Ok, I've started putting some of my photos on from my Japan trip (mostly Kyoto, since I wound up spending most of my time there).

A brief (or not) synopsis:

First week was martial arts training with the Dai Nippon Butoku-Kai (DNBK), for their 3rd World Butoku-Sai event, and the International Rensei Taikai. We were only 1 group (about 24 of us) of over 40 different nations, and nearly 900 participants in Kyoto for this event. It started with a blessing from the Fuku-Sosai (Vice Governor of the DNBK, and cousin to His Highness, the Reigning Emperor) Higashi-Fushimi, Jiko, at Heian Shrine in Kyoto, and then proceeded to the Kyoto Butokuden, a "training hall" established over 100 years ago. Our group took Team Yusho Sho (Outstanding Team Performance) during both events, and my sensei was recognized as Hanshi and Hachidan (8th Dan) in Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu Iaijutsu by the DNBK.

The second week consisted of a few more days wandering Kyoto, then to Ama island off the western coast in Shimane province. Certainly a getaway from "Golden Week" in Japan, and I was treated to a feast for the senses there. A wonderful place to relax and unwind from the busy city, and amazingly rich in food, rural countryside, wonderful hospitality, and some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever witnessed. From there I went to Matsue, and visited their amazing castle (second only to Himeji in size, but built as a fortress rather than a palace, and one of the few remaining castles that is still original) and wandered through that town as well. From there I wound up at an onsen hotel in Nara that was like a Japanese interpretation of Vegas. After that a bus ride, some train rides, a plane ride, and 3 hours of waiting for a delayed flight in San Francisco International... and then home again, to my loving family.

A rich, amazing and deeply spiritual visit, where I stood where an exiled emperor stood, visited the grave of a horse, looked upon samurai armor and swords preserved for over 400 years in pristine condition, drank from some of the purest and blessed water in Japan, ate amazing foods I couldn't even *begin* to describe, almost choked on an oyster, sat in a public bath, saw Colonel Sanders with a shrimp shaped hat, was blessed by a prince, rode in a rickshaw, and tried to express my spirit through my martial arts on the same floor that masters past and present have done the same for over a century. I barely scratched the surface of Japan, and yet my short visit has left me with a deeper understanding and respect for the culture and history there.

As I visited one museum dedicated to the memory of a shogun, the tour guide mentioned offhand that the building we were in "wasn't very old, only about 200 years." That placed a lot into perspective for me.

The further up the path I travel, the more I realize... I've a long way to go.