First, breakfast. Then off to the Kamogawa River.
This group includes models Hayaya Kuroyanagi (left), Kenshiro Nakamoto (right), Yuto Inada (center left), and Oraina (center), as well as visual artist Shou (center right). We’ve met through work, gone for runs together, run into each other at events, and sometimes found that a friend of one of us has become a friend of ours before we even realized it. That’s the kind of relationship we have. However, since it seems there are hardly ever opportunities for all five of us to get together in Tokyo at the same time, everyone looked just a little bit shy when we gathered that morning. Still, by the time we finished breakfast, we were back to our usual selves. The atmosphere felt like the start of summer vacation.
It was just past 7:00 a.m. Our first stop was “Good good not bad Kyoto,” located along the Takase River. We sat down outside the shop, sipping our drinks and munching on a light breakfast, and began by catching up on what everyone had been up to. Without even checking our detailed schedules, we chatted and laughed, and little by little, the five of us fell into sync. “Being able to talk leisurely here first was a great icebreaker,” said Mr. Kuroyanagi, the oldest member of the group. Looking back, that morning served as a great warm-up for the day.
Next, we headed to the Kamogawa River in the morning. As we walked along the riverbank and spotted the stepping stones, we all started crossing to the other side in rhythm, as if by instinct. Nakamoto, who had attended a university in the Kansai region, said with a smile, “Even though I used to live in Kyoto, this is actually the first time I’ve crossed it. I never imagined today would be the day,” he says with a smile. Once one person jumps, everyone else follows. From the cyclists passing by right next to us to the birds along the riverbank, everything here looks like a painting.
