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We rode three hours
We rode three hours out of Beijing yesterday to see the Great Wall. There are nearer places, but we wanted to see the Simatai section, described as “not touristy” and affording the best views. On the drive there, we passed through the northeastern suburbs of Beijing. Towards the airport are the lastest developments. First tall,…
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Last night we strolled
Last night we strolled down Wangfujing, a broad boulevard closed off to traffic. As the evening settled in, crowds of people came out to enjoy the bands and the beer at outdoor festival tables. We dined on food from stalls (avoiding the skewered crickets, scorpions and pupae) at a special night market and had fun…
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I’m in China. Beijing
I’m in China. Beijing reminds me a lot of Hong Hong, Kuala Lumpur & every Chinatown I’ve ever visited. There’s a mix of high-tech billboards and people on bicycles. Old, weed-sprouting roofs on houses hidden behind grey, tile-topped walls. 1970s residential highrises with air conditioners on the outside of each window. Upscale boutiques. Teeming millions.…
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Seth & Tara came
Seth & Tara came back from Akita in the north of Japan bearing a gift box of “Aunt Stella’s Hand Made Cookies from the Heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country.” It’s the perfect blend of Amish & Japanese. The box is wrapped in pink sprigged gift paper just like all Japanese omiyage boxes, and in addition…
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Japanese hospitals are medicine
Japanese hospitals are medicine machines that quickly move patients through a set path from Reception to Accounting. The NTT Kanto Medical Center is no different, but it is newly renovated and offers a comfortable environment. I was there yesterday for an appointment. I wasn’t the only foreigner there, but I was one of perhaps two.…
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Sitting on the arm
Sitting on the arm of a friend’s sofa last night, watching two little girls put “hair toys” into my husband’s too-long hair, I had an insight on writing the description of that scene. Glittering hearts; hysterical laughter; amused patience. But I slept and my insight faded and though I can still vividly picture the scene,…
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Summer is time for
Summer is time for grilling and Tod has fired up the barbeque three times in the past week. But last night we were hungry and didn’t feel like cooking for ourselves. Where did we end up? A Korean barbeque restaurant for indoor grilling! Kenbu Yakiniku is a catch–great food, an interesting atmosphere (half industrial, half…
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When I was a
When I was a little girl, I read a lot of fairy tales, fantasy and historical fiction. I was fascinated with the things people wore and the descriptions of women embroidering all the time. What a lot of work for clothes that we take for granted these days. Yesterday I was shopping with a friend…
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Everyone around me is
Everyone around me is publishing books. Caroline Pover, a friend of a friend, launched her new book last night. Her apartment was packed with friends, contributors, stacks of the book and lots of champagne. Being A Broad in Japan is a sourcebook for foreign women living in Japan that grew out of Caroline’s magazine and…
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For the first time
For the first time in three years, Japan’s trains let us down. We were on our way to a party in Kisarazu, Chiba prefecture (the “state” to the east of Tokyo). It’s about an hour and a half away by train, or only an hour if you catch the Sazanami express train. Kisarazu is “in…
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