Once every month or so a group of friends gather at the Ha'penny Bridge, an Irish pub that serves real Guinness beer, for an evening of drinks, food, and mostly talk. The Bridge was a pub in Ireland until it was taken down and then rebuilt here in Sendai. Apparently the Japanese carpenters had a hard time with it because nothing was square. Japanese carpenters are famous for the accuracy but this pub was mostly built by eye.
The atmosphere inside is very pubish. Here are some of the first arrivals, from left to right - Jim Smiley, Gerry Muirhead (the bagpipest), and Ken Schmidt. They are all university faculty members here in Sendai.
The next morning I went out for a five kilometer walk around the two sides of the river, crossing at the two bridges nearest my condo. As I was walking along the levee, I saw a black cat down near the river. Luckily it did not cross my path, assuming the old stories about black cats are correct.
On the other side of the river, there is a Christian church. I am not sure what denomination it is but it is definitely some sort of Protestant group.
As I crossed the bridge on the Sendai ByPass, I looked over the edge and saw a young man fishing. I think that it is still too early for fish in the river. I could see down into the water, but I did not see any fish at all.
I think that this is related to the rice paddies that are a couple of kilometers to the east, but I am not at all sure. This area used to be all rice paddies along the river banks, but for the last twenty years or so the land has been being sold and people are building homes and apartments, as well as stores. The paddies have disappeared completely between Izumi Chuo and the ByPass bridge, but to the east there is still a large area that is being actively farmed.
No comments:
Post a Comment