Speaking, script reading, practice reports, and time management…
I’ve been working on a lot of things but,
the other day we had some free talk practice with “Introduce your colleagues”

On this day, announcer Kojima, our guest lecturer
was looking at our company newsletter
(that had introductions to all the new workers)
and called out people at random. The people called out
had to give an introduction about their fellow coworkers

Of course since it was impromptu, I naturally was at a loss for words…
but since I felt it was really important to express myself somehow,
well I’m just really glad my colleagues have such great personalities^^

A few days prior, I met up with my colleagues!
After practice, this year’s newcomers met up with next year’s potential employees
we came together from all our different positions

I was with Orimo-chan who was hard at work with her production ☆
She is an incredibly sharp girl with a great sense of humor
I’d love to work with her together on something one day ^^

But up til now, everyone has been so focused on work
it just seems like time has flown by so quickly.

I need to make the best use of my time left in my announcer training!
I’ll be working hard!

I highly respect the senpais of my announcer department.

Those senpais,
as a newcomer, I had a lot of things I was unsure about
but a few days ago, I consulted my senpais and was able to figure everything out

TV Tokyo’s announcer department
has a “trainer system” for newcomers

For training, we have a bunch of different senpais take turn giving lectures
but in addition to that, each newcomer is assigned to an announcer senpai as well.

My trainer is Oohashi Miho.

The other day at our “trainer meeting”…
we had the chance to grab a bite together

My colleague Ueda’s trainer was announcer Ooe,
and Ooe-san, Oohashi-san and us two newcomers
went out to have dinner together.

The place Oohashi made a reservation at
an underground family type place, a very relaxing and wonderful restaurant!

It was an organic restaurant so it’s very healthy

Here is a beef stew with veggies that were boiled for about 4-5 hours…

And a potato salad made without mayonnaise

There were so many healthy, yet still delicious items.

Since it’s May, there was a carp banner decoration made out of carrots…
Each item was so intricately made,
yet the menu was very family-style, so the taste was like mmmmm

Coupled with the “family style” atmosphere
Oohashi-san was like “I feel like spreading out a futon here and head off to sleep”

While we were eating, we discussed many things

Thinking about it, it’s been a little over a month since I’ve started training
and I’ve had to memorize a lot of speaking techniques
and find out my weaknesses

Every day I’m finding new things and learning

But there’s more than just noticing them
You have to put some thought into it as well

Since I feel like “I want to improve quickly!”
I was worried since I’m not really able to fix my problems

But when Ooe-san and Oohashi-san
were newcomers, they too had a lot of worries as well
and told me “Even now, there’s still a lot of things I get nervous about”

No matter how much you practice,
when the real thing comes, I guess you still can get nervous
I mean if even the senpais get nervous
then I guess it’s only natural for the newcomers to feel nervous too

As a newcomer, there’s a lot to worry about and be nervous about
So you feel like you have to practice everything over and over
because you have to learn so much

I may have a ton of things to work on
but I’ll be working hard one step at a time!

We covered so many things in our “trainer meeting”

Ooe-san, Oohashi-san,
Thank you so much for giving up your own time to give me this opportunity!

After training the other day,
we gathered around with our senpais for some ping pong!

As to why we did..

Well the story starts off with me in front of the cafeteria wondering what to do…

The newcomers have to manage the phones during lunch
(although I still haven’t gotten the hang of it…)
so you can either go out and buy something and eat it at your desk
or if you’re in a hurry, just grab something from the cafeteria

The menu for the cafeteria changes daily.

So I was thinking
“If they have soba today, I’m gonna go get some”
so I went to check the menu
when I heard senpai announcer Masuda’s voice behind me

“Hmm there’s a girl staring at the menu”
and when I thought about it, he meant me (lol)

Masuda-san also likes soba
So I said “It looks like there’s no soba on the menu today”
and he said “Well let’s go get some then!”…

So we went back to the announcer department
and with the OK from our chief
he took me to a delicious soba place near the office!

My colleague Ueda and I, along the way, happened to meet up with Aiuchi-san
on the first floor, so with Masuda-san, the 4 of us went.

The soba there was so good!

And also… Masuda-san treated us too.
Thank you so much!

