Home sweet home.

I just returned from a lovely weekend in my beloved, wonderful Kamogawa. Basically, I was there to help out my old employer welcome a music delegation from Kamogawa's sister city, Manitowoc, WI, USA! Not only do I love work like this, but it was also great to see so many Kamogawa friends. I am feeling a bit weary physically, but mentally/emotionally recharged!

Anyway, a quick peek into my weekend through photos:

The cute frog/heart thing was engraved into all the clothes hangers! Looks like it's the inn's logo.

I've reviewed the fantastic Hidamari Inn before, so I won't delve too far into it, but I just wanna say that they finished adding an additional building, so now they've gone from just 4 rooms to 12! Still nice and cozy, but now a bit easier to book. (Although all the rooms were filled over this weekend! :D)

Rehearsal at Kamogawa Civic Hall.

The music delegation is 35 members from Manitowoc's Lakeshore Wind Ensemble! During their one week stay in Kamogawa, they performed at Nanso Bunka Hall in Tateyama and Kamogawa Civic Hall over the weekend, and they'll be playing at Tokyo Disney Land on Tuesday (wish I could go)!
Watching their performances made me remember how nice live music is.

Food hunting, and my haul!

(starting from top right, clockwise):

(1) Awajiya, a cozy little Japanese restaurant right near Maebara beach in Kamogawa. It's run by a husband and wife. The wife, who usually handles taking orders and bringing the food, can seem a little...cold? At times, but I think it actually makes you like her for some reason.

(2) Maebara Beach. Gorgeous even during the rainy season!

(3) Kamogawa Energy. It was originally a fictional item from Lagrange no Rinne, an anime that takes place in Kamogawa. They made it real, and apparently it's surprisingly good?! These guys are currently chilling in the fridge, but I'll let you know how it goes.

(4) Su-namero! SO GOOD. I walked all the way down to Awajiya during my lunch break because I've been craving namero for aaaaaaages. I've previously posted about what namero (and su-namero!) is here.

(5) Summer veggies. I make a point to pick up locally grown produce whenever I'm back in town! Today I scored zucchini (80 yen...and it even included recipes!) and cucumbers (88 yen for 4). The supermarket I went to only sells produce from local farmers who bring in the veggies themselves every 1-3 days! The labels are marked with the name of the farmers too. It is oddly reassuring to have those names on there! Anyway, I'll be sauteing the zucchini, and the cucumbers are already pickling.

Many more adventures to come - stay tuned!