How are you?

Dear all

Hi there! Long long time no see...

But thank you so much for your comments. I appreciate all of you for still check this blog.

Well, a lot of things have happend since last summer.

The biggest occurrence was the lost of my family member.

My father fell ill in October and had been hospitalized for two months before he passed away.

I lost a good friend of mine in summer due to cancer (she was only 35), then my father in winter...

Last year was a rather tough year for me.

But it is now a spring time and things are going very well this year!

I will TRY to write this blog more often! (^^;)

dictionary

Well, this is my new dictionary.

I bought it because it contains "Japanese accent dictionary" (it is essential for announcers in Japan).

But at the same time, this small body holds more than 100 contents!!

Let me see what it has... on top of the basic Japanese dictionaries and English dictionaries, encyclopedia, Japanese constitution, 100 well-known novels, handbooks of pills or supplements, medical handbook of dogs and cats, dictionary of haiku, movies, sports, business expressions, Japanese and world history and etc...

It also contains conversational expressions of 11 languages, such as English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Russian, Portuguese, Filipino and it even speaks!!

It's amazing to see how much technology has improved...

Party!

Today, after the recording session, I went out with the members of NHK radio program for nice dinner.

I really enjoy working with them.

Ed is such a nice guy and we have a lot of fun teasing each other!

Well, some people think we never make mistakes during recordings but that would be impossible! If you know me from World Interactive, you know how I am... (^^;)

Yes, our staff members are such good editors.

If I sound somehow unnatural sometime, that could be the reason.

After all, the program is not an entertainment program but an educational program.

Kyoto

I was in Kyoto last weekend.
I had been there many times but it was my first time travelling in summer, and I LOVED IT!!

I had often visited there in autumn because Kyoto is famous for it's beauty of colored leaves. But as so many people think the same way, the place gets very very crowded.

In summer, on the other hand, the place is nice and quiet.
You can spend hours looking at gardens of temples.

Below left is Eikando and right is Nanzenji.

In July, the famous festival called Gion Matsuri is held in Kyoto. The highlight of the festival was over (on the 16th and 17th), but when I went there on the 24th, there was Hanagasa junko parade.

If you ever visit Kyoto, I strongly recommend you to go in summer! (That is if you could put up with the heat.)

Well, well, well...

Wow! It's July now!! Time flies too fast.


Sorry for not updating this blog for...let's see...

5 months!? Oh boy...

It takes too long to catch up last 5 months...
Let's see... I have been to Shanghai, Hanoi, Croatia, and Hokkaido.

If you can read Japanese, please check out http://bionharu.blog49.fc2.com

As for work, I have been enjoying working for NHK raido "Business Communication In Simple English"
Ed is a great guy. We have a lot of fun during recording.
If you know me from World Interactive, you may feel strange by listening to my formal Japanese.... Hey, I could be serious sometime! http://www.nhk.or.jp/gogaku/english/business1/index.html

I will try to update this blog more often...
Uh? Oh... is it a deja vu?? (^^;)

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

Too late?? Sorry!!(^^;)

Well, these are chocolates we sold at the theater. I have been a member of a NGO called JIM-NET since a couple years ago, and these candies are made by the organization in order to raise funds. The funds are used to help children in Iraq who are suffering from leukeamia and other diseases due to the war.

The chocolates were sold out pretty fast! Thank you very much!!

Well, the play is over...

I am really glad that the audience seemed to enjoy the performance so much!! I can't wait to do the world tour someday!

Anyway, here is my last-minute notice...(sorry!)

If you can watch NHK world TV, I will be in today's Tokyo Eye!

There is a 5 -minute segment called "My private Tokyo" and I will show you around Asagaya. If you can't watch the program on TV, you can still watch it on the web.

http://www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/

If you live in Japan, the program will be shown on Digital Educational TV3 on Feb. 25 starting at 22:15.

Hope to see you there!

Finally!!

My production has opened on 11th. I was so worried that I went to a shinto shrine in the morning and pray for the success. We have done three performances so far and the audience seems to enjoy the production very much. (^^) Thank you! Thank you!!

Producing a play is much harder than I thought. This is my second time but I still can't do it without much stress...
Not only writing a script, but also arranging schedules of the cast and staff members, making fliers, taking reservations, and so many other things!!
I have lost 2kg... Good way of going on diet! (^^;)

But when I hear good reviews from the audience and see their happy faces, it worth doing!

We still have 5 more stages to go! Ganbarimasu!!