Japan Itinerary (Oct 2024)

When my 91-year old father was asked if he still had anything on his "bucket list", and he said he wanted to take his boys to Japan, we jumped to make that happen. Dad had visited Japan extensively and grew a strong appreciation for the people, the place, and its culture. I had been just a couple of times on business but never as a tourist, and my husband and brother had never been. So we put together a great first experience tour, spending time in Tokyo and Kyoto, as well as Hakone (a mountain resort famous for its traditional Japanese inns and hot springs) and Kanazawa (a real gem of Japanese cultural history). Clicking on photos in this blog will take you to albums for that day or place, or you're welcome to peruse our whole collection of albums from this trip.  

Air Connections and Logistics

Tokyo is served by major airlines all over the world. Osaka is the only other Japanese city that has direct flights from the US. Because Tokyo has so many more flights, I thought it best to just begin and end our trip in Tokyo. Note that Tokyo has two airports: Narita (NRT), which is over an hour out of the city, and Haneda (HND), which is closer in. We flew into Narita and out of Haneda, driven more by preference about the time of day for arrivals and departures. Direct flights between LAX and Tokyo are over 11 hours. Our United flight from LAX to Narita left around 11am and arrived at 2:40pm the following day. Flights home typically leave in the evening. Ours left at 7:40pm and arrived at 1:40pm the same day (i.e., we arrived 6 hours before we departed). Traveling within the country, everything was by train between cities, and by subway or taxi within cities. The trains in Japan are famously fast and comfortable. We rented a car for one day for a day trip out of Kanazawa into the Japanese Alps.

