Happy Lutheran

Today was my last day in Kyoto. Tomorrow I will be checking out of my hotel in the morning and taking the train to Tokyo, where I will spend 2 1/2 days before heading home. I am looking forward to seeing Tokyo, but even more than that, I am looking forward to seeing John and…… Continue reading Goodbye, Kyoto!

Well, today was perhaps the most informative day yet of my time in Kyoto. I spent most of the day with Daisuke Sasaki, a graduate student in the school of Practical Shin Buddhist Studies at Ryukoku University. He is smart, kind, and speaks excellent English, and he told me all about the program for training…… Continue reading An Authentic Zen Experience

Even though today started off cloudy, it cleared up by late morning and turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. So, I walked all the way back up to the general area of Kinkakuji temple, but this time, my destination was Ryoanji temple, home of what is probably the most famous dry rock garden…… Continue reading Gardens, Zen Style

I woke up today knowing that the forecast was calling for rain, and I thought I would wait to see what kind of rain developed before deciding what I would do today. It did start to rain pretty early, but it was very light–hardly anything–so I started out, keeping my options open.My first stop was…… Continue reading Raindrops Kept Falling on my Head

I gave temples a pass today in favor of a different cultural experience. I started the morning back at Toji temple, but not for any religious reasons. Instead, I came to see the Kobo-San market–a flea market that is held here on the 21st of every month to commemorate the death of Kobo Taishi, who…… Continue reading And Now for Something Really Different!

Today I checked out of my ryokan in the Gion district, and moved over to the Monbou Kaikan, a hotel that is right next door to the Nishi Hongwanji, the mother temple for Jodo Shinshu Buddhism. A colleague from the GTU who teaches at the nearby Ryukoku University [a Jodo Shinshu school], helped me check…… Continue reading At the Monbou Kaikan

I forgot the monkey picture that goes with the last post! Here it is, along with a close-up of the toilet features I mentioned yesterday.

I admit it: I was a little lonely on my birthday today. Even though I am the luckiest person in the world to have this travel fellowship for my sabbatical, and I am so, so grateful, and feel so, so blessed–I still missed John and Henry today. Home with them is better than anywhere else…… Continue reading Foxes and Balls

First, toilets. Toilets are ritzy in Japan. Not only the toilet in my nice hotel room, but most/many public toilets, too. Case in point: the seat is heated. Boy is that nice at 2 in the morning. Along with the heat comes a complicated menu of bidet features, which, frankly I can’t even figure out…… Continue reading Apropos of Nothing

As I have been in Kyoto these past few days, I have been thinking about dear Scott from our Israel trip, who, every time Marty asked if we enjoyed our day, would say, “Today was my favorite day!” That’s exactly how I feel here every day, too–although so far, today really has been my favorite…… Continue reading I May Have Overshot….