I'm back from Japan and overloaded with college work. Yet I found time to lounge on my brother's couch and play xbox with him. And I made it to the Albany Aikikai's 20th anniversary seminar. First time at that Aikikai. Hombu Dojo (World HQ of Aikido) has made me see US Dojos differently, much like eating Daiwa Sushi in the Tsukiji Fish Market ( ( Read more... )

So for my first time alone, I went to bars and clubs. It's my last week in japan, I've been here 83 days out of my 90 ( Read more... )

Tomorrow I'm performing in a recital of the poetry and writings of the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. About a month ago, one of the girls in my guesthouse, Yuko-chan (who has grandmastery in cute-voice), invited me to get involved in this play that they were doing. After snubbing it for a week and not showing up for ( Read more... )

At a sushi bar found bicycling back from Aikido, I met a handful of japanese people. The best way to meet people is to drink o-sake with them. Conversation helps, but is clearly secondary. Two of the people I met helped me find a hotel for Comiket, one of them was Ryuichi Furukawa ( Read more... )

There's a Shinto shrine in Harajuku with a sort of forest park around it. In the places where it grows thin, bamboo walls block out the city. Just underneath the sounds of nature, a silence holds the distinct energy of feudal Japan. A sort of intense seriousness and sense of honor made whole and carried by the serenity of a waterfall ( Read more... )

When I was in public middle school, there was this particular gym class that I remember well. It was outside, and everyone was to be tested that day. A big field was to be circled a number of times, and we were to all be timed. I was chubby at the time and didn't have much endurance, so rather than play their silly game and run, I walked. I was ( Read more... )