There was a disturbance in the early hours of the morning. Japanese people are not, in general, clumsy. Such behaviour has been well “ijimayed” (pronounced “ee’jeemayed&quot, meaning bullied) out of them by the age of nine or ten. My suspicions were correct – it was the older man of last night. This was, in my…

I slept very well on the tatami and single futon. When I moved to Himeji and bought my first futon, I ended up buying four and making it like a bed. Now, I seem to be used to the harder surface. Or, maybe I was just extremely sleepy. We chatted over a delicious breakfast. Although…

I seem to have caught a cold. Perhaps it was the walk on Mt. Aso, or maybe I didn’t realise just how cold the air conditioning in the Kita-Kumamoto services was. I bought some throat lozenges for breakfast, and supplied myself with the free hot tea from the restaurant. I’m heading for Unzen, another volcano,…

It was a very early start. It seems that this is quite a family business. The gentleman’s wife and sister came along, too. I think there were about seven altogether in the van. I didn’t manage to fall asleep in the car. It was quite light. The advantage of hitching late into the night to…

I woke up with a start at half past midnight, so decided to move to another location. Fortunately, it wasn’t raining. When it was light, I got up – about 05:30 or so. The sun was already up. Sun? I thought today was supposed to be terrible weather. I came here because I thought it…

I did a little bit more computing in the morning, converting the index and the about files to use the database. There was just time to update the homepage, too. I had to rush the coffee to be out by just after nine as I had promised. I left a postcard with a thank you…

I was up when it got light, not having much idea what the time was. I think it was about 05:30. I had a quick wash nearby, and went looking for a convenience store. Yoghurt and peanuts for breakfast. As I was eating, the sun broke through the clouds, so I set off for the…

The headache had gone in the morning – I didn’t leave the windows open. After a bit more computing, I went with Mr. Noji Sr. to Sakai. Noji had left earlier because he was translating and singing. Put me in a seat these days, and I promptly fall asleep. It makes no difference where I…

Hmm. I didn’t get very far. I sorted out the photos from yesterday and put them on the web. Somehow, that gave me a headache. Noji thought perhaps it was because I kept the window open last night and got cold. I’ve closed the windows for tonight. I figure I’m not supposed to be rushing…

I was introduced to the family at breakfast time. Afterwards, I looked through lots of photos of New Zealand. The usual question I ask myself is “Does this scene have potential?” It was beautifully sunny. I took some snaps in the garden. Perhaps Japanese gardens are planned round the stones, I thought. I liked the…