SETSUKO HARA AND CHERRY BLOSSOMS! A Full Day in Kamakura!

Actor Shigeo Kato in Kamakura. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (March 30) I paid a special visit to Kamakura. I always have a blast meeting Toho actor Shiego Kato, and given that I happen to have a lot of free time for my birthday week, I decided to come see him again.

After having coffee, we made our way to the Kamakura City Kawakita Film Museum in order to take in a special exhibit on the late actress Setsuko Hara. The exhibit featured many rare photos and movie posters. While looking at one poster, Kato-san pointed out to me that the film was directed by Yasuki Chiba, a director he worked with and admired.

Following that, we made our best attempt at viewing the cherry blossoms. The only problem? They're not in full bloom yet! Still, we enjoyed seeing what there was to see!

While the cherry blossoms may not have been out in force, the tourists were. It was very difficult to get from one place to another. I suppose they were expecting the cherry blossoms to be in full bloom, but that was unfortunately not the case.

Today was a very fun day, and it encompassed Japanese movie history as well as Japanese culture. I feel it's very important for me to make the most of my time here, and that means not letting opportunities to do cool and unique things pass by.

Thank you very much, Kato-san! Let's do it again soon.