Of course, the day after Spring Break ends, the weather gets sunny and warm... The neighborhood cherry blossoms were a nice send-off for going back to school...

Last Day of Spring Break: From my window, I can see, nearly in full bloom, the damp cherry blossoms on a cold, rainy, gray day...

Spring Break continued: My favorite izakaya

No smoking... great! No photos... disappointing!

And maybe I should not have taken and then posted this photo. But in my quest to fight the funk and have a fun spring break I had to go to my favorite izakaya. It has over 80 years of history and one feels like being in a time-slip back to the Showa era when entering. I have been a customer for over 20 years. This is the one izakaya I have never posted about or even mentioned the name. This is my special place... And it was good to be back and do a little fieldwork... One day I will share the secret and include it in the book...

Kufun + Fun = CoFuFun at Tenri Station Plaza

CoFuFun is an open space for special events, gatherings and for children (and adults) to play. It was produced by Nendo, a not-for-profit arts and architectural group, to pay homage to the numerous kofun (burial mounds, often key shaped, for nobles constructed between the 3rd and 7th centures BCE) in Tenri city and Nara prefecture and support city revitalization. It is located in the Tenri train station plaza. This seems like a great idea and much better than the gentrification we are seeing around train stations in Japan. See links below for more info. Or better yet, visit Tenri!

Tenri Station Plaza CoFuFun / nendo:
https://www.archdaily.com/873465/tenri-station-plaza-cofufun-nendo

The Tenri Station Plaza CoFuFun – Nendo’s Largest Project:
https://publicdelivery.org/nendo-cofufun-plaza/

Nendo:
https://publicdelivery.org/about/

The sound and beautiful city, Tenri, Where the story of Japan has begun:
https://www.city.tenri.nara.jp/material/files/group/50/69367584.pdf

Kofun Burial Mounds and Imperial Tombs:
http://www.pref.nara.jp/miryoku/ikasu-nara/en/fukabori/detail02/

Yamanobe no Michi (Yamanobe Road):
https://www.city.sakurai.lg.jp/material/files/group/6/16501314.pdf

Spring Break continued: I returned to Tenri/Ojiba after over three years... 陽気ぐらし

The weather was beautiful and Tenri was mostly quiet... Some changes here and there, a few due to COVID... More barrier-free in the shinden, many old shops closed, lots of new shops opened... It felt great to be back.

Set One: Tenrikyo Church Headquarters

Set Two: The old Adachi home is now an open rest space

Set Three: Shops

Set Four: The new sign near the station, the old sign near the church and the omiyagi...

Street Piano at Kintetsu Tenri Station!

For more info:

Street piano installation location information site
https://pianomitsuketa.com/9404/

Kintetsu Tenri Station Street Piano
https://ameblo.jp/koukishoji/entry-12733266099.html

When I was playing the piano at Kintetsu Tenri Station, the station manager suddenly appeared!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh2dzWgHIT4

First Day of Spring Break! Trying to be happy (amidst the sorrows of this shitty year so far...)

Cherry blossoms on two trees popping early... the rest will pop soon!

Special auto-ethnographic bonus: a (renewal) haircut, yaki niku and new friends...