Collin Condray’s Blog

Its off to Toyota City today via the shinkansen, the famed bullet train, which was a lot of fun. The ride was very smooth, but we didn’t go the full speed of the train because the track was relatively twisty. When we go to Tokyo, we should go full speed. I’m now at the point [...]

Today is pottery day. We got hit with a rainstorm as we made our way about 7 or 8 minutes away from our hotel to Sensei Nishijima pottery studio. Nishijima is a highly rated potter in Japan. He began when he was 20 years old and has been making pottery for 35 years. He showed [...]

Our day started off with a traditional Japanese breakfast at the hotel in our yucata robes. It was very different from breakfast in America, very vegetable heavy. I also think this is the first time that I’ve ever had tuna for breakfast. It was great! Next, we returned to the pagoda and the romantic pond [...]

Our destination today is Nara, the old capital of Japan. We are going to visit Sharp Corporation and take in the sights. I have ensured that our weather will be good because I’ve brought my jacket and other unnecessary crap. The train drive from Kyoto to Nara is about 45 minutes, so I decided to [...]

Today started with a run with my roommate, Tim. There is a famous monument about halfway up a steep hill overlooking Kameoka and at the top of the hill is another area with many more stone monuments and an observation tower with an even greater view. It has been tradition for the students of the [...]

Today we visited the Kyoto shrines of Kinkakuji and Ryoanji. Kinkakuji was built in the 13th century. In the 14th century, it became the home of one of the retired Ashikaga shoguns. When he died, he willed the temple to a Buddhist sect who made it a Zen temple. The name Kinkakuji means “golden pavilion,” [...]

We’re finally in Japan now. It seems very late for me, but it is still relatively early locally. It is about 8 PM Japan time and 6 AM Arkansas time and my internal clock is desperately struggling to catch up. Today started very early, around 4 AM. I didn’t get to bed until 11 PM [...]