Back in Raleigh

It's 11:45 pm local time and I'm back in Raleigh, safe and sound. Everything here seems to be as I left it.

My connecting flight was through Dallas again this year, and I heard the same raised voices at customs and security ... is it just Dallas? I hope so.

There are several more observations I want to make, and will do so shortly. I slept on the plane a good bit so I'm not too sleepy. Fortunately there's a cold bottle of sake in the refrigerator with my name on it.

It's two or three years since I left and went away
Now I've come back to Otogo shrine
But there's something I want you to understand:
My travels haven't changed me a bit
My eyeballs are still where they were before--
right underneath my eyebrows
-Ryokan

Packing now, leaving soon

Since my last entry I've visited the Yamatane Museum of Art, which was a mild disappointment, attended the Sumida River Fireworks Festival near Senso-ji in Asakusa, where the crowd was estimated at 1 million (or so I was told), and spent a day at Nikko Jinja, a large and ornate Shinto shrine a couple of hours north of Tokyo.

Places I didn't get to, but would like to see, include Shizuoka near Mt. Fuji, which is home to a Hakuin museum, and Takayama, a historic town in the Japanese Alps that I mentioned in an earlier blog.

I'm in my hotel room packing now and having a final cup of green tea before checking out and heading to Narita, and then ... home.

Thanks for coming along with me. I'll post more observations and follow up thoughts soon.

Domo arigato go zai masu.

Everything turns out false;
Everything turns out true
According to your way of thinking.
Falsehood does not exist outside truth
Nor truth lies outside falsehood.
Fellow truth-seekers,
Why do you seek after truth only?
I'd rather ask you if your mind
To seek after truth is true or false.
-Ryokan

The Metro? Because it's there ...

Public transportation is uniformly good (great?) throughout Japan, and I'm just as comfortable taking it in Bunsui (pop. 16,000) as I am in Tokyo (pop. 1 gazillion). I like not having a car here and yet being able to travel either locally in the city or anywhere in the country. Mike said he hasn't driven a car in ... well, I don't remember, but for many years.

That doesn't mean there aren't inconveniences, like getting from one mode to another or trying to get the timing right. So sometimes you see that "double time" type of walk or even a run to catch a bus or train, or the converse, people sitting around trying to kill some time.

And I've mentioned the occasional sardine experiences. And then, like this morning, I was heading out of the hotel for breakfast, but I took one step outside and immediately turned around and found a cafe in the hotel. It was already hot and humid in Tokyo this morning ... I don't mind hot and humid, but I'd rather get a little further into the day before feeling like I need another shower.

I've heard there's a festival happening in Tokyo tonight and tomorrow, and fireworks (?) tomorrow night. I need to find out more. And there's also that museum, the Yamatane Museum of Art, that was closed last time I was in Tokyo but it's open now ... it's on my itinerary.

The mildly unexpected

At 6:54 this morning I was still in bed, in and out of sleep. Then the room started moving violently back and forth pretty quickly. After about 15 or 20 seconds it stopped and I felt the gentle swaying of my 10th floor room.

Afterward, I went to my window and looked out ... a man walking his dog, a lady riding her bicycle, a car driving down the street.

I say "mildly unexpected" because when I first arrived in Nagaoka I opened the morning paper and it said there was a 10 percent chance of an aftershock of magnitude 5 or greater in the next 3 days. We're beyond that window now, and what I felt surely wasn't magnitude 5, I don't think.

In case you missed prior blogs, Niigata Prefecture and its vicinity were hit Monday a week ago by a magnitude-6.8 temblor, which killed 10 people and injured more than 1,000. While aftershocks are occuring they have been decreasing in the area. Still, there were warnings over possible collapses of houses and landslides. In any event, time has passed and I'm leaving for Tokyo tomorrow.

The unfolding of my day in Bunsui was also mildly unexpected. My plan was to take a taxi to Kugami and have a day of solitude, walking on Ryokan's mountain, alone with my thoughts. But I dropped by to say hello to Yuuko and company before doing so, and they would have nothing of it. First, they phoned Reiko, and she insisted on driving me. And once I got off the phone, Yamata san did as well. So the three of us drove halfway up Kugami to Kokujo-ji, saw the temple, and then hiked to the top, which is apparently an elevation of just 313 m, according to the sign.

