Long time no see

Don't put "you" after "see". A teacher in EAON taught me today. Thank you.
Probably I made many mistakes in my English compositions of this blog.
I have no confidence.
Actually, speaking English isn't an easy work for me.
That's why, during I speaking or writing English, I can forget daily worries. I take English classes to keep my mind off my troubles.

Yeah, sometimes I feel that I want to be an octopus in the shallows like one who I saw in Okinawa. He looked like optimistic and happy. He lived a life of ease.
What was he thinking? He drifted on the waves and were looking up the surface of the sea which was glittering in the sunlight.
If I were an octopus, I need not think about many things. I can always relax. Only when a stupid human being comes near, I have only to spurt ink. But I'm too careless, I must be caught by a diver and cooked to tako-yaki.

By the way, do you know the difference between "Hiroshima-yaki" and "modern-yaki"?Recently, I knew it. The main part of Hiroshima-yaki is yakisoba(fried noodles). That's why its Okonomi-yaki part is really thin. On the other hand, the main part of modern-yaki is okonomi-yaki. If I add pieces of cut octopus as an ingredient, I think modern-yaki is better.

Hongo-kan

The apartment house was built in 1905 (Meiji 38). It's a wooden building and has 3 floors. It is located near the main gate of Tokyo University in Hongo. In those days, there used to be many rooming houses and boarding houses for students and teachers.
The owner started business in 1906. It wasn't destroyed by big earthquake in1923 and escaped the fire by massed air raids on Tokyo. Hongo- kan's 100th birthday comes round. It has seen many changes of owner. And now the young owner decided to rebuild it. A matter of course, the building has warped. Its floors are out of horizontal. Its roof line curves. The wooden pillars are not vertically. Because the beams lean, to set an aluminum frame for window, the owner had to attach an wooden board under the beams.
If an earthquake measuring five, it will be destroyed. So the owner's decision is the way should be. I know.
Because a friend of mine lives there, I and my friend could enter the apartment house this Sunday. We made a journey to Meiji period. Inside of the building were filled with real darkness. These days, we have seldom seen such darkness. Its walls, floors, ceilings, and stairs were made of wooden boards. They changed their color with the years like old temples. Almost all inner parts of the building were black.
The black wasn't a color of black paint. It is dark of 100 years. I felt something seemed to live there not only its inhabitants.
Recently, almost all Hongo-kan's inhabitants (only human beings) strengthen their unity and they are going to preserve the building.
I stayed at Hongo-kan half a day this Sunday and I knew the reason why they love the old apartment house. The journey was an amusing adventure. So I'm going to write down the whole story. Because it was too interesting, I'm wondering about writing in Japanse in order to tell all the details. It must be more fun than "the Maison Ikkoku Story".
Hongo –kan Story. Fact is stranger than fiction.

Times are changing.

I bought 32 hardback books covers today. But I paid only 10,000 yen.
I sometimes walked by the secondhand bookstore. Next to the bookstore is my favorite cake shop. It takes about only 5 minutes from my office.
The bookstore always sold books in carts on sale. Because there were carts in front of its show window, I didn't notice the shocking price tag.
"原色日本の美術 Complete in 32 volumes. 10,000 yen"
What should I translate the title of the complete works ? It means The Primary Japanese Arts. Probably.
This Tuesday, I entered the bookstore for the first time and I noticed the owner would be honest in business. The store was small but clean and there were only books of literature, art, art philosophy. The owner was an old man with white hair. It seemed to me that he was most suitable person for an owner of a secondhand bookstore. He looked like an unworldly man. He might live on air.
I asked him.
"I think the price is too low. Isn't it a mistake? 100,000 yen or one volume is sold at 10,000 yen?"
He said "Times are changing."
"if you want to buy them, please come here by your car. As you know, they are heavy."
I didn't have time to talk him because the lunch time was almost over.

He explained why the price was low as he carried books from a bookshelf into my car today.
"In the past, typical Japanese thought that it was cool that there was the complete works like an encyclopedia in a big bookshelf in their living room. People believed it looked high-class. Except for a small group of art lovers, for almost all Japanese, they are dead wood now. And we worried over how to deal with this situation. I know its marked price is about 5,000 yen now. But we will sell them at just only 10,000 yen. We will be glad if you are pleased."

Yeah, I'm so glad. I can see almost all famous Japanese traditional arts and crafts in them. I can know the Japanese way of thinking and they will be seeds of new ideas.
There are already 4 books of them in my parents' house. When the second edition was sold, they were too expensive for my father. So he bought only his favorite volumes. I discovered a memo on the back cover of it. The memo is the date he bought it and the explanation why he could buy. Because of an increase of my salary.

