wingy scruffhead @wingy supporter fish

https://wingyscruffhead.hotglue.me, perched on a lichen-laiden oak branch, rss

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ...renovating page post-Japan-trip...๐Ÿ› ๏ธ ๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘ โœ‰๏ธŽ ๐“†‰ ๐“†‰ ๐“†‰ ๐“†‰ ๐“†‰ โœ‰๏ธŽ ๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘ โœโœโœŽโœŽ โœŽโœŽโœโœ โœŽโœŽโœโœ ๐“ˆ ๐” ๐”ž ๐”ฆ ๐”ฉ ๐”Ÿ ๐”ฌ ๐”ต ๐“…– โœโœโœŽโœŽ โœโœโœŽโœŽ โœŽโœŽโœโœ โœŽโœŽโœโœ โ–“โ–“โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–“โ–“ โœโœโœŽโœŽ โœโœโœŽโœŽ โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–“โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–’ โœŽโœŽโœโœ โœŽโœŽโœโœ โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–“โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–’ โœโœโœŽโœŽ โœโœโœŽโœŽ โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–“โ–’โ–’โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–’ โœŽโœŽโœโœ โœŽโœŽโœโœ โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–“โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–’ โœโœโœŽโœŽ โœโœโœŽโœŽ โ–“โ–“โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–“โ–“ โœŽโœŽโœโœ โœŽโœŽโœโœ โœโœโœŽโœŽ ๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘ โœ‰๏ธŽ ๐“†‰ ๐“†‰ ๐“†‰ ๐“†‰ ๐“†‰ โœ‰๏ธŽ ๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘ โ–’โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’ โ–’ โ–’ โ–’ โ–’โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ ... โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ 6.30.2026 #8ec5c9 >> @3li, hooray, welcome to the place of the special fish!! we have eagerly awaited your arrival, and are so happy to see that you've already moved in with such brilliant artistic gusto! i looked up skeleton shrimp and am now obsessed. seeya tomorrow morn for tidepool adventures โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–โ–โ–๐“…ปโ– ! โ–“โ–’ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–‘ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–’โ–“ โ–’ โ–’ โ–‘ hello! โ–‘ โ–‘ โ–‘ โ–’ i'm wingy scruffhead. โ–’ โ–‘ _ โ–‘ โ–’ โŽ›โฆฟโฉฅ โ–’ โ–‘ __โŽ›โŽ _โŽ __ โ–‘ โ–‘ โŽ="=__="=โŽ  โ–‘ โ–’ โŽ›โŽ›โŽ›โŽ โŽโŽ›โŽžโŽ›โŽžโŽž โ–’ โ–‘ โŽ โŽ›โ€นโ—โ€บโ€นโ—โ€บโŽžโŽ โ–‘ โ–’ โŽ โŽ |โ โ‹…โ‹… โ|โŽโŽ โ–’ โ–‘ \ โ / โ–‘ โ–‘ | ๏ธบ | โ–‘ โ–’ ...โจผ โฆฆ... โ–’ โ–‘ โŽ›:::โŽ๏ธฟ๏ธฟ๏ธฟโŽ ::::โŽž โ–‘ โ–’ โ–’ โ–‘ some things i often am: โ–‘ โ–‘ โ–‘ โ–’ โŸฟ bird-musician โ™ซ โ–’ โ–‘ โค‘ habitual doodler โœŽ โ–‘ โ–’ โคณ creative prob-solver โœ‚๏ธŽ โ–’ โ–‘ โ† lichen-looker โš˜ โ–‘ โ–‘ โ†ฃ food-&-tea savourer โ˜•๏ธŽ โ–‘ โ–’ โ–’ โ–“โ–’ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–‘ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–’โ–‘โ–’ โ–’โ–“ โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โŸฃ โ›ฉ ๆ—ฅๆœฌๆ—…่กŒใฎ่จ˜้Œฒ โ›ฉ โŸข โ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆ โœŽ โ›ฉ ๐‰๐š๐ฉ๐š๐ง ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ฏ๐ž๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐จ๐  โ›ฉ โœ๏ธŽ โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘ โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘ โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘ โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘ โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘ โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘ โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“ โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’ โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“ โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“ ๐“…ซ๐“„ฟ See also @leaflitterโ€™s โ€œโ€ข< karasuguisu trip >โ€ขโ€ poetic, sweet & tiny updates! ๐“„ฟ๐“…ซ ๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ Schedule: ๐“†Ÿ May 27-28 Zushi (Kanagawa) ๐“†Ÿ May 29 Tokoname (Aichi) ๐“†Ÿ May 30 Suzuka (Mie) ๐“†Ÿ May 31โ€“June 1 Ise (Mie) ๐“†Ÿ June 2-3 Sฬถhฬถiฬถkฬถoฬถkฬถuฬถ ฬถIฬถsฬถlฬถaฬถnฬถdฬถ >> changed to ลŒsaka due to typhoon warnings ๐“†Ÿ June 4 Kyoto ๐“†Ÿ June 5-6 Tenryukyo (Nagano) ๐“†Ÿ June 7-8 Tatsuno (Nagano) ๐“†Ÿ June 9-10 Togakushi (Nagano) ๐“†Ÿ June 11-12 Tatsuno (Nagano) ๐“†Ÿ June 13-16 Zushi (Kanagawa) **trip updates complete! thanks for your patience :)** โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.16.2026: final day ๐Ÿซ˜๐Ÿชฑ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿฅข๐Ÿคค ultimate neba-neba breakfast by Misuzu: natto, mozuku, other slimy seaweed, tofu with cucumber topping, umeboshi, mugicha, gohanโ€” yuuuummmmm!! ๐ŸŽ last deep chats and gift exchanges with Misuzu-obasan, and last tasty treats for the road :) ๐Ÿš™ ๐Ÿ“ธ Misuzu drove us to the train station and i got a stranger to take a picture of the 3 of us ๐Ÿง๐Ÿ“๐Ÿฅ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿซ๐Ÿ’ ๐Ÿšƒ to Tokyo station, sought and found Seรกnโ€™s momโ€™s dessert recommendation: anmitsu ๐Ÿ“ฎ๐Ÿค mailed last postcards and got a cute kiiroitori-shaped dangly bell ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ— to Narita airport. last meals - onigiri, katsu set. โœˆ๏ธ flight to Vancouverโ€” caught up on last 7 days of journalling, whew! screaming toddlers in front of us most of the 8.5 hours, and a snotting lady next to Seรกn, but otherwise a pleasant flight ๐Ÿ›ซ ๐Ÿ•“ ๐Ÿ•‘ ๐Ÿ• time travel again ๐Ÿ•• ๐Ÿ•™ ๐Ÿ•˜ ๐Ÿ›ฌ ๐Ÿš™ ๐ŸŽ bro Kevin picked us up from airport, chatted and gave him some small gifts ๐Ÿšˆ > ๐ŸšŒ > โ›ด๏ธ > ๐ŸšŒ > ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธโ€โžก๏ธ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿพโ€โžก๏ธ skytrain to bus to ferry to bus to home in Victoria. โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.15.2026 ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿ‘’ after breakfast with Misuzu we discovered with delight that her Kermit the frog was now wearing a perfectly-fitting straw hat, โ€œfor the summerโ€. ๐Ÿšƒ๐Ÿดโ€โ˜ ๏ธโ›ต๏ธ started our โ€œlast hurrahโ€ day out by taking the cute old waterside train, โ€œenodenโ€. the train car we boarded was covered in thematic One Piece imagery, making it a hotbed for tourist photographs ๐Ÿšƒ ๐Ÿต ๐ŸฆŠโ›ฉ๏ธ๐Ÿ™ first stop, Kamakura. after i found some much-needed maccha, Seรกn navigated us to the first shrine we ever prayed at, 3 years prior: a tiny Inari fox shrine in an alleyway. ๐Ÿšƒ ๐Ÿฆโ€โฌ›๐Ÿฆโ€โฌ› next stop, Enoshima! we had