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...

Walking down the street, a woman, low to the ground, caught our eye. She gestured for me to come over. Without a word, she pointed to a...

Pa is a funny guy. Not in the humorous sense so much. Although he does tell a good joke from time to time. And he sees the irony in...

Nagasaki is a small city, easy to walk around. Not quite quaint, but it has an old town feel. Young families, kids coming home from...

Images and Text from our visit to the Atomic Bomb Museum 庞壚(夕 The Ruins at Dusk 松添博 Hiroshi Matsuzoe Nagasaki, where the curtain of...

We’ve been staying at Mom’s House, a little place down the beach from Shimonakano Fishing Port. There’s not much at the port, which is...

Kyushu Island to the west, is a mountainous area ill suited for growing rice. But centuries ago, farmers became artisans after...

It’s said that the Three Pillars of Zen are Teaching, Practice and Enlightenment. For Lao-tze, the Great Treasures as he called them,...

What we knew of Mt Aso was sketchy at best, but there was sufficient sun when we left Kurokawa that we were confident we’d get to see it...

The rain that began as we descended from the Shrine, followed us all the way to Kurokawa and Hostel Aso Base. Through the night it...

Pa and I enjoyed our stay in Beppu. How could we not. The mountains, the sea, the good food and friendly people, the leisurely walks. ...

Today is Kodomo - Children’s Day - the last of Golden Week’s four holidays. I’m thinking first and foremost of my children and my...

It’s early, just our tenth day and still much to see. But some impressions have been made. Japan, like the rest of the world has been...

Phil sent me a photo. I like it. I like it for the colors, and that I’m in the land of the Rising Sun. But mostly I like it because Phil...

We’re staying at the Guest House Rojiura. Nothing special, but it’s clean, the shower’s hot, and the price is right. It’s on a quiet...