Pagoda at Nachi-san
The three-story pagoda Seiganto-ji is part of the Kumano Sanzan temple complex in Nachi-san at the end of the Kumano kodo pilgrimage trail. This is a very special place, located near…
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November 25, 2013
Of drinking and not driving
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…
November 22, 2013
Riding the Big Tuna
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,…
November 20, 2013
Bus train taxi ferry taxi train
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…
November 19, 2013
Yunomine Onsen
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…
November 19, 2013
Misty Mountains
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…
November 16, 2013
Dawn in the High Fields
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…
November 13, 2013
Mt Koyo
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…
November 13, 2013
On the Kumano Kodo
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…
November 13, 2013
Of Deer and Men
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…
November 11, 2013
Coming into Nara
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…
November 10, 2013
Sayonara Kyoto
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…
November 9, 2013
Getting lost is good
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…
November 8, 2013
Wandering through gardens and temples
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…
November 6, 2013
Hidden glimpses of the beautiful
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…
November 6, 2013
Noriko tries to poison me
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…
November 4, 2013
Getting to know Kyoto
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…
November 4, 2013
Coming into Tokyo
We were landing at Narita, Tokyo's biggest airport. Waking up, I groggily pulled the shade up and looked down on an almost nighttime landscape wracked with fog. There was something…
November 3, 2013