wanted to explore here last time, but ran out of time so were excited to finally visit. at the end of the bridge that connects to the island, two crows greeted us, picturesquely perched atop flagpoles on either side of the bridge. โ›ฉ๏ธ walked through the lane of shops leading up to the steep steps to the main shrine. Misuzu had laughed about the fact that they have a few escalators that you can take if you want to skip some of the steep steps past the shrine, so we decided we had to take a couple of them just to make Misuzu laugh. they were pretty funny, with music and relaxing digital ocean scenes going up the wall as you slowly ascend. ๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿชจ๐ŸŒณ๐Ÿฒ epic bluff-side views, more stairs and winding pathways, a beautiful mini-forest and sea-sprayed rocky flats on our way to the rumoured Enoshima caves. the 2 caves were cool and moist; we were given candle-holders with lit candles to carry through, to better see the old shrine, fierce dragon and other surprises. ๐ŸŸ๐Ÿชธ๐Ÿฆ€๐Ÿš๐Ÿฆ… oceanside wander around the flatsโ€” perfect weather, breezy. did some tidepool viewing: tiny fish, anemones, barnacles, crabsโ€ฆ and several kites fighting in the sky above. spotted 2 juvenile kites perched up high on the cliffside being mobbed by smaller birds. ๐Ÿš๐Ÿณ๐Ÿš late lunch: turban shell and egg donburi and seafood ramen ๐Ÿ“ฎ mailed a postcard on the walk back up and down the island, to the enoden station ๐Ÿฅค๐Ÿš๐Ÿ’ฟ๐Ÿชˆ๐Ÿฌ๐ŸŽบ๐Ÿฅ๐ŸŽธ to Fujisawa. got a houjicha-banana smoothie from a young entrepreneur in her cute cafe-van. Tower Records visit. tipped a flute-playing busker guy and he gave me a small candy in exchange. visited a Daiso for a couple of gifts. tipped a trio of jazz buskers (drums, guitar, trumpet) totally shredding. ๐ŸŽ then spent too much time at our next destination: Hard-Off/Hobby-Off/House-Off. very dangerous, super well-organized, clean discount thrift store. perfect place for remaining gifts ;) ๐Ÿš to Yokohama. Seรกn and his family used to frequently eat at a place called โ€œYokohama Rice Bowlโ€ in Arizona, so he was determined to find a rice bowl to eat, which we did. โš–๏ธ back to Zushi. Misuzu catch-ups, final pack & weigh, write last postcards. โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.14.2026 ๐ŸŽฆ ๐ŸŒณ ๐ŸŒฒ ๐Ÿน breakfast with Misuzu, thinking we were all going to a forest-themed movie together, but discovered last-minute that Misuzu wasnโ€™t coming after all because there were only two seats available! thus, the movie was slightly wasted on us due to it being mostly interviews in Japanese with no subtitlesโ€ฆ but it was so cute to finally see Cinema Amigoโ€™s cozy ~16-seat living-room-type space, and good listening practice during the movie and directorโ€™s talk. and, tasty drinks included in the ticket price! ๐Ÿ–๏ธ ๐Ÿšง ๐Ÿชš short stroll down Zushi beach afterwards. we watched as a dozen new temporary wooden buildings were being built from the ground up in preparation for the summer rush (food stalls, change rooms, etc). ๐Ÿชฑ ๐Ÿฒ lunch at a tasty Okinawan restaurant nearbyโ€” where i fell in love with โ€œmozukuโ€, a thin-noodle-like Okinawa brown seaweed in sweet vinegar sauce. added to my list of โ€œneba-nebaโ€ (โ€œslimyโ€) faves! ๐Ÿ“š ๐Ÿ› used book store hunt next. we found a few unique, small & lightweight books for ourselves and others. when i was perusing a shelf i noticed a cute handmade fabric caterpillar dangly, but half of it was wedged behind the shelf, unable to be freed. i felt so bad for it, and decided it was destinyโ€” i asked the storekeeper to rescue it for me and adopted it. itโ€™s so cute! ๐Ÿฉ ๐ŸŒฑ ๐Ÿฅค cafe hunt: found a place that had a tofu matcha shake and tofu donut. we were intrigued, but they were kinda grossโ€ฆ oh well, worth a try! ๐Ÿฒ ๐Ÿฑ dinner back at Misuzuโ€™s: mapo tofu, vermicelli stir fry, miso soup... yummy :) โš–๏ธ evening chats, packing and weighing our bags to see how much wiggle-room we had for buying extra gifts the next day. ๐Ÿ˜ช zonk! โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.13.2026 ๐ŸŽ’ packed up, said goodbyes to the family folks, gifted them a measly leggy sticker and maple candy โ€˜cause it was all we had left in our gift stash, but they appreciated it nonetheless ๐ŸŽŠ walked to town, dropped bags at Hannahโ€™s cafe. wandered around witnessing the previously sleepy street transform into festival mode, suddenly flanked by 50+ stands for hotaru fest opening day ๐Ÿงƒdrew silly pictures for kids on some pay-it-forward coupons so the neighbourhood children can get free apple juice & treats when they come by the donut shop. so many brilliant community support programs like this in town! ๐Ÿ“‹๐Ÿ”จ helped Hannah hang some signage for the big day ๐Ÿ•ธ๏ธ๐ŸŽ†๐ŸŒŒ๐ŸŒ  experienced an awe-inspiring art installation by Yasuhiro Chida: string tied like complex spider webs throughout a big vacant barn-type post-and-beam building. just the two of us there, in the dark. then the light show & soundscape started: lines of projected light glided up the space on all sides, hitting the string-webs at various angles, creating an incredible scene akin to thousands of fireflies, or a sped-up star-scape, or mini fireworks at the tied intersections. 30 minutes of this, and we could walk through the space and up a staircase to feel like we were standing within this universe of light & sound. what a treat! ๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ again, the ticketing system for entry was brilliant: one ยฅ1000 (~$9.00) ticket pays for 1 adult entry, and 1 pay-it-forward youth admission. ๐Ÿชฒ๐Ÿฆœโœ๏ธ Seรกn got a message from Hannah saying there were a couple of english-speaking young customers drawing pictures of insects at her cafe, and that maybe we would be interested in meeting them. So we did, and she was right in her match-making instinct: Theresa from US, and Ryoki-san from Iida, Japan. They are obsessed with beetles & birds and have several of each as companions at their home, a short drive away from Tatsuno. They informed us that there is an โ€œInsect Worldโ€ museum in Tatsunoโ€” whaat! on our โ€œnext timeโ€ list for sure. when about to leave, we had an opportunity to finally meet Hannahโ€™s husband who had commuted from Tokyo, as well as say hello to his sweet relatives again. ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€๐ŸŽค๐Ÿง‘๐Ÿปโ€๐ŸŽค๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿปโ€๐ŸŽค outside of the now-bumping NeuStand, we met a super cool fashion/jacket designer guy, Kaki, with his posse of other cool creative types, and he showed us pictures of various famous musicians wearing his jackets, casually mentioning that he is friends with Thundercat, showing pictures to prove it. ๐ŸŒญ๐Ÿ“๐ŸŒฎsausage-on-a-stick, strawberry smoothie and soba tacos from NeuStandโ€™s street food stallโ€” delicious! ๐Ÿง‘๐Ÿปโ€๐ŸŽจ๐Ÿง‘๐Ÿปโ€๐ŸŽคโœ๏ธ๐ŸŽจ Seรกn stuck around the venue while I waded through the crowds to the donut shop to get my eagerly-awaited live-drawn donut-fan portrait by Nuno Ito Asobi. I drew a portrait of her while she drew mine, and we giggled at each other until we swapped portraits excitedly. ๐Ÿ•บ back through the crowds to NeuStand, now a party in full-swing, and Seรกn told me โ€œyou haft go check out the cute dancing roomโ€. so i did, and joined in some skanking to Japanese ska music with a small crew of local folks, singing out loud with them to the repeated lyrics. sweaty & fun! ๐ŸŽน๐ŸŽค the anticipated piano-singer guy started playing on stage and delivered a passionate, energetic, skilled, fun performance complete with crowd call-and-answer and a good dose of feel-good humour. what a send-off for our last hour in Tatsuno! ๐ŸŽ’๐ŸšŒ๐Ÿšƒ melancholy, we grabbed our bags, said a couple of rushed goodbyes and ran to catch our highway bus to busy Shinjuku, and train to Zushi. ๐Ÿ˜ด back at Misuzuโ€™s after midnight. small catchup and big zonk. โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.12.2026 ๐Ÿ›€ relaxed morning, bath โ›ˆ๏ธ powerful thunderstorm! โ˜”๏ธ rainy walk around neighbourhood, beautiful and refreshing โ›ฉ๏ธ noticed a tiny stone shrine deep in the wild forest off our path, Seรกn tossed a coin to it and prayed. afterwards, a tiny green crab-spider hitched a ride on his hand ๐Ÿ•ท๏ธ๐Ÿ’š ๐Ÿง‡๐Ÿฅช๐Ÿ“ walked to town, lunch at Hannahโ€™s, postcards to friends Keiho (who we were supposed to meet up with on Shikoku but couldnโ€™t due to typhoon), and Glyph ๐Ÿ’ข tired-bickering-couple-time, took respective breaks by the river to write and decompress ๐Ÿ“ฐ cafe time at High-Five coffee stand, Seรกn randomly discovered a magazine that features our friend Mao, her sister apprentice and their sensei Katogi-san, highlighting the previous yearโ€™s workshop seriesโ€” the same that we attended in Achi last week! ๐Ÿฆ… watched a kite perched on a pole from the donut shop ๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿป๐Ÿ‘ด๐Ÿผ dinner at ____ izakaya with Hannah and her two older friends, a blacksmith and a business man, both friendly, curious and humorous ๐Ÿ—๐Ÿ†๐ŸŸ๐Ÿฅฌ๐Ÿš chicken hearts & livers, eggplant, and the most delicious fish yet: miso-marinated mackerel with shiso leaf, and whole halved salted mackerelโ€” melt-in-your-mouth, perfectly balanced salty and sweetโ€ฆ with rice, and fiddleheads with bonito flakes. ๐Ÿ† โœ๏ธ ๐ŸŽ when eating the eggplant dish, i asked the table a question about the eggplant-with-stick-legs that iโ€™ve seen around in various Japanese cultural imagery. to help describe what i was talking about, i drew a picture of it. the explanation from Hannah-san led to more silly drawings, more questions and lots of laughter. shortly after we found out it was Katogi-sanโ€™s birthday the next day, so i wrote โ€œtanjลbi omedetล gozaimasuโ€ (happy birthday) on the drawing, signed it, and gifted it to him along with a maple candy and hummingbird sticker. his friend was very jealous about the whole thing, so asked if i could draw him some of the same characters. of course i did, gladly. ๐Ÿ˜ฒ ๐Ÿคฏ as we all picked away at the fish together, we told them about the rice planting and dance workshops we participated in in Achi. We showed them the magazine that featured them, and upon seeing the name of Sensei Katogi-san, the two men looked up at each other in bewilderment: the business manโ€™s name was *also* Katogi-san, spelled with the exact same kanji, and it happens to be a very rare name! As he continued to look on in disbelief, he explained that, furthermore, his father had a near-identical first name as the Sensei: instead of โ€œAkiraโ€, his fatherโ€™s name is โ€œAki-raโ€! Whaaaat. ๐Ÿงง after all of the emotional amazement and laughter, the two friends paid for the whole meal, and thanked us for the fun time. ๐Ÿชฒ๐ŸŒŒ๐ŸŒ  walked back to Hannahโ€™s to meet up with her in-laws and their two adorable kids (3 & 6). we all walked together in the dark to the nearby park to witness the firefly hotspot spectacle - we got treated to 60 or more showing off their sweet greenish glow. ๐Ÿฉด๐ŸŽ back at the house, we hear a gentle knock at our room door, and open it to find the two little ones with a gift for us: a safe-travel omamoriโ€”shaped like a pair of sandles, with a tiny bell attachedโ€”from their local shrine in ลŒsaka. once again, we are embarrassed by our lack of gift-preparedness and scramble to find something to gift in return, before falling into bed. โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.11.2026 ๐Ÿ‰ nice breakfast with watermelon, nice Hanako chats ๐ŸŽ ๐Ÿš™ ๐Ÿ• exchanged gifts, ride to bus stop, cute goodbyes ๐ŸšŒ to Zenkoji Temple - walked through with our bags, beautiful, haiku-author stone memorial monuments ๐ŸšŒ to Nagano station ๐Ÿฌ ๐Ÿช๐Ÿ“š day of wandering around malls, second-hand stores โ€œbook-offโ€ and โ€œhard-offโ€ ๐Ÿ˜‚ ๐Ÿฑ tasty train station bento ๐Ÿ“ wrote postcard to brother ๐Ÿšƒ train to Ina-Matsushima station to meet Hannah-san after her English-teaching gig ๐Ÿ›’ grocery run together before driving to her house ๐Ÿ  house tour: lovely old trad-style tatami rooms, earthen walls, shoji doors, etc ๐Ÿฅฑ late-night chats & bedtime โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.10.2026 ๐Ÿ˜Œ restful, slow morning ๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ practiced some Nihongo with Hanako ๐Ÿš™ ride from Hanako and Milo to path to uppermost shrines Okusha and Kuzuryusha โ›ฉ๏ธ ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธโ€โžก๏ธ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿพโ€โžก๏ธan incredible 2km pilgrimage: ๐ŸŒฒ๐Ÿž๐Ÿชฒ๐Ÿ•ท๏ธ๐Ÿฆ‹ ๐ŸŒฒ through ancient forest