Tokyo (3 nights) The Imperial Hotel is the classic grand dame of Tokyo hotels, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, but with modern renovations. This was a bit of a splurge, but it was so nice to arrive after that long flight into such comfortable accommodations. We were in a spacious room in the upper floors of the tower building (Tower Building standard room, 30sqm/323sqft), with a modern bathroom and a lovely view of Hibiya Park across the street. The location is very central, across the street from the Imperial Palace grounds, just a few blocks from Tokyo Station, and on the edge of the Ginza (high end shopping district).	Day 1 - Arrival in Tokyo I think it best not to levy any expectations on your arrival day. If you have energy to go out, then go for it, but don't count on it. For us, it was around 5pm by the time we got settled in our hotel, and we just wanted to grab dinner right near the hotel, and then crash. We were in bed by 9pm, tired when we should be tired, and got a good night's sleep to start the next day fresh.
	Day 2 – Tokyo: Tsukiji Market, Shibuya, Harajuku, Meiji Jingu In the morning, we walked from our hotel through the Ginza down to Tsukiji Market, a famous old wholesale fish market turned into a foodie paradise with several lanes of vendor stalls selling fish, shellfish, fruits, grilled and cured meats, and prepared foods like tamago (a kind of omelet cake). From there we taxied to Shibuya to see the famous scramble intersection where several large boulevards all come together, and as many as 3000 people at a time cross the intersection during a pedestrian all-directions scramble cycle of the traffic lights. We paid our respects at the statue of Hachiko, the famous faithful dog of Shibuya Station. From there, the Harajuku neighborhood is not far, full of trendy shops and younger people wearing the distinctive Harajuku fashion. Right next to Harajuku is the Meiji Jingu, a gorgeous Shinto shrine to a former emperor set in a 170-acre forest park, full of towering century-old trees, serenity in dramatic contrast to the bustling city surrounding it. We took the train back to our hotel, and lightly explored the Imperial Palace grounds before having a wonderful 9-course kaiseki dinner at Yachiyo across from the Palace.
	Day 3 – Tokyo: Sumo, Skytree, Tea ceremony, Senso-ji Temple In the morning we went to a sumo stable in the Sumida Ward and watched the wrestlers' morning training regimen (tour link). Afterward, we walked to the Tokyo Skytree where we went up the tower for the spectacular views across the city. After a tempura lunch in Asakusa, we enjoyed a tea ceremony experience where we were dressed in traditional kimono and had a lesson in the traditional ceremony of making tea. We then explored the Asakusa neighborhood, including the amazing Senso-ji Temple, with its pagoda, grand gate and lantern, and the ancient merchant-lined lane leading up to it. That evening we had a fantastic omakase sushi experience at Futaba Sushi, dating from 1877, in a small old building incongruously nestled among much taller modern buildings in the Ginza district.
Hakone (2 nights) The Mikawaya Ryokan, a very traditional Japanese country inn with a 140-year history, is like stepping back in time. You take off your shoes upon entering the premises, and are encouraged to relax and wear slippers and a yukata (robe) around the hotel. The rooms all feature tatami mat woven floors, traditional Japanese furnishings, and beautiful views of the surrounding woodlands. Traditional Japanese dinner and breakfast are provided (though a western breakfast is an option). The ryokan has its own onsen (hot springs baths), and as per Japanese tradition, you bath in the communal onsen. A few high-end rooms have their own private baths. Our rooms just had a toilet and a sink, and we bathed in the onsen. My brother was having none of that communal bathing, so while my father, my husband and I stayed in the ryokan, he opted to stay at the nearby Fujiya Hotel, also 140 years old, but a grand classic western-style hotel with Japanese themed decor which has hosted both Hollywood royalty and actual European royalty. We were all very satisfied with our choices.		Day 4 – Travel to Hakone Move from Tokyo to the traditional mountain resort of Hakone. We took the train from Tokyo to Odawara, where we had lunch, and then took a taxi up to Hakone. In the afternoon, we just relaxed and enjoyed our ryokan (traditional Japanese country inn) and its onsen (hot spring baths). A ryokan is typically a full board experience (breakfast and dinner included), with dinner being a traditional multi-course feast featuring nabe ("hot pot" - food cooked in a pot of hot broth at the table).
		Day 5 – Explore Hakone: The Ropeway, Lake Ashi Cruise In the morning, we enjoyed a choice of a traditional Japanese breakfast featuring ingredients from Sagami Bay and the Hakone area, or a western breakfast if you like. We then set out to do the "Hakone circuit", a very scenic route starting with a funicular train that connects to a "ropeway" (cable gondolas up the mountain), and then a "pirate ship" cruise across Lake Ashi. Some days you'll get beautiful views of Mount Fuji from the lake, but even if Fuji is hidden in clouds, the lake and its surrounding area are beautiful. In the afternoon, we checked out the nearby Morinoyu hot spring baths, a lovely series of connected hot spring pools and baths set in a rock garden with views of the surrounding mountain forests. Dinner was once again a multi-course feast at our ryokan.
Kyoto (4 nights) Our four nights in Kyoto were in The Thousand Hotel, a modern business-class hotel just across the street from the main Kyoto train station, making it arrival and departure via bullet train very easy, as well as easy to get around town. The rooms are spacious, modern, and well-appointed. We had a "superior" room, which was the lowest level offered, and it was 37 sqm / 398 sqft, which is very roomy. The breakfast buffet was fine, with an online ordering system for omelets and other breakfast main courses. The staff at the front desk were all very helpful (and English-speaking).	Day 6 – Travel from Hakone to Kyoto; Teppanyaki and Yasaka Shrine After another Japanese breakfast feast at our ryokan, we set out for Kyoto, taxi down to the Odawara train station, and then high-speed bullet train to Kyoto. We enjoyed ramen for lunch in a Kyoto shopping district. In the evening, we set out for the Gion (historic geisha district) where we enjoyed a fantastic teppanyaki meal at Planca Ken. After dinner, we wandered some Gion alleyways and explored the nearby Yasaka Temple, which is beautifully lit up at night.
	Day 7 – Kyoto: Higashi Hongan-ji temple, Shosei-en garden, Pontocho Alley / Gion This was a pretty rainy day and for us it was a good opportunity to take a low-key recharge day. We just did some light exploring within walking distance of our hotel. The Higashi Hongan-ji Temple is a large campus of ornate temple structures that one can wander around. A few blocks away, the Shosei-en garden is a large traditional Japanese garden with manicured trees, ponds, lovely wooden bridges and pavilions. For dinner this evening, we tried yakiniku (sliced Wagyu beef and other meats cooked on grills embedded in each table) at a place with no English name down the Pontocho alley in the Gion (historic geisha district).
