It’s about a 10-minute drive from Shinmachi Chanan to the Ryukyu Glass Village. While in the car on the way there, Kurosaki gets increasingly excited. “I’ve always wanted a Ryukyu glass, but it was too expensive, so I gave up on it. But now I can make it myself!” He’s excited about it. That’s right, at the Ryukyu Glass Village, the glass that’s made isn’t just sold; there’s a program where you can actually make it yourself and use the finished product as your only piece of work in the world. Since it’s such a special occasion, let’s all try it out together! First, we’ll have to go through the registration process and choose the color of the glass we want to make. Because I have a special connection to it, Kurosaki struggled a lot to choose the one I wanted.

I’ll try it the way I practiced several times! First, I stand and wait. Then, when the glass attached to the previously clean stick arrives, I breathe into the tube-shaped stick through a piece of paper like a lotus. This is because I blow air into the glass mass to make it hollow inside. I create the prototype of a cup. “Whoa, I think I managed it.” Next, I sit in a fixed position and wait for the heated glass to arrive again. It’s exciting... When it arrives, I jump into action immediately! I open my mouth and shape the glass. If I don’t open it properly, it will become a difficult-to-drink cup. My expression is one of serious concentration. I work on it with all my might.