While hiking up we were accompanied by an uguisu (pronounced oo-goo-eese), a Japanese nightingale ... Reiko had pointed out its song when we were at the top of Mt. Yahiko the other day. What a beautiful and forlorn song it sings. I'll never forget it.

Illusion and enlightenment? Two sides of a coin.
Universals and particulars? No difference.
All day I read the wordless sutra;
All night not a thought of Zen practice.
An uguisu sings in the willows along the river bank,
Dogs in the village bay at the moon
-Ryokan

We hiked back down and then stopped by Otogo-jinja, which is somewhat lower in elevation than Kokujo-ji and Gogo-an, Ryokan's hut for about 10 years. Otogo-jinja is where the taxi dropped me off last year, in the rain ... I'll never forget the "lost" feeling I had, and the skinny little yellow frogs leaping out of my way as I descended the steps to the shrine.

From the mountain paddies
near this gate
the sounds of frogs,
their voices precious to me
in the evening
-Ryokan

This time was just as special with Reiko and Yamata san, just different. If you look at the photos you'll get the feeling these structures are "all roof" ... they're massive. This area gets really heavy snows, and I remember reading last winter, I believe, that the equivalent of the national guard was sent in to dig people out.

After Kugami, Reiko wanted to take me to a Zen temple of the Soto school in Iwamura, just north of Yahiko, where we were the other day. Ryokan was Soto ... "farmer's Zen" you might say, and less aggressive than the Rinzai school associated with the samurai.

I believe its name is Shugeto-ji, but I don't recall ... it was under repair, and its thatched roof was being replaced. Still, we were welcomed guests by a woman there and offered tea ... it's always on-hand anywhere you go. Everyone seems to be ready to "entertain guests" at a moment's notice.
While there, Reiko mentioned some things about me and some of my interests to the woman. And I mentioned to Reiko that Ryokan writes of a lone pine tree in the paddies of Iwamuro:

Coming and going
I have never tired of
the view
of that single pine tree
standing in the paddies of Iwamuro

She relayed that to her ... and she knew the location of the tree, which had a marker. So off we went. Some gentlemen were nearby playing crocquet, and when asked about the tree one said what's there now is "number three" since Ryokan's time. I snapped some photos anyway.

Afterward, it was ice cream in Iwamuro, and then back to Bunsui ... and tea, and more friends. When I'm in Bunsui, I feel I'm at my best. Saying goodbye was hard. I'm leaving for Tokyo tomorrow.

It was special meeting Yamata san. I found out from Reiko why I didn't meet him last year ... he recently retired and so wasn't home before.

He and I shook hands, once as I was leaving, and then again as he was leading me toward the bus station ... a firm handshake, and long ... it wasn't easy to let go.

Nature's course

Flowers have no close designs to lure butterflies to stay
Nor butterflies any ambition to take advantage of flowers
But butterflies do not dally far behind when flowers blow
And flowers bloom all at once as soon as butterflies come
I am a mere stranger to others about me, if not to myself
Conversely, they are strangers to me as much as I to them
Yet by a set of secret laws they and I are firmly chained

-Ryokan

Today in Izumozaki and Washima

The natto sushi "to go" didn't materialize this morning ... CoCoLo doesn't open until 10:00 am. CoCoLo is a combination department store, grocery store, and more ... basically an "if we don't have it you don't need it" kind of store. It occupies 2 floors and most of Nagaoka Station.

Mike, the teacher in Kamakura, suggested natto sushi when we went for our hike to Hokuko-ji; he's also vegetarian. It was good. I did have natto as a dish (not sushi) a week or so ago and it was an experience. Natto is fermented soy beans, and it's said here that non-natives typically don't enjoy it because of the smell and its sticky consistency. Actually, I'd call it slimy. I watched a Japanese guy eat this who knew what he was doing with a vigorous mixing motion that I couldn't seem to master. And the consistency was, well, let's say the sushi version is preferable.

There were two Americans at breakfast this morning at the hotel ... Westerners stand out. They looked like engineers. So I approached them, introduced myself, and asked if they were. Yes. They were electrical engineers from Ohio who work for Honda and were here on business.