	Day 8 – Kyoto: Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Kinkaku-ji Golden Temple, Kaiseki dinner This was a beautiful day and we headed out to the Arashiyama District on the western side of Kyoto (about 25 min taxi ride) to wander the famous bamboo forest. Coming down through the park by the river, you come to an area where there are many temples, with Tenryu-ji being the most significant. We enjoyed discovering its gorgeous pavilions and gardens, contemplating the beautiful scenes that inspired centuries of monks. We walked the scenic Togetsukyo Bridge over the Katsura River for a late lunch. We could have stayed for the nearby monkey park to watch macaques frolic in the forest, but instead we chose to cab it over to Kinkaku-ji where we were able to catch the late afternoon sun on the famous Golden Pavilion. That evening we celebrated a milestone birthday for my brother with a multi-course kaiseki dinner in a private room at the Michelin-starred Shimogayo Saryo.
	Day 9 – Kyoto: Fushimi Inari, Nara Another beautiful day and we made it an ambitious one. In the morning, we climbed a fair ways up the Fushimi Inari shrine, a famous and very Instagrammable mountain trail lined with thousands of crimson torii gates, with hundreds of little shrines along the way, and lots of fox statues (the fox being sacred to this place). In the afternoon we took a 40-minute train ride down to Nara, well worth the visit for Nara Park, a vast park abutting the town of Nara and going up a mountain, containing some truly awe-inspiring temples. The UNESCO World Heritage site includes the Todai-ji Temple with a gigantic bronze Buddha statue, and the Kasuga Taisha, a Shinto shrine dating from 768 A.D. with hundreds of lanterns decorating ornate vermillion pavilions. The famous bonus of Nara Park is that it is filled with small gentle deer which are considered sacred and have no fear of people. If you bow down to the deer, they will often bow back. And they may allow you to pet them and take pictures with them, especially if you feed them.
Kanazawa (3 nights) The Hotel Forza is a nice mid-range hotel in a great location, just a short walk from the train station, in the center of town, an easy walk to all of the sights. The room was not fancy, but clean and modern. We booked a "superior twin" which gave us 31 sqm / 334 sqft. (Note: all of their "twin" rooms, which means two beds, are larger than any of their "double" rooms.) The breakfast buffet was memorable, with a really good selection of Japanese foods and local specialties, as well as western options.	Day 10 – Kiyomizudera, Travel to Kanazawa Our last morning in Kyoto, we visited the beautiful hilltop Kiyomizudera shrine, and then walked down the ancient pedestrian shop streets that lead to it. We lucked out to be there on the day of the Jida Matsuri festival, a traditional Kyoto holiday, so there were many locals visiting this area in their elaborate kimonos (traditional costume). In the afternoon, we took another shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto to Kanazawa, just under two hours, leaving us plenty of time to settle in, explore our new neighborhood a bit, and enjoy a dinner of skewers (both meat and veggie).
	Day 11 – Alpine day trip: Takayama, Hida-no-sato open air folk museum We rented a car for the day to visit the "Japanese Alps", an easy day trip from Kanazawa. The town of Takayama has a well-preserved historic core where you can see several streets of wooden shops and homes from the Edo period (1600s to mid 1800s). A few wealthy merchant homes are preserved as museums with period furniture. Century-old sake breweries still sell their wares there. Just a short distance out of town is the Hida no Sato "open air museum", where many historic homes and buildings from the area have been relocated and restored to recreate a centuries-old traditional village characteristic of this area, with each house in the village representing different traditional crafts and occupations. (Renting a car for the day was easy to do near the train station, and made the Alps more accessible, with a 1:45 drive versus probably over three hours getting up there by bus and train.)
	Day 12 – Kanazawa Castle, Kenroku-en Garden, Higashi Chaya geisha district We spent this day exploring the highlights of Kanazawa, a small city that flourished in the samurai period and has some real historic gems. Kanazawa Castle Park features the remnants of the feudal fortress castle from the 1600s. Nearby is the Kenroku-en garden, a traditional Japanese garden considered to be one of the most beautiful in Japan, and with a preserved Edo period manor house in the center. Just across the river is the Higashi Chaya district, a well-preserved neighborhood of pedestrian streets and traditional wooden buildings that had been geisha houses back in the day.
Tokyo (3 nights) On our return to Tokyo, we considered whether we should try a different hotel and maybe a different neighborhood, but there is definitely a comfort in returning to a known place, so we opted to return to The Imperial Hotel. As it turned out, I had left my hat in our room at The Imperial, and I had contacted them and asked them to hold it for me, since we would be returning. When we returned 10 days later, not only was my hat waiting for us in our room when we checked in, but they had thoughtfully reassigned us the exact same room, making us feel completely at home.	Day 13 – Kanazawa Samurai district, travel to Tokyo, Asakusa at night In the morning, we wandered over to the Samurai district, where a number of homes from the feudal era are preserved, and some can be toured. We toured one particularly good one called Nomura-ke, where a samurai knight had lived, and enjoyed its carved wood details and lovely garden. On the walk back to our hotel, we stumbled onto the impressive Oyama Shrine so stopped in for a visit, and wandered through the Omicho Market, a huge foodhall full of farmers, fish mongers, and prepared food vendors hawking their delicious wares. In the afternoon, we took the shinkansen (bullet train) for the 2.5 hour ride to Tokyo. That evening, we went to the Asakusa neighborhood for dinner and to see the Senso-ji Temple and its vendor lane all lit up at night.
	Day 14 – Nikko day trip Nikko, a town in the mountains, is famous for the stunning Toshogu Shrine, a whole complex of fantastically ornate temples, gates, pagodas, and shrines, leading up to the grave-shrine for Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun from the early 1600s. The shrine is set amidst a magical forest of towering cedar trees. There is a lovely river and picturesque bridge separating the temple mount from the town. Well worth a day trip from Tokyo (48 minute shinkansen to Utsunomiya, then hour scenic train ride up the mountain).
	Day 15 – Kamakura day trip Kamakura, a seaside town about an hour south of central Tokyo by train, is most famous for the gigantic bronze Buddha statue that has stood for centuries and withstood tsunamis. In addition to this awesome sight, Kamakura offers several beautiful and historic temples and shrines, a bamboo grove, a scenic promenade down its main street, and a nice pedestrian shopping street.
	Day 16 – Explore Shinjuku before heading home Our last day in Tokyo we explored the Shinjuku neighborhood, a bustling district of bright lights, highrises, massive department stores, 3D holographic billboards, and a lifesize Godzilla statue attacking a highrise hotel. We then headed back to our hotel to pack and get ready for our evening flight home.

Reflections and Recommendations

We were very happy with how this trip turned out. I think we struck a good balance of seeing several different places, but also staying in places long enough to get to know them a bit. For the length of time we had, I wouldn't have changed anything. When planning this, the one uncertainty was Kanazawa, which I hadn't heard of before, but was recommended by knowledgeable friends. It was definitely a trade-off, since including Kanazawa meant not going to Hiroshima and other sights in western Honshu. But especially for those who appreciate culture and history, Kanazawa was a real gem, and was the right choice for us. (Logistically, it also made a tighter loop around central Honshu, whereas Hiroshima would have required more travel time.)

Notes On Timing

Mid-October seemed like a great time. The weather was mostly mild and we only had a couple days of rain. We were a bit early for the dramatic fall foliage that comes in late October / early November, but we did get a taste of it with some eager maples starting to turn. On the other hand, we did avoid the peak crowds that come with peak foliage season (the taxi drivers and locals we spoke to were bracing for the onslaught that would come in a couple weeks).

Notes On Money

The Japanese yen was about 2/3 of a cent when we were there (150 yen = $1), so just slide the decimal over two places and then take a third off. We'd heard rumors that Japan was fairly cash-loving and credit card phobic, we found that not to be true. While cash is certainly used more there than here at home, we found our credit cards (and even Apple Pay) readily accepted in restaurants, taxis, and most ticket booths for sights. (In general, I like the Apple Card for international expenses, because they have no foreign transaction fees. The only glitch I had with that was when using my Apple Card to buy train tickets on the Japan Rail website, and then not being able to pick up the tickets at the station because they insisted I present a physical card.) If you want cash, ATMs are easy to find, including in most of the 7/11 and similar convenience stores which are pervasive in Japan. We also highly recommend getting the e-SUICA app, which is a stored-value "card" that you can keep in your Apple or Google Wallet, enabling you to use your smart phone to tap on and off all of the trains and subways and buses in Tokyo and Kyoto. It is also accepted at many convenience stores (and at the Nikko shrine visit, we were lucky to have it, as it was the only form of payment accepted!).

Notes On Language

We've gotten spoiled in Europe where English has become quite pervasive. In Japan, not so much. Some people speak it well, some not at all, and perhaps most studied it in high school but speak it as well as you speak that language you studied in high school. On the other hand, there is at least more signage now in English lettering than I recall from thirty years ago. And Google Translate is huge (many store clerks are adept at translation apps on their smartphones if they don't speak English). And I will add that Japanese people in general are extraordinarily helpful. If you stop a stranger and ask for directions, they'll do their best to understand your question, and more often than not, they won't just point, they'll walk you to where you're wanting to go.

Notes On Gluten-Free Food

Japan is probably one of the most challenging places for those with a gluten intolerance to visit. Celiac disease is little known in Japan (it is genetic and mostly occurs among people of European ancestry), the restaurant culture is not highly allergy conscious, and Japanese cuisine has pervasive hidden gluten (between soy sauce and malt vinegar). That being said, it is possible. We chose to use a travel service called Gluten Free Tours Japan which specializes in making Japan accessible for the gluten-intolerant. Our trip would have been nearly impossible for us without them, and they made it thoroughly enjoyable. My celiac husband was able to enjoy a wide variety of Japanese foods, and they took that big worry off our plates, allowing us just to enjoy our travels.

Notes On Cost

Japan has a reputation for being very expensive, but that may be outdated. Hotels could be slightly expensive, especially if you prefer to spend more to get more space (Japanese hotel rooms can be quite small). Our hotels averaged $350/night, but one could certainly stay comfortably for less. On the other hand, meals seemed quite inexpensive. On the very high end, we had one 4-course kaiseki dinner in a private dining room for an all-in cost of $150/person, and we had a similar dinner in a private room at a Michelin star restaurant for $225/person (these were anticipated splurges, and I think comparable meals in LA would cost much more). For more ordinary but still very nice dinners, we spent ~$70/person for an omakase sushi dinner and $75/person for a teppanyaki dinner that featured steak and lobster and was one of our favorites (definitely less than we'd pay in LA). Lunch in a sit-down restaurant was often $15-30/person. Taxis seemed quite reasonable, comparable to Uber's early pre-pandemic prices. Bullet trains between cities ranged $80-150/person for 2-3 hour rides that got you there faster than flying and as comfortably. For our international airfare, we flew United between LAX and Tokyo, and were able to get $5000 roundtrip business class (cubicles with lie-flat seats). I can't give my usual cmprehensive detailed cost breakdown on this trip, for a couple of reasons. First, we booked a package with Gluten Free Japan Tours that included most of our hotels and also included their invaluable meal planning and consulting/concierge service, as well as a few other things, with no way to break out the costs. Also, we traveled with my father and brother for part of the trip, with each of us picking up various tabs. But if you don't have an allergy issue, I'd estimate you could replicate our trip for a little over $9,000 excluding international airfare, which is a little over $600/night. (And if you do have a gluten allergy, we would highly recommend Gluten Free Japan Tours.)

