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The story
A thread went up on 5ch’s Newsspeed VIP board where an anonymous poster, writing under an ASCII-art (AA) emoticon character, live-blogged a solo walk around Kamakura with photos along the way. After riding the Enoden line to Kamakura Station, they worked through a mix of classic and slightly off-the-beaten-path spots — Omachi Yakumo Shrine, Hokoku-ji Temple (famous for its bamboo grove), a long-running crepe shop on Komachi-dori, and cookies from a local convent.
Rather than sparking debate or arguments, the thread’s charm comes from other regulars — each posting under their own AA character — chiming in with “this brings back memories” and “actually, I’ve been there too,” turning it into a shared, freewheeling group commentary on the trip.
What people said
./ *・ω・ヽ Way too cloudy out
Hi there, nano.
Nice to meet you, nano.
__,.,,_
./ *・ω・ヽ Welcome, Nano-chan
./ *・ω・ヽ The sea looks heavy too
__,.,,_
./ *・ω・ヽ ?
Re: #6
__,.,,_
./ *・ω・ヽ Morning, Nao-chan
₍₍ (ง´･ω･`)ว ⁾⁾ Yay!
ー＝三Σ（ ┐ノ
__,.,,_
./ *・ω・ヽ Welcome, Mambo
__,.,,_
./ *・ω・ヽ Couldn't get my Pocket WiFi to connect
so I switched to mobile data
Bring me snacks, bring me tasty snacks
Bring me some Kurumikko cookie scraps (the broken-piece bags sold cheap)
__,.,,_
./ *・ω・ヽ I'm broke though
./ *・ω・ヽ Getting on the train
__,.,,_
./ *・ω・ヽ Kind of
Haven't seen a wood-floored train car in ages
./ *・ω・ヽ Arrived in Kamakura
(´･ω･`) Brings back memories! This is the west exit, right?
./ *・ω・ヽ Kamakura Ogawaken
Rum raisin soft-serve
__,.,,_
./ *・ω・ヽ Is this one of those social-welfare-job clichés…
Maybe a caregiver or something?
(´・ω・`) It's nothing respectable like a caregiver, nano
I deal with people who range from slightly to completely broken, nano
__,.,,_
./ *・ω・ヽ Hmm
That sounds rough, nano
Re: #79
Hm?
Re: #80
What is this?! lol
./ *・ω・ヽ Kamakura's got spots like this once you get away from the station
(´・ω・`) That's not fair, nano.
That's smoked cheese, nano.
It's definitely delicious, nano.
(´･ω･`) It's Hideyoshi! I used to go there all the time
./ *・ω・ヽ Omachi Yakumo Shrine
The oldest misfortune-warding shrine in Kamakura
./ *・ω・ヽ Minamoto no Yoshimitsu's Tedama Stone
Nice sacred tree
./ *・ω・ヽ Made it to the real Komachi Oji, nano
./ *・ω・ヽ Oh, there's the site where Nichiren Shonin preached on the street corner
./ *・ω・ヽ Getting close to it
Apparently it's cursed
./ ・人・ヽ Came to the temple where Tsurutaro Kataoka's character committed seppuku in the Taiheiki drama
Namu Myoho Renge Kyo
(´･ω･`) Actually, this temple is tied to the time I met Hiroshi Fujioka
./ *・ω・ヽ This convent's cookies are amazing but they were sold out again 😭
Third time now
./ *・ω・ヽ This wagashi (Japanese sweets) shop definitely looks good
(´･ω･`) This shop even showed up in Oishinbo (the famous food manga)
./ *・ω・ヽ
./ *・ω・ヽ Hokoku-ji
Beautiful right from the start
( `･Δ･´) Ohh~
./ *・ω・ヽ Hokoku-ji really is great
Ashikaga Yoshihisa's yagura (rock-cut tomb)
./ *・ω・ヽ The bamboo grove
./ *・ω・ヽ Made it to the famous spot
./ *・ω・ヽ This is the only place I know on Komachi-dori
This crepe shop is seriously good
I came here when I was 9
The fact it's still around says a lot
./ *・ω・ヽ Made it to Zushi
Background and Discussion Points
The thread’s central figure, the “/ *・ω・ヽ” ASCII-art (AA) character, is a long-running staple of live-blogging threads on 5ch’s VIP board — each poster has their own signature AA, and regulars recognize and banter with each other’s characters as part of the culture. The format seen here, where one poster live-blogs a trip with photos while other posters chime in using their own AA characters, is a classic VIP genre known as “travel live-blogging” (ryokou jikkyo). Unlike a typical curated article, it has no script and no punchline. To an unfamiliar reader it might look like a meaningless string of emoticons, but this isn’t trolling or spam — it’s a stylistic tradition the board has kept alive for years. Also worth noting: the remark in post #97 about “the temple where Tsurutaro Kataoka committed seppuku in Taiheiki” isn’t about a real historical figure — it’s a joking reference to the role actor Tsurutaro Kataoka played in the NHK historical drama “Taiheiki,” and reading it as literal history would be a misunderstanding. No arguments or disagreements break out in the thread; what’s preserved here is simply the loose, easygoing way regulars catch up with each other while touring Kamakura’s well-known sights — a kind of interaction unique to this style of board.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Newsspeed VIP) thread “./ *・ω・ヽ A bored old guy in Kamakura.”
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