2018/12/26 A friend of mine

Hey, Megumi, where will we go for our club’s summer training camp?

I’m still thinking about it. Hotels are so expensive.

A friend of mine is the leader of a tennis club at a different university. I can ask him for suggestions.

A friend of mine. How many times has Takeshi talked about his friends?

He is really good at tennis. He came in third in the national high school tournament.

Takeshi and I are in the same tennis club at university. I’m the leader, and he is the sub-leader. He always talks about his friends.

My friend even won a match against a really famous tennis player.

Wow. But if he's so good, why is he playing in a tennis club at a university? Why doesn't he become a pro?

Well, actually, he hurt his knee.

Oh, I see. So, what's his name?

I don't think you know him.

But he came in third in the national tournament, right?

Maybe it was forth or fifth. I can't remember.

Our conversation always end like this. He never tells me who his friend is.

You know, maybe we can camp in tents instead of using a hotel.

You mean go camping and play tennis?

Yes. We can build a campfire and prepare our own meals.

Ah, that sounds like fun.

My friend is really good at outdoor activities.

Oh, not again.

He once lived in the mountains for a month with only a knife. He's very famous and was once on the cover of the nature magazine.

Really? So, what's his name?

Oh, I don't think you know him.

That magazine is for people who really like outdoor activities.

You don't believe me?  It's true.

I believe you. Anyway, camping might be fun. We can make curry.

Speaking of curry, a friend of mine owns a curry shop. The shop was in a famous guidebook.

This time it's a curry shop? How many famous friends does Takeshi have?

His curry is so good.

So, what's his name?

He's not that famous.

You just told me his curry shop was in a famous guidebook. Why can't you tell me his name?

Well.. umm.. his name is.

His name is?

Takeshi.

Takeshi? That’s you. You were talking about yourself?

Yeah, I don't own a curry shop, but I’m good at making curry. Also, I've gone camping many times, so I’m good at setting up tents.

Why didn’t you just tell me?

I don't know. I feel shy telling you about myself. Anyway, I really want to help you. What should I do?

 Well, if we're going camping, we’ll need a big van. Could you find one for us?

Sure. My friend.. I mean , I’m good at driving, I'll drive.

Takeshi might be more talented than I thought. And he is kind of cute.

2018/12/25 The Tanishi choja part2

An old farmer and his wife had no children. So they always prayed to the rice field gods for a child. One day, a tanishi snail talked to the old farmer. He wanted to be his son. The old man thought the Tanishi Snail was a gift from the rice field gods. The Tanishi Snail became their son. He was a good son, and he helped his parents with their work. One day, he took rice to a rich man. The rich man was very impressed with this Tanishi Snail. He then decided to give one of his daughters to the Tanishi Snail as his wife.

The Tanishi Snail and his wife were very happy together. They were always laughing and having fun. They both took good care of the old man and his wife. They all lived very happily.

One day, the wife decided to go to the shrine for the rice fields gods. At the gate of the shrine, the Tanishi Snail said, You can go and pray to the gods alone. I will wait for you. Just put me down in the rice field.

The young wife was worried. She didn’t want to leave him alone. But she listened to her husband. The young wife put him down in the rice field. Then, she went to pray at the shrine.

She finished praying and came back to the rice field. Where was her husband?

Oh, no. There are so many Tanishi snails here.

The young wife checked the Tanishi snails one by one. But she did not find her husband.

She became more and more worried. The young wife went through many fields. She fell down again and again. She was crying and looking, but she still could not find him. Her beautiful yukata was not beautiful anymore. But she did not care about it. She only thought about her husband. Darling, where are you? I can't live without you.

Then, she heard a voice behind her. Dearest, dearest, here I am. It was her husband’s voice.

The young wife turned aroud and saw a handsome young man standing there. It's me. I was a tanishi snail, but thanks to your love for me, I have now become a human.

The young wife was so happy. The young couple went to the shrine and thanked the rice field gods again and again.

The young couple returned home. The old man and his wife were also surprised and happy. The news reached the rich man, and he too was very happy.

Years passed. When the rich man died, he gave all his rice fields to the young couple. They worked very hard, and the family became very, very rich. Then, people called them Tanishi Choja, or the Tanishi Snail Millionaires.

2018/12/24 A&B @ Nebuta

A nebuta float?

Yeah. I want to see one.

Is that why we came all the way to Aomori?

I think it's a good reason.

I can't believe this.

Akito gets angry so easily. I’m Ben, by the way. We're in Aomori city. I've seen nebuta floats on TV, but I have never seen a real one. That’s why I wanted to come here.

Ben, the Nebuta Festival is in August. We have a lot of time.

We can learn about it while we wait.

We're going to stay here until August? Isn't that too long? We should take the Shinkansen to Hokkaido and do some shows there.

Akito and I are street performers. Akito always wants to go to big cities to perform. But for me, the size of the city isn't important.

Ben? Are you listening to me?

Hey, there are some large tents over there.

Is that a circus?

It doesn't look like one.

Let's go check it out.

We go inside a tent. I’m surprised.

Wow.

They are unfinished nebuta floats. They are so big. I feel so small.

Ben, there are more floats in the other tents.

Hey. What are you doing? You can't come into the tents.