Then, during lunch at the soba place
he was like…
“We’re all doing some ping pong afterwards, come with”

So I did!!

So, I like sports a lot
and aside from the horizontal bar,
other sports don’t really bother me

but ping pong is hard…

This may be obvious but, the ball is so small! (lol)
I mean I’ve only played sports like futsal and dodgeball
where the ball is big you know…?

But having watched the ping pong championship a few days before
and then trying it, it made me again realize how good the players are.

Senpai announcer Saito was apparently in the ping pong club before
and he went all out on his serves.

I mean everything was different, starting with his posture!
He had his knees bent and was leaning forward
And then you look at me, standing straight up…

I wasn’t really good at it, but it’s been a while since I worked out so it was fun!

After working up a sweat in ping pong, we all went out to dinner afterwards.

For dessert, I had chiffon cake which was great ^^

Since my training that day was
using my voice, sweating with some ping pong, and eating good food
I crashed to sleep quicker than normal that night

I hope I can improve in ping pong to the point
where I can match up with everyone in a game

But it seems like I have a long way to go… ^^;

Normally I do my training in the announcer department
inside a conference room within the company building

But recently we had outdoor training!

To practice giving a report.

As we went along the street of our company building

“Try giving a report on anything in this area”

is what we did,
so we frantically looked for anything to talk about.

I was reviewing how poorly I was able to describe the things I saw
in the previous outdoor training session
Like how big is this leaf, what shape is it, what color is it.
So I started off by inspecting these plants.

When I looked at it,
there was a stick coming out in between the leaves
with a sign that said “Yuzu (citrus) plant”

Could this be something to talk about?
You can’t really convey smells through a monitor
but if I talked about the Yuzu smell maybe…

So I began reporting

“If you look carefully in the middle, there is a sign with Yuzu written on it.
Now if I take a sniff of it…”

“The yuzu smells like… ”

It didn’t smell like anything

Eh?? ;;

I panicked a little inside. But obviously I wasn’t going to lie about it so
“Well it doesn’t smell like anything…” and I continued on ;;

After I was done I realized
that the Yuzu sign was referring to the tree behind the sign (> <) I was just sniffing leaves of plants in front of it. And of course, those did not have a smell to it. My colleague Ueda...

Even though it was really windy and slightly chilly,
she gave a report on “How pleasant the weather is…”

During that time, our lecturer Announcer Ishida
was constantly making witty retorts at us…

We’re trying to capture the correct information here so,
it’s very important to be careful ;;

For our first outdoor training session…

After having lunch, in the afternoon,
we headed to the Shimoyoshida Station Blue Train Terrace

We got to the Shimoyoshida station via the Fuji express line

At this station, old rail cars and passenger bed cars of the Fuji line
are on display to the public

Just like in those days, an original engine is used to supply power to the building…
it gives the station a genuine feel and smell of those times.

On the side, there are silly cherry blossoms blooming,
and when the wind blows, the pedals flutter around everywhere…
it gives the station a very heartwarming feeling

Continuing on…
We went to Yamanakako

Here we got on a bus called the “Yamanakako no kaba”
And as the name implies… there is a picture of a hippo drawn on the bus

This kind of “big impact!” bus
came out of an opening in the trees
and soon ended up right in front of the lake…

and then just like that…

went straight into the lake!!

This bus was actually… amphibious!

Up til now the bus that was just traveling along the land
just casually slipped into the lake.

The moment the bus went into the lake
was so intense, everyone shouted in joy.

When the bus returned back to land,
it was our turn to ride!

The inside looked like this ^^

The seat covers also had hippo prints.
A very grand display.

We also had a bus guide.

The ceiling and windows were covered with a transparent vinyl cover
but even so, it still felt very open.

The windows had these zippers

So many things I saw for the first time ^^

At first we were on land
and it was just a drive through the woods

From the window you could see “Houtou”, “100% hand made soba”
“Ice cream” signs… even though I just ate, they still got my attention ^^

There was a cafe with hammocks
and some mini BBQ area as well.

And then to the famous site in Fuji
Into… Yamanakako ^^

Sorry I don’t have a proper camera lens… >< But here is a view of the scenery from the window Going into the water was so intense though! It felt just like a ride in an amusement park. On the shore of the lake, there were a ton of daffodils.

