Yuki's Web

Tag: USA

  • The next US President and Japan’s future

    Joe Biden made a victory speech as the President-elect today after mysterious ballot-counting processes. However, the Supreme Court of the United States will decide who the real winner is because President Donald Trump is filing cases to courts of several States on the results. No matter which will be the next President of the United States, his policies will affect Japan a great deal because the Fifth Air Force Commander, the head of the US-Japan Joint Committee, actually controls Japan’s politics. One of the significant concerns for the Japanese is the homeland security of our nation. Countries around Japan have repeatedly been threatening it for years, and the firm alliance […]

  • Taco Bell in Japan

    Taco Bell in Japan

    Today I went to Taco Bell at Shibuya, which had opened last Tuesday as Japan’s first Taco Bell store and hundreds of people had waited in the queue for more than two hours in front of the store on the first day only. Today there was a long queue, too. A staff member standing at the end of the queue said that I had to wait up to two hours to be served from there. It was a bit tough for me to wait such a long time, but it couldn’t be helped to do it to enjoy the American taste I’d ever had in New York where I had […]

  • Festivals in spring

    I went out and walked around various places in the cherry blossom season this year. Here are some of the pics.

  • National Azabu Supermarket closed

    National Azabu Supermarket at Hiroo, where foods, groceries, books, toiletries and stationery imported from abroad were available, terminated operation as of today due to the age of its building. The Hiroo neighbourhood is one of the places I visited very frequently because the training centre of the company I worked for was in that area. I visited there from time to time to have an English test or training for English writing or business skills when I was a young worker. Every time I had classes there, I dropped in on the supermarket to see the shoppers coming from abroad, mainly the United States, who looked rich enough to afford […]

  • My current views in English

    We Japanese know that English is the world’s de facto standard language everyone in the world needs to learn to communicate with each other in this fast-globalising society. Mastering English is, nevertheless, one of the greatest hardships for most of Japanese who were born in Japan and raised by Japanese parents within Japan. They learn English as a mandatory subject in middle school, high school, and even college for up to eight years, but very few of them have a good command of it. Quite a few analysts have given comments on why most Japanese are weak in English. Some say it’s because English’s structure of language is quite different […]

  • Camp Zama Cherry Blossom Festival

    Every time I begin to visit a US military facility I feel that spring has come. Yesterday I went to Camp Zama for US Army Cherry Blossom Festival as this year’s first visit to US military bases. It was a little cold but fine. Cherries were almost at their full bloom and looked the most beautiful. There were plenty of people coming the venue. Here’s the video recorded by a camcorder of my cell phone at Camp Zama yesterday and you can see what went on there. US Army Cherry Blossom Festival in Camp Zama 2010 from Masayuki (Yuki) Kawagishi on Vimeo. This is yesterday’s lunch eaten at a food […]

  • Negishi Heights

    I visited Negishi Heights today. At first it was scheduled to open to public last Saturday, but the festival was put off until the next day because of rain. Several US military bases are open in the spring season but I couldn’t go to most of them this year because I caught a cold in the base-open period. All I could go in this season was Atsugi NAF and Negishi. Here are some of the pictures of Negishi Heights Friendship Festival. Sparky's show from Masayuki Kawagishi on Vimeo. I uploaded a set of all of them on Flickr.

  • Atsugi Naval Air Facility

    Spring is the best season to visit American military bases of the Kanto Plain. They are open to public to let people see cherry blossoms, see American buildings, and get American foods, drinks, T-shirts and goods. I enjoy feeling American taste every time I enter on base. The first gate-open in this year is NAF Atsugi. I uploaded a set of pictures on Flickr.

  • The new age for change

    Congratulations, Barack, on your inauguration to become a new US President today, and on having a chance to create a new, powerful, cheerful and great era for the United States, and for the rest of the world! Barack, I want you to make the best efforts to create a more peaceful country not only for American citizens but also for the people of the other countries. I urge you to open the door so that we have easier access to the United States and so that foreigners who love America can have more chances to study at a school or to get a job there. And, as a netizen, I […]

  • What will Obama do for Japan?

    This afternoon media announced that Barack Obama had made history. He’s going to be the first Black US President in American history, as well as the President from the Democratic Party which has not sent the President for eight years. Whichever will become the next US President, Obama or McCain, as a Japanese citizen our big concern is whether the new President will treat us well or not. We are afraid that Japan’s national benefit might be somewhat impaired by the Democratic administration. Unlike Republicans, governors and congresspersons from the Democratic Party have treated Japan coldly in the past. We are anxious about the so-called “Japan passing” attitude coming up […]