never ending discovery

back in tokyo for a minute. gotta say, being able to deal with, and burn to dvd, the 1000 plus pix i took this week on a computer more powerful then mine in a comic store while travelling is pretty rockin!

life happens extremely fast here, and at times i'm completely immersed, and others i'm on the sideline looking in. so much has happened this week, that its overwhelming to sit down and try to write about it. but in a nutshell, i am absolutely loving it here. so much to see, learn and participate in. my primary activity here is wandering. endlessly. my feet hurt, but something in the air keeps me on them looking around. and at the end of the day, i'm lucky enough to be able to soak in an onsens(hot springs) that are everywhere!

below are a couple of highlights...

i visited the imperial palace on 1.2.09, one of two days of the year that emperor opens up the grounds for outsiders to visit. a few people showed up to hear him speak:

there were a couple other people taking pictures:

he gave 3 minute speech, and this is the reaction he got:

it was a real nice speech and all, but as hard as i tried i couldn't understand a word of it. i guess everyone really liked it though.

in my last post, i was hungry for veggie food. i found it. lots of it. shortly after the emperor's address, i had a 7 course vegan japanese meal. delish. last night i went to another veggie restaurant that has been open 32 years. i was the only one in there, and got to talking with the owner. he showed me pix of stevie wonder singing in the restaurant, and him in a studio with him. stevie likes good food too. other customers over the years have included paul mccartney, david bowie, janet jackson, and mick jagger. not bad for a small little joint in tokyo.

on the 3rd, i travelled to nikko, a mountainous village with some ancient temples and shrines. stayed at a place with yoga in the morning and zen buddhist vegan food cooked by the resident monk for breakfast and dinner. throw in some amazing new friends and a gorgeous mountain backdrop, and you've got a recipe for fun!

that morning, i climbed a mountain for an annual ceremony where monks give locals money, with the premise being that the following year, the locals give back twice as much. it was an awesome hike that started here:

and ended here:

after the hike, i took an hour bus ride to lake chuzenji and kegan falls, which were both amazing!

oregon, i still heart u.

did i mention that its winter here! and i thought i was done with that season for a year!

the lake...

wishing you a bountiful and prosperous new year!