First impressions: I want to go home. I dont like animations all that much and I’ve got the figure out why. I also don’t like dogs being pushed in baby carriages. I don’t like food simplified in pictures as substituting for a menu. It’s the simplification of life maybe I don’t like😒

We are zipping through Japan, desert people in awe of the waters all around us and the attention to cleanliness and precision. Yesterday I got all wet in our rainy alpine hike, and I was sure it was curtains for me after the 6 k forest path, but somehow pulled through and enjoyed it. Today we travelled to Hakone, famous for its volcanic mineral baths and tried the waters – I think it would have meant much More to me if I had been Shinto and felt the power of the earth, But I’ve been spoiled by Jewish cynicism and all I could think of was the term in Yiddish goyishe naches

When we arrived at a small town called kamakura I was a little fed up with visiting villages and sweet tea houses. But when I tasted the plum sake I realized there was much more to this town that I needed to know about.

And one of the things was Chiune Sugihara who was buried here, in his home town. Appointed as a vice-counsel in Lithuania in 1939, he managed to sign visas for over 5558 Jews, saving them from certain death. It was amazing to see a normal out-of-the-way village as the source of such heroism.

I was a little overwhelmed by the heat and my overeating to really enjoy the pleasures of this town as much as I would have liked, but I was really impressed by his simple humanity. His statement

But I would really like to pay respects to Sugihara and want to see if I can convince my group to go there

Thinking we’d be in a small village I was overwhelmed by the size of the train station – almost as big as Kyoto which services half a million a day. I’m putting pictures on Facebook because it’s easier right now so take a look there.

In any case the gardens are far more impressive and I suggest you go there . I’ll try to match pictures later

I’m not going to go into a guide to Japan – even though the week since I’ve been able to make contact here has been filled with unique experiences. I will just begin with one evaluation.

From the number of temples we have seen – in Egypt, Viet Nam, Hong Kong, and now in China, I have finally understood the difference between Jewish Monotheism and the other religions. When you have a lot of Gods and your fate is determined by pleasing them and requesting their pleasure, your prayer allows you to relax and allow the responsibility to rest with the gods. But when you have a God from you are allowed to ask for nothing except forgiveness, it’s on you. No wonder Jews are so nervous!

I hope this works and i can continue to be in touch -during my little sukkot voyage from one shack to another. one way or another I’ll be back….