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Sayonara, Japanese for Here Comes the Jetlag

When it comes time to put a bow on an exchange, I try to think back on the significant moments of the trip.  There were many–Kyoto, the Peace Peak, the Umeda Station Crush at rush hour, getting nipped by the mynah bird at the pre-school, the lines of school children in uniforms and white floppy [...]

A Candle for Jim

James Tillman was born eighty-six years ago in Evanston, Indiana.  His mother was, as most women were in that day, a housewife. His father, David, was a milkman who made deliveries in a horse-drawn wagon.  Jim was a child of the depression, and although his family didn’t have much in the way of money, he [...]

The Next to Last Samurai

The crew went to Himeji to visit the castle, which is the best preserved of the feudal castles.

This is Himeji Castle, where Tom Cruise *wishes* he lived.

One of the many gates to the castle keep. The ribbons are to remind you that feudal shogun were four feet tall, and you are not.

Stairs of death.  Many [...]

Tokyo–Japanese for Too Damn Many People

Seems like everybody wants to say they’ve been to Tokyo.  Sort of like everybody wants to see Rock City or get run over by a speeding bus.  It just so happens that Tokyo–which wants to be NYC so much, its become LA–is a mix of both.  The crew took the Shinkansen up the coast to [...]

More Shasin

More pictures…

A shinto tori at myajimaguchi. It floats as the tide rises, balanced by its own weight and structure.

Red wine and beer nuts.  Go figger.

Part of our crew.Teachers are rock stars in Japan.

Prayers written on snowy white paper, tied to branches of a tree.

It is said that [...]

Fuji, Baby

This is a one in a million shot by my adopted sister, Denise, but I only had to pay 10 dollars.
She took it from the window of the Shinkansen train as we traveled to Tokyo for a day trip yesterday.  Normally, Fuji is masked by clouds during the summer, so this was a rare sighting.  [...]

Picture Day!

Today’s  pictures are from the trip to Hiroshima, Myajima, and Iwankuni.  They’re under the cut, and they are big.

This is the Kintai Bridge, built by a samurai lord, Yoshikawa Hiroyoshi, in 1673.  It was washed out by a typhoon in 1953 but was rebuilt.  It’s high arcs and wooden structure remind me of the spine [...]