it's not life that matters but the journey...

Yesterday afternoon we went out to see a concert at a little restaurant called Cafe Auguri in Asagiri, which is right next to Mt. Fuji.  The cafe is on a ranch/farm, and the owner has cows and makes his own milk and cheese, etc.  Its a really beautiful site, surrounded by trees and with nothing else around for miles.   It was a glorious, clear day (which meant that it got extremely cold at night), so we were able to get some amazing views of Mt. Fuji and some photos, which I posted on my online photo album (photobucket).  Fuji looks so beautiful at sunset, when it seems to turn an otherworldly shade of pinkish red.  And when the sun went down, we could see just the black outline of the mountain with a little cap of white snow at the top (don't have a camera to capture night pictures, though). Here's the links for the photos:

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/350e97f1.jpg ; http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/IMG000022.jpg ; http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/IMG000102.jpg ; http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/IMG000112.jpg ; http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/IMG000122.jpg ;

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/laurafuji/IMG000042.jpg

The band was really good - two acoustic guitarists from this area (one that Masahiko actually played with in August at the home party in Asagiri), who play together in a group called Soulmates.  They did a little acoustic set at first with two guitars, then added drums, then a harmonica player (who is a member of the group Masahiko is currently playing with), then added a bassist and a special guest, a famous blues/jazz guitarist who is currently living in Kyoto (sorry I don't remember his name, but he's only famous in Japan).  Together they were really great, and it was a very entertaining show.  I guess it was a rare opportunity to see this famous guitarist from Kyoto in such a small, intimate setting, so we were lucky.  Coincidentally, one of the guitarists (not the one from Kyoto) lived in Sacramento and Davis about 20 years ago and we were talking about that area.  Of course he was there just at the time that i moved there with my family, and I was only 16 at the time, so the clubs he mentioned playing at are probably not even there anymore.

I enjoyed making observations of the people who came to the concert - these days I am trying to really take notice of my surroundings and keep a journal so that I can get better at writing descriptions (should I ever get around to actually writing a book).  The people there last night were not so interesting generally, but there was a guy who came in about halfway through the show, very tall and thin, wearing a long black coat, jeans and boots, with shoulder-length black, wavy hair.  Right away I thought he must be some kind of artist or musician - and I was right. Turns out, Masahiko recognized him as being the guitarist for a rock band that was popular a little more than 10 years ago when Masahiko was in high school.  He was sitting right next to us - but of course it meant nothing to me since I didn't know the band.  He is now living in Mt. Fuji apparently, so he just had dropped in to see the talent. 

We also enjoyed the unobscured view of the stars when we left the club around 10:30 p.m.  We could see all of the constellations clearly, and it was almost like being in a planetarium.  So nice that we only have to drive an hour to be somewhere that we can appreciate nature so much! 

Today I had meant to get out for some exercise, but just had too much writing to do (lesson planning and emailing).  The weather has significantly cooled down during the day so that its very comfortable - and getting very very cold at night!

Oh, and a final note - yesterday at the cafe we also ran into a woman who is an aspiring jazz singer and has been at some of the shows Masahiko has played (she has sat in and sung one or two songs).   I guess awhile ago she had heard that we were starting a school, so yesterday she said she wanted to come and take a class with me twice a month.  So, that's a third student for our school.  I think she mostly wants to practice pronunciation since she is singing in English (and I know she needs some practice). 

So, little by little, we are getting it going...