Anna Matsushita

It must have been about twenty-five years ago. I had just graduated from university and landed jobs at a small travel agency. The company, which specialised in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, immersed us thoroughly in the geography, history, tourist attractions, and diverse cuisines of Europe as part of our work. Among our team were those who, during their student days, had embarked on budget travels abroad, boldly exploring various countries. We exchanged experiences, learning from one another, and absorbed knowledge like sponges from our seniors as we navigated our daily routines. At the time, my role involved researching travel ideas for sales by gathering information from overseas branches. Domestically available information required my personal effort to research, compile, and organise. Despite the economic bubble having burst five or six years earlier, Japan still had a thriving appetite for information on luxury cuisine, fine wines, and high-end resorts. In the pre-internet...

Many years ago, during my stay in the UK, I became aware that pubs offered cidre , known as "cider" in English. However, for reasons I didn’t quite understand, my British acquaintances strongly discouraged me from ordering it. They claimed it was not something young people should drink, that it wouldn’t suit Japanese taste buds, and that Japanese people weren’t accustomed to strong alcohol, which they believed cider to be. Their insistence that "it doesn’t suit Japanese palates" left me puzzled. Despite their claimed familiarity with Japan, they seemed determined to dissuade me from trying cider. Looking back, I wonder if they had a negative experience recommending it to a Japanese person in the past and were simply trying to avoid disappointing me. Several decades later, I finally had the opportunity to savour British-made apple cider. A Tokyo-based restaurant featured about eight varieties of cider on its menu. Remembering my earlier encounter in the UK, I was det...

Scotland: The First Encounter with Haggis and Whiskey   On a family trip to Scotland many years ago, we ventured into the crisp embrace of the Scottish Highlands. Despite it being late August, the weather was already chilly, rendering our summer attire woefully inadequate.   Our journey began in Edinburgh, and after some sightseeing, we boarded a train heading towards Inverness, where a newly opened hotel awaited us. Upon our arrival, the hotel manager—a gracious and attentive woman—greeted us warmly. She shared a wealth of information about the hotel's facilities as we settled into our rooms. Keen to shake off the stiffness of the long train journey, we decided to take a refreshing dip in the hotel's pool.   By dinnertime, we were led to the hotel’s restaurant, where a three-course meal awaited. The manager, ever attentive, pointed out that the salad vegetables were freshly harvested that very morning from a nearby farm.   When the main course arrive...

Once, there was a remarkable lady called Mrs P. She had been working at a Japanese company in London for many years, and everyone adored her personality—humorous, fun-loving, and relaxed. Throughout her long career, she was never one to boast, and her charm endeared her to all who knew her. One day, a member of the company organised a barbecue at Mrs P’s house, which turned into a delightful gathering. About twenty of us attended, including children, and everyone enjoyed the festive atmosphere. Drinks were poured for a toast, and the host worked diligently at the grill. Soon, the aroma of sizzling meat and roasted vegetables filled the air. On this occasion, the host had prepared a wide variety of beverages, including wine, beer, soft drinks, and whisky. Each of us picked our favourite to accompany the barbecue feast. Midway through the event, I found myself chatting with Mrs P and grew curious about the drink she was holding. In her hand was a whiskey glass filled with a transparent l...

 One spring, long ago, I stayed in Ireland for a month with a group of friends. We travelled extensively around the country and spent about a week in Dublin. With plenty of time at our disposal, some of us decided to visit Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands off Ireland’s west coast.   The Aran Islands, comprising Inishmore, Inisheer, and Inishmaan, are renowned for their rugged beauty and as the birthplace of the iconic Aran jumpers, famous for their intricate cable patterns. These islands hold a certain charm for knitters and history enthusiasts alike.   Our journey began with a long coach ride from Dublin to Galway, the gateway to the Aran Islands and the departure point for the ferries. Galway itself is a delightful city, known as the birthplace of the Claddagh ring, a popular Irish souvenir. The ring’s distinctive design—a heart crowned and held by two hands—symbolises love, loyalty, and friendship. It is often used as an engagement ring. I recall seeing this ...

  Our local shrine’s festival resumed for the first time in three years. Streets were once again jolly with illuminated lanterns. Kids were playing wood flute and drums to add festive feeling. They were performing the music in front of train station. People enjoyed the music in the evening.   I assume that the shrine must have planned the festival when the number of corona patients were decreasing daily – at least until June 2022. People must have put much effort into the preparation, looking forward once again to practice the music, drew out the portable shrine (Omikoshi) ready to be carried around the town, and float to carry the music bands.   Before COVID-19, the festival was like these;   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oWNuFH-CIg https://youtu.be/97cu-n3QXrc I watched the children playing music with somewhat mixed feeling. By the time the festival started, the number of COVID-19 patients were increasing at tremendous speed. I was tracking onl...

