we packed today…
to head to Florida to have a massive meeting with our tutors.
This will be like culture shock. Florida has CARS. And traffic. And traffic lights. And street names. And stores. Lots and lots of stores. And more stores. (And I am planning to go to a few, too!)
But as I was packing, for some reason, I was getting excited about Japan. I can get excited about Japan at the drop of a hat, so that’s not new. And I looked back through my photos. You know, if I had a Concorde, I’d go to Japan for dinner. Every night. I think it would take a very long time for me to get bored with eating there. We’ll be teaching in September for Homeopathy Japan, and its founder Torako Yui, and it is an absolute honour.
So here are some shots of Japan, as we prepare to leave for Florida. Tomorrow’s shots will likely be of Florida, and I’d bet the food doesn’t compare. Though Japan has cars and traffic and stores!
This is an intersection I love, as I leave Shinjuku for Ginza.
And the arches at the entrance of Ginza.
At our hotel, the Keio Plaza, I tend to have the same wonderful breakfast each day:
(that’s green tea, yogurt with mango pudding chunks and lychee pudding chunks and craisins, a bit of egg and ketchup, pineapple, cheeses, nuts and dried mango and apricots. I don’t eat like this at home, although I guess I could.)
This is the main classroom. It is a techno-geek’s dream world – I love it! There are video screens for people toward the back and sides, so they can see what we’re writing or projecting at the front, and another screen for them to see us. There are cameras shooting us so the lectures can be simultaneously broadcast to all different parts of Japan. And the best part – there are wonderful students, and graduates, who come year after year. It is so great to see them each time, and to meet new people too. They are brilliant and eager learners and followers of truth.
When I am in Shinjuku I head to Odakyu and visit Marriage Freres, one of the best French tea blenders on earth. These small bags are about $45 each, but the tea is exquisite. I won’t need any this year, since I have a pretty good stash, so I’d better not go there or the temptation will overcome me. Their Earl Grey French Blue? Just glorious.
After we teach we’ve been fortunate to visit the home of Dr. Yui in Atami, a seaside town. Her housekeeper is a wonderful chef! The beds are divine – we pass out the moment our heads hit the pillow. The view is beautiful.
The attention to detail is incredible. We walk into the house’s entry, take off our shoes. When we leave, the shoes have been turned around for us to slip into. If an umbrella might be needed that day, there are umbrellas. It is just a sane and lovely way to live.
And the best part, or one of the best parts? The onsen. We always use the onsen in the house, which is cedar and relaxing. Last visit we decided to try out the outdoor onsen, and we all ready for it. When we arrived – we learned it was SO SO hot that it wouldn’t be practical. Oh well! Maybe this year! It wasn’t a disappointment though, the cedar onsen was great.
The food is fresh, delicious, and the presentation is always gorgeous.
It is wonderful there, and we love our visits. We relax, we get to explore, eat, and most of all – appreciate precious friendships. We look happy there, eh? (I am very happy there!)
Well, tomorrow – Florida!
We practice the most difficult kunst of all. We have five kids between us, hundreds of students and grads, and sometimes we get to travel to teach and to see family on the west coast or Europe. We live in a few places (or will in November) and prefer the one far from the madding crowd.
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