Anna Matsushita

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

  It was 29th March when I wake up in the morning and felt unusual chill in the air. When I went outside of my house, I discovered it was snowing. It was the first snow in the Southern Kanto area in Japan that year. We had no snow in the winter, and I was partly happy and partly sad to see the snow The Southern Kanto area is one of the warmest areas in Japan, especially the coastal area where I live. The weather is mild, and we rarely have snow in winter. I love seeing snow, as it is not a usual thing to see often in where I live. It is nice to see even some flurry in the morning or late in the evening. It is also nice to see the land covered white, making small white mounds everywhere. Apparently the kids in neighbourhood are excited as well, and it makes me smile to see little snowmen placed on the walls and gates of some houses. However, snow also means that our infrastructure is not up to the weather, and there is always traffic chaos. To begin with, people can’t walk properly on s