Kanji, or Hanzi in Chinese, has obtained cult status. Practically every day I come across something with Kanji on it. Unfortunately, often times they contain blatantly ignorant mistakes. Clothes shops sell t-shirts with random Japanese letters strung together, as if it should be readable. Furniture shops offer furniture, bed covers, cushion covers, and even matching curtains with inverted and mirrored Kanji on it. Once I saw a BWM with Kanji stickers proudly decorating both side doors. It read “Viagra” in Chinese… However, these mistakes are nothing compared to the mistakes I have seen on various body parts as “Kanji tattoos.”

It is truly flattering to know that Kanji and the Japanese and Chinese languages have gained such prominence and status among tattoo fans. However, if you are going to engrave something on your body, show respect for yourself, as well as for our language and culture, and learn a thing or two about the language and the art of Asian calligraphy before getting it done. Otherwise you will find yourself secretly sweating, every time a Japanese girl comments on your tattoo, wondering “Did she mean it? Or was that sarcasm in her voice?” Or worse, you might end up on one of the many Japanese websites that showcase the gibberish Kanji tattoos they have come across.

How can you avoid ending up with a Kanji tattoo that screams “amateur”?

• Do not have Western names translated into Kanji and inked. Kanji are symbols which often have several meanings. When someone “translates” Western names into Kanji, they are simply fishing out Kanji that have the right phonetics, Kanji that sound similar to the word they are trying to translate. Take the name “Stacy” as an example. When translated into Japanese, it becomes a 5-Japanese-letter word (su-te-i-shi-i, since the word is broken up into syllables, as it should be spoken in the Japanese language). To translate it into Kanji, one would have to find five Kanji which sound like the five syllables of the name. Of course the translator would (or should) make sure they choose Kanji with positive connotations, such as “poem” as opposed to “death” (both words pronounced “shi” in Japanese) — but be aware that if you ask ten people to translate your name into Kanji, you will likely end up with ten different results. It is that subjective, the art of “translating” names into Kanji. If you still insist on having a name inked, have it done in Katakana instead of Kanji. At least then it would be an objective symbolism of the name, in other words, without the translator’s “interpretation” of your name into symbols (Kanji). However, if you are adamant about having Kanji, then my next suggestion would be to keep it short. Have the name translated into just one Kanji, for the first syllable in the name for example, and then have the Kanji inked in the design of a Hanko stamp. This is much more elegant, artistic and aesthetic than having several random Kanji that have the phonetics to sound like a Western name. To a native speaker, such strings of Kanji look extremely odd and usually need to be explained before it can be understood.
• Keep it simple. Do not even think about translating a whole sentence or phrase. Most likely the meaning will get lost in translation. If you are keen on getting a certain message across with your tattoo, consult a native speaker and convey what it is you want to get across and see if an original Chinese or Japanese proverb can get the same point across. David Beckham’s famous Chinese proverb tattoo is a great example. Direct translations should be avoided for obvious reasons.
• Consult a reliable native speaker — or two, to get different opinions and inputs. Do not rely on a non-native or just walk into a tattoo parlor and choose from their Kanji catalogs without any research. Many of the catalogs circulating the internet and tattoo parlors are full of translation mistakes, missing strokes, crooked Kanji that you have to tilt your head to read, and disproportional, unattractive Kanji that were clearly not written by someone with calligraphy skills. Besides, the selection is extremely limited, considering the fact that there are thousands of Kanji in the Japanese and Chinese language to choose from.

Having said all of that, let me leave you on a thought: Japanese are wary of tattoos, since we associate it with Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. In fact, most bath houses and Onsen (hot spring baths) in Japan have specific rules prohibiting people with tattoos from bathing there. It is the politically correct way of saying “Yakuza not welcome.” So as flattering as it is that the Western world has come to embrace our language and incorporated it into their culture of tattooing, be aware that you will seldom meet a Japanese with a Kanji tattoo, much less a tattoo. It is just not our culture.

The list is long: pigeon-toed, squeaky voices, baby noises, giggly, cute make-up, air headed, pig tails, flower prints, pastel one-pieces, furry little stuffed dolls, and so on. The popular images shared around the world of Japanese girls is all about cuteness.

