TEMPLES and TREES…DEER and AUTUMN LEAVES…NARA, Japan

NARA, JAPAN… Straight from the mouths of Wikipedia… Nara (奈良市 Nara-shi?) is the capital city of Nara Prefecture located in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture. Eight temples, shrines and ruins in Nara, specifically Tōdai-ji, Saidai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, Kasuga Shrine, Gangō-ji, Yakushi-ji, Tōshōdai-ji, and the Heijō Palace remain, together …

Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera and beyond

We walk south, through a city that is only just awakening. The great Buddhist temples are complexes, filled with shrines, gardens, private living areas, ceremonial spaces, blessing shops and food stands. We enter Yasaka Shrine, then Murayama Park, onward south through the amazing Higashiyama district. Shopkeepers roll up their doors, sweep their porches, stock their displays. Many stores and restaurants …

Gettin’ There: KIX to Osaka

One week from today. We leave Anahola early in the morning, hop a half hour plane from Lihue to Honolulu (LIH-HNL), tough out a long haul to Seoul (HNL-ICN) and finish up with a short flight to Osaka (ICN-KIX). OK, toughing it out is a stretch – we’re flying business class HNL-ICN-KIX (95,000 United miles and $84 in taxes). Two …