Breakfast was a bust this morning (eggs and shrimp?) and I didn't get a take-along snack ... but I got on the bus at 9:10 and arrived almost an hour later in Izumozaki, Ryokan's birthplace, which has a museum and a memorial and a library. In their substantial collection was an English translation of Ryokan's poems by Yuasa, which is now out of print ... need to find a used copy out there. I spent probably 30 minutes reading some passages this morning.

While there I met a woman I had met last year ... she helped me with the bus schedule for Washima, which was my next stop and the site of another museum. While there I met a woman I had met last year ... she helped me with the bus schedule for Nagaoka (yes, two places, two different women).

While in Washima I noticed some of the Ryokan statues were not standing upright. As I suspected, it was due to the earthquake. I'm not sure why they hadn't been righted. I also had a late lunch there ... soba followed by soft-serve ice cream and hoji-cha. Ahh. As I was walking to the museum from the station, I couldn't help but snap off some photos of the houses in Washima ... I like the architecture here.

Looking at so many maps and signs, I have to say my kanji symbol-matching skills are really improving.

Tomorrow I'll hike to the peak of Mt. Kugami, or at least that's my plan.

Izumozaki

Taking the 9:10 bus this morning to Izumozaki, south of here. It's a little closer to Kashiwazaki and apparently had some damage due to the earthquake. There's a little Ryokan museum there, Ryokan Kinenkan Mae, that I'd like to see again ... and a book I haven't been able to locate that I almost but didn't buy last time. I haven't seen it anywhere else.

Also I'd like to explore a little. From there I may head up to Washima and then Bunsui again, if there's time.

Before I go I'll pick up 3 rolls of natto sushi to keep me going. I'll explain later.

Bunsui to Mt. Yahiko

Yesterday Reiko and I made plans to visit Mt. Yahiko, site of a quaint little village and the largest (Shinto) shrine in Niigata prefecture.

When I got to Bunsui I was welcomed in by Yuuko and Yamata-san for ocha while waiting for Reiko to arrive. This town is so closely knit. As I've watched people come and go from Yuuko's shop, or from other shops, customers and visitors alike are welcomed inside, urged inside, to sit and have tea. And it's not just for show, it's not just manners on display ... this is how they live. You welcome me, I welcome you.

Of course I'm not so naive as to believe there aren't squabbles or differences, but there are some things that just can't be faked. There's a lot of happiness here. They're doing something right.

Yesterday I gave a little gift to Yuuko, and when I did, she brought out the gift I had given her last year along with the wrapping. She didn't have to look for it, and of course a year has passed and she had no idea if she was ever to see me again.

Today while we had tea with her friends, she brought out a scrap of paper from last year on which I had written some things about Ryokan and North Carolina. I have to tell you I was really touched.

A little later Reiko drove up and we chatted more. I found out that one of the women in the store cleans and repairs Butsudan, Buddhist altars. So I took a photo of the altar in Yuuko's shop, which sits in a little tatami room (each tatami mat is 90 cm x 180 cm, and hers is an 8-mat room ... typical, she said).

Before heading to Yahiko we stopped by the woman's shop and saw her working, and had some coffee. These little interactions seem so typical and expected. Of course different altars are priced differently, but a typical one can sell for about $25,000.

Although clouds covered the peak of Yahiko Mountain it was a pleasant day to see the shrine ... so cool and breezy in the mountains. The large "jugs" with kanji characters on them are jugs of sake, Reiko said.

We took a lift to the top of Yahiko though the view was obscured by clouds. Back at the shrine we saw a museum that had a small sculpture of Ryokan-san, as well as a painting I liked that I (as usual) inadequately photographed, titled "Izumozaki" by Ryoichi Sasaoka ... wish I could get a print. (An aside: Izumozaki is nearby and is where Ryokan was born).

It's late in Nagaoka ... bedtime. Thanks for reading along.

Kugami Mountain

At dusk coming over Kugami Mountain
I hear a stag's yearning cry
on the peak of the mountain
-Ryokan

Yahiko Mountain

On Yahiko Mountain one can see
both children and flowers
bloom
-Ryokan

Arriving in Bunsui

I took the 9:40 bus to Bunsui this morning, arrived an hour later, and began walking, trying to get my bearings. Where was Yuuko's rice shop?

