The weekend

So, to Kinkazan, an island off the coast of the prefecture. 金華山、means "golden flower mountain", which is a touch of hyperbole though it is very attractive. It's one of the three spots in Tohoku (the others being Osore-zan in Aomori and Dewa-sanzan in, I think, Yamagata) where the ghosts of the dead are supposed to come back every so often to communicate with the living. Didn't see any, so that hypothesis remains sadly unconfirmed. I did see some rather mangy deer and some monkeys as we hiked up to the top of the mountain though, which was rather amusing. Photos to follow; I got some shots of the monkeys, but couldn't get too close for fear of scaring them off.

Sunday, loafed around for most of the afternoon and then attended the nijikai of a former colleague of mine (Aya-chan) who's just got married. Drinks and food in Hide and Seek in Sendai, followed by a quiet drink in an izakaya near the station with some of my colleagues. All very civilized and in bed by 11.30...

Monday lunchtime - it looks like it's going to be a slow week...