Travel Blog!

Praha the Most

2009-09-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

This is the door of a nunnery or, as Elan called it, 'a church for ladies.'

A somewhat vaginal crest above the nunnery door.

Jan Svankmajer lives behind this door!

Elan is funny because he walks like a human.

Carp are such toothy creatures.

There is a girl who calls me at most inconvenient times, such as while I am photographing cathedrals during the momentary light of the evening sun. She's cute, so it is alright.

Prague Castle from the Charles Bridge.

Mr. Churchill comes to Prague.

Elan and Fabian and I did many things in Prague, such as going to a bar that is three stories underground, and I took this photo after all of the things that we did were done. Look at that guy. He has a club! He is one of the statues that stands on the gates to Prague Castle. It is not the only statute. He has some terrible friends.

I sprinted up these stairs - eventually Elan and Fabian caught up, and look how happy Elan is for the catching.

Praha Praha Praha

2009-09-07T18:06:00.001-07:00

Elan and Fabian up the stairs

Elan is distracting

2009-07-08T12:41:00.001-07:00

A Pooch of the Pooch Parade

2009-06-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

Graham, Lis, Liz and I have fun in Ossining

2009-02-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

Graham

Liz Speeds

Liz on Train

Liz and I and the Black Cow

Graham and Lis and Galileo

Ozore Addendum: The Road to Hell

2009-01-31T18:55:00.000-08:00

Of all the things to forget ..

This is the submerged road to hell for which Ozore-san is famous. Japanese people believe that, when you die, your spirit travels to this lake and walks along this road into the underworld. It is very spooky, especially when viewed from the super-spooky red wooden bridge that I am standing on (and not photographing).

Tok Aqu: Cuttlefish Addendum

2009-01-30T10:22:00.000-08:00

かわいいいいいいい！！！

The cuttlefish needed a post all their own.

Yoshio Tanighuchi's Tokyo Aquarium - 10.08

2009-01-30T09:51:00.000-08:00

Flippng the Infinite Museum upside down, one enters the aquarium through the center of a circular plinth, half terrace half pond. There's not much of a spiral inside; nevertheless. This is looking out over the edge of the plinth to Tokyo Bay. The high hedges of Tokyo Disney are out there somewhere, a counterpoint to Taniguchi's wide open terrace.

The ferris wheel at the edge of infinity ^^

Ozore-zan (Mt. FEAR) - 09.08

2009-01-25T09:05:00.000-08:00

At Ozore-san, Mt. Fear, the gates of Hell, plants will not grow and sulfur leaching from the ground has created a landscape of vibrantly colored rocks and sand.

The attractions at Ozore-san are fourfold: the mountain itself, overlooking an aqua-marine lake with submerged road which the Japanese believe to be the gate to hell, fronted by a lakeside shrine of silvery hue, and a blasted volcanic landscape of multi-colored rocks and streams populated by crows where no vegetation will grow.

This is the shrine of silvery hue. It is very beautiful, evoking mists and rising steam.

This is my ring, which became tarnished, blue, yellow, and brown after only twenty minutes at Ozore-san. Soon after, the fumes began to make me feel ill.

Looking from the inner shrine toward the outer gate.

The volcanic field, the shrine, the lake, Ozore-san.

The crows are many and ominous.

Looking up from the base of the volcanic field toward a statue of I-Forget-Who. The field continues over a couple of more ridges before terminating at small beach and yellow-red stream.

A scree of tarnished coins, tossed by visiting pilgrims.

Ozore-san from the beach; by this point, Beau and I were both feeling sick from the sulfur and other fumes being constantly excreted from the volcanic plains next to the lake. We set out for the car.

Finally, a shout out to the bendy crew from the dashboard, companions to all Aomori wanderings.

Ozore-san no kame

2009-01-03T12:39:00.001-08:00

Aomori Ocean

2008-11-24T03:11:00.000-08:00

Apropos of Nothing, Fav Photos From My Travels

2008-11-16T00:30:00.000-08:00

Buy a mask at Todaiji

Tim o' the boat

Dog ties - Korea

Third Ring Road, Beijing

Sumo face stickers - Azabu-juban

Self-portrait

I HAVE CRAFTED THE PERFECT PENGUIN

The Olympic stadium is Red.

Bird's Nest?

I have so many photos form the Aquarium ..

Gotemba loves its kittens.

Girls in Seoul.

Fuji! From the top of Julie's apartment building.

