Before Chris was even on his way to the airport I was flying high over Mt. Fuji and the Pacific on a C-130 en route to Okinawa, Japan. I got to ride in the cockpit! Look, Chris! I’m helping!!Empty miles of ocean gave way to an increasing set of islands as we approached Okinawa, steadily…
Atsugi to Okinawa
Up in the Air
It is a good idea to have a carefully planned itinerary when you are setting off across oceans and continents and passing through more than half the world’s timezones. Or not. Wish me luck–I’m trusting my fate to Space A. If all goes well I’ll be in San Diego in a few days, hopefully with…
Ninja Training!
Chris completed his HAC training a few weeks ago and wanted to celebrate with some ninja training. Good thing we live in Tokyo! I made us reservations at Ninja Akasaka. We traversed steep, low-ceiling-ed corridors, crossed a drawbridge and inched through the dark until we got to our ninja room, where our ninja guide whipped…
Rain Vs. Plum, Cavity Vs. Teeth
A brief history of the progression of the plum blossoms: The first plum blossoms appeared the last week of January. The snowfall of early February did the blooms no harm, and more continued to bloom until their peak at the end of the month. Sort of. I’m not quite sure when the peak was because…
Mexic-Asian Fusion
If you give a Mari chips and salsa, she will want a bowl of guacamole. If you give her guacamole, she will want a margarita. If a Mari has a margarita, she will want to move back to Florida and go to the beach. But we can avoid all that nonsense with this easy recipe!…
Fog Off
Blind stop two in Nikko: Kegon Falls. This we also couldn’t see, not because it was twisted into some mystical shape but rather because it was covered in fog. The fog would lift and for a few moments we could see the surrounding snow-laden mountains, but before we could catch even a glimpse of the…
The Magic Eye of Waterfalls
I have trouble seeing. I don’t mean I need to wear glasses–although I do. What I’m talking about is seeing stuff in stuff. I never knew what people were talking about when they referred to some Man in the Moon. I thought I saw a face one time but haven’t seen it since. Then there…