Photographs from a small group of islands
With today being a national holiday, and one entitled Respect for the Aged Day, it’s entirely feasible that the little fella below was dragged along to a temple to appease his grandparents.
However, despite undoubted treats aplenty, it’s perfectly clear that a day spent devoted entirely to his toy train would have been a lot more to his liking.
The Japanese summertime custom of uchimizu — or the more wordy English version of splashing water over the pavement to cool the area down — is an especially pleasing looking practice; one that is somehow quite soothing as well as sensible.
And this year, due to a summer that can’t seem to settle down, it’s a sight that could still be common come the end of September.
Or early October even.
A parasol, some paint, and perhaps most importantly, plenty of peace and quiet.
Like father, like son.
Samuel Johnson’s famous adage that, “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life” is also equally true when talk turns to Tokyo, although at the same time, extricating oneself from the Japanese capital every now and again is not only nice, but occasionally necessary.
And, as it’s not much more than an hour away — from west Tokyo at least — Yamanashi offers a genuinely convenient contrast to the concrete and crowds.
Well, the grape growing region of the prefecture does anyway, as the flavoursome fruit can found almost everywhere.
Even on vines above vehicles.
And now is the perfect time to go and pick some.
The only trouble is, it’s really hot. Really horribly hot in fact. However, all is not lost, as even though the wine found in them isn’t very nice,
and taking note of it,
let alone tasting it,
isn’t what I would call wise, the region’s cellars are, unlike the Chardonnay, really quite refreshing.
And, as an added bonus of sorts, they may also offer up a brief glimpse of a young boy’s burgeoning love affair with booze.
