Posted in Afterword, tagged frequent flier tickets, United Airlines on December 18, 2008 | 2 Comments »
and mostly recovered from my 36 hour trip. Here is the email I just sent to United Airlines, detailing some of the agony.
I have begun to go through my pictures and hope to post more in this blog, but for the most part I’ll be back at Studio Ruthe.
Dear United Airlines,
You have just gone from [...]
Posted in Kyoto, tagged Honchi-in, Nanzen-in, Nanzenji, Saisho-in, Tenjuan on December 15, 2008 | 2 Comments »
This is my last full day in Japan. I have mixed feelings about leaving, but I am sure it’s the right thing to do. As each day ends I think I’ve really seen everything I need to see and there is no reason to remain. Then the next day I find something new and wonderful. [...]
Posted in Kyoto, tagged cycadacea, Jisso-in, Kyoto Botanical Garden, Kyoto Garden of Fine Art, Tadeo Ando on December 14, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Another beautiful, warm day and another temple: Jisso-in in the north of Kyoto. For this one I had to take the subway and a bus. The temple was interesting; there were some wonderful paintings on the doors. The garden was viewed only from the building. I thought there was supposed to be a stroll garden, [...]
Posted in Kyoto, tagged shopping on December 13, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Tomorrow my big suitcase gets shipped to the airport so I won’t have to schlep it. I decided I ought to go shopping today in preparation for leaving. Also, it’s Robin’s birthday and she had a request. I asked one of the young ladies who works at the hotel for suggestions about where to shop. [...]
Posted in Kyoto, tagged Enko-ji, Honen-in, Reiken-ji, Shisendo on December 12, 2008 | 3 Comments »
It’s gotten very warm again, about 60 degrees F, just amazing for December. I was warm all day yesterday; today I wore lighter clothing. I’m not complaining, but it is weird. This morning I went back to the temple I didn’t want to climb to yesterday. Going to these places requires a large measure of [...]
Posted in Kyoto, tagged Gardens, Heian Jingu, Murin-an, Shinnyo-do, yuzu on December 11, 2008 | 3 Comments »
I awoke this morning to gray gloominess and CNN telling me Illinois was the most corrupt state in the US. Although I now live in Pittsburgh I really consider myself a Chicagoan, having spent most of my first 63 years there. I wasn’t surprised to hear about the governor. Probably the bigger surprise is why [...]
Posted in Kyoto, tagged Chishakuin, Gardens, Kiyomizu-dera on December 10, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Another sunny start to the day. The weather forecast at the hotel said only 20% chance of rain, but I took the umbrella anyway. Very smart. My first destination was Kiyomizu-dera. I tried to get to this temple last year and gave up because of the crowds. This year, because it is December and the [...]
Posted in Nara, tagged Gardens, Isuien, Kasuga Shrine, Nara, Yoshikien on December 9, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Day trip to Nara, about an hour away by train. I was there last year but never saw any of the gardens. I began with Yoshikien, a wonderful, complex garden I loved so much. The sky was blue; it was cold but bearable; I spent a lot of time just wandering around in the garden.
Next [...]
Posted in Kyoto, tagged A bomb, Pearl Harbor, shopping, Toji Temple Antique Market on December 8, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Toji Temple has an “antiques market” the first Sunday of every month—my destination this beautiful, cold morning. This is the same market where I bought the bag of fabric scraps last year, so of course, I went looking for more. I bought another small selection of scraps, then blew caution to the winds and bought [...]
Posted in Kyoto, tagged Hiroshige, Lake Biwa, Omi, Otsu, train ride on December 7, 2008 | 1 Comment »
It turned out to be Lake Biwa day. I know it’s time for me to leave; I’m having a very hard time deciding where to go and what to see. I am feeling the pressure of limited time, but I’m not doing anything about it. This morning I decided to go to Otsu, about 15 [...]
