Munching through some delicious sushi I have a strange grating sensation in my mouth. Yep, I am chewing on a crown that has detached itself. Sushi! You lose crowns by chewing down on Elk bones, not sushi. I fly to California tomorrow- big drag!
I rush to Kinjo sensei’s dental clinic. “Help!”

30 minutes later I walk away with carefully fitted and nailed on crown. What luck that he and his hilarious nurses had time and inclination to look after me immediately!

The sushi was a treat after listening to Izumi sensei’s Provost’s Lecture at OIST. The lecture is part of the ritual connected to becoming a full professor and getting tenure. Yay Izumi!

A diversion from the main narrative . Things are lower in Japan. I notice this more and more as my knees become increasingly arthritic and useless. You sit down expecting the bottom to meet the seat once your thighs are more or less parallel with the floor. Not so in Japan, there is anther 6 inches of knee pain before the huge bulk finally settles.

I go down to the marina to check that the boat is nicely covered and moored so she can resist the inevitable typhoons.

Whilst at the marina, I pop over to Kiyuna San’s boat. There’s a party going on! A vicious squall has blown in and we shelter on his boat. We are Kiyuna, Kano, Okomoto, a guy from the University of the Ryukyus whose name I have forgotten, a new friend from Tokashiki who is a beekeeper and of course Jacko. The wind howls, the rain pelts whilst we eat fresh bread rolls with lots of delicious honey, drink liters of tea and tell jokes.

We have a farewell dinner at the best restaurant in the world. https://www.google.com/maps/place/恩納村こだわり沖縄料理「心の宿」/@26.4221552,127.7484782,15.39z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x34e510926b027a45:0xa6d9e10ea3d82e9a!8m2!3d26.4295568!4d127.7545419!16s%2Fg%2F124ympx8j

Sorry to leave you Okinawa but I’m off to California in the morning.