with towering, massive Japanese cedars (400-800 years old); alongside a trickling stream flanked by lush greenery with plentiful interesting insects; gnarly roots; kodama housesโ€ฆ ๐Ÿน ๐ŸŒฟ ๐Ÿน through a red wooden entrance gate, green-roofed, dripping with ferns and saplings, protected on either side by giant archers ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿชฒ๐Ÿฆโ€โฌ›๐Ÿ””๐ŸŽถ๐Ÿ’ฆ๐Ÿ˜Œ๐Ÿ‘‚ shizen-no-oto: soothing soundscape of cicadas, frogs, birds, flowing water; jingling bear-bells tied to backpacks โ›ฉ๏ธ up weathered, steep steps to cluster of shrines to temizu and pray ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿพ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธand back again through it all ๐Ÿœ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฒ further down the hill, we seek local specialty for lunch: soba. too late for juuwari soba. settled on a place that ended up being filled with slightly obnoxious gaijin. got tasty steamed soba dumpling, cold soba teishoku, pork donburi. โ›ฉ๏ธ then visited largest shrine, Chusha, before smaller Saigyoza Kura and several unnamed, small stone shrines ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฒ pray to 800-yr-old cedar โ€œRo-no-sugiโ€ and 500-yr old โ€œmarried coupleโ€ split-trunk cedar ๐Ÿ‰๐Ÿฒโ›ฒ๏ธ dragon-fountain temizu โ›ฉ๏ธ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ™ prayed at Hinomikosha, Fushiogamisho, Kanmichi and Houkosha shrines. ๐Ÿชฒ startled a large weevil sauntering along, it stopped and stood completely still for several minutes while we waited to watch it continue. it didnโ€™t trust us and stayed frozen until after we left ๐Ÿ˜… โ˜•๏ธ๐Ÿจ stopped for a rest at a spacious and vacant cafe, run by a young fellow born and raised in Togakushi. his mother is a Shinto Kannushi. enjoyed herbal tea blend, plum & nut-butter ice cream, and a soba cookie. ๐Ÿ› spotted a large, completely black caterpillar on our way back to Hanakoโ€™s ๐Ÿ• poor Milo-kun had poked his eye with something while out for their morning walk, so had been resting and recovering all day. he was almost better by the next day. ๐Ÿฅ—๐Ÿฅฌ๐Ÿ„โ€๐ŸŸซ๐Ÿซ˜๐Ÿซ›๐Ÿš๐Ÿฅข epic plant-based feast #2: shirataki with daikon; chrysanthemum leaf salad; enoki & shimeji mushrooms with komatsuna & chingensai; garden peas; bean-tomato veg stew; black rice; miso veg soup; soba teaโ€ฆ ๐Ÿ›€ ๐Ÿ›Œ bath & bed. โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.9.2026 โ›ฉ๏ธ shrine visit behind guest house ๐ŸšŒ bus to Nagano city, ~2hrs ๐Ÿš๐Ÿœ lunch at a ramen place - beef don, bamboo shoots and ramen ๐Ÿฅ train station โ€œMidoriโ€ mall meander - found the Zespri Kiwi Brothers! but they were not for sale ๐Ÿ˜ญ ๐Ÿ—„๏ธ๐Ÿช™ funniest characters on coin lockers ๐ŸšŒ local bus to Togakushi - again, GORGEOUS. (๐Ÿ›๐Ÿ“ฎ at a rest stop, irresistible gatcha machines - gained a glowing disco conger-eel and a post-box lady) ๐Ÿš๐Ÿš™ ๐Ÿ•met our host Hanako-san at the bus stop, she drove us to her home and introduced us to her friendly dog Milo-kun :) ๐Ÿก๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒณ๐ŸŒพ๐ŸŒฑ got a home-tour, settled in, and then went for a beautiful walk through a small forest and around lush soba (buckwheat) farm fields where we heard and spotted a couple of โ€œki-tsu-tsu-kiโ€, woodpeckers. ๐Ÿฅ—๐Ÿฒ๐Ÿ†๐Ÿซ›๐Ÿ  when we returned, we found Hanako-san had prepared us an amazing plant-based feast made with home-grown vegetables, fresh bamboo, eggplant, tofuโ€ฆ ๐Ÿ’ค sleep! โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.8.2026 ๐ŸšŒto Iida - sweet memories ๐Ÿซ˜๐Ÿก sweets shop: anko (adzuki bean) treats ๐Ÿฌ revisited okashi robot-puppet candy store, got a few little omiage and Seรกn got an amazing โ€œhito/homo sapiens sapiens: we are all part of the ecosystemโ€ shirt ๐Ÿ™ onigiri lunch ๐ŸšŒ to Tatsuno, ~2hrs ๐Ÿฉ๐Ÿฆ wrote postcards at our fave woodpecker donut shop ๐Ÿคน๐Ÿป visited NeuStand again, more kendama play ๐Ÿ›’ underground grocery store exploration ๐Ÿฑ obฤchan dinner: oyakodon and katsudon teishokus lovingly prepared by an old woman in her โ€œdining hallโ€ which turned out to be her living room with a table for 8 and very grandma-esque decor. we were the only ones there and it was very quiet, sweet and nostalgic of another era. ๐Ÿชฒ๐ŸŒŸ on our walk back to the train stop, we spotted our first hotaru (fireflies), Seรกnโ€™s first ever! about 10 of them pulsing a glowing green in the reeds by the river ๐Ÿคฉ๐Ÿ’› ๐Ÿšƒ Back to guest house; sleep. โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.7.2026 ๐Ÿ›Œ slept in โ€˜til 8! ๐Ÿ˜Œ ๐Ÿž๏ธ walked Tenryukyo river trails and suspension bridge: as beautiful as we remembered, awe renewed. memories from a different season, and new experiences/ observations: ๐ŸŽ passed the apple farm we picked and tasted huge, juicy ringos at; ๐Ÿชฒ saw many beetles in their hard-to-watch end of life state (upside down, legs flailing); ๐Ÿ›๐Ÿชต๐Ÿชพ witnessed the phenomenally strange โ€œpaulownia bagworm mothโ€ larvae foraging, camouflaged in bits of tiny sticks; ๐ŸŒท enjoyed the presence of big, lovely purple bell-flowers. โ™จ๏ธ๐Ÿง–๐Ÿปnext, local onsen time! being out of practice, we respectively forgot certain procedural tasks, but figured it out as we went along and enjoyed the picturesque soak and sauna. ๐Ÿช๐Ÿฅฎ the monthly market happened to be happening (timing ๐Ÿ‘Œ), so we took in the small stalls of local wares and got a couple of treats ๐Ÿš๏ธ on the way we met friendly Aki-san, who we had seen in the Tenryudo the previous night. turned out she speaks perfect englishโ€” she told us about her husband from UK who is apparently the only foreigner living in town, and the trials and tribulations of buying an old house full of the previous ownerโ€™s things. ๐ŸŽ’back at the Tenryudo, we packed up our things, got brunch and headed for the ๐Ÿšƒ one-manned train to Tatsuno, ~3hrs. good rest and journalling catch-up. ๐Ÿต๐Ÿง arrived in Tatsuno and felt like returning to a long-lost home. surprised our friend Hannah-san at her cafe, had a sweet catch-up chat and got some tasty muffins and tea. ๐ŸŽจ she mentioned a puppet art exhibit going on down the street, so we mosied over. ๐Ÿ‘• on our way there Seรกn found the perfect โ€œTATSUNO TOWNโ€ souvenir shirt with a local artistโ€™s design ๐Ÿคก ๐Ÿฉ ๐Ÿ“š ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿผโ€๐ŸŽจ the art show was in the downstairs of the local โ€œki-tsu-tsu-kiโ€ (woodpecker) donut/home goods shop, in which every item for sale was irresistibly wonderful. the same went for the kooky mixed-media dolls and collaged creatures downstairs in the โ€œPICNICโ€ exhibit and sale. Nuno Ito Asobi, the artist, was present and fun to chat with. ๐Ÿง‡๐Ÿฅช delicious GF waffle-sandwiches with soup, salad and tasty ume-cardamom drink @ Hannah-sanโ€™s ๐Ÿคน๐Ÿป๐Ÿช€ ๐ŸŽถ๐Ÿ˜Ž afterwards we peeked curiously into an all-ages venue that had dance music going, and a local artistโ€™s insect paintings featured on the wall. many cool-yet-friendly young guys beckoned us in and ended up teaching us how to use the Japanese juggling-type toysโ€”kendamaโ€”they were playing with while dancing to the DJ music. the whole scene was surreal, humorous and fun! ๐Ÿšƒ to Haba, where we found our hostel, were greeted by our hosts, and flopped into bed. ๐Ÿฅฑ๐Ÿ˜ด โ–โ–โ–โ– ๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.6.2026 ๐Ÿชก sewed up the knee of Seรกnโ€™s pants (2nd time) ๐Ÿš™+๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธto Achi community centre- a beautiful, functional, accessible building. ๐ŸŒพ๐ŸŒฑ ๐Ÿ‘ฃ ๐Ÿ•ท๏ธ๐Ÿธ to rice field: hands-on workshop led by local farmers! among tadpoles, water skimmers and big water-spiders, we planted rice sprouts, 5 at a time, barefoot and muddyโ€” it felt so good! ๐Ÿฒ๐Ÿซœ tasty yakisoba and pickled daikon lunch break with participants ๐Ÿ‘˜ got dressed up in yukata/kimono: a surprise for us, and a challenge! ๐Ÿ•บ๐Ÿชญ geared up, we learn Bon Odori traditional circle fan-dancing from small village Niino. the context, history and lyrics really added a lot to the fun & understanding of the origins of the dance. ๐ŸŒพ๐Ÿชญ next up, kagura dancing workshop with Maoโ€™s teacher, Katogi-sensei, in which he relates this style of fan dancing to the motions of rice planting in the field. we spell our names creatively in 3 dimensions, and perform in pairs to Katogi-senseiโ€™s powerful drum playing. ๐ŸŽ wanting to repay them all, we asked if there was merch to purchase. they took us home again to show us the merch they had for sale, only to insist on gifting us everything we had picked out. ๐ŸŽ Mao drove us back to Tenryudo, and we sneakily treated her to dinner. ๐Ÿฅฑ๐Ÿ˜ช long day of physical activity! zonk. โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.5.2026 ๐Ÿš๐Ÿณ๐ŸŸ free breakfast: not great, but free! ๐Ÿšƒ+๐ŸšŒ to Nagoya, ~2hrs. more incredibly gorgeous scenery, forested mountains, hawks, egrets, swallows, sparrows, karasu, herons, kitesโ€ฆ ๐ŸšŒ to Achi, ~ 2hrs similar to above, and caught up on travel log journalling ๐Ÿš™ our friend Mao picked us up, gave historical context about the town (shape of old houses= big rooms for raising silkworms to produce silk!) ๐ŸŽญ๐Ÿฅ๐Ÿช•๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€๐ŸŒพ arrived and Mao gave tour of her trad theatre/music/art/farming teacherโ€™s property where she lives. comfortable and nostalgic for me: communal rehearsal room full of instruments; shelves of puppets, art materials, equipmentโ€ฆ reminds me of my puppeteer-parentsโ€™ house growing up ๐Ÿฅฌ๐Ÿ„โ€๐ŸŸซ๐Ÿ  Mao cooked us beautiful late lunch of stir-fried maitake, cabbage, pork with rice, tofu, and my new fave: crunchy-slimy Nagaimo with ume. ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿชฒ๐Ÿ„๐Ÿฆ enjoyed a beautiful stroll, saw many crittersโ€” kaeru, Eurasian jay, hiyodori, wagtails, karasu, cool neon-orange fungiโ€ฆ โ›ฉ๏ธ stopped to pray at the local shrine, we were greeted at the torii gate by a tiny green kaeru :) ๐ŸŒฑ๐ŸŒพ๐Ÿชญ Mao and her sister apprentice invited us to attend the first day of their workshop series tomorrow: trad rice planting and trad dance! we accepted, of course ๐Ÿš™ to ๐Ÿ‰ Tenryukyo, where we settled into our room at Tenryudo guest house ๐Ÿฒ๐Ÿฅ‚ Izakaya dinner of miso corn ramen, yaki saba teishoku and non-alc ume sour. ๐Ÿ๐Ÿฆ‚๐Ÿ’‰๐Ÿฅƒ after ordering, we notice on the counter in front if us: a huge jar full of giant hornets drowned in amber-coloured liquid, with a sign saying ใ‚ชใ‚ชใ‚นใ‚บใƒกใƒใƒ้…’ (giant hornet liquor), 300ยฅ each. no, we didnโ€™t try it, but apparently itโ€™s a thing! *shudder* ๐Ÿ’ค flop into bed. โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.4.2026 ๐Ÿง ๐Ÿซ  feeling our brains starting to deteriorate a bit from long days, train-station/city navigation, and language comprehension/speaking ๐Ÿšƒ to Rokkลmichi, Hyogo, to find a cafe recommended to us by our Oiso/Tokyo friend Takaya-san. ๐Ÿ”Žโ˜•๏ธ ๐Ÿฐ managed to find it despite itโ€™s extremely minimalist exterior. clearly they were surprised when us two gaijin sheepishly opened the door and entered. very sweet place: chillest vibes, no-cameras rule, gentle jazz. they only served coffee (and clearly experts at it) so had our rare delish decaf latte/iced ko-hee with a slice of exquisite cheesecake. ๐ŸŽ’ wandered into a tiny outdoor outfitters store looking for some local merch, the friendly owner called us โ€œprofessional travellersโ€ when he heard the details of our trip, being surprised (standard reaction we have come to expect) about where we had been/were going (โ€œmiddle of nowhere?!โ€ places). i bought a zipper pouch from him (โ€˜cause I needed oneโ€” not just โ€˜cause it had a bird on it ๐Ÿ˜‰) ๐Ÿณ๐Ÿ…๐Ÿš finally had my first โ€œomu-riceโ€ and enjoyed it ๐Ÿšƒ to Kobe to find another recommended cafe, tired brains = forgot to put our travel backpacks in a coin locker, tired trekking ๐Ÿต๐Ÿจ tasty sencha lattes and vegan ice cream from the cafe; โš ๏ธ ๐Ÿ‘พ ๐ŸŸจ rare spotting of a Playdate sitting on the shelf along with their exclusive JP zines! apparently the Japanese official is a regular at the cafe ๐Ÿ˜ฎ. we had our Playdate with us and exchanged game recommendations :) ๐ŸฅŸ๐Ÿฅ’๐Ÿ™ awkward to-go gyoza dinner due to there being no public seating anywhere, so had to stand outside the only acceptable place to eat in public: FamilyMart. ๐Ÿšƒ to Kyoto, navigated to โ€œPOCKET HOTELโ€, which, as the name suggests, has tiny rooms just big enough for a futon. comfortable enough though, and cheap, and of course spotless. and, the friendly woman who checked us in used to live in Victoria! ๐Ÿฅฑ๐Ÿ˜ด super