There are many plausible theories floating around the internet on why Japanese women are so cute. Some theories range from how they are portrayed in manga and in anime that have a direct effect on young Japanese girls. There are also social demands placed on young women from men to be cute and skinny. Marketing ploys to attract business for everything cute and cuddly are all over Japan. Then there’s the media, and so forth and so on. All of these reasons have some validity.

My take on all of this is relatively straight forward. The keyword here is trends, which come and go here in Japan, along with marketing schemes started by celebrities and media moguls. The “Kawaii” or “cuteness syndrome,” as it’s called in English, didn’t start overnight. I contend that it was started at around the latter half of Japan’s “bubble economy” when prosperity swept through the country, how else could Japanese girls fund their shopping expeditions. Some pundits may argue against this by saying the origins of “kawaii” started much earlier than this. Depending on which aspect of “kawaii,” they are correct. My view is much more contemporary and practical.

Seika Matsuda was and is still the person largely credited for starting this “cuteness” trend back in the 1980s. She was the first “cute” idol, singer, and songwriter to flood the television airwaves back when Japan was experiencing its economic boom, and eventually its subsequent decline.

Ms. Matsuda has been hailed as the eternal goddess by television networks all over the country. For 32 years her influence has been felt in almost every aspect of Japanese industry. She has inspired generations of T.V. personalities and songwriters like Ayumi Hamasaki who has also been idolized by almost all young super cute Japanese girls. Everything from the way she dresses to the way she wears her make up. The way she talks and walks is all emulated by cute Japanese girls.

Like Matsuda Seika, Ayumi Hamasaki has been marketed by major companies for their cuteness as shown in their T.V. commercials, music videos, and live performances.

Japanese girls are cute because of the direct and indirect influences of these two women. The media helps perpetuate this cute image that young girls find to be trendy and fashionable by incorporating cute dolls and girly accessories such as “Hello Kitty”. It’s all big business which has been generating millions of dollars in cute goods and clothing items for decades. Japanese girls are cute because it’s trendy and society glorifies this trend. This trend is a part of the culture of Japan now and has become a huge draw for foreign tourist.

It is interesting to learn that there was only one Empress in 3000 years of Chinese History. Instead, Japan had 10 Empresses in its history. Women in China look more liberated than Japan, today. On the other hand, Japanese women are noted to be holding and quiet. It may not be true in these days, but world impression about Japanese women is obedient. It appears that the Samurai Regime is to be blamed for putting Japanese women in obedient positions. Especially, Tokugawa Edo Shogun Government determined that women should be behind the political and social scenes.

In older days than Samurai government, established in 1492, Japanese women were more liberal and freely appeared often in politics. The very first Ruler of Japan was a woman, Himiko. Among above 10 Empresses, 8 Empresses were in between 6th and 8th Century. This Empress name is “Komyo Empress”. She played a vital role in Buddhism became national religion in Japan.

Buddhism is interesting religion. Siddhartha Gautama started Buddhism in India between 6th and 4th Century BC. After severe training, Siddhartha became Buddha, Awaken One, started to teach and lead people. For some reason, Buddhism did not become major in India, its original place. In India, according to their national survey, 2001, the largest religion is Hinduism, 80.5%. The second largest religion is Islam, 13.4%. Christianity has the third position of 2.3% of population of India. The Buddhist population is only 0.8% in the survey above.

The Buddhism became extremely popular in China between 5th and 7th Century. The Japanese Imperial Government in 8th Century decided Buddhism to be its national religion. Empress Komyo was pious Buddhist. She became an Empress in 724. She was the wife of Emperor Shomu. Emperor Shomu introduced Buddhism to be against existing aristocrats’ local religion. The local religion, Shitoism, became too dominant to intervene government in many ways. Later, Buddhism became major religious authority in Japan centered on its concept of “Love, Equality, and Unlimited Mercy”.

In 8th and 9th Centuries, Japan built world heritage status historical monuments. Todaiji Temple is one of them. Yakushiji Temple is another. Daibutsu “Big Statue of Buddha” in Nara represents all the Buddhism monuments built during this period.