Ciccone's wife or: Surprise! Photos from three years ago

Curry (Jukie style, with apples)

Cat of the fall, Meguro

Always love the Indian food

rofl ...

The Great Wall Forum

2008-11-10T21:41:00.001-08:00

A link from Andreas Christoph:

Great Wall Forum

Spend some time digging around at the forum, and tell me that you're not absolutely crazy to go bum around the Wall! I myself have fallen prey to a wicked case of the Great Wall fever.

This guy knows what I'm talking about.

Jack-o-lanterN!

2008-11-09T04:29:00.000-08:00

I carved it.

From the archives, the Great Wall at Jiumenkou

2008-11-07T21:55:00.000-08:00

You would think that, 'front and back of Great Wall' is sort of a gimme, as far as historical accuracy goes; unfortunately, not. My friend Andreas Christoph, the German Great Wall Enthusiast, tells me that they rebuilt the Wall at Jiumenkou with the inside out and the outside in. Nevertheless! The scenery is beautiful and the wall, as long as you can ignore the misplaced waterspouts, is a friendly jaunt through the countryside. The true draw of the wall is the vantage point that it provides, as a virtually endless pedestrian causway floating just slightly above the stunning countryside of China. Think of the Highline, only is goes on and on and on and on .. Walking along the wall is a narrative, a slowly unfolding self portrait of China. Of course, it's always best to get to the road less traveled, onto the 'wild wall' and away from the other tourists, even if it requires bending a couple of rules, or waiting until the guard looks the other way and hopping a couple of barriers.

Walking in the fields of Aomori

2008-11-07T06:58:00.000-08:00

Overwhelming Cuteness/Our Most Honorable Robot Overlords

2008-11-05T19:51:00.001-08:00

Noah

Poko

On Halloween, Japanese children dress up in garbage bags covered with stickers, and families bake the traditional '銀パイ,’ metal pies to be left as offerings, accompanied by jars of 'ozeki' one-cup sake, for the benevolent robot overlords (ロボさま） in residence at the local shrine. It's a bit lost in translation, but Halloween never the less. Beau baked this pie.

I am still staying at the house of my friends, Beau and Chikako. As such, I just wanted to take a moment to recognize the overwhelming cuteness with which I am confronted on a daily basis, in the form of Noah and Poko. Also, a metal pie.

No more news

2008-11-05T04:33:00.001-08:00

DOBUROKU

2008-10-28T22:56:00.000-07:00

This sake is so awesome, it is not even legal. Think your nigori is all special? Watevs, check the bottom of that bottle: this is what unfiltered sake looks like. I mean, damn, Chikako's dad's friend totally made this in his family brewery and stuffed the top with rice stems because otherwise it would explode. You can't buy sake that good. Because it is illegal with deliciousness.

Unfortunately, since it's Japan and the polite thing to do is to wait until we can drink it with Chikako's dad, I can't drink this super-special sake either ;___;* At least, not yet .. still, this is why it is a good idea to go work on your friend's wife's parent's rice farm in Japan ^________^& kanpai!

2008-10-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

A day in Tokyo. Negotiations continue with Nagata-sensei; looking positive, though things could still go either way. Over some non-existent (call them metaphysical) beers last night, Dr. Satterwhite clued me in to an intriguing lead re: a Minka enthusiast (leading preservationist is more accurate, leading enthusiast more exciting) in Kamakura. I'm very interested to see how that plays out, if things with Nagata-sensei do not come together. However, still lacking anything concrete to do with my life, I continue to wander about Japan, photographing and photographing and photographing and cursing myself for not taking the time to blog it all. Today, I will go to the aquarium (designed by Taniguchi), before hopping on a 5:56 shinkansen up to Aomori to crash and hang out with the illustrious Beau Buchanon, Noah, and Chikako. Peak fall season hits Aomori in about a week ^___________^

Whenever I come to Tokyo, I stay in Asakusa, old Edo, all of which orbits around Asakusa-dera. Asakusa-dera is a beautiful temple and, perhaps because it was under reconstruction and under wraps for the first nine months that I was living in Japan, has the mystical sensation of seeming to grow larger every time that I visit, always shrinking in my memory and reappearing in massive, larger than life proportions. Maybe it really is too big to imagine. Asakusa-dera is simply too big, and a beautiful example of temple construction; yet it is always here, in the heart of Tokyo, that I overhear jaded tourists muttering, hands shaking with the effort to lift their gargantuan guidebook once more to bloodshot eyes, skin baked by the intense neon of the Tokyo streets, tongues deadened by the subtle flavors of Kansai-ryori, 'Just more of the same, isn't it?' It's okay, I understand. Japan can be exhausting. I do not correct them with violent exclamations, though Asakusa-dera is most definitely not 'more of the same'; and if they ever return, I imagine that they too will have the thrilling sensation that Asakusa is larger than life, and that the beating heart of Japan is in the temple's smoking censer.

