#kitakyushu

小倉から約1時間20分、香椎神宮駅に到着しました。

本日、最後の目的地　香椎宮に到着しました⛩️

相変わらず、大好きなスポットです♡

早速、お礼参りの参拝🙏🏻

前回は色々な種類のおみくじがありましたが、今回はこの一番オーソドックスなおみくじだけ。

折角なので引いてみました。

"吉"でした。もしかして、私の運気上向いてきてる！？

17時まで滑り込みでしたがお礼参りの参拝もできて良かったです✨

So I've just started reading this book and two chapters in, I'm already glued to the story.

It's about a fictional convenience store called "Tenderness" (as you see on the cover above), which is like a blend of Japanese convenience stores LAWSON and Family Mart.

It feels like a relaxing slice of life jdrama which introduces you to the various characters working and visiting the store, and the life happenings and the shenanigans they get caught up in.

While the store is fictional, the location is real, it's at Mojiko Retro in Kitakyushu of Kyushu, which is near Fukuoka. As the book title says, the store is by the sea, which is Sea of Japan, facing Busan (Korea).

Not sure if the characters are the same for every chapter or show different ones each chapter, but so far there are three characters I find interesting. Shiba, Tsugi and Mitsuri.

Shiba is the store manager who is described to be very good looking and charming that it draws wild crowd of screaming women craving for his attention, which is hilarious like an anime.

Tsugi is the mysterious resident's "handyman" who looks shady with his messy hair and beard, driving around his mini van with junks on it, who solves everyone's problems when the situation calls for it.

Mitsuri is the married woman who works part time at the store and finds Shiba and Tsugi intriguing (not in a romantic way), wondering why one is so charming and why one is so mysterious.

If they were to make a live adaptation jdrama, I imagine it would be like Call Me Chihiro. And Kasumi Arimura easily comes for the role of Mitsuri, with Tomoya Nakamura as Shiba and Go Ayano as Tsugi.

Interestingly, Kasumi Arimura and Tomoya Nakamura acted together in Ishiko and Haneo, where they have a sibling like chemistry, with their endless bantering and her poking her nose into everything.

Tomoya Nakamura also acted as a convenience store chain director in A Warmed Up Love.

Go Ayano's role in Tokyo Swindlers also convinced me he's perfect as Tsugi, whom, Mitsuri described as not bad looking if it wasn't for his messy hair and beard, and gloomy looking outlook.

EDITED

Read another chapter which revolves around four students, whose characters and personalities reminds me of Great Teacher Onizuka Remake.

Mizuki, the leader of the girls group in school who is an overachiever and expect others to be like her (both students and teachers) or follow her at least. She reminds me of Haruna Kawaguchi's character.

Azusa, Mizuki's close friend. She's not as "smart" and "bold" as Mizuki and seen by other girls as Mizuki's shadows, following everything she says even when she has a heart of her own to follow. She reminds me of Yua Shinkawa's character.

Kanako, the one who always snitch on other girls to get in a better position with Mizuki, and probably see Azusa as a threat, wanting to get rid of her so she could take her place. She reminds me of Honda Tsubasa's character.

Nyatu, the outcast who is the unpopular girl in class with her own family problems that becomes the target of Mizuki and her gang. Azusa wants to befriend her but don't dare out of fear of Mizuki. She reminds me of Mariya Nishiuchi's character.