Empress Komyo stayed to be consort of Japanese Emperor Shomu. She was, however, known as the central promoter of Buddhism. She was the one who planned and implemented building of all the Nara Period Buddhism monuments, including Todaiji, Yakushiji, and Daibutsu. She built the first Japanese national hospital, Seyakuin. Japanese mythology tells Empress Komyo involved herself in treatments of patients. She did not limit the function of this national hospital just to Emperor family or aristocrats. Anybody sick despite their social class could use this hospital.

One day, Empress Komyo was engaging in patient’s treatment, in the national hospital. An old man with Hansen’s disease came to her. Empress Komyo tried to clean his body, but she could not clean all pus from his wounds. Empress Komyo started to suck his pus with her mouth for cleaning. Suddenly the old leper changed his appearance. He was one of Buddha’s messengers, Nyo-Rai. Nyo-Rai told her Buddhism would protect her country and people so that her people would enjoy prosperity. Buddhism became the national religion with Empress Komyo’s success.

As a country with a long history and unique culture Japan has many tourist attractions, both for those who seek the old classic Japanese experience and those hoping to experience the modern, high tech, Japan. Many anime and manga fans dream of visiting Japan to take photographs of famous anime and manga locales, as well as see those places firsthand. Here are eight must-see locations in Japan that anime and manga fans should check on their next trip:

Studio Ghibli Museum – If you love Studio Ghibli movies such as Laputa, Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro you will want to visit the official Studio Ghibli Museum located in Mitaka City Tokyo. The museum offers giant dolls and status from the Ghibli movies, rooms filled with production cells that explain the animation process behind the movies, and an official Ghibli memorabilia store. The museum is well suited for children and adult alike and has a cafeteria and café inside of it. Because it is very popular by both Japanese and tourists alike people are encouraged to secure their tickets by ordering them via the museum's website beforehand.

Lucky Star Shrine – The city of Kuki in Saitama is the backdrop for the popular manga and anime series Lucky Star. The Washinomia shrine that can be found there was also described in the series. The shrine offers Lucky Star goods such as themed Ema, postcards and lucky charms. On New Year's eve the shrine throws a big celebration with some motifs from the Lucky Star series.

Onegai Teacher and Onegai Twins locations – Lake Kizaki in Nagano and its surrounding were depictively expanded in the Onegai Teacher and Onegai Twins anime series. The lake is not located near any big or important landmark so it might be a bit of a sidetrack for some, but the lush forest and traditional city found near it are well worth the time for anime and non-anime fans alike. The lake and its surroundings offer many attractions such as forest tracks, traditional Japanese shops, lake activities and many other tourist attractions.

Kannagi Shrine – Fans of the manga and anime Kannagi – Crazy Shrine Maidens might want to visit Hanabushi shrine. The shrine provided the back for the manga and anime series Kannagi and can be found in Shiogama City, Miyagi Prefecture. The shrine is very humble and simple. Those visiting might find Ema with drawings from the Kannagi series hung inside or near it.

Tokyo Tower – a Japanese monument anime and manga fans may remember from the famous series Card Captor Sakura and Magic Knight Rayearth. Tokyo Tower offers a great view of Tokyo and houses several shops. It is a popular tourist location that attracts Japanese and foreigners alike. Tokyo Tower is located in Shiba-Koen, Minato, Tokyo.

Bakemonogatari Shrine – The Inari Shrine found in Kyoto was used as the backdrop for a few episodes in the anime series Bakemonogatari. It is a beautiful shrine located at the foot of a mountain. It is famous for having thousands of Torii (Shinto shrine gates) decorating its slopes and the roads that lead to it. The shrine was built on the mountain side. Those who climb the mountain will reach a lookout point from which they can see Kyoto in its entity.

The Kyoto Manga Museum – Kyoto hosts the manga museum – a school building that was converted into a museum holding nothing but manga! Those visiting the museum can freely read any of the thousands of manga volumes found in the first and second floors. The manga museum is not a commercial museum and was established for the preservation of manga with cultural value. For those researchers among you there is a research reference room with hard to find historical manga in it. The museum also runs exhibitions on the history of manga and comics worldwide.

