Monthly Archives: July, 2018
Early morning in Kanazawa
Neighborhoods Part of the reason I decided to stay in Kanazawa was because I had to change trains there to get to Kyoto from Nagano. The other reason was to see the very famous Ken-rokuen garden. I had planned to go yesterday when I arrived in Kanazawa, but because it was so late I had …
Night time in Kanazawa
Walking in Kanazawa I didn’t get to Kanazawa until early evening. The hotel was very luxurious and I had a spectacular view of the city, with the ocean off in the distance. I took several photos as the sun set. After I rested a bit, I took off to wander the city and find some …
Last day in Nagano
Breakfast This morning was beautiful after the rain. I took a photo from the window of my room of the bath house in the morning light. Later, I showed the photo to Mariko’s mother and she was very happy that I wanted to take a picture of it. It was early and Mariko’s mother and …
Nagano Day 2
This is going to be a lengthy post. So much happened! Morning Breakfast with Mariko, Kei and Mihiro was simple and lovely. I made toast and coffee for everyone, Mariko made fried eggs with shoyu, yogurt with peach jam (made by her mom) and fresh blueberries (from her parents inn), and we had Mihiro’s miso …
Nagano Day 1
I got an early start today and took the JR Tokaido line to Tokyo on a very crowded car. From Tokyo, I took the Hakutaka Shinkansen to Nagano. My friend Mariko met me at the station. It was our first time meeting in person though we have been Skyping every work for almost a year …
Visiting Takako
Takako was kind enough to invite me over to her house. She told me she wanted to cook for me. Her daughter, Kanako, who lives in Tokyo and rarely visits, came to meet me at the train station with her boyfriend. We walked together to her parents’ house. We spoke in Japanese the whole walk …
Eating alone in Japan, Part 1
I set some goals for myself this trip. Trying to address a lot of fears, I set a goal to go out to a bar and a get a drink and food and start a conversation with someone. Tonight I tried and failed twice, but I knew this would not be easy. The first place …
横浜の美術館 (Yokohama Museum of Art)
This morning I met my friend Takako at the Yokohama Museum of Art. It was our first time meeting in person. We have been Skype language exchange partners for a little over a year. The art museum has a special exhibit of works by Monet along with related artwork by other artists and Japanese artwork …
I’m very tired
I had trouble sleeping on the plane. Sat next to a 20-something Japanese man who appeared to be part of some Japan cycling team. He pretty much ignored me the whole flight. As we started the descent into Tokyo, I nodded off and woke up with a violent start. He looked at me in horror. …
Thoughts on the plane
It’s 4:40 in Montreal. I’ve been in the air for a couple of hours. Everything seems a bit surreal, probably in part because I am very sleep deprived. I had a restless week and then last night frantically packed until the wee hours. My nervous energy also prompted me to wash the kitchen floor around …
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