This morning I watched a movie on TV. The title of the movie was "Drive my car" which had won for the best international film at 94th US Academy Awards. The film was based on a short story written by Haruki Murakami who is one of my favori…

The state of emergency has been lifted in my prefecture this Monday. My family and I went to a Ramen restaurant for the first time in a few months. The ramen I had tastes rich and greasy, which is not good for health but sometimes I have a…

My wife has been interested in playing the drums. I beleive that playing any instrument enriches our life. Today, we went to a musical instrument store and bought a reasonable used electronic drums. As soon as getting home, she set up and …

My 12-year-old daughter graduated from her elementary school today. My wife and I attended the graduation ceremony. On our seats at the ceremony was a message board from my daughter, describing her memories in her school days and her appre…

I hit it off with an online English tutor who I met for the first time yesterday. We talked about movies and we had the same favorite movie, "The Shawshank Redemption". This is a 1994 American drama film that I used to watch back in my uni…

I have a sore throat because of overuse from yesterday. To be honest, It has been getting worse. Today, I, as a trainer, have conducted a lecture the whole day. Despite the fact that I bought a throat lozenge but forgot to take it. Going b…

I have 2 kids, a 12-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy. They have different personalities. My daughter is an extrovert, so she likes to hang out with her friends and to play sports such as soccer. She is also very competitive and always wa…

Thanks to COVID, a way of working has been dramatically changed. My company has also introduced and promoted working from home. One of my junior colleagues has been suffering from a slight fever for two weeks but she was working from home.…

I took my wife to a vaccination site tonight. It took about 30 minutes to arrive and 10 minutes to get vaccinated. As soon as I got in the car, she told me that it didn't hurt, that she didn't feel a shot. I said, "That's impossible!" but …

JAL and ANA, two biggest Japanese airlines, cancel or reroute European flights. I couldn't believe that but it is inevitable for our safety at this moment. I have been thinking that we might be able to travel abroad this year. In Japan the…

If one of our team members fail to achieve their goal, who is responsible for the result? Of course, the member has the responsibility, since they receive the salary that matches up with their performance. If so, what is their manager's re…

Recently I have been watching CNN and BBC news headlines more often, and closely while following key people in the world on twitter. One of the biggest benefits of learning English is that we are able to get as much information as possible…

Focusing on Input or output might be a chicken-or-the-egg controversy. I think that Japan's school education system focuses more on input than output. Especially Learning English is to memorize grammar or vocabulary. In the consideration o…

Why has the invasion happened? I am not familiar with Western history since I haven't studied thoroughly. World history was one of subjects in the first year of high school but from the second year it was an option to choose either Western…

Finally, I got off my backside and finished filing my tax return for 2021 income. Since it is difficult for me to take days off, I tried it online for the first time. The procedures were much more straightforward than I expected, so the on…

The Beatles' songs never go out of style. One of my favorite songs among theirs is ”In My Life”. When I was 11 years old, I started playing the guitar on my own, and that was the first song that I learned. I remember how happy I was when I…

Simultaneous recruiting of new graduates is the traditional custom of Japan's large companies. Applicants have several interviews. The first interview is done by young employees who are mostly graduates from the same universities as the ca…

Today, my daughter and I went to a cram school near my house to take part in an orientation. In general, cram schools provide specialized programs and enable their students to achieve their goals, such as getting good scores on school test…

I consulted a lawyer about a contract of sale of real estate, which was proposed by one of the candidate buyers. I don't work in the real estate business, so selling real estate is a rare occasion. The reason for consulting the lawyer is t…

My colleagues and I regularly discuss whether rigorous training is necessary for new factory workers. They are always exposed to risk of injury or even death while working in the factory. Obeying their managers' directives or following saf…

It has been a few months since I took a bath with my son the last time. In the bathtub, we played a Shiritori, which is a game where one person says a word and then the next person has to say a word that starts with the last letter of the …

One of the private English teachers I am following on Twitter regularly posts essays in English. They are incredibly informative and helpful for English learners especially who take Eiken, which is the most widely recognized English langua…

In today's online English lesson, my tutor and I discussed where to live. He has lived in several countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia, and Mexico. He is literally free and able to go anywhere. On the other hand, I have spent the most of …

It’s time to file a tax return. This year, the only item of my filing is a hometown tax donation program called "furusato nozei'' which is a tax reduction given to taxpayers who donate to local municipalities. Normally, we pay taxes to the…

My left knee has hurt for a few weeks. I have refrained from workout and running, but the pain hasn't completely gone away. So, I went to see a doctor and got an X-ray today. Thankfully, there was nothing wrong with my knee bones. The caus…

All of the training in my company has been canceled starting mid-January because of the spread of COVID-19. It will remain in effect until the end of February and it is likely to be extended to March. One of my colleagues is an inhouse tra…

I subscribed to an app called HiNative which is a global Q&A platform for language learners. One of the most popular English learning youtubers introduced it on his program and I decided to try it because this app is offering a free trial …

Today's online English lesson was a free talk with a British gentleman. This was the second time I took his lesson. His way of tutoring is student-oriented, adapting to students' needs. He is not communicative but good at communication by …

I watched a music TV show together with my family tonight. There are golden oldies for my wife and I as well as the latest hit songs. My wife and I are able to sing songs we used to listen to. If the music is playing, we can remember the l…

My daughter will be a junior high school student this April. My wife and I have discussed whether to send her to a cram school. We want our daughter to do whatever she wants. On the other hand, for her to have as many opportunities as poss…