Category Archives: Japan, Travel & Culture

Kurotani Japanese Paper Museum

Our first stop of the day is at Kurotani Japanese Paper Museum in Ayabe. Here 800 years of making washi paper by hand is still alive. Continue reading

Posted in Art, Japan, Travel & Culture | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Hokkaido Crab

The large and lively beast barely wedges into the pot. Naturally it isn’t eager to go in. Continue reading

Posted in Food, Wine & Restaurants, Japan, Travel & Culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Hosen-in Temple, Kyoto

The art of matchless garden design and ancient pine framed by the temple pillars somehow suspends time. Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Grass Blooms (Issa)

In my province grass blooms too. (Issa) Continue reading

Posted in Around Abbotsford, Japan, Travel & Culture, Lynda's Essays, Fiction, Poetry et cetera | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sakura at Fushimi Inari

To my left a distant cloud of pink catches my attention—a lone tree, magnificent for its startling solitude in the evergreen forest still dark with the last days of winter. Continue reading

Posted in Around Abbotsford, Japan, Travel & Culture | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Rengeji, Kyoto

This temple visit wasn’t on the original plan; however, the space in front of the gates appeared as if by design and now it’s our destination, if not our destiny. Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Autumnal splendor at Nanzenji

The autumnal fires are in full, glorious blaze on this November morning. Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

3.11.2013

We cry out for what we have lost, and we remember you again. Leonard Cohen Continue reading

Posted in Japan, Travel & Culture, Things to think about | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Day Trip to Maizuru

Though we must wait more than 45 minutes for it (worth every second), we order a set of freshly caught shellfish which is prepared for us on gas grills in the back of the stall. Continue reading

Posted in Food, Wine & Restaurants, Japan, Travel & Culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Nijo-jinya, Edo Period Inn, Kyoto

No doubt we’re probably peeking into private things we shouldn’t. I get a real feeling for what it might have been like sneaking about in the olden days. Continue reading

Posted in Art, Japan, Travel & Culture | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment