It's already 12:30 am. I've been messing with photos for the last two hours. Things take so much more time than I expect. Yesterday (Sunday) I didn't do a whole lot. My digestion was a bit troubled -- for the last week, input had far exceeded output. I did, however, ride back into town, pick up a new batch of pictures, and scan some photos using Kenji's scanner.

Also, in the evening, I helped Kenji with his English class -- this time a batch of about a dozen middle-school-aged kids, all lively and bright-eyed, bubbly and wild, but not out of control. When I first walked into the class-room, they gasped in unison. And for the next twenty or so minutes, I fielded questions from them -- answering first in Japanese, if I could, and then in English, very slowly and simply. Questions like, what sports did I like, how tall am I, do I have a girlfriend (Kenji said 'no personal questions' to the kid who asked it, but I answered anyway.) I drew a map of Washington, showed them where Seattle was (and said, of course, the Mariners were my favorite baseball team,) and also asked them questions like "what American foods do you like?"

Something I noticed: there were two rows of seats. The girls all sat in the front, and the boys in the back. I noticed this one other time, in a grad school math class.

Today I helped with peach trees. In an effort to keep insects and summer rain from ruining the peaches, they're putting small paper bags over the peaches. The idea is to place the bag around the stem of the peach, and then fasten it with a little twist-tie. At first I was a total clod at this, and almost had a temper tantrum. I was up in a ladder trying to use my too-few hands to balance myself, hold the peach, get the bag just right without knocking the peach off (something I did often) and then fasten it with the little twist-tie. Later I got the hang of it, and actually began to enjoy it. I also did some thinning -- removing quite a few of the peaches (all still green, small, and hard) so that the ones left on the tree will grow larger.

I made a joke in Japanese today, which actually succeeded! I was up in one of the peach trees, standing on its branches. I told Sumiko I didn't need the ladder to get down. She said "Oriyasui?" (easy to climb down?) and I answered "Ochiyasui" (easy to fall down.) Kenji gave a quick chuckle. It was a landmark moment -- someone laughing at something I said in Japanese, and not how I said it.

Also today I played with my bike baggage, and have a pretty good idea of how to arrange it on my bike. I'm pretty sure this'll be the lightest I've travelled with a bike, mostly because I didn't bring any cooking gear. On the other hand, I do have several books (a small Japanese dictionary, a small book of "Essential Kanji," an address book, a spiral notebook, and that crappy book of maps, which I may leave behind anyway. I'm sorely tempted to return to Tokyo for my book of Japanese Grammar and Lonely Planet guidebook, but I think I'll try to do without.)

I also tried packing my bike and all the gear into the bike-bag, for when I ride trains. This time, I put some thought into how best to arrange things inside the bag, so that it's as balanced and compact as possible. It's still quite heavy but no longer almost unbearable (literally.) I'm starting to feel well-prepared.

My plan now, is to ride north-west for the next week or two, to try to avoid the rains (which haven't started yet.) My first destination will be Nikko, the sight of a famous temple in the mountains north of Tokyo. From there I think I'll try to cross over to western Japan, and ride along the coast of the Japan Sea, which is less populated. From there I don't know if I'll go south, to try to reach Kyoto by bicycle (I'm meeting Nobuyuki there on June 22) or I may continue on north to avoid the rains, and then just take a train to Kyoto.

I've also discovered that there are hundreds of hostels across Japan. But they are a tad expensive in hostel terms -- $20-$30 per night if I join the Japan Youth Hostel Association, an extra $8 or so if I don't. Everyone I talk to says it's no problem to pitch a tent in some out-of-the way place (being sensible about it -- pitch the tent at dusk, and break it down early.) When Kenji travelled by bicycle, he said he even camped at temples, but I don't know if that was recently. So I may resort to hostels (or even hotels) only during times of rain.

Yesterday Kenji, Sumiko, and I were outside when the phone rang. Sumiko ran to get it. Somehow between stepping up from the front alcove (where people leave their shoes before entering the house) to the front hall, her shoes just fell off mid-stride, almost as if they were abandoning her feet of their own will. It was a small thing, but I thougth it was impressive.