*shout out to Andy + April, the woodblock print that Mom and I gave you last Christmas is a winter scene of Asakusa-temple. Cheers!

A Trip to Lake Towada; a Ride on the Ferry

2008-10-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

Beau, looking flustered.

Noah, probably looking just as flustered as his dad; it's harder to tell, with babies.

A taste of the fall foliage, by the time that we arrived at the lake itself, it had gotten into rainy and blustery territory. The ferry ride was still awfully pretty, especially for the rain storm. Unfortunately, it was dark, and nice and colorful pictures were out of the question.

Captain 's not to big to throw a rope.

So hard to choose!

Company on the lake.

Docking ..

.. and heading home.

Edamame

2008-10-12T11:08:00.001-07:00

Akihabara is not the best place to buy consumer electronics. Granted, it's an AMAZING place to find rare, esoteric, new, or otherwise difficult to find bits of bits, stuff for ham radio, transistors, computer parts, and lots of things that you didn't know existed but do. Commonly available consumer electronics, on the other hand, are generally overpriced in Japan and only slightly less overpriced in Akihabara. I went there to buy a new Sandisk Ultra II 16GB memory card for my camera and couldn't find one for less than double what it goes for online. What I did find was a plastic edamame that you can squeeze to make a little plastic soybean with a dog face pop in and out of its skin. And thus we have the true reason that one should make the trek to Akiba: weird, weird toys, and the girls in maid outfits that come to buy them. Oh Japan, you're the best! Also, I bought a new mouse; I feel like buying it in Akiba has imbued it with mystical powers. This is a bit of willful delusion, as the same logic has quite obviously not panned out re: the GameboyDS that I bought in Akiba last year, on which I continue to suffer one brutal defeat after another in Mario Party, at the hands of Julie DePaulo. Darn you Jukie!!!!!

Coffee o' the Day

2008-10-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

Shinjuku to Akihabara

Super Fun Time Go Now!

2008-10-04T05:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you're waiting for an important email from a guy but you're already back from China; sometimes, Julie invites you to come stay at her place and then says 'Damn it!' when you actually do. Sometimes, the two of you do Purikura for teh win.

Super friend points bonus! Can you guess which purikura was edited/festooned by Julie and which was by me?? disclaimer: there is no super friend points competition D=!

A Day in the Life of Kyoto

2008-10-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Just a day, riding a bike around Kyoto. Rode my bike along the river stunning, visited some of my favorite zen gardens, made the pilgrimage to Ryoanji. Made a couple of friends. One named Dan, an evolutionary .. chemical biologist? It's a bit confusing, we talked about ribosomes and rode bikes and Dan seemed to enjoy my rambling. Incidentally, Dan is a post-doc at NYU and lives where I lived until about two months ago. He was in Kobe for a conference, concluded. We met his friend of a friend, Lauren, biologist in waiting, ALT (Assistant Language Teacher, like Beau) in Kyoto. The kid in the awesome T-shirt is her student. Those are his sisters. We ate at their grandparent's restaurant, feasted on Kansai ryori (Kansai fare); lo, 'twas good.

Japan! (off the boat yesterday)

2008-10-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

Udon is Japan.

Oh Suitcase!

2008-09-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

Why always packing and unpacking.

Paralympics!

2008-09-21T05:59:00.000-07:00

I was not in attendance at the closing ceremonies, though I did catch some bits and pieces of the broadcast, as displayed on this massive contraption across the street from the Hua Ting apartment complex. I think it's a hotel, and it's supposed to resemble the Olympic torch. There's a line of little brothers behind the big one, sans TV screens, marching along for half a kilometer next to the Olympic Park. They remind me of Starman and Starman Junior from Earthbound. Come on, someone knows what I'm talking about! No one? Whatever. It's probably just the psychadelic background.

THE QUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEBBBEEE.

