Walking in The Pleasure Garden

Stephen R. Covey wrote: "If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster." I think my own life has already started traveling down a turned-back road (I will be 39 years old soon), therefore I want to lean the ladder to lean against the right wall. How can I do so? My busy everyday life makes me think unclearly. Every half year, I think about "the right wall – my life's aims and directions" during a silent night. However, this summer, I thought it would be good idea to take a trip somewhere to think over "the right wall" But where? Then, my childhood memories came back to me; it was Makino, near the northern part of Lake Biwa*. My family and I enjoyed swimming and chasing fish and insects in it's abundant nature. Does that nature still exist?

*Lake Biwa: It's the largest lake in Japan; its size is the same as the island of Singapore, the circumference is about 241km (150 miles). It's the third oldest lake in the world (following Lake Baikal and the Caspian Sea), therefore it is a precious environment for many endemic species.

The day to take a trip will come soon.

The commuter train took me to Makino. It took 2 hours.



From such a familiar-looking urban view...




to this rural view. It feels like leaving the everyday world and entering another world.

It took more than one hour before I arrived at Makino station. Only three people got off the train. Heading to the hotel I reserved, I began to walk.



There was clear water, crowded water grass, and many fish, which are never seen in urban areas, in the stream. Also a black butterfly was flying near the stream. I was glad to see that the nature I had seen thirty years ago is alive.



After several minutes, I reached the hotel.



My room was located in front of a beach. For a time, I lied down on the bed and rested.

I drank water and took a small bag, then began to walk along the Lake Biwa beach, remembering childhood memories and thinking about how to lean the ladder to lean against the right wall



At the beach in front of the hotel... I thought, something smells, like rotten fish. What happened? I moved my viewpoint from the beach road to the water's edge. There were many fish bodies in a long line.

I was scared spitless. Was this the nature I saw a little while ago? Awful. But I also saw many fish swimming in the lake. Why?

I asked a man who cut down beach grass, "Why were so many fish dead?" He replied, "They are ayu (sweetfish). In this season, all ayu produce eggs and die. Ayu's life span is only one year."

That means the fish bodies are a seasonal event. I breathed a sigh of relief, but was still surprised. When I was about to think about how to live for rest of my life, I encountered the end of many lives.

Changing my mind, I walked with my iPhone shuffling my music library, wishing my iPhone select calm tunes.




(This island is Chikubu-jima, where "Gods live")

The first song which my iPhone selected was The Beach Boys / God Only Knows. I got a jolt from this good selection by co-incidence. After that, my iPhone continued to select such calm and deep songs: Oasis / Stop Crying Your Heart Out, Kirsty MacColl / Perfect Day, Paul McCartney / Somedays. Wonder of wonders, no noisy tune was played.

Ten minutes passed, I went by a group of high school students playing in canoes. I bet they never think back on the roads of their lives.



It took about one hour to reach these blocks. They were constructed in 1703 by an official who could stand no longer this area's water damages. He left a thing which is still alive through 300 years. It reminded me of Akira Kurosawa's film "Ikiru" ( "To Live")



A turned-back road. No sooner than I begun to go back to the hotel, my iPhone played Guns'n Roses. I thought it was my iPhone's magic end and selected J.S. Bach / French Suite by myself.

Those high school students, whom I saw outward were about to go back to school. They never realized, however, that they surely approached the turning point of their lives. At that time, I had passed my turning point and was walking down a road already traveled.

After arriving at the hotel, I took a nap, bath and had good dinner. With my satisfied mind, I relaxed and thought about "Do I make my ladder lean against the right wall?" "How do I find the right wall?" As a result, my mind is filled with thanks to my family, friends, co-workers, and customers.

I went to bed, although I didn't wanted to sleep, because I was full of thankful memories.

Posted at 9/17/2009 | Permalink | Comments | |

Using my iPhone 3GS for three months, this gadget has changed my everyday life. What has it changed?

I have become able to read most of the information on the Internet during commuting, which includes e-mail, Twitter(including writing for it), blogs (by RSS Reader) , social bookmarks and SNS. Because I follow not so many blogs and Twitter users, I can read their full content within my 50 minute train commute (going and coming total).

This change also effects how I use my free time in my house – Reducing my PC time increases my family time. Truly, my iPhone has changed my everyday life.

