Takashi has arrived home in California.

  America seems to be very near from Japan because Takashi left Japan at 5:00 p.m. yesterday evening, and before we got up this morning, he had arrived at San Jose. He mailed  early this morning saying he had arrived safely.
 I went out for a walk as far as Kawazoe. I felt tired because I hadn't walked as much as a week before.
 In the afternoon, Takashi and Sachiyo called us on Skype. We saw their faces on the screen the same as we we often had seen before Takashi came to stay with us last week.
 In the evening, I watched two soccer games - a men's qualifying game for the World Cup in Brazil between Samurai Japan and the Uzbekistan national team, and a women's game between Nadeshiko Japan and the Norwegian national team. Samurai Japan was defeated by Uzubekistan by 0-1, and Nadeshiko won by 2-1.

Takashi has left for California.

  Takashi has gone back to his home in California. Ayako drove him to Itoi railroad station at 9:00 a.m. He will fly to Haneda and then, by limo, will go to Narita Airport. He will leave Japan at 5:00 p.m.
  During his stay here, he talked about his lecture in Tokyo. He lectured on "What Japan should do and can do in the international society?" He says Japan has experienced a lot of things that most developing countries have not yet experienced, or are now experiencing, or will experience in the future. We have the experience of modernization in the Meiji Era. We have experienced the war in which the country had completely been destroyed but succeeded in recovering from the destruction. We even experienced atomic bomb attacks. We have been hit by big earthquakes and tsunami, including the Kanto Great Earthquake and the Higashi Nippon Great Earthquake of last March. In the process of economic growth in the 1970's and '80's, a lot of pollution problems  arose, including air pollution, water pollution, etc. From these experiences, we have learned a lot of things, so now, we have got the wealth of knowledge.
  Now, in many developing countries, they are now suffering or will suffer in near future from troubles that we have already experienced. In many big cities in China, air pollution is terrible, as we often see on TV screen. Water pollution is also serious there. Not only pollution problems or the problem of disaster prevention, but in many other fields, Japan should help other countries by utilizing this knowledge of ours. In China and India, and in other developing countries, we see a great economical growth, so, by letting them use their money, we can encourage them improve the infrastructures and other social foundations.   

Takashi went to Sapporo to see his ols classmate, Mr.Shinobu Hashimoto.

  Takashi went to Sapporo today by the 12:58 train. He went there to see his old classmate Mr.Shinobu Hashimoto, a ceramic artist. We first drove him to the Tomakomai  police office to have his international driving license renewed, but the police said it would take more than two days and the renewed license must be accepted by himself, not by any other person. He is going back to the US tomorrow, so he had to give it up this time, and returned home. He left for Sapporo by the 12:58 train from Itoi station. He came home after 9:00 p.m.    

Haruna and Chiaki ane their children came.

  Haruna, with Marie, Kazuma, and Minori , and Chiaki, with Tokio and Atsushi, came to see Takashi.

Takashi has come.

  Takashi came home at around 4:00 p.m.
  In the evening, we enjoyed drinking wine and talking with him. He talked about the lecture he gave in Tokyo Institute of Technology to the professors, students, entrepreneurs, officers of the ministry of economy,trade, and industry, and so on. He also met the former prime minister, Mr. Naoto Kan in the Diet Members' Building.   

It is ten years since I began to exchange emails with Ilsemarie in Germany.

At the railway station of Hausingbausen

  I received an email from Ilsemarie this morning. She says 10 years have passed since we began to correspond with each other in coming March. During the past ten years, many things have happened. In October 2007, we visited her home in Housingbauzen, Germany, with Ayako's sister, Masako, and her husband, Mr.Yasuhiro Yamashita, and stayed with Ilsemarie's family for four days.

Takashi,Sachiyo,me, and Ayako

 Tomorrow, our son, Takashi, will come home from California for the first time in these two years. We are looking forward to seeing him. But it is a pity that he will come alone, not with his wife, Sachiyo.

The disk of the photos of Nayoro Snow Festival was sent to me.

  It began to snow in the afternoon as the forecast had said it would. In the evening, I worked on clearing the heavy,wet snow away from the roards around our house. I was quite exhausted.
 In the morning, I went to the dental clinic on foot. I will have to go tomorrow at 12:00 noon again.
 From Ms. Abe of Nayoro, the disk of the photos of the Snow Sculpting Competition was sent to me. And on Facebook, Mr.Hasegawa posted photos and a message from Whitehorse, Canada. He says there are many Japanese people there, and they could see the northern light three consecutive night, but Mr.Hasegawa couldn't see it because he was drunken. Oh!