It was a photographic orgy in the square outside of the Bird's Nest (or Bird House, as the Bejingiese call it). Mostly couples snapping shots of each other, though there were plenty of photographers photographing the photographers, not to mention photographers photographing photographers photographing photographers. Yeah baby, that was me.

This one was cute. She was running in big arcs around the square, pretending to be oblivious to the long string of kites and photographers chasing after her.

One day, I would like to meet the fancy-lad bird that's supposed lives in this place.

The stands were chock-full on this, the last night of competition before the closing ceremonies. Cheers!

Though I arrived more than two hours early, I was wandering around the stadium when seats started filling up and ended up in the rafters. My spot was right on the finish line, which wasn't bad. When things started thinning out towards the end of the night, I didn't hesitate to sneak down and catch the wheelchair races from up close.

Though legal methods of procuring Paralympics tickets were both scarce and convoluted, the legions of scalpers outside the stadium were more than willing to lend a hand. Even with the mark-up to 140 RMB (bargained down from 200^^), an all-day ticket only ran me about $23; not too shabby.

Despite being in Beijing at the opportune moment, I was admittedly not feeling the Olympic bug. Lack of available information re: tickets, venues, events had dampened my enthusiasm. Once the end was approaching, however, I started feeling like a bit of a louse for missing the opportunity, hopped on my bike and headed over to the park to see what I could see. With the help of a handy scalper, I procured a shady ticket and hopped on line. I was nervous that I'd been grifted, but at 140RMB there wasn't potential for any catastrophic damage. I was pleased when the ticket turned out to be totally legit, though not so pleased that the only way to get to the games was through a scalper.

If I hadn't gone, I would have been dumb. It was a poignant experience. Seeing athletes at the top of their game locked for a single moment in the competition of their life, you know, like, wow. It sticks with you. I felt like, even though I couldn't totally follow what was going on, I had participated in someone's momentous, personal struggle.

Compounding my generalized ignorance of sport, the balkanization of paralympic events into many sub-events, based on disability, made things somewhat confusing. Luckily, it was a night of straight gold medal matches, which kept it all simple enough to cheer to. I couldn't tell who was competing against whom in the various discuss/shot put events, but I did get a kick out of the very large eastern European ladies lobbing heavy objects across the green.

My only regret is that I didn't see any Paralympic rugby, which I regard as way hardcore based on an interview with the director of the documentary, Murderball. I also regret that I haven't seen this movie. Anyway, I could have attended the gold medal match between the US and Australia; I further regret that I did not know where it was. I wandered into the indoor stadium on my way out of the park, just in time to catch the medal ceremony. Blast!!

At the Summer Palace

2008-09-18T10:07:00.001-07:00

I met a pretty awesome old lady, and she told me about Beijing. Here's to you, old lady!

Guess who had delicious Indian food for dinner?

2008-09-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

This mysterious person also paid another visit to the Bell Tower/Drum Tower and the delicious all night cafes to be found in the area. Well, I don't know about all night, but pretty late at least.

No seriously, one guess.

On the subject of turtles ..

2008-09-16T22:03:00.000-07:00

.. a little gem from the Opus archives. Yes, I know that this is completely off topic. Incidentally, what's up with the current Opus story arc: creators, neck braces, ending the world, Opus coming to grips with FINALITY .. ? Is Breathed ending the strip (again) or switching the characters over to a new universe (again), dying of terminal neck-soreness (not possible) or just trying to give Opus anxiety attacks (unnecessary)? Well, sugar beak, what's shakin'?

Turtles, of course, make an excellent foundation for any belief system.

Dajue Si

2008-09-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

Of course, Dajue Si is really all about the turtles.

Chinese stone eaves are amazing. They're so Greek-temple-wooden-architecture-made-from-stone. You can let grass grow in them with no ill effects and they have fantastic plasticity.

Turtles! There were awesome turtle ponds.

Mr. Chang is a friend of the Satterwhites. He drove me to Dajue-si. This is his taxi. I forgot to get a photograph of the man himself (--_< )!

Dajue Si is a temple located approx. 50km to the n/w of Beijing. It is very pretty, and very old. About 1000 years old, Ming Dynasty, Qing dynasty, even one dynasty that I'd never heard of but which, it turns out, made its seat at Dajue Si after being overthrown; this temple has seen them all. One of the famous water temples of ancient Beijing. Among other things, I came to Beijing to visit this temple. Also, I bought some plums from a fruit vendor outside of the main gate. Those plums were delicious.