What is the bad effect of my iPhone? It is difficult to find, but I manage to... It is decreasing my time to read books. However, I can find a good result in that. Prevuously, I continued to read a book outdoors even if it was is not very interesting, but now, if I find a book I take outdoors not so interesting, I switch it to iPhone contents. So I have become to be able to spend my time reading only interesting books.


My home screen now: (Maybe it will change in the near future. It is one of attractive points of iPhone – the evolving gadget.)



The first line: Picture viewer (flower icon) is very often-used. It contains pictures of the past 12 years, so I appreciate them and show them to friends.
The second line: Dictionaries. Consulting dictionaries is my custom. Therefore I thank my iPhone. Anytime, anywhere I can seek my needed information.
The third line: The others. SkyBook is a viewer for Japanese public domain novels on the Internet. After checking Internet contents, if I don't have any interesting books, I read classical novels by SkyBook.
The forth line and the Dock (the fifth line): Viewers for Internet contents and iPod.. I think that Echofon (formerly Twitterfon) is the best free application of many Twitter clients for easy-to-understand interface and stabilization.


peripheral goods:


Using my iPhone 3GS for three months, this gadget has changed my everyday life. What has it changed?
PDAIR leather case: This good has a belt-clip. It is useful for me especially in summer; I wear only shirts, not jackets for business in summer. Shirts have breast pockets but they leave the possibility of dropping my iPhone. This case is safe for carrying the iPhone and it is easy to pick up.

Anti-glare film: I never mind some scratches on the iPhone body, but I do on the screen. In addition, I don't like glare and fingerprints on the screen. This film guards my iPhone from those problems.


Noise-cancelling earphone: audio-technica ATH-ANC3 BK I selected this earphone for two reasons. The first; it features a small canal, so it is able to store and carry easily. The second: users reviews of Amazon Japan and so on. This earphone works effectively when I'm on a train. It decreases outside noise, so I don't have to turn up the iPhone volume. I know iPhone's original earphone is useful (equipped with remote controller. This noise cancelling earphone doesn't.). However, I think the health of my ears is more important than an easy-to-control iPhone.

What are iPhone's attractive points? Usefulness? Cool user-interface? Yes, I think so. In addition, in my opinion, the most favorable point of iPhone is possibility to customize one's iPhone like I have above. Also for other most hobbies, customizing has been intriguing and exciting. For example, cars, cooking, and PC. In particular, iPhone is the gadget you carry anytime, anywhere, therefore you can get a bigger reward from customizing iPhone than the others. Moreover, abundant applications and peripheral gears accelerate your customizing mind. iPhone is the gadget which teases us in a joyful way.

Posted at 9/15/2009 | Permalink | Comments | |

1. Paul McCartney / Summertime
2. Vanessa Paradis / As Tears Go By
3. Keisuke Kuwata / MERRY X'MAS IN SUMMER
4. Ryuichi Sakamoto / Lost Theme
5. Ryuichi Sakamoto / Yamasaki 2002
6. The Beach Boys / Kokomo (from "Cocktail" Soundtrack)
7. Ryuichi Sakamoto / to stanford
8. Ryuichi Sakamoto / Bring them home
9. Southern All Stars / Taiyo wa tsuminayatu
10. JUDY AND MARY / DAYDREAM
11. L<->R / NOW THAT SUMMER IS HERE
12. Ryuichi Sakamoto / ice
13. Bach, J.S. / Inventions No.14（Takahiro Sonoda）
14. Flipper's Guitar / Wild Summer
15. Ryuichi Sakamoto / aqua
16. Bach, C.P.E. / Wurttem Sonata No.1-3（Glenn Gould）
17. The Beach Boys / Sloop John B (Stereo Mix)
18. Flipper's Guitar / Southbound Excurtion
19. The Script / Before The Worst
20. The Script / Talk You Down
21. Ryuichi Sakamoto / glacier


Most of these tunes except Ryuichi Sakamoto are the results of my playlist I made for this summer.

I listened to No.1 again and again, because this cover version reflects this laziness of summer well. Many people may recommend Janis Joplin's cover version of "Summertime" and I admit it is good, however, I feel Janis' fire-like version surpasses "laziness" – I can't remeber that this song's original is a lullaby when I listen to Janis' version – So I didn't select Janis'.

