Close contacts between Japan and the rest of the world were created in the twentieth century. In the last forty years, business contacts between Japan and the West have become very important. Many foreign companies now have offices in Japan and Japanese businessmen do business around the world. Differences between Japanese and Western ways of doing business, however, often bewilder foreign businessmen and make doing business in Japan difficult for foreigners.

    The American businessman, for example, wants to start talking business immediately. He does not want to wait. The Japanese businessman, on the other hand, likes to arrive at decisions after giving them serious thought. Another thing foreign businessmen have difficulty in understanding is when a Japanese means "Yes" or "No". This is because of cultural differences between Japanese and Western society, which make it difficult for a Japanese to say "No" directly.

    In the USA, it is easy to say "No" to something one does not want to do. But in Japan, it is very difficult to say "No". To refuse an invitation or a request with "No" is felt to be impolite. It is thought to be selfish and unfriendly. So instead of saying "No" directly, the Japanese have developed many ways to avoid saying "No". These can help them avoid hurting other people's feelings. However, this often makes their ways of doing business rather difficult for foreigners to understand and follow.

    Many people believe that tea was first drunk nearly 5,000 years ago. It is said that a Chinese ruler called Shen Nong was the first to discover tea as a drink. More than 4,000 years later, Lu Yu, "the saint of tea", mentioned Shen Nong in his book Cha Jing. The book describes how tea plants were grown and used to make tea. It also discusses where the finest tea leaves were produced and what kinds of water were used.

    It is believed that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th centuries. In England, tea didn't appear until around 1660, but less than 100 years later, it had become the national drink. The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in the 19th century. This helped to spread the popularity of tea and the tea plant to more places around the world. Even though many people now know about tea culture, the Chinese are without doubt the ones who best understand the nature of tea.

    For most people in the West, Valentine's Day(情人节) ends on February 15, but here in Japan it's not quite over until March 15. March 14-exactly one month after Valentine's Day--is White Day in Japan.

    To really understand what White Day is all about, you have to understand what Valentine's Day in Japan is like. Japanese Valentine's Day is all about men getting presents. Japanese women are usually too shy to show their love, though it might not be true today. Valentine's Day is a great chance to let women show their feelings. Men should return gifts to women on White Day.

    On both days, chocolate is the gift of choice. More often, the colour of the chocolate is white because of the name of the day. You can also buy flowers, candy or cookies.

    Does it sound good to you? Don't get too excited when you get chocolate from Japanese girls! They give chocolate not only to their loved ones, but also to men such as bosses( 老板) and male(男性的) friends.

    The Japanese first celebrated White Day in 1978. Now it is also celebrated in South Korea and Taiwan, China.

    The following are the messages from Mike's moments (朋友圈) on WeChat during the trip to Beijing.

    Today is July 5, my birthday, the first day of our trip. It's 2:30 p. m. I'm riding a bike with my parents and my little brother Bob in Beihai Park. We are singing, listening to birds, and having a lot of fun.

    Today is July 6. It's the second day of our trip. We plan to visit the Great Wall. There area lot of people along the way. I feel a little tired, but I'm happy! While we are climbing the mountain, I talk about my future (将来的) job with my parents. What do I want to be? Ha! Maybe a teacher or a singer.

    My parents are visiting their old friend, a famous writer, at her place. I am having lunch with Bob and watching a show in Deyunshe. The food isn't so delicious but the show ... Well, it's so humorous and interesting. I really like it.

    It is the fourth day of our trip. We're going back home at 6:00 p. m. It's 10:00 a m. now. We are visiting the famous Chocolate Factory and making chocolate by ourselves happily. We are really having a great time here! Sweet Kiwi! I love you!