Hiroshima

Words usually come easily to me. I find that descriptions of places flow easily for me and that I can relatively easily convey the sense of a place. I've also found on many an occasion that I have a strange relationship with the morose. I do not find death in and of itself to be depressing and I find trials and pain to have their own sorrowful beauty. This is not to say that I enjoy pain and death, but only that death and pain themselves do not scare me nor do they make me sad.

Hiroshima shook me.

Death ending a life well-lived, or nobly-lived is not a scary concept. Death as part of the very definition of what it is to be alive and as an affirmation of that life is beautiful. The way you see death in Hiroshima; death brought about swiftly and with such horrific, mind-boggling, destructive, and impersonal force is probably the most terrifying and hearth-wrenching thing I have ever encountered or even fathomed in my short life.



You surely know the story. You are probably aware of the debates surrounding it as well. I'm going to present my wanderings in Hiroshima entirely on what I saw and describe my experiences. The trip was fun, and very much worth it, but it was not easy. Nor is trying to find any words to describe the feeling of being there.

The journey started WAY to early in the morning on a Saturday as about a billion gaijin attempted to cram themselves into the public bus running to Hirakatashi-eki at about 6:00AM much to the dismay of every other person trying to ride the bus that day. Professor Paul Scott (teaching two of my classes) puts this trip together, so there were about 70 of us in all going.

We made our way through the trains to Shinosaka station where we transferred from the all too familiar subway system to the Shinkansen line, more popularly known around the world as the Japanese "bullet train".


The shinkansen is pretty cool to ride, but not really anything amazing once you're on board. I met some cool people and ended up riding next to the professor the whole way there as we argued about cars. Once we got there my little group decided to split up: the girls went to McDonalds and then rode a tram car to the museum, while my friend and I wandered there by foot and grabbed some dried fish for lunch. This made for a much more immersive and interesting experience of the city itself before we got to the museum.

The Japanese have these awesome manhole covers down to an art.

The local baseball team is the Carp(s?). The Hanshin Tigers are so much better though.


Just for something in the way of geographic knowledge, Hiroshima is actually a city in a delta. There are four rivers running through the city out to the bay, cutting the city into huge islands.

This is the monument to the nurses and doctors who died as a result of radiation sickness after the bombing of Hiroshima.

This is another monument that stands just across the street from the entrance to the museum proper. I couldn't get a good pic of the whole thing, but it's inscribed with the word for peace in several languages.

After this we wandered inside and saw a very small portion of the museum, essentially the part that explained the history of Hiroshima up until August 6th. Thanks to not a small number of classes in Asian/Japanese/Chinese history/politics/economics this was review for me, but interesting nonetheless. At this point we went down to the basement for the real reason I would head on a trip with 70 other gaijin and that is to experience something I wouldn't otherwise get to experience.

I got to hear an atomic bomb survivor speak. Some of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still speaking to this day, some of them even touring around the world. The woman who spoke to us had been to Missouri recently to speak to high-school students in the states. She described to us in (gruesome) detail her experience, her situation, and the way she survived. It was very powerful, and something I am glad I got to hear from somebody who was there. She was very kind and spoke to us one on one afterward. I can't personally with any real effect say what she said, and the information is all out there, albeit likely in a less personal form if you should want it. Needless to say it was powerful and gruesome.

After that we went through the museum.

This T-shaped bridge was the aiming point of the bomb. It actually detonated only 800 meters off target.


Before and after aerial photos of Hiroshima.

Emergency medical treatment being applied at this point only 2-hours after detonation. At this point the complete lack of medical personnel, supplies, and even water meant that the treatment for burns was cooking oil, if it could be found.

The red-cross hospital in Hiroshima.

This part of the museum is largely historical. It presents photos of the effects, historical data and visuals that bring the power and scale of an atomic weapon into perspective. It also puts forth the history of atomic weapons since WWII, and the current status of nuclear-armed nations. Then there's a gift shop, and short walk to the other building of the museum. The second half of this experience is not for the feint of heart.

This wax sculpture was made using the descriptions given by survivors of those who were close enough to the blast to be most directly affected by the heat and radiation, but far enough away to survive. Their skin literally melted off their arms.




The shadow of a man sitting on this stoop at the moment of detonation faded quite a bit with time, but has since been moved indoors to preserve it.

More solid objects left better defined shadows.

