OK, so I’m just going to say it: I’m getting old. In past years, I’ve felt like I can arrive in Asia and hit the ground running, so to speak. Today has been different. I woke a few times in the night, the first at 1:30AM Japan time wide awake. Then again at 5:00AM I woke and decided let’s start the day! Shower in the tiny bathroom and then a little work before I head out into the gale force winds in Tokyo.

The day dawned bright and clear with a cloudless sky beckoning me to enjoy these moments. I’m dressed for the wind and we’ll see how I handle the weather. My plan is to slowly make my way by foot to Ueno Park and stop for photographs along the way…see, that’s my thing on this trip: photography. Finding places that want to be photographed…or something like that. I’ve been reading The Tao of Photography as a way to open my mind to ways to see the world around me and my connection to it. Here’s to hoping these images offer something in the way of perspective.

…more to come over the course of the day…stay frosty my friends!

Walking through Asakusa to Ueno Park

To say the weather was chilly this moring might be an understatement. The temperature on a sign near the Sumida river showed 2 degrees Celsius. The wind was so strong between the buildings walking toward the bridge that crosses the river that it blew me sideways as I reached for a light post at the street corner. The group of people crossing the street with me to start walking over the bridge all gasped as one as we all reached for something…then a set of laughter broke out among the group and I suddenly felt so connected to these folks. We smiled at each other and quickly went on our way. At the crest of the bridge, the wind calmed and I stopped for a quick snap shot as I continued into Asakusa.

I woke so early and left the room around 7:00AM to find the city quiet. Businesses were restocking shelves or preparing for the day. Few people were on the streets and my early AM destination, Senso-ji, was practically empty. I was able to walk unhindered picking and choosing places to shoot. The wind was brutal at times and my hands were cold.

Senso-ji has been written about by many folks and I’ll leave that background for another person to write. My experience today was much more immersive in that I could easily walk up the steps of the temple proper and see the entire space. It was almost quiet in the structure and the chill bit hard in this place as the sun had not reached into the halls this early in the morning. Workers were using hoses to wash off the grounds.

A man using a very old-style broom swept bird droppings from the grounds as well as the rocks that accompanied the sculptures. These men made quick work of the grounds in a matter of the hours or so I stayed to wander. By the time they finished, it all looked clean.

Without an easy escape from the whirlwind, I kept going with my goal Ueno Park about 5 KM in the distance. I picked a side street and pointed in the direction of the Park, stopping for shots that came to me. I realized pretty quickly that I was finding my photographic voice when, suddenly, a message shouted out of my phone warning of an earthquake. The message read, “Emergency Alert / Earthquake Early Warning: Strong shaking is expected soon. Stay calm and seek shelter nearby.” That message shook me out of my revere and I stopped, as a few people did around me, waiting for something to happen.

At that moment, workers on the street in front of me just kept digging; a woman on a bike with a child kept riding. an elderly man looked my way, smiled, and then waited for the crossing signal to beep. I stayed put in front of a temple, waiting for any sign of shaking. An NHK TV message popped up on my phone a few minutes later. A 5.0 quake was detected nearby. Hmmm.

As you can imagine, I was a bit concerned and walked toward the Park as people went about their daily routines. I followed along. After a few minutes, I fell back into my rhythm, finding my way now on Asakusa-dori.

I hoped that the cherry blossoms would show some signs of opening…a couple of trees had started to bloom but clearly, the cold weather and rain had slowed the process. It looked like another week or so before they really started to bloom. So, I walked around among many locals hoping to see what I came to see. Many were disappointed as well AND the sight of elementary school kids heading to the museums roused me and I chuckled at their silliness. One group all had on pink hats; another group all held onto a knotted rope; still another was singing “It’s A Small World” in unison. I avoided photographing the kids as there is a strict no-photo policy for children. It was a fun sight to see and was a signal to make my way to another location.

As is sometimes the case, my travels have coordinated with other families I have met and today was one of those days. I connected with a former student and her mothers as we grabbed food at Kura Sushi, a fun conveyor belt sushi restaurant. The place serves all kinds of food, actually, and it was a blast to watch the food be rapidly sent your way on a conveyor belt above the table. I mean it was FAST! We enjoyed some lunch and our time was too brief. On the elevator down to the ground floor, I shared it with Yula from Russia. She was in Japan for twenty days and spending much of her time between Tokyo and Kyoto. We chatted for a couple of minutes and she showed me photos of a petting shop with dogs. I know little Russian and she very little English AND we definitely had fun laughing over petting dogs in a store.

