Lucky Gaijin!

Did my brother like Kyoto? You better believe it! Here he is pouring some sake for Katsugiku-san.

Big Brother Gaijin's Tips for Traveling Japan

Get rich before you come. Seeing a geisha or maiko walk through Gion is fun and all, but hanging out with them is not cheap!

If you dont have enough money to hang out with them, at least try to see them dance! (More pictures from the Fall dance coming soon!)


Take advantage of every opportunity to jam! Don`t forget to bring your shamisen!


When climbing an active volcano, ignore all signs warning of danger and forbidding trespass. Take the path less traveled...


...like this one i found wandering through the cow pastures...


Make friends wherever you go.

Join a hostelling association before you go, and save yourself some cash flow! This country is expensive!


Pretend not to know the strange person that keeps taking pictures of you.


Get lost in a garden.


Spend as much time as possible in Kyoto. And come in the fall.


If you want to see a Japanese castle, head straight for Himeji!

Remember: Soba is your friend! Eat it, and eat it often!
Want a good view of Fuji-san? Climb the nearest electrical or cell phone tower...You wont be disappointed! And since you can`t climb Fuji, at least you can say you climbed something!

Exploring on bike is your best bet, but dont forget to take time to stop and smell the tea...

Las Adventuras de La Familia en Japon: この外人のお母さんと兄さんの日本の冒険！

To tell the truth I spent about 2 days writing about all our adventures, which mysteriously disappeared when I tried to publish it. Here are some pictures... Use your imagination!

My mother, brother, and I with the teachers of Ena Kita Jr. High. In back of my brother and I is the new, super-cute math teacher, at the ripe old age of 22! To the right of my bro is Katsuno sensei, who spent the evening teaching us how to fold origami, which is not easy for most gaijin when they are sober, let alone slightly intoxicated. The woman hiding behind Colin`s fat head (just kidding Colin:) is the coolest teacher I work with, and the organizer of this festive event: Kachi sensei, whose rice cooker recently exploded at 6:00 Tuesday morning, covering my kitchen in a gooey, green pea sludge.

The Inebriated Origami Challenge: 頑張れ！They're trying so hard!

Magome, an Edo period past town on the old Nakasendo (Road Through the Mountains), that once connected Kyoto, the Emperor's capital, to Edo (present day Tokyo), and former base of opperations for the Tokugawa Shogunate. Edo became a prison where the shoguns held the daimyo's wives and children hostage to discourage them from trying to rebel. The policy of alternate residence (or attendence) forced Daimyo to spend every other year in Edo, under the watchful eye of the government. Their elaborate processions of goods and retainers often traveled this road, making Magome a bustling town which faded away with arrival of Comodor Perry's black ships and the end of the shogunate. This now concludes our Japanese History lesson for the day. O-WA-RI-MASu!

As we wandered the streets of Tsumago, the next post town down from Magome (in Nagano prefecture) this man invited us into his shop for tea, and serenaded us to the soothing sounds of Sting. His shop was filled with priceless antiques, including samurai armor the size of my elementary students!

The door of an old Edo period store house, right across the street from above mentioned shop. These buldings spot the country side with bright white walls and black tile roofs. In the past they were built separate from the main house so that, in case of fire, the family`s valuables would be safe.

The Gassho-zukuri style houses (so named because they resemble hands in prayer), of Shirakawa village are famous world-wide. The steep, peaked roofs help to keep the massive amounts of snow that falls in Northern Gifu from accumulating and crushing the house. The thatch, like so much else here, is made from a special kind of rice plant, and is about a meter thick.

Their first Japanese breakfast.

Taking tea at the hearth of a gassho-zukuri home. The smoke from this ever burning fire, over the centuries, has stained the wood of the home a deep, glossy black (note the wall behind us). The noren (japanese style curtain) hanging behind was made by the home's owner from her grandmother's maiden kimono (its a meiji era furisode kimono, meaning a kimono she wore before she got married). It was stunning.


From the freezing snow of Northern Gifu we went south to Miyajima. My mother and I walked down to the shore rockin' our ryokan yukatas to watch the sun rise over the famous floating Torii. Of course, it only appears to be floating when the tide is in. My brother had woken up early and decided to climb up Mt. Misen in his yukata. By the time we woke up he was long gone, and didn't get back until almost 10:30.


The floating torii ( a spiritual gate that marks an entrance to a shinto shrine).

Bye-bye Miyajima....


Our first night in Kyoto was also the first night of the Kiyomizudera Spring Illumination.

Isin't it unreal?

Kiyomizudera, the Temple of Pure Waters, shines like a star in the heavens☆.

Katsugiku, one of the many maiko and geiko my brother and I crossed paths with as we wandered the streets of Gion at night.

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, meditate on these things.

Phillipians 4:8

Kyoto turns pink in the spring, as clouds of blushing blossoms cling to the trees.

The Golden Pavillion, Kyoto.

Silly kid.

The joyful expression that only a plate full of fish head can bring.

Delicious! おいしい～！

My mother made friends everywhere we went!

My three moms...

My host family from the good ol' Gaidai days.