I didn't take many photos inside the museum.





This memorial in particular is for Sadako Sasaki




We sat in a nearby rest-house and folded paper cranes. Even a few local folks joined us. Then we left ours and visited the atomic bomb dome.




This building was the closest to the hypocenter to survive at all intact. It's been preserved in exactly the state it was in on August 6, 1945 and as such has become a hallmark image of that day.

From here we decided to find some food, wander about and turn in. My friends had to check into their hostel and I had to figure out where I was sleeping so we ate at a shop near a place that had this standing out front:

which was only mildly disturbing. The food was delicious, as it always is here.


Though I was somewhat worried about where I'd be sleeping that night, I had nothing to fear! Near the station I found a place called Futaba. If you are ever traveling (preferably alone) in Japan and you're on a budget/don't ever remember to make reservations or plans, then you should find an internet cafe. For 2100 yen (like $25 US) I got a semi-private cubicle with a big comfortable reclining chair, a computer with fast internet access, a huge manga library, unlimited soft drinks and ice cream, access to a shower room and bathroom all for 12 hours. It's pretty much the best deal in cheap traveling ever. Just remember to pack your face mask, because they don't shut out the lights. An alternative to this is karaoke bars (one of my favorites being Ring) which offer very similar deals.

My apologies for having such a serious and heavy post, but I promise the next will be uplifting for the next morning I awoke and hauled my fat ass up a mountain! The pictures are spectacular I promise, and you shall want to see them.

Stay tuned for next time: Miyajima

Until then, stay stoked!

"Kyoto: The Anagram Lover's Tokyo"

I've been perplexed as to what to write for this entry. Suffice it to say that it's hard to follow up what happened in Ise, and I've not spent enough time in Kyoto to make a really good judgment of the city, nor have I seen what anybody visiting Kyoto should see. For these reason's I'll make this relatively short and promise you that a second installment at the very least will be forthcoming at some point.



There is a map, for reference, Kyoto lying very close to Osaka, just to the north and east. Hirakata lies between Osaka and Kyoto on this map and my adventures in Ise were on the coast south and west of Nagoya.

Kyoto and Osaka are really one large and growing metropolitan center, and a check on Google Maps will display the sprawling concrete that connects the two. You can get from Osaka to Kyoto on the Keihan railway line for about 800 yen (8 dollars) and on a limited express train it'll take about 30-45 minutes. I happen to be situated almost exactly between the two cities, so visiting them is easy and convenient. Despite this, I've only been to Kyoto twice.

Now for a little Japanese history lesson! Don't worry, I'll be brief. Kyoto is historically the capital of Japan, and was also the largest population before being surpassed by Osaka and Edo (Tokyo). This leaves Kyoto absolutely packed with history, knowledge, and just really cool things. Also, thanks to the insistence of Secretary of War Stimpson, Kyoto was removed from the list of targets for the atomic bomb attacks, and was largely (though not entirely) spared from conventional bombing by the allies during WWII. Because of this you can see a lot of pre-war architecture here and most of the historical sites are largely untouched.

/edumacation

Kyoto is densely populated with universities, and is a highly intellectual city. My first early sojourn into the city was for the second half of the Kansai Queer Film Festival in early September. The first half was held in a large theater in the very center of populated Osaka, right near a giant ferris wheel that dominates the skyline. As I couldn't make it to this part, I attended the second half sponsored and hosted by the University of Kyoto which was held in, to put it politely, a barn.

(note: not my pic, didn't think to take a pic of outside, thanks google images)

The place was, quite frankly, awesome. It was old and dusty inside, it felt used, it felt unique. I was really happy with the place. I was told not to take pics, but I got one ok shot before I was shut down.



We sat on some old tatami mats in the back of the theater and watched the documentary, which was a documentary on the treatment of trangender women in the United States Prison system. It was fascinating, as was the cute girl in the ridiculously awesome getup taking tickets at the door. Sorry, no pics of that part.



After that me and the others who'd come to Kyoto for the festival wandered the streets a while and ended up following the train tracks back to Demachiyanagi station after getting Chinese food for dinner. It was relatively uneventful, though I got to take a few good pictures.






As you can probably already tell, this photo warns of the dangers of feeding your Mogwai after midnight, or letting it get wet.



"Why?" Good question random vandal.


