-
Japanese Picture Books
I was walking through the kid’s section of the bookstore the other day when this beauty caught my eye: How absolutely awesome, I thought. It’s a picture book about paradise, or Buddhist heaven. Hey, wait. If they have a book about gokuraku“-極楽, they surely must have a book about… And they…
-
My Anti-New Year’s Noodles
On New Year’s Eve in Japan everyone (and I mean everyone) eats something called toshikoshi soba, year-crossing soba noodles. It’s a thing. And it’s delicious. If you ask around you’ll hear loads of reasons why you’re supposed to eat these specific noodles on New Year’s Eve. The main one, though, is that the soba represents…
-
The Mini Museum of Masks
Japan is narrow and mountainous and hugely populated. When asked what I miss most about the States (while I have several answers depending on my mood) “space” invariably gets mentioned. No sprawling parks with giant old trees and hide away benches where you can read undisturbed for hours. No lush lawns with dogs and children…