Words, of course, are the most powerful drug used by mankind.
- Rudyard Kipling
-
Recent Posts
What interests you?
Category Archives: Japan, Travel & Culture
A Visit to Tokujyo with the Tanaka family
Opulent draperies, colourful banners and golden bells glow in the natural light streaming through the surrounding clerestory windows, a startling contrast to the dark and deeply shadowed Japanese temples and shrines I have seen before. Continue reading
Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture
Leave a comment
Korankei Momiji Matsuri
The Harada family (who were my host family some years ago) and I clamber into the van of their friend and chauffeur for the day, Kanago-san. With the GPS chattering and auto-TV going simultaneously, we head out of Toyohashi toward the … Continue reading
Omiyage: Ritual Gift Giving in Japan
A special kind of agony in travelling to Japan—especially if one has numerous friends—is ritual gift-giving. The need to bring a souvenir omiyage is problematic for non-Japanese (NJ) on several levels.
Enkai in Toyohashi
Voices call out: O hisashiburi (a greeting acknowledging a long time of separation) as people pad across the tatami in the narrow room. They welcome me with bows, gifts and Canadian-style hugs, as our connection goes back almost 20 years. … Continue reading
Returning to Toyohashi
Coming into Toyohashi Station without a pack of nervous teenagers dragging their suitcases behind me feels odd. I haven’t been here since the last home stay exchange program I coordinated in 2005. Too long. And though the building remains the … Continue reading
Waiting for the Shinkansen in Tokyo Station
I’m off to Toyohashi. As this is my first unaccompanied trip by Shinkansen (bullet train), I’m early. Just to make sure. My anxiety is rising. Departures are displayed in Japanese and English overhead, but the Kodama 647 isn’t up yet. … Continue reading
Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture
Leave a comment
A Wedding in Kamakura
We witness a wedding at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu in Kamakura. Continue reading
Kamakura Daibutsu: The Great Buddha of Kamakura
I’m left with a a heightened awareness of something more in a perception that first registers as less. Continue reading
The Nezu Museum & Garden, Tokyo
The Nezu Museum is exactly the wonder I sensed it would be. Attractions aren’t always. Continue reading
Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture
Tagged Architecture, Kengo Kuma, Mitsumasa Fujisuka, Nezu Museum
Leave a comment