Napping is my favorite. In particular, in summer. Summer napping which gets rid of my tiredness with sweat is a pleasure of life, I think. However, I had always felt loneliness after waking up after napping before I married. It is a feeling of deep isolation like being alone in the world, though the sun was high and shining and neighboring kids were laughing outside. No.2 reminds me of those feelings of isolation nowadays. I usually never feel such isolation since being married. I am reminded of this not by the original version, but by Vanessa's version. Her singing recalls the loneliness of summer afternoons. So this song is a summer song for me.

The Beach Boys made many summer songs, but No.17 is included in an album which is one of their "most unlike summer" albums, "Pet Sounds". I don't understand why I selected this tune for my summer playlist. Maybe because the song's promotion film described that the members played in the pool.

I'll be fond of making a new summer playlist for next summer.

Posted at 9/01/2009 | Permalink | Comments | |

1. Perfume / Oneroom Disco ("oneroom" is a Japanese English word – it means bed-sitting room for young single person.)
2. Perfume / I still love U
3. Perfume / Dream Fighter
4. Perfume / The best thing
5. Yuzo Kayama / Tabibitoyo (To a traveller)
6. Perfume / Kiss and Music
7. Perfume / Negai (Wish)
8. Bach, J.S./ Inventions No.1 in C-maj. BWV 772
9. Bach, J.S./ Inventions No.10 in G-maj. BWV 781
10. Cornelius/ Beep It
11. The Monkeymind You Cube Band/ Dying Message
12. Perfume / NIGHT FLIGHT
13. Perfume / Zero Gravity
14. Perfume / Speed of Sound
15. Bach, J.S. / Inventions No.8 in F-maj. BWV 779
16. Bach, J.S. / Inventions No.13 in a-min. BWV 784
17. Bach, J.S. / Inventions No.14 in B♭-maj. BWV 785
18. Bach, J.S. / Inventions No.15 in b-min. BWV 786
19. Bach, J.S. / Sinfonias No.3 in D-maj. BWV 789
20. Bach, J.S. / Well-tempered Clavier Book1 No. 6
21. The Monkeymind You Cube Band / To Classical Future
22. The Monkeymind You Cube Band / I Will Hold You Soon

Perfume is a Japanese techno-pop idle group. I am a 38-year-old man, I am not attracted to them by their looks, but by their music. All of their music is composed / produced by Yasutaka Nakata. He created young, keen and easy-to-understand melodie with complex sounding arrangements. No.1, 2 and 3 are the best tracks for me in the new album.

Yuzo Kayama is a famous actor in Japan; he appeared in Akira Kurosawa films. On the other hand, he was also a talented singer-songwriter especially in the 60s. For his short autobiography appeared daily in July's newspaper the I read, I downloaded his songs from the iTunes Store. My favorite is No.5

Many of Bach's Inventions made me feel cool because of their decent melodies and clear piano sounds.

The Monkeymind You Cube Band is amateur, but I take to their album. It is the third amateur band album in which I've found attractive points in the album.

Posted at 8/01/2009 | Permalink | Comments | |

1. Janacek, L / Sinfonietta I (Czech Philharmonic Orchestra）
2. Paul McCartney / Don't Get Around Much Anymore
3. BOOM BOOM SATELLITES / UPSIDE DOWN
4. Bach, J.S. / Sinfonias No.1 in C-maj. BWV 787
5. Bach, J.S. / The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I No.3
6. Cornelius / Fit Song
7. Flipper's Guitar / Southbound Excursion
8. Misato Watanabe / Have you seen the Rainbow?
9. Bach, J.S. / The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I No.14
10. Mr.Children / [es] -Theme of es-
11. Ryuichi Sakamoto / aqua
12. The Bangles / Manic Monday
13. The Beach Boys / Here Today (Stereo Mix)
14. The Beatles / If I Fell
15. The Beatles / Mother Nature's Son
16. The Dukes Of Stratosphear / Brainiac's Daughter
17. Guns N' Roses / You Could Be Mine
18. Lenny Kravitz / Again
19. The Manhattan Transfer / Four Brothers
20. Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney / The Girl Is Mine
21. namco (Junko Ozawa) / DIG DUG II
22. Southern All Stars / Full of Love and Passion from me to you


No.1 and 5 are the result of reading Haruki Murakami's "1Q84". No.1 appeared in this novel several times, from the first scene. The Well-Tempered Clavier works is the main character's favorite. He said that it is heavenly music for mathematicians.

