“Hakone, Kawaguchiko & Jazz”

October 30 - November 3, 2024

I had a wonderful layover in Japan again on my way back from NGO work in Sumatra, Indonesia. While there (my second home!), I visited a couple favorite places that I actually visited last year also. The first stop was Hakone and beautiful Lake Aishi. Day one there was rainy, but day two was glorious. I got to see several things I hadn’t in previous years. The Hakone Ropeway to Owakudani Station provided a great view of Mt. Fuji. Owakudani is an active volcanic valley - famous for its black eggs that are boiled in the sulfurous waters - eating them is believed to add a few years to your life span - five to seven years! The “Hakone Open-Air Museum” in the mountains of Hakone displays the work of many major artists. And a return to the Hakone Shrine was special once again

And then it was on to amazing Lake Kawaguchi! A visit to Fuji Yurari Onsen (hot spring) on the way there was great - I had gone there five years ago also. And as was the case in Hakone, the first day was raining and the second day was absolutely glorious! Once again I was fortunate enough to go to the “Mt. Fuji Kawaguchiko Jazz Festival” - with the beautiful, iconic, majestic mountain as the backdrop. The two-day lineup of artists was impressive and diverse. And it was great to see the good friends (event organizers and musicians) that I had met five years ago and again last year - they are all so accommodating and hospitable.

Jazz and Japan - it doesn’t get any better than that!

“Ethiopian Excursion”

I had a very eventful and successful journey visiting the East AfriCare projects in Ethiopia this past ten days. I documented their work with interviews and imagery - and will be creating a website and assisting in additional creative needs going forward. We went first to the Deaf School (with 350 students) and Medical Clinic in Addis Ababa and then flew south to the state of Sidama. There we witnessed one of the Water Wells (over 725 so far that they have sponsored) being drilled in a very remote area - and then we met with government officials of Awasa regarding the plans for future drillings. We then visited two additional Deaf Schools (150 students) in the same area.

The journey was quite extraordinary. Ethiopia is a very diverse country – from Addis Ababa, the modern and chaotic capitol of seven million, to the remote backroad villages of the south, the ebb and flow of life is amazing to experience.

“Hakone, Kanazawa & Kawaguchi” - I’m in Heaven!

I was blessed to spend seven glorious days in Japan “my “second home” - en route to and from Indonesia and Vietnam visiting our Body & Soul projects. The first night I stayed at a great ryokan right in old town Asakusa. The next morning I trained to the Hakone area a couple hours from Tokyo. A cruise on an old pirate ship on Lake Ashi with the iconic torii gate of Hakone-jinja Shrine onshore and majestic Mt. Fuji towering in the background was a breathtaking experience. On the bullet train back to Tokyo I disembarked to see the Odawara Castle, a short walk from the station - remarkable!

After returning from Vietnam, I spent another night in Asakusa at an ancient ryokan, a leftover from the Edo Period and a few hours at “Halloween Night” at jazz club “The Hub.” Early the next morning it was a 3-hour Shinkansen train to “Little Kyoto” Kanazawa. The historic Higashi-Chaya area was a photographic paradise - the district’s timeless architecture and allure, I must say, rivals Takayama. The Kanazawa Castle digital lighting exhibition was impressive - a unique juxtaposition of old and new. And the Kenrokuen Gardens were peaceful, serene, beautiful and spiritual - and enormous!

To wrap-up this amazing trip I set off on a long 7-hour journey - bullet trains, regular trains, subways and bus - to the Lake Kawaguchi Jazz Festival, with the beautiful and majestic Mt. Fuji as the backdrop. Jazz and Japan - doesn’t get any better than that!

“Hanoi Layover”

En route from Singapore to Can Tho in Southern Vietnam we had a short one day/night layover here in Hanoi. I had been here before but I never really saw much. What a cool place - the Old Quarter/French Quarter area is so alive and vibrant, buzzing with old and new, local life and a tourist-mix from all over. Love it - exciting town!

A Fortnight Northeast Road-Trip

Our two-week trip across the Eastern half of the country went through or touched at least fourteen different states as we headed to the beautiful Northeast. We stopped through Memphis and Nashville for a spell before hitting the long and winding (actually pretty straight) road again. Stopping at Newtown, PA (our old hometown for two years about 25 years ago) was a highlight — love that place! And then we hightailed it to one of my wife’s bucket list places to go — wonderful, idyllic Nantucket. We had to cut our stay there short by one day because Hurricane Lee was on our tail as it raced up the East Coast. From there we continued North to visit our daughter and her family’s home just outside Portland, MA — what a gorgeous area and an impressive, rugged coastline. After a few days there it was time for the long trek back home in North Texas. On the return trip we stopped by the hospital where I was born in Buffalo, the old family farm, the amazing Niagara Falls, and many other stops along the way — four days later a wonderful journey came to an end!

