Autumn, Tamba Style

Reading: Gould's Book of Fish, Richard Flanagan
Listening: "Apologize," Timbaland feat. OneRepublic

Wednesday, October 17
After a rough day at work, I caught the train up to Tamba to be with Chris. He had his adult English conversation class that night, and I shared muffins with everyone. The group was friendly, with fascinating stories of how each came to study English. Chris and I ate a late dinner at Curry House. Yum. The next morning, I caught the return train, leaving at 5:41 am and arriving at 8:11 am, earlier than usual for work, actually.

Saturday, October 20
I caught the train up to Tamba on Friday evening, and the next morning, I slept in while Chris took his kanji exam at school.

In the afternoon, we had snacks and study time at Mister Donut. Though I should be studying Japanese, I studied Korean writing instead. We had dinner at Gusto, and shared a long talk over career ideas for me. Though he has concrete plans for law school, I've been floundering about as to what I'll do when we return home. More on the results of that discussion later.

Sunday, October 21
As usual, we woke up late.

For this edition of Let's Weekend Adventuring, we drove through neighboring Kyoto.

Chris ate kuromame udon.

I ordered the 黒豆湯豆腐 (black bean simmered tofu).

I love tofu!

We visited a temple whose entrance gate was flanked by a friendly group of beer-sipping elderly men.

Chris enjoys the tranquil beauty of the temple.

If I haven't mentioned it enough already, autumn is here.

We hiked up a mountain to reach the top of a kofun (burial tomb) along the expressway. We found a sweet view.

This temple, dedicated to Kannon, Goddess of Mercy, was hidden behind a cluster of homes.

Each of these petite, hand-painted daruma was stuffed with a fortune. Following temple directions, I wrote my wish on the daruma bottom and placed him on the wall above.

I imagine that the daruma remaining in the basket excitedly await joining their wishful peers!

From the north, we turned south, and it was dark by the time we met up with the Kasai JETs at JUSCO. After a small dinner, we indulged in Wii Night at the Munoz home, with plenty of Wii Sports and hot chocolate for all.