Anna Matsushita

On a family trip to Scotland many years ago, we found ourselves venturing into the crisp embrace of the Scottish Highlands. Despite the late-August timing, the weather was already chilly, rendering our summer attire woefully inadequate.   Our journey commenced in Edinburgh, and after some sightseeing, we boarded a train to the vicinity of Inverness, where a recently established hotel awaited our arrival. The manager, a gracious woman, went above and beyond, sharing a plethora of information about the hotel's offerings from our arrival to settling into our rooms. Eager to shake off the travel stiffness after the train journey to Inverness, we took a refreshing dip in the hotel's pool.   Arriving at dinner time, we were led to the hotel's restaurant where a three-course meal awaited us. The manager continued her attentive service, highlighting the freshness of the salad vegetables harvested that very morning from a nearby farm.   As the main course was served, our

  Our local shrine’s festival resumed for the first time in three years. Streets were once again jolly with illuminated lanterns. Kids were playing wood flute and drums to add festive feeling. They were performing the music in front of train station. People enjoyed the music in the evening.   I assume that the shrine must have planned the festival when the number of corona patients were decreasing daily – at least until June 2022. People must have put much effort into the preparation, looking forward once again to practice the music, drew out the portable shrine (Omikoshi) ready to be carried around the town, and float to carry the music bands.   Before COVID-19, the festival was like these;   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oWNuFH-CIg https://youtu.be/97cu-n3QXrc I watched the children playing music with somewhat mixed feeling. By the time the festival started, the number of COVID-19 patients were increasing at tremendous speed. I was tracking only the daily figure