Back on the streets of Asakusa, it was afternoon and the place was packed with humanity. Lines of people formed at various restaurants and in one case, a huge group was qued to grab some kind of meat on a hoagie roll. I counted something like 50 people. Wow! I was shooting with my film camera at the time and grabbed a quick phone shot.

It’s now 2:00PM here I’m back in the room for a little rest before I head back out for a nighttime photo shoot in Asakusa. After today, I’ll be going back to some places to grab more scenes that stood out to me. I’ve gotten a bit more bold in my street shooting and will play around with that technique in the coming days. The ONE thing I keep in mind for my film camera is Zone Focusing; set the focus for, like 10 feet and then try to shoot at F22ish to get most things in focus. I used that technique years ago and am bringing it back for this trip with a 35mm lens. I cannot wait to see the results.

I’ll leave you with this sign. It seems appropriate.

May you be happy, may you be well

It’s an early Albuquerque morning as the alarm sounds at 4:45AM. I’m lucky to be traveling and the cool morning offers a promising start to the day. I recognize my privilege in these moments and the chance to travel on my own terms. So many of us are struggling for basic survival and I’m on a trip to Japan during a break from work. The juxtaposition of my life right now with those who are just trying to live is stark and dramatic. As I embark on this journey, I offer my practice to those in need.

If you don’t know about Albuquerque, know that living in this place provides many of us with remarkable gifts. As a teacher and father, I’m filled with the wonder of this place. One of the small benefits to living in Albuquerque is easy access to airline travel. The city boasts one of the easiest airports to fly into and out of. For example from my home to the airport took 15 minutes. Security? 10 minutes. Wow. Small wonders.

My trip today takes me to LAX and on to Tokyo. I depart at 6:30AM and arrive in Tokyo tomorrow at 4:30PM. The 11 + hour flight across the Pacific is a long one and it’s worth the effort.

For the coming days I’ll be documenting my trip with photos, some video, and words.

On this day, I’m thinking about how our days are filled with little (and big) questions that present themselves to us. Right now, it’s this interesting moment:

A layover in Las Vegas…can’t escape the slots even out here at the gate! The sun just created the mountains to the east of the city. The has officially begun.

In LA, the gate most United Tokyo flights leave from are gates 70-76 (at least that’s been true for a while). The area is crowded with travelers as we all are waiting to find out seat on the plane.

We’re all in various stages of preparation; some folks are munching on their various food items, others listening to headphones, still others deep in conversation as we all wait…and then wait some more.

The flight to Haneda is 11:50 hr and is a bit longer due to some powerful headwinds along the California coast. Once we turn southwest, the winds switch to tailwinds as we make our way into Tokyo.

As we board the plane, everyone moves in an orderly fashion, moving slowly to their seats. For the first time in my life, I didn’t show passport or ticket; the airline uses biometric recognition. Takes about 5 seconds and the system either recognizes you (or not) and then you board.

Right now, it’s 4:15 AM in Tokyo and we arrive at 4:30PM. I’ll experience the tight subway travel to Honjo- Azumabashi (about a 50 minute ride).

That’s the end of this post for the day. More news and silliness in 12 hours!

May you be happy, May you be well

Our last excursion day led us to Nara and the shrines and temples in the central Nara district. Getting here from Kyoto, you’d think, would be relatively simple. In some sense, it is. You get on a train bound for Nara and then travel on that train to the city. However, the choices are many and sometimes confusing. Too, the prices vary dramatically as well as the amount of time it takes to make your way TO Nara.

Let me give you a brief example: multiple train lines have both local and limited express tickets. Those tickets vary by time of departure, time of travel, and cost. For the least expensive path to Nara, choose a local train that stops at every stop. It takes about an hour and ten minutes to travel that short distance. You could, of course, take the limited express. That train takes anywhere from twenty-eight minutes to about thirty-four minutes. The prices vary based on train line.

For us, we took the local JR train from Kyoto Station to JR Nara Station. We stopped at every JR station between Kyoto and Nara. It took 1:07 hr for the ride and cost 720yen. On the way back, we went to the Kintetsu Station and took their Limited Express, cutting off about 30 minutes of travel time for 1190yen. The Kintetsu train was very nice and the ride was very quiet. Too, we had reserved seats making the ride a bit more palatable considering many of us stood for a WHILE before seats became available on the JR train.