Being able to enjoy the trees, flowers, lake and nature of Fuji,
with a few thrilling attractions,
and so many delicious local delicacies… ^^

Although part of it was training, I still enjoyed it
it was a very fulfilling day.

But it wasn’t just all about having fun,
I hope to make use of all the things I learned and experienced today!

So our group of newcomers are still struggling with
the fundamentals of speaking…

So the other day, we did some outdoor training
on “Practice giving a report”

On anything we wanted!

Apparently it’s an annual tradition they do.
We got on a shaky bus and headed towards Fuji…

First off, we went to the site of the Fuji Shibazakura festival.

Oh that day, there were still a third of the flowers in bloom,
but in full bloom, a full sea of beautiful cherry blossoms
together with Mt. Fujiwould be so amazing and really
represent what Japan is about…

What an amazing festival ^^

Apparently it’s also getting pretty well established as a premiere tourist attraction

Unfortunately the weather that day wasn’t that great
but in good weather with everything in full bloom
would be just absolutely amazing huh.
I definitely want to go back again.

Next time on a day with good weather!

Even though it was a little covered by the clouds,
seeing Mt. Fuji so close up was absolutely breath taking

And so
we got started on reporting practice right away
and started rolling some film…

And yeah… it’s hard

I had done my prep for the reading, and it was only talking
(like introducing goods or dates of the festival)
but I couldn’t even talk about the basic details of location

There were a lot of other problems too,
Like I realized so quickly how poor my ability to describe things are
and how small my vocabulary is.

There were also other things to enjoy there aside from the flowers.
There was a “Mt. Fuji tasty things festival”
with food and drink booths

There were things like a recent famous B grade gourmet dish called “Fujinomiya yakisoba”
and famous local dishes like “Yoshida udon” and “Houtou”!

I really like Fujinomiya yakisoba, the noodles are so unique and chewy
When I went to Shizuoka before
I had bought them at a supermarket and brought them home to cook…

So of course my very first order was “1 Fujinomiya Yakisoba”

And then what do to for my second order…

There’s no mistake that I love pumpkin
and “Houtou” has pumpkin in it,
but I was in the mood for ordering some soba… (><)

So when I was eating there
or well… where ever really, I’m always thinking if I’m eating too much
and that always happens when I visit some place…

Anyway, there were a ton of things on the menu,
and everything looked so good! ^^
Then right as I was leaving, I noticed the lovely aroma of
grilled salted iwana fish in the air.

My colleague Ueda ordered some Fujinomiya yakisoba and Houtou.
Unlike me, she is very decisive.

Ueda said “I’ll give you a little of my Houtou!”
So I ended up having Fujinomiya yakisoba for my first order
and Saisai soba for my second order.

The soba wasn’t famous or anything
but it was a really good choice!

The noodles were a little thick and hard, but in a good way.
Add some sauce with crispy saisai, it was so good ^^

And the “Houtou”

You can’t really see in the pic, but in the middle is my favorite, pumpkin!
There were also a ton of mushrooms, bok choy and other veggies.
The soup also had some miso flavor to it.
And again, the noodles… were very chewy.
So much goodness ^^

There was also a cafe with some original sweets made by hotel maids
called “Sakura cafe FUJIYAMA SWEETS”.
They had a ton of delicious sweets lined up in rows
I’m a slow eater so I barely just made it to dessert
when it was time to meet up with everyone.
That was my only regret. Too bad…

…Ah, that was a long rant about food.
Sorry about that ><

Last Saturday on the 7th was my 24th birthday…

And so today is my first lesson after turning 24!

