Mellow Birthday Vibes and an Incredible Find ♨️ (Patreon)

Hey hey, Everyone!

So I just had a very low key birthday (which one does at this age). It was mostly a lot of soul-searching and life-planning and what if-ing. I tend to get all gooey and introspective on birthdays and such.

I've been reading Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman and other than being surprised that he keeps quoting a good friend of mine from high school, I'm feeling like parts of this book were written *just* for me. 

It has me thinking even more about Time and all the things I still want to do and how to parse it all out.

Since I didn't do anything for that 'celebration of being born day', and I really don't need or want anything (except books, always books...and pens and notebooks, those, too), I decided perhaps an overnight trip might be nice. Somewhere fun, unique, affordable, and preferably In Nature. You know, to ✨contemplate✨ and even get some writing in.

Here's where my new mini hobby of randomly zooming in on Google Maps and seeing what I can find really paid off. 

Since the next Uncanny Japan episode will be a Nana Fushigi/七不思議, I first located the very out-of-the-way shrine related to that mysterious story. It's in the middle of the mountains a couple hours from here. Then I started zooming around until I found a small bit of nearby mountain with some houses on it (above photo). But wait, what's this? It has a little lodging icon over it. 

Long story short, I'll be spending an evening in their very old guest house this week and I. can't. wait. ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

I'm sure I'll be sharing photos on various social media, Discord, and the new Uncanny Japan forum. But I'm also planning on getting lots of neat content for patrons, as well. I'm bringing the binaural microphones, so hoping to get night sounds (spooky? peaceful?), the crackling of the iori hearth (below), oh (!) and I saw there's a rocky brook that runs near the shrine I want to visit, too. Yoink.

Not to mention photos, video, and any cool historical stuff, because from what I've seen there's lots of that there.

Needless to say, I'm excited. I haven't stayed over night anywhere in years. 

The only thing I'm a little nervous about is the three-hour drive through those one-laned, twisty, sometimes nearly-washed-out roads. They say they're out of cell tower reach so you have to follow landmarks like: right at fallen tree, left at bent sign...Another concern might be face-eating monkeys and bears. But, Hey! No way to call out, isolated mountain folk community I know nothing about, what could possibly go wrong??!! ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ 

By the way...

👀Look at this rotenburo/露天風呂!  You can use it any time during your stay. I'm thinking, dusk, dawn, and a midnight Milky Way viewing! 

Here's the iori/hearth, I've already asked for the inoshishi nabe/wild boar nabe. There was also bear. But I passed on bear.  

XO,

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