＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
During the 10 consecutive holidays, the biggest in the history of 2019, I did not travel because my eldest son and his wife came to visit, there was a funeral in my neighborhood, and there was a Buddhist memorial service for my relatives, among many other things.
TV programs during the first half of the holidays were mostly about the end of the “Heisei” era and the beginning of the “Reiwa” era, which could be called the “Heisei and Reiwa craze,” and I felt a little bored.
There is a haiku by Kyoshi Takahama that goes, “Last year and this year (kozo kotoshi) are like sticks through and through(tsuranuku bou no gotokimono),” and I agree with him.
「去年今年（こぞことし）貫く棒の如きもの」
I feel that there is a bit too much excitement and commotion at the moment.
Professional baseball has also started, but although I was a fan of the “Nishitetsu Lions” led by manager Mihara when I was a child, I do not support any team now, so watching baseball games is just boring.
１．”Furatto Ano Machi Tabi Ran 10km”
So, as I was turning the channel, I found a travel program on BS103 called “Furatto Ano Machi Tabi Ran 10km”!
I watched it from the middle of the show and found it very refreshing. Unlike conventional travel programs, this one featured a TV personality named Wakana Fukushima, who ran 10 kilometers, stopping along the way to introduce scenery and talk to people nearby.
２．Kanazawa Hyakumangoku Run
I watched the “Kanazawa Hyakumangoku Run” broadcast on May 3, from 3:35 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. I had also traveled to Kanazawa about 10 years ago in the fall and saw Kanazawa Castle, the Ishikawa Shiko Memorial Cultural Exchange Center（石川四高記念文化交流館）, Kenrokuen Garden（兼六園）, Museum of Contemporary Art Kanazawa（金沢現代美術館）, Higashi Chaya-gai（ひがし茶屋街）, Saigawa River（犀川）, Muroo Saisei Memorial Museum（室生犀星記念館）, etc.
I traveled in the fall, so I did not get to see the cherry blossoms. However, after watching this program, I rediscovered that the cherry blossoms in Kanazawa Castle, Kenrokuen Garden, and the Saigawa River area are very beautiful.
I was not familiar with Ms. Wakana Fukushima until now, but my eldest son told me that she is a rather famous TV personality and marathon runner from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
I found out that in addition to her love of fishing and motorcycles, she was also a stag beetle lover and had tried her hand at raising “kokuwagata” stag beetles. Her love of stag beetles led her to write a book, “See and Understand,” published by Shufu To Seikatsu Sha! She also appeared in a DVD supplement to the book, “Stag Beetle for Parents and Children,” published by Shufu-To-Seikatsu-sha.
A “big insect lover” is called an “mushiya(insect lover). As a fellow mushiya, I felt a kinship with her.
３．Discovering interesting programs on terrestrial digital or BS by chance
When you are bored with ordinary programs on terrestrial digital broadcasting or BS, casually turning channels, you sometimes discover interesting programs on BS or terrestrial digital broadcasting.
The same is true of BS Nittele’s “Story of a Small Village, Italy” and NHK’s “Airport Piano.
（１）Story of a Small Village, Italy
The concept of the program states
To live beautifully… Live in harmony with the climate and natural environment. Living with pride in the traditions and culture built and preserved by our ancestors. Small villages,” where people’s original way of life is alive and well, are now attracting attention. Small fishing villages overlooking the sea, villages perched on the surface of mountains, cold villages in the snow-covered mountains….
People live richly in Italy, a land of ancient history and fertility.” What does it mean to “live richly and beautifully”? In a small village, a wonderful story that we have forgotten is quietly coming to life. This program follows the flow of time as it is and depicts the everyday life of the villagers in their everyday clothes.
（２）Airport Piano
This program is as follows
At airports around the world, there is a piano set up with the message “Please feel free to play.” Travelers of all ages, genders, nationalities and professions stop by the piano and play their favorite tunes before setting off on their journey. This program interviews some of the people who played the piano and airs their stories on air. It’s fascinating, like getting a glimpse into their lives.
（３）Station Piano
The concept of this program is the same as that of Airport Piano.
On May 4, a station piano performance at a train station in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was televised.