Devenish

As the outside world gets ever uglier and less secure, I am increasingly aware of how lucky I am to be living in a tranquil and beautiful place —and that it is important to draw attention to this in my posts. Here are some pictures from yesterday's walk with the dog around Okamoto: the spring blossoms may have gone, but it still looks wonderful.

Today we visited Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum in Shinkobe (on the recommendation of our friend Caroline Heycock). I was expecting to be interested but to have to leave early with fractious children (the younger two, at any rate). Not so: not only was the museum a beautiful piece of architecture full of stunning craftsmanship, but the workshops kept Julian and Sean occupied for a good two hours on a damp Saturday. Well worth the visit, right beside Shinkobe Station, admission 500 yen for adults.