette, which is the best time I shouldn't miss. Will it be successful? Let's see how well it works. I hope I'll be able to make it.

　Mr.Fukui, President of the Bank of Japan, had a close relationship with the suspect Murakami and invested a big sum of money in his company. After getting the presidential position, he didn't gave up investing soon. Everybody now believes that what he could only do now is to resign the presidency. I have the same opinion too.

(Wednesday, June 28, 2006)
　As we all expected, both Brazil and France obtained the last two seats for the World Cup 2006. All the 8 teams left for the quarter-final games are famous for their traditional soccer history. I'm looking forwar to the thrilling games we're going to see from now on. Which two teams of them do you think will survive to fight the fainal game? I still believe the final will be fought between Germany and Brazil and that Germany will win the championship this year.

(Thursday, June 29, 2006)
　It's so refreshing riding my car along an expressway, which usually takes me to Odawara in less than 30 minutes. The speed limit is supposed to be 80 km/h, but I usually run at the speed of approximately 100km/h. I have to be careful with a sudden strong wind coming from the sea on the left(on my way to Odawara) and right(on my way from Odawara). It costs me just 500 yen for both ways.

(Friday, June 30, 2006)
　It seems that I have a slight fever, because I feel tired and don't feel like doing anything complicated like working on the computer. I'm going to bed earlier than usual tonight. Having a sore throat is not a big problem, but if it develops into a throat cancer, it's a very big problem. I was born to a cancer family, so I have to be careful with my medical conditions.

　It's been so humid today too. Every moisture is packed in the air, which gives us uncomfortable feelings. I hope we're going to to have a shower and let all the moisture out of the air in an instant. If you have a cold in a muggy weather, it'll take you longer to get rid of your bad cold, because you can't sweat a lot.

(Saturday, July 1, 2006)
　Now it's already July. Time really flies. It's been so humid and cockroaches have become suddenly active. In my house we use a special equipment attached into the outlet so that the special frequency of radio wave could prevent those insects come into the house. But recently it doesn't work well and we sometimes find a small cockroach run across the floor. In that case I'm the one who has to catch and kill it. It's a disgusting job to do, isn't it? I know they also have a right to live on, but we can't live together in the same house.

(Sunday, July 2, 2006)
　It's surprising that in World Cup 2006 Brazil was defeated by France by the score of 0-1 and that England was defeated by Portugal in the PK battle. I've been expecting to see Brazil in the final game, so I'm a little shocked to hear the result. France is great! They didn't allow any goals from Brazil, that's been known as an offensive team.

　This morning I had a softball game against Arajuku. I played the second base, but I had a slight fever and made an error again. After winning the game, I felt exhausted and hurried back home.

(Monday, July 3, 2006)
　Almost all the Japanese people were surprised to hear the sudden announcement of Hidetoshi Nakata's retiring as a pro soccer player. It was obvious that he was so shocked by the defeat of the game against Brazil. After the final game was over he was too exhausted to get up and just laid him down on the pitch. Late at night he told in his videotaped interview that he had already decided to retire as a professional player when he noticed that he could no longer enjoy playing for so many soccer fans. Many people knew that there was not enough communication between Nakata and other all Japan players. I myself think that the other players should have respected Nakata's experiences overseas more sincerely and tried to make a real pro team with Nakata as a directing player, which Mr.Miyamoto, captain of the national team, is said to have hated personally. I'd like him to think back as to how many goals he should have kicked away just as part of Great Walls of China. I think he was too weak as a defender to help Mr.Kawaguchi do his best as one of the world's best goalie.





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