I went to the Akita Museum of Art. The main exhibition was Hokusai Manga, but there was also the Hirano Masakichi collection. Both were better than I expected, and the Hokusai Manga exhibition only opened today, so I was lucky.

Honestly, the previous exhibition was rubbish by comparison. I could tell from the moment I walked in today. As if I'd suddenly remembered, I thought, "now this is art." Apparently it took Tsuguharu Foujita fifteen days to paint that picture.

Notes on Hokusai Manga: Observe first, then draw. An artistic researcher. Sharp powers of observation. The god of manga. He drew his whole life, and it was his reason for living. The manga artists of this generation have definitely been influenced by Hokusai.

Same as da Vinci: he observed the things around him, and thought deeply and drew in order to understand them.

More of a researcher than a manga artist, maybe.

He drew things like animals, plants, buildings, martial arts, weapons, craftsmen, and so on in great detail, and it was amazing.

He drew 150 volumes in his lifetime!

I don't think he drew for other people. I think he drew so that he himself could understand this world. It's a different motivation, but as a result he became a famous artist and manga artist. Didn't most groundbreaking scientists, artists, and writers have the same motive? I think Einstein, da Vinci, and Picasso were the same. It was to convey their own way of seeing things.

Photography was prohibited, but I managed to take just one in the Hirano exhibition. There were lots of staff in the Hokusai Manga exhibition, so I couldn't really take any photos. It was all good and I wanted to photograph it, so that's a shame.

I also went to Kubota Castle, where there was a museum about the castle's history, but honestly I didn't understand a thing, which was painful. I'd worked hard reading for hours at the art museum, so my brain had stopped working, and I was hungry too. The words blurred together and the meaning became vague. When the text was written long ago, it gets even harder to read. Generally I read the words I can read and guess the meaning from context, but that's what wore my head out. Even so, if I keep trying every time, one day I'll be able to read it. There was an observation deck on the fourth floor too, so I took loads of photos and calmed down while looking at the view. Sometimes it suddenly hits me: that I'm on my own, on the opposite side of the planet from the UK. I came to this city with nothing but a tent, a bike, and my luggage, and now I'm looking at a beautiful view. I had a similar thought yesterday. While looking out at the Sea of Japan, it really struck me. This world is ridiculously big, and yet compared to the universe, the Earth is tiny. Compared to the universe, we're nothing. But how lucky to be born into such a wonderful world. I can't believe I get to experience the beauty of this world every day. Maybe I'm losing my mind, but I gazed at the sea for a long time trying to think about how big this world is, and it wore me out. It's just too big. It's beyond me.

I was starving, so I looked up Akita's local food again and found Akita Hinai Jidori-ya. It was a high-end oyakodon, but it wasn't that expensive for what it was, so I gave it a go. It was delicious! I really love oyakodon and katsudon, so any restaurant will do, but this place was truly special. The egg 🥚 and chicken 🐓 were top quality too, and I felt satisfied afterwards. It's packed with protein as well, so that's two birds with one stone.

My favourite passage from First Person Singular is one where the narrator says a woman never rang a certain special bell deep inside him, however hard he listened for it. He decides that this kind of thing happens, or doesn't, somewhere far down in the mind or the soul, and that nobody has the power to change it.

Back in Bristol I was always doing Side Quests with my best friends Kekeli and Radi (something halfway between messing about and extracurricular activities), so I got nostalgic and decided to go on a Side Quest.

Before that I'd been in a café at the station, but I got bored and wanted to go somewhere. I looked at Google Maps, thought Akita's downtown looked interesting, and set off. Japan is quite similar to the UK. The cities in the south are big, with tall buildings. The cities in the north are comparatively small, which may be for economic reasons. But as in the UK, the northern cities have a character all their own, and personally I tend to take to towns like this. In a way, it's as if I can relate to the city. Akita is the same, so I grew fond of it in just this one day. Anyway, the downtown wasn't that big, but it had personality, which I liked.

As I rode around, I noticed several people making something. I kept riding, and then on another street I saw a finished one. It was a big lantern structure, something like a sail or a pole. When I asked, I was told "it's a traditional culture", but they didn't tell me the name. I was told it's a culture unique to Akita Prefecture, and that this year too they're making 208 of them in the city. Apparently there's a festival this August as well. The people making the lanterns were kind too: they let me hold one and took a photo for me. It was as heavy as I'd expected. Even though I can speak Japanese, one man interpreted everything everyone said. It was funny, though, so I didn't really mind. A man who looked like a strong sumo wrestler said, laughing, "but he can speak loads!"

Before going to eat ekisoba, I went out towards the suburbs to watch the sun set. I rode in the direction of the sunset while listening to Cosmic Freeway by Yeek, an artist I like, and just about caught it. I also found a spiral staircase on a railway bridge, climbed up, and looked out at the view.