Author Archives: Lynda Philippsen

Shinrin-yoku (Forest Bathing) in Mt. Douglas Park

In addition to practicing pick-up lines for potential nameless encounters during my next visit to Japan, I have begun a walking regimen. I won’t be able to hop in the car to get where I’m going during my three-month stay. … Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, This & That | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Thoughts on Father’s Day

For decades I faithfully created a special and memorable celebration for Father’s Day. Now six years after his death, it’s an empty spot on the calendar—like a tooth you’ve lost. It doesn’t ache as it did in the beginning; still, … Continue reading

Posted in This & That | Tagged | Leave a comment

Learning to Speak Japanese: Frustration 101

One of the things we know is that a positive attitude toward a subject we wish to learn contributes greatly to our success in that endeavor. Successful language acquisition depends on two main factors: the motivation of the student and … Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

PWAC BC Regional Volunteer Award 2016-17

From mid-April last year much of my life revolved around my mother’s hospitalization, death, memorial, selling her condo, settling her estate, selling my home and moving from Abbotsford to Victoria within a period of five months. After that I focused … Continue reading

Posted in This & That | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The People: Kishin Shinoyama Exhibit in Kanazawa

I manage to catch the last day that photographer Kishin Shinoyama’s photographic exhibition The People is showing at Kanazawa’s stunning 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. (Do take a peek at the building here as it is beyond words.)

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Silence: Musings on Scorsese’s Film

I agree with Matt Zoller Seitz the editor in chief at RogerEbert.com who states that Martin Scorsese’s Silence is a film you experience and then live with. That’s true in spite of its flaws.

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, Reviews | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Beginners and Beginnings

Last week I downloaded Microsoft’s Translator to my phone. Now I can  photograph, keyboard or speak into the phone and get an instant English to Japanese or Japanese to English translation. Someone with whom I wish to communicate can hear … Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, This & That | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Tanigumi Kegonji: A Satori Experience

As part of the ongoing celebration of five years of blogging at The Way of Words, today I reprise a single story in 5 posts. These describe an  intense experience in a remote Japanese temple during a single afternoon which … Continue reading

Posted in This & That | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Terrace House is on Netflix

The last time I was part of a group where everyone minded each others business was before adulthood. During that time I belonged to a church; a small, conservative, community of Mennonites who despite their unique culture, good works and … Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, Reviews | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Sumimasen: So Sorry

So sorry. I’m overdue. I ought to have posted some time ago. Though you wouldn’t know it to look at me, I’ve been busy. What have I been up to, you ask. Answer: Binge-watching Netflix.

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, This & That | Tagged | 1 Comment