Notes On Driving in Japan

For most all of Japan, a car is unnecessary, but we did find it a helpful way to get into the Japanese Alps for a day. Like Britain, they drive on the left in Japan, and the driver's side of the car is on the right. The roads we saw were all well-maintained and well-signed, using standard international signs for important things, and at least on the highways, most place names were printed in "Roma-ji" (English writing) as well as Japanese characters. Google Maps is definitely your friend for navigating, and worked well there. (It actually works great as a pedestrian navigating the subways and trains too!) Drivers are generally more orderly and polite than in America.

FILM: My Old Ass

Our first Saturday movie night in a while. We weren’t sure what to expect from My Old Ass, a film about a free-spirited young girl, Elliott, who tries magic mushrooms on her 18th birthday, and ends up meeting her 39-year old future self. What would you want to tell your younger self? And what would a young you want to ask your older self? Elliott lives in a small Ontario town on a beautiful lake, but is determined not to be a third generation cranberry farmer, and is looking forward to going to college in Toronto. She’s in that poignant week at the end of her last childhood summer, about to leave her family and friends, with a heady mix of excitement looking forward and wistfulness about what she’s about to leave behind. There are some wonderfully funny moments and some wonderfully tender moments, and it is ultimately heartwarming and heartrending, and will leave you with a lot to think about. Maisy Stella is compellingly charming as Elliott, and Aubrey Plaza is funny but also wordlessly profound in moments. Very highly recommended.

Letter To Candy

When I was first getting to know George, I soon learned how close he was to his family, and how much he looked up to his older sisters. I heard earfuls about Candy and Linda’s homes and gardens, their cooking and crafts, all of the effort that makes a house into a home, taken to an art form with care and attention to detail. We used to laugh about which of you was more Martha Stewart than the other. When I first learned how Linda made hand-crafted caramel corn every Christmas, I thought she was the most Martha. But I think you forever took the lead the first time I had Thanksgiving at your house in Paradise, where the table was beautifully set and the decoration included acorns, collected from your yard, subtly dusted with gold sparkle. As I learned, in the process of collecting and gold-dusting those acorns, the caps got separated from the “corns”, and had to be put together again like a puzzle, having to find the right cap to go with each acorn, all to add a subtle touch of beauty beside the napkin rings and candlesticks.

You all (George very much included) inherited your passion for aesthetics from your mother. (Are any of us surprised that some of Katie’s last words in her increasingly aphasic twilight months were “Candy, that’s a cute outfit.”) But you took it to a whole new level. Just the way you would wrap each Christmas gift was a wonder, not only thoughtfully chosen paper and beautiful ribbon or string, but adorned with small lovely things from your home or garden, with old Christmas cards cut up and refashioned as tags. I came to appreciate that your devotion to such aesthetics went far deeper than a mere concern for appearances. It was an expression of utmost care for those of us lucky enough to enjoy your home and your hospitality. From my own experience cooking, I know how preparing a thoughtful meal is a way of expressing love. Your love language is much broader: delicious family meals (carefully catered to so many different allergies and preferences!), beautifully set tables, jars of jam from your fig or plum tree, exquisitely wrapped and thoughtfully chosen gifts, artfully arranged flowers – these were all your expressive way of making the world more beautiful and delicious for all of us.

You were also thoroughly down to earth. Much as you loved a cute pair of shoes, you were perfectly happy with no shoes at all, bare feet in the sand at Balboa Island, or just in your garden. You were proud to be a farmer’s daughter. I only knew your father after his stroke, and wished I’d known him before, because everyone always spoke so highly of him. I remember on one of our many weekends packing up the house in Lodi, you were telling me about your father — his service on so many community boards, how they valued his even temper and down-to-earth advice. In those stories you were telling, the resemblance struck me, and I said “you really are your father’s daughter.”  You just lit up, and said “oh, you don’t know how happy that makes me!” 

When your father passed, and I reflected on what I’d learned about his life, I observed that he was not just a farmer of grapes, but a farmer of community institutions — he helped grow a school, a hospital, and a church. In reflecting on your life, I think you’ve been not only a great gardener of fruits and flowers, but a gardener of family and friendships. You carefully tended the valued relationships with your extended family (as we can see by so many cousins here today). And when you planted a new home in Paradise, you set down deep roots there, nurturing new friendships and connections through the school, the hospital, and the church. I was always amazed at the exuberant abundance of Christmas cards you received, and you could tell me all about all of those people because you’d taken the time and care to keep up with them all. In raising your children, you instilled in them the value and practice of maintaining relationships, and they flourished, developing their own deep-rooted friendships, some going back to their school days. You watered your friendships with regular phone calls, cards, and visits, and you fertilized your family with rituals like Thanksgiving and Christmas, annual Balboa Island weeks, and Lodi visits. You showered your grandchildren with care, and it’s wonderful to see the joy it brings you to spend time with them. George and I are profoundly grateful that you rooted us so deeply in your family garden. 

There are so many things that will always make us think of you — a beautifully set table, a well-wrapped gift, homemade jam from backyard fruit. But for me, the epitome of you will be those gold-dusted acorns, humble and down-to-earth yet extraordinary and thoughtful. Like those gold-dusted acorns, you were ultimately ephemeral and gone too soon. Like those acorns, you are imprinted indelibly on our memories and in our hearts. 

