We held our 426th meeting and happily welcomed a new member, TM Kobayashi! 🙌
We also had five guests joining us at our first meeting of 2026 😃
TM MC served as TMOD for the very first time and transitioned between each session flawlessly.
🌟 Good & New
Good & New is a long-standing tradition of Omotesando Bilingual Toastmasters.
This time, members shared the following highlights:
- Two members of the club are going to work at the same company
- Witnessing a niece begin to speak
- Finding big, free lemons
- Watching a TED Talk that helped build confidence
Prepared Speeches✨
We had two prepared speakers, .
・TM WZ, from Pioneer & Tokyo Bilingual Toastmasters Club, delivered a thought-provoking and humorous , titled “Renting a Friend in Tokyo”. In his speech, he shared his experience of renting a Japanese friend in Tokyo for 500 yen per hour. He asked his rented friend a simple yet powerful question:
“Why are you so cheap to rent?”
This short but impactful question prompted us to reflect on a strange social phenomenon: although many people choose to live alone, deep down, we still long for connection and companionship.
・TM SH talked about his experiences during his trip to the UK.
It was a journey full of trouble and danger—he encountered a passport-stealing scheme, suffered from dehydration, and became so weak that he needed a wheelchair to move around.
Despite the serious situations, he narrated his story in a very amusing way. In hindsight, he was fortunate to make it through all those challenges, and his UK trip felt like an adventure straight out of a movie.
🗣️ Table Topics Session ✨
TM MK led the Table Topics session with engaging and thought-provoking questions, such as:
- Predict the major events that will happen in the second quarter of 21st century?
- Discuss any issue about Otoshidama?
- Imagine you are going to change one rule of the company you run or work for, what would it be?
📝 Evaluation ✨
TM R provided constructive feedback for TM WZ.
He highlighted how the speech kept the audience eager to hear what would come next and how it encouraged us to reflect on how friendship is often underestimated. He also suggested that adding a strong punch sentence could make the speech even more impactful.
TM KK evaluated TM SH’s speech and shared that he had had a similar experience himself. He mentioned how TM SH immediately captured the audience’s attention by greeting us with a very loud “Hello, Toastmasters!” He also suggested that adding a stronger, more inspiring conclusion could further enhance the speech.
Award Session🏅
The awards were presented to these wonderful speakers. Congratulations👏
・Best Evaluator : TM R
・Best Table Topic Speaker : TM SM
About the Upcoming Meeting
Our next meeting will be in Japanese.
Date: January 31st, Saturday (日本語例会）
Time: 2p.m-3:40p.m.
Place: 青山生涯学習館（東京都港区南青山４丁目１９−７）
Google map
Visit us!