exhausted, zonk. โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.3.2026 ๐Ÿšƒ to Nankou bird sanctuary: industrial-area-turned-overgrown-mosquito-land, a haven for insectivores. ๐Ÿฆ ๐Ÿ•ท๏ธ ๐Ÿฆ€ swallows, sparrows, cormorant, egret, karasu, starlings. robber flies, spiders, cicadas and one red-clawed crab (??!) on the trail. ๐Ÿฆ…๐Ÿฅš amazing bird-event flyer at the train station = obviously we have to go find it today ๐Ÿฑ๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ cashed in our free lunch tickets from hotel at the surprisingly fancy and delicious restaurantโ€” 2 big lunch sets and 2 tasty drinks for ~900ยฅ (like $8 CAD)?! ๐Ÿšƒ to ลŒsaka Natural History Museum. ๐Ÿฆœ๐Ÿฆค๐ŸฆฉAMAZING bird exhibit! So in-depth, tons of birds displayed, skeletons, videos, and hilarious comic-style illustrated infographics explaining habits/behaviour/interesting facts. dangerous bird-gift shops afterwardsโ€ฆ ๐Ÿชป๐Ÿชท๐ŸŒณ tickets covered entry into attached botanical garden, nice stroll through ๐Ÿต๐Ÿฐ found a cute cafe down a random alleywayโ€”this happens a lot hereโ€”Nagai Culture Centre. matcha and treats in/on handmade pottery, sweet chats with barista whoโ€™s fave show was filmed in Vancouver. ๐Ÿšƒ and๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธto kofun park: tranquil, beautiful, high Qi. saw first โ€œtrash line spiderโ€; karasu, herons, turtles. bird bell-carillons, guy practicing saxophone, resting hot air balloon. ๐Ÿฑ chewy mackerel set for dinner, zonk. โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.2.2026 ๐Ÿ™ conbini breakfast ๐Ÿฅš๐Ÿฃ๐Ÿป first โ€œgachaponโ€ capsule machine โ€” was hoping for a conger eel but got a cute wombat instead; after some research I discovered that there is a 37-yr-old wombat in a Japan zoo named โ€œWainโ€โ€” the longest-lived wombat to date! previously: ๐ŸŒ€๐ŸŒง๏ธ typhoon warnings, so sadly had to cancel our trip to Shikoku island. instead: ๐Ÿšƒ๐Ÿ’บ to ลŒsaka through rice fields full of egrets ๐Ÿœ udon (even GF chewy brown rice noodle option!) ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿพ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธstroll to buddhist temple; ๐Ÿชท botanical garden; around zoo area ๐Ÿจ ๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿก๐ŸŒฐ๐Ÿง‹Seรกn gets a crazy triple-decker houjicha parfait ๐Ÿจ โ€œhotel apartmentโ€ check-in; super affordable, spacious, clean and comfortableโ€” a nice lux place to hunker during a typhoon ๐Ÿ–๐Ÿ—๐Ÿฅ“๐Ÿข yakiniku dinner w/ crunchy cabbage leaves & grilled onigiri. ๐Ÿ—ผ๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ๐ŸŽฏ lively Shinsekai area carnival games: - ring toss (i failed completely but got the consolation prize of an Umaibo! yesss) - samurai archery, we each got one shot on the marker :) very sparsely populated due to pending typhoon, yet only lightly raining. (the next day, the lines for these games were 20-ppl long, way too crazy!) ๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธโŒจ๏ธ๐Ÿ›œ internet cafeโ€” Seรกnโ€™s first?! nice chunky keyboards, free soft drinks. ๐Ÿ“บ Japanese TV zone-out at hotel; MJ dance-impersonator show; grandma cooking channel; typhoon weather channel โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 6.1.2026 โ›ฉ๏ธ๐Ÿชพ๐Ÿ™ gorgeous small shrine grounds one block from our inn; prayers to ancient tree kami. ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿฅคfresh-squeezed โ€œi-JOOZโ€ from vending machine ๐Ÿฒ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿต breakfast - special treatment from sweet Cafe Pei owner who made me an onigiri (instead of toast) to go with his delicious bacon & root veg dashi soup and floral jasmine tea. Seรกn got an anko-butter and mochi sando and a tasty houjicha latte. โ›ฉ๏ธ ๐Ÿ™๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒณ Ise Jingu (oldest shrine in Japan) outer shrine visit. beautiful ancient cedars; billowing, rolling mountains; thickly-hatched roofs nurturing beds of seedlings; turtles; koi; hilarious jungle crow vocalizations; water-mushi; swallow-like birds diving for food on the waterโ€™s surfaceโ€ฆ ๐Ÿฅ› Seรกn continues local milk sampling: Yamamura milk from โ€œEveryday Milkyโ€ ๐Ÿฅฉ mouth-watering wagyu beef bowls for lunch &๐Ÿฆ ice cream treat back at Milky ๐ŸšŒ to โ›ฉ๏ธ๐Ÿ™๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒณ Ise Jingu inner shrine. Spirited Away bridge and more of the same awe-inspiring scenery as outer, massive breathtaking trees. ๐ŸŒฟ becoming obsessed with Lemmaphyllum microphyllum, semi-succulent green penny fern that creeps artistically on bark and stone alike. ๐ŸšŒ back to outer, strolled the lane of shops. ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿšฝ Received long, animated explanation of Edo-era medicinal candies that help with constipation ๐Ÿฆˆ๐Ÿ’€ walked by a fish shop that had *whole* dried sharks, swordfish, sting rays (?), etc hanging on the walls ๐Ÿฆโ€โฌ›๐Ÿฆโ€โฌ›๐ŸŒ† sat & watched as dozens of karasu gathered quietly on a rooftop, patiently waiting for their respective flying mates before taking off in small groups or pairs to their roosting spots. โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 5.31.2026 โ›ฐ๏ธ๐Ÿฅพโ›ฉ๏ธ - early morning gorgeous ~30min hike up steep stairs to Atago/Jinshu shrine. ๐Ÿ™ to ๐Ÿ”ฅ deity and 8 million Kami. ๐Ÿซ˜๐ŸŒ๐Ÿ•ธ๏ธ- natto strands floating in the air while we chow down our big breakfast at the Kaikan. ๐ŸŽ - kind kannushi Akimoto-san gifted us some tea & treats ๐ŸงŽ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธโ€โžก๏ธ๐ŸงŽ๐Ÿพโ€โ™‚๏ธโ€โžก๏ธ- Chohai (morning prayer) in the Haiden: very powerful norito chanting with full room of voices in unison. we both individually discover that sitting in kneeling prayer position on tatami mat after a big hike results in pins-&-needles, feet & legs go completely numb๐Ÿฆตโšก๏ธ๐Ÿ˜… ๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ๐Ÿต - generous gift of 2 tea ceremony tickets from another kind kannushi-friend โ›ฉ๏ธ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿพ๐Ÿšถ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธโœจ - amazing, exclusive tour from Ochiai-san of the awe-inspiring grounds, buildings, prayer stops, history and customs, concluded with a tea ceremony at the beautiful tea house ๐Ÿš - lunch at the Kaikan: tasty torimeshi ๐ŸŽ - becoming absolutely spoiled with