I LOVE JAPAN!
日本が大好きです!
Somehow, it always feels as if I have come home whenever I step foot off the plane. I first visited Japan in 1982 and then again 1983, then for many years traveled to other places around the globe. After 20 years, I returned, and fell in love all over again, going to wherever I was drawn. I have been writing about Japan and Japanese culture for Eye-Ai Magazine (Japan's oldest English language publication) since 2003. My 10th trip to Japan begins in September 2017.
In every journey inside Japan, I have met wonderful people who have generously shared a part of their lives with me: in their homes, at hot-springs, on trains, at restaurants, flea markets, shops, shrines, temples, and National Heritage sites. We continue to stay connected, and this adds a richness to my life that I cannot imagine having found any other way. This website is the space in which I will share my Japan experiences: past, present, future. You will see, read and hear about events in locations I visit--from the Tohoku region to the Kansai--as well as remembrances from 1982 to 2009. It pains me that the triple disaster at Fukushima continues to affect people's lives, and that more has not been done to take care of those who have been displaced from their homes. We won't overly dwell on the current sadness and challenges, but we will not look away either. I invite you to see Japan through my eyes; to be awestruck by contrasts, and her natural beauty, entertained by her charming quirkiness, nourished and refreshed by her green tea, impressed by her creative design genius, and thoroughly warmed by her people's thoughtfulness and generous and courageous spirit. Please join me in a Journey Inside Japan. . . . |