This is probably my favorite photo that I've ever taken. It just came out fantastic.



I started to play with the manual exposure settings.

This one too.

My second time in Kyoto was another exercise in unpreparedness. I arrived at Demachiyanagi station in Kyoto and tried to head for the moon viewing festival. I (somewhat predictably) by this point got lost, and instead just headed for a mountain, as it looked interesting. I ended up seeing a bunch of cool things and even finding a trail head that I fully intend to utilize in the future. For now the few decent photos I could eek out of the pitch black light will have to do.



I wandered up a series of very dark and quiet streets. Eventually I got too close to this large hill/mountain thing to really see it, so I just headed uphill. After wandering past a number of cemeteries and a few temples things thinned out, and got very very steep.
I was of course unphased and continued my trek. This continued for probably about a mile. At one point there were some lanterns at the side of the road.



I wandered in and was treated with a statue. It was kind of surreal in the silence and darkness.


Eventually the roads came to an abrupt end and I found only a trail continuing upwards. As I had come prepared only for a festival I took the less reckless way out and decided to leave the hiking in unfamiliar territory for another (better equipped) day.

Much to my surprise, however, as I turned around and began my descent I was treated with this.



A spectacular view of Kyoto from above. My apologies for the quality of this photo, it's terrible. I'm trying to remedy this, but for now that shall suffice. I wish desperately to return there with better equipment for even better shots from the summit. When those are available I assure you you'll hear all about it.

As I said, not nearly as daring or fascinating as my adventures in Ise, but exciting nonetheless. If you want to suggest a place for me to head to or give me some tips, props, or anything else be sure to leave a comment, it's nice to hear from people that they're enjoying my ramblings. Keep tuned in, as this weekend I'll be heading westward to Hiroshima, surely with camera in hand, and may head to other places in that direction as well depending on how the wind blows.

And as always, stay stoked friends


*Thanks to Matt who pointed out that the position on the map as up until the most recent edit was incredibly wrong. Please see the map now present at the top of this post for Kyoto's true position. My apologies.

Another Swift Assurance

Just checking in to let you all know for sure that I have not forgotten my promise to write about Kyoto soon. I have pictures and the like ready and prepared, but simply haven't found the time and motivation necessary to write a quality entry for you all this week. I am determined to do so either tomorrow or Sunday, so do check back soon for pictures and stories of the beautiful ancient capital of Japanland.

Sayounara for now mis amigos. Stay stoked.

DeLue

"No Plan" no Hito

I am somewhat hesitant to write this entry for a number of reasons. My most prominent reason for being somewhat apprehensive: my grandparents read this blog. This was not a weekend full of drunken debauchery (ok maybe a little) or mad sexual exploits, but it was a weekend which was not, perhaps, the most safe, nor very well planned. But in the end all was well, and I think the sheer adventure of this weekend was well worth the risk. Secondly I simply don't want to give off the idea that this always happens, or that every place in the world can expect to go like this, nor the idea that I am ALWAYS this unprepared. The events of this weekend were nothing if not very lucky, and also very unusual, do not try this at home kids. Lastly just for the quality of this post's photos. I shoot all of my photos at the moment with a Sony Cybershot DSC-HX5V which is absolutely fantastic at shooting low-light photos, given that it's a point and shoot. Even so, though, it's still a point and shoot, and the low light photos (which are most of the photos) in this post did not turn out fantastic. I apologize for this in advance. Also this is a whole weekend of insanity, so the post is considerably longer than I thought it would be. Now, onward!

As I mentioned yesterday, be prepared is the motto of The Boy Scouts of America. A long-standing organization. An organization which prepares young boys with many skills. An organization of which I was at no point a member. This might explain to some degree the circumstances under which I arrived in the beautiful seaside town of Ise.

I set out for Ise, in the northeast of the Kansai region on the Pacific ocean to see the Ise shrines. The Outer and Inner shrines at Ise are the most important shrines in Japan, as they are the shrines to Amaterasu. I packed my hiking backpack with a tent, changes of clothes, dried food, 2 liters of water, and some other essentials and headed out. Boarding a rapid express (not a bullet train) at Tsuruhashi station in Osaka, the high rises and downtown of Osaka were quickly left behind. This being Japan though, the urban sprawl continued for quite a while. 45 minutes later the urban setting


slowly but surely began to give way to rolling mountains and countryside.




