■■My visit to the United States:
■Travel journal:
In the previous blog (distributed on September 19), I had mentioned that I would be going to the United States on September 30 (Tuesday) and that the next blog would be delivered from there on October 3 (Friday and my 83rd birthday). And as scheduled, I left Kansai Airport in the evening of September 30, and after a 10-hour flight, I arrived in Los Angeles in the early afternoon on the same day (The time difference with Japan is 16 hours). After arriving, I stayed in Los Angeles for two nights, and I headed to Omaha, Nebraska at noon on October 2 (Thursday) to meet a long-time friend in the United States. It takes three hours by direct flight from Los Angeles to Omaha, but when traveling from west to east, a time difference of two hours is added, so the scheduled travel time is five hours. I arrived in Omaha at 6 p.m. on October 2 (Thursday) local time, and that time is 8 a.m. on October 3 (Friday) Japan time and in Japan, it has already been eight hours since my birthday started. In this situation, it was impossible to deliver it by October 3 Japan time, so I informed everyone in advance on my homepage that it would be postponed by a week.
When I arrived at Omaha Airport, my friend and his wife came to greet me and immediately took me to a steakhouse. I enjoyed delicious Nebraska beef while drinking red wine until I was completely exhausted. After that, we chatted my friend’s house until late at night, sharing our joy in our long-awaited reunion. Incidentally, both the state of Nebraska and my friend have traditionally supported the Republican Party, but he said “Trump does some good thing, but I can’t stand the fact that he is so erratic”. I felt like I touched on a part of division in American public opinion.
And the following day was my birthday, and my friend and his wife prepared a birthday cake and celebrated with me, and I was touched by their friendship. After that, we headed to the state capital, Lincoln, which is about an hour and a half by car. At that location, there is the University of Nebraska, and I went there to meet the grandson of my friend who is studying hard to become a lawyer. After arriving, I was given a tour of the university campus. It is said that Japanese universities have difficult entrance exams, but graduation is relatively easy. But in the United States, it is the opposite, in other words, getting admitted is easy but graduating is not. It seems quite different from our country’s student life, which is sometimes mockingly called “the last youth” (though that might be a bit harsh). After that, I returned to Omaha once again, promised to meet again, and flew back to Los Angeles on the evening flight.
By the way, Omaha is home to the headquarters of Berkshire Hathaway, where the famous investor Warren Buffett, known even in Japan to those in the know, serves as CEO. It is said that in years with high attendance, 50,000 people gather at the company’s annual general meeting, held on a weekend in early May every year, in order to hear him speak (The usual population of Omaha is 490,000). I passed in front of his house and it was an ordinary house that did not seem like it belonged to a world-famous investor and billionaire. I heard that it is a house that was purchased for about $30,000 (about 10 million yen in Japanese currency at the time) in 1958.
Well, the return trip from Omaha to Los Angeles is the reverse of the outbound trip, and according to the timetable, the travel time is one hour. Incidentally, in the United States, New York (East Coast) is 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles (West Coast) and 6 hours ahead of Hawaii.
Japanese people are not accustomed to time differences within the same country, but work-oriented American businessmen take advantage of the time difference to work. Not only businessmen, but also professional athletes in the United States, including Mr. Ohtani, are working hard while battling with the time difference.
On Saturday after I returned to Los Angeles, I went to Redond Beach, about 30 km south of the city center, and I enjoyed seafood for lunch and also went to the shopping center. Everywhere was crowded with shoppers, making me once again feel the energy of consumers supporting the U.S. economy.
By the way, on the last Sunday of this stay in Los Angeles, I enjoyed playing golf with an American parent and child I know. I witnessed their driver shots, which flew 300 yards, despite being amateurs. I felt sympathetic, thinking that it must be tough for Japanese professional golfers, including Mr. Matsuyama. And after golf, I was invited to the American’s house and I was generously treated to steak cooked by the host himself with his family and plenty of red wine.
And on Monday afternoon of the following day, after boarding a flight from Los Angeles and flying 12 hours, I returned to Kansai Airport at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday Japan time.
■Perceived inflation (price increase) trends in the United States:
There is something I always eat when I go to the United States. Of course, the top choice is beef steak. This time, out of the six dinners, three were steak. Just as in Japan, where regions compete over flavors with things like Matsusaka beef or Kobe beef, there is also regional pride in the United States. Japanese beef is characterized by marbling, making it tender and perfect for “sukiyaki” and “shabu-shabu”. On the other hand, U.S.-produced beef is classified into sirloin and filet depending on the presence of fat. It depends on the cattle feed (corn in the United States and grass in Japan). I prefer U.S.-produced steak and roast beef because they are “more firm”. I once put away a 22-once (about 624 grams) T-born steak (though about a quarter of it was bone). Besides steak, egg dishes like omelets, with crispy bacon, and either rich milk, tomato juice, or orange juice make for a perfect breakfast. I also recommend the clam chowder. And the alcoholic drink I always have is a Bloody Mary. It is a spicy cocktail made with vodka as the base and tomato juice as the mixer. The taste varies from store to store, and it is one of the things I enjoy in the United States.
By the way, I have visited the United States many times, and in Los Angeles, I always go to a hamburger store called In-N-Out in San Pedro, which is about 40 km south of downtown, just west of Long Beach). Mr. Ohtani also seems to love the hamburgers at that store. And I have been monitoring the store’s price list from a fixed point for the past 10 years. Looking at that, you can clearly see the trend of inflation (price increase) in the United States (Unit: US dollar).
                                                      2015/3   2018/5   2023/5   2025/10
Double double cheeseburger         3.60        3.90       5.15       6.30
Cheeseburger                                   2.45        2.70       3.65       4.25
French fries                                       1.65         1.85       2.20       2.35
Milk                                                    0.99         0.99       0.99       0.99
Coffee                                                1.25         1.25       1.35       1.35
Looking at this, over the past 10 years, double double cheeseburgers and cheeseburgers have increased by about 1.7 times, French fries by 1.4 times, while coffee prices are up 8% and milk prices have remained largely unchanged. I heard that this is due to the government’s pricing policy and productivity improvements resulting from the restructuring and integration of daily farmers. By the way, as usual, I ordered a double double cheeseburger, French fries and a Coca-Cola this time as well, and the total was $13.50 (about 2,000 yen at an exchange rate of 150 yen). After returning to Japan, when I checked the similar set prices at McDonald’s, “Samurai Mac” was around 940 yen. Incidentally, the “Kitsune Udon” at Marugame Seimen that I stopped by for finishing dish after the dinner meeting was $9.65 (about 1,500 yen). For your information, the employees’ hourly wage is about 3,000 yen, which is just under three times that of Japan.
■That is all for my travel journal to the United States. This was my first trip to the United States in two years and four months, and blessed with good weather (25~28 degrees during the day), I was able to meet many American friends and Japanese people after a long time, making it a very enjoyable and meaningful trip.