FILM: Robot Dreams

The animated feature Robot Dreams is an unexpectedly beautiful story about companionship, relationships, and life’s unexpected turns. The story is told without any dialogue, just expressively drawn anthropomorphic animal (and robot) characters set in a gorgeously drawn New York City. The artistry of the drawing is just a parade of delight, and the story is completely engaging for the whole 1:40 run. The uncliché ending left me pondering what layers of metaphor and worthy life lessons lay beneath the charming and earnest story I enjoyed so much.

STAGE: A Strange Loop

A Strange Loop is, well, a strange loop indeed. This meta-musical is a play about a fat gay black writer trying to write a play about a fat gay black writer trying to write a play about … well, you get the idea. Before A Strange Loop, one could scarcely imagine how many internalized phobias, how much baggage a fat gay black theatre-geek wannabe writer might be carrying around. But now you don’t have to, because this play shows you all the baggage in explicit (sometimes painfully explicit) vivid detail, leavened by energetic music and clever funny lyrics. The protagonist, called Usher, lives in Queens and works as an usher for The Lion King on Broadway. The six other actors on stage are all shape-shifting meta-characters, acting out various scenarios from Usher’s colorful imagination. Some of these meta-characters are completely abstract (“Good morning, internalized self-loathing”). Other scenes illustrate imagined conversations with his family (in which his meta-father is called Mufasa and his meta-mother Sarabi, the names of Simba’s lion parents from The Lion King), showing us the disappointment of his father, his parents’ fears of HIV, and the prayers of his mother that Usher’s play will be some mix of gospel and a Tyler Perry show. (It’s quite a scene when that comes to life in his head.) This poor guy is certainly dealing with a lot of shit when even his fantasies end up disappointing and demeaning him. It’s a strange combination of heaviness with music and comedy that could only work in theatre. It is a loop in that Usher ends where he begins, wondering how his play will end, none of his issues really resolved, except that we’ve all watched him explore all his issues in his head, a communal theatrical therapy session. It was strange being made to laugh as this guy is baring his inner demons. In the end, it was provocatively entertaining, there were very talented performers on stage, and I was glad I saw it.

FILM: Ghostlight

 The beauty of Shakespeare’s works is that they are so much a part of our culture that they can be adapted and translated in all manner of creative ways. The film Ghostlight gives us a unique new spin on Romeo & Juliet, not so much as an adaptation of the play, but a story in which a community theatre production of the play helps a family work through deep emotional issues in unexpected ways. Shakespeare as therapy. The film unfolds the story deftly, at first just introducing us to Dan, a generally mild-mannered construction worker who shows a bolt of anger that seems to come out of nowhere. And then we meet his daughter Daisy, who has even more serious anger management issues and is about to get thrown out of high school. Wife and mother Sharon is just trying to hold the family together. Through a random encounter, Dan gets pulled into a local community theatre group who needs someone for a reading they’re doing. That encounter turns out to be just what he needed at that moment, and through his improbable continuing involvement with this bunch of theatre geeks, the story of what this family is really going through, and how they might get through it, unfolds. The main actors are not big names, but they are a real-life father, mother, and daughter, and their chemistry in the film is great. If you with patient ears (and eyes) attend, you will be moved.

FILM: Hit Man

Hit Man, while it doesn’t require quite the same level of seat belt as The Fall Guy, is also great summer fun. This is Richard Linklater (the “Before” trilogy, “School of Rock”, “Dazed and Confused”) taking on film noir romance-murder-mystery in New Orleans. Glen Powell stars as Gary Johnson, based on a real-life story of a mild-mannered college professor who moonlights for the police department as a fake hit man. Johnson turns out to be a master of disguise and acting, as he wears a wire to catch people attempting murder-by-hire. It’s fun to see this side-career evolve, but then things get really interesting when he ends up romantically involved with a woman who seeks out a hit man to take out her abusive husband. Lots of good classic noir twists (think Double Indemnity) with a good dose of steamy romance (think Body Heat), and add a pinch of philosophical reflection on whether people really can change.

FILM: The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy is an unabashed petition to the Academy to finally create an Oscar for stunt work. Director David Leitch is not only familiar with action thrillers, having helmed films in the John Wick, Fast & Furious, and Deadpool franchises, but he’s also a stuntman himself, having been a stunt double for Brad Pitt and Matt Damon. This film does double-duty as a rom-com with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt (who wouldn’t cheer for them?) as well as an action thriller, all while highlighting the craft of stunt workers. This fun story follows Colt Seavers (Gosling), a veteran stunt man who flamed out years ago when a stunt went bad, and Jody Moreno (Blunt), a rising director working on an action-thriller-sci-fi-romance. The big name star of her new picture has suddenly gone AWOL in the middle of the shoot, and the producer recruits Seavers to find the star, while possibly rekindling their romance that also flamed out years ago. When Seavers’ quest to find the missing star suddenly turns into its own real-life action-thriller, with blockbuster stunts and some nice plot twists, the movie gets really good. As a romance, it’s a bit cheesy, but as an action thriller with a meta layer, it’s really good fun and you’ll be cheering in the suspenseful end of the film and the end of the film-within-the-film. And you’ll join the chorus clamoring for that new Oscar category for stunts.

