Cherry blossom season to begin this week! (樱花开花)

The cherry blossoms(樱花) are coming this week in Tokyo! However the weather this week is likely not good- cold, cloudy and rainy according to the weather forecast...We went to Chiba Hakumari (千葉幕張) last weekend and saw some early cherry blossoms(photo attached). We are scheduling a trip outside Tokyo to enjoy cherry blossoms and I can't wait to go! Hopefully it is warm and sunny this weekend! :-)

Forecasts on world economic growth(2009&2010年世界经济增长预测)

Forecasts on World Economic Growth (Source: IMF).
-Japan is -5.0 this year and will be 0.0 next year! too bad......:-(

	2009	2010
Global Economy	-0.6	2.3
United States	-2.6	0.2
Euro Zone	-3.2	0.1
Japan	-5.0	0.0
UK	-3.8	-0.2
Canada	-2.0	1.2
G7	-3.2	0.2
Asia	3.6	5.8
Latin America	-0.6	2.3

Massage clinic in Japan (日本的整体按摩院)

Having stiff shoulders, i went to a massage clinic after yoga lesson today. I feel so relaxed after that. Massage clinic is everywhere in Japan especially in Tokyo and i can say that Japanese people can't live without it as Japan is such a deadline-driven and high-stress country. Compared with China, it is much more expensive to have massage in Japan. 10 minutes cost around 1050 JPY and 30 minutes cost around 3150 JPY. I don't go to massage very often in Japan unless I really feel sick. Having massage in China is just a piece of cake - cheap and the massage therapists are very professional! I go to massage almost everyday whenever I go back to China. We are planning a trip to China sometime next month and i can't wait to enjoy the Chinese massage! ;-)

Dow jumps 5.8%(道琼斯指数飙升近6%)

Seriously we have been worried and scared about the recent stock market - financial stocks keep falling and the Citi's stock fell below $1 per share last week. Billionaire Warren Buffett told people that the economy has 'fallen off a cliff' but it will be back to normal eventually - When and how, that is the question.. Very happily, Dow jumped 5.8% due to Citi profit news yesterday. All the banking stocks led the markets higher all day. We hope such rally can last for a while so that we can hedge the risk we are currently facing. Make the force be with us!

Spring is approaching!(春天到了!)

The chilly weather has last for a couple of weeks and finally it becomes sunny and warm - 15 degree today! I can feel that Spring is around the corner. Japanese people are now looking forward to cherry blossoms (桜花) and it is coming end of March in Kanto area. We are thinking of going somewhere to enjoy Hanami (cherry blossom viewing). To avoid the crowds, we may either go outside of Tokyo or just find a weekday to go to Ueno park or other spots-will decide later. :-)