Pokemon Centers – In Japan there exist several shops for those fans of the Pokemon franchise. These are called Pokemon Centers and are designed to look like places from the Pokemon TV series and games. In these centers you can buy memorabilia, see pictures from the anime series and at special occasions download new and rare Pokemon for you Nintendo DS Pokemon games. In total there are 7 Pokemon Centers in Japan. The Tokyo Pokemon Center is located in Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo.

Used Japan cars are the major attraction in today’s world even in these slowed down economic conditions. Today, many people around the globe are importing used Japan cars that available in the Japan automobile market for almost half the price of the new ones. With the bundled accessories that come with these used cars, they are one of the hot selling stuffs today. However, finding a used car exporter is a time consuming and tiresome job. Here in this article, you will find some tips to make used Japan car purchase a breeze.

Research before you make a physical approach

If you are from abroad, traveling all the way to Japan in search of some used car exporters, you will really loose a great deal of cash and energy. Physically searching for used car exporters in Japan will be tiresome and at the end of the day you will end up in finding none of them. Hence it is always better to do a bit of research about the Japan used car market before you head to Japan. The Internet, the world’s largest library is the best place to get the contact information of the used Japan car exporters.

Look for genuine used Japan car exporters

There are many websites that provide wealthy information about the used car exporters in Japan. However, for the moment of truth not all the Japan used car websites will guide you to the right Japan car exporter. For example, most of the websites which showcases used Japan cars will carry the photos of the used cars that are available for sale. By seeing the classiness and good condition of the car in the photo, you will head all the way to Japan to buy or you will order it online. Finally you will get a very old car in a very poor condition. Before proceeding with the used car purchase, you should always contact the used car exporter through telephone or emails and make sure that they are genuine. It is very much essential to search for used Japan cars in trusted sources. They list the contact details of the used car exporters in Japan after serious verification. This ensures you to get the exact product that is listed in the website.

Why to buy Used Japan Cars from Japan?

Now you may be wondering what is the benefit of importing a used car directly from Japan, when they are available in your home country itself. There are many reasons for this. As there is no import tax associated with the import of used cars from Japan, importing them directly will be very much cheaper. Moreover, the cars used by the Japanese car owners will be far good than the ones from other countries. The Japanese Government has strict regulations on road safety that forces the Japanese car owners to keep their ride in excellent condition. Hence it is more beneficial to import car directly from Japan. With the easiness in importing cars from Japan and many other benefits, there is no reason that you shouldn’t buy a used Japan car. Buy a used Japan car today and experience the difference.

Japan Town, San Francisco, is located near center of the city. When one drives on Geary from east approaching Van Ness, one begins to see 5 stories Japanese style Pagoda. There is an office of National Japanese Association on Post Street, if one is interested in learning Japanese American History. There is a lot of Japanese monuments in Japan Town. The symbolic is the tower located in North Center of Japan Town on Post Street. It says “Japan Town” in Japanese.

This tower copies Fire Watching Tower in Japan. In Edo period of Tokugawa Shogun Government, volunteer and professional fire fighters were watching fires from the top of the tower. When they find a fire, ring the bell inside and alarm residents and signal fire fighters depart from the base station.

The most symbolic in Japan Town is the Japanese style 5 stories Pagoda. Pagoda was built to preserve and save Buddha bones after he deceased. This Pagoda is in the Center Square of 2 main buildings in Japan town. The square is a good place for having lunch with your friend in weekdays. The square today was full of young Asian tourists.

There is a wall on the Geary Street side of Japan Town, between main 2 buildings in the area. The wall was quite solemn. There are 2 Chinese Characters engraved on the wall. The Characters, on the wall, mean “Peace” in Japanese. This square is for preserving and recording what happened in the World War II to teach people how war can affect people.

In Japan Town, Street Names are shown both in English and Japanese. Japan Town is the unique place to find the street names are shown in both languages. I cannot believe 2 countries have a history of war in taking a look at this arrangement.

