Upon Arrival in Sakurajima

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. SITTING ROOM - 21:30 (YESTERDAY)

6. 
   

7. Watching TV news, PETER looks excited.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): Oh, Japan's Sakurajima volcano erupts, prompting highest alerts.

10. 
    

11. On screen, we see remote red images on mountain top and thick smoke in the sky.

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Those red stuff must be lava shooting out from one of the craters.

14. 
    

15. Recalling.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Several years ago, I visited Kagoshima. There, I visited Mt. Sakurajima twice.

18. 
    

19. Recalling.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was hoping to see and feel eruptions first hand.

22. 
    

23. Pausing.

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Now, I'm seeing the eruptions on TV. Residents there must be feeling very tense.

26. 
    

27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. INT. BEDROOM - 23:30

30. 
    

31. Wardrobe. Selecting a T-shirt with the words "Kagoshima Sakurajima" and a device depicting a red volcanic crater and silver smoke in the sky, Peter wears it.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.): I bought this T-shirt at the Yunohira Observation Point. It's the highest point accessible to the public.

34. 
    

35. Recalling.

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I first heard about Kagoshima or 鹿兒島 "Young Deer Island", I found the name appealing.

38. 
    

39. INT. STUDIO - 17:00

40. 
    

41. Carrying a white Yamaha electric bass guitar, Peter plays some bass lines to the beats.

42. 
    

43. PETER (V.O.): Enjoying the harmony is what I love to do. My professional work is full of dissonance.

44. 
    

45. Peter grabs his smart phone to check on screen his travelling destinations 2016-2017.

46. 
    

47. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was 62 going on 63.

48. 
    

49. We see on screen: May-Sapporo, June-Guilin, July-Nagoya, Aug-Hainan, Sept-Okinawa, Oct-Shenzhen, Nov-Kagoshima, Dec-Tokyo, Jan-Kuala Lumpur, Feb-Taichung, March-Kyoto & April-Da Nang.

50. 
    

51. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I flew direct from Hong Kong to Kagoshima and return in Nov 2016.

52. 
    

53. FLASHBACK

54. 
    

55. INT. RESTAURANT, KAGOSHIMA CITY - NIGHT (NOV 2016)

56. 
    

57. Peter is having soup noodles.

58. 
    

59. PETER (V.O.): Kagoshima is historically important for its "Last Samurai". Sakurajima is now the symbol of Kagoshima.

60. 
    

61. EXT. KAGOSHIMA PORT - SAKURAJIMA - DAY

62. 
    

63. Ferry terminal. Following a few local TOURISTS, Peter gets on board a vehicular ferry.

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O.): Great! It's like the modern version of Yau Ma Tei vehicular ferries in the 1970s.

66. 
    

67. At the ferry kiosk, Peter buys a sweet potato before going to the front to enjoy it and the panoramic view.

68. 
    

69. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And this extended crossing is especially for tourists.

70. 
    

71. As the ferry is about to moor, we see a welcoming PARTY at a pier floor waving at the tourists.

72. 
    

73. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I think the number of the welcoming party is larger than the number of tourists.

74. 
    

75. Peter waves back at them energetically.

76. 
    

77. EXT. SAKURAJIMA FERRY TERMINAL - YUNOHIRO OBSERVATIONAL POINT - DAY

78. 
    

79. Travelling on board a tourist bus with a few PASSENGERS, Peter would get off at bus stops to take snapshots.

80. 
    

81. PETER (V.O.): It's good that the driver would wait as the bus runs at hourly intervals.

83. Observational point. Peter stares at the Mt Sakurajima as the bus leaves.

84. 
    

85. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Except for the song of the wind, it's quiet here.

86. 
    

87. After taking a few photos, Peter retreats to a souvenir kiosk, buys a T-shirt and then reads leaflets.

88. 
    

89. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The powerful eruption of lava in 1914 has formed the land connection between the island and the peninsula.

90. 
    

91. Pausing.

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While Sakurajima is no longer an island, I don't see any deer here.

94. 
    

95. END FLASHBACK

96. 
    

97. Act 3

98. 
    

99. INT. SITTING ROOM - 21:30

100. 
     

101. Peter is watching TV news. There's no mention about Sakurajima.

102. 
     

103. PETER (V.O.): In Nov 2016, my mood was very different from now.

104. 
     

105. Pausing.

107. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was still undergoing "sanitization", avoiding conflicts of interest as a retired senior civil servant. I treated travelling as alternative work.

108. 
     

109. Pausing.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And some 10 months later, I began private practice and that has been impacting on my creative mood adversely.

112. 
     

113. Pausing.

114. 
     

115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The experience I believed I'd welcome is quite like the forced one upon arrival in Sakurajima.

116. 
     

117. Reflecting.

118. 
     

119. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I know now what experience actually turns me on.

120. 
     

121. THE END

122. 
     

123. FADE OUT