和訳は英文の下にあります
After getting distracted on the trains in the morning we make it in to machimin finally.
Hasty to walk around the town before the weather sets in we make a quick hello to Junko, Aya and a nice man doing calligraphy after playing with a paper ball we say our goodbyes and head out to the streets of Nagareyama.
We walk past beautiful gardens, well pruned trees and many sweet knocks and crannies. We walk into the mattress shop where the kind man ushers us to buy some small gifts. I bought my mum and snail and myself a hair type. I also looked through the prints he had stacked up. Many beautiful designs similar to what I had researched whilst in London. I took photos hopefully I can tweak my design to incorporate some of these.
We took an unexpected turn down an alley and found “tronc” a tiny tea room that we were surprised to find very busy. Little shrubs and pots were cutely clustered outside. It was raining so we ducked in to see why so many people were in there.
We ordered a tea and some mirin crystals and butter on bread. It was delicious!
The place was very small and cosy and I can understand why it was a popular place with its antique nod to the past.
Out we went, it had stopped raining. We walked towards the river but the rain started again so we ducked away and dashed for the kaleidoscope museum. What an enchanting place. A Victorian wonderland. Sparkles and crystals dazzled and chimed. We were scared to touch such items of beauty but the helpful shop assistants guided us how to twist and light each magic stick to the best effect.
We spent a long time in here as I expect anyone with a love for colour and shape would.
We exited under our umbrella borrowed from machimin.
A shop with trinkets close by machimin lured us in. We needed tea cups and a strainer for our morning tea, this place could aid this we thought. Inside there was a palpable atmosphere. A fine layer of dust coated everything. Many cups and trinkets piled up on four different isles.
A small voice called out “Kon-nichiwa”
Two of the sweetest small, back bent old dears tottered to desk at the back of the shop. Once we were satisfied with our cup choice we talked to the two. They were 93 and 98 years old. I must include these beauties within the mural. They must have seen a lot of change in this town throughout their lives.
We tottered back to machimin after getting a snack from a strange convenient store that didn’t look like many people are often convenience by it.
Home time and back to hard ware store to get items for the weekends typhoon lock down and time to settle through the photos and information gained from the first week in japan.
朝、電車の乗り換えに失敗し、行ったり来たりした末やっとたどり着いたmachimin。純子さんやあやさんに挨拶をし、書道をしていた素敵な男性としばし紙風船で遊んでから雨が降り出す前に急いで流山のまちへと繰り出した。
美しいお庭や手入れの行き届いた庭木を横目に歩き、畳屋さんへ入りました。優しい男性が中へと入れてくれ、母や自分に小さなお土産を購入。ロンドンにいる時からリサーチしていたデザインと似た美しい版画がたくさん積んであり、たくさん写真も撮ったので壁画のデザインに使いたいと思います。
予想外の角を曲がり、裏道に出ると「トロン」と言う小さな喫茶店を発見。思いのほか店内は賑わっていて、植木鉢が置かれた入り口を入り、人気の秘密を見ることに。お茶、クリスタルの様なみりんのお菓子、バタートーストを注文。どれも絶品! 店内は小さいけれど暖かく、懐かしい雰囲気に、人気にも頷けました。
雨が止んだ外に出て川の方に歩き出したけれど、またもや雨が降り始め、「万華鏡ギャラリー見世蔵」で雨宿り。魔法がかかった、ヴィクトリア調の不思議の国。キラキラとクリスタルが踊り、共鳴し合う。美しい品々は触るのも恐れ多いほど。係りの方が優しく魔法の筒の回しかたや光の透かし方を教えてくれました。色や幾何学が好きな人なら分かると思うけれど、時間を忘れて万華鏡の世界に魅了されました。
外に出ると雨が降っていて、machiminで借りた傘をさし、またまちへ繰り出しました。
朝の紅茶のためにティーカップと急須が欲しいと思っていたので、ここならあるかもとmachiminにほど近い雑貨屋さんに惹かれて入りました。中は見やすく、カップや細々した物が並んでいました。小さな声で「こんにちは」と聞こえ、少し肩の丸まった小さく優しそうな老夫婦が店の奥の机に座っていました。二人は93歳と98歳で、この二人は絶対に壁画に描きたいなと思いました。きっと長い人生の中で、まちの様々な変化を見てきたことでしょう。
machiminへの帰り道、ちょっと不思議なコンビニにより、おやつを買いました。もしかしたら、もうまちの人は便利と感じていないのかもしれないと思うほどの昔風の商店でした。
帰る前に、また近くのホームセンターにより、週末の台風に備えました。台風の日は、この一週間日本で撮りためた写真や集めた情報の整理をしようかな。