Osaka

They drove a van. A dark green member of the family. Toto - a miniature dotson - at the helm. Minako Mizoguchi's family, my guides to Osaka for my final days in Japan.

As a student, she had come to California to learn English. She stayed with a host family. Now - though she says a good deal of her English knowledge is gone - she's opened her home up to students. I really appreciated it.

The things we saw were pretty neat: the Umeda Sky Bridge, Osaka Castle, Shitennoji Temple, the Osaka Aquarium. The things we ate were amazing - all except the Takoyaki (octopus balls), which I did not enjoy. But what I most liked was just being part of a family again before I set off once more to sea.

A Week in Kyoto

Day 1- Setsuko walked me to the station and I was off. Bound for Kyoto, negotiation site of a protocol studied in universities the world over by environmental studies students. I was looking forward to it.

Arrived half an hour later at Kyoto Station, where the architecture student in me ran wild. It's intense, a design studio professor's dream. I spent the better part of that rainy day wandering through, over, and under it. Google image it - it's worth it.

Day 2 - On to Kyoto's historic side, with a tour of the Imperial Palace. Kyoto served as the capital of Japan beginning in the 8th century, and was the home of the Japanese imperial family from 794 to 1868 - so says my guidebook.

I can tell you that the palace is beautiful in it's minimalist perfection. The gravel is combed and the trees obsessively manicured.

Day 3 - Got my first glimpse of Japanese castle architecture at Nijo jo - castle of the first Tokugawa shogun. This guy must have had to watch his back. The floors are designed to squeak and hidden chambers concealed bodyguards prepared to defend their lord at any moment.

I then went to a temple on a hill. It was warm and the walk steep, so I sat on some shaded steps to picnic. As I was finishing, two of the people I had most wanted to see while in Kyoto began to - slowly - descend the stairs opposite me.

Geishas! Painted, kimono clad "artists". This surprise meeting wouldn't be my only on that day. Back at the hostel - over dinner - met two fellow travelers. Together we went to a show at Gion Corner. Among the acts was a Kyomai - traditional Kyoto kimono dance - performance. The English program instructed us to enjoy the elegant movements of the dancers. I did.

Day 4 - Now that I had taken the prep course, I was prepared for advanced Japanese castle architecture: Himeji. Rode the train for an hour and there it was. Oh man - the Japan of fairytales and childhood imaginings still stands on its original stone foundations in this place.

See the pictures - my words can't do it justice.

Day 5 - The day of movie sets. First off to the bamboo groves of Arashiyama. Remember the characters of "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" flying through forests of green? I observed from the ground licking green tea ice cream and watching the Japanese school kids give smiling peace signs to their friend's camera phones.

Next to the prayer scene from "Memoirs of a Geisha". A hill full of orange torii (gates) beheld the boisterous meeting of this American and a fro sporting 24 year old Canadian. We had a good time - we toned it done though once we were told to hush. Opps. Nursed our bruised decorums at a conveyor belt sushi place back at Kyoto Station.

Day 6 - Time for a green day. Strolled for hours in Kyoto's impressive Botanical Gardens. Favorite things were the display Bonsai trees and the massive conservatory. Those and the snake I spied by a pond too full of duck eggs to move.

Day 7 - Gold week - a week of public holidays - was upon Japan, and in celebration a Yabusame demonstration was held at the Shimogamo Shrine. Mounted archers dressed in traditional garb struck targets no more than a foot square. The crowd cheered with well-deserved admiration at every successful aim.

Nara

We met at ten o'clock in front of the Gakuenmae train station on Saturday, April 25th in Nara, Japan. Her name is Setsuko Okabe and for the next three days, she would be my host mother.

We drove - on the left - through the rain to her flat. I took pictures as she raised her neighbor's car to access her parking space - space efficiency is everything here. And along with it comes buttons and flashing lights. Even her bathroom is automated. The lid raises when you walk in, the seat warms itself when sat upon, and a panel of buttons lets you personalize your bum wash. When you flush the sink built into the toilet's back turns on. Wow.

We ate Japanese food in her dining room and out at restaurants. My favorite - though not an entirely new experience - was our trip to a conveyor belt sushi place. I'm partial to eel, though salmon is always good. I found the octopus overly chewy. We also drank tea, ceremonial style. It was alright. It must be the ceremony that has the appeal.

We went out to see the sights. Todai-ji Daibutsu-den is the world's largest wooden building. It contains a massive Buddha and a column with a hole in its base the same size as his nostril. It's said that if you can squeeze through you're ensured enlightenment. Setsuko thought I could make it. My money was on me making it half way and being stuck forever. I graciously declined - I'll take my chances on obtaining enlightenment.

We talked - or rather she talked. She's 67 and she had a lot more to say about traveling. Lands with different people, different attitudes, different things to see. She said she once met a preacher in an airport who told her she would never travel alone. God is always with you. So see - she's talking to me now - you're never alone. I nod and smile - I know.

You Shy?

I hope not, because this is your introduction to the Japanese bath:

Step 1 - Pay, if necessary.

