This was the sunrise after my first jet-lagged night.  It was taken from my balcony looking towards the ocean.

A moonrise at the beach in late October.

Ginkgo leaves on gate, Kitaura, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Persimmons and Ginkgo leaves, Kitaura, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Musicians' feet and the man wearing the hapi coat.
The kanji reads 'Matsuri', or 'festival'.

Everyone lends a hand in pulling the float.

The float, after the festival.

A group of ladies performing a traditional dance
(that's my shamisen teacher in the background)

The Nango beach five minutes by car from Shoop's house!
There's coral in them waters.

It's Miss Suparna Guha (aka Shoop)!

Translucent blue waters and islets in the sea off of Nango.

An afternoon on the water in Nango.

The front gate at the ruins of Obi Castle,
Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture.

Views from the highway as we drove south from Nango
in search on monkeys.

A Kanazawa Reunion! Okazawa-sensei, Emma, Shoop, and me. Beppu, Oita Prefecture.

Musashigaseki Station on the Chuo line in Tokyo, late afternoon. 10/02/99

My host father's band, playing at Rocky Top, a country western bar in Ginza. 10/02/99

The Brass Band Club at Taiyo Jumior High School preparing to leave for a competition.