STAGE: The Rhythm of Mourning

Last Thursday, we saw The Rhythm of Mourning by the Bethesda Rep company. On a bare stage with minimal props, a strong cast, with some subtle but effective lighting, costume, and choreography, tells a powerful story about loss and grief. At first we see a woman wordlessly express mixed feelings about the space she has just entered. She is soon followed by a handful of other characters who are talking about her like a kind of Greek chorus, except that Greek choruses spoke with a unified voice, and these characters are arguing with each other. Before long, it becomes clear (if you hadn’t already noticed from the cast of character names in the program – Anxiety, Shame, Hope, Innocence, Anger, Denial, etc) that what we are witnessing is the grieving woman’s internal struggle, her mental wrestling made manifest as a whole cast of emotions and stages of grief. It’s a powerful device deployed to great effect in this production, as the audience slowly learns who she lost, and how, what that person meant to her, and why this place she has entered is so fraught, all while we watch her movingly move her way toward an uncertain closure. We caught it at the Bethesda Rep’s home stage, but there will be a half-dozen more performances through June as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Check it out!

OPERA: Turandot

On Saturday night, we had the pleasure of seeing the sumptuous production of Turandot at LA Opera. The magnificent cast is lead by house-shaking soprano Angela Meade, the honey-rich tenor Russell Thomas as Karaf, and vibrant soprano Guanqun Yu who moved us to tears as Liu. (We had enjoyed seeing both Russell Thomas and Guanqun Yu a few years ago here in Mozart's The Clemency of Titus.) And expanded chorus voiced the hopes and fears of the people of Peking sensationally (of course we're partial since we know so many choristers). The sets, designed by David Hockney, are fantastic. Opera is an extravagant art form, and this is one of the most extravagant of operas, filled with passion and passionately beautiful music. If you have a chance to see it, go!

FILM: Challengers

Challengers, directed by Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, among others), makes tennis look sexier than ever. Zendaya plays a fierce up-and-coming tennis star, Tashi Duncan, who ends up in a complicated relationship with two other young tennis stars Patrick (Josh O’Connor) and Art (Mike Faist). The two guys have come from prep schools and backgrounds of privilege, while she has definitely not, and has had to work hard for everything she has. “Tennis is a relationship,” Tashi says early in the film, and the game at its highest level of competition is inextricably intertwined in the relationships of these three, with the two guys, closest of friends, also competing for Tashi. It all takes some interesting twists and turns, with a riveting final match with so much riding on it. The strong performances are underscored by great sound engineering, where the effort of every swing and the impact of every contact of racket with ball are visceral with layers of emotion.

FILM: We Grown Now

We Grown Now is the most heartwrenchingly beautiful film. Early on, one of the characters says that there’s a poetry in everything if you look for it, and this film proves that out. The film follows two young boys growing up in a sprawling public housing project in Chicago in 1992. It has the tender bittersweetness and nostalgic wonder of Stand By Me, the honest examination of Black American experience like A Raisin in the Sun, and some love for Chicago with a couple of winks at Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but none of those comparisons captures it. Everything you might think of when you hear “public housing project” – struggling single-parent families, poorly maintained buildings, drug gangs, random shootings – is all there, not glossed over, but not the focus either, just the background for showing how someone can still see the stars through the cracks in the ceiling. During the credits of the film, there is a series of beautiful archival photos of people living in the Cabrini-Green housing project (since demolished) where this film was set, and I wonder if those were the starting point for writer-director Minhal Baig to imagine what life was like for those people in that place and time. I know it’s only April, but I’m ready to nominate this film for next year’s Oscars in nearly every category. The script is so fresh, original, authentic, and full of heart. The direction is absolute master class in what film should be about, tethered to cinemaphotography that is the most gorgeous visual poetry. The ensemble of actors are brilliant, making a compelling story of action and expression from this character-driven, slice-of-life script. I can’t remember the last time (if ever?) I thought that sound added so much to a film, but here sounds as simple as the drip of a leaky pipe add a rich dimension. And all enhanced by a subtle but powerful orchestral score. This is truly film-making at its best.

FILM: Wicked Little Letters

In 1920 in the quaint English seaside town of Littlehampton, a curious scandal erupted when scores of townspeople started receiving nasty handwritten letters full of profanity to make the Edwardian mind explode. Based on this strange-but-true story, Wicked Little Letters is a wicked little delight, thanks to memorable performances from Olivia Coleman as prim spinster Edith Swan living with her parents and Jessie Buckley as foul-mouthed Irish immigrant Rose Gooding living in the adjacent row house. A small constellation of other great characters and actors add color to the story as well. Rose is framed, but by whom and why? We find out halfway through, but the real question is whether the perpetrator can be caught, or whether the powers that be prefer a tidy solution even if it’s not true. Littlehampton’s first woman police officer Gladys Moss (Anjana Vasan) is on the case, but a lot of social structure and expectations stand in the way. A little social commentary is smuggled in, but under cover of an engaging procedural with a hefty dose of dark comedy. We loved it.

