• The Garden of Love

    In Shintomi Town, on the road from Takanabe to Saito, is a garden carpeted in bright, pink flowers. During spring, when the shibazakura (moss phlox) is in full bloom, the…

    April 6, 2016

  • Sekino-o Falls and the Oketsugun Potholes

    “Woaah!” I exclaimed to Mark. “Are you seeing this?” The red shrine that he was investigating wasn’t enough to distract me from the roar of water falling down. An unexpected stop on our roadtrip…

    March 23, 2015

  • Doll Festival in Aya Town

    At this time of year, special dolls are set out on displays in homes and shops around Japan for the annual hinamatsuri (doll festival) celebration on March 3. I’ve always been a teddy…

    March 2, 2015

  • Walking Tour of Obi Castle Town

    After  Naked Man Festival, we decided to drive the hour south to see Obi Castle Town (飫肥城下町), the “Little Kyoto” of Kyushu. The town was built on the remains of Obi…

    February 7, 2015

  • Christmas Lights in Miyazaki

    For a country that doesn’t really celebrate Christmas, Japan sure knows how to do Christmas lights. They are the romantic backdrop for Christmas Eve – a night celebrated like Valentines Day,…

    December 15, 2014

  • Nyutabaru Air Festival

    I’ve barely left my apartment these past two weekends: a last effort in tightening the purse strings before my big trip to New York later this month (12 days and…

    December 8, 2014

  • Aya Town

    On the fourth day of Matthew’s visit – and the last day we would have time to do sightseeing together – we decided to visit Aya. An hour or so west…

    November 25, 2014

  • Garden of Statues in Heiwadai Park

    One of the history teachers who used to work at my school (he was transferred to Miyakonojo) sent me on a little treasure hunt one typhoon day. The students weren’t at…

    November 14, 2014
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