My trivial thinking

Ohara is a rustic, tranquil village surrounded by mountains in the northern part of Kyoto City. It takes about 35 minutes by bus from Demachi‑yanagi Station. I visited Ohara with my wife yesterday. The weather was cloudy and a little cool. We got off the bus at Hanajiri‑bashi, the southern end of Ohara, and we were the only passengers to get off there. Our plan was to enjoy the cherry blossoms along the Takano River and hike through the village. We didn’t see any other hikers until we reached the approach to Sanzen‑in Temple. Contrary to our expectations, Ohara was rather quiet except around Sanzen‑in Temple. along the Takano River Sanzen‑in Temple is the most famous and largest temple in Ohara. It stands on the eastern side of the village, partway up the mountainside. There were many foreign tourists there.    Sanzen-in The approach to Sanzen-in in front of the main gate Main gate Warabe Jizou Warabe Jizou the app...

Now that it’s April, the cherry blossom season has arrived. We rarely get snow in Osaka, even in winter. But it was cold last weekend, and the mountains in Osaka were covered with snow.   Mt. Kongo,  1125m Mt. Iwawaki,  897m

The Sea , written by the Irish novelist John Banville, won the 2005 Man Booker Prize. Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go was among the shortlisted works that year. Banville is often praised as a master of language, yet this novel is extremely challenging for English learners. I read it twice a few years ago, and although the plot is simple and the action minimal, I still found it difficult on this third reading. The narrator, Max Morden, is a retired art historian whose wife has recently died of cancer. He returns with his daughter Claire to a seaside resort village. The dilapidated guest house where he stays was once called the Cedars. Fifty years earlier, the Grace family had rented it as a summer villa. The current housekeeper, Ms. Vavasour, now runs the place. …… And my life is changed forever. …… Half a century earlier, Max’s family spent their summers in the same village, renting a shabby cottage. One day, young Max encounters the Graces, a wealthy family also vacationing ther...

When I went jogging at a nearby park last Saturday, I thought the cherry blossoms were just beginning to bloom and that they would reach full bloom in about a week. But yesterday, the cherry trees in my neighborhood were already in full bloom. So this morning, I walked to the park near my office to see the cherry blossoms there.