Kamakura

Went to Kamakura shrine yesterday. The Daibutsu of Kamakura, the Great Buddha, has been a part of my consciousness since I was a child, so to actually see it after all these years was quite an experience. It isn't as big as all the pictures make it seem, but that's not really a bad thing. It is more friendly that way, I think.

There is actually quite a bit more to the Kamakura area than the Daibutsu, however. There is a temple to Hachiman, a common god in Japan, which is nice, though the main thing I enjoyed was that they had just constructed new sections to the temple and the unfinished pine smelled wonderfully. Very often temples in Japan are left unvarnished like this, in contrast to the laquer that is applied to the wood in Chinese style temples. I find it much more elegant, though of course the wood rots much quicker. But that's part of life, and this concession appeals to my aesthetics, and always has.

There is also a beautiful temple to Kannon near the Daibutsu. Kannon is a Bodhisattva who has promised to save all living beings from suffering before he/she enters Nirvana her/himself. Kannon, called Kuan Yin in China and Avilokitesvara in Sanskrit, is usually female in China and Japan, though male versions, like those in India, are also found in Japan.

The temple grounds have a fantastic garden and an associated section for Jizo that commemorates children who have died either through miscarriages or abortion. This picture of Jizo is from another temple and doesn't show the impressive number of tiny Jizos at the Kannon temple, but gives you an idea of how Jizo is often portrayed - like a child with a beanie cap and a bib. The paper streamers on the right are actually thousands of tiny origami cranes.


I'll have to add the pictures of the Jizos from the Kannon temple later.

EDIT
Here's the photo.

Meiji shrine

I went to the Meiji shrine today, and I have to report back, as it's really been the most moving experience I've had thus far. I can't say anyone else would feel the way I did, but for some reason the mix of natural scenery, Japanese atmosphere, Shinto, and the expectations I've had about my trip created an emotional reaction.

There were several marriages going on while I was there. I guess this must be a common thing in the shrine, as there was one nearly every half hour.

I won't try to explain how I felt today - instead I'll just put up this picture that I really enjoyed.

Birthday party

Yesterday was my friend Yuko's birthday, and so after my day of wandering around Shinjuku, I went to meet her and her friends for a pasta dinner and beers. We had a good time.

Yuko is in the center, showing off a present. Just to the left of Yuko is Sachi, another friend I met in San Francisco. The other two, Kaori on the left and Su on the right, are nurse friends of Yuko's.

While I say we had a good time, I was a little frustrated by my inability to effectively communicate with them. Though my Japanese is good enough to hold fairly uncomplicated conversations, it is often very difficult to clearly express myself. There were a few misunderstandings, some of which may have caused undesireable impressions. In any case, though, we did have a good time, and I'm guessing I didn't alienate them too much :).

However, a little bummed that I was having these difficulties, after I parted company with my friends I was called a "gaijin" (foreigner) for the first time and that brought me down a bit more. It was just silliness - drunk salarymen making an obvious observation, but it still made me feel like an outsider, a feeling that had already shown itself when I had such a hard time expressing myself earlier in the night.

I feel much better this morning, and I'm off to see the old side of Tokyo, in Asakusa. I'll also be visiting the Matsuo Basho museum, which I'm pretty excited about. I'll have pictures later.

Tokyo

Well, all my worry was unnecessary. I'm here and I love it! (Exhausted though) I got in yesterday, and after a smooth yet tiring trip to the hostel (it took about 2 hours, I think, much of that time with my stupid huge backpack on), I was able to take a shower and go off to meet friends. We had a couple of drinks, then went home early.

Today I went to the Shinjuku area, a madhouse during the mornings, they say, and the station has the most traffic of any in the world, I believe, with 2 million passengers a day. When I went it wasn't so bad. In fact, it is a little odd, but Shinjuku is the more interesting - the other stations are eerily quiet, as thousands of people walk through almost without a word. Somewhat unsettling.

Anyway, I need to get out of here to meet a friend for her birthday. A few pictures without explanation (sorry!). Next time I should have more time.

A new japanese story

From tomorrow I will be in Japan.
From tomorrow everything will be different.

I'm both excited and in absolute terror. I really don't know what I'm going to do there - I have a very, very loose schedule, so I'm not even sure where I'll be after the first few days. The feeling is familiar - I felt the same about a trip to Europe many years ago which, I'd have to say, was more failure than success, and about my move to Georgia years later - without doubt a failure, unless you consider the fact that it got me out of Kansas and on the way to a life not confined by that state's boundaries. I don't remember feeling this way about moving to San Francisco, though I probably did. But I think by the time I left Athens I was so ready to begin a new life that anywhere would have been fine. Now I feel I have something to lose, the nearly homelike feeling I have here in SF. But hopefully that is not all. Hopefully this will be much better.