SO, why tell you this whole story? Because travel to Japan takes a lot of thought and consideration in terms of the time it takes and the money it costs to get around. I can say, with a lot of authority, that you can travel Japan very simply and very cheaply if you want to do that…it’s possible for your trip to cost a small fraction of what a tour company would charge you for the trip!

As for Nara, we arrived with heavy clouds and warm weather. We were met by a guide, the only one I have hired on this trip, and she was lovely. The Narawalk Company is a great group of people to work with and they were willing to alter their scripted tours for us. The price included bus fare and entry fees making our day very easy for us. A nice way to end the trip.

Nara is the historical capital of Japan and as such has so much history in this relatively small community. The BIG sights are close together and you’ll find that you can spend a couple of hours or, if you’re inclined, many days seeing everything the city has to offer.

Our walk began at the bus stop for the Kasuga Taisha Shrine. The tree-lined paths and the multitude of deer made this walk so pleasant. The crowds were small…quite small in fact, and we were able to go through the various shrines with a kind of ease that is rare in this part of the city and this time of year.

We fed the deer a cookie designed by the community and the deer bow just before receiving the meal. It was a treat to see us all feeding the deer and enjoying the experience of wandering paths with deer literally next to us.

By the time we walked through the Todai-ji Park, the weather closed in and a light sprinkle fell on us. We walked through the park to the temple and then entered this huge structure. It is the largest wooden building in the world and the massive quality of the structure was impressive and kind of overwhelming. Inside sits a bronze Buddha and the sculpture sits high above the crowds that wander through the room.

We heard lots of history about the place from our guide and then made our way to Kintetsu Station and the arcade that is attached. The walk from the park was an easy 20 minutes and we ate lunch and boarded our train back to Kyoto.

Will finish the evening packing for our flight from Osaka tomorrow and then make our way home on Wednesday evening. We will see Albuquerque soon enough! Is it OK to say too soon?

We were HOT! The temperature wasn’t the problem really…the humidity was extreme and we all felt it. Truly it was hard to just walk in the face of this weather. Our visits today were to the Nijo Castle of the shoguns, the Tenmangu Temple Crafts Market, and then on to Kinkaku-ji.

Today we had to take busses around the city. The nice thing about the bus system is that it goes right to your destination; the problem is they are absolutely packed with people…I mean squeezed into the small space of the bus. You didn’t dare sit down because you’d probably be there for a week.

The Castle visit was good and tempered by the heat. We made it through and saw the remarkable screen paintings, the incredible architectural design, and the massive walls and motes surrounding the entire castle.

From there we hopped on Bus 50 for the Kitano Tenmangu Temple Arts and Crafts Fair. So many people and we stayed for just an hour as the heat really started to take its toll on us all. We decided to finish our day at Kinkaku-ji rather than continue to Ryoan Zen Garden. The group divided into the Monkey People and the folks who needed a rest.

The Monkey People…those who wanted to see the Monkeys were DENIED by an early closure for the park. Instead, they went to the Bamboo Forest and wandered around Arashiyama.

I’ll come back to this page and write more about the day…right now, I want to get this page out to the folks!

As part of travels in Japan, I set aside a day in which students can find their way on public transportation and across Kyoto. The day is there own…to create or imagine in whatever way they wish. In the past students have stayed in the house, wandered to Nishiki Market, gone to museums, temples, shrines, or even gone to a movie. The day is theirs in whatever way that looks.

ON this day, this year, students went to all corners of the city; whether it was Kyoto Station, Aeon Mall, or manga shops. We all found our own path, whatever that was. This decision, to allow for freedom to be a part of the city, has been questioned by many. “Is it wise to allow such freedom for students in a city?” “What if something happens?” You can imagine all of the possible negatives to giving young students the freedom to find their way. After more than seventeen years of this approach, I can say that everyone has arrived safe and unharmed. OF course, we’re in a very safe place; Kyoto and Japan generally is about as safe a place as it gets in the world. Too, my approach from the beginning of the trip is empowering students to make their own choices: food, shopping, things to see, etc. I have an itinerary and we have the chance to make choices from day one. There is some risk and I am confident in their behavior, their ability, and the setting.

