Blogs from Kotohira, Kagawa, Japan, Asia

Sunday morning was a reasonable start time – not too early, not too late. My plan was to head over to Kotohira by train, and assuming I could get away from there by 3 pm, head over to Marugame to see the castle there. Initially, I had been planning to stay in Marugame until it got dark, but it turns out that I have left an important piece of my tripod at home so no night photography this trip! The major attraction in Kotohira is the Kotohira-gu shrine (it was once both a shrine and a temple dedicated to seafarers). Although this is the first temple or shrine I have visited on Shikoku, the island is actually very important to the Japanese as a pilgrimage of the 88 temples. Walking around the island visiting all 88 ... read more

What do you get when you combine a few extra paid vacation days, a last-minute $200 flight, and the opportunity to try a new way of travel in a new country? The answer: a total game-changer of a weekend in one of the world’s most fascinating metropolises. While much of my four days there were spent doing the usual mix of sightseeing and nightlife-participation, it was this new phenomenon called Couchsurfing that has flipped the travel world completely upside down that made the experience better than any other travel experience I’ve had to date. For those who don’t know, Couchsurfing, in the travel sense, is a direct reference to the term used for someone who goes from friend’s couch to friend’s couch, never seeming like he/she has a true place of their own. While the term ... read more

I’m closing in on 10 months in Japan, and obviously there have been cultural differences that I’ve become quite adjusted to. So much so that I’m already dreading the inevitable reverse-Culture Shock when I come back home to the States. That being said there are still things that I haven’t gotten used to yet, as well as things that I have taken a personal vow to NOT adapt to. Here’s an updated list: Things I’ve gotten used to: Holding my plate or bowl in my hand off the table. Better yet, putting my lips directly on the edge of said plate or bowl and shoveling food into my mouth. (Note: Not only is this NOT considered rude, but it’s considered a more polite way of eating. Having your bowl on the table and leaning over it ... read more

The spring has come, and once again The sun shines in the sky; So gently smile the heavens, that It almost makes me cry, When blossoms droop and die. --Kino Tomonori, c. 905 In 1995, the Japanese city of Kobe was completely destroyed by a devastating earthquake. Almost 4600 people died and a cosmopolitan port city was reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes. No more than 10 years later, a visitor to Kobe would have no idea that such a catastrophic natural disaster had occurred so recently, as the city, port, and infrastructure had all been rebuilt in modernity. Today, Kobe is just like the hundreds of Japanese cities that have been rebuilt from nothing, and judging by the looks of them, one would never guess… Every year, all citizens of Japan await the ... read more

For this edition of the blog, I will share some of the amusing stories that I have been “privileged” to experience here in Japan. Basically, a lot happens here that is not necessarily a big enough deal to write a WHOLE blog about, but they’re certainly enough to give me a quick chuckle, or more often than not, leaving me utterly confused. Enjoy! --Back before Christmas, I wrote about going to the schools in the small countryside town of Saita. I mentioned that one of the best parts of going there was riding the bus with a handful of elementary school students. Well, there was one little girl who was far from shy, and when I sat in my seat, she tapped me on the shoulder and in plain English said, “What’s your name?” You have ... read more