My Great-Grandfather’s Retirement Allowance

 Will you get a retirement allowance in your future? It depends on your working style. If you work for a Japanese-style company as a full-time worker, you can get a lot of money when you retire. If you can get it, do you have plans to make an efficient investment of funds?

 For your information, I shall tell you an old story about my great-grandfather’s investment plan.

 My great-grandfather was an elementary school teacher. When he retired, he successfully got his retirement allowance. 

 His investment plan was this: He lent land and built many small houses for rent. He could get rental income and enjoy his old age.

 His plan worked for a while.

 But my grandfather recommended changing the plan and selling the houses. My grandfather was a highly educated person who graduated from a national university. It was during WWⅡ, so if there were an air raid at the houses, my great-grandfather would lose all of his property.

 My great-grandfather refused to sell them. He said he had donated tons of money to a shrine. He believed no bomb would ever come to his houses because of religious power. My great-grandfather was a religious and highly educated person. My grandfather tried to persuade him logically, but it was in vain.

 Sometimes, a religious person could be stubborn.

 I respect all religions in the world. When I visit churches, shrines, temples, and other holy places, I pray sincerely. But I also know religions never work like that. Any religion doesn’t work depends on money.

 As a result, my great-grandfather’s houses were all burned down. He didn’t own the land. He lost his retirement allowance.

 If he had had a different plan, my family might still be rich.

 Financial planning is always difficult.

 

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April in Japan

Are you coming to Japan? When?

 April is a good time to visit Japan. Those are warm days. You can watch cherry blossoms. It is a highly recommended season.

 But be careful because in April, Japan experiences small inconveniences every year.

 Schools, companies, and government offices all start the new term on the first day of April. Many people are given transfer notices. There are many freshmen in all fields.

 In a train, most Japanese people follow some unwritten rules, like giving way to passengers getting off at a busy station. But in April, you can find many people who don’t know the rules. So sometimes, some disruptions happen in trains. The train crew could also be freshmen. Japanese train systems are punctual. But in April, there are many delays.

 When we drive in April, we can find new drivers on the roads. Some people may be from different areas. They are not familiar with the roads. I am really careful to drive in April. I feel that my blood freezes a few times in April.

 Even in TV, there are many technical issues on pictures and sounds in April. I guess new TV workers make mistakes in April.

 If you go to a hospital in April, you need to be a little brave. It depends on the hospital, though. Some doctors tend to recommend that patients take a blood sample. Of course, in some cases, the doctors really need a blood sample for your health, but actually, some doctors want newbie nurses to have an experience taking a blood sample. I had an encounter with a neophyte nurse who had not yet experienced taking blood samples from a patient. I was the first. I had blood congestion for two weeks. I contributed to the medical world.

 Everyone was a freshman once. Everyone could be a freshman again. All you need is to tolerate April in Japan.

 Please come to Japan in April. You can experience wild Japan.

 

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Picture by Batako

 

Treated Like a Child

 When I was a university student, I was invited to a party with my mother and her friends in a restaurant. My mother had many friends, and she often asked me to accompany her to her meetings with her friends.

 At the dinner, I felt a strange atmosphere. It started when I saw a man and a woman who were sitting separately but paying attention to each other. I didn’t know why.

 I guessed they might be a divorced couple. This might not be a simple dinner party. It could be an opportunity for an intentional reunion for them.

 Actually, I was wrong, but my guess was kind of close. It was an arranged introduction for marriage. Officially, we had a dinner party, but it was also an event for the meeting of the man and the woman.

 In that case, I wanted to be involved. I could be supportive. I had no idea that was an arranged introduction for marriage. I was already a university student. I could understand the situation. My mother didn’t tell me; I think she treated me like a child.

 I didn’t know the situation, so I made a mistake.

 The man started to talk about his adventure. He traveled all around Biwa Lake (the biggest lake in Japan) by bicycle. After that, I talked about my adventure. I traveled all around Hokkaido (the largest prefecture in Japan) by bicycle. I think my story was not supportive of him. 

 If I knew that it was an arranged introduction for marriage, I shouldn’t have told my story about Hokkaido.

 I don’t know if they got married or not after that.

 If you have a party with a specific purpose, inform all the party members, including university students. We should not treat university students as children.

 

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Picture by NORIMA