Ms. KOGASHIWA, Kaori gave Mei-Shun an invitation to her first exhibition held in Kyoto, titled “Ohanashi-no-Ki-no-Shita-de” (=Under Tree of Stories) from Nov. 22 to Dec. 3. She has been good at drawing since her high-school days, currently works as an illustrator. Congratulations, Kaori-san.
Tsuchiura Fireworks Competition is held on the first Saturday of October. Yesterday was clear with a bit of clouds, nice weather for the 83th event. “Competition” means that craftsmen of all over Japan bring their best works toward Tsuchiura, aiming to win the best prize of the year. 2014 theme seems a color combination — an amazing technique which gives three colors at once in different directions. One mammoth ball of fire looked like a colorful balloon!
Mei-Shun visited Himeji Castle this weekend. After repair, some people ironically call it “shiro-sugi-jo” instead of “shira-sagi-jo” (=white castle looks like a beautiful egret), meaning too white one. They might prefer the clear contrast between black roof and white wall of normal Japanese castles.
We visited Shikoku from 19th to 21st: stayed at Dogo Onsen hot spring in Matsuyama City on 19, while at Katsurahama beach in Kochi City on 20. Please click respective sightseeing links below for details.
Dogo Onsen:
http://www.dogo.or.jp/pc/top_eng.htm
Kochi City including Katsurahama beach:
meishunkikunoe 