originally uploaded by jimturbert.

i think the jet lag is gone. the first day back i was awake and out of bed at 4:30am. now i'm getting up at a more reasonable 7:30/8. it's strange to be back in rotterdam. before going to japan i was an out of place foreigner. when in japan i was way out of place, and when i returned home i thought i was supposed to feel settled and comfortable. instead, i'm back to my limbo position in the world where nothing is quite right.
yeah.
japan was very cool, but also very frustrating and tiring both physically and mentally. we walked a lot, and i was dumb enough to bring a giant heavy camera with me, so i had to carry it everywhere. finding our way on the subway system was challenging, and trying to figure out where we were on a map was also problematic due to the fact that there are no street signs.  aside from those difficulties, it was a good time, and i'd do it again. the food was great, the retail experiences were bizarre and interesting, the temples were old, and the people were super nice. they were nice, but most of them spoke very little if any english, and my japanese is limited to good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and thank you. at one point we were in a restaurant, and we couldn't make it clear that we wanted to drink water. we ended up pointing at the stuff in the aquarium. even after that it took a few minutes.

we went to both tokyo and kyoto. tokyo was a mind-blowing sensory overload while kyoto was a far more manageable experience. kyoto is laid out in a grid, and most streets have some kind of street sign, thus making it easy to find yourself on a map. tokyo had lights everywhere, no street signs, and 8 bazillion residents. it was like times square on steroids minus (most of) the disney. if you plan on going to either of these cities in the future do not assume that two weeks is enough time to see everything. it is not. but that is okay. you don't need to see everything. the ride is part of what is appealing about visiting, if you know what i'm saying. if you don't know, let me know, and i'll try to explain it better.

oh, and don't bring an ancient pentax 6x7 with you.  bring something smaller.

best,
jim