> Guess which one is me?

You can see from the above photo that I’ve been busy, really busy.

Well, okay, not that busy. I spent a delightful weekend in Kyoto (you’ll see the story soon), hence the photo by our capable Tokyo office researcher Emi Doi of myself with two geishas.

Actually I meant to blog while I was away in Kyoto. But curiously I couldn’t very easily. I’m back in Tokyo now, so I can. Kyoto’s hotels were booked solid over this past three-day holiday weekend. So I stayed in a ryokan, or rustic inn. That means my room had bamboo tatami mats on the floor, a futon (or thin cotton batting bed) and not much else. Obviously it had no high-speed internet connection. Nor did it have a bathroom. There was a communal computer on the first floor. But it was slow as molasses.

You wouldn’t think one would have problems staying connected in Japan. But you’d sometimes be wrong.

Take cell phones, for instance. I’ve had awfully shaky connections a few times. Oddly, it makes me think of China, where cell phone coverage is virtually everywhere and quite good. Every two-bit hotel in China also has broadband. Only problem is, you have to deal with censorship.

On a personal note, when I visit famous places I often think to myself: Is this place better than I imagined, the same, or not as good. Few places are better than their fame. I must say Machu Picchu surpasses its fame. The Havana waterfront is utterly spectacular. London and New York never fail to ring my bells. Now I can add Kyoto. The sense of serenity in the Buddhist temples and gardens is truly extraordinary. Geishas aren’t bad either.   

By the way, if you want to read a story about the legacy of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is leaving office soon, click here.