I'm tired, so I won't be going on much longer. I wanted to put up some pictures of Kansas, but that will have to wait.

Good luck to everyone, next time will be from Japan!

A Japanese Story

I watched a movie tonight called A Japanese Story. I didn't choose it, my mom did, but I'm sure she had me in mind. It was a little odd - it has something in common with Million Dollar Baby, which my mom and I watched last night; I won't give away the connection.

It was a really moving movie. It really makes you think of the rules we live by, as Americans, as Japanese, as Australians - rules that help us work together and smooth through some of the daily problems people have - and how ridiculously inadequate those rules are in some cases. There are so many guides to our behavior based on our role in life: taking myself as an example, I am a man, a son (to two different parents, the rules are different for each), a cousin, friend, sometimes I'm an employee ;). I'm an American, too, an American ashamed of his government's adherence to rules that never made sense; soon I will be an American living in Japan. All of these categories have rules assigned to them, some of which I have to follow, no matter what, some of which are, like I said before, to smooth relationships and keep things courteous. I'll give an example of the latter from the movie - the rule that when you receive a business card from a Japanese businessman you should treat it as the person himself - is one that works for the Japanese, or at least for those that care about such things.

These things are all pretty obvious. Also obvious is that we violate these rules all the time. But I think that sometimes we forget that there are certain things that go beyond these rules, there are times when you have to go beyond these rules, in order to be a human being. This movie portrays that, something I think is obvious but we forget on a daily basis. At least I do.

Back Again

Well, now that pretty much everyone has probably given up on this, I've decided to write something.

I've sort of been consumed by my computer the past few weeks, embarrassingly enough. I decided to install Linux on my laptop in order to get away from the morally degenerating effects of using Windows, particularly Windows XP. You can tune Linux to fine details in ways Windows won't let you, so it can be pretty consuming for someone who likes to fiddle with things as much as I do.

In between times I've been looking for jobs in Japan. Not much luck so far. I'm planning on going there in the middle of September, when I'll travel and look for jobs close up.

I've also been biking around town. There are some nice bike trails, with mountain bike trails at the Kansas River and Clinton Lake. I've spent some time at the river trails, but have yet to try the Clinton trails.

The Kansas River mountain bike paths are a lot of fun - though I'm a bit of a wuss and get off my bike before some of the larger hills, on the whole it is a real thrill to ride. I keep meaning to take pictures for this blog, but I haven't taken my camera out there yet. Maybe next time.

Speaking of pictures: I haven't taken many since I got here, but here are a few.

Mom's backyard

The other day, I went out with Clare and her son, Jackson (Mookie), and his friends. We had a good time.

Mookie strikes a pose

Me and some kids

Some Monastery Business in Oklahoma

Old-school singing

This weekend I went to my cousin's ordination ceremony, where he became a regular monk in the Monastery at Our Lady of Clear Creek. It was quite an intense ceremony because this is the real thing, a tradition of monks that has passed down from St. Benedict. A couple of fans were the only things that cooled the audience - not the monks - for three hours in intense heat and humidity; after the ceremony my great-aunt fainted! She soon recovered.

For those who don't know, my uncle went to France to become a monk himself over twenty-five years ago, and just a few years ago the monastery he was associated with, Fontgambault, opened a priory in Oklahoma and he followed.

Me, my dad, and my Uncle Roark

You'll notice Roark isn't wearing a black robe as the Benedictines are known to do - it was decided that because it was so hot, the monks could wear white on special occasions.

Nick, newly ordained, poses with family

I remember Fontgambault as a magical place, with beautiful gardens and an ancient church that just felt venerable. They are trying to create this same atmosphere in Oklahoma with another large church and monastery that will last for centuries. Below are pictures of what has been finished so far and what the finished product will look like.

Outside the crypt ("basement"), about three times my height

Inside the crypt, used as a church for Nick's ceremony

The finished product - only the very bottom level is finished

Yep, Kansas is boring

There's just no avoiding it. Kansas just doesn't have the sort of mind-boggling natural features that other states do. Except mind-bogglingly empty and flat expanses of nothing but farms and horizon. Kind of like this, but 3D:



The only natural monuments we seem to have are pretty poor excuses:



In my opinion, the only thing that saves us is this, one of the stranger monuments in Kansas:



This is from the "Garden of Eden" in Lucas, Kansas. The sculptor was a civil war vet who got creative in his 60's and began building some very interesting statues like the one above, depicting various attacks on various people, made out of concrete. He got procreative at 80, having two children with his 20 year old wife.

