Yesterday I got back from two weeks in Japan. The trip was beyond description. We spent six days in a village in Yamanashi prefecture, one day in Izu-kogen, and the rest of the time in Tokyo and Kyoto.

If I could sum up the experience in one word, it would be "contrast". It seemed like two worlds. Every country has that mixture of old and new to some extent, but in Japan it's so incredibly old and so incredibly new, and the two are right next to each other, all the time, with nothing in between.

I'll put a more detailed account on my website after I get the photos.

Brunnen-"if I could sum up the experience in one word, it would save a lot of trouble"G