Without thinking or remembering precisely where to go, I walked right to her shop without missing a turn.

I have imagined what that moment might be like. As I approached the front of her shop, I noticed a man sitting there alone where I typically saw Yuuko sitting. I stood there for a moment and our eyes met ... after a long pause, I finally said "Yuuko?"

As I'm writing this, I now wonder why I didn't ask "Yuuko wa doko desuka?" (where is Yuuko?) That may have been more helpful because he and I wound up talking to each other in our respective languages with little convergence.

Eventually I took out a scrap of paper and wrote down the names I knew there ... Yuuko (the rice shop owner), Reiko (the English teacher), and Nanzan (the sake shop owner).

And then I said "kyouju" (professor), and that seemed to ring a bell. So he got on the phone and called Reiko and she and I talked. She explained to me that the man is Yamata-san, Yuuko's husband, whom I had not met before.

So Yamata-san and I sat there and had tea and managed to exchange a thought or two with the help of my little English-Japanese dictionary. I still had no idea where Yuuko was or if I'd see her.

About 15 minutes later, though, she walked in the door and saw me sitting there. She paused in front of me and we both gave deep bows to each other, eyes misty.

A little later Reiko showed up and that moved the conversation along ... I heard Yamata-san telling her what happened when I first showed up. I could recognize "gaijin" (foreigner) and "sensei" (teacher) and from his expressions the confusion he had. As he was describing it we all laughed and laughed.

Several of her friends showed up during the next hour or so, coming and going, and I met an English-speaking engineer who works at Kashiwazaki and who knew firsthand of the damage there from the earthquake. Apparently Reiko had taught him English in her class 30 years ago.

After a stop by the Ryokan museum I got to enjoy the festivities: a Shinto celebration in Bunsui, the Bunsui Matsuri. I was dazzled ... so many smiling faces, so much happiness, a totally engaged community. Look at the photos ... they say it all.

In the photo, from left to right: me, Osamu (the engineer), Yamata-san, Yuuko, and Reiko.

Bunsui Matsuri (Shinto Festival)

At long last the spring day has arrived
when under the trees of this shrine
I can play with the village children
-Ryokan

At the Bunsui Ryokan Museum

Bush clover and pampas grass
Please show me the way
to follow
-Ryokan

Bunsui

Last night I spent a little time wondering around Nagaoka. The pace here is much slower than Tokyo, the dress more casual, and there's no waiting in lines to get on an elevator.

From "the brochure," as of March 2000 Nagaoka has a population of 191,174. There are a couple of museums and a technical university here that I'd like to see.

There's a summer festival on August 1 to commemorate the "rebirth" of the city after it was virtually destroyed during World War II.

After dinner last night, which was a real experience in trying to order something vegetarian, I came back to the hotel wiped out, and went to bed early.

Today? I have a timetable for the buses and will take the 9:40 one to Bunsui like I did last year ... leaving in 45 minutes.

In Nagaoka

I arrived in Nagaoka this afternoon and got checked in to my hotel ... sitting here now.

As I descended the train platform and rounded the corner, I was greeted once again by Ryokan-san, in the form of a statue. I paused in front of him, bowed respectfully, and headed to my hotel.

This feels like home.

As I was checking out of my hotel in Tokyo, I mentioned my destination, and a girl at the desk overheard and offered to chat ... I was curious about the situation here following the earthquake. She just returned from the area and, coincidentally, has a friend in Bunsui. She said temporary shelters have been set up here, though I have not seen them yet.

What's next? Hmm ... I need a plan.

On the way up I sat next to a Japanese businesswoman who spoke little English, but our attempts at communication turned to my reason for being here. The easiest explanation was simply to pull out a bilingual collection of Ryokan poetry ... although she wasn't familiar with him, she was impressed enough that I left my copy with her.

That was my only copy here ... so what shall I do? Just let them bubble up from my heart.

Often I am distressed
by the world's sadness.
And just as often I am at a loss
as to what I should do.
-Ryokan

Leaving Tokyo, heading to Nagaoka

I'm packed and will have breakfast before catching shinkansen to the city of Nagaoka in Niigata prefecture ... Ryokan country. People there know him and love him.

