On my way to Sensoji I had noticed the simple display: a pot of bushy, russet-coloured chrysanthemums and several bottles of sake on the stoop. This spot, a few steps south of my hotel, is fixed on my highly reliable restaurant-radar. I hesitate. There is no picture menu posted. No English. With no idea what I’m in for I take my chances. Continue reading
My room is not ready. No matter. I leave my bag with the desk clerk and head out. The enticing light and warmth of the afternoon prompt me to visit Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple, Sensoji, the central attraction of Asakusa. A quieter and older part of the city with a long history, Asakusa is a former entertainment district and working-class neighbourhood west of the Sumida River. Continue reading
After breakfast I procured my JR Rail Pass and found the connection from Tokyo Station to Ueno Station with surprising ease. I disembark and walk north alongside the overhead tracks on the station’s east side toward my hotel in Asakusa. Situated near the intersection of two major thoroughfares–Kototoi-dori and Kokusai-dori–I should be able to find it. If it takes longer than the guidebook’s ambiguous instructions to use the north exit and walk 12 minutes from the station, it will be good exercise. Bonus: It’s a glorious day. Continue reading
After breakfast I board the hotel shuttle back to Narita Airport, validate my JR Rail Pass and follow the signs to the Narita Express (NEX) track for Tokyo. You’d think I did this every day—it’s that easy. Continue reading
Pre-departure I confess that my solo venture through Japan worried me. When Yamakawa-san realized I planned to travel around Western Japan for 33 days without a tourist agency, he asked, “How will you catch the right train? The last time I was in Tokyo Station I got lost, and I’m Japanese.” Continue reading
A year ago today in the late afternoon, after 21 hours in transit from my front door, I landed at Narita a day ahead of myself. Brisk wind. The scarlet sun fallen into night by the time I got through customs and to my hotel. Continue reading
Last year at this time I prepared for a month of travel during the height of koyo in Japan. Last Saturday, looking for the next best thing a little closer to home, I strolled under the autumnal canopy in Nitobe Memorial Garden behind the Asian Centre at UBC. Continue reading
After struggling to maintain regular posts, I have decided to return to an earlier idea. Continue reading
In Pacific Standard Time the radio alarm awakened me: We repeat. A second plane has hit the second tower of The World Trade Center.
Even in my groggy state I understood immediately what had happened. Not the specifics, of course, but it had never been a question of if. Only when and how. Who was predictable. Continue reading
One upon a time turning the calendar from July to August made me wince. September meant the pending loss of a loved one: summer past. Continue reading