ABBA is one of my favorite all-time pop rock groups. I have all their albums and many of the songs are the most played selections on my extensive eclectic music collection. I have seen the stage show “Mamma Mia!” four times and often play the DVD of their Tokyo 1980 concert on the group’s final tour.

Although the Swedish group sadly disbanded about 40 years ago, on November 5, 2021 they released a new album, “Voyage.”

The RollingStone said it best: “The Swedish super troupers ride again with Voyage, and there’s never been a comeback story like this one: all four original members of a great pop band, reuniting after 40 years apart, with all their powers intact. This album would be a one-of-a-kind historic event even if the songs blew—but it’s vintage Abba, on par with their classic 1970s run. It evokes the days when the Norse gods ruled the radio, combining two of the Seventies’ hottest trends: heartbreak and sequin-studded pantsuits.”

I am thankful for the music. Nostalgia is energizing.

I enjoy visiting Kyoto, a magical city that has everything I love most about Japan. It’s the cultural and historical heart of the country, and a place where you can sample some of the most delicious food to be had anywhere in the world.

Keiko and I are self-proclaimed “foodies” and have enjoyed many wonderful and memorable meals together. However, no prior dining experience compares to our recent Kyoto dinner!

Kyoto is famous for the refined and delicate taste of its sublime kaiseki cuisine, a traditional multi-course meal that is considered to be the pinnacle of Japanese “haute cuisine”.

The setting for this dinner was Iharada, a small restaurant highly recommended by friends. Although not located in Kyoto’s famed Gion district, an area known for its geisha and myriad Michelin 4-starred restaurants, we were seated at a eight-seat counter of a charming venue so we and just another couple could watch the owner-chef prepare and serve our food.

[https://www.iharada.jp/about/]

The nine-course meal consisted of multiple healthy, balanced, and delicious small dishes that included tofu, seafood, seasonal vegetables, and rice. I drank ample sake, including a cup of rare sake offered by another guest, to accompany the meal.

The atmosphere was enchanting. The feast an artistic and culinary delight.

I feel as if no matter how much I would say and how many details I would give, I would still not manage to do justice to this unique dining experience. Hopefully you will enjoy a virtual taste while viewing the brief slideshow.

Keiko and I recently spent a wonderful weekend in Kyoto. I hope you enjoy the following pictorial report on our welcomed holiday.

Kyoto, one of the oldest municipalities in Japan, was once the country’s capital. It is considered the country’s cultural capital; a major tourist destination famous for its numerous classical Buddhist temples, gardens, imperial palaces, and Shinto shrines among other historic sites.

Kyoto is also known for formal traditions such as kaiseki dining, a style consisting of multiple courses of artistic culinary dishes. Look for another post soon on our Saturday night dinner.It is one of my favorite places in Japan.

Of my many visits here over the years, the trips when Keiko and I introduced Kyoto to the UMaine MBA students we accompanied to Japan are very special.

Our weekend trip began with a ride on the Tōkaidō Nozomi Shinkansen, a line that provides high-speed rail service linking Tokyo and Kyoto in a little over two hours. We stayed in the Candeo Hotels Kyoto Karasuma Rokkaku, a small sophisticated hotel set along a city side street only a short walk a subway station with easy connections to the sites on our planned to visit.

Keiko planned a wonderful schedule to visit three sites in the short time we had available. We had timed the trip to hit the peak fall foliage season. Unfortunately, a wet and cold weather front before our arrival impacted some of the visual beauty. Nonetheless, much evidence remained and walking the grounds of the selected sites on a carpet of colorful maple leaves was an experience in itself.

The first stop on Saturday afternoon was at a very large temple complex that consists of multiple temples with many buildings, most of them connected by walkways and staircases, historical monuments, a fabulous pagoda, and traditional Japanese gardens and ponds. The spacious grounds are located at the base of the Higashiyama mountains.

The photo slideshow begins at the entrance to the Nanzen-Ji Temple, a most important Zen Buddist temple in Japan dated to the mid 13th century, where there is a massive Roman-style aqueduct. While I hope the photographs do some justice to this awesome site, I could not capture one of the most interesting features of this long-established Buddhist temple – its ghostly past!

