It’s my week to blog at Murder is Everywhere, so I’m sharing some photos from my recent Golden Week trip to Kyoto. What’s Golden Week? Click the link and you’ll know!
Read more“Into the Green” on Golden Week in Japan
Murder is Everywhere
How a Sparrow Saved the Shogun
Medieval Japanese history might have taken an entirely different course, but for one big decision by one small bird.
Read moreA Modern Twist on an Ancient Rite of Spring
This week, I’m blogging at Murder is Everywhere – and sharing a modern twist on an ancient Japanese rite of spring.
Read moreMacaque Some Friends at Arashiyama Monkey Park!
Arashiyama Monkey Park, where monkeys roam free and humans are in the cage…
Read moreWelcome, Spring . . . and Sakura-Flavored Everything
Springtime in Japan means the return of the beloved sakura (cherry blossoms) — on the trees and on the plate. The blossoms are arriving about two weeks early this year. The trees in my Meguro neighborhood are already setting buds, and on my walk yesterday afternoon I spotted the first blossom of the year: When I stopped to take a picture, a woman walking next to me also stopped, looked up (to see what I was looking at) and startled. “Sakura!” she exclaimed. “Honto desu ne? Hayai desu ne.” (“Is it really true? They’re early, aren’t they?”) I agreed with
Read moreRebuilding History at Kumamoto Castle
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
Read moreWelcome, Spring!
“Springtime in Japan” conjures mental images of sakura – cherry blossoms – but in reality, the first colorful harbingers of spring are the ume (plum, or Japanese apricot), and the beautiful blossoms have now arrived once more.
Read moreAn ‘Owling’ Good Time in Tokyo
I’m traveling home from the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Colorado Gold Conference today, but in the interim, please head over to Murder is Everywhere to learn about my recent visit to a most unusual Tokyo cafe. AN OWLING GOOD TIME IN TOKYO I think you’ll agree with me … this one’s a hoot.
Read moreYour Day Needs More Baby Seahorse – And Murder
I try to post aquarium photos every day on my Facebook feed, as well as on Twitter, and starting this year, I’m going to try to share them at least weekly on the blog as well. When I first started blogging, I shied away from posting photographs of my seahorses or the other inhabitants of my reef. I doubted anyone cared very much about fish, and I didn’t want to become the kind of blogger whose entries focused on cute pet photos and gushing about the personal topics no one wants to hear. Ironically, the reef inspires the opposite reaction. To my surprise,
Read more