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Category Archives: This & That
Ikebana Progress
It’s almost possible to forget that I am in Tokyo—glorious autumnal Tokyo—to study ikebana. Classes ended for an extended period between the 20th and 29th of October due to a major exhibition at month’s end. Given that amount of time … Continue reading
Finding Dinner
Though I often choose to enjoy my large meal at lunch (because a large meal mid-day is about half the price for the same standard of food and service), every day, no matter where I am, I face the question … Continue reading
Rias Kammerchor Berlin in Tokyo
During my recent two-week recess from classes, extensive travels followed by technical difficulties with WiFi connection and balky computer performance, I continued to enjoy the pleasures of Tokyo’s various wards. In early November as part of a five-concert tour of … Continue reading
Akita: The True North of Japan
Sometimes an idea calls me. When it does, I like to say yes. The day after visiting Atami I used my JR East Rail Pass to visit Akita City. It is home to the Akita Museum of Fine Art: Hirano … Continue reading
The MOA Museum of Art in Atami
When I bought the Shinkansen tickets to visit my friend in Yonezawa, the ticket agent informed me that it would be cheaper to buy a JR East Rail Pass. A pass would allow me five unlimited trips in a seven-day … Continue reading
A Weekend in Yonezawa, Yamagata
Cloud streaks caught the setting sun and bathed the valley in soft light as I disembarked from the Shinkansen at Yonezawa Station on a late October Friday afternoon. The crisp air was faintly redolent with smoke–like incense–as farmers had burned … Continue reading
A Period of Technical Difficulties
It has been a while. Longer than I’d hoped. After an eventful weekend in the Japanese countryside followed by jaunts to distant areas of Japan and several hours on trains to write about the adventures, the computer got balky.
Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, This & That
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Halloween Karaoke Party
What do you dress as when you’ve unexpectedly been invited to a Halloween karaoke party and you don’t want to spend big bucks on a costume? I’d bought a cheap wig in Tokyo but left it behind as it was … Continue reading
Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, This & That
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The Flow of Time: DESIGNART TOKYO 2018
October moves into its final week and I am more acutely aware of the flow of time as my stay here is limited to the end of November. There are only so many days until Christmas, and in what will … Continue reading
When Everything Claps
In Plautdietsch or Low German, a language used among Mennonites for more than 500 years, there’s a saying: Daut klaupt aules. Meaning everything claps. In English we say everything clicks to describe such a state of convergence. Monday’s International Class … Continue reading
Posted in Ikebana, Japan, Travel & Culture, This & That
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