Category: Japan

Japan Plan

On a bone-chilling day, planned for warm weather in places I love. Made hotel reservations for a three-week trip to Japan with Dwight, our nephew, and his dad. We’ll fly to Kagoshima, then slowly make our way to Tokyo by train. The pandemic put the kibosh on previous attempts at this trip.

Other Places

While Dwight drove his mom to her home up in Fargo, I planned my quick trip to another distant place, at least in my head. Ramen at the counter of our local izakaya before the Guthrie crowd, then home to a mythical Japan, an anime movie from Studio Ghibli.

Beneath the Surface

Walked past a construction site, which got me thinking about Azuma House in a working class suburb of Osaka. I’d made a point of standing in front of that home last week: it raises questions; with answers I warm to it. “Like” or “Dislike” are not enough.

Japan 2022 Itinerary

I’m home from a solo three-week trip to Japan. As usual, I made it up as I went along based on research, past experience, and whim.

I visited three of Japan’s main islands: Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Hokkaido didn’t make the list this time because winter was setting in there and I didn’t want to carry winter clothes.

Tokyo Hike

Took the train to Asakusa, Tokyo, walked back until I ran out of time. Along the way it was my kind of urban hike: huge temple; buildings not intended to last (that’s OK); the only Le Corbusier building in east Asia (went in); stark transit infrastructure (love it); and the gardens of the Imperial Palace.

Tenju-an Temple

Kyoto is over-loved like so many A-list places. For this reason I’ve avoided the city for over ten years. Today I visited for a few hours, took the subway to places that have escaped top-ten lists.

A Piece of the Past

Dwight’s uncle was posted to Kyoto at the end of WW2. Today, I walked around his old stomping ground trying to reconcile some of his photos with today’s Kyoto. When I matched this 1946 photo I must’ve reacted: people started to gather around me and were excited to see the old photo. More…

Teshima Art Island

Walked across Teshima, one of the “art islands” in the Seto Inland Sea, looking for art installations. At one point, sat on the floor in a vast concrete inside space while little rivulets of water slowly formed around me, only to “find” tiny drain holes. (Photography wasn’t allowed.)