Well, in true japanese style, I'm off to the local summer Bon festival tonight. Unfortunately, I don't have a Yukata 浴衣 to wear and with that, I'm not sure if I would wear one either. Foreign men in Japanese attire just don't cut it!!
The locals, however, look very good in their colourful traditional costumes. Lots of bright colours and floral patterns. There will be a bit of a knees up for the elders with music and dance. When in Rome!

Cheers,

Roy.

On Tuesday, I went to some local tyre fitters and asked for a a couple of lorry size inner tubes. The first place said " no way" , but the small shop down the road from my house had a good rummage around and pulled out 3 good sized beauties. One needed patching & the other 2 were in pretty good shape, but with that they only charges me for the repair. So, in the end it cost a bargain bashing ¥500 for the whole lot. This was the beginning of a real adventure, so many thanks to Eriko.
Well, with that, we set off early Wednesday morning for the Yoshino river, with our toys in hand. Arrived there around 10:00am and totally lucked out on parking. A laybye just up the ridge from the river was empty, so we unpacked and while doing so, the old man that owned the land came over for a chat. He said that is was cool for us to stop there for the day.
After getting the camp set up, we inflated the tubes with a 12 volt mini pump and hit the river for a test run. There were quite a few old guys fishing for Ayu, most of which seemed a little pissed that we were splashing around upstream from them. With that, we took a 10min walk up the river to check out the rapids. Finally, we found a way down to the river from the road and jumped in. This was unchartered territory, so almost every bend of the river was fresh to a point. The tubes held out and only occaisionally got wedged between some rocks. Back at camp, we got the BBQ going and sat down for a feed, when the badest, blackest rain clouds let go a storm.
We were a bit slow to move and got caught in the downpour, leaving everything and everyone drenched from head to toe. The BBQ was over or so we thought.
As we sheltered from the rain at the rear of a somen factory, the old woman kindly let us use her toilet and then the storage area, to let us dry off and escape the weather.
Well, once word spread, that a couple of foreigners were in town, the party really started. The owner turned up with his son and grandson, and with a few beers in hand. He was a jolly bloke and in good shape for his 64 years. He pulled out his own oil barrel BBQ set and set it up in the forecourt for us to use. After getting the BBQ going he put on his glad rags and jumped into his small truck, saying that "I'm off to town, so make yourselves at home". Diamond geezer or what? This guy and his family were extremely generous and put my faith back in humanity. Despite, the illegal occupation of Georgia, by russian troops.

Finally started writing new songs again. Got together with a friend and bashed out a couple of songs, writing partial lyrics to both. We're playing on acoustics at the moment, as we both believe that, if you sound good on acoustic then electrics gonna really rock. I've been using a Martin D21 for the most part, but my playing is pretty heavy and I don't want to destroy the frets. So, I restrung my 70's Takamine Elite Humming Bird, which has had & can handle a good thrashing. Very well crafted guitar. It's stamped 75******, with the first 2 digits indicating the year of manufacture.
I'm also using a YAMAHA FG350, which is probably dated around 1982. It's got a really bright sound and is also in good shape considering it's age. On the electric front, I'm keeping my eyes open for an early 90's Fender Jaguar or Jazzmaster at the moment. There's a few on ebay & Yahoo, but they get too pricey.
Have to keep on the junk-shop trail.

Cheers,

Roy.

Went to a great spot on the Yoshino River with a friend recently. It's only an hour and a half from Takaishi on the expressway and is in the most tranquil surroundings. The river itself is crystal clear and has some good diving spots. One guy from a group having a BBQ nearby even drank the water as a dare, because it's so clean.
The river is home to sweetfish (あゆ）a small trout like fish, which feed on river moss. They are highly territorial and will ward off other fish in the area. Fishermen use a reel-less pole with live bait to catch them. I was amazed to learn that a permit for the year only costs ¥10,000, because wild sweetfish are quite expensive in an Izakaya.
I must return there before the end of summer!

Cheers,

Roy.