For some people, book is a status symbol. But for some people, it can be something different. For example, a small gift to ourselves which we can get by work.
Did I the right thing? Shouldn't I buy the 32 volumes too cheaply ???
I might have to sell new 4 books even if they are better preserved than old 4 books.
The memories of old 4 books are more precious than new 4 books.
They occupied the back seat of my car now. Actually, there were heavy and bulky books.
But we don't have a big bookshelf and a large living room.

Yellow Vinyl Seat

I felt cool last night for the first time in this summer. No, it isn't summer. Autumn has come already. I'm glad because I like this season.

When I was having lunch yesterday, a middle-aged couple entered the restaurant. Because the voice of a cook was too friendly and loudly, I noticed them. The man used a wheelchair. The woman, I didn't know if she was his wife, looked like that she didn’t care there was not a table for a person in a wheelchair. The restaurant has only high table counter and high chairs.
The cook told her with a smile, "please do as you like." I understood it was an only service which the restaurant could offer. So she decided to use a chair as a table for him.
The chair had a small round yellow vinyl seat and the backrest was low. The seat was dirty.
I didn’t look at them for a long time. But I felt that it was difficult job for him to eat pasta from the dish on the chair. It will be hard task for me too. And he looked he didn’t have full use of his right hand and neck.
The vinyl seat was dirty, it made me so sad. What did he feel?
The yellow vinyl seat looked spiteful.
An artificial object might hurt one’s feelings.
The restaurant is in Hirathuka station. I think station is a public space. So the restaurants should be ready for all sorts of people. Didn't JR notice it ? Didn't the interior designer propose that the restaurant has a low table? Didn't the restaurant refuse? I don't know. But I know it is generally accepted that efficiency is most important for the shops or restaurants. Well, I have an idea.
Setting low tables and an explanation. It says
"This is a priority seat. People without wheelchair can sit down but if an old person or a person in wheelchair comes, we might ask you to change seats. Thank you."

The scene was too heavy for me. Did he want eat pasta even if his human dignity might hurt? But my sentimentality and complaints will not improve the situation. Because the restaurant company doesn't have its email address, I'd better call to claim. I would like to enjoy lunch time with customers who are relaxed.

EAON card

I haven't been to EAON since this June. Today I went to EAON after a long absence.
Today's phrase was "Is this what you're looking for?"
A: what are you looking for ?
B: I've been looking everywhere for my EAON card. I just had it 4 month ago. Now where did I put it ? Have you seen it anywhere?
A: Let me help you a hand. Let's check lost items. I thought I saw it around here.
B: Thanks. I have a criminal record. I lost it once before.
A: Is it that one over there? (she turned over it and check the name.)
Hey! Here it is. Is this it?
B: Oh, yes. Thank you very much.

OK. The review of today's lesson is perfect.
My EAON card had waited for me until I came back to there.
I start feeling like studying English again.

Far beyond the sea

Niraikanai comes from beyond the sea. He is the god of the ocean. He sometimes comes to this world swimming a long distance from his world. I heard that the legend had been widely believed in Okinawa But when I saw the sea of Okinawa, I noticed the legend was still alive. The sea of Okinawa is too beautiful, too blue, too deep, and...
Because of my small vocabulary, I cannot find a suitable word for it
For a long time, the sea had been scenery for me. I cannot swim well. So I always enjoyed the sight of it. But to my surprise, I was in the sea for a few hours.

Snorkeling is a good sport for a beginner like me. Do you remember “ Suimie”? We read the book in elementary school. I looked a school of small fish which they sparkled in the sunlight. A school of fish often turned suddenly. I sometimes tried to touch it, but always I couldn’t. Who decide the direction? Probably it was “Suimie”. He must be the leader of the school.
I looked a white sea snake. It was swimming zigzag. An Nimmo in the bed of sea anemone was really cute. There were stylish fish with stripes of yellow, a polka-dot pattern of pink, and vivid green. They kept their own pace. They swam slowly. They sometimes looked at me out of the corner of their eyes. “Strange animals with big fins! “
An octopus was off its guard at the shallows. The next moment, he was caught by a diver. It is a law of nature. The weak are victims of the strong.

Visiting aquariums or planetariums are not bad. But they are imitation.
The sea of Okinawa is real nature. I was a child of nature and felt relaxed there.
I need not look a daydream any longer. If I feel disgusted with the contemporary Japan made of artificial objects, I have only to get on the expressway bus at Honathugi to meet Niraikanai.