Friday, July 4, 2014 Tokyo Still Totally Transfixed by Tokyo Although our hotel is ideally located (right opposite Tokyo’s Main Station), it is tiny, its attached bathroom so minuscule that the two of us cannot stand inside at the same time. Still, with Llew showering in the morning and me at night, we managed somehow…
All posts in Japan
Totally Smitten by Tokyo
Totally Smitten by Tokyo Thursday, July 3, 2014 Fabulous Sighting of Fujisan: So, as hoped, the Mountain God was benevolent this morning and, as soon as I awoke, at 6. 30 am in Michael’s Hotel at Mount Fuji, I rushed to the window to see if the cloud cover over Japan’s tallest mountain had…
Discovering Mount Fuji and Its Environs
Wednesday, July 2, 2014 Mount Fuji and Its Environs Today would have been a most disappointing day but for three occurrences that redeemed it at the very end of the day. We awoke, as usual, about 6. 30 am, made our way to the Dining Hall of the Hotel Via Inn by 7.…
A Sobering Excursion to Hiroshima and An Uplifting One to Miyajima
Tuesday, July 1, 2014 Hiroshima and Miyajima We had an ambitious day ahead of us, so it was not surprising that we awoke at the crack of dawn, washed hastily, got dressed and left our hotel, sans breakfast, to catch the earliest train available going west from Kyoto on the island of Honshu which is…
Zen Garden, Bamboo Grove, Shinto Shrine, Imperial Palace–All in a Hard Day’s Sightseeing Work!
Monday, June 30, 2014 Kyoto, Japan A Zen Garden, A Bamboo Grove, A Shinto Shrine, An Imperial Palace—All in a Day’s Sightseeing Work! Not needing to rush out anywhere this morning gave us a chance to enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the Dining Hall of the Via Inn Hotel where we re-connected with our friends…
Strolling Along The Philosopher’s Walk
Sunday, June 29, 2014 Kyosan-Kyoto The Philosopher’s Walk Buddhist Temple Service at the Crack of Dawn: Given our unusual sleeping arrangements (on the floor), we slept surprisingly well although I did awake a couple of time during the night, only to fall swiftly back into slumber. But having set our alarms for 5. 30 am,…
Living the Monastic Life in Kyosan
Saturday, June 28, 2014 Kyosan, Japan Spending a Day in a Buddhist Monastery in Kyosan: We awoke at the crack of dawn, alarms clocks duly set. Racing through a wash, we went downstairs to the Dining Hall for breakfast—we have come to expect a uniform sameness about the offerings each day—and then set off at…
More Temples Today: Kiyomizu-dera and Chion-In Temple
Friday, June 27, 2014 Kyoto, Japan Hard to believe that a whole week has passed since we arrived in Kyoto to start attending lectures and discussions on Medieval and Pre-Modern Japan. This morning, when we sat down to breakfast with our colleagues, it felt as if we had known each other forever. Academic conferences have…
Nary a Dull Moment in Nara & Taking Tea with a Buddhist Abbess
Thursday, June 26, 2014 Nara, Japan Today was all about superlatives: biggest, tallest, oldest, holiest. It was a day for exploring some of Japan’s most sacred Buddhist sites and to marvel at the devotion and artistry that made such construction possible. We were all excited about visiting Nara—a compulsory stop on any Japan itinerary—kind of…
It was Temples,Temples all the way…Kitano, Ninnaji, Kinkaku-Ji
Wednesday, June 25, 2014 Kyoto, Japan Hit by Migraine: I most certainly spoke too soon when I said that jetlag hasn’t been too problematic. Well, tine zone change plus our sumptuous banquet plus the plum cocktails I consumed last night hit hard and I ended up waking at 3.00 am with what appeared to be…