Japan 2000

Me as seen by Japanese 6 year old - note big eyes!

Kana, my girlfriend. Kodak put this sticker on - I think the technician was looking at the highlight in her hair rather than making a racist comment! The highlights in her hair were dyed brown, so they probably thought it was yellow from a incandescent light bulb. Kana's favorite things were Kakigouri (flavoured shaved ice), chocolate, Hello Kitty and Disneyland. Her favorite place was a toy store in Hirakata City. She made her own teddy bear, which she named Jason after the Friday the 13th monster because it was kind of lopsided. She used to like repeating English phrases, like "Skosh of Scotch", I'd taught her. She looked like a cat enjoying the taste of a fish.

Jason. She had lived in Africa for a while too.

foot remedy - she had broken her foot earlier and this was a therapy... it was a high voltage current and the wand her mother is holding would light up. She also took these blueberry pills that Japanese believe give better eyesight.

This is at the famous Kinkakuji or Golden Temple, also called the Golden Pavillon, in Kyoto. You can see it on live cam here:

Kinkakuji live web cam - the trees haven't grown at all - I guess the gardeners keep them trimmed like giant bonsais!

Kana was a Zen Buddhist, like this temple, but of the Soto sect rather than than the Rinzai. She taught me the meaning of the koan "What is the sound of one hand clapping?". It's just a metaphor meaning you need more than one person to do some things, like the saying "It takes two to tango". Soto doesn't use Koans for meditation, as Rinzai does, just as aphorisms, so Koans have meaning in this tradition.

Hardworking lads. Note the artificial tans, very popular with Japanese youth in 2000.

On a lighter note...... this is Osaka Castle....

'Spider' rocks - several metres wide but only about 10 cm thick. The builders used very large saws to cut them - there was a Ukiyo-e print that showed them using something like a Swedish saw.

Me in front of Gate in Kyoto - Nijō Castle (二条城, Nijō-jō) 

This was the official residence of the Tokugawa Shogun in Kyoto. This is where the famous nightingale floor that would squeak loudly when walked on to deter intruders was built. There are bits of iron set so they would rub together under the floor to make the noise. A friend worked there on restoration and saw them but they wouldn't let him take photos - photos weren't allowed inside when I was their either, but there are photos of the irons I've seen online. After the Meiji Restoration the Tokugawa Shogunate was deposed and the Castle became an Imperial Palace so this might be why there's no photography allowed. The Imperial family donated the castle in 1939 to the city of Kyoto.

Itty Bitty Dolls.... popular in Japan really.. there is even a Doll Day.....

Sushi a gogo - you pick what you want off the conveyor belt that goes round and you pay for the number of plates you have left on the table.....

Celine Dion hawking a course for English, something she'd never do here....also saw Meg Ryan on a TV commercial.....

Yes, I love Japlish... get a nice claup??? They also like using other languages - I saw a whole sign in German -- even cafes in small towns have 'Good Morning' written in hand on the sidewalk menu.. also there's this TV commercial for a cell phone that has a camera inside that lets you send pics to another phone..... guy's trying to pick up a girl in a bar.... she gives him the cold shoulder and he sends her his pic with 'Sorry' written on it....

Temple or Shrine in Kyoto with elephant head on pillar - only time I saw an elephant in sacred art in Japan, which surprised me as they are common in Buddhist and Hindu art elsewhere . The complicated wood structure at the top of the pillar is supposed to act as a shock absorber during earthquakes. Update: It's Kangiten, the Japanese Buddhist equivalent to Ganesh. 

With Kana's sister in law and father

Golden Temple

Katano's love hotel! The local kids try to get in since they think it's an amusement park. 

There is one near the Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts (同志社女子大学) in Kyoto (it has a much more modest exterior, as it's close to the Imperial Palace). My friend gave me the impression that that one was used for 'compensated dates' by students.

More at the Golden Pavillon. Kana had broken her foot. I carried her around some places - she barely weighed anything.

Kana's niece.

I liked the green tea ice cream. Gave you a green tongue.

Little boat by the Golden Pavilion

Pikachu Jet

Mt. Fuji as seen from the plane back to Tokyo. Passenger nice enough to point it out. Only time I've ever seen it in person.