So, what did people do? I’ll upload photos from people as soon as I get them!

Here are a few to much on until I’ve got more to upload:

Our morning started as most mornings do: gather at 9:00AM and then make our way to the subway for a train ride. Today, we hopped on the Tozai line at Higashiyama Station, headed to SSAnjo Station, changed trains to the Keihan line toward Fushimi.

The ride took only about 15 minutes. We spilled out of the train into huge crowds headed up the hill toward the temples and shrines that make up the Fushimi Inari Taisha area. We walked past shops, street food vendors, and then into the temple complex.

It was hard to make our way through the many people and school groups that crowded the fortune telling station, the charms, and a whole variety of places to pray and offer small contributions to the shrine. We passed it all and stood in from of the entrance to the Torii gates and the 10,000 ways to remove negative emotions and thoughts.

We started the hike with thousands that quickly dwindled to 100s and then to 10s and finally into a solo hike for each person. Seriously, within about 15 minutes you’re mostly walking alone on the mountain.

The origins of the shrine go back into the distant past to about 711 CE. The area inshrined three kami who brought good harvests to the area. In about 942, the shrine was established in a similar form to the present day torii gates you see across the mountain.

So, our pilgrimage began in the very warm, high humidity day on this Friday. We walked over the mountain and took around two hours to casually walk the path and make our way back to the shrines at the beginning of the path. The town of Fushimi offers many choices for snacks, food, and crafts. The highlight, however, are the street food vendors including yakitori, grilled meats, Hiroshima-yaki, and a variety of fruit juices, ice cream, and the like.

We finished the adventure and made our way back to Kyoto for an evening of Karaoke! More to come on THAT silliness.

We woke up from a good night’s sleep to the sound of children walking to school and motorbikes speeding along the tiny stretch of road in the neighborhood. We’re staying in four houses off Sanjo-dori in Higashiyama and the places couldn’t be nice. The host is a kind man who was eager to meet us all and provide us with all of the details we needed to have a good stay.

Our first piece of business was trying to find the best combination of sleeping arrangements for everyone. It did not go well. We tried to group people based on their personal connections and then allow some flexibility in where people stayed. Ultimately we miscalculated because one adult was short a bed instead of a futon. The futons are lovely, and we wanted the adults to have the western style beds if they wanted them. THat’s when things went south; people had to move and the tension was palpable. In the hour or so of the jostling around, no one was happy. We settled into the places and I think things will smooth over and it was a challenging transition from people staying in pairs to staying in larger groups. At least now we know what these places are like and can plan accordingly in the future.

Today, the plan was to walk the Path of Philosophy. I absolutely love this short walk to Gingaku-ji temple and this day was perfect for it. No rain in the AM, a cloudy day and a little less heat.

As we walked the Path, I told student about a man who often made little leaf boats and floated them down the canal. That was five years ago when I last saw him. Today, he was out helping students make their boats and was absolutely joyous when they worked. It was simply magical.

As wel walked, we read from Basho’s haikus in A Walk into the Interior. We stopped at a small bridge every so often and then read from the book. We talked a bit about Basho and his travels. We talked about Haikus and their creation. Finally, we spend some time thinking about what we might say in our own haikus. The moment was pretty perfect.

We headed up the hill to the temple and wandered the grounds. This temple is my personal favorite for the grounds around the pavilion and the reconstruction of Mt. Fuji in sand. We all followed the trails and saw the sites, some of us deep in contemplation about the place and the beauty of it all.

Once we left the temple we found places to eat and then headed back to the houses for a brief rest before climbing the hill to Kiyomizu-dera. This heavily trafficked temple is one of the most photographed in Japan, and the area is beautiful. It doesn’t help that the tourist streets below funnel people into the grounds of the temple. Still the bright red pagoda stands out in the city and seeing it up close is remarkable. The steps heading up into the main area are filled with people and on a hot day, this place is exposed.

Still, we walked the paths and photographed the area. From there it was down into Gion to see the sights at night. Gion is lit up at night with lanterns along the overhanging portals (that’s the only word I know for them!)

After our visit we walked back the houses, about 9:00PM and then settled into a rainy night.

Tomorrow we’re facing a rainy day and so it’s the Manga Museum, Nishiki Market, Pokeman Center, and then Karaoke!

