Hiroko's Hitokoto

For those of you who grew up in Japan, did you have raw eggs on rice when you were little? The Chiba Egg Center will start selling eggs specially designed for those who like raw eggs. The new eggs are called "Kenta-kun" and come in two varieties: Red and White. The Red ones are rich in DHA (Docosa Hexaenoic Acid) which helps the performance of your brain (makes you smarter?!). Meanwhile the White ones have much less possibility of causing salmonella food poisoning. I guess that most people from overseas have never thought about eating raw eggs for breakfast, but it's very common for Japanese. I use to eat this dish almost everyday, and for that matter for almost every meal. However, I had to stop after becoming allergic to eggs! Maybe Rocky/Sylvester Stallone will love this news and drink raw eggs to beef and brain UP. Do you want to try?

Did you know that September 14th is "Man's Valentine's Day"? As if White Day wasn't enough, now we're faced with a marketing plot from the Japan Body Fashion Association. The day is 6 months after the real Valentine's Day, Feb 14, and is supposed to allow men to approach their lovers and spouses and show how they feel. But what really burns me is that they are supposed to give a present of "underwear" instead of chocolate. This may be a good promotion for the underwear market, but could also be the source of sexual harassment. What would you think if you got an underwear present from a secret admirer?

I heard on the news that due to the water shortage, an old sunken castle has re-emerged from the waters of Biwako. This is the biggest lake in Japan, but its deepest point is only 8m in the south part. The castle is called Sakamoto Jo, which was built by Mitsuhide Akechi. If you are familiar with Japanese history, Akechi-san killed his Shogun after doing "kireta" (flipping out) after being bullied by his boss. Sound familiar even with the young people of today, doesn't it? There is one interesting story that Akechi's men hid the family gold and treasure in a temple near the lake, after being attacked during an ensuing battle. I wonder if there will be anyone out on the lake with a metal detector-equipped dinghy this weekend?

The other day, people from a VERY major company came to LINC without an appointment. It's not so unusual for sales people to drop by without appointments, but these people looked different: distinguished looking, aged in their mid-40's, and with gray hair. Of course they were looking for our president, but he was out. Then they asked me to find our "Number Two". I thought that was strange for them to use that term, because it's not polite speech and you normally wouldn't use such a term in front of customers and clients. The usual term is "vice president" or "senior manager". Anyway, I suggested that they leave their meishi so that I could pass their message on to Terrie, and maybe arrange an appointment in the future. But, they insisted on meeting the "Number Two", even though they admitted they were just dropping to say hello. Plus, and this is unbelievable, they forgot to bring business cards with them! I suppose that they didn