Gathering no moss

Since July I have been to Nagoya, Sendai, Okayama, Onomichi, Hiroshima, Osaka, Matsuyama, Takumatsu, Tokyo (twice), Sapporo and the U.S. Most of that was chasing Granrodeo, and the last was to spend two weeks with my dad. I am surprised I know what day it is, or what city I'm in, but I'd gladly do it all over.

Granrodeo's tour was magical, right up to the point where the lead singer ruptured his Achilles tendon on stage in the tour finale. He finished the show, bless him, but the two extra shows (which I had rearranged my U.S. trip to accommodate) were cancelled. He seems to be on the mend, which is the important thing. This is my third tour in a row where I made all the shows, and every single one was worth it (rude fans notwithstanding).

I didn't get as much sight seeing in as I would've liked, because I had a cold in Sendai, and by time I got to Sapporo, I was wiped out, but my friend and I did squeeze in a morning visit to the small coastal town of Onomichi, which sits between Okayama and Hiroshima. Visiting temples in the hills was nice, though it was ungodly hot. I would like to go back when its cooler. And Sapporo was perfect, since it was cool, and the autumn food festival had taken over Odori Park. I had some divine lamb & mutton and a cherry beer that was to die for (like alcoholic cherry juice). Sapporo takes its festivals quite seriously and I could easily spend a week just eating through one.

The two days I would have been at Granrodeo shows in Tokyo I crammed in a lot of catching up with
folks I hadn't seen in months, and wrapped up the trip by going to Joy Max Poko's first bar night, which was entertaining. The day after, I flew to the U.S. for two weeks. I worked evenings, and spent the days with my dad and his new kitty, Miss Alice. Unfortunately, I brought an ear infection with me, so I was slow moving the first week. By week two I had a bit more energy, and started cooking and clearing stuff out of closets for my dad. We made decent progress. It was so good to spend time with him, and Miss Alice is such a cutie (and such a beggar; she eats everything). We're plotting trips for next year, which should be fun.

And I just arranged for our grand Christmas adventure, a private tour of the Mount Aso area and Kamishikimi Kumano Imasu shrine (those of you who have seen the animated film Hotaru no mori e will know this shrine). Looking forward to it!

Alas, this weekend's grand plans of sight-seeing in Kobe and Himeji, topped off with a reading of author Kawabata Yasunari's works by voice actor Hayami Sho have been stopped cold by the incoming super typhoon. We're fine here in Fukuoka, and the event isn't cancelled (yet) but it's such a beast of a storm that the trains between Okayama and Osaka (which is where Kobe and Himeji are) have already been cancelled. So I will stay home and get a new phone, got the movies, grocery shop and otherwise be domestic, which I haven't been in several months.