On the Road

For the next two weeks my wife and I will be on the road in Japan, meeting our 16 year old daughter in Japan, where she's spent the summer in intensive Japanese language study. My blog entries will be episodic but I'll remain connected via my 3G Blackberry. I'll be giving a lecture at Kyoto University but most of the trip will be seeing a side of traditional Japan that most tourists will not see.

We'll celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in temples with a history of bringing good luck to relationships.

We'll make traditional Japanese rice confections in a small shop in the Gion.

We'll eat blue-green Tofu, okara in yuba handmade in a 10 seat restaurant on the banks of the Kamagawa.

We'll join a sake maker on the roof of his factory for a view of the bonfires of Obon lit on the mountains around Kyoto.

We'll shop for mountain yam and daikon pickles in the mile long farmers market hidden in the arcades of Teramachi.

We'll drink Green Tea at Uji in the oldest teashop on the planet.

We'll stroll Zen gardens in Ohara north of Kyoto.

We'll explore the temples west of Kyoto and then board a small boat to ride the rapids back to the city

We'll travel to Miyajima and kayak the Inland Sea and visit shrines only accessible by boat built by fisherman and pirates.

I'll play the Shakuhachi from the top of Mt. Misen near the fire that Kobo Daishi lit in the 1600's and is still burning.

During our entire trip, we'll stay in small traditional Japanese inns - Ryokan.

Normally, I would go climbing in the Eastern Sierra for my yearly August time away, but the opportunity to travel with my wife and daughter in Japan is a very special opportunity. My daughter heads off to college in 2 more years, so we'll treasure the time with her as our Japanese interpreter and sometimes tour guide, given her experience spending the entire summer there.

I'm hoping the new few weeks are quiet in Washington, as HHS moves to regulation writing mode. You can be sure I'll keep you informed via my blog and Twitter.

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