Heavy snow in Sorachi district - Mr.Morita, my old student, posted on Facebook.

  Ayako went to the hospital because she injured in the left hand finger by the thin metal of the tea box we had broken in pieces a few days before.
  I walked today as far as Kawazoe cho. On the way, I saw Mr.Nakahara, one of our neighbors, who used to be a teacher of Tomakomai Nishi Senior High School. I dropped in at some shops on the way, and bought a mouse pad and razor blades.

Ayako went to Sapporo.

  In the morning, I stood at the crossing to guard school kids because it was Tuesday. I didn't feel so cold, and felt spring coming.
  Ayako went to Sapporo by bus to see her sister and brother-in-law. Mr.Shimizu,our brother-in-law is now in hospital, and we are afraid he is weakening. His wife, Emiko, who is in the care house, is in demented state and cannot communicate almost at all. She cannot recognize us when we go to see her. Both of them are over 80 years old now. 

I bought a new digital camera.

  I had only two teeth left, but those were already decayed and loosened. In the morning, I phoned to Dr.Wakana's dental clinic and made a reservation in 3:30 p.m. Then, I left for walking toward the Tomakomai River. On the way back, I dropped in at Kitamura photo shop to see digital cameras. First, I just wanted to browse, but while browsing, I wanted to buy a new camera with the money I was paid in Nayoro, and chose one and bought it.
  In the afternoon, I went to the dental clinic, and as I had expected, the only one tooth left was loose, too, so I had it pulled out. I will have my new false teeth, maybe, by next week.    

For the first time after returning from Nayoro, I went out for walking.

   The weather was fine, and I went out for walking for the first time after returning from Nayoro. I left home at about 8:40 with my new cell-phone in my pocket. In the cell-phone, a pedometer is installed, so I could count by it the number of how many steps I walked. Today, I walked west as far as the park along the Koitoi creek in Kawazoe cho, and walked one block north, crossed the bridge, returned to the Kawazoe gym, walked around the gym, then, returned home walking through "Komorebi no michi" ( meaning "the walking path of the sunbeams through the trees"). It took about an hour and 10 minutes, and the number of my steps were 9,940.

The weather was not bad, though the temperature was lower than -10 ℃ in the morning.

  I didn't go out all day. I may have recovered from cold, but I stayed a safe side,and stayed home all day.   

Friday is a garbage collection day. Ayako went to her ceramic art class.

  On every Monday and Friday morning, I have to take out garbage to the garbage collection station. Today was Friday. On the garbage collection days, crows caw very noisely. But this morning, magpies were very noisy. About 10 years ago, I saw magpies for the first time here in Tomakomai. Before that, I had seen them when I traveled in New Zealand. It was said magpie's habitat in Japan was only the northern Kyushu. Now I think we can see a lot of them here in Hokkaido may be because of global warming. 

Ayako went to see the doctor in charge of Mr.Shimizu.

  I stayed at home all day today, too. Ayako went to Sapporo to see the doctor in charge of Mr.Shimizu, husband of Ayako's sister. She went by the 9:30 bus and returned home at about 4:30. She was told by the doctor that Mr.Shimizu's health condition was bad, because his right thigh bone was broken, and in his lungs, there seemed to be some tumors, and in addition, his diabetes were not good.Our brother-in-law will be in the hospital ( Sapporo Highash Hospital ) for long.

I stayed home all day.

  What did I do today?  I just stayed at home all day doing nothing special. Maria of Urguay sent me an email, and Ms.Watabiki, a tourist guide for Chinese tourists posted on Facebook to me. I answered Ms.Watabiki, but I mistook her name,  not Watabiki but Kushibiki, which I wrote. Since I returned from Nayoro, and posted a photo of the snow sculpting competition on Facebook, I have attracted some new people's attention. 

Stayed at home but went out only to serve as a crossing guard in the morning.

  The road was very slippery to walk on covered with ice, when I walked out to serve as a crossing guard. I have had a bad cough, and seem to have a real cold. But I didn't have a fever. I didn't go out for a walk, but stayed home all afternoon and evening. I watched a baseball game ( spring training game ) between the Nippon Ham Fightrts and a Korean professional team.
Ohshima, a rookie catcher of the Fighters who was picked in the 5th round draft from Waseda University soft ball team, is attracting the fans' attention, because his career is different from other rookies, and in addition, he hit a homerun at his first at bat in the spring training game. He was no.1 homerun hitter in softball.

