Going to art class and returning home

 At Izumi Chuo, the entrance into the subway was partially blocked. They were fixing the ceiling and wall over the entrance. Many places have severe cracks that are gradually getting worse. Most of them are either covered (with blue sheets or mesh) or the area is blocked off. I have not heard of anyone getting hurt by falling debris but it is obvious that tiles and things are still falling.

 This work crew is repairing the tiles on the outside of the Selva building. The first floor of this building contains my favorite Starbucks and, until the earthquake, you could sit outside in the space behind the pillars you can see in this picture. Since the earthquake, the are has been blocked off because the tiles on the building are loose and could fall. I will be very happy when they get this fixed so that I can sit outside again.

 This is the entrance to the Ito Yokado department store, which is next door. The were having a sale of some kind and put the products outdoors in the entrance. However if you look carefully at the right side you will see an off-white stripe that goes from the bottom corner toward the middle and then turns sharply to the right and continues to the edge of the picture. This is plywood that has been taped in place to cover the difference in height between the building and the ground outside. As with almost everywhere, the outside surface level has sunk a few centimeters. I mentioned it before but will repeat it - according to the news any land that was put in place less than 10,000 years ago liquified during the quakes causing a compression that lowered the surface level.

 This building is where Wakamatsu Sensei, my art teacher, now has his studio. His old studio was closer to the ocean and was destroyed. This entire building is a large studio. The first floor has two rooms and the second one large room that are used as studios. There is also a large storage area for his pictures, a kitchen and a toilet.

 This is the inside of the main room on the first floor. During our classes, four of the students work at this table and the other four of us work in scattered locations.

 After being driven back to Izumi Chuo by the man in the picture above, I did some shopping and then walked home. This building is under construction and the permit sign that is in front of it says that the name is "Art Gallery". No one seems to know anything about it so I am very curious as to whether it will actually be a gallery for displaying are or some kind of store.

 I showed this building a while ago. At that time it had a single yellow rope stretched across the entrance and a sign saying that entry was prohibited. Now it is covered in blue tarps and obviously under reconstruction.

This building caught my attention because, in addition to the row of blue sandbags along the ridgepole, some of the roof tiles were individually wrapped in plastic. The building contains a "snack", a bar that also serves light food.