I got into town in the afternoon and called my brother via cell phone. He was on his way home, but wouldn’t be there for an hour or so. I parked in the shade and left my poor cat while I went for a walk. There wasn’t much to see in the neighborhood, except for endless blocks of apartments. I found a shop near a supermarket where I got a cup of iced coffee and drank it. There was a Mexican family having a loud conversation over doughnuts.

After my brother got back I took the cat and my things up to his apartment. I had some kitty litter, some cat food, my overnight bag, my jug of moonshine, and some sundry items to give to my brother. One of the things that I had decided not to take with me to Japan was a light-up picture of Jesus with his Sacred Heart, complete with a motorized, rotating rainbow halo. I couldn’t bring myself to trash it, and neither Ebay nor Craigslist turned up any buyers. My brother was the only person I knew with a taste for that kind of thing.

My cat was scared out of her wits. The presence of another cat in the apartment made it worse. We locked up the native cat in the bedroom and left mine to explore the living room while my brother, his fiance and I went out to the lawn to suck down some beers. It was a hot August day, and a muggy breeze blew in off the Potomac. We had a cooler full of Miller Highlife (the champagne of beers) and a jar of pimento-stuffed olives in brine. Three or four olives in a bottle of beer made for a refreshing beverage with a tasty treat at the end.

We had big plans for the next day, most of which did not work out. Too much traffic. We did get out to see George Washington’s old whiskey distillery. It seems old George had several slaves working full-time making rye whiskey. It was a pretty impressive operation. That evening we had a barbecue before retiring to the apartment for a night of singing songs and swilling moonshine. My cat came to sleep in the guest bed with me.

On the way back, my poor old  Honda Civic got a stuck valve and I drove the last four hundred miles back to Ohio with only three cylinders firing.

I should start with my final days in Ohio. It was last summer that I visited this town in the mountains with the missus. I landed a job at a sake brewery and flew back to Ohio alone. Mrs. Wang stayed behind in Japan to get an apartment lined up, and to save money on airfare. Back in Ohio, I had to quit my job, ship what of our stuff we wanted to keep, and sell or otherwise dispose of the rest – after sorting through it all, of course. I also wanted to visit my folks back in Washington before the move. I had about five weeks to do all of this.

I managed to sell the car, and even worked out a deal with the guy to let me keep driving it up until about three days before my flight to Japan. I sold most of the furniture and major appliances to folks from the factory. The apartment that we had been living in had shortly before that been bought by some management company from out of town, who had raised the rent and made us sign a one-year lease earlier that spring. Rather than argue with them about it, I just neglected to pay the rent for August. By the time the eviction notice came, I was already on my way out.

I also had a cat to deal with. The missus and I had anticipated this move and had made all of the preparations for importing the cat into Japan. The only problem was that the airlines refused to transport live animals during the hottest part of the summer. The cat would have to stay behind and follow us to Japan a few months later. So I took a Friday off from work and packed the cat in my Honda Civic for the eight hour drive to Alexandria, Virginia, to drop the cat off at my brother’s place.

That’s where I will pick it up from next time.

Weilong spent last winter working in a dark, frigid sake brewery. The hours were long, there were no days off, and the pay was lousy. On the plus side, hauling 30kg sacks of rice from half past six in the morning until breakfast got me back into shape. Better shape than I have been in for a long time, at any rate. That was a great adventure – one upon which I will elaborate later – but not a realistic career option. Now, I have joined a bustling local company. I have to pay my dues on the factory floor at first, but if all goes according to plan, I will move into the office after two years, and join management in five or six.

It is good to be back in Japan after an absence of five years. I am enjoying all of the amenities, including hot baths, delicious booze, and good food. Breakfast these days is rice, pickled vegetables, roasted fish and miso soup. On my days off I head to the local farm market to pick up fresh seasonal vegetables. I have some nukazuke going, and even ran a batch of moonshine last month. The missus is busy with her sashiko business. So busy, in fact, that she has had to stop taking orders on her web shop for a while.

I am heading into four consecutive days off now. The sun is getting high in the east, so it’s time to ride my bike to market. Maybe after I will stop for a cup of coffee at my favorite cafe downtown. Oh, and my apologies for the prolonged absence. I know there was at least one person who missed the updates.