“Retirement Fest” Getaway

My beautiful bride and I decided to celebrate both of our retirements by heading down to Port Aransas beach for a few days. There happened to be an amazing sand sculpture festival going on that weekend - “Texas Sandfest.” It was wonderful to see the ocean again, watch dolphins frolicking, listen to country performers, party with the festive throngs and devour the best seafood!

“Land of the Rising Sun” Reunion

After three long years, due to Covid and Japan’s reticence to open it’s borders, I finally had a chance to visit what I consider “my second home” en route to and from my trip to Indonesia (it is my biannual journey to Sumatra with Body & Soul Ministries/Caris Foundation for our eye surgery camps). I decided to take full advantage of the fact that the route goes through Tokyo. I visited good friend Kevin Blackburn, who worked for me back in the’80s, and his wife Yoko - who live an hour north of Tokyo. And the Ishiguro family outside of Nagoya. My wife and I first met them on a weeklong home-stay way back in 1988. For 35-years we have stayed in touch and watched kids grow up and become grandparents on opposite sides of the world. Pretty amazing! In the context of all of that I spent time visiting old haunts and favorite places. Narita City and a ryokan I’ve stayed at for over 35 years, then down to Tokyo to Asakusa (I love Asakusa) — another fave ryokan, jazz at the Hub, Sensoji Temple and fine grub. Then down to Nagoya and Aramatsu (an old town in the suburbs) and Nagoya Castle with the Ishiguros. Visiting Takayama, considered to be “the Most Beautiful and Traditional Town in Japan” and also a place my wife and I visited 38 years ago, just one year into our marriage. What a fairy tale town — the old town has been beautifully preserved dating from the Edo Period (1603-1868), when the city thrived as a wealthy merchant town. Great ending to a wonderful journey! Forty years visiting the “Land of the Rising Sun” and I still can’t get enough of this place!!

Chiang Mai’s “Long Neck” Tribe

The Karen Long neck tribe, otherwise known as the ‘giraffe women’ are famous for the long brass coils they wear around their necks. Traditionally they come from Kayah state and Shan state in Myanmar. Due to ethnic and political conflict in Burma, many fled to Thailand and sought refugee status here. That is how the Karen Long neck villages in Thailand came about. Visiting this village was very interesting - amazing and unique traditions - but sad to see how they have been exploited and commercialized for tourism.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Temple

The Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is the most famous temple of Chiang Mai. It is located on Doi Suthep, the mountain overlooking Chiang Mai. Rising 1676 meters above the city, Doi Suthep is one of Thailand’s most revered religious destinations. The temple dates back to the 14th century. Amazing place to see - never seen so much gold or this many Buddha’s in one place - rather overwhelming. The 306-step dragon climb was well worth it!

Kawagoe: Vestiges of Feudal Japan

I had the opportunity to stroll down historic Ichibangai Street on a brief layover in Tokyo en route to Indonesia. One slips back in time to Edo period Tokyo as one ambles this well-preserved neighborhood 30 minutes from the monstrous metropolis. Kawagoe’s distinctive architecture evolved during the Meiji era, when fire-resistant kura (storehouses) were built for merchant families. Ladies dressed in their finest kimonos fit in with their environs beautifully. I met my long time friend Kevin-san there - he has lived in Japan for 30 years - he and his wife Yoko live an hour north of Tokyo.

434 Eye Surgeries Sets a Record!

This year’s Body & Soul Ministries/Caris Foundation eye surgery camp on the island of Nias in Northern Sumatra was an amazing success! B&S board members Danny Carrigan and myself visited the camp at the Gunung Sitoli Hospital in early November. Our surgeons and their team of nurses and assistants went above and beyond the call of duty. We have done over 8,000 now in Indonesia since 2005.

