Over the break at the end of June, Dave and I attended a whisky blending event in Hiroshima. It was held at the Hilton Hotel, so it was a fancy event in an upscale bar. The blending kits, which were produced by Chivas Regal, looked like this:

They included 5 small bottles of whisky with different flavor profiles (fruity, floral, smokey, etc.) as well as a dropper and a beaker to mix them.

We all tried different combinations and had a fun time, but that’s not the end of the story. One of our friends entered the contents of the kit into ChatGPT, and it told us the ‘ideal’ blend: 30% floral, 25% fruity, 20% citrus, 15% smokey, and 10% creamy. We tried that, and everyone agreed – it was the best!

It’s kind of depressing that the AI blend was better than anything we made on our own, but I guess we’re living in the future now…

After 20 years, Japan updated its banknotes on July 3rd. They are rolling out slowly, but I went to the bank and got one of each (¥1000, ¥5000, ¥10,000).

The back of the 1000 yen note features the famous woodblock print “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Hokusai.

Just by luck, the Okayama Prefectural Museum of Art is now having an exhibition of Hokusai and Hiroshige (Japan’s other famous woodblock print artist) works. I’m not sure how many original prints of the Great Wave still exist, but I got to see one of them!

This exhibit ends tomorrow, but features hundreds of the most famous prints. There were also a lot of other “books” by the artists with a lot of black and white prints that put modern comic and manga artists to shame, and these were from the early 1800s!

政府が決めた例の定額減税が6月から始まりました。暫くは確認のため、毎月減税額と支給額を確認計算をしないといけません。今回の定額減税ははっきり言って経理を行う人にのみ負担がかかっています。NEOは従業員が少ないのでまだ計算と手配はどうにかなりますが、余計な業務が増えただけで本当に腹立たしい。政府は説明の紙をペラっと送付してくるだけです。私にとっては確定申告が終わり、従業員の住民税の納付計算が終わり、労働保険の計算が終わり、次は源泉所得税の計算をするところなのですが、それに加えてのこの定額減税の計算です。私のような個人事業主は、この定額減税の恩恵は毎月受けられるのではなく、来年3月の年度末になってやっと受けられる始末です。

給与事情は諸外国によって違いますが、給与支給が毎月とは限りません。日本のように毎月というところはアジア圏では多いようですが、それでも北米の影響がある国は月2回の支給（2週間に1回）のようです。給料が2週間に1度だとお金を使う計画が立てやすいのか、逆にすぐお金が入ってくるからお金を使ってしまうのか、どうでしょう。

昔務めていた英会話スクールではこんなやりとりがあったのを覚えています。英語圏からネイティブ講師が来日してまず1か月働きます。給与はすぐには出ません。給与支払い日は翌月の10日や15日なので、働き始めた初日から40日か45日経過してやっと給与がもらえるのです。そのシステムを説明されてもあまり何も思わずに働き始め、2週間目に給与がもらえると思っていたらいつまで経っても給料が支払われない、日本企業はどうしたんだと怒る人がいました。

さて、その給料ですが、サラリーsalaryという言葉があります。ですが使いません。ではどう言うでしょうか？そして「給料をもらう」とは英語でどう言うでしょうか？

答え：給料　payday

答え：給料をもらう　get paid

Well, I don't get paid. I just keep paying.Hahaha.

While I like Okonomiyaki, I do not eat it so often. But recently I went downtown and ate some for the first time in a while. The shops name is ‘Kamon S Okonomiyaki’ (お好み焼 花門 S) It is near Okayama station and easy to find. One of the first things I noticed when looking at the menu is a common problem that shows up, that is, should I get Hiroshima or Osakan style?

I have always found this to be a fun question to ask when food comes up in class. Food is easy to have opinions about, and there is often a mix of ideas. For this question, I have noticed that most people who live here prefer Hiroshima style. We are a little closer to Hiroshima than Osaka, so maybe that is why.  On the other hand, when I ask about baseball teams, there seems to be as many Hiroshima Carp fans as Hanshin Tigers fans. And when I lived in west Okayama there were certainly a lot more Carp fans.

Sometimes it is fun to see what other opinions people have. I like to ask others to rank convenience stores, or types of noodles (ramen, udon, etc.). These often see more disagreement but make better discussion. There are so many kinds of food out there and it is easy for anyone to have a strong opinion about what they like and dislike. Even in my hometown, I often saw a lot of arguments about coffee. My hometown has a lot of cafes, and a strong coffee culture. My friends could never agree about what kind of coffee was the best.

So, which style do you like?

For the record, I think Hiroshima style is better.

Last Sunday, my wife and I went to Seseragi Hiroba for a bit of day-camping. If you’re not familiar, it’s near Sakakibara Heart Clinic and Happy Town Kohoku, just where the Hyakken River splits from the Asahi River.

My wife’s coworker joined us there, and we set up a little barbecue set and some chairs. It was a pleasant place to hang out and chat for the afternoon. The weather was great – sunny during the day, and just cool enough to wear a hoodie when the sun went down. In the evening, the Fulvio family also came to join us, so we walked around and saw fireflies blinking along the edges of the water.

There are a lot of cherry trees around there, so it’s a popular spot for hanami. I’d like to go back next spring for sure!

Y-san (with privacy pineapple) on top of the “pillbox”

NEO Travel CLUB Report

Name: Y-san

Where did you go? I went to Hawaii.

How long were you there? I was there for nine days.

What did you do there? I went hiking on the “Pillbox trail” in Lanikai. I also hiked 5 or 6 hours to Manoa Falls. I relaxed on one of the most beautiful beaches in the US.

How was the food? Hawaii's original malasada from Leonard’s Bakery was good. I ate garlic shrimp near the North Shore. It was delicious. I ordered a Caesar salad, Huli Huli chicken and tacos at the Mavi Brewing Company. Everything was amazing!

Did you use English? Yes, I did. I used English at my hotel, at restaurants, shops and even while hiking in the mountains.

What good or bad experience did you have? My good experience was seeing the very beautiful sea and relaxing on the beach. My bad experience was being carried to an ambulance because I fainted. Don’t worry, I’m ok now!

Do you recommend going there? Yes! I recommend going to Kualoa Ranch. You can do many different things there, such as horseback riding. You can get good energy from the mountains, and you can learn about Hawail's culture and history .

Thank you for sharing your report with us, Y-san!

Some interesting street art that Y-san saw in Hawaii