Blogs from Kagawa, Japan, Asia
August 9th 2011
36 degrees celsius. Naoshima. I can feel the salty smell in the air and the stickness of my skin. As I walk in a forest on the small island, the sun emits maximum heat, birds and cicadas chirp away in the lush green. I am tired, sweaty, and thirsty. Spoiled by the abundance of vending machines in the metropolitan areas in Japan, I blame myself for not storing enough water beforehand. Naoshima, one of the many small islands in the Seto Inland sea, is not so well known to some Japanese people, but a popular destination for those who love art. Naoshima hosted the International Art Festival (瀬戸内国際芸術祭) last year. In the past 20 years, artists came here and created their works of art. Until now hundred of artworks are scattered on Naoshima, Inujima, Teshima, Megijima, ... read more
July 2nd 2011
And now for something completely different says the information pack,the modern art island of Naoshima. Indeed different it is! Naoshima is the home to the Benesse Art site which offers visitors the opportunity to see contemporary art in stunning natural settings. It is small inland sea island and is now one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area. There are several galleries on the island and numerous pieces of outdoor art and scattered around the island, most notably the pumpkin sculpture (kusama Yayoi) that has become the island symbol. Despite the searing heat (well into the mid 30s) I decided to check out the galleries and the coast line. I firstly visited the Chichu art museum which is situated largely underground as the building designer refused to have an exterior design rising from the ground, ... read more
June 30th 2011
An early breakfast saw me up and about at 5.45am and ready to hit the road to Kotohira by 8.00am. Kotohira is home to the much famed Konpirason shrine and apparently if you mention that you have been to it most Japanese people will ask if you got to the top (I didn't try out this theory).The reason for this claim is that there are 1368 steps to reach the top and then about another 500 to reach the inner shrine. With no other real plans for the day and being a glutton for punishment I decided to set myself the challenge of making it to the Inner Shrine. HIndsight is a wonderful thing as this was not the most sensible idea with the temperature creeping into the 30s. However I was not the only fool ... read more
March 24th 2010
As an American living in Japan, I often have to respond to my Japanese colleagues concerns about personal safety in America. After all, didn’t you know that EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD OWNS (AND USES) A GUN? Teachers feel it is their duty to relay the story of the Japanese teenager who went trick-or-treating in the States. He did not knock on the door before entering, and since he didn’t understand the word ‘freeze’, was shot to death. The message from the teacher: either learn the meaning of ‘freeze’, or you will die if you go to America. With each concerned question comes a nice opportunity to dispel certain myths about the United States. Yet, there has always been one follow up question in my mind that I have never had the courage to ... read more
How Did I End Up (Almost) Naked At A Temple?
Published: February 23rd 2010Asia » Japan » Kagawa » Takamatsu
February 22nd 2010
A year ago, I declined an invitation to attend a festival that despite the fact that this was no ordinary festival, I could not be convinced to leave my apartment to venture out into a cold winter’s night…wearing next to nothing. My friends that ended up going that night came home raving about it. They said it was one of the most bizarre experiences one could have in Japan. They downplayed the nudity and instead told me of the camaraderie they felt with their fellow man while getting cheered on by a crowd of thousands. The whole thing sounded a bit surreal to me. So fast-forward twelve months, and suddenly I found myself pretty much naked, bruised and cut, at a festival. I’ll tell you how I got there. While there are many “hadaka matsuri” (literally ... read more
January 20th 2010
With adrenaline pumping through my veins, I waved “so long” to Takamatsu as the 1am ferry pulled out from the dock. I had begun my long journey back to the States, figuratively and literally: the door-to-door trip from my apartment in Takamatsu to my parents’ house in Lexington took thirty hours and thirty minutes. In the greater sense, it took 16 months to come back home. In order to preemptively combat the onset of jet lag, I stayed awake through the four-hour ferry ride to Kobe, the hour-long bus from Kobe to Kansai International Airport near Osaka, and the short flight up to Tokyo. I was aided by pure excitement and more than one vending machine can, yes can, of coffee. From there, just a short thirteen-hour flight to New York, and a hop over to ... read more
December 17th 2009
Although it is cliché to say, it’s true that time just flies by. It’s hard to believe that I left for Japan almost a year and a half ago, and also that it’s been about five months since my last blog post. Sorry for the wait! It’s with great excitement that I write this with only five days and about 20 hours of travel separating me from my return to the States for Christmas and New Year’s. It will be my first time coming back, and as one can imagine, there are a lot of emotions that come along with it. First, a quick recap of the past six months: I have been very fortunate to have some members of my family come to Japan to see me. Without them, I would not have been able ... read more
November 21st 2009
Hey! We love you guys! Have a great Thanksgiving without us! - J and A... read more
Takamatsu, Japan aka, what to do when your in a typhoon
Published: September 4th 2009Asia » Japan » Kagawa » Takamatsu
August 31st 2009
Well, this journey could have started with better circumstances, but in the end it turned out great and a fun time was had. With companion in hand, we set out to the last big island for me, Shikoku. The shinkansen rolled out of Sendai at 7:15 in the morning for the start of a 7 hour train journey across Japan. I could tell you how beautiful the scenery was as the train moved from prefecture to prefecture. I could tel you about how entertaining with was to be in a train with a bunch of high schoolers going on their summer trip. What I am going to tell you, though, is that traveling in a typhoon is NOT fun. Those in hurricane ridden parts of the world will understand this fairly well, those in others...well, maybe ... read more
August 31st 2009
As the weather starts to cool , I'm realizing that our crazy summer in Japan is nearly over. The sweltering heat and humidity has given way to warm days, and warm nights. Although I'm grateful for the cooler days, I'm sad the summer is drawing to a close. It's been incredible, just really incredible. After my brothers came in June, Robert and Janet made it over here for two weeks. Then, Alex and I got to spend some serious quality time with our friends here, going to festivals, having barbecues, dancing and feasting! A few highlights: Going to Tokushima for Awa Odori, with Toshi, and her family, Nick and his mother and her boyfriend. We arrived early enough in the day to watch the crowd swell from huge to unbelievably huge! Alex and I stayed late ... read more
