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hiroshima-day-1

Hiroshima: Memory, Peace, and a Very Good Pancake

A Different Group, a Different City We left Kyoto by bullet train, having said goodbye to four members of our merry band who weren’t continuing on the post-trip. We were now back down to nine traveler …

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kyoto-10000-torii

Kyoto: Ten Thousand Torii, a Few Foxes, and One Very Useful Discovery

Saturday, November 14, 2026 Our last full day in Kyoto began at Fushimi Inari Taisha, the Shinto shrine famous for its seemingly endless tunnels of vermilion torii gates. And by “endless,” I mean appr …

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kyoto-november-13

Kyoto, November 13: Two Hundred Steps, a Little Marble, and a Remarkable Afternoon

Our morning began with a boat ride on the Hozu River in Arashiyama, heading toward a small Buddhist temple perched on the hillside above the water. We had actually seen it from a distance a couple of …

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Hiroshima: Memory, Peace, and a Very Good Pancake
Hiroshima: Memory, Peace, and a Very Good Pancake

A Different Group, a Different City We left Kyoto by bullet train, having said goodbye to four membe …

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Kyoto: Ten Thousand Torii, a Few Foxes, and One Very Useful Discovery
Kyoto: Ten Thousand Torii, a Few Foxes, and One Very Useful Discovery

Saturday, November 14, 2026 Our last full day in Kyoto began at Fushimi Inari Taisha, the Shinto shr …

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Kyoto, November 13: Two Hundred Steps, a Little Marble, and a Remarkable Afternoon
Kyoto, November 13: Two Hundred Steps, a Little Marble, and a Remarkable Afternoon

Our morning began with a boat ride on the Hozu River in Arashiyama, heading toward a small Buddhist …

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Japan: Bowing Deer, Buddha’s Nostril, and a Sword That Told a Story
Japan: Bowing Deer, Buddha’s Nostril, and a Sword That Told a Story

November 12th – Nara Our destination today was Nara, about an hour and a half by bus from Kyoto. Nar …

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Japan: Bamboo, Gold, Nightingales, and Lady Nene
Japan: Bamboo, Gold, Nightingales, and Lady Nene

Kyoto — November 11, 2026 We had a full day planned in Kyoto: Arashiyama’s bamboo grove, the gardens …

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