Do you like video games? Me? I have no interest at all. When I was a kid, almost all the classmates had Nintendo Entertainment System, but I didn't. No matter how hard I wished for it, my parents didn't give the nod. Alternatively, I sometimes went to my friends' houses to play video games, but it was not so fun because the friends were much better. When I was a college student, Biohazard was released. I bought PlayStation myself to play it. The time came when my dream came true, but probably it was too late. I didn't get into it.

Japan has more than 6000 high schools, about 4000 of which have a baseball team. Every summer, there's a championship to decide the best team in Japan. Many people get excited, and fortunes are moved. On the other hand, people called a man with good sense raise voices against the trend, like "Don't prey on the innocent effort of high school kids." To be honest, I doubt if high school kids are such innocent, though.

If you watched the movie "I Am Legend," I believe you've imagined "What would I do if I were Will Smith?" In fact, I did many times and was shocked every time to find the simple fact that I can't live long by myself. Mind you, I literally mean it and am not talking about a mental or philosophical issue.

Last week, I went to Tokyo for business and found all the people in the subway train (in my view) just looked at their smartphones silently. I saw such a scene every day when I lived there, but I realized it was a weird and creepy view where people perfectly make the same posture with no expression on their faces.

Many movie freaks are likely to look down on animated movies. I'm sure of that because I was one of them until I went to a special exhibition in Sapporo. The exhibition is "The Science behind PIXAR" that is about the movie production of PIXAR. You may still believe that it is only dramas played by real actors that can move you, but CG animation is also very dramatic. If you know human struggling behind the scene, you will be moved by animated movies as well.

【Top Gun: Maverick】 Maverick is back! Who can wait for the movie to start? I have yet to watch it, though. "Top Gun" was released in 1986. It was when I was only eight years old, and so, I think I watched it on video after the release ...

I rarely buy flowers. It's only on Mother's Day, though I forget even that sometimes. In addition, there's a mental wall in us, I guess. In fact, I've never seen anyone who is waiting for his/her date with a flower bouquet, and so I believe it only happens in the movies.

【A Dog of Flanders is too early for kids】 Have you ever read "A Dog of Flanders?" I don't know why that is, but the story is very popular in Japan. It was even made into an animated TV show. Probably, more than 90% of Japanese kids kne...

Travel by train in Japan is safe, punctual in time, etc. There are many advantages, but in Hokkaido, the infrastructure may be gone in the not-so-distant future. Please come here to travel around by rail before that happens.

The small town is called as "a town of miracle." It has no rail line, major route, and water infrastructure in it. Japan is facing a declining population, which is most obvious in rural areas. Nevertheless, the population of the town has been on the increase for these 20 years, surprisingly.