I haven’t had many of them, but this was one of those days where from the first moment, everything just seemed destined to be right. The road to Kurama is a winding path; at a glance the distance appears to be quite near, but it is quite far. – Sei […] Read more
If you’ve never been to Kyoto, it’s mighty hard to grasp the sheer magic of the place. In a way I find it a rather frustrating destination, because no matter how much time I spend here I can always find a list of things a mile long that I don’t […] Read more
I swear there are times this country is so sugoi I think my head is going to pop like a champagne cork… It’s Hatsumode time in Japan, and that means a visit to a temple or shrine on the first three days of the year. For many that comes on […] Read more
I wouldn’t exactly call attending Comiket fun, per se, but in a way I do think it’s sort of (stay with me here) inspirational. I think I played up the sheer terror of Comiket in my mind so much that in the actuality of the thing, it really wasn’t all […] Read more
Nikko is a good place to go if you want to dispel the notion that all of Japan displays a Zen sensibility. I made the 2-hour trip to Nikko yesterday. Along with Kamakura it’s probably the most historically important (and popular) destination with reach of an easy day trip from […] Read more
Holidays are a wonderful way to bring the differences between cultures into focus. I spent Christmas Eve in real Tokyo style – in a proper Japanese queue. I waited over an hour to slowly proceed through another Tokyo tradition – the “light-up”, this one at the Tokyo Midtown complex in […] Read more
Sometimes the reality lives up to the fantasy. This post was derailed by my untimely meeting with e.coli (or his cousin salmonella) but before I fell ill I’d spent the day on a return trip to Kamakura, wanting a chance to revisit on a sunny day and take things at […] Read more
It’s finally autumn for real in Tokyo, at least as far as the momiji are concerned. I stopped by the Koshikawa Korakouen yesterday before school. It’s about a 15-minute walk from my apartment, and quite a lovely place, though there’s something a bit surreal about walking a 17th-Century stroll garden […] Read more
This batch is pictures is from a day trip out to Kamakura with the school. The weather was a bit rainy, but that adds an even sense of great age to Kamakura’s structures. This was the capitol of Japan from 1185-1333, and it has an astonishing array of temples (many […] Read more
This edition is all about Tokyo conspiring to keep me from getting too comfortable. We had an earthquake here yesterday, one of about 4 or 5 since I’ve been here that have been strong enough to really feel. This one, though, was the first one that’s really caught my attention. […] Read more