Traveling in Japan is efficient and you can get from place to place with relative ease. That does not mean, however, that it doesn’t come without some physical cost. The train trip to Kyoto was on the Nozomi Shinkansen, or bullet train, and the travel is relative ly fast and, for whatever reason, a bit tiring for us all. I think we’ve walked a lot, making our way to so many nooks and crannies of Tokyo.

The ride on the Shinkansen is so pleasant and this train was particularly packed with people. The attendant selling drinks and bento wandered through the cars on a continuous cycle and some of us bought the self-heating bento boxes to try for lunch. Our trip from Shinagawa Station to Kyoto Station was about 2:15 hrs and arrived around 12:45 PM.

Once in the Kyoto station those who hadn’t eaten made their way up to the 10th floor and so many food choices. In this part of the station, the food is a bit more expensive and the cute coffee shops and small restaurants charge a premium for their food and, more than likely, for their location.

The mall that extends all the way into the basement levels of the station has everything from Tiffany’s to a standard department store. Escalators are on every level and it’s fun just to take these moving stairs to every level of the mall. Just watching the stores go by and wondering at the various wares they ply is a fun thing to do on a rainy day.

After eating, we found our way to the subway and the Karasuma line to find our housing, a collection of five small houses in the heights of Higashiyama. Walking up Sanjo Dori from the station exudes a kind of clam air here in the midst of business and city life. The feel is quite different form Tokyo and the strain of human action on the environment. Here, it feels like people are more in tune with the surroundings, deliberately created by planners for the city.

We settled into our houses which are, in fact, gorgeous and updated with every kind of amenity. Washer/dryers, small kitchens, these places are exceptional. The futons on the tat mats are comfortable and the few western style beds very nice.

Tomorrow we take the Path of Philosophy to Ginkaku-ji temple. Let the walking begin again!

Thanks for reading.

One of my favorite places to go near Tokyo is Nikko.  The trails and dense forests are such a wonderful contrast to the mania of the city.  I prebooked tickets to the location and picked them up in the Tobu Tourist Office in Asakusa.

A word on prebuying tickets and tour offiices: OK first, the the day was fantastic.  We really enjoyed the experience of seeing the temples and shrine and just being in the mountains for a time.  The process of exchanging QR codes for tickets and buying vouchers for stuff is so interesting.

I used the app Klook to buy a set of tickets online.  Klook is like many websites that aggregate these kinds of processes: buying tickets to do stuff.  The information seems clear and straightforward….and yet, it wasn’t.  The tickets I purchased, round trip to Nikko, were on local trains that would have taken three hours each way.  The website does not and did not explain that one little anomaly.  Now, if you’re headed to Nikko for a few days, awesome…save a little money and take the long way.  However, if you’re going in Nikko in one day, you need the Tobu Limited Express.  That ticket adds 3300 yen to the cost per person.  I paid the price for what I was told was about an 1:30 hr trip that was actually a 1:50 hour trip each way.  Nikko is not close.

OK…so what about Nikko?  It’s a small town built for tourism.  At the same time, the place is quaint with some Swiss/German architectural elements to suggest your in the Alps.  After the train station, walk up the main street, Nikko-kando, and visit a shop or restaurant.  The place is not bult up like Helen Georgia or Pigeon Forge Tennessee, and it is cute.

We walked our way up the hill to the park entrance.  The Shinkyu bridge, a beautiful traditional bridge spanning the …river was worth the 300 yen to walk on and across it.  From there we climbed the steep steps up to the Tokugawa era temples and shrines.

The forested slopes of the mountain were dotted with temples and their impressive designs were worth wandering through.  The Chinese influence on the Tokugawa was evident everywhere from the statuary to the architecture.  Notice the Confucian scholar- officials carved into the archway into Tokugawa Ieyasu’s tomb.

We walked our way up to the main temples, finding our way through the various torii gates and past and through numerous temples/shrines.  Many were inspired by the views, the spaces, and the atmosphere of the place.

Once we were done at the temple, we walked our way back into town and to tge train station, stopping along the way for ice cream and pudding (!!) Nikko Pudding Tei offers a pudding lover’s joy. The pudding is packed in small glass jars. If you’re leaving town, they send you with a tiny ice bag to keep your pudding fresh for your journey home…at least for a few hours! The pudding is delicious and comes in many varieties. Most of the group grabbed a treat and feasted prior to boarding the return ride to Asakusa.

The day done we prepared for the trip to Kyoto and a bullet train ride.