Good morning everyone. Last week I was not able to attend Sunday Dharma school service. I went back to Japan for 1 week. 2 days were used just for transportation. My time was limited, so I was very busy in Japan. Every hour I felt I had something new to do. There were so many things on my schedule. It was like a busy Business trip.

This was my first trip back to Japan since I came in August of 2003. I felt that Japanese people walk very fast. I probably walked faster 2 years ago when I lived in Japan. But now, my walking speed is the same as people in America. So, when I was in Japan, sometimes other people would bump into me and I would have to say “oh, excuse me, excuse me”.

 I used United Airlines for my trip, because, the round trip airfare was only $600 from Sacramento to Japan and back. It was very cheap for a 10,000 mile flight. I got a lot of air mileage on this trip. However, the Japanese Domestic transportation costed over $600. That flight was only 500 miles. Everything was so expensive in Japan.

 From San Francisco to Japan took 11 hours. So, I had to sit in my seat for 11 hours. I think one of the reasons I have no plans to return to Japan is. Because, I do not want to sit for such a long time. When I arrived in Japan, the weather was very humid although it was fine sunny day.

 One of the things, I had to do was renew my Japanese driver’s license. If it expires, it would cost me $3,000 to get another license. I went to the Japanese DMV and filled out the application form. The Japanese DMV service was very slow. It took 3 hours to renew my driver’s license and I had to pay only $60 much better than $3,000.

 I will have to renew my California Driver’s license in 2007. I hope the renewal process will not be as long as the Japanese DMV.

 I was able to meet some of my family in Hyogo Prefecture. My parents are fine. However, when I met my mother, I was very surprised. She changed her hair color from black to brown. My grand mother is now 74 years old. She likes to go swimming and has many hobbies. Now she seems to enjoy her retirement life. She worked many years for a company and retired when she was 70 years old.

 I also visited a Hot spring / Japanese Onsen for just 1 day. My sister recommended that I go there. I do not like really hot water to bathe. But I tried to bathe in a big furo bath tub for 50mins. The big furo bath tub was not too hot and very comfortable for me. When I entered the Hot spring, nobody was there. So, it felt like the big furo bath tub was just only for me! Finally, my body became warm. I think they heated up the water and I found that I could not stand up for a few minutes.

Before leaving Japan, I got a Japanese instrument called “ShakuHachi”. “Shaku” is a length used in Japanese measurement. It is about 26.8 inches. The Shaku Hachi is difficult for me to play. I have only practiced a couple of days and I cannot play it yet. Maybe, I will be able to play this for our New Year’s party. We shall see.

My Japanese trip was short. But I enjoyed it a lot.

When I left from San Francisco, my VISA expiration date was August of 2006. But now my VISA expiration is March of 2008. So I will have a chance to stay in the U.S.A for an extra 2 years.

 I will have no VISA problems until 2008. I have some special plans…that I will share with you later. I hope I can continue to help the many members of the Sacramento Betsuin. I am happy to belong to this Betsuin and to be with everyone.                          Gassho