don't tell me this town ain't got no heart...

departed japan, which i must say is now one of my favorite places in the world. i checked out tokyo, nikko, kamakura, kyoto, and nara- each place with its own beat. tokyo, at times, pulsating at a frentic 140 bpm (beats per minute on the dance floor), while places like nikko and kamakura were like a super chill downtempo set where you hang on the cushions and let the music wash over you.

in bangkok now where the music analogy continues. if i weren't in se asia, i might think that i'd somehow landed in some wierd vortex of a phish or grateful dead shakedown street. freakin' hippies everywhere! khao san road where i'm staying tonight before leaving for india tomorrow has everything a weary traveller might need - dirt cheap excellent food and accommodation, clothes, transportation, entertainment; you name it! its a place where unsuspecting farang fresh off the boat get duped, where drugs can be acquired, and shady deals are just waiting to be made. my rule of thumb is to not make eye contact with the touts. i already know i don't want anything, so its easy to just walk by. bangkok is a really interesting place though, and a drastic change from the neat and orderly culture that is japan. here you are ducking and diving in the streets though motorcycle taxis, tuk tuks, and a myriad of languages from all over the world.

hippies, khao san.
drum circle:
phatty eggroll and pad thai:

poi. need i continue ; ) ?

bangkok is a nice transition space for me before heading on to india. i was here visiting my dear friend elise 4 years ago and had a chance to explore some of the major sights before traveling other parts of the country. when i was here last, the tsunami had just hit and it was a sad time. i remember this road plastered with photos of missing people, many of whom probably didn't make it.

its nice that i don't feel any pressure to run out and see things here like i did in japan, where i was on my feet exploring day and night. here i'm recharging my batteries and cooling with beer chang, the national drink. my friend erik from santa cruz was in town tonight, and i was stoked to hook up with him and his girlfriend pia.


i feel like i could write a book about my experience in japan, but i know how internet attention span is, so i'll keep it short and just throw in some pictures with commentary. i did make a really cool japanese friend worth mentioning - wantabe. he was staying in the bunk above me at the guest house and we hung out a bunch. gotta say, i have met few people like him. could put down the sake like no other, and man, super suave with the ladies too. and as a side note, if anyone wants to visit japan sometime, give a shout and i might just go with you.

kinkaku-ji - kyoto. spectacular!

one of the most serene and beautiful places i've been, kamakura, japan.

my favorite new homeslice, wantabe:

todai-ji, the largest wooden building in the world. exquisite. nara, japanmy sis dropped in for 4 days in japan. we visited a monkey park, where the people are in a cage and the monkeys run free. here we are with our new bff (as long as we fed him peanuts)

turn on your lovelantern, let it shine, shine, shine, let it shine. nara, japan.

sacred deer. nara, japan
bamboo forest, arishiyama:inexpensive hotel room, kyoto:

shibuya crossing tokyo, like times square in nyc. controlled chaos. before:
after.

foods.
one of many excellent muti course zen buddhist vegetarian meals i had:

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!

happy new year!

i've been in tokyo for just over 48 hours now. of that i've slept maybe 6, and can't say that i've actually eaten a proper meal. sounds like true rock star styling huh? well, a little bit of that and the fact that my body is still adjusting to the time zone, and the vegetarian options in japan are few and extremely far between. there is decent coffee here however, and i'm enjoying that. yesterday was 12\31 - my first full day here and my first venture was to go out and get some food. i found some tokyo veggie restaurants on the web and set out for a little mission to find one. one of the first lessons learned here is that addresses and street signs are pretty much not happening. i can read maps pretty good, but ended up wandering for over an hour looking for the pure cafe. i found it:

its certainly an adventure setting out for a particular destination, but after this happened again, i decided to not be so specific. as i had read about, 12/31-1/3 is a holiday time here and many things are closed. ce la vis - the journey is the prize. i ended up near harujuku - THE trend setting district for all those crazy youngsters in japan

as you can see - they would fit in perfectly at some of the parties we attend...

and you'll have to excuse the crassness that follows, but i just can't resist ---

after a nice strong cup of coffee and a big breakfast, i like to do as the sign for this uber chic district suggests....

thank you, thank you. i'll be here all week ; )

anyway, so i connected up with an international traveler forum and met up with some euro girls for sushi snack in the afternoon. following a few drinks we met up with a larger group of these peeps and celebrated in shibuya - a really happening area. imagine times square times 100:

oh look, there's me at the dinner:

and there i am again a few hours later at shibuya crossing:

new years was fun. can't say it was the biggest spectacle i've ever seen, but it was memorable for sure. after the dinner the idea of giving out free hugs was proposed by our japanese hostess. we made a sign and got some really warm responses, and many confused looks. there is no word for hug in japanese. the concept doesn't really exist. nevertheless, hugs were doled out, some unexpected debauchery ensued, and the party went on...

a rare scene of an empty subway platform. this is around 3 am, right after a train left...

1.1

new years day is traditionally spent with family here in japan. everyone goes to the temples to wish for a prosperous year. when i say everyone, i mean everyone. so i set out for one of the biggest temples in tokyo, naturally. en route, i did have one subway transfer. i stepped out of the building, saw some activity, and went with the flow into a massive shopping arcade in ueno. this was more of the asian shopping/market style that i had seen before. where i'm staying it is department store after department store. i do believe that shopping is the national sport of japan. anyway, it was a fun little detour complete with barkers, gambling, shoes, hats, hello kitty, you name it...

international.so i finally made it to the temple, and as i would have expected there were some people there. lots of them...

and it truly was a beautiful temple...

following my temple visit, i stopped in at a traditional onsen, or hot spring. the onsen was a stones throw from the temple, but a world away. inside was a super old school setup, as was the clientele. a public bath with me and a dozen 70 year old men - pretty nice to be able to soak after two days of non stop wandering though...

this is representative of shinjuku, the area i'm staying in. everything is like this, its crazy!

tokyo is a living and breathing organism, pulsing with life! but i'm ready to move on after what presumably will be an insane experience tomorrow when the emperor opens his home to the public for one of two days of the year to give a speech...

to be continued...