It didn't snow at all today here in Tomakomai.

  I had been in Nayoro till Saturday where it snowed almost every day, but here in Tomakomai, it doesn't snow much. It didn't snow at all today,either. In the morning, Ayako went to the acupressure and the phone shop where we had gone yesterday. But, I didn't go out and stayed at home all day because I have had a touch of a cold since I returned from Nayoro. Some people posted on my Facebook saying the photo of snow sculpting was 'good'. And Mr.Shin Ozaki, who participated in the competition in Nayoro sent me an email thanking me for my interpreting for them.

I posted a photo of an ice work in Facebook, which two people have responded to so far.

  In the morning, I went to a phone shop of Soft bank in Kawazoe with Ayako to replace our cell phones. I got a new phone, but Ayako has to change the owner's name from my name to hers, so she will be handed her cell phone tomorrow.
 I caught a touch of a cold, maybe, because I had to take care of a German lady, who had a high fevor just before leaving Nayoro. I didn't go on my regular walk.

Returned from Nayoro

  Exhausted, but enjoyed in Nayoro.

I am leaving for Nayoro at 11:00 a.m.

  The day has come when I must go to Nayoro. I woke up a little before 6:00 as usual. The train ticket was sent to me from Nayoro a few days ago. I will arrive in Nayoro at 15:15 p.m, and will stay there till Saturday, February 11th. I am worrying about and am looking forward to what will happen there.

Tomorrow, I will go to Nayoro.

  Tomorrow, I will go to Nayoro. Am I ready?  I am not, because I am worrying about how I can work as an interpreter in the symposeum on fine arts in Japan and Korea tomorrow evening. I tried to learn about technical terms of fine arts, but I found it almost impossible to understand them all in a day.
  Chiaki came with her children, Tokio and Arashi. She wanted to take them to see "the Skate Festival" being held here in Tomakomai. Ayako and I went with them to eat "shibare yaki" outdoor mutton barbecue in the festival site at Wakakusa cho downtown. Chaki and her children went home to Sapporo at around 4:00.

 The succer match to be qualified for London Olympic  between Japan and Syria was held in Amman, Jordan, but Japan was defeated by Syria by the score of 1-2. Japan fell to the second place in the group. It is a pity.

I hadn't gone for a walk for four days till today.

  I didn't go for a walk today either. I haven't gone for four days. I am afraid if I may catch cold before I go to Nayoro. And I also want more time for preparation for working in Nayoro as an interpreter.

It was sunny but cold all day.

  I didn't go out all day,and stayed at home trying to study about the fine arts in Korea,but in vain. I tried to study through Wikipedia, but there were not good explanations about the history of fine arts of Korea. I sent an email to Ilsemarie in Germany. She stayed at a small island off the coast of Morroco for two weeks. I am envious of her and her family because she and her family often go on travels, especially in cold winter season in Germany, they go to warm lands like Spain, Canaria Island or southern France and Italy. But she says it will be possible for another year or sob because her husband, Hardy, has begun to suffer from a kind of mental disease. We cannot avoid growing old, but I worry about him. 

February 2nd - the whole country is almost frozen up.

  The cold weather is still continuing. In many places, especially in Tohoku and Hokuriku, the amount of snow is already twice ot three times as much as usual years. Even in Nagoya, where it snows scarecely in usual years, it snowed 15 cm deep or more.
  Mr.Hasegawa in Nayoro phoned me, requesting me to serve as an interpreter in the symposium on fine arts in Japan and Korea held  on Monday. I answered I was very afraid it would be almost impossible for me to do it, because I had almost no knowledge about fine arts, especially about Korean fine arts. But there are no other interpreter, so I am afraid I will have to accept it. Do I have time and energy to study about the history or the present situation of fine arts of Korea now? 

It is February 1st, and it is another severely cold day today.

  January has passed away and February has set in. Here and there across Japan, heavy snowfalls are reported. In Yamagata, three people were killed by an avalanche, while enjoying bedrockbathing. In Aomori prefecture, more than 100 automobils are stranded on the national road by blizzard. This severe cold and the snowy season will last at least one more month. We can hardly wait for spring to come.
 I have worked on translation of the order of ceremonies of Nayoro Snow Festival.