Running In Japan

I have had the pleasure of knowing Maasaki Mokuno and his lovely wife Eriko since 2002! I was taking a Japanese class at West LA College, looking for a way to improve my Japanese without always bothering my wife Mie with questions about her native language.

My West LA College professor, Hidemi Sugi, put me in touch with Maasaki, then a UCLA researcher. For the next year or so, I spent Tuesday evenings speaking in English and Japanese with Maasaki and Eriko.

We always make a point of visiting the Mokuno-sans,two of the kindest, most thoughtful people I have ever met. No trip is complete until we have a delicious meal, visiting with our dear friends, "tomodachi" the Mokuno-sans.

MUSIC: My music selection for Maasaki and Eriko is not in Japanese, but in English. I selected "Change the World" by Eric Clapton. I recall running in Hirakata City, listening to this song, and thinking how the world changed for me, since I learned to speak Japanese.