FILM: One Life

 

One Life presents the inspirational story of Nicholas Winton, a young Englishman who visits Prague in 1938 to help with a refugee organization, and is horrified to witness the plight of hundreds of Jewish families with young children fleeing from Hitler. Despite the seemingly impossible challenge of finding money and sponsors and moving the English immigration bureaucracy, he organizes the rescue of hundreds of children in the weeks and days before Hitler invades Czechoslovakia. After the war, his efforts were generally unknown, and he personally felt very burdened with the memory of all of the children that he was unable to save. The film cuts between showing the events of his heroic efforts just before the war, and then his life some four decades later. Anthony Hopkins gives a masterfully nuanced performance as the guilt-ridden Winton in his later years, in a role that could have been maudlin in lesser hands. Helena Bonham Carter is also pitch perfect as his mother in the 1938 scenes. While the film is inevitably compared to Schindler’s List, it is its own unique story, and a very timely one, in illustrating the plight of refugees in a war zone, and the genius of boldness to do what might seem impossible. The film’s title, One Life, alludes to the Jewish proverb that saving one life is to save the whole world, but it also shows what difference one life can make. You may walk out after this film wondering, as I did, what you could be doing with your one life.

Remembering Bev

My heart goes out to the Stern family upon hearing of the passing of Bev — wife, mother, and grandmother, and adoptive mother of countless lucky people. She was the mother of my friend and college roommate Hal, and I met her during parents’ weekend of our freshman year at Princeton. She was one of those people with a smile that lights the world, and a warmth that makes you feel like she’s your Mom too. Fittingly, she was a school nurse for many decades, and I’m certain there’s a whole generation of kids who grew up in Freehold, New Jersey who think she’s their “other mother” too. She was a fount of boundless encouragement, her children’s greatest cheerleader, propelling her family to be both happy and highly accomplished through force of will, power of love, and no shortage of her famous kugel(*). She lead not just by encouragement but by example, being a strong and accomplished woman herself. Hal was not the first Ivy Leaguer in his family; she had graduated from Penn. And by the end of her school nurse career, she was leading the nursing program for the district and establishing best practices that were adopted statewide. In her later years, she was organizing things at the assisted living community that she and Joel had moved to. She was also social media savvy and doing her best to make Facebook a more benevolent place with her uniformly positive messages. While wholeheartedly Jewish herself, she was open-hearted to good people of all faiths, and always made a point to send out good wishes for Christmas and Easter and other religious holidays for all who observe. One of the silver linings of the Covid pandemic for me was that I was able to join the Stern family seder via Zoom where I was welcomed like family. In a beautiful funeral service this morning (which I was also able to attend thanks to Zoom), it was so moving to hear her children and grandchildren all remember her so vividly and lovingly. I loved seeing just how much of Bev lives on in them — the way they speak, the way they laugh, the way they support and hold each other up. I hope they draw comfort in those moments when they recognize a glimpse of the parts of her living on in themselves and each other. May her memory be a blessing to them and to all of us who knew her.

(*) Hal reminded us this morning that his mother’s kugel recipe was one of the first things to go viral on the Internet, more than 30 years ago, long before Google, Facebook, or any of that. Try Googling “Mom Stern’s noodle kugel”. It still comes up, just one indicator of her lasting positive impact on this world.

FILM: Problemista

I thoroughly enjoyed Problemista, bringing cinematic magical realism to the story of a young Salvadoran man with big dreams navigating the Kafkaesque US immigration system chasing sponsorship in the New York City art world. The protagonist Alejandro (played by Julio Torres, who also wrote and directed), despite an endless barrage of obstacles, clings to the optimism instilled in him by his artist-architect mother, and never loses the literal bounce in his step. There are delightfully creative surreal touches, like the literal personifications of Craig’s List (fiendishly portrayed by Larry Owens) and Bank of America, and the imagery of Escher-like staircases, escalators, and office mazes, of hourglasses ticking down (Alejandro only has 1 month to find a new job when he unexpectedly gets laid off), and of other immigrants who just fade into thin air when the bureaucracy announces their time is up. And there are very real touches, like the claustrophobia of a Brooklyn apartment shared by too many roommates. And then there is Tilda Swinton playing a self-absorbed monster of an art critic who tantalizes Alejandro dangling the prospect of sponsorship if he can just do one more impossible thing. Every character is delightfully exaggerated, making light so that you can’t help but laugh, despite what is an unbearable situation. But Alejandro is an unsinkable rubber duck who will not be held down, propelled by force of will to an unexpectedly hopeful ending note. In the end, the film pulls of the trick of keeping heavy things light, keeping the viewer off-balance and delighted, but leaving you thinking about entitlement and privilege and wondering how we might make our system just a bit fairer for the people who have to engage with it.