An Evening in the Village with a Village Singer!

Kazuomi Sasai. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After meeting up with Yamamoto-san today (Monday, March 25), I made my way over to Ningyocho Station to meet with Kazuomi Sasai, a member of the Village Singers. If Sasai-san seems a bit familiar to you, that's because he should be. We met just a few days ago.

I figured that meeting with Sasai-san would be the only one before leaving the country. But then the next day Sasai-san messaged me and offered to meet me again on either the 25th or 26th at Futako-tamagawa, a train station near my home.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive this offer, and I eagerly accepted. A few days later, I asked Sasai-san to tweak the schedule, as I would be coming a bit closer to Sasai-san's home, and it would fit perfectly in my schedule. Sasai-san accepted my proposal, and we met as planned.

Sasai-san wasn't too familiar with the area and asked where I wanted to go. Coincidentally, there was a big advertisement for a burger shop called Brozers' near the exit where Sasai-san was waiting, which looked pretty enticing. 

Inside Brozers'. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I pointed it out to Sasai-san, but, when he asked me if I knew where it was, I admitted that I didn't. So Sasai-san took out his phone and called the establishment. They gave him directions, and off we went.

We were looking for a police station, at which we were supposed to turn right, but the police station never appeared. Sasai-san asked a random shop employee where it was, and he found out it was in the opposite direction. So we had to change direction and try again. 

Ultimately, we found the police station, so Sasai-san called back to get the rest of the directions. Thankfully, the restaurant was basically a stone's throw from the police station, so we got there without further incident. 

I was quite amused by the layout of the restaurant. All the posters on display had a "brother" theme to them. When I pointed out the Blues Brothers poster to Sasai-san, he mentioned that one of the pair was dead. 

While we were there, I asked Sasai-san about the Village Singers' performance of "The Midnight Special." It wasn't performed in the 1960s or '70s but sometime in the 2000s. I still would have loved to  have seen it, though.

The Iron Claw is going to get delivered to you ... in burger form. Photo by Brett Homenick.

We also spent a great deal of time talking about California. He loves the beaches in the L.A. area and remembers the names of many of them. He especially loves Laguna Beach. We talked about California, as well as my family. It was a great discussion. 

Sasai-san expressed interest in visiting California again, and of course I encouraged him to come. I insisted on paying for our dinner, and then we walked back to the station. Sasai-san and I will stay in touch, and hopefully we will meet again in the near future.