Feb 10, 2009

Books about the Henro Pilgrimage

Last night Ian called and a little while later, he came by my apartment. The reason was that he had discovered that one of the professors at his university is interested in the Henro Pilgrimage and Kukai (Kobo Daishi). In doing some research on this, the professor had collected a number of related books; Ian had borrowed them and wanted to give them to me.

The books are all in Japanese so I won't get to actually read much before we leave, but I do plan to skim through them for anything that is particularly interesting. One of the books in particular will occupy my time. It is an art book about how to draw the 88 temples.

The rest of my day yesterday was pretty much unrelated to the upcoming trip. I took the subway into town and then walked to Tohoku U where I entered the students' grades into the school computer system. Then since it is the end of the school year, I returned my card keys for the teachers' room and the parking lot. Before classes start in April, I will have to stop by the campus and get new cards for next year.

When that was finished, I walked back into the city proper where I met my friend Keith. We stopped at Starbucks for coffee. Then went to the Tapas Restaurant and had an Italian lunch. (I am not sure why a restaurant with a strong Spanish influence in its name serves Italian food, but that is the way it is.) The food was okay - nothing great, but cheap. The conversation and companionship, however, were superb. Keith and I used to see each other often because we went to Vegalta soccer matches together, but for various reasons we only saw a few games last season. This meant that we did not met very often. After we caught up on all our personal doings, we walked over to Yodobashi Camera, a chain electronics and photo equipment store, where Keith bought a new lens for his camera.

After separating at Sendai Station, I walked home, totalling 18.5 kilometers for the day.

In the evening before Ian arrived, I watched the NFL Pro Bowl on TV. I was glad when the NFL won the game.

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