From Monday to Tuesday, I visited Ueda in Nagano Prefecture with some friends and my son. When he was middle-school age, my son didn't go to public school but instead attended Hitonoma, an organization that includes a free school. Motoshima-san had been a staff member there and when he left and moved to Ueda about seven years ago, the children seemed to be feeling too lonely to express themselves. He was like a brother or uncle to them, and they had had a lot of fun with him.

Motoshima-san is currently working as the vice-chairman of buzzcre.net, a NPO that facilitates social gatherings and mutual support. It does everything from operating a homeless shelter to managing a theater. He's always championed art and welfare.

A few months ago, Hitonoma children's families made a donation to it, which prompted us to visit Motoshima-san. So, this trip was a kind of our alumni association, and 18 people from four families joined in.

Although this trip was short, I had so many interesting experiences that I'll write about them in a few upcoming posts.