Seibu Lions fans

I haven’t paid any attention to Japanese baseball this season. The main reason being that I’m not going to Japan this summer, but upon looking at the standings I see that I’m not missing much as my Seibu Lions are not doing so well in the Pacific League. My Yakult Swallows are even further off the pace in the Central League. So I will go back to ignoring professional baseball in Japan and continue to focus instead on my Oakland A’s in MLB who continue to have the best record in baseball (after beating the Giants each of the past two evenings).

Posted on July 9th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: baseball, seibu lions. Comments Off on NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball)

Morning prayer service in a Buddhist temple (Fudoin on Koyasan)

I have witnessed many Shinto and Buddhist rituals, but my night on Koyasan was my first experience actually participating in one (other than carrying the omikoshi during a Shinto procession). The night I was there the shukubo had two other parties of gaijin and three or four parties of native Japanese. We all attended the prayer service led by the young Buddhist monks in the morning. Although you didn’t need to speak or understand Japanese to participate, I was the only one of the gaijin who did more than watch. Maybe the others were Christian and felt like they would be betraying their faith. In any event, it felt good to do more than just watch for once.

Posted on July 8th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, fudoin, gohei, koyasan 高野山, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Time for church

相撲 土俵

Posted on July 5th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: sumo. Comments Off on A closer look at the Sumo dohyo

Inuyama Castle fireworks

Posted on July 4th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: fireworks, inuyama, July 4, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Happy 4th of July!

I once lived in an apartment in Kawasaki that was close to the (Mizonokuchi Station (溝の口駅) on the Denentoshi Line (東急田園都市線)) train tracks. The constant sound of trains arriving and departing was maddening for the first few days, but then it became so normal that I missed it a bit when I moved.

Posted on July 3rd, 2014 under Japan. Tags: Tokyo, trains. Comments Off on Tokyo trains