I returned home on June 9 and over the weekend everyone stopped by at one time or another. It was wonderful and Jen made it special. In...

I often think of rabbits, projecting onto them an intelligence they probably don’t possess. Nevertheless, I imagine that the cute,...

I never intended to spend the last 6 weeks in Japan. After Thailand, my plan was to fly to Ho Chi Minh City then on to Fukuoka mid-May. ...

The rain ended, leaving in its wake flooding throughout Japan and rail service all but shut down. But in the morning, at least on my...

It rained and rained, and rained some more. At least 6 inches they say. But Hibari held up, and the rest of Kyoto did too, from what I...

Some days you just want to ride the train. You want to rest the legs and allow the mind to wander. No maps to suggest a destination. ...

My father was a railroad man. In his day, those who chose that life treated the traveler with utmost care. Even after my father left,...

It’s the start of the rainy season. It, and whatever is left of Typhoon Mawar when it reaches the mainland, likely means wet weather...

It rained all day, a good “stay at home day” as Liam says. A day to sort through photos and put them in albums. There were several I...

I spent the morning at Hōnen-in, a small Temple a short way up the mountain slope on the eastern edge of Kyoto. A friend told me it...

Having set it aside for a couple of days, I decided to revisit Deep Kyoto Walks. Rather than consult the Table of Contents, I went...

About an hour south of Kyoto Station on the Kintetsu Line is Nara, the last stop. Small in comparison to Japan’s major cities, people...

Kyoto Station, traffic central for all of Kyoto and the surrounding area, is a 30 minute walk from Hibari Hostel by the most direct route...

Last evening, just before shutting things down for the night, Yusuke told me a priest was coming in the morning. “He’s going to exercise....

I was thinking of Pa this morning. Wondered how his team is doing and whether his eye is as good as ever. He says he hit over 400 last...

I started the day intending to follow the plan devised the day before. Select a random chapter from Deep Kyoto Walks. Do a cursory read....

It was odd at first, traveling without Pa, on the train to Kyoto without him to compare notes. But - and I don’t want Pa to know this -...

Pa has Spring Fever and he’s gone home. I knew it would happen - baseball, family reunions, and all. “Not for long”, he assured me. ...

Beginning with Nepal, there have been shrines everywhere Pa and I have visited - Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, and now Shinto. But there’s...

We’re back in Beppu for a couple of days, wanting to experience its “onsens” - its hot springs. Beppu, with more than 2,500, is Japan’s...