My friends at Craftsy write: "With the holiday season fast approaching, remind your followers that they can give the gift of making by gifting your Craftsy Flower Photography class!" It's…
Aya, her father, and a business associate met me at the small Awa Yamakawa train station. It was already getting dark, so we drove across the river to a restaurant…
When Kayoko at the Sakuraya Guesthouse in Nara had helped me figure out my transportation logistics, she saw the Nankai Ferry ticket in the folder from the travel agent, and exclaimed,…
At the long-sought end of the Kumano kodo lies Nachi-san, a sort of religious Shangri-la nestled in the mountains with---finally!---a view of the Pacific Ocean. While some pilgrims do it…
Yunomine Onsen is an ancient spa town in the middle of Kumano kodo territory. A hot creek runs down the middle of the town next to the road; you can…
At 6AM my iPhone alarm rang. I raised my head off the futon, pulled the screen aside, and peered out the window at a world of driving rain. Yunomine Onsen…
The end of the day's walking on the trail was at the Kumano Hongu Taisha. This temple has been the center of the Kumano Shugendo faith for over a millennia.…
Early morning light coming through the Shoji screens woke me. I opened the screen and stared out at a chill world with fog hanging in the distant valleys. This was…
Getting to Mt Koyo from Nara took a taxi, two different trains, a cable car, and a bus. Mt Koyo itself is kind of like Arlington National Cemetery and Westminster…
I am hiking on the Kumano kodo at last. It seems like a long time ago that I started planning this trip. Amazingly, everything is working. To get to the…
There are many things both old and new to be seen when wandering Nara, Japan. I particularly liked the gardens and temples. But oddest of all are the tame deer…
I took a casual inter-urban train from Kyoto to Nara. The ride was about an hour. Nara is a city with ancient roots---it was an imperial capital before Kyoto, and…
It is with sadness that I leave Kyoto behind. I hope I come back soon to this mysterious city (both ancient and peculiarly modern)---so I can learn more of its…
Getting lost can be frightening, and at the least provokes anxiety. But getting lost can be good because it compels one in adventures and directions one would not have undertaken…
I spent the day wandering through and photographing some of Kyoto's many gardens and temples with my camera. Mostly in the vast Nanzen-ji temple complex. I also walked the so-called…
What is it about Kyoto that makes it so attractive to Japanese, and to people from around the world? Why was Kyoto Steve Jobs's favorite place to visit in the…
Well, not really. In actual fact, Noriko took me to a wonderful, varied and seasonal dinner at a restaurant with no external signage in the Gion district of Kyoto. The…
I don't know what to make of Kyoto yet. Coming from Tokyo on the Nozomi Super Express #23 bound for Hakata, a Shinkanzen (bullet train) among Shinkanzen, it was clear…