July 1st and the beaches are now officially open, as is Mount Fuji - so it's now OK to go for a swim, or a long semi-vertical walk, whereas yesterday it would have caused consternation. Our local beach has had 6 or 10 rather magnificent bamboo beach bars erected on it over the last month, sunk into the sand, so tonight we felt obliged to show willing and respect local customs by sitting in one of them, 20 yards from the Pacific, the gentle rollers washing rythmically like they do (I never know how to spell rythm/rhythm/rythym... it's rhythm). Nice bar staff. Could become a habit - local customs and all that.