The sun slowly set as we headed north east across Kansai, showing some beautiful panoramas which I just found impossible to capture. The downside to the beautiful sunset from aboard the train was that by the time I reached Iseshi-eki, it was pitch black. I stepped off of the train and onto the platform and felt a number of things: pride at finding the Japanese train system so easy to navigate, confusion as I had expected the central station at Ise to be much larger than it appeared to be, and some mild apprehension.

"Why apprehension?" you might ask. As I stepped out of the station and onto the street I realized a number of things. There were no local maps at the station, which I had been expecting, and so I had no map of Ise. I also realized everything was closed as Friday night in the countryside is not exactly huge. I also realized that not only did I not have a map, but that I had never even thought to look at a map of Ise. I had no idea where the station was in Ise, where the shrines were, or where a campsite or hiking trail heads could be found. In essence I had no idea where I was, where I was going, how to get there, or where I was going to sleep.


Faced with this I did the most logical thing for Mike DeLue to do, and simply began walking north, under the mistaken impression that this was the way to the beach. I walked for two and half hours into the outskirts of Ise before coming across a park which told me that I was not at the beach, but at the side of a river. This confused me deeply, but at least the sign was cheerful.



I was lost. This was not scary in the least, but frustrating. I just wanted to sit down, set up my tent, and chow down on some onigiri I'd brought with me. I soon walked across a highway bridge, found a convenience store, bought a sandwich and a map, and began to follow the river to the beach. The map didn't make complete sense, but I was convinced that was mostly due to the fact that it was covered in kanji I didn't understand and could not read. I found the bridge I'd just crossed, got my bearings, and headed on my way expecting to hear crashing waves and have the sand between my toes in roughly 45 minutes.


Three hours later I was sitting at the side of a country road, 2 kilometers from anything in any direction, with the map splayed out in front of me.

At this point I am thoroughly confused. My map repeatedly fails me. No matter where I think I am the roads just don't make sense. Nothing looks to be what I've seen as I've wandered through fields of greenhouses, small towns, residential neighborhoods, a construction site, two marinas, and seen the same disgruntled Japanese man walking the streets twice. I am convinced that the gods of luck have abandoned me completely at this point. But they were simply distracted as they prepared for me what happened next.

As I sat on the side of the road trying to decide what to do about my predicament a jeep passed by. I thought nothing of it until I heard it stop, turn around, and head back in my direction. At this point I'm somewhat relieved that someone wants to help the lost gaijin, and somewhat paranoid as I don't know where I am and am far from anything. As the jeep comes to a stop a young looking guy steps from the car and asks me if I need any help. I explain what's going on, that I'm here to hike and camp and am just trying to make it to the beach. He takes my map and looks at it somewhat confused. He takes about five minutes to look at the map and examine it. He then hands the map to me and says:

「この地図にはいせがない。」 - "This is not a map of Ise."

Things at this point begin to make perfect sense. My map reading skills aren't awful, as I'd been thinking. I just didn't have the right map. Those kanji at the top of the map didn't say Ise, they say Matsusaka, a city a good bit north of Ise. Granted, I had almost walked to Matsusaka, but I wasn't there, and my map was useless. He then offered to drive me to a campsite near the beach, explaining that it would take me 2 hours to get there by foot, but only about 10 minutes by car. I somewhat hesitantly accepted his offer, and at this point, things took a significantly awesome turn.

Sure enough, about 15 minutes later we arrive at the beach. The beach has a campsite, which is awesome, complete with showers, water, and bathrooms. What more could a guy ask for?! How about a club/bar.

Done.

We step out of the jeep and walk into this big open-air beach house and bar where he explains to someone that he found some crazy American with a wrong map wandering along the side of the road. He seems to know everybody, but has other plans, and so immediately gets in his car and leaves.

At this point I'm much relieved, but also somewhat nervous. I'm now standing alone in a bar full of people I've never met, all of whom are staring at me expectantly. I order a glass of sake, and that seems to be all that's necessary to start them wondering about me. I'm soon the topic of conversation as they ask me all about why I'm in Japan, why I'm in Ise, what my plans are. They're all shocked by a number of things: the fact that I like Japanese alcohol (apparently not a common trait among gaijin), the fact that I've walked almost all the way here from the Ise train station, but most of all by the fact that I'm 20.