What will it be like this time? I keep asking myself that question ... not just because a year has passed, but also because of the earthquake. Are the people in Bunsui okay? I haven't managed to find out from the news reports. Mostly I've seen images of Kashiwazaki: torn streets, collapsed houses, the elderly in temporary housing.

Hearing people speak
About the troubles of the world
I can't help but feel shocked
As I am neither rock nor tree.
-Ryokan

Kamakura again

I didn't get to write up yesterday's events, and I'm off again today to Kamakura.

I met an American teacher yesterday who offered to take me to Hokoku-ji, the bamboo temple, and have green tea and talk with me about his experiences teaching in Japan. He did a "one year" thing that has turned into an 13-year one, so I'm curious about his perspective.

I also have to say briefly that yesterday was so amazing ... a cool breeze on a nice day, walking who-knows-where. I had the thought that there was no cell phone in my pocket, that I couldn't be found ... the only reality was the now, the moment I was living.

And what gems I encountered ... a tiny modern art musuem where I went from piece to piece, each one speaking to me. "Winter in Aizo" (1958 in a series) by Kiyoshi Saito almost brought me to tears. The image above is his "Remnants of snow" (1983). I couldn't find an image of the particular "Winter in Aizo" piece I loved.

There's so much I want to write ... alas, I have to buy my shinkansen ticket for tomorrow and get ready for the train to Kamakura. Mike said there's a hike he wants to take me on ... apparently there were only a few passes into Kamakura, and they played a role in its history. He wants to hike one of them with me on the way to Hokoku-ji.

Good luck

Perhaps good-luck charms are, ahem, bad luck, but I couldn't resist one of these Buddha bracelets from Kencho-ji in Kamakura. It's apparently a safer bet, though, than tattoos, which apparently can get you kicked out of places in Japan, because they're associated with the mafia.

Daily Yamazaki

There is one of these little convenience stores near my hotel in Akasaka-Mitsuke. It's good for Hagen-Dazs green tea ice cream, soy-flavored rice crackers, some little waffle-like things, and ... sake. Although Tokyo isn't cheap, sake is a pretty good deal, about 400 yen a bottle, so a little over 3 bucks.

4 times 3 equals 12

In visiting Kamakura today, I spent probably 4 hours walking from place to place ... at a 20 minute per mile pace, that means I walked about 12 miles, not counting all the standing and walking around temple grounds, a museum, etc.

On the train ride back I found a "nap buddy" so to speak. A Japanese businessman who must have had a rough day began slouching in my direction, his head bowing and shoulder pressing into mine ... I was tired too and caught myself drifting off on the ride back.

I'm a little tired now but will give an update on today's events soon.

Kamakura and Enkaku-ji

Catching a train now to Kamakura ... will see the Great Buddha and Enkaku temple, founded in 1282 and associated with Rinzai Zen. I should say this is my plan, barring any typhoons or earthquakes.

How can I contain myself? I'm off!

Clear and transparent

Like the little stream
Making its way
Through the mossy crevices
I, too, quietly
Turn clear and transparent.
-Ryokan

In pictures: Kashiwazaki earthquake

More from the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6902448.stm

Still in Tokyo ... have I said that before?

And I still have two unaccounted-for days in my itinerary ... hmm.

Today I had three museums on my list that were high priority. Alas, to a one each is closed:

• Idemitsu Art Museum
• Nezu Institute of Fine Arts
• Yamatane Museum of Art
  

Only the latter one will be open before I fly home ... it's near my hotel, which I re-booked for the last few days before my flight.

As it stands, I'm to check-out tomorrow (Thu, July 19) and check-in to a hotel in Nagaoka on Sat, July 21.

One possibility is the Takayama area in the Japanese Alps, but it takes about 4-1/2 hours to get there from Tokyo, and I have to return through Tokyo to get to Nagaoka, meaning it's another 6-1/2 hours from Takayama to Nagaoka.

What little planning I did is now totally out of whack. And the hotel in Nagaoka is very inflexible on its dates, though I may try calling again.

Another more practical alternative is Kamakura ... temples and a giant bronze Buddha, among other sights to see. But that doesn't sound as picturesque and exotic as Takayama.