When I listened to No.6, I felt the commonality between the album "Sensuous" which No.6 is included in and Radiohead's album "Kid A". Both of them are new, unique and keen, nevertheless, composed wonderful comfortable sounds.

Though I haven't surveyed all of Mr.Children's (Japanese temporary long-populated pop group) songs, If I can choose their best one, I think No.10 is the best.

I think that the bass line of No.13 proves the theory "Music doesn't depends on formula". They were out of "theoritical tone" but so cool beyond description.

No.19 is one of a compilation which my music-buff friend selected for Jazz novice (me). Their perfect chorus works made me feel that is something special.

No.20 - RIP and I wish you and Paul have already restored good relationship.

Posted at 7/01/2009 | Permalink | Comments | |

Today, Apple's iPhone 3GS was released in Japan. I have gotten it. After touching this cool gadget for a few hours, I remembered a phrase "Invention is often the mother of necessity" in Jared Diamond's fascinating book "Guns, Germs and Steel"

"Invention is often the mother of necessity"? Is vice versa real, isn't it? I thought so. However, Diamond wrote about a good example for the phrase. It is the Thomas Edison's phonograph. When he built his first phonograph, he made ten of aims of it. His aim was to "preserve the last words of dying people", etc. but not the "reproduction of music". When other entrepreneurs created jukeboxes, Edison objected to this arrangement of his "serious" invention. He didn't invent the phonograph for his necessity of wanting to listen to J.S. Bach's English Suite.

Is there relationship between the above example and the iPhone? The reason why is: As I used my iPhone for the first time, I was convinced that this tool wasn't created by the necessity for recovering conventional cell phone's shortage. This gadget makes a user realize "A daily life will become less interesting without iPhone" by using it. Invention is often the mother of necessity, I also think.

Actually, I didn't think that I would buy it last month. I already have a cell phone and I was satisfied with it. In addition, I work for a telecommunication company and iPhone's carrier in Japan is the rival of my company. To have iPhone was out of the question for me.

Why did I change my mind? On 9th of June, Apple introduced iPhone 3GS, not iPod touch 64GB. I was longing for the iPod touch 64GB because my iPod was an old version (released five years ago, b/w screen and only 20GB storage which isn't enough for me), therefore I was disappointed at the news.

However, after knowing that iPhone 3GS series have a 32GB model, my disappointment gradually changed. At first, I thought that 32GB wasn't enough for my music, pictures and movies (50GB). So I had wanted iPod touch 64GB, not already-released 32GB. But did I need to carry all of my music, pictures and movies? Actually, is 32GB model enough for my selected library? As a trial, I made my selected library from 7000 tunes, 9000 pictures, 100 movies. The size of it is under 30GB.

Next, I begun to survey the communication charge system of iPhone in Japan. Judging from a conclusion, iPhone's communication charge isn't new burden for me. I can purchase iPhone 32GB cheaper than iPod touch 32GB. The difference can make up the added cell phone charge. So "my old cell phone charge + iPod touch price" is nearly equal to "my old cell phone charge + iPhone price + iPhone communication charge for two years". The communication function and available area of iPod touch is limited, but iPhone isn't. Same price, Higher function.

The last reason that I want iPhone is the attractive applications and functions. They make get my life, in paticular in a commuter train, better. Not only reading blogs by Google RSS reader, but also reading downloaded public domain novels with beautiful font for free (my cell phone isn't available for them.) Enjoying my family's and friends' pictures and my son's movies (my cell phone is available for them but not smoothly and smaller screen size than iPhone).

Today is Friday. However, I'm looking forward to Monday. I want to know how my commuting life is changed by iPhone?

Posted at 6/26/2009 | Permalink | Comments | |

1. Elvis Costello / Radio, Radio
2. Elvis Costello / You Bowed Down
3. Elvis Costello / Pony St.
4. Wendy James / Puppet Girl
5. Wendy James / This Is A Test
6. Elvis Costello / No Action
7. Elvis Costello / The Other Side Of Summer
8. Stevie Wonder / Superstition
9. Paul McCartney / All Shook Up
10. Rufus Wainwright / California
11. Flipper's Guitar / The Chime will Ring
12. Radiohead / Airbag
13. The Script / We Cry
14. Yellow Magic Orchestra / PERSPECTIVE
15. Bach, J.S. / Inventions No.14 in B♭-maj. BWV 785（Takahiro Sonoda）
16. Bach, J.S. / Sinfonias No.14 in B♭-maj. BWV 800（Takahiro Sonoda）
17. Billy Joel / The Longest Time
18. Paul McCartney / Don't Get Around Much Anymore
19. Prince & The N.P.G. / Sexy M.F.

