Miran moves to Tokyo during the rainy season. Obara went looking for a bright feeling.

from Ban Obara #6 Monday, June 12

It’s totally the rainy season. Do you like the rain, Miran? By the way, I don’t like it much. I don’t like to put umbrellas, I feel sleepy all the time, and I can’t go for a walk. The sound of rain doesn’t calm me down, and I don’t feel excited by heavy rain. …… Well, I don’t like rain much. The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the rain is a very strong smell, and it is not something that you can get from a normal person. Do you know what it smells like, Miran?

It was raining again today, so I made curry and rice at home. Every day I usually eat boiled thinly sliced pork with grated daikon, ponzu vinegar, and green onion with white rice or a convenience store bento, but for the first time in a while I cooked rice using a cutting board (although it was only for cutting onions and potatoes). Then I felt like I was getting my life back, and I was happy.

As I put a well-done fried egg on top of the curry and rice I had made for myself, and popped it into my mouth, I realized that it is important to consciously make time to take care of me, such as setting aside time each day to eat rice when I am feeling down, or soaking in the bathtub if I cannot eat rice, or making time for me, I remembered what my psychosomatic doctor once told me.

I guess I need to train myself to look at myself in a brighter way. So, I try to train, train, train, and talk to myself in the middle of the night in my room. It’s a little scary. But it’s training!

So I will not say that I hate rain, but I will try to find some nice things about rainy days in this June. Let’s have a good night together.

from Miran #7 Monday, June 19

Every time I receive and read your diary, I am reminded of the same feeling I get when I read your writings. I hope no one will understand anything about this feeling, but I wrote as I thought. I feel that this exchange diary is definitely a source of support for me in these days of dampness. Thank you for all your support.

I don’t know if I like the rain. I don’t want to be rude to the rain by declaring that I don’t like it. It’s the rainy season, isn’t it? Do you remember June 2, the day it rained so much that the city of Tokyo was ordered to evacuate?　On that day, I moved to Tokyo with a huge carry-on case and a guitar on my back.

First, I went to a real estate agent, looked over various documents, stamped my name with a seal, picked up the key, and when I stepped outside, it was pouring. My heart fell to the ground. After that, I took a cab to take me home.

I wanted to take a break, but I had to clean up, so I went to a nearby pharmacy and put everything I saw that I thought I needed in my basket at a rapid pace.　When the clerk asked me if I wanted a bag, the tone of her voice was gentle and I relaxed and said, “Yes, I do. I just moved here a while ago, and it was raining like this, so I thought I’d go to the pharmacy anyway, and I forgot the bag. The clerk replied in kind, “I’m sorry you had a hard time,” so I went around to all the stores and said the same thing to all the clerks. Thankfully, everyone was kind, and I now think that maybe on a rainy day, I might be exposed to this kindness.

Then there is the bath. I think a bathtub on a rainy day is the best. I can smell the rain. Well, it smells like ditch. I love soaking in the bathtub while smelling it, it’s like taking an open-air bath.

I love the smell of it, it makes me feel like I’m in an open-air bath. I thought, “Hey, now that we’re closer to home, it would be nice if we could do some cooking together. What would you be excited to cook at home?　I’d like to cook takoyaki. I’m still a Kansai person.

from Ohara-nan #7 Wednesday, June 28

Congratulations on your move to Tokyo, Miran! I can’t believe you moved on such a rainy day. You did a great job.

Well, the other night, to celebrate Miran-chan’s move to Tokyo, Miran-chan, the star of the show, Nanako Shineya, who takes the photos for this series, and I got together.

It wasn’t raining in my town, so we took a bus without umbrellas to the town where the store was located.

We were sipping our beers and waiting for Nanako, who was coming a little late, with an ambivalent feeling of wanting to start talking as soon as possible and wanting to be more absentminded.

It was strange to be drinking beer in Tokyo with Miran-chan, whom I met in Osaka. I am happy in any case.

Nanako came over and we exchanged a casual hello, leaving the ordering to Miran-chan, who is very good at deciding what to eat. It is cool to be able to quickly decide what everyone wants to eat at a time like this.

Nanako ate corn fritters and said they reminded her of her grandmother’s. The sausages with firm skin tasted better the more you chewed them, and Miran’s face did not change no matter how much red wine she drank, I was deeply moved by the happiness of the pasta we shared. It was a luxurious evening.

Let’s cook at each other’s house next time. I get excited about hand-rolled sushi, but being born on the edge of Tokyo, I have never had takoyaki at home. I wonder what a takoyaki party is like. I would love to try a takoyaki party.