On December 28th, I returned home after a two-week business trip to a pearl cultivation farm for the sorting of harvested pearls. Upon arriving home around 1:00 PM, I immediately started crafting bracelets for orders had received. I began crafting around 2:00 PM, needing to extend the bracelet length by about three pearls. After carefully selecting pearls that complemented each other, I drilled holes in each one. I crafted one bracelet with blue thread and another with green thread, which I had to purchase from a store.
I opted for a durable 20-gauge thread suitable for pearl necklaces and bracelets. Crafting with the green thread proved challenging due to its unexpected thickness, but the result was a robust bracelet. I completed both bracelets after 5:00 PM and proceeded to pack them in gift boxes.
Since I left most of my business tools at the pearl farm during the business trip, packing was a bit different this time. Nonetheless, I packed each bracelet meticulously, prepared individual letters, and completed the shipping process at the post office around 8:30 PM. These tasks concluded around 8:30 PM.
Around that time, my younger brother contacted me, saying, “I’m off from tomorrow. My wife and kids are at her parents’ place. Would you like to come over?” My home is about 70 kilometers away from my brother’s place, a 2.5-hour ride on local roads or about 1 hour on the highway. Although I couldn’t ride my motorcycle during the business trip, I felt the desire to do so now. I decided to visit my brother. Despite the cold temperature of around 4 degrees Celsius at night, riding the motorcycle was enjoyable for me. Concentrating on driving provided a sense of freedom. I arrived at my brother’s place around 10:00 PM, having used the highway. However, I got lost in his neighborhood, as I omitted detailed address input on Google Maps due to the cold. Eventually, I found his place after several rounds of confusion.
Although it was late, my brother and I went to a local barbecue restaurant. He had recently changed jobs, and I learned a lot about his new work environment and relationships. The key takeaway from our conversation was, “Rather than economic concerns, one should pursue what they truly want to do.” This sentiment was echoed by my brother’s colleagues and clients. He works as a caregiver, interacting with diverse individuals, including former yakuza members and even an elderly person who was once a corporate executive. They all emphasized the importance of respecting one’s will over financial matters, especially in old age. Inspired by this, I have been contemplating economic stability and my personal aspirations lately. Thus, hearing these stories from my brother was insightful, and I decided to follow my path without hesitation.
We stayed at the barbecue restaurant until around 2:00 AM. The next day, we explored the city and visited instrument stores in Kyoto. Both my brother and I share a hobby of playing the guitar. Riding our motorcycles through Kyoto, we visited various instrument stores and explored the downtown area. Having been occupied with pearl sorting during the business trip, this leisurely exploration in Kyoto was refreshing.
Around 4:00 PM, my brother and I went to a rotating sushi restaurant. After that, we parted ways. I rode my motorcycle back home, a 2.5-hour journey from Kyoto. It was extremely cold, requiring several stops to warm my fingers by placing them near the motorcycle’s muffler. Upon reaching home, I immediately took a warm bath, spending about two hours in it. It was around 10:00 PM when I finished bathing, and I fell asleep comfortably amid the fatigue.
On the 30th, I returned to my hometown. I arrived around noon and, along with my mother, cleaned the family grave.
After completing the grave cleaning in about an hour, my brother’s family and later my brother’s family arrived at my parents’ house. In total, we were ten people who went to a barbecue restaurant.
Although we decided on visiting the barbecue restaurant spontaneously without a reservation at the year-end, we managed to secure a 10-person seat at the fourth restaurant we checked after searching for a while. The family meal after a long time was lively and enjoyable. Even my father, who usually doesn’t join family meals, participated this time. He seemed to enjoy the meal surrounded by his two grandchildren.
My parents used to take my siblings and I to this Yakiniku restaurant over 30 years ago when I was in elementary school. Back then, my brothers and I were most excited to be able to order Bayaris orange juice from this shop. My parents forbade their children from consuming sugary juices until they were in high school.
After finishing the meal, everyone returned home to my parents’ house around 8:00 PM. We started the meal around 5:00 PM. It was lively with my 4-year-old and 9-year-old nephew and niece playing various games, making the atmosphere lively.
The family dog, Lulu, seemed perplexed by the noisy children.
It’s now 10:00 PM, and the two nieces and the nephew are asleep. With the house quiet, I am writing this article. This entry is more like a memorandum. In the first half of this year, my activities on Etsy.com were limited, but I had a fortunate second half with many customers. I believe that the process from sorting 20,000 pearls starting in May to creating necklaces resonated with several customers. I intend to continue valuing and sharing the stories of each pearl product, detailing how it came to be and how it was created.
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