Walking into the one of 2 main buildings, one would not believe that he still is in the US. One feels like walking in some shopping mall in down town Tokyo, such as Shinjuku.

There are lots of Japan related shops, such as Kimono (Japanese Traditional Clothes) Shops, Japanese Traditional Dram Training Place, Japanese Antique Shops, or Japanese Restaurants. Everybody loves Sushi restaurant in Japan Town, San Francisco.

In the US, historically an immigrant’s country, it is not so hard to find any ethnicity. Japan is not an exception. The most typical is Japan Town, but even without visiting Japan Town, San Francisco, there are Japan anywhere in Bay Area.

Driving on El Camino Real, which runs across California as a historic drive, one can find an Authentic Japanese Garden, in Central Park San Mateo. The person who designed, built, and maintained is 1st generation Japanese gentleman. His name is Sam. Sam came to US, when he was 10 years old.

After he had changed his job several times, San Mateo County hired him. Until he retired, he was the main person who took care of the Japanese Garden. In winter, he took out all the carps from the pound and changed water. In the spring, he took care of flowers and sharp wood branch tips so that children who play there were not hurt. Even after his official retirement, he goes to his garden and make sure everything is in order. His constant care and effort kept the garden beautiful.

This is an issue many Japanese learners come up against, particularly if they live outside Japan. After all, If you are not in the country, it seems difficult to justify the huge amount of time that learning Japanese characters seems to require.

So what are the problems in using Romaji (Roman letters, like the characters you are reading right now) for studying Japanese:

1. Mother-Tongue Conflict

The associations your brain will create between Japanese words written in Romaji and English words (or those of your mother tongue) greatly increases the risk of mispronunciation. Japanese symbols will have none of these associations for you. The very fact that they are completely alien helps you to start your language learning experience from a blank sheet. Your chances of being able to gain the correct pronunciation soar.

2. Show Me The Romaji

Your textbook may be in Romaji, but you will be very hard-pressed to find any real examples in Japan. Of course, you can see a fair amount of reasonably understandable English, but not Romaji. And watch what happens when write some Japanese in Romaji and show it to your native speaker friend: They have a really hard time deciphering it, because Japanese people just don’t it.

3. Today’s Crutch Becomes Tomorrow’s Burden

If you decide to continue your studies in Japanese, you will eventually need to start to grapple with the characters themselves anyway. In my opinion, it is harder to leave the crutch of Romaji behind than it is to bite the character bullet at the beginning of your studies.

As you can see, there are serious problems with using Romaji when you start to learn Japanese. So what is my advice to learners? Well, it really depends on your motivation and needs:

1. The Serious Student

This could be a person who is going to be living in Japan for a period of time, whether as a teacher or a businessperson, or someone who travels regularly to Japan for meetings.

If you are in this group, you should first master hiragana and katakana before you even start with any other aspect of the language. Then, when you do begin, you can dive right into a “proper” Japanese textbook.

Hiragana and katakana are not at all difficult to learn. I learned them part-time in a couple of weeks. Even kanji can be learned fairly rapidly by a motivated and well-organized student with the right tools.

2. The Hobbyist

Perhaps you don’t have a burning need to learn Japanese. You are doing it for pleasure, or because you are planning on visiting Japan.

If this is you, then your options are more varied. However, even in your situation, I would not suggest starting with a Romaji textbook. Instead, I would recommend you begin with the spoken language. If you are wondering how you can do this if you are not in Japan, check out the Pimsleur method. Sure, it is a little expensive even second-hand. The point is that you will be able to speak and understand enough for a short trip. Once you have completed the course, you can then decide whether you wish to stop there, or continue studying in a more serious manner – in which case you then follow the Serious Student method I mentioned before.

Learning to speak and listen will keep your language-learning fun, whilst not undermining any future serious study by getting you used to the Romaji crutch.

So whatever your motivations are and whatever your needs, if you can avoid the Romaji crutch, you will pick up the language better and be well-placed to make rapid progress in the future.

In the early years of the last century, long-established German companies dominated the world of film cameras. Brands such as Leitz and Zeiss were giants, and celebrated for their precision engineering and optical performance.

