Sunday, February 23, 2003

What I did today Today, I... Went to Yanagawa for kawa-kudari (basically, a ride in a punt) and unagi-donburi (eel and rice); Went to Dazaifu on the way back to Etajima; Went to Poplar to post the Hyoko sweets I'd bought in Fukuoka to Hiroki in Tokushima (why, I wonder, did it cost almost as much to send them by Takkyubin as it did to buy them?).

The shrine at Dazaifu is popular with children studying for entrance exams, and, this being the season for these exams, the whole town was bustling. We didn't have too much time in the town, but Nagareda-kun and I went to the shrine, where the plum blossoms made the scene especially beautiful, and had a good luck round. Looking at our fortunes for the year on a board, Nagareda-kun discovered that he was predicted bad luck, and so he decided he should buy an amulet to ward off the danger. There are many varieties of these amulets (such as for road safety or success in exams); it amused me slightly when he asked the person behind the counter just which one he should buy to protect himself from a prediction of bad luck. I bought two pottery suzu- bells- for good luck, and then we both drew o-mikuji fortune strips. He got 'daikichi'- good luck- which is rather at odds with his 'worst luck' prediction- and I got 'not very good luck'. Perhaps I should have bought an amulet for this as well... Anyway, after reading our fortunes, we tied the strips of paper to the branch of a tree, as is the custom. I like Dazaifu a lot- I think it's the fifth time I've been there, although (if I remember correctly) the first time when the blossoms have been out.

J-List Products sold in vending machines in Japan Soft drinks/coffee/soup Beer/sake Cigarettes Ice-cream Instant cameras Batteries Rice Cup noodles Underwear Omikuji (the fortune-telling slips of paper sold at temples and shrines)