3 Glorious Days in Japan

I began at my go-to favorite Tokyo district, Asakusa, where I checked in at my go-to favorite inn, Shigetsu Ryokan — just a block from the famous Sensoji Temple. It was dark and I was beat from the long flight, but I decided to traverse the narrow alleyways to checkout an extremely small jazz dive called Soul Trane — jazz and Japan, can’t get better than that. The next morning I set off on a two-hour bus ride to Lake Kawaguchiko at the base of beautiful Mount Fuji, where I had a picturesque view of this iconic landmark from my tatami floored ryokan. It was fortuitous to just happen to arrive here on the last day of the annual Mt. Fuji Kawaguchiko Jazz Festival. The organizers treated me like royalty and the setting couldn’t have been better. Basking in the Fuji Yurari Hot Springs, au naturel, with Mount Fuji as beautiful backdrop was therapeutic in every way (sorry, no photos). Back to Tokyo I had a day to visit several areas I hadn’t been to in a long time: Shinjuku, Shibuya, Meiji Shrine, Harajuku and Roppongi Hills. Can’t get enough of this place!

“I Left My Heart…”

I fell in love with this place during a week-long vacation with the family; from the Golden Gate Bridge and the Painted Ladies to Lombard Street and Fisherman’s Wharf. Perfect weather, great food and a whole lot of walking (primarily uphill)!

Doing the DU – Kathmandu in Hours

On our return trip from our Body & Soul Ministries eye surgery camps in Sumatra, Indonesia, Danny Carrigan and I stopped through Nepal to visit three of the nine human trafficking safe houses that we help sponsor with Save Asian Souls. In the context of that, we had a free morning to see some of the sites in the capitol Kathmandu. We hired a driver and traversed this rather large city to visit the three main “holiest” sites: Swayambjunath Buddhist “Monkey Temple”, the Hindu Pashupatinath temple complex and the Tibetan Boudhanath Stupa temple. It was quite the whirlwind tour! Here are a few iPhone pictures and video clips…

Tokyo Sumo Stable: Up Close and Personal

When they're not competing, sumo wrestlers train year round in designated sumo stables. These stables, which are mostly based in Tokyo's Ryogoku neighborhood, are where the city's wrestlers live, eat, sleep and practice on a near daily basis. I have wanted to visit one of these for many years. In early October, on my way to Indonesia and Laos for mission work, I finally had the chance. Seated on a raised floor with another 15 to 20 people, I watched silently for an hour and a half while the wrestlers pounded, grunted and chanted mere feet away (and sometimes less) – close enough to see and smell their sweat. I had been to a stadium tournament before (which only happen six times a year), but this was amazing – to experience it up close and personal!

Photo Philter Phun

Here are a few of my photographs after playing with them a bit – a filter that transposes them into illustrations – Inuyama, Jerusalem, Venice, Kenya, Nagoya and Ethiopia. Kinda’ phun!

428 Eyes Given Sight in Sumatra

Just returned from another successful Body & Soul Ministries/Caris Foundation eye surgery camp in Northern Sumatra – 428 eyes now see! We had a chance to follow up on 10 year old Rinaldi, who had both eyes operated on last year in the town of Dolok Sanggul in Batakland. It was wonderful to see him walking up to the house unassisted. Thanks to all who donate to this great work – you’re making a life-changing difference – all for only $125 per eye! We have performed over 7,000 cataract eye surgeries here in Sumatra in the last ten years.

The Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani

I stopped by Japan enroute to Indonesia and had just enough time to bullet train up to Nagano to see the famous wild snow monkeys in the Yokoyu River valley. The Japanese macaques are known for bathing in the onsen (natural hot springs) during the cold winter months. And it was definitley one of those months – my Nikon trigger finger nearly broke off from frostbite – I sure wish I could've joined them in the hot spring. Fun to watch them playing with each other, picking at each other and pretending we weren't around.

Whirlwind Southeast Asia Foray

In early October, a fellow Body & Soul Ministries board member and I did a quick trek to Indonesia and Vietnam to check-in on two of our projects in this part of the world. In just eight days we went on twelve flights – almost 60 hours in the air – using Singapore as our central hub. Our team accomplished 231 cataract eye surgeries on the island of Nias in Northern Sumatra and we had the opportunity to see our new English school in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. Here are a few representative images from a fast-paced journey.

Investing in Filipino Youth

Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines in 2012, killing thousands and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. The Body & Soul Ministries Tree of LIfe program provides educational support to affected poor children in the northern part of the island of Cebu, giving them an opportunity for personal advancement that would otherwise be difficult, at best. With the help of generous donors sponsoring students in this program, we assist over 100 children who are in need of clothing, books, tuition and food. BandS fellow board member Danny Carrigan accompanied me on a visit to our school in August to monitor and document the progress of a program that is making a huge difference in the lives of these kids and in the community at large.