I went to a public primary school called Yokokawa Chuo Shogakko that was located in the neighborhood. It took only five minutes on foot from my home. My favorite subjects were social science and physical education. I had a good time playing with a town’s baseball team and my position was a catcher who was the team leader. Since I was fast in short-distance runs, I won first place at various athletic meets and was chosen as a relay team member for local track and field events. I also enjoyed learning the basic subjects at a juku (cram school) in the center of the city once or twice a week. I tried to get admission by taking the entrance exam for the limited acceptance at a national university attached junior high school, but I failed, unfortunately. It was a good experience for me. Maybe my ability was not good enough at that time. As a result, I advanced to a public junior school in the neighborhood.

My father was trained as a pilot during WWII but he could not actually go to battlefields and WWI ended. However, he could not forget his flying experiences and became a member of pilot trainers with his friends for a national university glider club and trained college students. I had many chances to fly a glider with my dad and sometimes participated in training camps at a special Kinugawa River runway in Ujiie, Tochigi Prefecture, or Mt. Tsukuba area roads in Ibaraki Prefecture. Sometimes I also went to see air shows and aircraft displays that were held locally with my dad.

小学校は地元の公立小学校(横川中央小学校）に通学したが、自宅からは歩いて５分もかからない場所にあった。好きな教科は社会と体育だった。野球が好きだったので地元の少年野球チームに加わり、主としてキャッチャーとしてチームリーダーの役割を果たした。短距離走が得意だったので、学校や地域の運動会など一番にいなることも多く、リレーのメンバーに選ばれ、活躍もした。高学年になってから、国立大学付属中学への受験も挑戦するため、街中にある塾に週１～２回通った。残念ながら、その受験には失敗したが良い経験となった。その結果、中学は地元の市立中学校へ進学した。

父は第二次世界大戦中にパイロットとして訓練を受けたが、実際には戦場には行かずに終戦となった。しかし、パイロットとしての経験を忘れられず、国立大学の滑空部の顧問チームの一員となり、学生たちに操縦法などを指導した。その結果、私も父の操縦したグライダーに乗せてもらい、大空を闊歩でき、また氏家の鬼怒川沿いに特設された滑走路や茨城県の筑波山近くの農道を使って飛ばした大学生たちの合宿にも参加させてもらった。地元で開催された航空ショーなどにも父と行って楽しんだ。