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At this time of
At this time of year, mid-August, the city is abandoned. Kids are on summer vacation and families are heading off to visit their parents and relatives in their hometowns. So many of Tokyo’s residents are originally from somewhere else that Obon matsuri, the midsummer festivals to honor the spirits of ancestors, are held a month…
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While we were in
While we were in China, we learned to play mahjong. We enjoyed it so much that we all bought mahjong sets. Ours came from the Number 9 Department Store in Shanghai, just down the street from our hotel. Seth and Tara bought four sets after scouring the city for just the right ones. We played…
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The house is quiet
The house is quiet this morning. Our houseguests, Seth & Tara left for America yesterday. They are repatriating after six years abroad but their experience returning was less than delighful. Rude cabin attendants on the American carrier, two metal detectors at the airport, and no apologies from the staff when no rental cars or hotel…
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Last night as walked
Last night as walked home, Meziane Mejdoud wobbled by on a bicycle and stopped to talk to us. He’s quite a character. Originally from Algeria, he’s lived in Japan for twenty years (“vingt ans” is what he said, actually, since we conducted our conversation in English, French and Japanese). He owns a home in Sengoku,…
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Vacations are great. Coming
Vacations are great. Coming home to hundreds of messages, minor crises, and changing deadlines isn’t so fun. OIne of the joys of freelancing is a flexible and lighter workload. But returning from this vacation, I am as swamped with stuff to do as if I were a wage slave. I’m a slave, but no wages.…
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In eleven days we
In eleven days we covered plenty of territory in China: Beijing; Xi’an; Chongqing; Shanghai; and countless places I’d never heard of before. I captured it all in images. 252 slides on film and 181 digital photos, to be precise. But my favorite snapshot, the one that best sums up my travel experience, isn’t one by…
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Beijing is a city
Beijing is a city of fluid movements: tai chi in the shadow of the Temple of Heaven; ballroom dancing in a park; pedestrians sauntering down a shopping arcade. Traffic moves with the moment. On broad avenues bicycles, donkey carts and trolley buses share the raod with taxis and pedestrians. Nobody hurries, especially not the big…
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Arriving at Wansheng Theater
Arriving at Wansheng Theater was a Neil Stephenson novel come to life. Our taxi driver pulled up in front of an old, peeling-grey, three story building. Its windows were boarded over and outside the second floor unlit neon letters spelled out “Welcome to our ACROBATICS SHOW” A middle aged man in a dingy polo shirt…
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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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