About Nagaoka ... thanks for all the well-wishes and (mostly) concern. But I think it will be okay ... I can't not go.

How often I changed my place
looking for a better spot.
But could I find a better one
than Mt. Kugami? No!

-Ryokan

Travel update

The death toll has risen to 7 ... hundreds of homes and buildings were flattened, and troops were sent in to assist in relief efforts. Here's a link:

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200707170208.html

So no, I'm not going today.

But I re-booked my hotel in Nagaoka for Saturday, July 21, hoping by then that it will be okay to visit Bunsui and Mt. Kugami. So I'll be in Tokyo for another two nights, possibly longer, until I can figure out where to go and what to do in the mean time.

My rough idea had been to see Kugami for 5 days and then venture down to the Japanese Alps and see Iiyama, a remote town that has a small temple, Shoju-an, to which I feel some connection: first, it was established by Hakuin's master, and second, it was restored many years later by a local zen teacher's teacher ... and he recommended it to me as a scenic stop in the tranquil Japanese mountains.

Okay, I have to do my homework.

It's after 2 am ...

And I'm just now starting to come to terms with the possibility I won't see Mt. Kugami or the little town of Bunsui ... if you read the following post you'll understand why ... predictions of aftershocks, mudslides, etc.

Of course, of all the reasons I wanted to come to Japan, this was the warm fuzzy one that compelled me here.

Last year I missed Tiantai-shan, Han Shan's mountain in China ... I hope Mt. Kugami is still possible.

2 die, 250 hurt in quake

07/16/2007

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

An earthquake Monday jolted Niigata and Nagano prefectures, killing at least two people, injuring more than 250 and causing emergency shutdowns of nuclear reactors.

The 10:13 a.m. quake registered upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7, Japan Meteorological Agency officials said.

The magnitude 6.8 quake's focus was about 17 kilometers below the seabed some 60 km southwest of Niigata city.

Aftershocks were felt in the Kashiwazaki area of Niigata Prefecture in the afternoon. Meteorological agency officials warned that aftershocks of up to upper 5, or even lower 6, could continue in some areas for about a week.

They also warned of landslides following torrential downpours from Typhoon No. 4, which swept out to the Pacific Ocean on Sunday.

Police said an apartment building collapsed in Kashiwazaki, trapping three people who were rescued by prefectural police around midday.

More than 15 houses collapsed in Kashiwazaki, trapping the occupants, according to police.

The jolt caused a transformer outside the No. 3 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. to catch fire. Black smoke was visible, and the fire was brought under control by noon.

Four workers suffered minor injuries, company officials said.

The plant's four reactors in operation automatically shut down when the earthquake hit. Three other reactors were not operating because they were undergoing inspections.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was in Kyushu campaigning for the July 29 Upper House election, canceled his speeches and flew back to Tokyo to deal with the crisis.

Some Shinkansen train services were suspended and a JR Shinetsu Line train derailed at Kashiwazaki Station. (IHT/Asahi: July 16,2007)

Still in Tokyo

Nagaoka won't happen today ... I'm at an internet cafe typing this blog entry.

I got to Tokyo station this afternoon only to find out that there was an earthquake near my destination, Nagaoka, at 10:13 this morning, July 16. From what I can gather it was a magnitude 6 earthquake killing 2 people and injuring 150. Trains were off the tracks in Kashiyazaki, the place I changed trains last year when I was going from Nagaoka to Washima, where Ryokan met the nun Teishin in his final years.

Not sure when I'll post another entry but it will likely be once I get to Nagaoka tomorrow, if that's even possible ... first a hurricane, now an earthquake. I guess I'll just take events as they come, moment by moment.

Stay tuned.

Wait it out?

Typhoon Man-yi is nearing Shikoku island and is projected to pass over Tokyo tomorrow at noon, the time at which I planned to take shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train, to Nagaoka.

See here for tracking:

http://205.85.40.22/jtwc/warnings/wp0407.gif

Do I give it a go, or wait it out? Just called the front desk and had them extend my stay another night with the option of checking out earlier. Hmm ...

Tokyo sunset

This photo is from my hotel room tonight ...

My first sardine experience

Tokyo works in a way that seems consistent with my own temperament, so things make sense to me. This time I feel even more comfortable than last year here, and the thought of spending more time in Tokyo is compelling.