Electric Lights Beijing

2008-09-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Some would call it foolish, riding one handed in six lanes of traffic along the fourth ring road snapping photos forward, behind, etc. This is lily-livered sissy-talk for sissys.

The Forbidden City

2008-09-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

Back when it was still forbidden, this was about the extent of the palace tour. Take what you can get!

This wall must be so depressed; what's it have to do, now that the whole 'forbidding' thing is of out of the water? It's still rather menacing. I guess that's something.

Haha, moat, I scorn you, for I have breached the palace defenses with my 60RMB!

Favorite photo of the day

2008-09-12T09:41:00.001-07:00

Hello. Today, I explored the Forbidden City.

Tianjin

2008-09-11T02:40:00.000-07:00

Arriving in Tianjin was terrifying. After the usual nerve-wracking experience of getting through immigration control, I stepped out of the quiet (empty) arrival terminal and into .. a throng of shouting Chinese people? Probably a third of them were cab drivers. As for the rest, I don't know what it was all about, but there were a lot of them. It made the gaijin hella nervous, all a group of shady looking character standing in a circle giving the stink-eye while a lady yelled at you to get into her taxi. After some minor commiseration to the tune of, 'No I do not think that we will ever find that bus that the doctor told us about,' the Orlando crew and I grabbed a cab and made haste for the train station. This was an experience in itself: the Chinese have a creative approach to traffic lanes.

Kobe to Tianjin: Two long days on a boat

2008-09-11T02:04:00.000-07:00

Japan's Inland Sea

Traveling under the Great Seto Bridge linking Honshu and Shikoku (actually a viaduct)

My feet are being as awesome as feet can be.

Later, Kobe

The trick to riding on a slow boat like this is staying outside. Out there are all the manifold beauties of the sea: blustering winds, crashing waves, 10,000 shades of light, ships wafting in and out of the sea spray, gulls, islands. Inside, just a few damp rooms smelling of hospital food and seasick. I happily whiled away the trip on deck, alternating between the autobiography of Pu-Yi and watching the ship's wake.

Beijing!

2008-09-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

Hey, I'm in Beijing!

First impressions: I rode my bike down to the Forbidden city the first day that I was here. The smog is pretty gross, though it does lend the whole city sort of a romantic haze, especially with all the willow trees and fantastic ancient architecture. When the Bell Tower looms out at you from the haze/mist, wow, geez. So, Beijing is dirty, but beautiful and charming, I think.

I'm staying in a friend's apartment. This is the view of the fourth ring road from my windows. The Olympic Stadium is just a discus' throw away.

Incidentally, ridiculous and random CENSORSHIP! Websites I can not access:
Huffpost
ThePirateBay
Typepad (and anything therein contained)
Gutenberg archive of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

The Google cache of any webpage
My favorite utility for converting kanji to hiragana
Lolcats .. for God's sake, Lolcats!!

I saw Beau!

2008-08-28T21:02:00.001-07:00

We also took a trip to Mt. Fear and the Gates of Hell, but that's a story for another blog.

Look at that manic gleam in my eye: I love slides.

.. and we rode on a really intense slide.

We ordered gobo tempura and soba bigger than a human head!

This is Beau, dressed up to go play Oboe at a wedding.

After a glorious two days at Kita Onsen, I meandered back to the Shinkansen and departed for parts north to spend the weekend at my friend Beau's house. Beau and I went to high school together; I hadn't seen him in like seven years. I met his wife, Chikako, and their baby Noah. We had a crazy time, about which I will blog further in the very near future.

Ohhhhh damn, purikura!

2008-08-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

I'm staying in Gotemba with Julie. We did laundry, played Taiko made the purikura. All is right in the world.

Nasu Onsen : Kita Ryokan

2008-08-28T00:06:00.000-07:00

Mountain map: onsens, ski-resorts, ropeways, mountain peaks, and misty streams.

I also found dragonflies.

I found an out-of-season ski lodge at the top of the mountain.

Feeling a little too clean, I decided to take a hike up into the mountains and work up a sweat. I sprinted most of the way down. I totally felt like some wild mountain creature, leaping from rock to rock through the mist. Though not a sanctioned bathing area, I took a dip in the ice cold mountain stream running along the foot of the path next to the ryokan, before heading in for dinner ^^

The outdoor pool is Kita Onsen's defining feature. It's pretty unique to have something like this, and a lot of the locals staying here said that this is what they had come for. An onsen generally just has small pools for bathing, no swimming allowed.

