Other things you can do in Nagasaki

Spectacles Bridge was built by Zen master Mokusu Nyojo, and is the oldest stone bridge in Japan.

After the bomb

I wonder how many Americans knew about this after the bomb: we hadn’t vaporized alien beings, but Christians, and sacred Catholic churches and artifacts.

Yumihari Observatory above Sasebo

When we were done taking advantage of our hosts’ incredible balcony, they told us there was an observatory at the top of the mountain. Observatory turns out to mean, in Japan, a viewpoint.

American Town Festival at Sasebo

And just like that, I got to step onto the USS Bonhomme Richard, the gigantic amphibious assault ship I had been in awe of during every visit to Sasebo.

Full moon and fireworks

We were perfectly content not to extend ourselves outside our fuzzy dark night bubbles of serenity.

Heat and goodbyes in Hiroshima

600 meters above ground, the bomb flattened nearly every structure within a 2 kilometer radius, and killed thousands of people instantly. Thousands more died soon after, flesh dripping off them, with nausea, fever, diarrhea, loss of hair, and internal bleeding. And then many more died after that, due to sudden bouts of cancer.

The deer are starving at Miyajima

As cool as the sights were, as impressive the shrines, as fun as the ferry rides were, the deer made it depressing. Tara and I didn’t really talk about it, but it was the elephant in the room.

What do you eat at a Cat Cafe?

You eat pizza, it turns out. Or curry, or rice, depending on what you’re craving. There are even more choices for drinks. With many iced choices on the menu, it is a great place to visit on a hot summer afternoon. One can order tea, coffee, soda, or food, or simply forget all that and […]

Tara in Iwakuni and Sanzoku (Chicken Shack)

On Sunday my T was still dealing with jet lag and reluctant to get out into the heat again. We made easy plans to go shopping in downtown Iwakuni and then to watch movies (Best of Monty Python’s Flying Circus) and have some mother-daughter bonding time. Again, we enjoyed finding grocery stores to wander through, […]

My girlie comes to Japan

While waiting for her bag, she walked up to her side and put her hand on the glass, and I put my hand over hers on my side of the glass.