Koga’s clinic right away. Kizu had wanted to go over to say hello personally, but Dr. Koga was busy tying up loose ends before their move to Shikoku. Ikuo relayed a message from the doctor that he couldn’t spare the time right now and would see Kizu later; holding out hope because he’d said later, Ikuo took it upon himself to see that things proceeded in that direction.Dr. Koga had been raised in an area behind the Tokyo University Hospital, where his father worked, and the only traveling he’d ever done before now was plane trips to academic conferences in the Kansai region, Kyushu, and points in between. The village they were heading to in Shikoku had a clinic but no regular doctor; since he would be taking charge of the facilities, Dr. Koga had already gone there once to consult about the clinic. Since that trip was by plane, from Haneda airport to Matsuyama, when it came time to move to Shikoku he said he hoped they could make the whole trip by train.After many years in America, and knowing he wouldn’t have another chance to travel by train across Japan, Kizu also thought it would be nice to see scenery different from that in which he’d been raised as he journeyed to the site of his final abode.