Japan, on the other hand, was a nation emerging from isolation, experiencing rapid growth and structural change. Lacking in the natural resources necessary to fuel an emerging industrialised nation, it had expanded its territories, and much of the country’s manufacturing was dedicated to further intensifying military might. Many of today’s well know Japanese camera manufactures began as suppliers of optical equipment to the Military (making things such as binoculars, sights, and periscopes).

The end of WWII changed everything for the two nations. The German camera industry was in ruins. Worse yet, the division of Germany into two zones physically separated manufacturing plants. In the West Leitz survived intact, but others in the East were further decimated by Russian governance. Zeiss’s tools and equipment were even removed and relocated to invigorate the Soviet camera industry.

Leitz was able to survive, because it innovated and specialised. In 1954, not quite ten years after the end of the war, Leitz introduced the Leica M3. It was such a step forward in thinking coupled with precision manufacturing that most rival companies gave-up trying to compete in the domain of rangefinder cameras (it was however outrageously expensive, and not designed for the mass market). Meanwhile, Zeiss pursued the outdated strategy of incremental improvements to pre-war cameras, resulting in over-complexity, impracticability and extremely high prices. Their failure to innovate paved the way to ruin. The world had changed. War had been the catalyst for innovation, invention and modernisation: the old ways had been swept away.

In post-war Japan, the United States established a significant presence to slow the expansion of Soviet influence in the Pacific. Steps were taken to ensure the poor and dejected Japanese population did not turn to communism, by addressing growth of the economy. Closely-knit groups formed to establish cooperation between manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and banks, along with highly unionised blue-collar workers.

The intention of the Allied involvement in the recovery of the Japanese economy was not to contribute to great technological advances, but occupy and utilise a vast and inexpensive workforce. Accordingly, manufacturing initially focused on the fabrication of mass-produced items of poor quality. “Made in Japan” was synonymous with “cheap rubbish”. However, trade agreements – particularly with the USA – were established, and once the West had withdrawn from Japan, a few small camera companies like Asahi, Canon and Nikon, were able to rebuild and grow in new directions.

Nikon paved the way forward for the Japanese camera industry in 1951, when photographers for Life Magazine stopped off in Japan on their way to cover the Korean War. They bought Nikon lenses for their Leica and Zeiss cameras, and discovered the excellence of Japanese optics (which were based on German Zeiss lens designs). Nikon’s reputation in the USA was made almost overnight.

There is a huge irony to the Nikon success story. One morning ten years previously, two waves of Japanese warplanes had made a surprise attack on the American military base at Pearl Harbour (on the Hawaiian island of Pu’uloa). That assault ensured America’s entry into WWII. Nikon (to use their modern name) was at the time a principal supplier of optical equipment for the Japanese military, and so no doubt facilitated the deaths of many America soldiers.

Other camera manufactures, which had started out copying models from Leitz and Zeiss, similarly found successes through technical innovation and a changing perception of Japanese photographic goods. In 1952, Asahi produced the first Japanese 35 mm SLR (the Asahiflex I). The 1954 Asahiflex IIB was the first SLR with a reliable instant return mirror. The forgotten Tokiwa Seiki Firstflex 35, of the same year, was the first interchangeable lens, leaf shutter, 35 mm SLR. The 1955 Miranda T was the first Japanese pentaprism eye-level viewing 35 mm SLR. The 1957 Asahi Pentax was the first SLR with right-handed rapid-wind thumb lever, first fold-out film rewind crank, first micro-prism focusing aid, and established the “modern” control layout of the 35 mm SLR. The list just goes on and on until about 1960, when almost every first was Japanese, and German innovations ceased.

The German giants this article starts with didn’t disappear completely. Zeiss made a last bid for return to centre stage in 1973 when they teamed-up with the Japanese Yashica company to produce the deluxe Contax RTS camera. Leica moved into the digital age with a big helping hand from the Japanese electronics company Panasonic. Praktica, an East German casualty of the war, scored a couple of firsts before eventually succumbing to extinction. In 1966 Praktica produced the first SLR with an electronically timed shutter, and then in 1971 the first electro-mechanical lens diaphragm stop-down control.

