Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and sing karaoke.
And when it has gone past I will go for yakitori.

There are a couple places in this town that I found to be curiously fascinating.  Part of you badly wants to know what is inside, and the other part is afraid of what will happen if you do. Recently we braved the unknown and entered two such establishments.

First is Asuka karaoke. It is at the top of a steep hill but not far from the station. I was attracted by the curviness of the kanji (aren’t we all?) but some features, such as the spinning amber light on the top of the sign caused some hesitation. But we could hear someone singing old-fashioned japanese tunes, and figured we should at least see what their song list was like. We wouldn’t stick around, just take a look…. Continue reading →

Recently I left the house later than I ever had before (I wasn’t late for school, luckily!). On my walk, I must go through the train station to cross over the tracks.  There I saw an amazing sight: a dozen well-dressed young men with brooms. Courteously greeting everyone. And sweeping the station!

From their uniforms I could tell they were from a local high school. It has some specialized programs that attract students from beyond the town and many of whom take the train to school.  I suspect exactly which students clean the station each day is somehow based on their sports teams but I didn’t actually confirm this since they seemed confused enough when I asked for a photo!

I’ll leave it at that for now…