Last month, I realized that I love Pete Thomas's drumming, so I made a playlist of him on my iPod. Consequently, the Top seven tunes and No.10 are tunes he played his drums. My most favorite of the playlist is No.6.

No.7 is the special song that I am attached to among Elvis Costello's works. I have been fond of it since it was released in 1991. Apparently, I have a tendency to love the songs that were inspired by The Beach Boys. For instance, The Beatles / Back in the USSR, Dukes of Stratosphere / Pale and Precious, L<>R / Now That Summer is Here, etc. Costello's song is one of them.

Whenever I hear the word "groove", I remember No.8. There are many tunes that cannot remain the great feeling when they are interpreted to musical scores, this tune is the typical case, I think. This tune's drums, bass, guitar and brass section have awesome "groove" and nobody can't write it down to a musical score.

No.13 is the one which my English teacher (English lady) told me. No.15 is miraculous music: there is merely only one short phrase and it is repeated, that's all. But I feel not boredom but ethereal melody. J.S. Bach's talents made many works like this tune.

Posted at 6/01/2009 | Permalink | Comments | |

Spoiler Warning: I didn't reveal the essence / the ending of this story on this entry, but write about some parts of this story. If you want to read Murakami's latest work without any advance knowledge, I recommend you to leave this entry.

For non-natives of Japanese: In Japanese, the pronunciation of "9" is the same of "Q". Why "1Q84?" not "1984"? After you read this book, you'll find the meaning.










[Introduction]
In 1984, Tokyo. Aomame (female), nearly thirty years old, is an instructor at a luxury sports club. She also has another job requiring "expertise and training". Having done the job, she gets out of a taxi on a heavily-congested Metropolitan Expressway, and begins to walk towards the emergency stairway to the ground.
Tengo (male), nearly thirty years old, is a math teacher of a prep school and sometimes submits his novels into contests for new novelists. An editor he knows approaches him to rewrite a prodigious novel "Air pupa" which was wrote by a female senior high school student.


[My impression]
Like other Haruki Murakami's full-length novels, this work made me to want to discuss it with other people who have read this novel. As usual, he never explains to readers the meaning of the curious and heart-swaying story. It is open to interpretation, depending on us. Yes, I understand that many people think that his works don't need interpretation but impression. In both case, I want to ask and tell readers "What do you think about the events / the sentences of "1Q84"?"

Compared to other Murakami's works, this book mentioned many groups that has clear real models (for instance, Jehovah's Witnesses(Wikipedia) and The Yamagishi Association (a agriculture commune) ) and concrete place-names appeared. That adds to the realism and shows up unreal aspects of this story. However, his new style of camera-eye describing which was apparent in "After Dark" isn't found. I think that this work doesn't show Murakami's new frontier - for example, new describing style or new composition of a story, etc. This work is the successor of "Kafka on the Shore" due to the same styles of using two main characters.

Needless to say, for me, this novel is incredible excellent for being a unpredictably page-turner story, simple and wonderful appropriate metaphors, and sentences which has good rhythm and are easy to read. Such Murakami's work's brilliant characteristics have not diminished yet over time. Through fifteen hours of reading, I never felt boredom but felt seamless stimulation. I feel it is difficult to find such novels.

Nonetheless, I am not satisfied with one point. I anticipated his answer to events in this novel: violence to females and kids (not only physically but also mental). Ordinary, a story has a beginning and an ending. However, I feel that this work has a beginning but doesn't have the ending of the events. (This is my feeling, maybe other people have other feelings.) Due to this point and other points (I refrain to explain them in detail now), I think this novel have not completed. There is possibility to release the sequel in future, I anticipate.

Above all, I want to discuss this Murakami's latest work – How do you think / feel about the events / the sentences? When is the English version released?

