Let’s Boogie on down to the Boogie Café

It was a cold, rainy November Friday evening when my Japanese friend, rock and roll and tattoo brother Kenny Shangrila took me to the Boogie Café in Yokohama. On my way from Bangkok to Chicago via Japan, I had a three-day layover in Japan where I would be hanging out with Kenny. After he had [...]

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It was twenty years ago today…

Not when Sergeant Pepper told the band to play but when this former Sergeant got on a plane at LAX and flew to Japan.
And so began this 20-year adventure of teaching English in Asia—first in Japan and then in Korea. It’s been some adventure that’s for sure.
I’ve already written much about my life in Korea [...]

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The Great Buddha at Kamakura

The Great Buddha at Kamakura
You sit there so quiet
contemplative
meditative and grand
with that peaceful look
upon your bronze face
and heavy hands folded
in your lap.
Gazing straight ahead
you’ve watched the seasons
come and go-
from delicate Japanese springs
of pink and white cherry blossoms
to the vibrant red and golden
maple autumns.
You’ve sat here silently,
patiently marked your time
for the faithful who seek
your dharma greatness.
Not [...]

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Christmas in Asia

Halfway around the world in Asia, the celebration of Christmas is quite different than the way it is celebrated in the West. Although the true meaning and spirit of the season might be lost in the obvious commercialization and marketing of the holiday in countries like Japan and Korea, certain traditions and celebrations have evolved [...]

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Shogun Splendor at Nijo Castle

This was orginally written in 2003.With over 1,600 Buddhist temples, 400 Shinto shrines, and a trio of palaces, the ancient capital city of Kyoto is without question one of Japan’s most important cultural treasure sites.
Perhaps even more impressive is that 17 of Kyoto’s ancient structures and gardens are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites [...]

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Jeffrey at 50 — Fifty Cool Places, Part 1

When people find out that I have been living and working overseas since 1989, I usually get a “Wow, you must have traveled a lot and seen a lot cool places.”
That is true to an extent, but sadly I am embarrassed that I have not traveled as much as other people I know who have [...]

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Kyoto Autumn

In your gardens of meditation—framed by bambooand autumal huesbeneath a cobalt sky;we sitwith the quiet coolnessof your breathon our skinand ponderancient stonesin swirls and whorlsof sand.

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“As long as I have my Cokes and smokes….”

This is what this woman said to me on the Number Nine bus in Hamamatsu, Japan back in the fall of 1989.
 
I was on my way downtown when she got on the bus and sat down next to me.
 
She had only been in Japan for a few weeks and obviously—from the reference to Coca [...]

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Being Hip

and having a great pair of hips are perhaps one and the same if one just so happens to be a contestant in a “hip beauty contest” like the one that was recently held in Tokyo, Japan.
What will they think of next?Now what I would like to know is if “hip” has the same meaning [...]

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Being Hip

and having a great pair of hips are perhaps one and the same if one just so happens to be a contestant in a “hip beauty contest” like the one that was recently held in Tokyo, Japan.
What will they think of next?Now what I would like to know is if “hip” has the same meaning [...]

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