Looking Back

After Retirement in Japan, I Realized My Company Was My Place to Connect with the World

After more than 40 years of shift work in Japan, I retired and became an officer in my neighborhood association. Then I saw my company was my link to the world.
2026.10.07
Looking Back
Doubted

Spitting in MLB Games: Watching Shohei Ohtani from Japan, Is the Field Not a Sacred Place?

I often watch Shohei Ohtani games on TV in Japan. I played baseball as a student, so it still feels wrong to me when MLB players spit on the field.
2026.10.04
Doubted
Continued

Walking for 3 Years, Quitting Typing in 1 Month: Small Choices in My 60s in Japan

I have walked 5,000 steps in the morning for 3 years, but I gave up typing practice after 1 month. Some of my fingers would not reach the keys.
2026.09.25
Continued
Continued

Black Toenail From a Bruise in My 60s: Testing If It Really Heals in Japan

My toenail turned black after helping take down winter covers in Japan. I measured the new nail in my 60s: 1 mm in 3 months, 2 mm in 4 months, then it came off.
2026.09.23
Continued
Chose

Car Insurance in Japan in My 60s: 2,120 Yen a Month With JA Kyosai

My car insurance in Japan in my 60s: 2,120 yen a month with JA Kyosai. What is in it, why I dropped collision cover, and why I stay for 2,040 yen more a year.
2026.09.21
Chose
Looking Back

Liking vs Being Good at It: What 40 Years of Work in Japan Showed Me About Fit

Liking a thing and being good at it are not the same thing. I look back on 40 years of work in a Japanese factory, and a company that did not teach me.
2026.09.19
Looking Back
Looking Back

Masumi Kuwata Said Science, Balance, Respect, and It Took Me Back to Junior High Baseball in Japan

Why did three words from Masumi Kuwata at a 50-minute press conference stay with me? They took me back to junior high baseball, where I could not say it hurt.
2026.09.17
Looking Back
Doubted

More Things Scare Me Past Sixty: Bridges and Hills in Rural Japan

Past sixty, more things frighten me. The big bridge, a hill in a car with a manual transmission, a glass floor. Everyone else looks fine. Is it just me?
2026.09.15
Doubted
Quit

Cancer Insurance in Japan: I Quit After 8 Years and 970,000 Yen

I paid about 10,000 yen a month for cancer insurance for 8 years. That came to about 970,000 yen. In April 2024 my wife and I cancelled it together.
2026.09.12
Quit
Continued

The Way My Wife Drives: 40 Years in the Passenger Seat in Japan

My wife moves the seat all the way forward and does a lot of dry steering. I rode beside her for 40 years without complaining. Now I see I left it all to her.
2026.09.10
Continued
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