japan luuurve

in one word. onsen. 

wonderfully softly revitalizing cocoons of near-orgasmic comfort for me ol' achin' body.

a warm bath doesn't begin to get near this.

nakasendo way

day 4 of our walk and these dinky cafes are becoming my favorite places to be at. these, and rest-stop loos.

 

zen magic

as the shinkansen pulls away from tokyo

and the skyscrapers fall behind

the little boxy houses appear

in their fields of green

and 

you just get calm

what i don't love about japan

 they allow people to smoke in eating places.

the horror. and the smell.

next leg soon!

waiting for the shinkansen. what i say is, the pandemic has spoilt the ekiben market. i am reduced to a starbucks wrap. indeed starbucks is getting on my most-visited list this trip. for coffee and seats and warmth and nice jazz and stuff.

sakura outing

we visit ueno to view the cherry blossoms. in the rain. 

it's cold. also it's wet.

the blossoms are pretty. if wet.

starbucks is nice to park at when you are at ueno. if you are cold. or wet.

what i newly love about japan

the heart grows fonder after a break of years of course, but all the same there are nice changes:

• fewer ambulant cigarettes, methinks. much more pleasant to walk the city this time
• suica card / applepay interconnectivity. you can say things about tech evil but i like not having to buy train tokens
• google maps and data. how did we travel before? 
• and those clear plastic brollies. tres minimaliste. possibly there before but we were never in rain before

hello again, favored old friend!

back in a place of good memories.

what i love about japan:

the protean manifestations of food

the laborious comprehensibility of their english announcements

the kindness of strangers

the walkability

and how they anticipate your needs, from the substitute card for the card holder to the multi-function charging cable in the room

artistic licence

when you are at the tail end of a full coverage piece of embroidery featuring a myriad confetti stitches and you start to invent your own color schema.

goodbye, M1

new service provider following on a quarter century of brand loyalty.

it's a milestone, HOM says.

it's like a divorce, i say.

resistance

i want to be able to do a pull-up, i tell Jo.

this gets him mighty excited. seeing as how my usual motivation per session is the ticking minute hand on the clock. yes, that is a good ambition! you will need to build up your upper limb strength and your core. we'll give it one year. you can do it!

this alarms me. seeing as how i am still in the nice aspiration zone and not ready to sweat yet. i don't want to grow muscles, i warn him. don't worry, that's not so easy to do! he tells me. so i say (to be very clear), i don't want to accidentally grow muscles either.

M365

and just like that

we are under new management

i don't know whether to be

impressed unimpressed or insouciant

but i'll have you know

i managed the update all by myself

mobile iron

unwieldy encumbrance

inscrutable

incomprehensible

scion of paranoia

unbidden

unwelcome

and now

late unlamented