 New COVID variant is now spreading across Japan. I almost lost track of how many waves passed by, but the media reports that this is the 7 th wave here. The number of positive cases doubled over the past two weeks. Tokyo now sees more than 30,000 patients.   Despite this depressing news, I saw few positive changes.   My former employer, a travel company selling tours from Japan to Europe and Middle East, has brunch offices across Europe. These offices are now hiring some specialists who has experience working for group tours from Japan. It seems that European offices are ready to prepare for incoming tours from Asia.   The company used to handle tours from Asian countries to Europe and Middle East. With COVID-19, I heard that the offices in Japan is half closed, some comes to office for quotation and few tour operations. The employees there have been given temporary jobs at various institutions and organizations. I was relieved to hear that my former co...

The Japanese government announced that Japan will reopen to tourist from abroad from the beginning of June, allowing 20000 people per day.   This is good news for those who wish to visit and enjoy Japan for the first time in two years. Also, this is a big shift for those in travel industry in Japan. They can finally welcome visitors from abroad – some cities and towns have been relied upon visitors from abroad for years. They have been waiting for this moment for long time – two years are definitely long for some businesses such as restaurants, tourist spots and gift shops.   However, I had a big question: the Japanese government announced border reopening just two months before the scheduled date. And they only allow group tours with guides who control the itinerary and sanitation. I wondered - are the two months long enough to sell group tours?   I believe most of travel companies start selling group tours at least 6 month ahead of the departure dates. Two...

In June, I published my second novel. The book focus on the changing friendship of women through the course of life.   　 There are times when your friendship is tested when we came across the crossroad in our lives.  was interested in how the life events gouge out the difference of value in life between friends, especially the friendship between women.   The egoism might cause friends leave, even if you think you are doing good for others.   I found that the crossroads in life, such as marriage, pregnancy, meeting your old love, changing jobs, and family’s death, are the times when your friendship are tested,   When you are at the crossroad, what will happen if there are friends who are too egoistic?   A friend who become out of control as a result of bordering problem with others – such as borderline personality disorder. These people could cause mayhem, believing that she is doing good for others.   An old friend who is too ...

 My friend uploaded pictures of her roses on SNS. She loves gardening, and after spending few years in England, she grew interest to roses in England which decorated the entrance of her house in England.   “ The scent and colours are wonderful. I’m still searching for deep pink rose with right colour “   She is looking for the type of rose which you can find here. It is developed by David Austin.   English Roses - David Austin Roses   Her SNS was having rose festival for few days, with many wonderful varieties – light pink, vivid orange, deep pink, red, and many more.   There are various gardens in Japan where you get to see wonderful roses – I saw lots of photographs during May, where people posted various photographs of roses from across Japan.   Here are some suggestions, in my local area, Kanagawa. (Yokohama and Hakone) In case if you missed, June is also a season of flower – Hydrangea will be in full bloom, you can also e...

  During COVID-19 restriction, I did another project: writing essays on drinks in mainly in Europe, Japan and Caucasus.   As a one engaged in travel industry, I wrote many writings for my job to introduce European drinks, including wines, beers, whiskeys and liqueurs.   The work involves many research on internet as well as trying the drink myself. I felt it important to experience the drink itself, as I was introducing the drinks to potential Japanese travellers abroad – I did not want to sound fake.   This time, I could spend more time researching the backgrounds of each drinks. It was interesting to learn the history of each drinks and passion of those who made the first drink, and success of the business.   The main reason I wrote this subject was that I wanted to carry on researching food and drinks abroad. When I was working at travel company, the work involved many research. I wanted to carry on with that, in order to keep the antenna up a...

 When I was young, I came across with a picture of two entertainers in Medieval Japan, called Kusemai dancer, and Shrabyoshi.   They were one of the prominent street performers in Medieval Japan, and they were mentioned in a book called “Seventy One Songs on Craftsmen", illustrating various craftsmen which was established at the end of 1500’s   Here is the link to the original painting of Kusemai dancer and Shirbyoshi. (On the bottle left) 狂言・能楽の歴史｜文化デジタルライブラリー (jac.go.jp)   (Kusemai dancer on the left, Shirabyoshi on the right )   能・世阿弥｜文化デジタルライブラリー (jac.go.jp) So, what are Kusemai dancer and Shirabyoshi ? Kusemai, also known as Mai-Mai (Roughly translated as "dance, dance") is a male street dancer, usually paired up with a singer, and dance while holding a folding fan. Shirabyoshi is a female dancer dressed in men’s clothe and sing song while dancing. Kusemai | the-Noh.com | Noh Terminology Shirabyōshi - Wikipedia   In a boo...

 One of my friend giggled on SNS, posting a photo of shiso ( Japanese Basil ), saying that nature took its course. Her large garden pot was literally covered with a thousand’s sprouts of shiso.   Shiso (Japanese basil ) is a delightful herb which is harvested throughout summer. It is fragrant, has fresh and slightly sweet aroma.  It has two colour varieties, green and deep red. I think you will see lots of green variety at markets and shops. Red one is mostly used to make pickles. You might recall umeboshi ( Japanese plum pickles) which you can find it in some onigiri rice balls. The colour of umeboshi comes from the red shiso. It gives natural colouring.   Shiso goes well with sashimi or sushi, topped with wasabi horse radish. It has small and pretty white flowers, which is also edible. You could pop some shiso flowers into soy sauce, and dip the fish. The fresh aroma simply fills your nostril.   It is easy to grow from seeds. It is prolific so it i...