Letters from Japan and beyond

Learn a language, or two!

EP 38. Dinner at Dallas Cowboys western restaurant in Lake Yamanakako and sleeping under the stars; a much rehearsed telephone call; and a sumo invitation. Pretty good for a short few days.

Computers are the future

EP 37 Advice from 1995: "There is one particular area which seems to have a lot of promise. This is in computer networks. It seems the whole world is moving into high gear with the use of computers." Even saying that 30 years ago, little did we know the extent computers would evolve. And an almost typhoon.

Now it's time to eat!

EP 36. After the Nikko parade, we are ready to eat. There are hundreds of stands, so we’ll just start at the top and eat our way to the bottom, trying a bit of this and a bit of that as we go. From fish cakes, pastries, squid skin kabobs, octopus balls, to American chicken nuggets - it was all there and we tried them all.

Nikko Festival

EP 35. Bus, train, subway, express train Spacia to pedestrian, we made it to Nikko and Kanaya Hotel for the traditional Nikko festival. "There are 1200+ people walking, all in traditional dress and costumes dating back hundreds of years. Also there are some on horseback, really decked out in fancy clothes. There are groups carrying large portable shrines, and various kinds of musical instruments. "

Can you sumi-e?

EP 34. sumi-e is not just the painting but, more importantly, the mental attitude and feeling  given to and received from the painting. Technique is specific but it allows the artist to infuse it with soul.