Month: April 2023

Something is different in Hiroshima this GW*. Iwakuni Friendship Day 🇺🇸🤝🇯🇵 by MCAS was moved from 5/5 to 4/15. Flower Festival, our largest festival conventionally held between 5/3-5/5, has changed its dates to early June. This means, Hiroshima city and its vicinity are not like it used to be before. We have no large-scale events during the GW (except the Minato Matsuri festival in Kure on 4/29). I’m wondering how many local residents are aware of this change; what this difference brings to the city in the long term.

Unfortunately I can’t witness how the excitement and lively atmosphere change, as I have to work latter half of the week, but I hope the city remains as lively as ever, with influx of visitors and local residents who go out to the downtown. At least, I see a great crowd of people in the city today.

*GW… Golden Week, a week from April 29 to early May having multiple Japanese holidays in between.

The picture is beautiful azalea nearby Hiroshima Peace Park.

My superstitious act for good luck: visiting Fushimi Inari ⛩. The shrine, Fushimi Inari, is known for good business and household. To talk about why it’s this shrine, technically it has to go back to the connection with the priest Kukai, but it’s too deep to mention the details so I omit it on this post 🤣 It’s been 4-5 years since I started visiting the shrine to wish for good business every year, it’s partly because my mother loves Kyoto though.

Many residents in Japan visit shrines to wish for good luck even though most of us are free thinkers (me too). It’s a religious activity but the aspect as a part of Japanese culture — customs — is stronger.

It may look weird to make a wish on things you will need to put in efforts yourselves to make it come true. However, many visitors are not just leaving things to the Enshrined. I believe, rather, they are promising the Enshrined their efforts, so that results come. Likewise, I visit the shrine and I’m happy with performances so far.

Due to the accelerated digitalization during the pandemic, more freelance linguists have gained a closer/easier access to end clients in terms of workflow/process. I’ve had an impression that it eventually causes clients to expect more than translation/proofreading from linguists.

Partly it’s a chance for us as freelance linguists to scale up businesses but at the same time it’s important now more than ever that we equip with the knowledge and skills to satisfy their needs with our offering like one stop service, which we are still able to accomplish working with peers as a team. Just a piece of ingenuity brings another exciting opportunity.

Everyday learn by doing. I appreciate my team members for their help on projects we work together.

The G7 Hiroshima Summit will be held between May 19-21. Takeshi Miyahara, our chief, is going to support the summit to the best of his ability during the period. We hope the ministers and other delegates, and all other invited participants enjoy the stay and have a fruitful time at their meetings.