Anna Matsushita

 One winter, my family and I embarked on a journey to the Canary Islands, situated off the coast of North Africa, to celebrate the year-end holidays. These islands, a bit farther south than the Mediterranean, are renowned for their numerous volcanoes. My destination was one of the islands in the archipelago, Lanzarote. It's a Spanish territory where the predominant language is, unsurprisingly, Spanish. Upon landing at the airport and traversing the island by bus, I beheld many curious sights. I noticed peculiar circular enclosures made of stone, with greenery growing in sunken centers. Our guide explained that these were vineyards. The island, formed from volcanic ash, experiences strong winds, making it challenging to cultivate taller crops. Thus, they construct enclosures with rocks to shield against the wind, creating depressions in the center where grapevines thrive. That day, our group of nearly thirty individuals was meticulously led around by our guide, showcasing variou

  During a business trip to Germany one autumn, my journey led me to the quaint town of Trier, situated to the west of the country, after arriving at the airport. Trier, with its ancient history rooted in the Roman Empire, boasts UNESCO-listed treasures like the Porta Nigra (Black Gate) and the ruins of the Roman Forum. The town exudes the medieval charm of Germany, featuring a central square with cobblestones and vibrant buildings encircling a well-like structure. Choosing a newly opened hotel near the central square as my accommodation, I experienced an unexpected delight during dinner at the hotel's restaurant. As a gesture of hospitality for visitors from Japan, the hotel staff offered us a German after-dinner spirit known as Schnapps. Housed in a pale bottle, this transparent elixir carried the name Schnapps. The staff explained, "It's a potent drink, so enjoy it in small glasses. We have various flavors, including fruit-infused Schnapps. What would you prefer?"

Many years ago, during my stay in the UK, I was aware that pubs offered cidre, known as "cider" in English. However, for some reason, my British acquaintances strongly discouraged me from ordering apple cider. They claimed it was not something young people should drink, that it wouldn't suit Japanese taste buds, and that Japanese people were not accustomed to strong alcohol, which they believed apple cider to be. Their opinions, particularly the insistence that "it doesn't suit Japanese palates," left me puzzled. Despite their claimed familiarity with Japan, it seemed they were determined to prevent me from trying apple cider. Looking back, I suspect they may have had a negative experience recommending it to a Japanese person in the past, perhaps to avoid disappointing me. After several decades, I finally had the opportunity to savor British-made apple cider. A Tokyo-based restaurant had a menu featuring about eight types of apple cider. Recalling my past en

On a family trip to Scotland many years ago, we found ourselves venturing into the crisp embrace of the Scottish Highlands. Despite the late-August timing, the weather was already chilly, rendering our summer attire woefully inadequate.   Our journey commenced in Edinburgh, and after some sightseeing, we boarded a train to the vicinity of Inverness, where a recently established hotel awaited our arrival. The manager, a gracious woman, went above and beyond, sharing a plethora of information about the hotel's offerings from our arrival to settling into our rooms. Eager to shake off the travel stiffness after the train journey to Inverness, we took a refreshing dip in the hotel's pool.   Arriving at dinner time, we were led to the hotel's restaurant where a three-course meal awaited us. The manager continued her attentive service, highlighting the freshness of the salad vegetables harvested that very morning from a nearby farm.   As the main course was served, our

Once there was a lady called Mrs. P.  She had been working at a Japanese company in London for long time, and everyone loved her personality – humorous and fun-loving, relaxed and never swaggering during her long career at the company. One day, a staff of the company organized BBQ at her house, and many guests enjoyed the BBQ including Mrs. P. There were about twenty of us, including children. Drinks for toast have been served, and host of the BBQ worked on the BBQ grill, and people started eating meat and vegetable. On the day, the host prepared may drinks, including wine, beer, soft drinks and whiskey, and each of us picked and enjoyed our favourite drinks with BBQ. It must have been around the middle of BBQ when I was chatting with Mrs, P, I became curious with what she was drinking. It was transparent drink in a whiskey glass, with a slice of lime on the edge of the glass. I asked her what she was drinking, “Gin and Tonic” was her answer.   Gin and Tonic is a popular cock

 On a Spring long time ago, I stayed in Ireland for a month with a group of my friends. We travelled around Ireland, and stayed in Dublin for about a week. As we had a plenty of time, some of us went to Inishmore on the west coast.   The Aran islands are the group of three islands off the west coast of Ireland, including Inishmore, Inisheer, and Inishmaan. They may be popular place for those who knit as the islands of Aran Jumpers, with iconic cable patterns.   We took a long distant coach from Dublin to Galway, a gateway to Aran Island where the ferry to the islands departs. Galway is known as a birthplace of cladder ring, one of the popular souvenir of Ireland. The design of the ring is a combination of crown-topped heart held by two hands. This design may be well-known for Irish accessories. The heart represents love, the crown represents faith, and the hands represents friendship. I heard that the rings are used as an engage ring. We saw this impressive cladder pattern on o

One afternoon in February, I met one of my friend in Yokohama for a lunch. It was just the day after I turned down a job offer from an organization in Tokyo. I initially informed my friend a good new of being offered a position. However, my instinct told me not to take that offer, as the people I met at the interview seemed so unhappy, frightened, hollow and lethargic. I know that I should take any chance, but meeting these people simply put me off and I wasn’t excited to receive the job offer at all. I met my friend at a restaurant and informed my decision. He has been helping me through the past months, introducing to various job agents and giving me plenty of advice when changing job. He is a cheery chap who is quite talented manager in banking and insurance field with lots of experience. I wanted to meet him, to get better influence from a successful person. Furthermore, I wanted to catch up with him as we haven’t met about 5 years or so. He suggested to meet at a restaurant which