train game
my first view of japan -- a crowded train in Tokyo's rush hour
Akihabara
Chris and my good friend Kento's mother in Tokyo's 'Electric City'
Kentaro
I made a bee line for the Southern island of Kyushu -- warm air and warm people
Hara-san
The owner of my favorite place in Kyushu -- Chikyu Ya ('world store'), gourmet food from around the world
Chikyu-ya
The den of earthly delights...
Rabbu Rabbu
Kentaro and some other old friends whisked me off to the Saikai peninsula for a couple of days of r+r
Morita-san
Morita-san fixing us up a country style feast at her fair trade cafe in Saikai. Yum!
Stairway to Heaven
Behind Morita-san's home is the entrance to a shrine for the local kami-sama, or nature spirits
Kami-sama
Such shrines pepper the Japanese country side. They were traditionally adorned with hemp ropes, though most of the hemp was removed after an American ban on hemp post WW2
Jam!
We celebrated at Morita-san's house. Five years ago, I spent a year teaching in the area, and we were all members of an African drumming band. This night felt just like old times :o)
Hajime-san
Morita-san
Atsushii-san
Norida-san
The crew
Jamming with a bunch of hippies in the mountains. Feels just like home!
Saikai-cho
The Saikai coastline, quiet hamlets
Detail if a Shinto Shrine
Ikeda-san
My old Yoga teacher, drove me out to my favourite beach
Stolen moment
Chikyu-ya's delicacies
Tomo-san, Ikeda-san and his wife, myself and Kentaro, eating tofu karage and tempeh at Hara-san's restaurant...
Saori-chan
Keita
Hara-san
in his element (with a couple of beers in his belly)
Huh?
The gods of one of Japan's new religions? Or an ad for the Japanese Tourist Bureau?
Goodbyes
Bon-Bon Circus
Somehow, through some strange twist of fate, I ended up playing a gig with the members of an Osaka jam band. Strange!
Mountain paradise
After the show we shacked up at at a BEAUTIFUL mountain retreat, built in harmony with nature
Gyuemburo
...mountain shack complete with traditional fire-heated bath. The Japanese are so all-about-baths. Sweet!