Like most westerns I was allergic to the sight of Japanese travel groups. I vividly remember local Parisians making fun of them when visiting there one summer back in my […]
Japan Journal
Sayonara Chidorigafuchi
I attended the annual August 15 Nichiren Shu sponsored memorial ceremony honoring all victims of the Pacific War and prayer for world peace at Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery for 15 years. […]
Japan Journal
Two Funerals
When my Dad passed away last November, there was no way our family, my older brothers, could hold a funeral right away. Dad died in Salt Lake City, the family […]
Japan Journal - Japanese Buddhism
Return of The Dragon
It was a very tough winter for the priests working at Keishin-in temple on the top of Shichimensan. There was so much heavy snow that it snapped the utility poles. […]
Japan Journal
Golden Weeks
Golden Week is never a good time to travel in Japan. Tickets are scarce, discounts are impossible to find. Japanese media shows packed Shinkansen trains and traffic jammed expressways. But […]
Japan Journal
Hope Vampires
Now that Tokyo Yamanote line train cars have replaced most of the ad poster spaces with display screens showing endlessly looping silent video commercials, catchy slogans are more important than […]