Picking Up Stones with a Fellow Stone Enthusiast on the Shores of Mie: Infinite Stones | Memories No. 126-2 |
April 8, 2023.
Stone picking with Ishizukida-san. Time for a lunch break.
Near beaches where stones can be collected, there are usually few restaurants. That’s generally the case everywhere.
There happens to be a fast-food burger chain nearby, but since we came all the way to Mie, we decided to try a local spot instead. We chose what I assumed to be a Western-style diner nearby. I ordered curry rice and a mixed juice. The curry rice was plain, reminiscent of simple homemade curry. But after the physical activity of stone picking, anything tastes delicious. Energy restored.
Even during the meal, the topic was stones.
When I’ve gone stone picking with TADA, the conversation inevitably turns to stones too, but with Ishizukida-san, it’s non-stop: during the drive, during meals—stones, stones, stones. And yet, the stone talk never runs out.
After quickly finishing our meal, we headed back to the same spot we had been collecting stones from earlier.
Later, we decided to move to a slightly different location for a bit of variety. The coastline here is long and continues for quite a stretch. The types of stones don’t suddenly change, but the sizes and such tend to differ slightly depending on the spot.
Stone picking trip｜Mie prefecture coast
We were back again. Round two begins.
Come to think of it, it’s rare for me to spend several hours collecting stones on the same beach. Usually, when I travel far for stone hunting, I visit three or four beaches, spending about an hour at each spot.
From here on, we would walk along the monochrome stone beach once more, endlessly picking up stones.
Stones have been picked and arranged—a clear trace of the Stone People at work.
The weather is beautiful, and even the weeds look lovely.
Déjà vu.
Zazazan. Zan.
Zan.
I always think about how resiliently plants grow even along the coastline.
And thus begins the endless stone gathering.
Rolling, rolling, rolling~.
I wrote this last time as well, but the true charm of the stones doesn’t come across at all. The quality of the stone, its texture, and its patterns are great, but these can’t be conveyed through photos.
Among these countless stones, there are occasionally some with very unique patterns, and I continue searching for and picking them up. Already, the figure of Stone Lover is nowhere to be seen. They’ve likely entered the stone zone and have merged with the stones themselves.
Black, white, gray, and occasionally beige.
Rolling, rolling, rolling.
After picking up stones for a while, I get tired and just stare blankly at the stones and the sea.
And then, I pick them up again.
After picking up stones for a while, it was time to select the ones we liked with Ishizukida-san and move to a new spot. So, which ones did Ishizukida-san choose? Let’s see, let’s see!
Stones picked up from the sea｜Mie prefecture coast
Looks good!
As expected, Ishizukida-san’s selection is impressive. The stone picking battle—though, I don’t feel like competing. Our tastes in stones are so different. This is what makes stone picking so interesting. There are stones we both agree on as “good,” and then there are others that one of us finds interesting, but the other doesn’t. The stones that only I like. The mystery of why they’re good, which is hard to explain—it’s fascinating. It’s something that’s hard to put into words.
Still, once again, I forgot to take a close-up photo. So sad.
The most interesting stone here, in particular, is the third one from the top, the one with three black lines on a white background, forming scratch-like markings that look like they were made by a beast. It’s rough and cool, adding character to the collection.
These are the stones I picked after selection. Somehow, they feel a bit plain. Among them, the ones I like the most are the ones on the far right in the vertical column: the top one that looks like a snowy scene with branches, and the one at the very bottom with the striped pattern. This striped stone, although black and gray, looks like a watermelon when placed vertically. It’s quite interesting.
The stones I’m saying goodbye to. Looking at them now, I feel like the stones on the left and right of the bottom row are actually quite nice.
Fire Stone. I can’t quite remember if I brought this one back. This stone kind of resembles Wilson from the movie Cast Away. In the film, Wilson is the volleyball, marked with Chuck Noland’s (played by Tom Hanks) blood, that, as Chuck loses his mind on the deserted island, becomes a figure that seems to take on a personality. It’s one of my favorite movies, and I highly recommend it to everyone.
With that, stone collecting at this beach comes to an end. We’ll move to a different spot for the last round of stone picking, but before that, we decided to take a break at a roadside station. There, much to my surprise, I got to see Stone-Lover-san’s personal stone collection.
Rustling, rustling. Stone-Lover-san casually pulled stones from the car and started lining them up on the bench at the station. Th… this is!!
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!””Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!””Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!””Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Aaaa
To be continued. Farewell.
→Various stones I have picked up so far
→ Read from the first stone diary
You can choose a stone diary from / at the bottom of the menu on the right side of this site.
→ The Beginning of the Journey
→ Aomori Edition
→ Beyond Aomori
→A photographic work by ISHINOHITO.
→SHOP
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石グッズ
石の人をサポートする
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石標本（Instagram）
石の日々（Twitter）
石の光と海の音（YouTube）
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いしひろいたろう
いしひろいたろうのはなし（Instaggram）
いしひろいたろうのすべて
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Toumo
toumo.net
Instagram
online store
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今回の石の人のおすすめ（2025 1/19）
トム・ハンクス
・キャスト・アウェイ
〜もはや顔を見ただけで泣ける俳優
トム・ハンクスの映画３選〜
・フォレストガンプ
・グリーンマイル
・ターミナル
アブサン最高
・PERNOD アブサン
・アブサン・ラ・シャルロット
・キュブラー アブサン ヌシャテル
「今回の石の人のおすすめ」のまとめ
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石の人の本・写真・記事
・石の人の本 2025年2月予約開始
・ユリイカ 2024年9月号 特集「石」（表紙と口絵／石の人）
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石の本 その一
・日本の石ころ標本箱
・地球の石ころ標本箱
・石ころ採集ウォーキングガイド
・いい感じの石ころを拾いに
・石はきれい、石は不思議
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石の本 その二
・石の辞典
・石が書く
・すべてのひとに石がひつよう
・石と人間の歴史
・小品盆栽「遊びの道具」
・美の壺 水石
・美の壺 枯山水
・BRUTUS 珍奇鉱物
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石の漫画・絵本
・宝石の国
・宝石の国
・無能の人
・はまべにはいしがいっぱい
・君たちはどう生きるか
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