jinian | Japan photos 18-21 Sep

Here's the beautiful ironwork gate of the Todai campus we were at for the conference. I visited another one later to see their "beautiful machines" (microscopes, of course).

Look carefully at the edges of the mirror (fogged) and the center (clear). Yes, it's a magical fogproof mirror. The defogged area has nice crisp edges, and they've made it defog partway in so you appreciate their efforts properly when you get out of the shower.

It was really quite lovely on the campus, and I sat and walked outside a bunch without realizing that the mosquitoes were so evil.

When I was sick in Nara, Minako brought me this. I... did not know what was in there. Is it layers of actual pancake all stacked up in the cup? She said it was pudding, but that could just mean dessert. (The katakana on the fork just say "hottokehki" so are not helpful.)

Maple-flavored pudding. Sigh of relief.

The train station in Nara actually has all the zodiac animals with their babies, but these were my favorites.

In case you'd forgotten that much of Japan is semitropical, here's the beautiful wild view out my window at the guest house in Nagoya. Pine trees and palm trees in the same place. My confusion is eternal.