Talisay City, Negros Occidental, the Philippines
December 29, 2009
A thing of beauty is a joy forever / Its loveliness increases; it will never / Pass into nothingness; but still will keep / A bower quiet for us, and a sleep…
These verses by John Keats came to mind when I beheld what is simply called The Ruins.
The Ruins in Talisay, Negros Occidental
Shiga Prefecture / Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
June 24 – 25 and 28 -30, 2009
This is the last entry in my Japan 2009 series. I had mostly written about historical landmarks and megapolises I visited. They were all amazingly memorable experiences; however, they merely touched on extreme points on the Japanese continuum: its rich historical heritage and its modern urban present. I felt there was a missing link between these polar opposites, and on my last day I realized the bridge for this gap was right under my nose.
Tunneling Through Shiga Prefecture
My stay in Shiga Prefecture completed my Japan experience. When I first learned that I’d be staying in this place, I was rather dismayed. I dreamed of the hyper-stimulation of Tokyo and Osaka, the Zen-like delights of Kyoto and Nara…but Shiga – where is that and what’s there? I hadn’t heard of the place. A quick Google search revealed it was in the middle of…um, nowhere. Sure it was in the vicinity of Osaka in the Kansai region – but it seemed out of the way. True enough, my Japanese host picked us up at a bus station in Kyoto and drove us through what seemed like remote mountainous terrain.
