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Prologue: this is an offbeat Diary. But so are "Pooty & Woozle" diaries, and "Hawaii Photo Diaries", and all those somewhat offbeat which add a richness to this site.
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I've put together two (2) small group trips for Japan, for this coming spring and I'm inviting anyone interested in going to contact me.
Yasaka Pagoda. Kyoto. 2008
More and more details below the fold.
Note: all photos are mine.
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These will not be exclusively "Daily Kos" trips, but I'm thinking that if enough Kosniacs sign up (say, 2 or 3), then a Meet Up with a few Living-in-Japan Kossacks could be arranged!
Politics? Well, not so much -- unless you think that spending 1 or 2 weeks exploring the sites and history and food and scenes and culture of the world's second largest economy (which is in a state of some turmoil owing to China's and India's rise and its plateuing-out population) could bring you some benefit of insight.
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Priests at Kurodani Temple. Kyoto. 2007.
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I've organized a 2-week trip (for the last of March, early April), and a 1-week trip (for mid-April), both going to very, very familiar "stomping grounds" for me in and around the Kyoto, Osaka, Nara area of Japan, in the heart of the Kansai Region. I'm considering a couple-day Tokyo add-on, but that's not in the itinerary's at the moment. I'm open to that, though.
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Streetside "Izakaya" restaurant. Tokyo. 2007
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I have a website/blog which goes in to great detail itinerary-wise, About Me and (excruciatingly detailed) background, and, of course, my contact information, which I'll be very happy to share with you if you'll email me at:
letsjapan@yahoo.com
I'd still like to keep a modicum of anonymity here at D Kos, otherwise I'd just post that link and my name right here. But you're just one email away from that.
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Friends along the Kamo River. Kyoto. Spring 2003.
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And, even if either of these trips are not in your budget (which is completely understandable, these days especially), I invite you to contact me and get my website/blog link so that you can take a web-based trip to Japan, through photos and writings, without having to spend a dime or leave the comfort of your office, coffee shop or kitchen table.
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On the way to Kiyomizu Temple. Kyoto. 2008.
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Jamming along the Kamo River. Kyoto. 2003.
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The Gates (Torii) of Fushimi Inari. Fushimi. 2008.
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Restaurant in Harajuku. Tokyo. 2007.
Let me hear.
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