Friday I had a day off, so I spent the day exercising, walking around doing errands, and eventually topped it off with a trip back to Futami to check in over at Denya. It has been a long time since I had seen the master, and things were much the same at Denya.
I did notice when I got off at Higashi Futami station (a station I used to walk to every day when I first arrived in Japan) that the surrounding shops were pretty empty. The liquor store run by the family of a drinking buddy was shut down, and various stores that had been open months ago were abandoned. Things are not well in Futuami, and it was with some trepidation that I approached Denya. Luckily it was open, but I was the only customer.
I caught up with the master, and had a nice meal while watching the Hanshin Tigers game. As I ate some more customers straggled in, and the master suddenly got busy, so that was good news for him. I said farewell after eating my fill, and then walked north across the newer part of Futami to get to Tsuchiyama station, and things were a little better than the older part of town. Still, there is a little different vibe in Futami these days, and I am sure glad we didn’t decide to build a house in my old neighborhood. Okubo continues to grow, especially around the station, and I think we are lucky to be where we are.
