23.11 nowhere / Toyama
One fine morning to nowhere cafe in Toyama… a place where i’ve been warned about the cold winters but also a place where i would be surrounded by so many warm and wonderful people. The streets in my neighbourhood were lined in an autumnal bloom. Having never been to Toyama i wondered about the landscape…
We gathered our train tickets and hopped into this station and that.
The train sped through an amazing sea view which had me jumping out of my seat.
It must’ve been about five hours or so, after countless short naps and transits that we stumbled out of Hayaboshi station in Toyama where a tall, friendly man introduced himself as Eiichi Yasukawa of nowhere cafe… I was so happy to meet this person. He had been really supportive of our music and i’d long heard from haruka nakamura about the lovely Yasukawa family.
Soundcheck with haruka nakamura.
The show went great! Each warm applause gave me energy to do better for the next song. There was a 15-minute interval break (where haruka would be joining us for the second set to play as a trio) and we simply retreated upstairs to the Yasukawa’s home to have a breather. It was kind of a strange feeling… to go home while you’re in the middle of a show. Their home was so comfortable that i even was worried about getting a little too relaxed…
I had never signed so many autographs in my life…
After the show ends, suddenly tables are arranged in a long row and the Yasukawas start whipping out dish after dish of delicious food, a little like a fairytale party.
This super potent chicken soup really had my energy restored after the constant travelling. What an amazing group of people, including antique shop owner Suiheisha-san and trilingual Azumi-san who travelled from Hokkaido. Mr. Yasukawa springs a surprise gift – an miniature horse cast in metal, an antique from the aforementioned Suiheisha. I love it! Hours of good times spent with friends of nowhere till late, and we say our goodnights, goodbyes.
The best sleep in a long while at nowhere’s guest room. This is the most beautiful home i have ever put up in. Clean white spaces, spotless floors, amazing furniture and most of all, being with the Yasukawas… how their faces radiate with happiness, kindness and warmth.
I decide to forfeit some sleep and sneak out of the house early morning to capture the magic hour because i couldn’t leave without taking some pictures of this amazing structure… Last night i had asked Eiichi-san about the beginnings of nowhere… He revealed that he was an architect and he had a dream of his own cafe, so he built nowhere on his own. And the name “nowhere” was taken from Ride’s first album!
So it was time to say goodbye.
This reminded me of one of those drama scenes where family members had to say goodbye across train platforms, sending off their beloved child or younger sibling to the big city! It was indeed hard to say goodbye. Eiichi-san and Aiko-san, i will never forget your kindness. Thank you for taking care of us.
The last scenery of Toyama, out of the back train window. It was like a sad picture trailing off into the distance. Goodbye Toyama, goodbye nowhere. I will see you someday again, i’m sure.