yet another gift, this time tsubaki towels from Gon Gugi Shiba ๐ŸŒฑ๐ŸŒพ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€๐ŸŒพ - beautiful rice-planting ceremony. purification at main hall, procession with local musicians, rituals, traditional planting, and dance performances to bless the rice fields for a good harvest. Weather agreeable the whole time, not too hot. ๐Ÿก๐Ÿฆ- frozen maccha jelly-sicle and bakery treats on the walk back; maccha โ€œstick-styleโ€ ice cream at Kaikan. the surrounding area is lush with tea-fields so all the tea is local ๐Ÿ“ธ - lucky encounter with Guji Yamamoto-san: chats, laughs & a photo together โ›ฉ๏ธ - last-minute Ema writing, hung near Ame no Uzume no Mikotoโ€™s shrine ๐Ÿ“ธ - fun last photo with Ochiai-san, got photo-bombed by 2 old local troublemakers, characters straight out of a Miyazaki Hayao film ๐Ÿš™ - ride to Kameyama station, gave gifts to Ochiai-san and for Guji-san. arrived right on time to catch our tiny two-car, one-manned tiny ๐Ÿšƒ - to Iseshi station. beautiful long ride through rice fields and lush mountains ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ— - dusk check-in to tiny hotel room, conbini dinner courtesy of Family Mart. ๐Ÿ˜ช๐Ÿ’ค - zoooooonk. โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 5.30.2026 ๐ŸŽ’๐Ÿ”- pack up, coin locker stash ๐Ÿบ๐Ÿฆโ€โฌ›- beautiful Tokoname pottery route wandering; museum omiyage delights: conger eels and karasu jizล! ๐Ÿ‚โ›ฉ๏ธ - Seรกn takes a mysterious @leaflitter-lined forest path on a whim: it leads us to our first Shinto Shrine, where we temizu & pray ๐Ÿฅ– ๐Ÿ„ - tasty bakery, famous Tokoname bottled milk ๐Ÿ ๐ŸŽ - many special fish: pottery fish, lucky fish swimming in pots, painted fish, tile fishโ€ฆ!! ๐Ÿ™ - found out that the old house we slept in becomes a musubi take-out restaurant by day: grabbed lunch ๐Ÿšƒ - to Meitetsu-Nagoya station ๐Ÿฅค- mistakenly took an earlier (crowded) train than we needed to, so, found some softer drinks (spiced cola, elderflower) and ate awkwardly in busy Nagoya station ๐Ÿšƒ - to Kasado station. ๐Ÿซข - bad idea: ate a natto-egg musubi on the (thankfully, mostly empty) train, much to Seรกnโ€™s chagrin. sticky, stringy goodness. ๐Ÿš™ - arrived perfectly on time to meet Ochiai-san (Shinto kannushi) outside the sweet tiny rural station. got acquainted and got a tour of the Kaikan (Shrine guest house), some of the Shrine grounds and history โœจโ›ฉ๏ธ๐ŸงŽ๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธโ€โžก๏ธ๐ŸงŽ๐Ÿพโ€โ™‚๏ธโ€โžก๏ธ๐ŸŒŠโœจ- incredibly honoured to have received a private purification ceremony and ritual evening waterfall Misogiโ€” extremely powerful and soul-cleansing!! โ™จ๏ธ - dipped in the tiny flaming-hot Kaikan onsen ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿš๐Ÿฅ“๐Ÿฅฌ๐Ÿฅข - devoured large teishoku Kaikan dinner. noticing increasing appetite after busy days! keep saying โ€œhow am i not full yet??โ€ ๐Ÿ›Œ - zonk! โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 5.29.2026 >> ๅผทใ„ๅŒ‚ใ„ใƒปใ†ใ‚ใŠใฐใ‚ใกใ‚ƒใ‚“ใƒปใŠใฟใ‚„ใ’ใƒปใƒ„ใƒใƒกใƒปใ‚ซใƒขใƒกใƒปใ‚„ใใซใtsuyoi nioi, ume, obachan, omiyage, tsubame, kamome, yakiniku. ๐Ÿชฐ- stinky air in Zushi potentially due to bioluminescent plankton on the beach ๐Ÿฅƒ- local umebลshi and umesu with breakfast @ Misuzuโ€™s ๐Ÿšƒ๐Ÿšƒ- back to ลŒiso ๐Ÿ‘ต๐Ÿผ- sweet old woman gave directions, walked with us and told us many many things that we could only grasp a bit of. good listening/communication practice! ๐Ÿฆโ€โฌ›- stopped by Sayakaโ€™s sweetly-curated tea shop across the street from the station. her coworker (overwhelmed by us gaijin, no english) helped by calling Sayaka and we chatted over speaker phone to arrange meeting up. bought some more omiyage and an amazing local artistโ€™s insect art book. tender gift exchange and heart-warming conversations about insects, spiders, crows and shrines. ๐Ÿชน- barn swallows in ลŒiso station, shelves built for them to nest in the open station, cute bird poops all over the walls hehe! ๐Ÿšƒ- to Atami. good gull/kamome art around. lunch near station: oyakodon and soba soup ๐Ÿฆถ- free hot community footbath outside station! soaked for a bit. ๐Ÿš…- to Nagoya, listened to & edited bird field recordings so far. ๐Ÿšƒ- to Tokoname, pottery town. ๐Ÿ - navigated to cute attic tatami room. ๐Ÿฆ‡- 10+ bats flying around us at sundown, mixed with swallows: day & night bug-eating shifts meet! ๐Ÿ–- adorable family-run izakaya; yakiniku dinner, made it through the offals and thoroughly enjoyed the rest. a 6-yr-old gave us a recommendation of the rice & egg soup, which was indeed delicious. โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 5.28.2026 >> incredible, magical day of hiking, bird-listening, cute cafes, soothing live music and new friends. ๐Ÿฅพ- morning hike up and down a lush, tropical forest mountain in Zushi. Discovered 2 ancient topographic burial mounds at the top: awe-inspiring. Many many Uguisu and other birds, sonic bliss #1 of the day. ๐Ÿซš- Cinema Amigo marketplace treats and chats; Beach Muffin lunch with Misuzu-obasan, such a sweet vibe in a 140-yr old house; Enjoyed a natural ginger cola. ๐Ÿšƒ+๐Ÿšƒ- to Oiso! gorgeous, misty walk to hidden gem venue/cafe, navigated by Seรกnโ€™s instinct and crow-guides. ๐ŸŽถ๐Ÿต๐ŸŒฟ- Architectural genius, ambient musical wizardry by our โ€œGood Ojisanโ€ Miyauchi Yuri who we finally got to meet and hear liveโ€” sonic bliss #2 of the day! ๐Ÿ˜Šโœจ- Made 3 new friends: Yuri-san ๐ŸŽถ๐ŸŽน๐ŸŽธ; Takaya-san, impromptu helpful translator and conversation partner; and Sayaka-san, skilled, kind & tender tea-drink concoctor. ๐Ÿฅข- Dinner at recommended chicken restaurant near train; mis-aimed meander back to station ๐Ÿšƒ- back to Zushi. ๐Ÿงบ- laundry & zonk! โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 5.27.2026 >> still in the air; read part of โ€˜The Tao of Poohโ€™. ๐Ÿ›ฌ- Narita airport. ๐ŸŒฝ- first vending machine bev: drinkable corn pottage in a tin bottleโ€” was super hungry โˆด it tasted amazing. ๐Ÿšƒ&๐Ÿšƒ- to Zushi, counted as many karasu (crows) as we could see. ๐Ÿงญ- attempted to navigate with memory alone to ๆ—ฅๆœฌใฎใŠใฐใ•ใ‚“ Misuzu-sanโ€™s apartment; got a bit lost nearby but she happened to be walking by right as we were making our third wrong turn :) ๐Ÿ˜ช๐Ÿ’ค mega-zonk! โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โŸฃโŸฃtime travel through skyโŸขโŸข โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 5.26.2026 >> ride from kind brother to YVR; ZIP AIR ๐Ÿ›ซ; moomin game & playdate on flight; ate Japanese baby food to tide over hunger; first attempt at hand-drawn pixel art on paper. โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 5.25.2026 >> getting ready to head to Vancouver, tomorrow morn flight to Japan! ๐ŸŒฐ- Turkish uber driver shared his home-roasted hazelnuts with us, they were delicious; maybe even worth missing the bus for! ๐ŸŽ†๐Ÿชฉ๐ŸŽ‡๐ŸŽถ- incredible, epic live folk/electronic music performance for a proper cap-off of @leaflitterโ€˜s bird day. โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป 5.21. 