Posted at 5/30/2009 | Permalink | Comments | |

1. Ryuichi Sakamoto / behind the mask (live_2009_3_28)
2. Ryuichi Sakamoto / to stanford
3. Paul McCartney / Don't Get Around Much Anymore
4. Ryuichi Sakamoto / ice
5. Yellow Magic Orchestra / Behind The Mask
6. Ryuichi Sakamoto / disko
7. Ryuichi Sakamoto / glacier
8. The Beatles / Here, There And Everywhere
9. The Beatles / For No One
10. Ryuichi Sakamoto / +33 (live_2009_3_28)
11. Elvis Costello / No Action
12. The Beatles / Taxman
13. The Beatles / Eleanor Rigby
14. The Beatles / She Said She Said
15. The Beatles / And Your Bird Can Sing
16. The Beatles / I Want To Tell You

1. is the live version that I listened to admiringly for its unique arrange which is different to the original that I loved from the start. This tune was released on iTunes Store the day after the concert, I think the world is getting better. 5. is the original of 1., it was pulled up in this ranking because I found its attraction again by 1.

3. became to one of my heavy rotations since my friend played it on his iPod at a Japanese hotel of Izu. Paul McCartney's talent made the tune transformed from Duke Ellintong's jazz standard to a cheerful rock'n roll number.

8. to 16. (except 10. and 11.) are obviously the consequences of reading "Here, There and Everywhere" by Geoff Emerick. Revolver is a great album, I admit it time and again.

I always listen to the drum line of 11. mainly even its melody also good. The drummer, Pete Thomas, may be my most favorite drummer because of his drumming like singing.

Posted at 5/01/2009 | Permalink | Comments | |

After a 4-hour train journey, I visited a classical ryokan (Japanese style hotel) with my friends. This ryokan, Ochiairou-Murakami is not appropriate for me, ordinary people. This was constructed by skillful carpenters who were ordered to by a millionaire. He asked them to make a ryokan as you like, no matter how much it costs. So the construction and art of this ryokan is extraordinary fine, of course the accommodation fee is so expensive. However, one of my friends knows the ryokan owner so we were able to stay there for a reduced cost. Therefore we could stay there in other world.



constructed in 1933 to 1937.




Entrance. Japanese younger people sometimes feel classical Japanese design is tired and old-fashioned, not beautiful. However, I feel this design as modern, simple and beautiful.




The room we stayed. This suite room contains other one small room and one classical western style room with a table and chairs. May I stay in such a luxurious suite?




Small lighting window made with wood and paper. This design is also modern, simple and beautiful. All of the rooms window designs are different.




Library room. One of my traveling dreams was to stay at a hotel which has a library room since I had read Haruki Murakami's short novel whose story was set in a library room of a hotel. My little dream has come true.


Hot spring bathes are also marvelous. There are outside natural bath and a private bath which you can reserve. Both bathes are popular Japanese style Roten-buro, which is located outside of the building (Of course there are shade screens surrounding the bathes, but sometimes in men's bath there aren't any so as to enjoy the good scenery).




Dinner was perfect for its taste, amount and looks. This is an hors d'oeuvre.




Serving eleven dishes, I was satisfied with all of those. The best one was this raw fish on the bamboo dish. I think the chef choose the best fish at the marketplace.

After dinner, we talked about our favorite music with iPod+spealers till 3:00 am.




Breakfast was also such a lot!! We had enough.




A ryokan staff opened our room window for receiving April's confort breeze. Pleasant breeze and neat Japanese garden made us calm and happy.

My friend and me participated in a tour of this ryokan building at 10:00.




Partition slide between rooms and corridors. As usual, those designs are all different.
A tour guide explained to us that carpenters of this building used precious materials. For instance, a wood board was made of a log which had been treated for becoming a perfectly flat board for thirty years.




I was impressed with this design because of the designer's playful spirit – normal designers would have never thought of such a design for a classic Japanese lighting window. It was based on a legend of a female spider in the area.




Going out of this ryokan, we went to Jyoren Falls by a rent-a-car. The falls fed us a cool and comfortable atmosphere.




For lunch, we had Japanese noodle soba with wild boars soup. I'm a big fan of soba so I visited many soba restaurants, this was one of the best dishes.

We separated at 15:00. The stay was full of delicious dishes, relaxing bath and delightful conversations.

Ochiairou-Murakami seems to be the best hotel that I have stayed at. I have traveled to fourteen nations in the world and received good accommodation at almost every location, for aspect of building's beauty, cleanness, design, dinner and bath. Of course rack rate is also No.1... Anyway, I would like to stay this in ryokan again, after I grow up more and become the man who is appropriate for this ryokan (be more gentleman).

Posted at 4/26/2009 | Permalink | Comments | |