japan notes - tokyo

unlike kyoto kyoto and hakone , i don't enjoy tokyo so much. HOM has had to turn himself in for meetings because, as he puts it, someone has to finance our holiday. i lose my partner in crime and, with him, half my energy. the J's oscillate between angelic cooperativeness and horridness.

we make our way to tokyo disneyland to find that previous talk of expensive tickets is fully justified. also, it is pouring rain. the consolation, of course, is that the crowd is considerably manageable and we get to do the inside rides quite comfortably, so we are much more cheerful by the time the sun peeks through to allow us our outside rides.

i drag the J's with me to the tokyo national museum and am forced to conclude that in the matter of museums, it is best to shed both husband and offspring. it is a good thing they were not charged admission on account of their tender age.

the last night, we unintentionally happen upon a yakitori-ya and have happily settled in before we realize their main sell is liquor. but 's'k. we finally get our taste of grilled stingray fin which unfortunately just tastes like overhyped cartilage. there is an australian couple squeezed in next to us who rave about the delicious japanese food they had last night. we wait breathlessly to know the what and the where... why, they had sweet and sour chicken!

on to singapore.

japan notes - idiosyncrasies

1. ear picks. stained wood, lacquered wood, ivory, metal, decorated with all manner of bling and one for each day of the week.

2. tiny plastic sumo wrestler key-chains. rolling loaves of flesh that actually make the real thing look trim.

3. vending machines. even for my hot noodle dinner.

japan notes - hakone

we arrive in hakone in the pouring rain and arrive at the ryokan in style, i.e. in a taxi (having previously negotiated the streets of kyoto on foot and in vain for our hostel two days before).

the highlight of our hakone leg must be the food. we spend the afternoon wondering about dinner, and when the multitude of diminutive plates are laid on the low table we are not disappointed. the J's are in fact so impressed that they submit to photography. mmmmmm oishi. this is turning out to be a food trip, you can keep your shrines and museums, thank you.

japan notes - kyoto

HOM and i relive our youth by checking all of us into a backpackers' hostel, complete with common toilet. J1 and J2 are unconvinced when we try to sell them the charms of f n ez.

we embark upon our exploration of kyoto by foot, armed with our thrift store 2000 edition of frommer's. a challenge this, considering we are hampered by middle-aged enthusiasm and teenage ennui. along the way we are charmed by impeccable japanese service which even gets J1's eyeglasses repaired gratis (thank you, paris miki!), and we learn 2 things about 7-11. one is that the only atm that accepts our card resides in 7-11, and the other is that 7-11 is a treasure trove of snacks for hungry travelers.

towards the end of our walking tour, after we finally locate the heian temple, we stumble onto a tiny, super (never thought i'd ever use this adj.) japanese restaurant for a late lunch. we are led into an alternate reality in tatami and zen minimalism overlooking a tiny, perfect japanese garden, and served a beautiful lunch we did not know we ordered, the restaurant not having any menu in english. oishi. and something to remember for when the traveling years are over.

halfway thru the multi-mile walk i think to myself that i am so grateful to be able to travel with the one man i would like to do it with - HOM. i thank God that my boundary lines have fallen on pleasant places.

mj

michael jackson has just died. in fact for the whole day he has just collapsed, has just been air-lifted, has just had the coroner confirm his death, and has just attained immortality on CNN and the BBC, these being the only two english channels available at the hotel.

why must the expiration of an aging pop star be endlessly stuffed down my throat?

japan notes

lovely week traipsing thru the land of the rising sun...
things that have charmed me most:
1. it's so clean! same exotic magic that paris has but sans the dog poop.
2. it functions! the trains move on time! the water exits the auto taps!
3. it is delicious! mmmmmm oishi. especially tsukiji.
4. they are so helpful! even when they have no idea what you are asking!
5. and my rusty half-baked mandarin actually helps me get around!

not so charming though:
1. it's the land of the original male chauvinist, perhaps.
2. also the land of the ambulant cigarette. thank God for symbicort.
3. i've walked meself into some chronic compartment syndrome, i think. miss the car.
4. disgruntled teenagers.

how distressing

that the one country that needs must welcome us with open arms is so dizzyingly frenzied that one must be terribly, gainfully, employed, out of all leisure in order to survive there.

paradigm shift

sitting for the boards in two days and finding myself much different from when i sat the mbbs finals twenty-one years ago... for one thing, gone is the energy for the single-minded focus and frenetic review. gone too the diaphoretic palpitations. in their stead, imperatives that will not be put off: organizing our trip next week, getting the Js their summer reading books, getting Dog his bordetella jab, warring the weeds in the front yard, creating a menu for tonight. perhaps because i have finally started to grasp the fact that life is not all about me.

now the Js would like me to grasp that life is also not all about them, and hound them less about their own exams.

miss marple

i pass the sweetest little old lady at the carpark outside safeway today. she is an all pink-and-white confection who passes in a cloud of fluff who suddenly says, with great conviction, shit!

my eyes widen and she says, oh i'm sorry, i left my change in there.

bruised reed

isa 41:10 i will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

isa 43:2 when you pass through the waters, i will be with you; ...the rivers... will not sweep over you. when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

1. he is righteous
2. and will help us walk righteously
3. when we pass thru the waters and the flames
4. as we assuredly will.

my God, i believe. help my unbelief!