On a day trip to Okutama (about an hour west of Shinjuku), I met with wasabi cultivator David Hulme, an Australian expat and former journalist who has been working hard to expand knowledge of wasabi growing and restoring an old wasabi patch!
The island nation lies along the western edge of the Ring of Fire, making it one of the most tectonically active places on Earth, with as much as 10% of the world’s volcanic activity!
Most local Japanese have practiced various disaster drills (for earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.) since their childhood years. Foreigners like myself who have never grown up with the frequent risk of earthquakes, however, have to take extra measures to get familiar with what to do in the case of a disaster in Tokyo. Recently I took part in my office building’s earthquake drill and also a Disaster Preparedness Drill for Foreign Residents government sponsored by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
Junten High School has been awarding Harvard Prize Books annually since 2014. This year, there were many contenders for the Prize. The final winner selected was Mr. Takeru Ohmura (大村武尊), who has demonstrated great persistence and determination in pursuing his passion for studying hospitality.
順天高校では２０１４年度から実施していて今回は４人目の受賞者を選出しました。今年の受賞者は大村武尊君です。
My previous post 「国際宇宙探査フォーラム International Space Exploration Forum (Part １)」was on my experience as a Y-ISEF participant learning about the space industry and working with other talented young professionals to present our ideas in the Ideathon. In this post, I wish to share my experience as a Questioner for S-ISEF (ISEF for high school Students; http://s-isef.jpn.org/) and representing Singapore on the Y-ISEF Reception stage.
前のブログは「国際宇宙探査フォーラム International Space Exploration Forum (Part １)」で、Y-ISEFの参加者としての経験について書きました。でも、私はISEFの色んなイベントの参加者であることに加えて、スピーカーや質問者としても関わっていました。Y-ISEFが終わった後、次世代を担う高校生を対象としたサイドイベント「S-ISEF」（ISEF for Students）にも「質問者」として誘っていただきました。
Last month, the 2nd International Space Exploration Forum (ISEF2) was held in Tokyo, sponsored by Japan’s Cabinet Office, MEXT, METI, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The event was a gathering of high-level governmental representatives to examine how space exploration expands the horizons of humanity and how it challenges us to gain and share the knowledge, experiences, and benefits as common assets for all humankind.
文部科学省及び国立研究開発法人宇宙航空研究開発機構（JAXA）は、2018年3月に東京都内で第２回国際宇宙探査フォーラム（ISEF2）を開催しました。国際宇宙探査フォーラム（ISEF）は、宇宙探査における国際協力の促進を目的とした閣僚級を含む政府レベルでの対話・意見交換の会議です。そして、私は次世代を担う若手を対象としたサイドイベント「Y-ISEF」（ISEF for Young Professionals）に誘われて、4日間のイベントに参加致しました。本サイドイベントでは、国内外の18歳以上から35歳程度までの学生や多様な分野で活躍するヤングプロフェッショナル約80名を幅広く募り、世界をリードする起業家や各国の政策決定者等と今後の宇宙探査について議論し交流する場を提供しました。
White Day (ホワイトデー) is a day marked in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China on March 14, one month after Valentine’s Day. However, Japan probably takes the custom for this day to a different level. On White Day, men return gifts to women who gifted them chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Believe it or not, White Day has been celebrated in Japan since 1978: it was started by the confectionery company back then, promoting men to buy their marshmallows as the return gift for Valentine’s Day. Now, flowers, candies, and many other varied gifts are popular along with chocolates and marshmallows. Often, the color of the gift is white because of the name of the day (unsurprisingly). Again, department stores have *many* advanced reminders with gift displays so men will have no excuse to forget about this special day for the ladies. The term sanbai gaeshi (三倍返し, ‘triple the return’) is used to describe the generally recited rule for men that the return gift should be two to three times the worth of Valentine’s gift from the lady.
3月14日はホワイトデーで「バレンタインデーに貰ったプレゼントのお返しを贈る日」です。バレンタインデーと同じくこうした男性が女性にプレゼントを渡すイベントを楽しみにしている人も多いでしょう。でも、ホワイトデーに何を渡すかによって、相手に伝えたい気持ちの意味が変わると思います。ホワイトデーは日本で生まれた日本特有のイベントなので、外国人はあまり知られていないかもしれません。初めて聞く時、「ホワイトデーはなんで「ホワイト」なの？ 誰が3月14日って決めたの？ いつどんな風に始まった風習なの？」と考えていて、とても興味があったので、調査しました。
