Day 4

A lovely place to spend a rainy afternoon in London!

Day 3

Strolling along the river on a bright sunny day in London!

Day 2

The harbor in Reyjkavik. I didn't realize there were mountains around at first because it was dark until 11:30am!

Day 1

Surprise! I'm in Iceland where everything is Christmasy and white!

The end for now

Back home in California!

Day 73

Last day in the big city, spent looking at the fancy shops on Omotesando-dori.

Day 72

Sitting on the beach near Kamakura, looking at Mt. Fuji and the setting sun!

Day 71

Every good Japanese tourist attraction must be accompanied a good selection of well packaged, delicious-looking souvenirs!

Day 69/70

Visiting familiar people and places in Okazaki, my home for a semester.

Day 68

Bikes everywhere in Tokyo, even filling the park!

Day 67

Buildings reflected on a building!

Day 65/66

From one big city on the river to another. Goodbye Bangkok, hello again Tokyo!

Day 64

This isn't a flooded neighborhood, it's a canal neighborhood filled with rickety houses on stilts, small canals off of the main one, and lots of little boats!

Day 63

Simple and beautiful bouquets of lotus buds at the flower market in Bangkok.

Day 62

Seemingly endless views of the stunning Buddhas, ruins, and temples in Ayuthaya.

Day 61

Cooking, selling stuff, and napping at the Daemon Saduak floating market. All happening in boats!

Day 60

Tourist and babies...both highly unqualified to be riding on an elephant's neck with nothing to grab but the little hairs on its head!

Day 58/59

The spectacular view from the deck of our "floating raft house" in Khao Sok National Park!

Day 57

An amazing day floating around the islands near Phuket. Caves, lagoons, colorful boats, and beautiful rock formations!

Day 56

Colorful storehouses in Old Town Phuket and bright shiny temple nearby.

Day 55

A Buddha sitting by the beach on the Andaman Sea.

Day 53/54

Taking a little side trip from Japan to Thailand!

Day 52

Flashy brands get flashy buildings in Tokyo!

Day 51

A full day of travel, from the tsunami coast to Tokyo. Bus, train, train, train, shinkansen (the most colorful one yet!), train.

Day 50

Fireworks, balloons, music, and dancing with the locals at the Minamisanriku Summer Festival after a long day of "sightseeing" in the area devastated by the tsunami.

Day 49

Spent the afternoon with some seniors making lanterns in Minamisanriku in preparation for a festival next week. Activities like this give seniors affected by the tsunami a chance to make a little bit of money to work towards new homes, businesses, etc.

Day 48

People looking through water-stained photos recovered from the tsunami rubble, searching for their own lost photos.

Day 47

  Sea urchin and abalone caught in the morning and eaten at lunch!

Day 46

"Temporary" living. Homes, shops, and businesses have relocated into temporary structures since being destroyed by the tsunami and earthquake - a step on the path to rebuilding.

Day 45

What used to be the town of Onagawa before the 2011 tsunami and earthquake. In the foreground is a 3 story building knocked on its side. The area is being cleaned up and filled so that houses and businesses can be rebuilt at a level 5-10 meters above the existing grade in hopes of escaping the next tsunami.

Day 43

A day spent in the muggy, rainy hot springs town of Beppu.

Day 42

Looking out over the city and the castle grounds from the top of Kumamoto-jo.

Day 41

Starting a crazy descent down Taka-dake Mountain to the valley below with the tops of the clouds visible in front of us and steamy plumes of sulfur blowing at us from the nearby volcano.

Day 40

Surrounded by the beautiful scenery, temples, and shrines on Miyajima Island is the cheesiest tourist attraction of all - the world's largest rice scoop!

Day 39

Atomic bomb dome and the city of Hiroshima.

Day 38

Enjoying a nice little picnic on the ferry between Naoshima and Hiroshima!

Day 37

Opening in an opening with perspective-confusing painted walls...just the beginning of the unreal spaces on Teshima Island.

Day 36

An amazing glass staircase at Go'o Shrine on Naoshima (aka "the art island").

Day 35

One more temple visit to Kiyomizu-dera on the last day in Kyoto.

Day 34

Final review day! Done with studio and leaving Kyoto soon.

Day 33

A delicious bento lunch made by my new friend, Etsuko-san!

Day 32

Sunset over the temple roofs!

Day 30/31

Lots of time in "studio" with an amazing break spent wandering through the spectacular moss garden at Saiho-ji.

Day 29

A Romanesque aqueduct a midst the traditional temples of Kyoto!

Day 28

After a nice hike through the hills of Kyoto, swimming here really helped to satisfy my craving for some summer river time!

Day 27

Perfectly pruned bushes and raked rocks at Shunko-in where we watercolored and learned about Zazen meditation.

Day 26

Gates and gates and gates all over the mountain!

Day 25

Today started with a fire drill at the temple, complete with sirens, trucks, and hosing down the buildings! Then we spent the afternoon at a temple under construction getting a new roof for the first time in 200 years. A nice break from being tourists!

Day 24

Moss and maples at Koto-in.

Day 23

The lovely, simple, elegant rock garden at Ryoanji!