Quiet. Peaceful. Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. And I’m just happy to be here. The Japanese hooking up excellent vegan food yet again. Fukuoka!
Month: July 2016
Never Again
8:15 a.m. August 6th, 1945. Hiroshima, Japan NEVER AGAIN. Hiroshima transforms, but always remembers. Always.
Ju On
I awoke this morning not knowing where I’d be tonight. Now here I sit, so overcome with joy inside the American style Italian restaurant Fandango. Norah Jones & Enya calming my fears. I was searching fruitlessly for a specific veg friendly place as well as an ATM that accepts cards issued outside Japan. I walked the…
Transcend
Releasing my breath like rain into the eternal ocean. Destroying my selfish ego. Wafting incense through corridors of magnificent cedars. 200,000 or more of Kukai’s fervent disciples wishing to be buried as close as possible to the eternally meditating Kukai’s, believed to be still alive and praying for his believers worldwide. I walk the path…
Journey to Koyasan
Glad my phone’s still here; wallet,too. There are no locks on doors here, at the 900 year old Rengejoin Buddhist temple on the sacred Koyasan mountain. During evening meditation, my phone and wallet were left unattended for a couple of hours. I left behind most of mainstream civilization. This being modern-advanced Japan, however, there is…
A Sacred Space
Mount Inari: one of the most fascinating, interesting, intriguing, uplifting, cool, spiritual places I have ever visited. Yes, there are legions of tourists below at the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. Especially when you do exactly as a more experienced American traveler in Japan told you exactly not to do, by going in the afternoon….
A Sacred Space
Mount Inari: one of the most fascinating, interesting, cool, spiritual places I have ever visited. Yes, there are legions of tourists below at the famous Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. Especially when you do exactly as a more experienced American traveler in Japan told you exactly not to do, by going in the afternoon. However, the…
The Truman Show?
Is this city, this nation for real? Did the cashier at Family Mart convenience store just bow fairly deeply to me more than once? Are these tiny, winding streets always so quiet and so dang clean? Do numerous employees of a large bank actually all immediately drop what they are doing as you walk upstairs…
Tokyo, Enough Said.
Bump of Chicken rocking out on one of the huge movie screens high above traffic The ubiquitous vending machine, even on remote corners. Noteworthy public bathroom hospitality Open air You Tube recording studio on a street corner This is how I ordered this food (rice with a grits coating) two nights ago [imagine a photo…
I’m Not a Bar Goer, But…
…Shinjuku district of Tokyo is a new spot for me. I have not drunk alcohol since August of 2000 and do not plan to ever drink again. But the atmosphere here is overwhelming. Visualize this: 8 foot wide pathways snaking through a pocket of Shinjuku, not far from where my Red Light photos were taken….
Red Light District: Kabukicho in Tokyo
Honestly, I had no idea my Air BNB apartment would be a half mile from the epicenter of a sprawling red light district–the largest I’ve ever seen. Incongruous scenes abound: huge open air game centers–everywhere around here–directly next to massage parlors which are essentially brothels; a cinema complex showing the new Dory Disney movie across…
First Glimpse of Tokyo
Five pictures on my first day, curated just for you all (and uploaded while underground with best roaming and wi fi reception I’ve ever known). Iyashiman8 on YouTube
Don't Let My Parents Read This 