I visited all these places today, after staying at Scott Lake, which wasn't bad. I was able to get a camp site right next to the water, without any neighbors but the bullfrogs and fireflies.

It was nice until about 2 in the morning, when a bunch of drunken kids made a ruckus (I'm getting old, I know) nearby for about a half hour and woke me up.

This morning I awoke to another unpleasant surprise - my front left tire was completely flat. I found out later I had run over a nail the night before. Luckily a local mailman had an air compressor and plugs, and I was able to get back on the road without much trouble.

And so now I'm in Wichita, staying with my dad. This weekend I'm going to see my cousin initiated into a monastery, then I'll go to Lawrence next Monday...

Colorado Springs

Just about to leave Colorado Springs for Scott Lake State Park in Kansas. Cindy and I went to the Garden of the Gods this morning, and that was pretty impressive.


Yesterday we went on a hike in hills near Cindy's house, a hike with very impressive views.


Also, I really liked this tent for Cindy's cat, Spanky.

Trying to Catch Up

It's tough keeping up to date on a weblog! I've had so much other fun stuff to do, I haven't sat down and kept up with what is going on. Hopefully I'll be able to do that now.

After I left the Tetons, I spent the rest of the day driving through mostly boring Wyoming. The drive from Grand Teton to Rock Springs is nice, but after that it looks like western Kansas except with sage and horses and cows rather than grass and just cows.

I had a campsite selected for that night, but I took a wrong turn and ended up way off track, so I planned to find a hotel in Laramie. But Laramie (a podunk, crappy town if I ever saw one) was full of expensive hotels - they were having some kind of Western festival - so I decided to head on to Cheyenne. By this time it was getting dark, so I wasn't sure what I'd do. Luckily, though, I found a great campsite about 30 miles west of Cheyenne (can't remember the name, now).

This was a really lucky find. It was really spectacular scenery, with some of the most private campsites I've seen on this trip, and all for 10 bucks, the cheapest site yet. I met a neighbor who was camping out with his wife until they could move into their new house in Fort Collins, Colorado. They were an interesting couple, to say the least, and they had quite a set up up there in the hills west of Cheyenne.



On their recommendation, I took a hike around the area and climbed one of the rock outcroppings like that in the picture above. It was such a different outcome than I had expected.

I then went on to Colorado Springs, and I am now staying at my cousin Cindy's place there. We took a hike in the hills near her house, and I'll try to have those pictures tomorrow.

Tomorrow I'm off to Kansas (egads), where I'll stay a night near Monument Rocks, then Thursday I'll be in Wichita. Over so soon?

By the way, in an interesting reversal of fortune, a Japanese friend who was supposed to accompany me on this trip but had to back out is now a day ahead of me, in Topeka. She resolved the problem that was keeping her from leaving while I was still sick in Daly City, and she ended up renting a car for a drive across the US. We were even in Yellowstone at the same time without knowing it. So if you are in Lawrence tomorrow and see a Japanese woman in her mid to late twenties driving through town, say hi (she speaks English very well).

Grand Teton

Some of the Tetons

Looking back at these photos, I realize they can never come close to realizing the awe-inspiring sensation of actually being in these two parks. There is nothing like it. I have been to several beautiful places in the world, but there really is no comparison to be made between Yellowstone/Grand Tetons and anything else I have ever seen. I hope you will, if you haven't yet, go there some day. That said, here is the regular blog entry...

My last full day in Yellowstone/Grand Teton. It's hard to believe. I can't imagine being anywhere else in the world - Kansas especially will look flat and unremarkable.

This place is magic, like nothing else I've ever seen. Unlike Yosemite, the crowds don't completely destroy that magic. Without much effort, you can lose the crowds, and even when you do follow some trail to a waterfall or meadow, you don't feel like one of the herd. While of course it would be better if there were no roads at all, at least the size of the park allows for those roads to not completely overwhelm the park, like they do Yosemite.

Yeah, so there is a tiny bison in this picture...who cares! Look at that scenery!

