About my best friend

A best friend is a person who you know well and who you like a lot, but who is usually not a member of your family.

Even if you contact your best friend after a long period of inactivity, you can easily connect with him as if you spoke yesterday. The conversation flows as if there was no blank period.

It's the same when you meet for the first time after a long time, so you don't have to explore each other's current situation, and you can talk and talk about anything immediately. The past, the present, and the future are connected without distinction, and that is a wonderful aspect of associating with best friends.

I have a best friend.

I've been friends with him for 58 years now.

He and I went to the mountains, traveled, teamed up at the badminton, went to each other's homes, and now hike in the Tama area and so on.

He is a great guy and can do anything.

He was, is, and will be, my best friend.       

 That’s it.

Walking in the Tama area No.45

I went to the Sayama hills with seven members on the 14th of October.

It had been raining since the morning on that day.

The number of rainy days has increased since my second daughter recently joined our walking party.

She whose presence seems to cause rain (in Japanese AMEONNA 雨女).

We started out from the Kisi bus stop and walked to the Murayama Hot Springs, Katakuri-no Yu, via the Satoyama Minka, the Rokudou-san Park and the Sayama hills.

We walked about 5km.

We took the hot springs at Katakuri-no Yu and we held an Uchiage Party at the Katakuri-no Yu (dogtooth violet hot spring).

The number of steps we walked was 13,443steps.

 

                  Satoyama Private House

                                                                    In the Satoyama Private House

                                  Harvesting rice

                  Rokudosan Park four stories observation deck

                               　Snail

                      The Sayama Hills

         　 Rokujizou（ the six Buddhist guardian deities of children）

                 The Katakuri-no Yu (The dogtooth violet hot springs)

 

                                   In the Katakuri-no Yu 

 

That’s it.

Unforgettable episode

 

It was in July, 42 years ago, that I boarded an airplane to Alaska.

It was my first overseas trip.

Four members of my company’s mountaineering club and I were scheduled on a flight to Anchorage from Haneda Airport.

However, I was left alone at Haneda Airport because of a double booking, while the other members took off.

The travel agent told me to return in three days because there was a seat available on a flight to Anchorage then.

I told the travel agent that I was carrying the cooking gear for our group.  Without me, they couldn’t act, so he needed to find me another flight right away.

The travel agent searched for another flight and told me to return the next day.

It was a first-class seat on a flight to Anchorage via Seattle Airport.

I joined the group safely at Anchorage and enjoyed the trip to Alaska very much.

But once again I was double booked on the return flight.

I was given a premium economy class seat on the same flight as the other members.

It was an unforgettable experience to fly first-class and premium economy class when I had two double-bookings on my first overseas trip.

                                                  Our member                                          

                                     

                   This is me                                          K. Takahashi

     

             Y. Okamuro                        H. Sumise                        T. Takahashi

               

                                   A waitress in the Seattle Airport 

     

                                         Portage Glacier in Alaska

     

     

 

                                 The Ford station wagon we rented.

     

     

                                            

               Alaska Pipeline                                      Straight road

     

                          Tanana Valley Campsite on the outskirts of Fairbanks.

                                     

                   This is me 

      

                                                  A squirrel

     

                                            Fairbanks Station

     

                                           The Alaska Lailroad

                                 

     

                                         The Tekranica Campsite

                                 

                           Ground squirrel

       

      

　　　　　　　　　　　The midnight sun at 11:00 pm.

　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　           Mount McKinley(6190.4ｍ）

     　　　

     

Withdrawal of tents at Tekranica Campsite.

      

McKinley National Park shuttle bus.

Horseshoe Lake near McKinley Station.

　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　This is Alaska 42 years ago.

　

 

 

That’s it.

Walking in the Tama area No.44

On the 23rd of September, we climbed Mt. Takao with 7 members.

This time we split up into two parties.

One party was my wife and I, and the other was young members.

Our party ascended to the middle of the mountain with a chair lift and then hiked to the top.

The other party climbed from the foot of the mountain to the top.

They walked toward the Biwa Waterfall trail, but the fallen timbers from Typhoon No.17 the day before made the trail impassable.

So, they climbed using other hiking trails.

We met about fifty minutes later than planned at the summit.

Then we went down to the middle of the mountain.

There is a beer garden called Beer Mount.

The day’s objective was to climb Mt. Takao and have an Uchiage party at Beer Mount.

Drinking beer while enjoying the scenic view was the highlight of our day.

From there we descended by chair lift.

The number of steps my wife and I walked was 15,672steps.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s it.

Walking in the Tama area No.43

I went walking with seven members on the 25th of August.

From Itsukaichi Station we took the bus to Kamiyozawa.

Our walking course led us past the Mitsugo Limestone Caves, Yozawa Center, Motosu, Seoto Hot Springs to Jurigi.

We took the bus back to Itsukaichi Station from there.

It was a very hot day.

We were able to hear a continuous chorus of cicadas after a long time.

Many shops were closed for summer vacation on this say, and an Uchiage party could not be held near Itsukaichi Station. 

We held the party at Tachikawa.  

The number of steps we walked today was 17,273 steps.

That’s it.

What do you do for your health?

My health practice is stretching exercises once a week at a judo hall for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

When going to Kichijoji Station or Mitaka Station, I walk about 30 minutes each way.

I live on the 2nd and 3rd floor of my house and I go up and down the stairs every day many times.

I go to Mitaka Lifelong Learning Center (Syogai Gakusyu Center) three times a month on a 20-minute round trip by bicycle.

I go walking in the Tama area once a month.

I drink beer and take many tablets every day.

  

That’s it.

 

My Taiwanese friend

My Taiwanese friend, Mr. Yu, and his family came to Japan this summer from the 27th of July to the 5th of August.
They have come to Japan many times.
This time they visited Noboribetsu, Toyako and Sapporo in Hokkaido, Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture and Kichijoji in Tokyo.
I had a welcome party for them with a few Japanese friends at the yakiniku shop in Kichijoji.

I met Mr. Yu over 30 years ago.
I have known his children since they were babies, but every time we meet they have grown up a little more and his son is now a young man over 1m70cm tall.
I look forward to meeting them.

That’s it.

My treasure

My treasure is a mini album of photos of when I climbed the Matterhorn.

I climbed the Matterhorn to commemorate my climbing career and my 50th birthday.

It was the memory of a lifetime.

 

 

That's it.

The appreciation of music

 One of my friends, Mr. Kitazawa, played the French horn in a concert on the 31st of July.

He is a member of the Senior Ensemble Wagner.

The concert was held at the Toyosu Civic Center Hall.

To get there, we took a “Yurikamome” (driverless train) from Nihonbashi Station.

The view from the train was good.

The hall stage is unique, the back opens and we can see the night view.

After a long time, we really enjoyed going to a concert and listening to the orchestra.

                In Yurikamome

 

That’s it.

Walking in the Tama area No.42

We walked about 7 km from the foothills of the Shiofune Kannon-ji, a historic old temple, to the Iwakura Onsen Village, the only hot spring village in Tokyo, located in a quiet mountain area.

First, we took a bus from Kabe Station on the Ome Line to Shiofune Kannon, and walked along the Kasumi hills to Iwakura Onsenkyo.

According to the weather forecast, we knew that it would rain that day.

At first, we had heavy rain, but after walking for about an hour, the rain let up and then it stopped.

We didn't see anyone while we were walking along the hills.

On the way back, we took a bus from Iwakura Onsenkyo to Higashi-Ome Station.

The uchiage party was held at an unagi kabayaki shop near the station.

The number of steps we walked today was 17,288steps.

 

 

That’s it.