This is where I learn a little Japanglish: no plan-no hito, or " a man without a plan ". They love my story and we're soon talking very animatedly about a million things. Likewise the owner is enjoying shoving a new type of alcohol in my hand every time I finish a glass. He's astounded by the fact that no matter what he hands me I down it, enjoy it, and am still completely in control. I'm enjoying myself thoroughly, and soon make a big group of new friends.

There's even a halfpipe at this place, and skaters are in and out all the time. At one point one of the guys I've been talking to at the bar decides he wants to try out this whole "skateboarding" thing. It doesn't go too well.

In general he starts out iffy...


...then something goes even more wrong...



...and it inevitably ends up a disaster, albeit a hilarious one.



Nobody could claim this guy didn't have perseverance though. Rinse and repeat this guy went over and over again. He never did really succeed though, and the fact that he was doing it in ill-fitting crocs didn't help the matter.

At about 2am the bar is winding down and I ride with the owner into Ise to go to a club, where we drink and party until 8am. He then let's me crash in his spare room. I haven't even had to pitch a tent, and I've only payed for one drink. This weekend is starting off well.

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I wake up the next day at around noon, shower, and head to the beach house again to kick back and relax. I lay in the hammock and just enjoy the beautiful weather and the smell of salt-water. I also finally get to see the beach today, as I'd been more enthralled by conversation the night before. The beach is gorgeous and glassy and things are just very chill. Almost nobody is there, and yet more shenanigans were had on the halfpipe. I had my turn as well, but things did not go smoothly for me.







It wasn't long before the sun started to fall in the sky and a few people began to trickle into the bar, some of whom I recognized. At this point something completely unexpected to me happened: a truck full of Spaniards arrived.

In Ise there is (apparently) a Spanish themed amusement park called Parque España, where Spanish people come and work and do what Spaniards do for the amusement of the Japanese. In any case, a large group of Spaniards and a few Brazilians and Portuguese showed up to have a fantastic time cooking Paella, a traditional Spanish dish cooked in massive quantities over an open flame on huge pans. At this point I learned that all the Spanish I ever knew is currently useless, as about halfway through any Spanish sentence I tried to speak I switched fluidly into Japanese. I eventually gave up and just spoke mostly in Japanese, letting them speak to me in Spanish. It was a night of many foreign languages.





The paella turned out delicious.


And the skaters were again out in force, though tonight the story seemed to be more awesome, and less painful.





Except possibly for this guy, though I can't really tell. His board is thrashed, but the look on his face isn't too bad. He is either just a really good sport, or that's the same look of pride I saw on the face of the guy I met who'd just broken a guard rifle over his own hand.



Again around 2am things started to quiet down and off I went again to the club. I barely made it to the 8am closing time, working on 4 hours of sleep and all. But I learned my lesson and slept until 2:30 in the afternoon the next day.

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Out of some massive lucky coincidence, this is the last weekend this bar was open, as it was in the process of closing down for the off season. This means Sunday was final party day, and the place was absolutely packed. I arrived back at the Beach House Daruma somewhere around 3pm, and immediately went for a swim in the ocean, showered, and by 4:30 the barbecue had begun.



This was the smallest amount of meat on that grill for the next 6 hours. The meat seemed to materialize out of nowhere and seemed to have no end. It was delicious.

I managed to slip away for a little solitary time and take a few photos at this point. I even got to watch the sun slowly set over the mountains that ring the Ise area to the west.






Upon my return the party just went on forever. There were rappers and arm wrestling and more food. The evening was just fantastic and I was happy to be a part of it.





I did not participate in the epic arm wrestling, though I did sumo wrestle afterwards. I was somewhat unstoppable and they were almost as surprised to discover that I weigh over 100 kilos as they were to find out I was only 20 two nights before.

Over the course of this night I met a very nice couple and talked to them a lot. When they discovered that I'd come all the way to Ise to see the sights, but instead spent three nights drinking and partying they insisted on taking me to see the inner shrine the next day. I was happy to accept their offer and I even got a decent nights sleep as the party ended at 3 and I got to sleep from 4 until 10:30.

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The next morning at 10:45 on the dot I get a call from my new friends Ken and Tsubasa. Just as promised they arrive at 11:00, I say a short goodbye to my host's mother letting my host sleep, and we're soon on our way to the Inner Shrine at Ise.

