(Skies and stations here and there)
（続き）
I boarded the Shinkansen an hour earlier than my self-made timetable.
Express Reservation's non-reserved seating. Not only are the seats free choice, but the train itself is too. It's easy-going, yet somehow, I still find myself mindful of the time.
Added to that, the crowding from Shin-Osaka and Kyoto. For the sake of speed, one has to endure this and that.
I arrived earlier than planned and intended to eat kishimen noodles on the platform at Nagoya Station. However, as it was approaching lunchtime, queues had already formed both at the ticket machines and inside the shop.
I wouldn't queue up to eat anything.
I moved to platform 10 and decided to take the Shinano Limited Express, which was also an hour early.
There were still 30 minutes until the train arrived. Even so, people had already started lining up on the platform for the non-reserved seats.
I'd considered buying an ekiben (station bento), but decided to give that up too.
Groups of foreigners with backpacks, travelling with their families, seemed conspicuous. I was impressed that even such young children were heading for the mountains, but it made me picture the famous mountains overflowing with people.
I spent the journey to Shiojiri, my transfer station, gazing absently out the window. In my mind, fragments of memories from my youth surfaced and faded, connecting to other recollections in disjointed ways. Memories of time are like twisted paper tape. Near and distant recollections sometimes touch unexpectedly.
Nakatsugawa, Lake Hanano. ... The sign reading ‘Negishi’ on the freight train I saw on the platform at Shiojiri Station.
I bought a White Kaku Wisky with Water at a kiosk displaying that nostalgic sign. I spent about an hour on the platform at Shiojiri Station, waiting for my connecting train, with broccoli in basil dressing as a snack to accompany my drink.
The distorted world through a wide-angle lens settled comfortably within my heart.
自ら作ったタイムテーブルよりも１時間早い新幹線に乗った。
エクスプレス予約の自由席。席も自由だが、乗る列車も自由。気楽なものだが、それでも、何故か時間は気になる。
加えて、新大阪、京都からの混み具合。速さのために、あれこれ我慢することになる。
予定よりも早くに着いて、名古屋駅ホームの、きし麺を食べるつもりでいた。が、そろそろ昼時であるため、券売機の前にも、店の中へも、列が出来ていた。
どんなものでも並んでまで食べたいとは思わない。
１０番線ホームへ移動して、特急しなのも１時間早いものへ乗ることにした。
列車到着まで未だ３０分。それでも、自由席のホームには人が既に並び始めていた。
駅弁でも買おうと考えていたのだが、これも諦めることに。
バックパックを担いだ家族連れの外国人グループが目立つ。こんな小さな子供らも山を目指すのかと感心するが、名だたる山にも人が溢れる様を思い浮かべてしまう。
乗り換え駅の塩尻まで、車窓風景をぼんやり眺めて過ごした。頭の中では、若い頃の記憶が、切れ切れに浮かんでは消え、また別の記憶へと、脈絡のない繋がり方をした。時間の記憶は、よじれた紙テープのようだ。近いところも遠い記憶も、思わぬところで接していたりする。
中津川、椛の湖。……塩尻駅のホームで目にした貨物列車の「根岸」の表示。
懐かしいキオスク表示のある売店で買った白角水割り。バジルドレッシングのブロッコリーをアテにして、塩尻駅のホームで約１時間過ごし、乗り換え列車を待った。
広角レンズの歪んだ世界が、私の心には、しっくり収まった。
Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/kei-suenobu.bsky.social/post/3m3vllaz5222z
The music used for the slides was
Alumo
Inspirational Waves
SoundCloud
