How many days in life do we keep with us? When the world slows and every thing is natural and yet has the excitement of discovery?
I don't know. But I do know that I have had one of these days. And it was magnificent. I took a picture and video diary of my experience. All of these pictures were taken in Nankan.
Other people may pass Nankan by. Or, more likely, never even know they have passed Nankan by. But the discoveries I made are all the more special because I know few have ever made them.
Out front of Nankan High School. Call the fire department!
A small temple.
Chestnuts are in season in the fall. The outside is furry looking and the 'nut' is soft.
Inside Nankan, the signs only tell you how to get to surrounding cities. They don't tell you how to find anything in Nankan. Take the next right for 'downtown' Nankan.
Orange moss! I knew I belonged here!
Nankan High School
The small Buddhist temple.
An empty chestnut shell.
In December, I asked a teacher what she did over the weekend. She said she spent all day Sunday in her garden planting. I laughed. "What could you plant in winter?" "Winter flowers." was her answer. I laughed again, "Plants die in winter!"
I love this picture. I was quite scared to cross this path. But I couldn't walk away from it. So I took the risk of losing my balance and getting all wet and walked across. Funny that a little thing like that would make such a difference. But once I'd done it I felt fantastic.
This is an old tree in on the grounds of Nankan 第小学校 (first elementary school). There are many poles supporting it because it's so old.
A larger Buddhist temple.
A map of Nankan and places of interest. When I saw this, I first thought, 'Wow there's only eight.' Then I thought 'Wow! There're eight! Wait, where is that one, I haven't seen that yet.'
And back home. I think this is the best picture of my home to date. If only because the sun is shinning and the sky is a beautiful blue.
5 comments:
Good to see pictures of Your Town. I liked the roofing tiles at the local Home Depot!
Yeah that's about it right? It's weird going from the Home Depot scenario to the personal relationship of having the local store owner and his wife deliver my new washing machine. It was kind of nice, but I also felt like I was putting them out.
Cool pics, Kate! Nankan seems like a somewhat small town compared to others in Japan. Would you say it's like the St. Peter of your area ;)
No, it's bigger than St. P. Nankan has 11,553 people and St P has 10,631. A thousand people can make a difference. I guess I see Nankan as bigger because there's just more here. In St P there was the one area that was developed right along the road. In Nankan there is a main part of town with the city hall and all that, but a larger area is developed with homes and fresh produce markets (in permanent buildings), and craft stores, potter's studios, farms, etc. Anyway, you can take a look at the Nankan homepage at http://www.town.nankan.kumamoto.jp/
It's all in Japanese, but you can see some pics there.
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