I’m no historian, so please don’t beat me up with comments if I’ve got the odd detail wrong, or over-simplified the story. I’ve written this article as a camera collector who wondered why his pre-1960 cameras are all German, and his post 1960 cameras are exclusively Japanese. The reason is not a story of product migration to ever less-expensive points of manufacture; it’s about a drift of intellectual advancement from one single nation to another, and which occurred over a relatively short time. Who knows when or where the next big camera advance will occur? I just hope it doesn’t take another war!

The international organization known as Rotary promotes yearly travel that all people between the ages of 26 and 40, male and female, and of all backgrounds – should know about – because it is a Rotary-funded six week study aboard and anyone can apply to be a part of this significant life experience. If you are this age group – you could enjoy the kind of experience that is described in my notes in this article. To find out more about the program go to the Rotary International website and search for GSE – Group Study Exchange – and contact your local Rotary Club for more information.

Our adventures continued:

April 20th – Wednesday:

Harry thinks that the small Japanese cars are cute, but he says that he’d need one for each foot if he lived here.

Mr. Tachiabana drove me to Fukuoka today – and the rest of the team was on their way there too – and some upset was caused by a 5 point earthquake at 9AM this morning. We did all meet though, in the Nishitetsu Grand Hotel where we stayed the first night that we arrived. We visited the Fukuoka Rotary Club in the Hotel for their lunch meeting, and were warmly received – this is Hisa’s Club. I spoke and the team introduced themselves – and the video was good – I have quite a collection of Club flags now. They took our luggage by truck – and we got on the train – a fast one – and were off to Kitakyushu-City. This is where Kenji Ogawa lives, the incoming team leader. We were later greeted in the City Mayor’s Office – and learned that Kitakyushu-City is a prime industrial city in Japan – where steel is made, and a very well known port – and has historic castles that people come to visit. Antonio was curious about a new airport opening here soon, and Monica was inspired by questions about a new shelter for the homeless that has just opened. We also learned from a representative from the board of education – that the philosophy of education has been changed in Japan – now instead of teaching knowledge, they are much more concerned with teaching how to use knowledge. Coffee – we all needed a lift – and Starbucks was the ticket at the moment. We walked through the downtown streets of the city, by stores and through shopping arcades – across the bridge – it’s a pretty city – and back to the Station Hotel, where the Kokura East Rotary Club meets for dinner. This was a lively group – maybe because they stand up for their whole meeting – and Kenji’s Club. Oh, and nope – no women, and little English in either of these Clubs. We all have new host families – and Kenji and I head off to his house in a cab.

Kyushu Island has many typhoons – and that’s why they build the heavy roofs on the houses here.

April 21st – Thursday:

Hiroshi Tanaka’s business, Tanaka Sanjiro ltd, is importing specialty items for the Japanese fish industry – which include large rolls of varying sizes of mesh (used for plankton filtration etc), values, and fish tags – and Teiko and his son Tomo work in his business. Their company does business in 24 countries and with 3400 world-wide companies. Kenji Ogawa owns a business, Ken Corporation, that exports second hand large motor equipment – including tractors that run through the grapevines picking grapes – heavy equipment, agricultural machines, trucks and buses that are sent around the world. The Japanese Rotarians like cars – they drive Land Rovers, fancy Mercedes, Ferraris — and have more cars in a family than we seem to have.

Kenji and I drove in his Land Rover this morning to Nippon Steel – where Hitoshi Adachi (Rotarian and General Manager of the Plant) hosted us to see the Steel Plant. Monica and Antonio joined – and we all dressed in coats, white gloves, glasses, hard hats – with microphones – to walk through the blast furnace and steel making operation. If you have never been in a steel plant, it is an awesome thing to see. Huge (I mean huge) cranes moving huge pots of molten steel (burning orange-red and spitting fire) – massive furnaces to heat the raw material at fearsome temperatures – neon red rivers of ore leaving the big furnace – rail cars accepting the liquid material (and how do they ever get all the stuff that is in a steel plant put together??). We entered the next plant – noisy and with such complicated machinery – and learned that the carbon was being extracted from the pig iron to make steel in a furnace that was one of two in the world (U.S. Steel plant in Alabama has the other one). Big buckets swung from the ceiling as new liquid steel was transferred to molds – you feel small in a steel plant. Antonio said that it felt like we were in the movie the “Terminator”. For lunch we went to the Kokura West Lunch Club. Report: no women or much English – and not the kind of fun that we have in our Club (not too much difference in men’s Rotary Clubs across Japan).