I turn around and see a man. He looks about the same age as us.

We're sorry. We just wanted to see the nebuta floats.

Well, if you want to see them, you need to come to the festival.

So are you a nebuta craftsman?

Yeah, but I’m still learning. To become a professional craftsman, it takes many years of training. Even after you become a pro, it takes time to make enough to live.

I see. So how many nebuta craftsmen are there?

About 15. the companies and groups who want to take part in the festival send us orders for floats, and we make them.

What are nebuta floats made from?

Well, the flame is made from wood, wires and string. When the frame is finished, we stick on washi paper and paint it with a special ink.

That’s it?

Basically, yeah.

Nebuta floats are so colorful. I think they are really cool.

Don't look. No one is allowed in this tent.

Sorry. Anyway,why are they called nebuta?

Well, a long time ago, we called lanterns nebuta here in Aomori.

Ah, that makes sense. You light up the nebuta floats like a lantern.

That must be beautiful.

Whydont you come back in August? You can be part of the festival.

Can tourists do that?

Yeah. If you wear a haneto costume, you can sing and dance in the festival.

Akito, did you hear that? That’s perfect for us. Now we have to stay here until the Nebuta Festival.

2018/12/21 The restaurant with many orders

Two young gentlemen went through the sky-blue door of the Wildcat House Western-style Restaurant. On the back of the door it said, There are really many orders. Please try to understand. Please try to understand.

What does that mean?

I think it means that they will need time because a lot of people have already ordered.

Further down the hall, they found another door and a mirror with a brush. The red letters said, Fix your fair and clean your shoes here.

There must be very important guests. We must look good.

The two fixed thier hair and brushed the mud off their shoes. Then, on the back of the door, there were more words. Please leave your guns and bullets here.

That makes sense. It's bad manners to bring guns into a restaurant.

On the next door it said, Please take off your hats, coats and shoes. On the back it said, Please put your wallet, cufflinks, glasses and any other sharp metal objects in the black safe. And so they did.

I think they are going to use some kind of electricity for the food. That is why they want us to take off metal objects. But why sharp things.

After taking off their glasses and cufflinks, they continued to walk down the hallway until they saw another door with a glass jar beside it. The words on the door said, Please cover your face, arms and legs with the cream in the jar.

Why?

They don't want our skin to get dry. It hurts when your skin gets too dry, you know.

Oh, I see. This cream is made from milk.

I’m going to eat a little of this cream when I put on my face.

When they went through the door, there was another jar and more words on the door. Do you have enough cream on your body? Do you have cream behind your ears, too?

They are so nice. I had forgotton about my ears.

When is this going to end? I am so hungry.

Soon they saw another door. The message read, The food is almost ready. You will be served shortly. Now please splash yourself with this perfume. The two men splash themselves with the perfume.

This smells like vinegar.

The servant must have made a mistake. Maybe she was sick and couldn’t smell anything.

They went through the door to find more words on the back. We are very sorry for all the orders. This is the last. Please rub yourself with the salt in the jar.

Something is not right.

I think so,too.

They looked at the beautiful blue jar with salt inside. And then, they looked at each other.

The customers aren’t doing ordering. The restaurant is.

Yes, so that means. We are not getting food. We are the food.

The two men started to shake. They were very afraid.

2018/12/20 Micronesia

Hello there, everyone. I am the Federated States of Micronesia. I am the nation of 607 samall island in the Western Pacific.

Do you know where I am? It’s social studies time, everyone. Take a look at a map, please. First, find Australia. Go up north, and you can see Papua New Guinea, right? Then, go up a little more to the north, and then to the east. You will find me there.

The capital city is Palikir on on Pohnpei Island. My official language is English, but there are eight major local languages. The total land area of all the islands is about the size of Amami Oshima. There are many interesting things to see on my islands. For example, giant stone coins that are as big as people.

Today I want to tell you about one of my islands called Pulap Island. Is is a flat island with no mountains, and it will only take about 40 minutes to walk aroud it. About 300 people live there, and they have a very simple life. They don't have electricity, phone lines or a water system. You can't use your cellphone on Pulap, either. But there is the big beautiful ocean and the big blue sky just waiting for you.

The island name means, birthplace of navigation. You see, the people living here are said to be one of the last people with the ability to sail the traditional way. A master of this tradition can travel in a sailing canoe using only the wind and not a motor engine. And he does not have to use a compass to know where he is going. He reads the shape of the waves, watches the birds and feels the wind during the daytime. At night, he uses the star patterns and the direction of the wind to sail in the dark sea. A sailing canoe can as fast as 20 kilometers per hour. In 1975, six men used this method to travel 3000 kilometers from Micronesia to Okinawa. They did it in 47 days. Aren’t they really amaising sailors?

Once a month, all the men on the island go fishing in Pulap. They set a large net 12 meters underwater to catxh many fish at once. The master who leads the fishing decides where to drop the net and when to chase the fish into the net. Then, the fish are brought back to the island and handed out to everyone equally. If you are there, they will give you one, too.

The people of Pulap are proud of there navigation skills, and I am proud of them for keeping the tradition alive. If you want to relax on a tropical island and sail with the wind in your hair, make sure to remember me.