It's in the car that you join the ranks of other visitors to the park, and I admit I spent way too much time myself in the car. Both parks are so big that unless you have a specific destination in mind, you have to go by car. Next time I really want to do some backcountry hiking, but for an overview, I am glad I had my car. Very hypocritical, yes, but I admit it.

I caught myself several times thinking "This is too good to be real." There are so many unbelievably majestic areas all crammed into to two national parks, it just doesn't seem believable that we can get so much of a good thing. It really is a treasure.

The second day I was in Yellowstone, I did the touristy thing (can't be helped), and the third I went on a couple of hikes. Near the camp I stayed in, Indian Creek (a picture is in the previous log), was a place called Sheepeater's Cliff (I think). Apparently the local Native Americans were found of eating bighorn sheep, and somehow this cliff was associated with them...

Sheepeater hike

It was a nice little warm-up hike, about 45 minutes there and back, but the hike I was looking forward to lay ahead.

I had decided on a back-country hike, one that in the guidebooks was described as a way to get away from the crowds - good and bad, as getting away from crowds means solitude, but it also means animals are more skittish and likely to attack. Still, solitude piqued my curiosity, so I decided to risk bodily harm (I'm exaggerating for effect, I wasn't really that worried).

I include some photos from this hike below. At one point, I did run into a group of pronghorns, and I actually was a little scared. They were skittish, and I was a little worried that the few male pronghorns might attack me to defend the herd, composed primarily of young and females. I didn't want to turn back, so I waited, slowly edging towards them, and they finally went further up the hill, though they did complain verbally.

The beginning of the hike

A secret meadow

Strangely threatening pronghorns

Yellowstone's "Hoodoos"

The next day I did a bit more touristy junk, then headed down to the Tetons. I wanted to get a campsite as soon as possible, so I landed in Lizard Creek which, like Indian Creek, is a very nice campsite but remains empty even on the weekend. It has a beautiful meadow just behind the campsites, and that is where I ate my dinner that night.

My backyard at Lizard Creek

After I found my campsite, I drove around a little bit to check out this new park, then listened to a ranger's class about mountain lions (apparently there are mountain lions in the Tetons and Yellowstone, though they are never mentioned in guidebooks).

The Tetons looking all mysterious

The next day it was rainy and I was grumpy. I wanted to move my campsite because Lizard Creek was just too far away, so I tried to get into South Jenny Lake, but that was filled within hours of check-out time, so I settled for Signal Mountain. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with this one, though it had access to a very nice beach, where I took the picture that starts this article.

I trekked around Jenny lake, then, exhausted about half way (for some reason I had no energy that day), I took the conveniently located boat back to the parking lot.

I left the next day, regretting somewhat that I was leaving such a special place, but ready to move on to a new area.

Yellowstone

Mountains near the entrance to Yellowstone

A big day. I feel like I cheated, driving around all day, but I wanted to get a feel of the park, then choose a section to hike in tomorrow.

It's funny, though, even though I just drove around, doing the tourist "stop and shoot" technique Yellowstone seems to be famous for, I feel more satisfied in what I did today than anything in a long time.

I guess camping has a lot to do with it - there's a lot more to handle just to get your tent set up, make every meal, and pack up so that the bears don't come and attack your campsite (although, unlike Yosemite, you are allowed to keep your food in your car - thought that was a little strange).

Indian Creek, first Yellowstone camp.

I think also, though, it is the constantly changing scenery in Yellowstone - in one day, you are able to experience a huge variety of ecosystems, from alpine meadows to hydrothermal "wastelands" (I realize there is a great deal of life in these areas, but they look dead to me).

Thermal "wasteland"

I saw bison, elk and deer - though no predators so far, and no otters...


In case you've been wondering what I've been eating (and I know you have...), here's a sample. I'll have more pictures later - I need to keep moving so I can get a campsite tonight. (I'm actually posting this Mon. the 11th, on my way to Colorado).

Some weird vegetable/lentil/nori mix. Good, though

Beer and hot dogs. Can't do better

Montana is Beautiful

A Fun Sign Somewhere in Washington

After spending the night in a stupid hotel because I didn't get to the campsite I wanted in time, I made it to Montana yesterday, and was quite impressed by the scenery. There are some beautiful colors covering the soft-peaked mountains on either side of I-90. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture of the river flowing through the area, but here's a sample of the scenery.

Whooee!

I stayed at a campground a few miles from I-90, 30 miles from Bozeman, in a state park called Lewis and Clark Caverns. It was a beautiful setting, as the pictures below hopefully show. From here I'm off to spend a couple of days in Yellowstone. It's getting late, so I'm going to get on the road again.