Interior of the shinto shrine, with mini-shrines and offerings.

Buddhist house shrine, in a rear hallway across from an interior stream of volcanic water. Right next to this there was a Shinto house shrine, behind which a pair or doors opened directly onto a precipitous stone stairway leading up behind the ryokan to an actual shrine building.

Tengu! Imagine soaking in the bath at 3am, staring at this. I hit my head on his chin once when I was getting out of the bath. The noise was really loud, but the other bathers were nice enough to pretended not to notice.

The ryokan emerges from the mist ..

'Kita Onsen'

My travels to Kita onsen began in Osaka. First boarding an overnight bus to Tokyo, I left early the next morning on the Shinkansen to Nasushiobara, transferring to the local train to Kuroiso. I took a bus from there up into the foothills of Mt. Asahidake (not the one in Hokkaido), on the other side of Nikko National Forest from the Toshogu Nikko Shrine. Already out in the middle of nowhere, far from the dirt and heat of Osaka, I still had to make a two kilometer walk along the onsen's private road and then up a valley path to arrive at the Ryokan. While I was there, the area remained perpetually in cloud, the type of raining that forms spontaneously around you and can't be defended against with an umbrella. No matter, with the exception of a hike that I took on the second day, I spent my entire stay hoping from one steaming bath to another. The rain and the cold only heightened the pleasure of steam, volcanic waters, and pristine forest scenery. Ahhhh, Kita onsen was totally a dream .. I didn't want to take too many pictures inside of the building itself, it is a bathhouse, after all, though I did manage to snap a few of the giant Tengu (demon heads) that hang over one of the interior baths, and also of the house shrines. The building is very old, from the Meiji-period, rambling, baths hidden here and there in its rotating arms, silent, wooden, decomposing, and shadowy. You couldn't see the ceiling in the dining room, at any time of day. Ah, it was the perfect place to wander around for three days, in a yukata, soaking, drying, soaking, watching the waterfall, swimming in the outdoor hotspring pool under the trees, and eating delicious ryokan fare. By the end, my skin shined and sparkled it was so clean.

Kobe Day

2008-08-20T01:53:00.000-07:00

Pagoda crafted by Nishioka

A good day in Kobe. Most of these photos are from the 竹中大工道具館、the Takenaka Museum of Carpentry Tools. Jamdung was, sadly, closed. It's okay, I had Indian food.

Plans Travel Plans

2008-08-20T01:18:00.000-07:00

I've got a pretty detailed itinerary going for the next couple of weeks. Thought I'd post it up here. I'm heading out from Osaka to Tokyo tonight on the overnight bus (double decker). I'll be using the JR East pass for some super-cheap bullet train traveling, making the onsen rounds of northern Honshu and staying at my friend Beau's house over the weekend. I'm very excited. I've never been to northern Japan. I'll mostly be out in the countryside, so no internet access. I'll get some pictures up when I can, hopefully making all of you jealous ^___^

Also, it has been requested that comments be turned on. As such, the Susans and Benjamins of the world may eat their cake. Comment away!

Itinerary:

JR East Pass day I - Tokyo to Kuroiso

21st: Kita Onsen, Northern Kanto
22nd: Local station: Kuroiso
check in 2 o'clock (early is okay)
(2) 8500円 (meals included^^)

JR East Pass day II - Kuroiso to Hachinohe

23rd: Beau! Hachinohe Station
24th: Beau!
25th: Beau!

JR East Pass day III - Hachinohe to Iiyama

26th: Maguse Onsen, Nagano
Local station: Iiyama
Check in 3 o'clock?
5250円 (no meals ;_;)

JR East Pass day IV - Nagano to Gotemba

27th: Julie!
28th: Julie!

Hike Fuji?
Train: Gotemba to Tokyo

29th: K's House Asakusa
30th: K's House Asakusa
31st: K's House Asakusa

September 1st: K's House Asakusa

Overnight Bus Tokyo to Osaka

3rd: Guest House Yahata, Kyoto
4th: Guest House Yahata, Kyoto

5th: Board Ferry to Tianjin!
7th: Arrive in Tianjin, Train to Beijing
7th - 22nd: Staying at Dr. Satterwhite's house in Beijing

Japan!

