500 yen coins

Can I share something with you? I'm not sure whether I should call this a hobby or a habit.



I save 500 yen coins. I've done it for years. I make it my policy never to use a 500 yen coin to purchase anything. In fact, I even sometimes add coins to a purchase, just so that I can guarantee receiving a 500 yen coin in change.

I keep a cute Panda container on my desk where I place the coins after I get back home. It holds approximately 20万円 worth of 500 yen coins. The extra cash sure comes in handy when my family and I have a chance to go back to visit California, as we will at the end of this month.

How many of you also save 500 yen coins?

Robert

Long Thermometer and Asking about Salary

Two things for today's post:

1. Long Thermometer
Do you know this expression in English? We use it to describe the situation where the high temperature during the day is significantly higher than the low temperature in the very early morning. My hometown of San Diego is famous for this phenomenon, especially in the winter season. Sometimes it can be as high as 30 degrees during the day , but fall to 3 or 4 degrees just before sunrise. According to what I heard on television two days ago, April is the month with the longest thermometer in Japan. It's easy to catch a cold during this Spring season, so please be careful to stay warm at night.

2. Asking about Salary
In our training, we often talk about what motivates Chinese managers working for Japanese companies in China to change jobs. Usually, most people automatically think that the reason is salary, i.e., they want more money. And for operator-level factory personnel, money is indeed a big motivator. If the neighboring factory pays a few hundred RMB more, people will often change jobs. And in any case, there are few secrets, because Chinese as a tendency feel comfortable talking openly about how much money they make. There are few secrets!

So, about two weeks ago I saw a very interesting program on Japanese TV where the interviewers were asking random people on the street precisely how much their salaries were. For most places in Japan, especially Tokyo, the question itself was very uncomfortable and people did their best to escape answering. But there was one particular city where Japanese behavior parallels the typical Chinese behavior. Can you guess? . . .

It's Osaka. People in Osaka did not hesitate to tell the interviewer in very concrete terms how much money they made. I guess, though, that this should not be shocking to me. I often say that I feel as if I need a passport when I go to Osaka. I love the city, the people, and the food. But, やっぱり it is different from other places in Japan! Being willing to talk openly about salary was just one more reason that I felt Osaka is special!

Robert {/hiyob_en/

Uneven numbers

So, we just got back from our Kyushu vacation. It was fantastic. I love southern Kyushu!!

Now I am in Tokyo for a business trip. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom. It's gorgeous.

However, one thing that was shocking to me was when I used my Suica to commute from my hotel to the training venue. When I got out of Shimbashi station, the charge on my Suica was \464. \464!! It seems that my coworkers also experienced a similar kind of shocking surprise. The universal opinion from our group: Why not just make it \470??

Anyway, I guess that many of us are going to need to take some time to get accustomed to the new 8% sales tax.

Robert

九州へ

On Saturday, I will be going with my family down to Kyushu for a short 4-day vacation. We'll spend some time in Kagoshima and Kumamoto. My oldest son, Kenji, plays professional basketball for the Kumamoto Volters team in the National Basketball League. So on Sunday, we'll go to see Kenji's game. Recently he has been getting more and more playing time, so finally he has had a chance to show his true ability.

Of course, if you hear the name "Kumamoto," I guess you quickly imagine two things: Kumamon and 馬刺. We are big fans of both. We've already made dinner reservations for a "horse feast" on Sunday night. I can't wait.

I'll post some photos of our trip after we get back. I hope you all also enjoy your own weekend. Possibly with cherry blossom viewing. . .??

Robert

ジュラチョコ

今は、3月…遅いValentine chocolateを頂いた


開けてみると


白い容器の中に恐竜の化石チョコが埋もれていて、この三種類の道具を用いて発掘するよである

発掘開始後…姿を現したのは


ティラノサウルス

しかし・・・骨の化石の一部がどこのパーツか分からず断念


どの部分にも合わなかったこの部分は、食べることで解決

めでたし、めでたし

Robert

私達でも・・・

ご無沙汰しております。皆様お元気でいらっしゃいますか

先日、このような写真をRobertさんが送ってきました。
Messageには、“ What are Patrick (仕事仲間) and Robert doing? ”　

そして、Robertさんに尋ねると…Patrickとジェットコースターに乗ったんだよ～、その時に撮った写真を送ったんだ～ と嬉しそうに話をしてくれました。
しかし、私は、“ジェットコースターのシートにはまったんだ！すごいね～、大丈夫だった、ジェットコースター？？”と思わず口にしてしまった。

んRobertさん、たしかこの日は、仕事だと言っておりませんでしたか？

Robert

Lunch with my former president

Today was a very enjoyable day. Once every two months, our company has what we call the PBK, or Panda Benkyokai. All of our team members get together to talk about topics which are important for our team.

Today was even more special, because I could have lunch with Mr. Suguro, the former president of our company who recently retired. Suguro-san has worked in Ginza for more than half of his life, so he knows many delicious spots to eat. I am always very envious when he posts pictures of the restaurants he has visited on Facebook.

So, I was really looking forward to the restaurant he would choose. Very traditional Japanese. And incredibly delicious! You can see this from the photo.

Anyway, I wish Suguro-san all the best in his future endeavors, whatever they may be. And I hope he continues to introduce me to fantastic restaurants like the one he took me to today before our PBK.

Robert

セージの話

沢山のスパイスがひしめく我が家
ここらでちょっと整理をと思いたった。
そのなかで、セージを見つけたので、今日は、セージ（ハーブ）についての豆知識をご紹介

アラブの諺で「庭にセージを育てている家には死人は出ない」
イギリスでは「長生きしたければ五月にセージをたべよ」という言葉もあるそうです。

セージは聖なるハーブと呼ばれており、新陳代謝を促したり、傷口にぬるとあとが残りにくいなど健康のお守りとして昔から親しまれています。
今では、化粧品にも使われているほどです。
料理が好きな方は、ちょっと試しに使ってみて下さい
あまりセージを使う料理が思いうかばないかもしれませんが、ソーセージやハムを焼くときに使ってみたり、ソースを作るときなどの隠し味にしてみてはいかがでしょうか。毎日食べる食事に、自然からの恵を取り入れて健康な身体で過ごすことはいいことだとは思いません？
今年も残すところあとわずかです！皆様、風邪などひかれませんように


Robert

焼き物

久しぶりの休み
アメリカにいる友人の誕生日プレゼントに焼き物を贈ることに決めた
Robertさんは、焼き物が大好き～
そこで、以前から訪れてみたかった瀬戸へ行くことに

尾張瀬戸駅に降り立つ

橋には焼き物が並んでいました

大変いい天気に恵まれた一日となり、友人へのプレゼントも買うことができました。
商店街で見つけたおまんじゅう屋さんで、バカデカイ大あん巻きを見つけたよ～！500mlのペットボトルと同じくらいの大きさ
そりゃ～Robertさん、買うでしょ

Robert

ご当地 cups!

気づけば、スタバのマグカップが増えてきた～

日本でもご当地mugがあるように、海外でも展開されている。
しかし、違いはカップの大きさと形状
まぁ～でかいわ！重いわ！って感じございます

San Francisco　と　San Diego
しかし、もっとすごいのが・・・


こやつです
アメリカは州ごとに州旗があります。こやつは、Californiaの州旗カップ！デカさと重さでは、トップです！

そして、思わず並べてみる・・・




“R”のカップは、一番よくある日本のサイズ。ん～、大きさの違いが伝わりにくいな～皆様、お分かりになります？？

Robert