Japan – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

Chapter 3: Cherry Blossoms and Liver Spots*

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion August 12, 2020August 12, 2020100 Summits, cancer, cancer treatment, chemotherapy, Climb, hiking, Japan, Tokyo 0 Comment

(March – May 2018)* I started chemotherapy two days after returning from my Christmas trip to Tokyo. That sleepy smile in the photo above is a combination of traveling and the massive dose of Benadryl I received before the infusion. Jaime (left) and Vickie (right) made my chemo treatments as easy, and as fun, as chemotherapy could possibly be. They were happy, loving, and friendly to everyone, and I will treasure their friendship always. You read that correctly. (That isn’t a COVID mask – it’s what an immunocompromised cancer patient wears to try to stay safe in public). My mother,

Chapter 4: You Are Not Prepared*

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion August 12, 2020August 12, 2020100 Summits, Akagi, Climb, Climb photo companion, hiking in Japan, hyakumeizan, Japan, Mt. Akagi 0 Comment

May 20, 2018 – Mt. Akagi (#1) In Japan, it isn’t possible for foreigners to rent a long-term apartment without a long-term visa (more on this in a later chapter). Due to “exigent circumstances” (discussed more in the book), we had to make due with short term rentals during our first four months in Japan. Fortunately, I had already booked our initial six-week stay through 1/3 Residence–a company that rents short- and medium-term furnished apartments in Tokyo. I worried a little about how Oobie would react to the move. She was a rescue, but we adopted her directly from the

Chapter 2: One Hundred and One*

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion August 11, 2020August 12, 2020cancer, Climb, Japan, Tokyo Christmas Markets 0 Comment

I don’t have many photos to document Chapter 2 of CLIMB,* which chronicles my cancer diagnosis, surgery, and early treatment. (In fairness, I suspect I’m not alone in the fact that my first reaction to learning I had cancer wasn’t “SOMEONE GRAB THE CAMERA”) I also have no photographs of my beloved grandmother, Peggy, whose cancer story I also share in Chapter 2. For those details, you’ll have to read the book… However . . . although this is the shortest chapter in the photo companion, it’s not entirely without pictures: Four weeks after my double mastectomy, I flew to

Chapter 1: Victory–And Misery–On Misen

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog, CLIMB Photo Companion August 11, 2020August 11, 2020#100Summits, Climb, hiking, Japan, Japan photography, mountains, Mt. Misen, sacred mountains 5 Comments

Mountain: Mt. Misen (弥山), Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan (The short caption directly beneath each photo matches the text in CLIMB.) My first view of Miyajima: (original photo taken in June 2015). The Otorii is visible at center left, and the mountain rising just to the left of center is Mt. Misen. Historically, the entire island was considered sacred ground. The first Otorii was built before the tenth century; the existing gate dates to 1875. The Ōtorii (great torii) measures 24 meters wide and rises 16 meters high (measured from the sand on which it sits). Torii are sacred Shintō gates that

Snow & Prayers at Hieizan Enryakuji

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog August 9, 2020August 9, 2020#100Summits, Buddhism, Buddhist temples, Hieizan, Hieizan Enryakuji, Japan, Japanese Buddhism, Tendai Buddhism 0 Comment

In February 2020, I made my third trip to Hieizan Enryaku-ji, a Buddhist temple on the slopes of Mt. Hiei (Hieizan) in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan.

Kegon Falls

Susan Spann Blog August 3, 2020August 3, 2020hiking, Japan, Japanese waterfalls, Kegon Falls, travel, waterfalls

Kegon Falls, in Upper Nikkō (Tochigi Prefecture, Japan) consistently ranks among the most beautiful waterfalls in Japan, if not the world. The 97-meter, bridal-veil style fall was created when ancient lava flows from nearby Mt. Nantai diverted the flow of the Daiya River. While most of the water cascades down the face of the lava flow, some of the water filters through the porous rock and emerges near the base of the primary fall, creating more than a dozen smaller waterfalls near the base of the primary falls. Kegon Falls is open to the public, and accessed via an elevator

Rebuilding History at Kumamoto Castle

Susan Spann Blog July 5, 2020July 5, 2020Japan, Kumamoto Castle, Murder is Everywhere

It’s my day to blog at Murder is Everywhere, and I’m sharing a little about the 400-year history of Kumamoto Castle, the massive earthquake that almost destroyed this piece of living history, and the spectacular renovation currently under way. I hope you’ll click through and join me for a virtual trip to a beautiful site on Japan’s southernmost major island: https://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.com/2020/07/rebuilding-history-at-kumamoto-castle.html

Incense Clocks: Burning Time in Medieval Japan

Susan Spann Blog June 22, 2020June 21, 2020history, incense clocks, Japan, Nakasendo

Before the introduction of mechanical clocks with pendulums and gears, people around the world used a variety of ingenious devices to mark hours and keep track of time. Most people are familiar with hourglasses, water clocks, and candles, but fewer people outside of Asia have seen (or used) an incense clock. Incense clocks originated in China or in India (there are arguments, and evidence, for both) and spread to Japan by the 8th century (if not before). While the simpler clocks used sticks of incense that took known periods of time to burn, more elaborate clocks involved setting patterned lines

The Bells of Daibosatsu

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog April 7, 2020April 7, 2020100 Summits, bear bells, Daibosatsu, hiking, Japan

The mountains of Japan have a healthy population of Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus), and although they don’t hunt hikers, people do occasionally suffer injuries (and, more rarely, death) after accidentally startling a bear on mountain trails. As a result, most Japanese hikers wear small bells that jingle to warn bears of their approach.

Summit #1: Mt. Akagi (赤城山)

Susan Spann 100 Summits, Blog March 22, 2020March 22, 2020Akagi, hiking, hyakumeizan, Japan

In addition to being one of the Nihon Hyakumeizan, (100 Famous Mountains of Japan) Mt. Akagi is also a beloved symbol of Gunma Prefecture and one of the Jomo Sanzan (Three Famous Mountains of Gunma).

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