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Japan

I went to Japan, to Tokyo and Kyoto.  It was unbelievable.  Everything there is opposite.  They walk and drive on the other side of the street.  Nothing will ever be the same for me now that I have been there.  Enough with the platitudes here are the photographs. This is the subway in Kyoto.  The subway is tidy and orderly.  I loved the green velour benches and the plastic rings hanging everywhere. As a New Yorker, my immediate thought was "How do they get people not to piss all over everything?"  It's cultural, is the answer. This is in Kyoto, at the Ginkaku-ji, "The Temple Of The Silver Pavilion," in the pouring rain.  There is a very mystical garden with...

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Flowers

This photograph was taken in Kyoto at the house of a ceramic artist during a studio visit.  Many Japanese houses contain flower arrangements, and this one was particularly striking.  I showed it to Japanese people and they often commented on how western it was.  That was a surprise to me because I could not imagine such a hybridization occurring anywhere else.  There were about a dozen apples and a few bunches of grapes.  The roses and fruit are fresh but the green foliage is 'preserved' - dried or otherwise treated.  It was beautiful and interesting to look at and think about.  There was much to look at in this house but I couldn't help staring at this.   Kyoto, as it...

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