The Smell of Old Books and the Stink of Routine

AM

Least: By 11:40am, it was clear that once again I would not leave the house before midday. Outside it is raining, and it's slant looks as if it might foil even the broadest umbrella. The relaxing routine of stirring at eight, eggs at nine some reading at ten then a shower at eleven has really set in for the lang haul. I really need to force myself out for a walk to at least give me something interesting to write about.

Most: At about 10:00am, I picked up a book that had arrived in the mail from England yesterday. On a whim, I had fairly cheaply bought Ford Madox Hueffer's Hans Holbein the Younger. While I have absolutely no interest in Mr Holbein, the book as an obect itself left me very satisfied. The book was reissued in 1914 and for the most part looks new and has that special aroma that reminds me of my other books sitting in boxes in Drouin. The gilt is still shiny and the tissue covering the plates is immaculate after ninety-five years of living on someone's shelf. Who at Duckworth in 1914 would have suspected that their book would've ended up sitting on a shelf in a Tezuakayama flat? I just hope it survives the humidity to last another ninety-five years.

PM

Least: At approximately 5:35pm, I answered a phone at work. It told me that I was going to be working in Kyoto tomorrow. I will arrive and leave early and I predict that around 5:00pm tomorrow I will be once again lost at JR station in Umeda. Today, I noticed that a disturbing pattern is developing, with a terrifying phone call arriving to haunt me at the same time every Tuesday. The knowledge that I need to get up early in the morning fills each lost minute with sorrow, for soon enough, the next tick of the clock with be my alarm going off.


大きな地図で見る

Most: At around 11:00pm, I was busy trying to plot my journey to the Hokage Open Air festival at Tamagawa in Yamanashi. Pinpointing the town closest to the festival site involved decoding kanji, scrolling through maps and reviewing bullet train times. Hopefully, we will still be able to buy tickets for the train. Thankfully, Rosie spoke enough Japanese to ensure that we will sleep in a bungalow and not in some windswept tent. I still hope the rain stays away. It will be an interesting night.