the writings, musings, and photography of a dream smith
Posts about Alex Hurst’s life in Kyoto. From 2010–2016.
is for zairyou, or the Japanese word for ingredients. Life in Japan can be a wonderful experience, but not everyone who comes here loves it, or understands it. Beyond the obvious language and custom barriers, there is also the physical barrier (if you look foreign, then you will always be foreign) and social barrier. Some people…
is for batsu, or the Japanese word for wrong, typically written as 'X'. As a teacher, I use "batsu" a lot. But I'm not going to use this post to talk about what was "wrong" with anything; rather, I'm going to talk about my misconception about teaching in general. When I first arrived in Japan,…
is for jihanki, or the Japanese word for vending machine. Summers in Kyoto are quite hot, and winters are frigid. When you're outside trying to get from place to the next, staying hydrated and warm is no easy feat. It can seem hard to justify a cafe visit or stop-in at a supermarket for a…
is for Uji, one of the most famous places in Japan for green tea, and especially matcha. As I promised during my R is for ラリー post this month, I'm going to talk a bit about the green tea store we went to while we were there for the stamp rally. It was truly amazing - the shop…
is for tera, or the Japanese word for temple. If you can say nothing else of Kyoto, it's that there is no shortage of temples. There are at least 1,600 in the vicinity of the city and its suburbs, serving several sects of Buddhism and Taoism. Naturally, I haven't been to them all, but I…
