Monthly Archives: October 2004

(In theory I was going to post this Sunday night. In theory. My ryokan allegedly had wireless connectivity in the lobby and, sure enough, hallie could find a wireless network. Unfortunately, hallie was unable to route packets over the local … Continue reading →

I’ll be leaving for Miyajima in the morning, beginning the third-to-last leg of my trip before turning around in Nagasaki and coming back to Tokyo on Thursday next week. Unfortunately, this also marks the end of my guaranteed Internet access … Continue reading →

Part I: About Last Night It was my fault, really. Just shy of two weeks in-country, and I still haven’t gotten the hang of crossing the street. The best advice is PJ O’Rourke’s tip for driving in England — think … Continue reading →

You know what this is, of course. It’s impossible to be alive in 2004 and not know what happened 160 meters from the Industrial Promotion Hall of Hiroshima Prefecture on 6 August, 1945. This is, arguably, the seminal image of … Continue reading →

Part I: First Impressions You first see it from the train as you’re coming in from Nishi-Akashi. It sort of pops out of nowhere, on the right side, peeking from behind the hills. It disappears behind the buildings as the … Continue reading →

There’s a scene in Lost in Translation where Bob, sitting in a sauna, is initially pleased to see two white people arrive. Hooray! Someone to talk to! His reaction shifts almost immediately when the newcomers begin conversing in German. This … Continue reading →

Baseball Prospectus authors sometimes resort to what they call “Bullet Point Day” when they’ve got lots ot talk about but no way to link everything together. Today is one of those days — a good day, a productive day, but … Continue reading →

There’s a famous path in Kyoto, on the eastern edge of the city, called the Philosopher’s Walk. It starts up north, around Ginkakuji, the Temple of the Silever Pavillion, and meanders along a canal until you reach Nanzen-ji in the … Continue reading →

So how’d my first night in a ryokan go? Pretty well, all things considered, though if I had to describe it in a short-handed way it’s a lot like being at camp. (This was probably due to the low-budget nature … Continue reading →

In the absence of a desk my preferred method of typing on a laptop keyboard is flat on my stomach, balanced on my elbows. This is hard on my shoulders and given their current state is probably not the best … Continue reading →