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Wow Place #353: Chichu Museum, Naoshima Island, Japan   To my surprise, there have been over 100 James Bond Villains over the course of 25 or so 007 movies.  Some of them I’d call “Bond Thugs” as they were more hired assassins than actual evil masterminds.  I’m talking Odd Job from Goldfinger, Donald “Red” Grant [...]

Wow Place #352: Takachiho Gorge, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan   Time and again, I’ve been tricked into thinking that a famous site isn’t nearly as good as its hype.   There was the time I arrived at the main gate of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, at 7am on a brisk January morning.  Bleary eyed [...]

Wow Place #351: Futago-ji Temple, Kunisaki Peninsula, Kyushu Japan   Cenzo:  “Where do you think it goes?” Dave:  “I’m not sure.  The sign says, “Mountain Pilgrimage Path.” Cenzo:  “It’s pretty steep. And look, you have to use a chain to hoist yourself up the first part!  You don’t think it goes ALL the way up [...]

Wow Place #350: Chiran Peace Museum For Kamikaze Pilots, Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima, Japan   "Mother, I have nothing to say. In my last moment, and my first act of filial piety, I will smile and conquer. With dry eyes and knowing I have done well. Please offer some rice dumplings at our Buddhist mortuary tablet."    [...]

Wow Place #349: Wakaba Ryokan, Kurokawa Onsen, Japan   When you think of a stay in a Japanese onsen (hot spring) hotel, what tends to come to mind is a traditional room with futons and tatami mats, a delicious, multi-course Japanese meal and, of course, an outdoor bath surrounded by beautiful nature.   What no [...]

Wow Place #348: Mount Fugen-dake, Japan   By and large, I’m a “moderate” guy.  Moderate height. Moderate weight. Some might say moderate looks and intelligence.  😊   I like moderate portions in my food.  The spice level of my curry? Moderate!   So when I found a hike in Unzen-Amakusa National Park described in the guidebook [...]

There’s a scene in the movie Kill Bill: Vol. 2, where the Bride (played by Uma Thurman) wakes up in a coffin, buried alive by her evil nemesis, Bill.  Luckily, she has trained for situations like this, able to break through wooden containers via the sharp, focused, rap of her knuckles.   I have no [...]

I’ve never been a particularly superstitious person. If a black cat crosses my path or I accidentally step on a crack, I’m not overly concerned about my own bad luck or the state of my mom’s cervical spine. On the other hand, I don’t purposely walk under ladders. I try not to break mirrors. I [...]

Some time back, I wrote about my visit to Upenji Temple (Wow Place #77), a memorable stop on the Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage Trail.  I was reminded of Upenji recently while watching the fascinating new documentary, “The Hikikomori Pilgrimage (2026),” produced by NHK WORLD-JAPAN documentary.   The documentary details the journey of five young men, all [...]

There’s an old expression in Japanese that I find quite intriguing:  “Ataru mo hakke, ataranu mo hakke.”  It literally means “fortune-telling misses as often as it hits.”   The phrase suggests several things:  1) fortune-telling is a serious practice  2) Sometimes its predictions actually come true  3)  Sometimes they don’t.   Implied, as well, in [...]