July 4th in Portland

Should be leaving Portland today. I'm off to the next stage - coming to Portland was the easy part. From here I'll be on my own for 4-5 days. I'm headed to Montana first, I think, then I'll spend a day or two in Yellowstone.



It's been a lot of fun visiting Jake and the family. I really see now how much it takes to bring up a couple of kids - they take up every minute of the day. I don't know if I could do it.

Yesterday was July 4th, of course, and we went to the fair to ride some rides and watch fireworks. It was a really nice riverside view, and the fireworks were very good (very loud - Ellea and Aya were both crying).




I'm headed to Yellowstone, etc., over the next few days, so I probably won't be able to update this blog for a while, but when I do, I ought to have some pretty cool pictures. Until then...

A New Month, a New State

Today was less eventful. I just drove most of the day. 101 is certainly beautiful, as is Highway 5 north of Grant's Pass, but I didn't take any pictures. Photographs just don't do justice to the landscape. And besides, it's tough to take pictures when you are going 70 miles an hour (though I did do that once on a motorcycle with a disposable camera).

Most of the day I listened to Gene Wilder's book on tape Kiss Me Like a Stranger. I bought it mainly because it was $5 at Amoeba Records and I thought it might be interesting to hear about his life. I haven't finished it yet, though I'm almost done. It's fairly interesting, but I wouldn't have continued it were I not driving in a car with little else to do.

I got to Jake's house in Portland about 9 o'clock and was warmly greeted by his youngest daughter, Aya.

Goodbye San Francisco, Goodbye Fog

Instead of San Francisco, fog

Today was partly foggy.

I have been staying with my friend Amanda in Daly City, "Gateway to the Peninsula", a city just to the south of San Francisco. It's an ugly city, with not much going for it beyond the fact Amanda lives there (hi Amanda!) and it is, well, "Gateway to the Peninsula", as every freeway onramp is happy to tell me. And it's foggy - I had no idea. June 30th, and it is 70 degrees and completely foggy. Ridiculous.

I left the city at 2 pm, 3 hours later than planned, but at least I finally left. My head was in a fog from too much beer and very little sleep. I'm on my way to Lawrence, Kansas, to sponge off my parents for a while as I look for a job in Japan.

I took a few last pictures of Coit tower, my favorite SF landmark, and, biting my lip (I'd just had an emotional parting with Naoki, a Japanese friend staying in SF, and that brought my mood down a bit), I headed towards Golden Gate Bridge. I thought I'd say goodbye to the city from the other side of the bridge, in Marin, where on a clear day you can see the entire northern half of the city.

Having lived in the city for 5 and a half years, I should have known better.

As soon as I reached the bridge, I realized it was a typical SF day. Fog was covering the bridge, just as it had been covering Daly City most of the day and was just beginning to cover SF itself. Thus, no final pictures of the city, no goodbyes, except to fog.

So I left, went up Highway 1 along the coast. Here again, of course, everything was covered with fog. Quite haunting.

A rock soaks up the fog

I wandered through that for a while, until I realized it would take several days to travel up highway 1, then turned off to go to Highway 101 and take that up.

I ended the day just north of Leggett, California, at a medium-size campground called Standish-Hickey State Recreation park just off the highway. It was nice except for that one catch - it was on the highway, and I could hear semis barreling by all night long. But it was a very pretty campground, with trails leading off to the remarkably clear Eel River, and I wasn't complaining too much.

I didn't sleep well, though - it's been a while since I've camped.

I hiked down to the river the next morning and sat staring at it for about thirty minutes, thinking about San Francisco and the cat I left behind, Doris. Then I left, got back on Highway 101.

The Eel River

My camping outfit and Hickey Standish state park

From the Decadent Camper catalog, the camping espresso maker

Currently Reading Kafka on the Shore By Haruki Murakami

What a mix of emotions. I'm just about finished gutting my room of everything I've collected over the past 5 years here in SF and even before, and while I recognize a familiar feeling of freedom from (how's that for alliteration) previous moves, I'm also not liking the idea of leaving this city, my cat, my friends here, and a feeling almost but not quite near "home", to go off into the blue yonder. So half the time I feel like I'm crazy for leaving, the other half that I'm crazy for staying in one place for as long as I have. And who wouldn't be excited about a 2 week trip travelling across the western US camping and looking at pretty things? But then...

Thus my daily emotional ride. Two days from now I leave, and that'll be it. I guess.