I sometimes have to use a coin-operated parking lot when I park in the city. The older parking lots have special metal plates that rise up after you park. You can’t drive away unless you pay. When you leave, you put the money into the machine, and the metal plate goes down. The newer parking lots are different. They only use cameras. I parked in a newer parking lot the other day, and when I came out, the machine asked for my license plate number. I typed in the number, and to my surprise, the machine showed me photos of two cars. Why? Because the other car had the same license plate number as mine!

The Grand Sumo Tournament has just ended, and Takerufuji is the new champion, but who is he? He came out of nowhere! He wasn’t even in the Makunouchi, the top division, in the last tournament. He started this tournament as the lowest-ranking wrestler, but he kept on winning. He won 11 bouts in a row, tying Taiho’s old record. He lost two bouts and hurt his foot in the 14th bout, but he didn’t give up. He fought on Sunday in spite of the pain and won the tournament with a final score of 13-2. He became the first wrestler in 110 years to win his debut tournament. That is amazing!

School is out, and children are on their spring vacation. High school students in Aichi Prefecture had their last day of school on Tuesday, and younger students finished on Friday. I think most students are looking forward to the vacation. They can get up later than usual and play inside or hang out with their friends. The lucky ones get to go to theme parks such as Disneyland and USJ. Not everyone can take a break, however. Students who want to go on to a good high school or university will spend the vacation studying, and many parents will be busier than usual taking care of their children at home.

We had a big picnic and ceremony at the Fujimae Tidal Flat Activity Center yesterday. We have a year-long program for children, and in March, we finish it with a ceremony to celebrate the children becoming junior tidal flat rangers. Before the pandemic, we had a big picnic and played games, but Covid-19 stopped that. Yesterday, for the first time in five years, we built fires and made rice paste and fried noodles outside. Then, after lunch, we played some games. The new junior rangers gave short presentations, and then we gave them their junior ranger cards. The weather wasn’t great, but everyone had a good time, and I’m really happy that life is finally back to normal.

Where can you go by Shinkansen in Japan? Almost anywhere! The original Shinkansen line opened in time for the 1964 Olympics but only went from Tokyo to Osaka. Now Shinkansen lines go from the south of Kyushu to Hakodate in Hokkaido. It’s also easy to travel across Honshu from the Kanto area to the Sea of Japan. Last Saturday, the Hokuriku Line opened a new section from Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture to Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture. Now it only takes 3 hours from Tokyo all the way to Tsuruga! Tokyoites can take the same train and go skiing in Nagano, visit hot spring resorts in Fukui, or go swimming at Tsuruga Bay.