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Puerto Rico: Piña Colada - The Culture and History of Alcoholic Drinks Around the World

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  When I was at primary school, my parents used to subscribed to a magazine which carried a regular series of travel essays. The writer described experiences from all over the world, as well as different parts of Japan, in fascinating detail. I always looked forward to reading each instalment. One of the essays described a stay at a tropical resort. I enjoyed reading about the beautiful scenery, the food and the drinks, but one particular word caught my attention: Piña Colada. From the context, it seemed to be some sort of drink. But as a primary-school child, I simply assumed it was a fruit juice or something similar. Years later, when I was old enough to drink, I once went to a South American restaurant in Tokyo with some friends who were studying Spanish. While we were there, a waiter brought something to the customers sitting in a booth on the other side of the aisle. “Piña Colada.” The moment I heard those words, a distant memory came back to me. The large ...
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Essay : An Old Story: Memory of Café English Lesson in Japan

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  Please forgive this old person for indulging in a little reminiscence. It was more than twenty years ago.   For several years, due to ill health, there was a period when I was unable to work outside the home. Then, fortunately, I happened to find a good doctor, and I finally began to feel that I might be able to return to work.   If I were going to work again, I thought, it might be useful if I could speak at least a little English.   But in those days, there were no video-sharing sites, no social media, and not even internet radio. The only thing I could listen to, more or less, was what was then known as FEN, the radio service for American military personnel stationed in Japan. There were very few opportunities to come into contact with English at home.   So I started looking for somewhere near my home where I could practise speaking English. And that was when I found a teacher offering what was advertised as ‘500-yen English conversati...
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Short Novel : The UK : The Japanese school by the sea (Chapter 3)

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  1979 — Family and University Entrance Exam Preparations   When I returned to the boarding school, another move was waiting for me. Third-year students were given single rooms.   I left the four-bed room I'd been sharing and moved into a single room for senior students in another wing of the residence. The old desk had clearly seen years of use. Its surface was covered with messages and doodles left behind by generations of former occupants.   I heard that two of my former roommates had gone back to Japan. For some reason, quite a number of students seemed to have gone back to Japan after the spring holidays. By the time the first term began, our year group had shrunk from twenty-eight students to just fifteen.   Even a few of the friends I'd grown close to had gone. It felt as though little holes had been left in my heart. I missed them.   Our university entrance preparation began in earnest. The school organised supplementary ...
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Short Novel : The UK : The Japanese school by the sea (Chapter 2)

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  1978 — Life at the Boarding School   Monday morning. First period was Mathematics.   "Good morning, everyone. Right then, open your books to page eighteen..." I did as I was told, but several of my classmates still looked half asleep.   A month had slipped by since I'd arrived at the Japanese boarding school. I'd become quite used to eating in the dining hall. That morning, Maiko and I were chatting over scrambled eggs as usual. Before we knew it, the bell rang, ten minutes before lessons were due to begin. We grabbed our bags and ran to the classroom.   It didn't take me long to notice that, out of the twenty-eight students in our year, fewer than I'd expected paid much attention in lessons. It was the same in Mathematics as it was in Japanese. Some slept with their heads on their desks. Others didn't even bother to listen.   The moment the bell rang at the end of each lesson, a handful of students disappeared outside, ...
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