Hashimoto Kansetsu Museum and Garden: A magical garden—I envisioned the peace I would have sitting among the plum trees next to the lazy brook, painting the ducks in the pond or drops of water falling from a leaf after a rain. The artist’s magnificent work immediately captivated me, his style being the subtle yet powerful manner of Asian art. I bought a print of one painting, a small puppy crawling over a bale of straw; the moment moved the artist as it would me.

Gion Heihachi Shinsen-en: We ate at this fantastic restaurant located in a garden that dates back to 794. A beautiful setting for an exquisite meal of kaiseki (traditional Japanese fare).

Sake Bar Yoramu: Yoram Ofer, the owner, hails from Israel but has been living in Japan for over twenty years. A true connoisseur of sake, he taught us more about sake than I’ll ever be able to remember. He also dispelled many sake myths, such as warm sake is bad or that sake can’t be aged. We sampled eleven types of premium sake, ranging in age from a few weeks old to nineteen years.

Doshisha University: Hitoshi-san took us on a tour of his university, located in downtown Kyoto. Joseph Hardy Neesima, the college founder, traveled to Boston on a ship named the Wild Rover, escaping illegally so he could study at Amherst College. He returned ten years later and built a university based on “conscience education.”

Arashiyama: The Hozu River runs in this serene valley and our ryokan was located right on the banks of the river near the famous Arashiyama Bridge.

Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Hall of Fame Shigure-den: The museum features “classical poets who transcended space and time,” who composed waka. Waka are classical Japanese poems with a structured rhyming scheme similar to haiku and written on a special paper known as shikishi.

You begin your adventure by playing a game called karuta on a glass floor filled with screens. On your handheld device an image of a waka card appears, you then have to find the same image on the floor. I am proud to say I placed first both times! After the game a skyscape of Kyoto appears and you can choose locations you want to see and a bird guides you to it on the map.

In Kyoto and Lake Biwa early this week, we finally struck gold (or more appropriately pink). While strolling down the Path of Philosophy in Kyoto, flowering trees greeted us at every turn, and fallen petals sailed down the canal in a regatta of pink. Later that night, we attended a special nighttime viewing of the sakura at Niji Castle, the lighted flowers shining like pink stars in the night. When the wind picked up, a rain of petals swirled around us.

Hitoshi-san brought us to a splendid viewing sight on the shores of Lake Biwa, where we walked in the rain under a canopy of sakura, the pink blossoms heightened in color by the grey day.

Also at Lake Biwa we visited Hikone Castle, the castle of castles in Japan. Shad finally got to explore the world of the samurai. Up and up we walked, and ascended stairs at nearly a 90 degree angle to reach the top of the castle tower (think of the golden staircase on Half Dome). Our reward—a sweeping panoramic view of the area, the landscape dotted with the heads of pink sakura.

My thanks to Hitoshi for being such an excellent guide and friend!

The “loyal dog Hachiko” is a beloved Japanese icon. Born in 1923, the purebred Akita would accompany his owner, Hidasaboru Ueno, to the train station every morning and wait for him to return in the afternoon. Ueno boarded the train one day in 1925 and never returned as he died of a heart attack. Hachiko, however, continued to wait at the station every day for ten years. A statue was erected at the station in 1934, and has become a landmark and popular meeting place.

A kindly old Japanese man at the small Hachiko museum showed us the old photographs of Hachiko wandering the station and also of the grand funeral procession held when the dog passed away 1935. After his death his remains were stuffed and mounted and can be seen today at the National Science Museum in Tokyo.

Even today his memory continues to be an inspiration. I watched hundreds of people—Japanese schoolchildren, teenagers, and adults, and foreign tourists from all over the world—pat the bronze statue as if it were a real dog and pose for photograph after photograph.

We’re enjoying our two days at the Park Hyatt, a premier luxury hotel, but we’re afraid we’ll be kicked out once they realize we’re only posing as rich people with the help of credit cards. I think it’s safe to say we have the lowest income level in this entire hotel-a Ferrari pulled in ahead of our taxi.

Our room is the size of our house, the hotel displays more art than a museum, and the spa resembles a Roman palace. I think we can see most of Tokyo from our window and if it would stop raining, Mt. Fuji would appear. Dagoba chocolate and wine are complementary, and there is a television in the bathroom.

I’m too busy swimming in the pool, getting shiatsu massages, and eating room service to write much about our adventures over the last few days, but check out the photo gallery for new pictures. If I have time after a swim and thermal wrap this afternoon, I’ll try to write more.

We’re off this morning for a walk around Tokyo to find Hachiko!

PS: Yes, this is the hotel that was featured in Lost in Translation. Shown below is Shad doing his best Bill Murray impression, “Make it Suntory Times.”

To Takashi-san:you organized a wonderful program full of fun surprises—Domo, Domo, Domo!

My one regret: I wish I could share some sake and laugh about my Japanese adventures with my late friend Steve Medley, who was so excited about my being selected for this program. Thank you, Steve. I miss you.

Shad arrives tomorrow and we’re off to explore Kyoto for three days and then we move to Tokyo for a couple of nights. Shad, as seen here displaying his expert swordsmanship, is very interested in learning more about the Edo (samurai) period in Japan while I am looking forward to NOT eating anymore.

I’m not sure if I will have internet access until we arrive in Tokyo, so wish us luck—I’ve been well taken care of this past month and I’m a little nervous about navigating in Japan on my own. We might end up in China. If so, please give Jack Bauer a call.

The Japanese concept of a national park (kokuritsu koen) differs from the American system. Most of the lands in Japan that have been designated as a national park are not owned by the government, and homes and businesses exist inside the borders. Certain zones inside parks have restricted use, and in all areas of the park activity is regulated or managed to different degrees, but new building of homes and businesses can occur within park areas. The challenges we both face, however, are similar. Norihiko stated his top three challenges as being invasive species, fostering community support, and the small staff of rangers.

He showed me a quick film that displayed an incredibly beautiful natural phenoma that occurs in his park—ju hyo (tree ice). When mist or fog gathers around the trees in winter, and the temperature drops suddenly, cloaks of ice form around the trees. Hundreds and hundreds of human-like trees stand guard over the winter landscape, an enchanting and mysterious sight.

After touring a few park visitor centers, my guide for the day, Yoshio Kaneko, brought me to his classroom to speak to some of his students. Yoshio teaches International Environmental Policy at Iwate University. His undergraduate and graduate students enjoyed seeing photographs of the park, and also were very interested in our wilderness permit system. When I mentioned my hometown of Boston, they all cheered for Daisuka Matsuzaka.

I donned a traditional wig to hide my blond locks and the fashion show began. One of the dresses, an exquisite pattern of embroidered flowers, took over three years to complete. I learned that in a typical Japanese wedding, the bride changes dresses four times: two kimonos and two western style dresses. I have never worn such beautiful clothing, but I still prefer playing catch.