公開日：2021/03/31 /
We tweet about things that are not related to our work.
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Hay fever
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I have been suffering from hay fever since I was around 20 years old.
And now the most depressing season has come.
The standard time for pollen dispersal is
when the daily maximum temperature
from January 1 is added up and reaches 400 degrees Celsius.
(In the Tohoku region, the temperature is 300℃.
It is recommended to start taking measures (medication, etc.)
when the temperature reaches 350 degrees Celsius.
Do you know that there is one prefecture in Japan
that has by far the least amount of hay fever?
That is Okinawa.
In Okinawa,
only about 0.2% of the forest area is planted with cedar and cypress,
so the amount of pollen dispersed is extremely low.
Tokyo is about 39% of the forest area is planted.
Soon after the war,
Japan’s mainland was burnt to the ground,
and fast-growing cedar trees were planted
all over the country (except for Okinawa and Hokkaido) to secure lumber.
At that time, however, Okinawa was a U.S.-controlled country,
so luckily it was not a target of this policy.
Another reason is that cedar trees grow tall and thin,
so they cannot withstand the frequent typhoons in Okinawa.
The Japan Weather Association’s pollen information website is here.
https://tenki.jp/pollen/
(Y.O.)
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Earthquake, secondary disaster
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The other day,
there was another big earthquake in Tohoku.
I hope everyone was okay.
I live in Chiba, and the quake hit on the 4th scale.
I was surprised to feel quite a tremor.
According to experts,
when a big earthquake like the Great East Japan Earthquake happens,
there will be big aftershocks in 10 years, 20 years, and so on in a 10-year cycle.
The other day’s earthquake was exactly 10 years later.
There may be another big aftershock in the next 10 year.
After a big earthquake,
secondary and tertiary disasters occur.
Immediately after the earthquake,
my family had a stomach ache (beeping) and hid in the bathroom.
A cacophony of sound echoed from inside the bathroom.
It was frightening in many ways.
I guess this is another secondary disaster caused by the earthquake.
Please be careful and be prepared for disasters.
(S.Samurai.)
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IATA
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The IATA (International Air Transport Association) has announced
that the worldwide paid passenger kilometer (RPK),
the distance airlines will carry passengers for a fee in fiscal year 2020,
has decreased by 65.9% compared to the previous year.
The spread of the new coronavirus has hit the airline industry hard,
and demand for air travel has shrunk to one-third of the previous year’s level.
By region,
the Middle East fell 72.2%, Europe 69.9%, and North America 65.2%.
The Asia Pacific region,
which includes Japan and China, was also 61.9% decrease.
The IATA Director General described the situation as “catastrophic,
with the steepest drop in air travel demand in history last year.
The state of emergency has been extended
and the new coronavirus is not yet under control.
It will take a long time that
people can enjoy to travel abroad without worry as before.
(S.K.)
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High Speed Boat
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Direct Liner Service Project from Yonaguni Island to Taiwan by
“High Speed Boat,” Aiming for Demonstration Test in FY2021
A project to connect Yonaguni Island (Yonaguni Town, Okinawa Prefecture),
the westernmost island in Japan,
with Taiwan on the other side of the coast
by high-speed boat seems to be getting underway.
The aim is to start a demonstration experiment in 2021,
and to see if regular / line service can be established over the next two to three years.
Yonaguni Island is about 500 kilometers away from the main island of Okinawa
and about 120 kilometers away from Ishigaki Island,
but it is about 110 kilometers up to Taiwan.
Its sister city, Hualien City,
in eastern Taiwan, is about 150 kilometers away.
There was an air charter flight in 2008,
but so far there are no direct flight / service.
Thus it is a “near but far” journey from Yonaguni to Ishigaki to Naha to Taipei to Hualien.
After the end of 2nd world war,
there was a time when smuggling ships
frequently came and went between eastern Taiwan and Yonaguni Island.
Rice, sugar, medicine, and other goods were loaded onto small ships from Taiwan.
The goods that arrived in Yonaguni Island were transported
to Osaka and Kobe via Okinawa Island to support the black market.
The Planning and Finance Division of Yonaguni Town says
that the new coronavirus has made it difficult for people to travel to Taiwan
and has hindered the demand survey in Taiwan.
However,
“there is a lot of interest from the Taiwanese side,”
so the town is aiming to continue the operation
as a demonstration experiment in 2021.
(T.C.)
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TOFU
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Do you prefer silken / soft (kinugoshi) tofu or firm (momen) tofu?
I really prefer silken / soft (kinugoshi) tofu.
Tofu is counted as a single serving,
but is there a standard for the weight and size of a serving?
According to the Japan Tofu Association,
there is no national standard for the size of one tofu.
In central Tokyo,
the most common size is 300-350g,
and in some areas 350-400g.
In Okinawa, 1kg is the most common size.
Tofu that tastes good in any way,
whether it is boiled tofu, mapo tofu, or chilled tofu,
is not bound by any standard.
(M.A.)
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A Dictionary of Unfortunate Creatures
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Recently,
my family and I have been hooked on a TV show.
“A Dictionary of Unfortunate Creatures”
It’s somewhat funny and cute.
The show is about the unexpected characteristics of living things
It’s a humorous show with songs that children can sing along to
and humorous conversations that make us laugh.
The gorilla is so intelligent that it has diarrhea.
They have diarrhea…
In spite of their appearance,
when they consider the risk of injury from fighting
they feel such strong stress,
they are able to tolerate a little anger.
When they feel such strong stress,
their armpits start to smell.
or sudden diarrhea.
It’s very similar to humans.
The reason why he always looks so serious face.
Maybe it’s because I have endless worries.
It’s a surreal five-minute program,
but it’s quite interesting and informative.
(F.S.)