2026 >> three-week journey around Japan with @leaflitter starting in five days ~ planning to log intermittently here on the spesh fish! โ–โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–โ– โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘ โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘ โ–‘โ–‘โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–‘โ–‘ โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–‘โ–‘โ–‘ onigiri โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“ โ–“โ–“ โ–’โ–’ โ–’โ–’ shinto torii โ–โ–โ–โ–๐“†›โ–๐“†œโ–๐“†โ–๐“†žโ–๐“†Ÿโ–โ–โ–โ– โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽ ๐“…ฐ ๐“…ฌ ๐“…ญ ๐“…ฎ ๐“…ท ๐“…ฏ ๐“…ญ ๐“…ฌ ๐“…ฐ โœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽ ๐“ณ๐”ฌ๐”ฒ๐”ฏ๐”ซ๐”ž๐“ต ๐”ƒ๐”ฌ๐”ซ๐”ข โœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽ ๐“†œ ๐“† ๐“†ž ๐“†Ÿ ๐“†œ ๐“† ๐“†ž ๐“†Ÿ ๐“†œ ๐“† โœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽโœ๏ธŽ 4.5.2026 #92917a birds i saw ๐–ฅถ and/or heard โ™ช today: #fca060 โ™ช๐–ฅถ american robin #916152 โ™ช๐–ฅถ bewickโ€™s wren #b54e3c โ™ช๐–ฅถ house finch #3d211f โ™ช๐–ฅถ juvenile towhee #d3b224 โ™ช๐–ฅถ golden-crowned kinglet #d7207d โ™ช๐–ฅถ annaโ€™s hummingbird #aa9fa2 โ™ช๐–ฅถ bushtit #120f22 โ™ช๐–ฅถ american crow #eadbd3 โ™ช๐–ฅถ glaucous winged gull #181716 โ™ช common raven #806151 โ™ช dark-eyed junco #2c2c2d โ™ช european starling #4e9cbe โ™ช peacock #d99c4e โ™ช rufous hummingbird #bd9a33 โ™ช golden-crowned sparrow โ˜… todayโ€™s highlight โ˜… bushtits! i watched a pair building their soft, sock-like nest only about 15 paces from our front door!! eeee my heart melted with love for them โ™ฅ๏ธŽ ๐Ÿงฆ๐Ÿฆ โ™ฅ๏ธŽ i hope they have many wee ones that learn to eat and grow and chirp in their cozy, mossy sock. ๐Ÿฅš๐Ÿฅš๐Ÿฅš๐Ÿฅš๐Ÿฅš๐Ÿฅš โฉป question of the day โฉผ i wonder if bushtit bbs just poop in their nest, or do they make fecal sacs like cavity nesters, since they have an enclosed nest? hmm! i must learn more...* *answer: indeed, bushtit nestlings are in the fecal-sac crew! so tidy. if only human babies could evolve to have such an ingenious system..! other creatures: black-tailed deer european wall lizard house fly bee-fly (bombilius major!) american sand-wasp? leggy โ–“โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–’โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–‘โ–‘โ–’โ–“ โ˜ž โคžwhy am i here?โค โ˜œ while inspecting a pile of @leaflitter, a little leggy-fish-bird skittered out and invited me to join their special fish party. how could i refuse? here are a couple of my special new leggy fish-like friends (and others): ๏ธฟ๏ธฟโŒ  เงฒ oยฐหš โฉ˜ โซธโŠ‚{โŠ‚{โฆฟโ‰บ -{hi!} โซธ{(โฆฟ3 >โ—}}< โฆฆโŠ‚{โŠ‚/ ยฐหšo ห‡ ` โŽฉ โŽฉ เงฒเงฒ ยฐ โˆ โ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™ก โซธ{((โฆฟ3 โ€ณ ยฐ โ โˆ เงฒเงฒเงฒเงฒ_โฉ˜ โˆ o โซธโŠ‚{โŠ‚{โŠ‚{โฆฟโ‰บ -{i spesh?} เงฒเงฒ ยฐ ห˜โŽฉห™โŽฉห˜ }{{โ—โ‰บ โ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™กโ™ก โ€ณ ๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘ ๐“†‰ notable update logs ๐“†‰ ๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘๐“†‘ 2.22.2026 >> became a special fish! 3.08.2026 >> added s'more ascii spesh fish 3.10.2026 >> added some "lists" for the first time 3.24.2026 >> playing around with these โ–‘โ–’โ–“ things 3.25.2026 >> testing new mailbox-zone 4.05.2026 >> creating a journal-zone 5.01.2026 >> prompt: anyone have a good bird story they recently experienced or heard? 5.21.2026 >> created Japan trip log zone 6.30.2026 >> reorganizing the page post-japan-trip
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important

  • birds
  • piano-ing
  • dancing
  • delicious tea
  • banana slugs
  • spiders
  • lichens
  • companions
  • stories
  • fun crafts
  • stretching
  • sleep

morning routine

  • peel self out of bed somehow, preferably before eight
  • drink a mug of warm-ish water
  • listen to birds outside while boiling water
  • add boiled water to tea
  • shuffle & draw cards from Yokai Oracle Deck; drink tea while deciphering
  • stretching routine while pondering cards for the day
  • prayers to Kamidana
  • granola + mylk + banana + pb + supplements/meds
  • check in with partner about day
  • chronic pain/fatigue/anxiety = try not to go back to bed
  • go for a nature walk or bike to work

squigglies i want to use eventually:

  • โ–
  • โžฐ
  • แข†
  • แจ
  • เต 
  • แŒต
  • เฑพ
  • เฑฝ
  • ๐–ฅถ

good glyphs to use

  • bird ๐“„ฟ ๐“…€ ๐“…‚ ๐“…ƒ ๐“…… ๐“…‡ ๐“…Š ๐“… ๐“…’ ๐“…“ ๐“…” ๐“…– ๐“…˜ ๐“…™ ๐“…š ๐“…› ๐“…œ ๐“…ž ๐“…Ÿ ๐“…  ๐“…ก ๐“…ข ๐“…ฃ ๐“…ฅ ๐“…ฆ ๐“…ง ๐“…จ ๐“…ฉ ๐“…ช ๐“…ซ ๐“…ฌ ๐“…ญ ๐“…ฎ ๐“…ฏ ๐“…ฐ ๐“…ฑ ๐“…ณ ๐“…ด ๐“…ท ๐“…ธ ๐“…น ๐“…บ ๐“…ป ๐“…ฟ ๐“†€ ๐“† ๐“†‚ ๐“†ƒ ๐“†† ๐“†‡
  • reptilian ๐“†ˆ ๐“†Š ๐“†Œ ๐“†“ ๐“†• ๐“†— ๐“†™ ๐“†š
  • spesh fish ๐“†ก ๐“†› ๐“†œ ๐“† ๐“†ž ๐“†Ÿ ๐“†ข
  • mammalian ๐“„… ๐“„ ๐“ƒฐ ๐“ƒŸ ๐“ƒก ๐“ƒ—
  • spesh bugz ๐“†ฃ ๐“†ค ๐“†ฆ ๐“†ง ๐“†จ
  • amphibian ๐“†‰ ๐“† ๐“†
  • slug ๐“†‘ ๐“†‘ ๐“†‘
  • leggy ๐“‚™ ๐“‚˜ ๐“Ž ๐“Œฌ ๐“Ž ๐“†ซ ๐“‹

take a break

  • โˆตโˆดโˆตโˆดโˆตโˆดโˆตโˆดโˆตโˆดโˆตโˆดโˆต โˆด โˆต โˆด โˆต โˆด โˆต โˆด โˆต โˆด
  • โˆทโˆทโˆทโˆทโˆทโˆทโˆทโˆทโˆทโˆทโˆทโˆท โˆท โˆท โˆท โˆท โˆท โˆท โˆท โˆท
  • โˆปโˆปโˆปโˆปโˆปโˆปโˆปโˆปโˆปโˆปโˆปโˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป โˆป
  • โ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆโ‰ˆ โ‰ˆ โ‰ˆ โ‰ˆ โ‰ˆ โ‰ˆ โ‰ˆ โ‰ˆ โ‰ˆ โ‰ˆ
  • โ‹ฏโ‹ฏโ‹ฏโ‹ฏโ‹ฏโ‹ฏโ‹ฏโ‹ฏโ‹ฏ โ‹ฏ โ‹ฏ โ‹ฏ โ‹ฏ โ‹ฏ โ‹ฏ
  • โฉถโฉถโฉถโฉถโฉถโฉถ โฉถ โฉถ โฉถ โฉถ
  • mix-n-match! โˆป โˆท โˆป โˆท โˆป โˆท โˆป โˆท โˆป โˆท โˆป

Last updated on Thursday, July 2, 2026

wingy is a fan of

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