Hawaii has a lot going for it. Billboards are illegal, healthcare is almost universal, and the British Union Jack on the Hawaiian flag harks back to a time when these were the Sandwich Islands. Hawaiians consume more Spam than any other population in the world. You find it on “mixed plates” throughout the state, accompanied… Continue reading My Hawaiian Junk Drawer
Category: Imagined Journeys
A Gate Agent’s Conundrum
I hold my phone close, but the boarding pass scanner rejects me. The agent guarding the gate gestures me to scoot sideways towards his colleague at the podium. Podium Colleague does not make eye contact, she sighs as she pokes at her keyboard. “Your seat has been reassigned to someone with higher status,” she informs.I… Continue reading A Gate Agent’s Conundrum
Channeling Eva Gabor in Kirishima
As the floor plan shows, the lower levels of big Japanese resort hotels have something for everyone. Last week, in Kirishima, Kyushu, Japan, I walked through the hotel’s amusement area dressed in a yukata, clutching a towel, heading for the stairs to the outdoors hot springs. People were laughing and joking and drinking. Their… Continue reading Channeling Eva Gabor in Kirishima
Channeling Eva Gabor
Posted Channeling Eva Gabor. Karaoke and worse.
A Day to Forget
OK I admit it: I got tired of figuring out this place all on my own, so I signed up for a “Landmarks and Viewpoints” tour for foreign visitors. This was a day to forget. At exactly the appointed time the bus rolled up to my Okoyama (Honshu) $26 a night capsule hotel (Hotel River… Continue reading A Day to Forget
A Day to be Forgotten
I write about a day to be forgotten. Yikes.
Decoding a Crane
What are we thinking? I’m in Japan. A lone crane swoops low over a large, exquisitely landscaped pond. There are two other bystanders; they smile contentedly as the crane reinforces a common bond, evoking fragments of mysticism, national treasure, longevity, good fortune, origami, the number 1,000, childhood memories, and current dreams. I’m seeing a crane… Continue reading Decoding a Crane