Japanese folklore says that when the property was an imperial residence, it was plagued by a poltergeist. After a Zen priest exorcised the spirit, the Emperor converted to Zen Buddhism and turned the imperial villa into a Zen temple – marking the beginning of Nanzen-ji.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering the amazing gardens of Eikando, one of Kyoto’s most famous autumn color spots. I enjoyed a brief reflective rest at a pond garden admiring the simple beauty of the scene.

We returned to the hotel to rest and refresh before an evening site visit and dinner using the Philosopher’s Path, a peaceful picture-perfect Zen-like stone path along a small canal. The two kilometer path is lined by hundreds of cherry trees as well as quite spectacular autumn leaf viewing spots. The path is named for Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan’s most famous philosophers, who was said to practice meditation while walking this route on his daily commute to Kyoto University.

Before dinner, our next stop was the Toji Temple, one of Kyoto’s many UNESCO world heritage sites. Founded just after the capital was moved to Kyoto in the late 700s, this tall temple served as one of the capital’s guardian temples.

Our night visit to the venue was timed to enjoy the spectacular Toji Light Festival that uses inventive digital technology to illuminate the temple and its grounds.

Sunday was a sunny day and we headed off to Arashiyama, a scenic area at the foot of the mountains on the western outskirts of Kyoto where the famous Tenryu-Ji Temple is located.

Before heading to the temple we used the picturesque Togetsu-kyo (Rising Moon Bridge) to cross over the Katsura River and enjoy the impressive landscape view of the rugged Hozu Gorge.

Our walking route to the temple and its gardens then led us through the other-worldly Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. I was awed standing amid these soaring stalks of bamboo.

Keiko and I spent the remainder of the afternoon taking a relaxing stroll through the magnificent gardens of Tenryu-Ji. A perfect ending to a brief but enriching journey.

I hope you enjoy the slideshow.

I miss my accordion.  Having played the instrument for 68 years, it brought both personal pleasure and for a time was a source of significant income. It was always in evidence during the holidays and at other gatherings of family and friends.

Sadly, I decided to sell the accordion just before departing for Japan.  It would have been a welcome friend to spend time with during the pandemic.  Perhaps I would have occasionally joined the various street park musicians on a weekend!

The NY Times recently printed a wonderful story about a master accordion repairman in Mexico that sparked many memories and stirred my desire to once again to play my beloved musical instrument.

If you share my enthusiasm, you may enjoy reading the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/24/arts/music/accordion-repair-francisco-luis-ramirez.html?campaign_id=57&campaign_id=7&emc=edit_mbae_20211126&instance_id=46265&instance_id=46317&nl=morning-briefing%3A-asia-pacific-edition&regi_id=93388816&regi_id=33763219&segment_id=75316&segment_id=75373&te=1&user_id=e54be69add3d6dc111a82076a341830f&user_id=0e618d2b96b343b0f406b483f3dea9e2

BTW ….. June is National Accordion Awareness Month in the U.S.

Because Thanksgiving, a uniquely American holiday is not celebrated in Japan, means that I am able to spend time reflecting on my feelings of thanksgiving for family and friends and to count my blessings for so many things.

I have such warm and wonderful memories of the holiday centered around food and family!  Images of the Macy Thanksgiving Parade in New York City still brings a smile and tears of joy.

I will miss again the aroma and experience of preparing a turkey.  The traditional meal is available only at a few specialty stores and some restaurants. The absence places more significance on the strength of my emotional dependence on family and friends.

To all, my gratitude for your friendship, support and love.  Thank you.

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

            ­­–– Charles Dickens

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Although Thanksgiving is not an official Japanese holiday, Japanese retailers have started embracing Black Friday — the day after U.S. Thanksgiving that marks the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season.

This coming Friday is the start of this year’s Black Friday sales period and major brands and retailers across the country are once again launching sales campaigns to lure customers to their stores and websites.  This year the nation’s retailers are expecting customers to go on a shopping spree following last year’s weak sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another interesting practice is the decoration of streets and buildings with Christmas lights, or winter illuminations.