23&24 Sep 26
Catching up with people
Yesterday, Yoshi’s brother, Mitsuo, and his wife Kumiko came for lunch. They grow their own rice and brought freshly cropped rice as well as potato croquettes. Yoko prepared my favourite food such as boiled spinach, sardines, and burdock and carrots. I am spoiled.
After we finished lunch, we played some games. We have a new card game called NEU. It is the best card game I’ve ever played and the whole family really enjoy playing it. We also played dominoes. Mami and I were the first to be eliminated which was difficult for both of us as we are both very competitive as some of you may have noticed!
Since we arrived back in Shunan, we have started our morning walks again. We get up between 6.00am and 7.00am. I was surprised that Mami instigated the early morning walks as most of you would know, she loves her sleep! However, It is around 18 degrees in the morning, which is the lowest temperature you get during the day and the humidity is lower.
As we walk you can certainly see the signs of Autumn which is a lovely time of the year. We also see many rice paddy fields ready for harvesting. We have some photos of the paddy fields as the rice is planted in and around domestic housing. These rice fields also occur in major cities.
After breakfast, Mami went to have her haircut. She has been going to the same hair dresser since she was a child. She enjoys being back in Shunan, even if we are only here for a week. It’s all about family, friends and memories of the good times she spent here when she was young.
I am currently reading a series of detective books written by an author from Iceland, Arnaldur Indridason. I am enjoying his books especially when I travel on trains. If you like crime fiction it might be worth a try. I do a lot of reading when I travel.
Thursday we went to the Aeon Mall in Kudamatsu, which is less than 10 minutes from home. Mami is going there to catch up with Nozomi, who is Mami’s friend from Junior high school. It is also where my favourite coffee shop is, Hamamoto Cafe. We spent about an hour and a half chatting with Nozomi and drinking good coffee. We both enjoyed spending time with her.
