At 2:00 in the afternoon there was a 'Gallery Talk' by the curator of the house. It was definitely good. She knows every detail of the exhibition and her talk shows her loving attention to the valued objects. It might be a matter of course…

The Corporate Museum takes us back to the days when CM songs and cosmetic seasonal campaign fascinated almost everyone -- nowadays young people do not watch TV, knowing very little about TV advertisements except those watched purposefully …

One day excursion on Friday 6 December 2019 In the morning we went to Yamaha Harmony Plaza. It was really a good factory tour, when there are those in the party who are eager to learn anything about music and musical instruments in additio…

I am one of the 45,000 disappointed ticket holders who would have been delightedly excited at Toyota Stadium on 12 October 2019. The match scheduled on that day between New Zealand and Italy has become the first ever cancelled match in the…

I have two tickets for the match between New Zealand versus Italy on Saturday 12th October 2019, Rugby World Cup, when a typhopn No. 19 is extected to hit Japan. There will be some announcement today by the organization. I hope there will …

I have participated in the growing cotton project by Factelier. Probably it is earlier than expected but some already splitted open and I have some soft white cotton wool harvested from the plants. In the cotton wool seeds are protected. I…

I realized I saw a small mantis more than one month ago. Is this him? Probably not. Can you recognize the green small onw? The leaves are shiso. How small he is!

look at the spider under his hands He is climbing up on the window magnificent He is paying attention to me! なんか文句ある、的？

Two of the most frequently encountered residents in the garden. Schlegel's green frog changes colours and he is brownish in the lower part of his body because he has been here on the brown window frame probably for a long time. The mantis …

A part of Burrell Collection at Glasgow has come to Shizuoka. There is a very good BBC programme about Sir William Burrell: https://search.yahoo.co.jp/video/search;_ylt=A2RCxA7nbEpdzDsAwOuJBtF7?p=willam+burrell&fr=top_ga1_sa&ei=UTF-8 Large…

She is still weak and very thin, but she seems better. One day she can eat. The next day she vomits and cannot eat at all. This repeats.

She is dying. She is a perfect cat. The only fault she has is that she has a weak stomach. She is agile and athletic, so she is not weak, but she cannot eat much; or I should say 'was' as she cannot eat enough now and has become too thin a…

At Covent Garden back in 1990s Thomas Allen as Don Giovanni grabbed me. He was a heart-throb and the Commandatore scene was heart-stopping. The recent 新国立劇場 Don Giovanni was, to me, dominated by Donna Elvira. It was her story. It was …

The seeds companies do not recommend, but we have rucola in winter. Better than in summer as in warm months the leaves have too many (unwelcome) guests. The butterflies and other insects leave their descendants and the complete leaves are …

extravagance avoided extravagance avoided As I mentioned a tea master, the shop clerk showed me a really superior tea. It was an exquisite feast to the eyes and the nose. Taste? Of course he did not let me try. The price per 100 g: more th…

extravagance avoided extravagance avoided As I mentioned a tea master, the shop clerk showed me a really superior tea. It was an exquisite feast to the eyes and the nose. Taste? Of course he did not let me try. The price per 100 g: more th…

extravagance avoided extravagance avoided As I mentioned a tea master, the shop clerk showed me a really superior tea. It was an exquisite feast to the eyes and the nose. Taste? Of course he did not let me try. The price per 100 g: more th…

Ashurbanipal The ancient king of Syria, Ashurbanipal (668-627 BC): very impressive scholar king. I failed to take pictures but there are panels depicting peaceful gardens. Magic and medicine books, these together! The combination of the an…

St Hugh's College, Oxford on the second day, a little different presentation but as good Always good to be there. Breakfast at My Bloomsbury. Extremely good cheddar cheese, honey roast ham, bread and pain au chocolat with good butter and s…

We used to have lots of dark green Harrods, yellow Selfridges, green M &S, orange Sainsbury’s etc plastic bags. No plastic bags any longer. Paper bags have revived. Or, no bags at all. Yes, I knew the supermarkets did not offer free plasti…

I always liked breakfast at the hotel I stayed last night. This time I am not so certain, as tea and coffee are not served on the table any longer. The men and women who used to get ready to offer tea or coffee are now just there to remove…

In November, I was about to go through the ticket gate at Kyoto station. The ticket card was in my pass case in the handbag. The fastener on top caught something in my bag and wouldn’t open. The station officer helped me but in vain. He ev…