Step 2 - Step to the hall with the appropriate gender. I've learned that the Japanese character for women kind of looks like a woman. You'll know real fast if you've made a mistake.

Step 3 - Enter the vestibule and remove your shoes.

Step 4 - Locker room, but don't think gym class. There's carpet (you're not wearing shoes) and a wall full of shelves. Put your clothes in a hole. Leave your bath towel too - it's just you and a wash cloth from here on out.

Step 5 - Shower room. Sit down - that's right - sit down at a shower. Mind the playing children, grab a shower head and a bar of soap, and go at it. The Japanese women are at this for at least 10 minutes. Wash everything before

Step 6 - Tub time. The water is 45 degrees C. Sit and soak. Chat - if you're so inclined - or admire the murals till good and pruny.

Step 7 - Work backwards - minus the soap in Step 5 - till out. Done.

Sailing the High Seas

The morning of Tuesday, April 21st, I boarded another vessel. The Sun Zhou Hao - Shanghai, China to Osaka, Japan.

I wasn't expecting much. I'd booked the lowest class available - 2B economy, 16 bed female dorm - and had gotten a student discount. So considering the ferry's 48 hour duration and international destination - Japan is by no means a cheap country to travel in - the fair was pretty minimal.

Man was I pleasantly surprised. On the Yangtze, I remember being happy, but also wet, cold, and hungry. On the Sun Zhou Hao, this would definitely not be the case. The staff wore bow ties and panty hose. Televisions played English films for the enjoyment of reclining patrons. Shower rooms steamed with hot water.

And - the piece de resistance - our room. I opened the door to be confronted with another. Strange, but then I see the slippers and shoe cubbies. I love shoe cubbies, and the slippers even almost fit! The next door is made of wood and slides. Then, the smell of bamboo mats and I see three peculiar piles. I claim one by a window - whose screen I slide open to reveal the cobalt of the sea - and begin working it out. Thick mats on the bottom, sheet, duvet and cover, and - what's this square leather box? Oh... - pillow.

Giddy, I headed to the restaurant for more chopstick practice. We dock Thursday, April 23rd. Until then, I plan to skip through the carpeted halls, dodge ping pong balls and woman practicing T'ai Chi, and watch English action movies with the Chinese tourists who insist on spending the majority of the day lounging in their flannel pajamas.

The Three Gorges of the Yangtze

I've cruised the The Three Gorges of the Yangtze, Chinese style. It began on Friday, April 17th and ended Sunday the 19th. I understood not a word - save those spoken by the three other foreigners aboard - but I saw what there was to see.

It was more interesting than beautiful. China seems to be like that. That's not to say it wasn't beautiful. At the end of three days, I was still saying WOW aloud to the diving slopes of mist and green. I've never seen land meet water like that before.

Interesting though would be my word of choice. I shared a dorm with five people. They seemed to know each other - two couples and a lady. Middle class, late fifties. We had major communication issues. Ni hao (Hello), xie xie (thank you), and America were our only mutual means of understanding.

But they were so friendly. I was given a share of whatever was eaten, and the bilingual tour guide was always asked to translate questions when passing by our room. Your Uncle and Auntie wish to know... she would say.

China is changing fast, and you can tell. At Wushan, the Yangtze is now 75 meters higher than it was three years ago. High rise concrete apartments stand above the now underwater fishing villages. Suspension bridges in flaming orange red span tributaries and construction crews are making ready the hills for super highways.

That responsible for so grand a transformation we toured at cruise's end. The Three Gorges Dam - now the largest dam in the world. 1.4 miles from end to end. Capable of generating 22,500 MW. It's immense - power at a mammoth scale.

Wide-eyed and small, I stood alone at the concourse. Our guide - megaphone and pointer aloft - had moved on surrounded by my fellow cruisers - I couldn't understand her anyway. The words clean energy and at what cost? kept running through my mind. I don't know.

I don't know.

Pandas

When we arrived at the breeding center, we walked past the line hurrying to keep up with our guide as she clip-clopped ahead at an alarming rate given her three inch heels and short stature. We had come to see pandas - on the panda tour organized through Sim's Cozy Guest Hostel - and our guide would make sure we didn't miss their morning feeding.

Past Swan Lake, behind a holding pin, and out to an adult panda enclosure. There they were - only they weren't the docile, bamboo crunching bears I had expected. They were playing. Climbing, hanging, biting, rolling over each other playing. Cute they were though - unbelievably so. And when their squishy, fluffy bodies were bent or pulled too far they cried out with a meep more befitting a puppy than a bear, showed their pink little tongues, and carried on. Adorable.

Though reluctant to leave - our guide said she had never seen the adults so active - we continued down the age spectrum. The five month olds fulfilled my panda expectations. They relined with bamboo shots going every which way, chomping happily. At three months we found the fluff balls chasing each other around a nursery complete with rocking horse and incubator.

For a fee, you could have your photo taken with a panda. That was a bit too weird for our group so we moved on to the red pandas - which, to be honest, I barely knew existed -, the cinema - where a gaggle of Chinese kindergartners on field trip provided the majority of the entertainment -, the museum, and back to the van for the ride home.