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Detail of the Karamon (Chinese gate) at the entrance of Nijo castle in Kyoto. Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japan's first Shogun, had the beautiful old wooden floors in the hallways of his Kyoto palace built to squeak loudly at the lightest tread. The home of these "nightingale floors" in well worth a visit.
View of the Shiroishi river during cherry blossom season. The area around Ohgawara is famous in Miyagi prefecture for the many large old cherry trees planted along the river. The Japanese describe this scene as "a thousand cherry trees at a glance." Ueno park's collection is petite in comparison.
Storm clouds over Madison, Wisconsin. We never had a thunderstorm in Japan, although there were plenty of earthquakes, mudslides, and the occasional typhoon. And rain. Lots and lots of rain.
Bronze lanterns at the Kasuga Grand Shrine in Nara, one of the most famous Shinto shrines in Japan. Founded in the 8th Century by the Fujiwara family, the shrine was rebuilt every 20 years according to Shinto tradition.
Kyoto tower reflected in the ultramodern Kyoto Train Station under rainy skies.
Vermilion roof beams at Kasuga Grand Shrine, freshly painted. The quiet solitude of birds and cicadas beneath the pines is disturbed only by the continuous ringing tones of chain saws and pneumatic drills as the Fujiwara family continues their centuries long tradition. They really are that orange.
Tonkatsu, or pork cutlets ,are the specialty of Tonki in the Meguro neighborhood of Tokyo. Laura's family was oddly surprised to discover that the Japanese eat wonderful food. Many restaurants, such as Tonki, will specialize in a single dish, and the people working there devote their careers to the house special.
On the beach at Matsushima, in Miyagi prefecture.
Fall-flavored Matsushima: sea gulls follow the tour boats around a harbor dotted with pine covered islands, one of Japan's Three Scenic Points, together with Miyajima in Hiroshima and Ama-no-hashidate in Kyoto. You can feed the sea gulls shrimp flavor rice crackers for a dollar.
Swan boat on Lake Chuzenji, 1200 meters above sea level. The swan boat in question resides a short bus ride from Nikko, famous for the extravagant resting grounds of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Did you read James Clavell's Shogun? Same Shogun.
A map of Yaotome, where we lived for a year. Ten years ago it was all rice fields and farms, but now it is a booming suburbia of Sendai city in Miyagi prefecture. We could take a subway downtown or ride a bicycle out into the countryside of rivers and mountains, then return for dinner at Mosburger and an episode of ER rented from the Tsutaya video store.
View of Mt Izumigatake (double peak to the left) and friends over Izumi Park Town, a Mitsubishi development, seen from the neighborhood of Izumi Senior High School where Steve worked. After this it's mountains, rice fields, and wooded hillsides all the way to Yamagata, the neighboring prefecture.
A stick of Black Black chewing gum. Nemuke sukkri! Wake up, sleepy! A triple combination hi-tech chewing gum containing caffeine, nicotine, and who knows what else. It really works. Possesion without a prescription is probably unlawful outside of Japan.