2008-08-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

Kobe dogs

Hello. I haven't blogged much in the past couple of weeks, I know. I'm in Kobe right now, heading out soon for Tokyo and parts north, to visit my friend Beau, stay at a couple of onsen, and generally do some serious traveling that should be worth blogging about. I've never been to northern Japan, so this should be a treat! I'm pushing back the trip to Beijing and will leave on the 2nd or 3rd of September instead of the 29th of August, like I had planned. I hadn't really left enough time to make it up to Aomori to see my friend Beau, his wife and their new baby Noah. Happily, with the change of schedule, I should arrive in their neck of the woods next Saturday evening, all the way up on the very tip on Honshu!

Even though I haven't done much travelling worth mentionig in the past few days, I did meet up with a couple of close friends and my advisors from Kyudai. Everyone else was off last week for the Obon festival, so there wasn't much to do in Fukuoka. Should have realized that ahead of time -_-;

Is it Fukuoka?

2008-08-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

Hakata Bay

Genkaijima

The Hakata Beetle (hydrofoil)

Busan Port

Tickets, tickets, tickets ..

面通団: 'Expert Noodle Makers'

2008-08-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

This is not the first meal sought out after my arrival in Japan, but it is a close approximation. Powerful udon. Tempura egg and eggplant, onigiri. I've been dreaming about this place.

Hangai!

2008-08-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

Hangai thought it would be funny to show up with the exact same camera body and lens as I did. I saw her holding it all of a sudden. It totally messed with my head, man. Hangai's heading back to Italy soon. She's going to Matera. I told her how to find the fig trees.

Finally made it to Changdeokgung

2008-08-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Just a small taste of Changdeokgung. A longer post is in the works; Changdeokgung is an amazing place. This morning, I'm taking in a couple of screenings at the migrant workers film festival, then Kyongbukgung for one last look and hopefully a chance to finally get into the folk museum. Tomorrow, nihon!

Kyongbukgung First Looks

2008-08-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

My birthday present to myself was a trip to Kyongbukgung. I more or less came to Seoul to see this complex of buildings, and these photos are from my first traipse through their midst, a little over a week ago on the first of August. Kyongbukgung abuts Insadong and Kahoi-dong, two other neighborhoods where I've been spending a lot of my time. They're all wrapped into what was old Seoul.

Jongyesa, Go, Gravity, Garwood

2008-08-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

Met up with Danny Garwood, Seunghyun and Catherine (friends from Cooper all) at the opening for 'Flavor of Asia,' an exhibition that Seunghyun worked on. 11 photographers, a ton of photos: eating, growing, buying, selling, making FOOD. I liked much; there's supposed to be a book coming out later this year.

Tiny little dog tile.

I found a shop off Insadong-gil (gil = street) selling statues. If you don't know already, I have a super thing for Korean dogs: shrine guardians, always in pairs.

After showing up just barely too late for the exhibition that I was really after, I wandered down the street and into Kang-Ok Jeon's 'Gravity.'

Instead of showing up on time for the 'Crafty Arty Party' (pottery exhibition), I decided it would be better to wander around by Jogyesa temple and then get lost. Ah well. At least I found out where all the old men go to get drunk and play Go ^____^

At least, mostly Go. There was also some Chinese chess going on. Fewer games, but spectator interest was through the roof.

First photo of the day (Wednesday)

2008-08-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Flight: JFK to NRT

2008-08-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

Pictures are posted in roughly chronological order, shot last Monday inside of a great arc from NYC to NRT. I'm pretty sure I passed out for the entire connecting flight to Seoul, so this set ends with touchdown in .Jp, Enjoy ..

The trailing end of North America, somewhere to the west of Bethel, Alaska

First sight: Japan

In Seoul

2008-07-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Seoul two days ago. For now, I'm staying with my friend Bum at his apartment. We walked around Insa-dong yesterday, a neighborhood to the south of the palaces and traditional hanok neighborhood which I am here to visit. I managed to stumble into some nice calligraphy shops and bought a new stone ink basin (why did I leave my shodo supplies in New York?). Bum and I also went to an art opening last night, but I had some of the jetlag and passed out in a chair. Initial impressions of Seoul: the food is delicious, cheap, and vegetarian (as long as there's a Korean speaker to ask for it), the subway cars are huge, and the internet is fast.

Camel! Not the first thing that I expected to see in Seoul ..

Long horn! Not the second thing that I expected to see in Seoul o_O

Noodle Shop

Dinner PWN3d

Bum Lee. Bum Lee has a face. You just can't see it. I mean, you can't see it here, it's not off limits to the public or anything.