1968: Dropped out of university to study abroad in France at the age of 20.

【Historical background at the time】

University students across Japan were engaged in fierce anti-establishment activities under the banner of the All-Campus Joint Struggle League.

1969: After working as a dish-washer in Sweden, traveled to Denmark at the age of 21.

【Historical background at the time】

Mexico Olympics, assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

1970: Met fishermen in Vully, Switzerland at the age of 22.

【Historical background at the time】

Yom Kippur War, break-up of the Beatles.

1971: Traveled through the Silk Road while returning to Japan from the study abroad at the age of 23. Met invaluable friends. Upon returning home, went back to and graduated from university in two years.

【Historical background at the time】

Moon landing by Apollo 14, Smithsonian Agreement (in which various countries agreed to the significant devaluation of the U.S. dollar, which later caused the Nixon Shock).

1973: Departed for Vienna at the age of 25.

Decided to go to Vienna where there were very few Japanese residents at the time in order to realize the dream of opening a yakitori shop but failed because the business license application was denied.

【Historical background at the time】

The end of the Vietnam War, Nobel Peace Prize given to Henry Kissinger.

1973: Returned to Japan at the age of 25.

Landed a job at a translation company. The only period of life spent as a salaried employee.

1974: Traveled to Algeria in North Africa at the age of 26 and spent two years there.

【Historical background at the time】

U.S. President Ford visited Japan.
Opening of Charles de Gaulle International Airport, resignation of U.S. President Nixon due to the Watergate scandal.

1976: Returned to Japan from Algeria at the age of 28.
Traveled to and stayed in Montpellier in southern France for leisurely study for six months.

【Historical background at the time】

Exposure of the Lockheed bribery scandal.
Mig-25 defection incident, Montreal Olympics.

1977: Opened a ramen shop called "Tairiku" in Yotsuya at the age of 29.

【Historical background at the time】

President Jimmy Carter took office in the U.S.
Charlie Chaplin passed away.

1981: Traveled to Algeria once again at the age of 33.

【Historical background at the time】

President Ronald Reagan took office in the U.S.
The Iran-Iraq War broke out.

1983: Began work as a French interpreter and also started the business of exporting bonsai trees at the age of 35.

【Historical background at the time】

Launch of the space shuttle that carried the first female U.S. astronaut into space.
Shoot-down of the Korean Air Lines Flight 007 by the Soviet Union.

1993: Retired from the company at the age of 45 to focus on the business of exporting bonsai trees. Got married. Received coverage in a bonsai magazine published in the U.S.

【Historical background at the time】

Czechoslovakia was dissolved.
Bill Clinton took office as U.S. President.

1998: A friend's death helped deepen the love toward the family at the age of 50.
The business was smooth sailing. Ran advertisements overseas.
Started exchanging mails with a young Lithuanian man who saw the advertisement.
Worked hard to put him through bonsai training and to help him achieve his dream of building a Japanese garden in Lithuania.

【Historical background at the time】

Opening of Hong Kong International Airport.
German high-speed ICE train was derailed, killing more than 100 people.

1999: Traveled to Bahrain to investigate the conditions for planting cherry trees at the age of 51.
Received a torch used in the Asian Games from the King as a souvenir.

【Historical background at the time】

NATO airplanes bombed Yugoslavia.

2001: Participated in a bonsai exhibition in Spain at the age of 53.

【Historical background at the time】

September 11 attacks in the U.S.

2003: Traveled to Lithuania to build a Japanese garden at the age of 55.

【Historical background at the time】

U.S. invasion of Iraq.

2008: Traveled to Qatar at the request of the Japanese embassy at the age of 60.
Ran a Japanese garden booth at the world garden fair.

【Historical background at the time】

Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the U.S.

2010: Entered the environmental business at the age of 62.
Obtained a carbon dioxide emission right.

【Historical background at the time】

Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver were held.
Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building in Dubai, opened.