Kyoto, Japan

Wow, one should always try logging on with a wireless ethernet wherever one goes. On my last morning in my room in a hostel, I got onto a connection, much to my surprise.

I'm leaving Kyoto today, taking the Shinkansen for Nagasaki and do some exploring there just because I've never been there. I'll be there for the same amount of time as Kyoto, and then I'll head back up to Tokyo for the weekend.

I flew into Tokyo last Thursday to visit Madoka, and the next day, I spent the entire day with her at an Immigration Detention Center, aiding a Karen refugee from Burma in getting a provisional release. Freedom. Restricted, provisional freedom, but freedom nonetheless. Being a refugee in an Immigration Detention Center is akin to being in prison.

I won't go into the horrible truth about Burma, or the horrible conditions refugees endure, even once they've made it to another country like Japan, but let's just say this is what I can expect whenever I visit Madoka. I know her work is priority for her over just about anything else, so I just go with the flow and stay out of her way.

She's getting better about work consuming her life, and on Sunday she made time to go with me to Kamakura to visit some temples, but when I left on Monday to come to Kyoto, I'm sure she had to face up to a pile of work.

One full day in Kyoto was hardly enough, but I've been here before in 1992 and 1995, and maybe in 1983 but don't remember. I visited Hiroshima in 1992 with Shiho, so now I figure I'll make a pilgrimage to the only other place on earth that was victim of an intentional nuclear attack.