Saturdays, Kakizakai Sensei picks me up at 7.15am (ouch) and Kundan at 7.20 then we head to the Western suburbs of Tokyo to join the city contingent of shakuhachi students for lessons all morning and afternoon. For us (from Chichibu) it is also the chance to visit the metropolis. This includes visiting Tokyu Hands Creative Life Store, a kind of DIY department store with every conceivable tool, material, equipment for making things, such as bicycle parts and pliers. The hyaku-en shop ($1 shop) provided a cracker for negotiating ginko nuts that Haruka harvested from the forest and at
Ikebukuro branch of Tokyu
Hands you can visit
Nekobukuro to fraternise someone else's cat - a facility provided for a small fee to cater for apartment-bound Tokyoites in need of domestic feline liaison. On one occasion, I visited the tasty Indian curry shop that makes fresh naan next to Tokyu Hands in Shibuya and on another occasion I had beautiful sushi from Midori Souhonten. I am working on
San'ya Mountain Valley with special attention to embouchure, long breath phrases and good
mura-ishi feeling and subtle pitch inflections.
Saturdays, Kakizakai Sensei picks me up at 7.15am (ouch) and Kundan at 7.20 then we head to the Western suburbs of Tokyo to join the city contingent of shakuhachi students for lessons all morning and afternoon. For us (from Chichibu) it is also the chance to visit the metropolis. This includes visiting Tokyu Hands Creative Life Store, a kind of DIY department store with every conceivable tool, material, equipment for making things, such as bicycle parts and pliers. The hyaku-en shop ($1 shop) provided a cracker for negotiating ginko nuts that Haruka harvested from the forest and at Ikebukuro branch of Tokyu 
Hands you can visit Nekobukuro to fraternise someone else's cat - a facility provided for a small fee to cater for apartment-bound Tokyoites in need of domestic feline liaison. On one occasion, I visited the tasty Indian curry shop that makes fresh naan next to Tokyu Hands in Shibuya and on another occasion I had beautiful sushi from Midori Souhonten. I am working on San'ya Mountain Valley with special attention to embouchure, long breath phrases and good mura-ishi feeling and subtle pitch inflections.