When I lived in the Pacific Northwest, everyone complained about the rain, but I never thought it was bad when I was in Seattle, and I wondered if it was just a way to keep a rapidly growing area from growing too rapidly ... just tell everyone it rains too much.

Everyone in Tokyo says it's too crowded, but like I wrote last year, every system seems to be robust or "over designed" enough to handle snafus or an occasional surge in volume. On my way to Ueno in the morning yesterday I barely managed to get into a subway car before the doors closed, and once they were closed it was clear that not a single human body could be added into that space ... we were that close together.

And as I was standing there trying to breathe and letting the claustrophobia sink in, and as all these jostling bodies were speeding forward, my single thought became ... try not to think about the two egg mcmuffins niku nashi ni I just consumed a little too quickly.

Gozan nashi ni

Gozan literally means "five mountains" and it's a term that's used to describe the five schools of zen that migrated from China to Japan. There is a special exhibit at the National Museum in Tokyo by the same name, showing the artwork and calligraphy associated primarily with the zen schools in Kyoto. Alas, it opens on July 31, the day after my flight back to the US.

Yesterday was my second day in the Ueno area with a number of museums. The first day I overslept when napping because I'm still somewhat jet-lagged, and I wound up getting there after many were closing. Yesterday I went earlier in the day but found I wouldn't be able to see the exhibit I was most intererested in.

That said, I also saw a collection of ukiyo-e art of Japanese women collected at New Otani, the hotel where I'm staying. Ukiyo-e was created during the Edo era (1603-1867) and it's name literally means "pictures of the floating world." The above is by Kudo Shunman and titled "two beauties walking in the snow with an umbrella." The image here doesn't do justice to the original, which I loved.

Before venturing out yesterday, I again stopped by the local McDonald's for breakfast. Okay, so it's not traditional Japanese, but it's an easier way to ease into the day with something familiar and satisfying.

That said, I still had to learn a phrase in Japanese to get what I wanted (after a mistake the first go round). The phrase? "Two egg mcmuffins niku nashi ni" ... or "... meat without." I have to admit it felt so cliche to be walking into McDonald's the first morning, but I've managed to overcome that mild sense of embarrassment for a comfortable way to start the day.

RDU - DFW - Narita - Tokyo Station - Akasaka-Mitsuke

Planes, trains, and subways ... and now I'm in my hotel. It took 2.5 + 13 hours in flight to get here, and another 2:35 to get from Narita to my hotel via the Narita Express train and the Marunouchi line of Tokyo's subway system.

Walking around Tokyo tonight I kept thinking to myself, "why don't more people live here?" It just seems that good. Of course, I understand the irony of that statement.

I've had very little sleep the last few days though ... time to hit the hay. Tomorrow will have to take care of itself.

Dallas-Fort Worth

I'm at the airport in Dallas-Fort Worth waiting on my connecting flight to Tokyo. I remember how unusual it felt last time that "things" here were so familiar after spending a month in Asia. This time? The familiarity is familiar ... looking forward to the unfamiliar.

Kugami again

Why shouldn't I go home
To my mountain hut
Treading along the cedar path
Growing thick on Mt. Kugami?

-Ryokan

At 6 am this Monday I'll again board a plane for Japan and stay there for three weeks. I'm flying into and out of Narita airport near Tokyo. Beyond that not much is clear. Public transportation is so convenient that not much needs to be arranged in advance. Airports, train stations, subways, buses, taxis ... they're all interconnected and uniform.

In deciding whether to travel again this year, I played over and over again in my mind the experience of out-of-the-way places. When I think of Bunsui, the little town at the foot of Kugami yama, I have a warm feeling that words cannot capture. The thought of returning was irresistible.

At this time last year my concern was what it would be like to travel alone for an extended period. I had never done it. I cannot forget descending Kugami and walking for miles along the rice fields toward Bunsui ... so alone, and yet without the piercing loneliness I sometimes felt.

What will I find this year? Where will I go? Perhaps I should see temples in the Japanese Alps that I missed last time. My only known destination is Bunsui ... will it feel the same, or different? Will the rice shop owner greet me again and offer ocha?