I have heard ( Read more... )

An amazing thing happened to me in Japan. The night that was the second anniversary of my first night in Japan--August 1--I was staying at a temple on the outskirts of Kyoto with a small group. We were lucky to have been chosen for the temple stay, because everyone else was staying at an ordinary ryokan, a Japanese-style inn ( Read more... )

I ran around like an idiot today trying to figure out what to do about getting a new cellphone. It's not as easy as it sounds. The best deal T-mobile could give me on a replacement phone was something ridiculous like $200, and even with a new contract with another provider, after tax and activation fees and everything, it would still cost well ( Read more... )

You wouldn't recognize me if you saw me now. For one thing, there's my appearance: it's cold here, much colder than I remembered for August (why is it always the case that when we feel lonely, we also feel physically cold?), and of course I just arrived from Japan, home of steamy hot summers. In short, I have no warm clothing, just one dressy ( Read more... )

I actually slept for most of the nine-hour flight from Tokyo yesterday. I made it here, and took a one-hour nap on the touch. That was at 3pm. It's now 6am and I just woke up. Five or six hours of sleep on the airplane, plus 16 hours more. I feel like I could keep sleeping if I wanted to. That's how bloody sleep-deprived I am after this month ( Read more... )

I had an uneventful trip from Japan and arrived in Berkeley a little while ago. I somehow managed to lose my USA cell phone in Japan, though, which made getting the keys to my new apartment here fun. But I was able to move in, although all of my stuff is still at my friend's house, and I have nothing but a suitcase full of dirty laundry. And no ( Read more... )

I guess this will be the typical "goodbye Japan" post. Or, as the title says, "see ya later, Japan." After an incredible month in Japan, an even more incredible week in Tokyo, I had an even more incredible 24 hours in Sendai, that I will never forget. I saw six friends, which is about half of all of the people I wanted to see in Sendai, but I ( Read more... )

My life is now officially complete and I can die a happy man. I had dinner last night with two living legends, Donald Richie and Dr. Edward Seidensticker. I sat next to Richie and across the table from Seidensticker. It was like a dream come true. When we walked into the restaurant and I saw Richie sitting there, my heart started beating... I ( Read more... )

It's late and I should be asleep but I just need to write ( Read more... )

Don't know where on earth to begin. It's been a crazy several days in Tokyo, like I expected, only better than I expected. This is the first chance I've had to use the Internet in a few days--which is my own fault, because we've had plenty of free time here, augmented by the meetings I've been skipping. But I've been busy catching up with ( Read more... )