Sakata Green Hotel

... I do always enjoy this part of traveling, cause I can never really take it seriously. They asked me what color my eyes were. So, I shut my eyes, said red, and didn't open them til they tackled me to the ground. And then they asked me to declare my belongings. I told them 3 bags of clothes, 3 bows, and 19 arrows. National security at its best, the officer asked me, "Open the bags of clothes, sir." I guess it would take a while to string the bow, unwrap the ...

Given that this is my last day at work (although loose ends abound that need tying up), I’ve decided to make this my last blog entry. It’s my blog, so I can end it whenever I want. If there are common themes to this seemingly whimsical memoir, there are three. The first has been my delight in moments of absurdity or surrealism in Japan, caused mostly by the language barrier that I doubt I would ever scramble over even if I stayed here for five ...

... Ryokan, which is a traditional Japanese Inn up in the foothills of Mt. Chokai near one of my elementary schools. The place had two small onsens, yukatas that were ironed just right, and pillows designed to undisturb sleep. In terms of presentation and color, the dinner and breakfast was nothing less than stellar. The raw oysters put a few butterflies in my basket ...

... ställen med tillgång till internet som civiliserade) och sitter på Pearl City Hotel i Akita efter lite nödshopping (typ jeans, det var way mycket kallare här än vad någon hade förväntat sig, och jag hade bara shorts och linnen med mig) och middag i mormor och morfarsd hus. Planerna för imorgon är att hälsa på mormor som ligger på sjukhus, och sen tonkatsu-lunch med morfar. Jag sitter fast här i Akita i en vecka eller så, men sen åker vi ner till Izu, och efter det; Tokyo!

... after I leave Japan), and we’re starting with pronunciation. The girls -- who are twins -- are charged with giving seven-minute speeches in English having never uttered a V, a TH, or an L in their entire lives… and one of the main characters is named “Calvero.” My effort so far has involved recording my dramatic readings of the scripts, trying my best to sound like a struggling dancing queen (the first line is ...

... body is harder than oak, a densely packed receptacle of meat and gristle, throbbing in its barely restrained power. That’s what I would say, anyway, if it wasn’t just my thighs that have swelled in the past two years. My forelegs and arms are still sticks, and locals still pat my gut, forsaking all I’ve learned of Japanese politeness, and ask, “six months ...

... that was because it provided water for crops year-round. Actually, it was more respected for its tendency to rain fire down on the populace. Animals get ranks too. The shou-ichii animal is the fox. Lesser gods include big rocks and old trees, the lowest rung on a ladder with twelve steps. There are 8 million gods, more than the population of Japan in the time when these beliefs were taken a bit more ...

... base of a large volcanic mountain, Mt. Chokai (referred to as "Dewa Fuji" -- Fuji of the North). Present-day Kisakata, though still home to Mt. Chokai, is not made up one hundred islands surrounded by water; rather, it is made up of one hundred small islands surround by land. In 1804, some one hundred and fifteen years after Basho wrote about Kisakata's natural beauty, a large earthquake and volcanic eruption caused the sea bed to rise some thirty or forty feet (I've been ...

... this couple has had a day full of concentrated intellectual activity, and just like Einstein (whose name we abuse), think that joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.  Speaking of consistency, I often get requests to either translate something into English or correct some letter written in English. There's no real middle ground here, though. When I correct something, the something I'm correcting is either ...

... for the first time. A kotatsu is a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source which is often built into the table itself. Since winter in Japan is so cold and most houses do not have very good insulation, this is one of the few warm places that can be found in the winter other than the ...