Images from Japan
We docked in Kobe Japan on the 21st of September. After 14 days at sea, I was very glad to see land. Japan was one of the few ports that was deemed safe for a woman to travel alone in...so off I went. I headed straight for Kyoto (by train) where I visited temples and small shops and wandered through a graveyard built into the hillsides. I stayed at a bed and breakfast, where I slept on a tatami mat with a beautiful thick quilt. I made friends and had tea at a temple with two priests who lit some incense "for my well-being".I also visited Himeji Castle, which was breathtaking. On the way back to my ship from visiting the castle, I got off the train several stops too early and had to walk for hours to reach it...wandering through shops, stopping for dinner. I bought a set of Japanese china, which I treasure to this day. I even got to see a Japanese bluegrass band--the Lost City Mad Dogs!
He who travels far will often see things far from what he believed was truth.NOTE: Click on an image to view it enlarged.
Hermann Hesse
 | This woman's face is so beautiful--and her smile so open. She was sitting on a bench near a garden, and made room for me to join her. We sat together for a while watching people. |
 | Himeji Castle from afar. |
 | Himeji Castle closer up. |
 | The Lost City Mad Dogs--a Japanese bluegrass band. |
 | A peaceful praying man. |
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Updated November, 1996 / Karin Rex, ComputerEase