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On Saturday night I wound up at this jazz club in Kamakura called Daphne. The place was packed, but I managed to squeeze into a little table at the back. It was a lot of fun - the music was great and there was a cute drunk couple who danced/snapped/swayed to every song.
I got to talking with the people at my table and realized that I had taken a seat at the musicians’ table! It was kind of a holding area for them to sit while they waited to play. I guess they liked me because they bought me drinks/pizza and I got to meet all of these awesome jazz musicians/singers. Everything about Saturday was amazing.
Kamakura Daibutsu. So happy here.
Zeniarai Benten.
May 25 - 27: Kamakura
On Friday I made a last-minute decision to take a solo trip to Kamakura for the weekend.
These pictures don’t do it justice AT ALL, but they’ll serve as a nice reminder of an amazing two days hiking through the hills.
May 21 - Solar eclipse at the Bisei Observatory.
On Monday I woke up at 6 am and walked up to the Bisei Observatory, which had opened especially for the solar eclipse. There were about 30 people gathered outside, all smiling and sipping paper cups of coffee in the morning light. Grandparents showed kids their home-made pinhole viewers and the scientists at the observatory showed off live video feeds from two of the centre’s large telescopes. I bumped into some of my students, made (barely comprehensible) small talk with some adults and admired the view.
It was a nice crisp morning, and there was a great communal feeling on top of the mountain; gathered together with these strangers so early in the day, watching the moon slide in front of the sun.
I stayed for about an hour and then walked to school and started my day. Definitely an unforgettable experience.
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My new favourite game, Kibasen!
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Izue Yochien: constantly reaching new levels of cuteness.
May 19 - Izue Shogakko’s Sports Day!
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I bought a ukelele a couple weeks ago, and have been playing this non-stop.
Huge cup of FREE ice cream from my favourite shop in Japan!
Alia and Jeff at the Craft Brewery Festival, along with our creation, “The Holy Saint Mr. Tiipsy Cat Robot Moustache Man 3000”
Shofuku-ji and Tochi-ji
Day 2: Kyushu National Museum and Dazaifu Tenman-gu
