January 18th 2024

I now have to return to Germany, So let’s take one last look around……

It’s January, so hello, what’s this – daffodils? no doubt introduced by the Dutch…..

And say what you will about cherry blossoms, long before they appear, we get plum blossoms – here in Hodogaya Park….

Varieties all carefully labelled….

Thankfully, Latin is the universal language for plant classification….

What a nice surprise to see these on a random walk before lunch….

lunch? That hints of food. It’s hard to describe just how important beer is here…it often accompanies a ramen or udon soup…like this one….

or this one….

..and at the local onsen (which is on the old Tokkaido road)….

……….a famous woodblock print by Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川 歌麿 has been slightly adapted…….

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At this point Aki-san needs a huge “Thank you” for lending me her second ‘cello 🙏. Tomoko and myself played some duets in Hoshikawa……..

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…and even managed some Mendelssohn with Emi-san in Higashi Rinkan. Maybe I should not have drunk a Kirin beer beforehand, but a least the room was soundproofed. Playing music in Japanese houses is not a given. At least one member of the audience was prepeared to give a standing ovation(1 yr-old Koutaro-chan). Get the audiences early, that’s the message…

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Bye, Bye. Sayonara, Mata ne……

Thank you for reading, and feel free to forward on to anyone who might be interested.

読んでくれてありがとう！。ご興味がある方にはお気軽に転送してください。

See you またね 🙋‍♂️

nigelwruddock@gmail.com

https://www.instagram.com/nigelruddock/

The End

終わり