Category Archives: 日光

Sayōnara

So, I go to Terminal 1.  But there are no China Eastern flights from Terminal 1.  That’s an “I” for the “International” terminal. Fuck you, Haneda Airport and your serif-dependent abbreviations. I plan for these things when traveling, though, so … Continue reading

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Wisdom

  Roasted banana with vanilla ice cream was my birthday dessert. I don’t think anyone knows this story except my mother.  And she’s joined the Church Triumphant.  And would have baked me apple pie à la mode instead anyway.  When I … Continue reading

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Postprandial

Having drinks at the bar at the Kanaya Hotel.  It’s the ritzy (colonialist?) hotel perched above the Shinkyo bridge over the Daiya River.  In the foreground please note a double of Yamizaki 12.  So much smoother than the Yamizaki 18, … Continue reading

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Numeromancy

Beloved, today I turned 41.  Which means a scant 366 days until my Answer Year!  Life, the Universe, and Everything!  42!

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Design

  This is a lovely spot by the Daiyu River where I sat and read my book.A huge boulder by the bank has a shrine nook carved into it — moss-covered and empty, now — and lots of Japanese (hard … Continue reading

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Axis

  The maps around Nikko look super ominous until you realize those are all Buddhist temples (and the swastikas are twisting in an inoffensive direction.)

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Blasphemy

As I approached Taiyu-in’s Niten-mon Gate… Fu-jin the God of Wind goes, “This temple is FABU-lous!” But then Komoku-ten the Protector of the West Sky is like, “Wait. Who invited you?” And Jikoku-ten the Protector of the East Sky is … Continue reading

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Kamikaze

I made my way to Kirifuri-no-taki.  Perhaps not as impressive a waterfall as Kegon, but in some ways more beautiful, more serene, nestled away, forested mountains as far as you can see in every direction. I stood, red-cheeked, in what … Continue reading

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Hallowed

  Late one night, in the Stygian darkness, I stumbled on this impossibly chilling shrine & graveyard.  Not nearly enough light to photograph then, but I captured it here the next day at twilight.  (Twilight. Heh.) To enter, one must cross … Continue reading

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Pox-eclipse

  Not even Japan and its tennis courts were spared.  Makes sense.  It’s the tell of us all.

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Daikatana

  This is the biggest sword I have ever seen.  I paced it out at 9 (David) feet long.

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Chasing

  TLC’s advice be damned, I visited the Kegon Falls where Lake Chuzenji debouches into the Daiya River. Took a 100 meter elevator ride through bedrock down to the base of the falls at sunset.  As impressive as anything I’ve seen … Continue reading

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Griffith

There is an apocryphal story that a thrifty Golden Age movie producer1 once said, “A tree is a tree, a rock is a rock, we’ll shoot it at Griffith2 Park!” I thought of that quote while riding through the Nikko … Continue reading

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Lloyd

This somewhat underwhelming (yet somewhat overwhelmingly pink) wooden edifice of the Nikko Train Station built in 1915 was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Coincidentally, I’ve been reading David J. Peterson’s The Art of Language Invention.  He claims that the proper … Continue reading

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Irresistible

 The two English nouns on this sign made the trail irresistible.  Abyss?  Bears???  Sign me up! What North America lacks — but what Japan shares with Europe — is the chance of rounding a trail in the middle of nowhere … Continue reading

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