This was Monday, which was Respect for the Aged day, a national holiday here in Japan, so the shrine was predictably packed.



Normally I have little interest in having photos of myself taken at places I'm visiting. I took only two over the course of 10 days in Europe. But Ken and Tsubasa insisted on a number of occasions, and I'm glad for it.


After first crossing over a bridge from a residential neighborhood into the shrine area you walk through a number of packed old looking shops and restaurants. We left these for later and headed straight for the shrine proper. This huge torii gate marks the entrance.


You then pass through the gate and over this bridge. If the Torii and bridge look remarkably new that's because they are. The Ise shrines are entirely rebuilt every 30 years according to Shinto tradition. The most recent rebuilding is still underway and the entrence was rebuilt just this past year, so everything looks very new.


Once inside you cleanse your hands, and then there's a river where one can do the same. The water here is amazingly clean and cool. Many people swim in the river just outside the temple, though nobody does inside.



The temple is filled with trees, and incorporates seemlessly the timeless Japanese architecture and the natural world around it. It was beautiful.




These stairs lead up to the temple entrance. The larger "temple" is not really a temple at all, but simply the surrounding area, this staircase leads up to the actual entrance where you stand, pray, and give (traditionally) a 5 yen coin as an offering.

The idea of the 5 yen coin as an offering was explained to me, though it was difficult, by my new friends. "5 yen" is go-en in Japanese, "go" meaning five, and "en" being the counter for yen. En, however, is also a Japanese word meaning connection, fate, bond, link or relationship while Go is also a Japanese honorable prefix. Additionally the Japanese 5 yen coin has a hole in its center. It signifies a circle and simultaneously is supposed to bring luck and create a connection and is thus the most common donation at Shinto temples. Awesomesauce.

So you toss your 5 yen coin in and then head back through the rest of where you just came from. That's right, before you see my awesome pictures and head off to see the holiest Shinto temple in the land I've got a bummer for you. You don't actually get to see the temple. Nobody does. Ever. It's kinda a bummer, but only the royal family may enter the temples at Ise, and large walls are erected around it. The visit is much more about the journey and the experience than about actual fruition, much like my weekend.




We made our way back out into the streets outside. These were filled with shops and vendors (and a monumental amount of people) and we wandered around and saw a million cool things.





We went inside this place and had Akafuku, a traditional Ise treat of Mochi covered in red bean paste.


Just so you know, it's amazing.

As we were hanging out and eating our Akafuku they asked if there was anything else I had planned to see in Ise. I mentioned that I had also wanted to see the Meotoiwa, the wedded rocks. They said it was 5 minutes away, so we would go. I didn't want to argue, so we were on our way.






The rocks represent the union of man and wife and are connected by a traditional Shinto rope made of rice straw that weighs over a ton and has to be replaced several times a year. I'd like to come back and see this ceremony.

After this my new friends drove me to Ise-shi station, we bid farewell and I thanked them profusely for their kindness and was sure to tell them if they were ever in Osaka to give me a call. As they drove off the gods of luck seemed to clap their hands, admire their job well done, and turn to more important things. I could have used just 5 more minutes of their time though.

As I stepped into the station I remembered a series of disturbing things. I had only 1000 yen on me, roughly 10 dollars US. The cheapest ticket home was 1500 yen, and the one I was likely to buy (faster by 2 hours) was 3000 yen. I wandered around downtown Ise (deja vu) for about an hour and a half, trying convenience store after convenience store before I found an ATM which would accept my card. Luckily I did finally find one, boarded a train, and was on my way home again. I called my host in Ise, Akira, and thanked him profusely (now that he'd woken up) and assured him that I would be back to visit.

I hope you enjoyed this insane tale, as it took me 4 hours to write and upload the pics for this insane diatribe. I would again not encourage being as unprepared as I was. I got very lucky, and I would not count on it happening again, nor in any other place.

If you like my photos I put the best of the best up on flickr, just search DeLue and you're sure to find me. I also tag many of them on a map, so you can follow my photographic journeys around the country.

Also many thanks to all of you who read and pass this on to friends. The more people I know are reading the more I feel like I'm not wasting my time. You're all awesome. Drop me a comment to let me know what you think and pass it on to friends, family, enemies, pets that can read, anybody you like.

My next entry will be Kyoto. Don't miss it!

Stay stoked mis amigos,

Mahalo