Our day started early at Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, a Zen temple along Kyoto’s eastern mountains. The temple began in 1482 as a retirement villa for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, and after his death it was converted into a temple. The interior of the building is not open to the public but it is supposed to contain a statue of Kannon. The shogun's ambition to cover the elegant building with silver (if this was his intention – it’s also possible that the name arose because the moon light reflecting on the building's dark exterior gave it a silvery appearance) was never realized but it is still lovely to behold. In front of Ginkaku-ji is a dry sand garden with a large cone of white sand and ranked undulating sand which is supposed to be symbolic of a ... read more

One of the first train tickets we reserved when we arrived in Tokyo was our ticket to Kyoto; at nearly a week out we got some of the last seats on the right side of the train (it’s essential to get a window seat on the correct side of the train in order to view Mount Fuiji). Fortunately, we had already seen Mount Fuji earlier in our trip as this time it was shrouded in fog. After an early and still-amazing (if Fuji-san less) bullet train ride we arrived in Kyoto, the pinnacle city of Japanese culture and tradition. Full of thousands of temples and gardens and hundreds of teahouses it was a highlight of our trip and even after a week there is much I want to return to see. Our first sight was Nijo ... read more

Takaragawa Onsen (https://www.takaragawa.com/english.html) was one of the highlights of our trip. We were picked up from the train station and whisked through the hills to the onsen; we got to pick our our own yukatas and slippers to wear for the duration of our stay and shown to our beautiful room overlooking the river. The baths themselves were magical, the air clean and cool and the autumn foliage gorgeous. Dinner was exquisite and they were able to accommodate with vegetarian dishes. There was sake. And when we returned to our room they'd set our futons out for us. Truly one of the nicest places I've every stayed. Of course when you're staying at the hot springs you need to take an after dinner dip to look at the stars, and an early morning swim to watch ... read more

Our second full day in Japan we caught an early train (they're all early trains!) to Nikko to visit the Tosho-gu Shrine. Nikko itself was also quite lovely, cool and forested, and the town was super cute. Tōshō-gū is a lavishly ornate Shintō complex within which Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616), the first shogun and founder of the Tokugawa Bakufu (Japan's last feudal military government) is enshrined. Tokugawa Ieyasu played a pivotal role in unifying Japan and, a year after his death, Tokugawa Ieyasu was enshrined at Nikko, elevating his status to divinity. Tōshō-gū's vibrant colors and flamboyant carvings stand in stark contrast to much of Japan's more spartan design. The Yomeimon Gate is Japan's most lavishly decorated gate, covered with 508 detailed carvings of children and elders and mythical beasts and a masterpiece of Edo-period craftsmanship. The ... read more

In the sea there are countless treasures, but if you desire safety, it is on the shore. – Sa’adi After the Islamic Revolution in 1979 the country became the Islamic Republic of Iran, and this brought about many of the changes that people currently associate with the country, with bearded men and women covered in long black chadors, and concerns about anti-American sentiments and Iran’s nuclear program. Yet the nation is actually one of the oldest major continuous civilizations, and has as much history and culture as any traveler could desire, as well as amazingly friendly and inquisitive people. The US travel ban affected Iran the most, with nearly half the banned visitors of the original seven countries coming from this particular Middle Eastern nation. Living in California, I’ve been fortunate to meet many Iranians and ... read more