Today we did stuff beyond “the fundamentals of voice training” as well

In our free talk, we discussed stretching the end of words,
making letters sound longer, and how to convey things like a story

It’s not something that one normally does every day
but as a 24 year old, I’ll try to be aware of it and keep it in mind ^^

Birthdays also are another thing that get me pretty worked up

My friends threw me a birthday party
and there were childhood friends as well as friends
whom I haven’t seen in a while
and I could see how even though they haven’t changed overall,
they changed in subtle ways and it just made me think
“Ahh everyone is working so hard in their own path in life”
I need to work hard too

I had about 3 cakes too!
I am really so happy to have had this party
I’m so thankful to everyone who celebrated with me

Although I couldn’t meet them personally
I also got mails from my parents and sister in Hokkaido

My mom said
“Just take care of your health okay.
That’s all I’m really worried about!” … ^^

No matter how old you get, you’ll always be a kid to your mom huh,
even if I’m really far away, she’ll always worry about me

And so I hope to
keep the thoughts of my family, friends and coworkers
close to my heart as I work through my 24th year

We’re right in the middle of Golden Week now aren’t we.
How are all of you spending your time??
I’m sure… there are some of you who have to work during Golden Week
as well as some of you who are taking a long vacation,
but I hope you all can at least get a little rest right?? ^^

The other day I had a day off,
and I went to a great restaurant, took a long walk
and really recharged and refreshed myself.

Also, Mo-chan brought me some Kisoba!

Apparently her relatives own a kisoba shop…
and so Mo-chan is always eating that soba at home,
but it was so easy to eat and so delicious!

…so I was able to fully recharge

and now today, I’ll be going back to giving it my all at work.

It’s already been one month since I joined the company too.



After joining, I just happened to take this picture of a sakura blossom on my way to work
and I already feel like its from so long ago

This one month has felt so long yet so short…

That’s how much stuff I’ve been learning everyday and how filled everyday has been for me.

I’ve been able to see how little I know and how hard speaking is.

Every day really requires my full concentration and practice!

I’ll do my best!

As expected there are so many smart people in the announcer department.

When I talk to them…
It feels like I barely know anything at all, and that I have so much to study

I’ll start off by getting into the habit of asking questions on anything I’m not sure about!
and then work to form an opinion on all the information I get

Also
“An announcer should be a master of proper Japanese”
is what my senpai Ishida-san said

For example,
when reading a script ８匹 is not “happiki” but rather “hachihiki”
I make so many of those mistakes

I hope to improve upon my word reading, usage and background knowledge.

I know I won’t become that knowledgeable overnight
so it’s something I’ll have to study towards every day!!

Continuing on with my voice training,
I also got to practice some table tennis today!

The world table tennis championships will be airing on TV Tokyo starting in May.
It’s an important tournament that will determine participants for the Olympics!

To be honest though… I don’t really know much about table tennis at all ><

All I know is pretty much from elementary and middle school gym class.

But back in January at the national stadium
I was able to watch the “All-Japan national championship”
and I started to find table tennis pretty interesting

Personally, I’ve only ever dealt with sports like dodge ball or futsal…
with big balls on big courts
so I always had the impression that table tennis was a really delicate sport

But! when I actually watched it, it was pretty intense

Particularly in the men’s matches
I was so surprised like “I had no idea they could still hit the ball while being so far away from the table!”

Also, apparently there’s only a specific time when the players are allowed to grab their towels
so until that time comes, they are playing while glowing in sweat

Rallying back and forth on the table with such a small ball in table tennis…
it’s just so amazing
Watching the rallys just take your breath away

There’s still a lot I don’t know about the sport
but I hope to continue learning about table tennis

With the world table tennis championships this time
the players to look out for are Fukuhara Ai, Ishikawa Kasumi, Hirano Sayaka
and for the guys: Mizutani Jun, Kishikawa Seiya, and Matsudaira Kenta.

It’ll be interesting to watch the players fight to represent Japan

It’s coming up soon so I hope all of you guys will watch ^^

By the way, regarding the 2011 world table tennis championship in Rotterdam
that will be airing every day starting May 9th
We will be starting the Tohoku earthquake victim support project called “WASURENAI 3.11”
they also have opening a home page as well

The Japanese table tennis association has set up a donation account
and will be working together with TV Tokyo
(TV Tokyo channel 6, May 9th ~ 15th)

They are aiming to provide long term support with this
so throughout the 2011 world table tennis championship
the players will place the charity slogan “WASURENAI 3.11”
on their uniforms as they play.
After the tournament, the donation account and website
is expected to continue working to accept support

We appreciate your cooperation

The official “WASURENAI 3.11” website is here