Author Archives: spikekalashnikov

As I get off the plane at Kansai, there is a charming Japanese lady waiting for me. She guides me through the airport, facilitates the border control procedures, leads into a special security control corridor and thence to the super-duper … Continue reading →

I go to Tokyo for a thing, which is actually a reasonably big deal. The trip is stamped with terror. We are driven in great state to the place wherein the action will take place. My biggest responsibility is to … Continue reading →

How do I love Okinawa? Let me count the ways. Today is very soft. It is gently warm and wet. There is a post party drowsiness. I look at the orchids on the deck. About 2 weeks ago when I … Continue reading →

My friend Mark, who is from Texas has the most remarkable cooking thing. It is huge, power is by butane and thorium and can cook a leg of lamb in  two shakes of a lamb’s tail. He lends it to … Continue reading →

I have a wooden chest. Not a wooden heart. Elvis Presley has a wooden heart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlbu6SsjlSE I found my chest deep in the cellars of the house as what I had in France. The house had previously been the town bread … Continue reading →

Yep, that’s it; after weeks of dreary weather the Spring has arrived. Okinawa throbs. I go to buy some petunias. I buy lots of bedding plants to make my house look pretty. Each one is 45 yen. There is a … Continue reading →

For the unlearned amongst you, the Juushichigen is a 17 string Koto. One of the most enjoyable things I get to do is to guide the cultural program at the university. We do a lot of exhibitions and concerts and … Continue reading →

What a hard day. I have always wondered what it is like to have a perversion. Do you sit at the desk all day with every fiber straining to get home to put on the rubber suit, to set up … Continue reading →

So, we had a big thing at the university on Sunday. To get in the right frame of mind, I polished some silver. To celebrate the thing, we have a party at the house. The food is incredible but hardly … Continue reading →

So, another hymn of praise to life in Japan. Today is a public holiday. Japanese Foundation Day (Kenkoku Kinen no Hi). It celebrates the foundation of Japan, commemorating the ascension to the throne of the mythical first emperor, Emperor Jimmu in 660 B.C. … Continue reading →