In the afternoon we went to Antonio’s – he was fascinated by this one from the beginning of the trip – company, TOTO – which makes (with 18,000 people worldwide) – toilets and bathroom fixtures (like Koller). TOTO is publicly traded on the Japanese Exchange under the symbol toto. It’s peculiar – but toilets here are modern technology compared to the basic fixture that we have. The Chairman of TOTO world-wide, Keizo Hanamura (a past president of Kenji’s Club) hosted us. We walked through the plant and saw how the ceramic is made from raw material, formed into molds, fired (where it shrinks by 30%), is sprayed (by a robot) for the glaze – and finally comes out looking like a toilet. We learned about the different flushes – and the technology behind creating the most modern toilet on the planet – warm seats, remote control, special glaze – new appreciation for toilets – even the toilets give you a warm welcome in Japan… The showroom was filled with beautiful bathroom items – all small to fit into Japanese homes. Antonio took many pictures. At Kenji’s house – Emi, his wife, offered a good dinner -and Cleo (7) and Arisa (10) were fun to enjoy. Ken and I played on the internet and I showed him our LGRMC newsletters, Club site and pictures – and he says that he is looking forward to coming to America and seeing “not your father’s Rotary Club” – he says that Rotary needs to do something here because it’s filled with older men with older attitude and not expression on their faces – Ken is funny when he imitates this – and we laugh. He is going to fit right into our Club and not want to leave it – because he has a picture of this kind of a Club in his head as “life that rotary needs”. No doubt from our hosts today though – Rotary is powerful economically – I think that all of our concern is that it continues to inspire people and gain membership in the future by our experiences in our Clubs.

This article is a series – so read on – and many days follow in our splendid adventure!

It’s cloudy in Kansai, Japan today, but hopefully the sun will come out soon and show its face a little later on this afternoon.

In this article I want to share my own tennis story with you guys, so we can get to know each other a little better.

Every tennis player has a story to tell inside of them.

“Write yours down today and look for those critical moment in your career up to this point and write down your plans on how you are going to deal with them in the future”.

On to my story.

I’m from Missouri and I played in the Missouri Valley Conference back in the late 70s and early 80s as a junior, I made all state twice in my junior and senior year and was ranked 3rd in singles and 2 in doubles both years.

I played against guys like Cameroon Thomas and Kieth Foxsworth, who were ranked 1 and 2 in our age group for juniors.

Then I had a cup of coffee on the satellite tour, before my career was cut short by a car accident.

I took the career ending injury hard at first and went into a deep depression for 2 years.

I finally came out of it in Hawaii and it was there, that I got approached by a Japanese tennis owner, to come and teach here in Japan.

The school theme was “Tennis In English” and it was a big hit from the get go, but after doing that for 5 years, I wanted to start my own school and do my own thing, I mean, why keep getting this guy rich, right?

After 6, months I quit and started my own tennis school!!

The problem was, Kansai is small and he was my sempai (my senior), so fast forward.

I finally got my “English Tennis School” going after 3 long hard years.

Now I am transitioning my tennis consultant business online and teaching privates here and there around Hyogo.

That’s an outline of my tennis story.

As you can see my first critical moment in my career, was recovering from my car accident, and it was also a defining moment for me, because I could have went either way at that time.

Why did I share this with you guys?

You too, have a story that you need to tell and you need to write it down, and look for those critical moments, in your story.

Meditate on them and do what you have to do, to make them right.

Then move towards your goals.

Thanks for reading and also please share your story with me in the comment section.

I would love to hear it!!

Now make it a great day for yourself!!