Heh, heh. Great story regarding the cup. I am glad we have that point in common; years later after your wedding and during my own, my lips did not get stuck, but I broke the sliding door during the wedding meal as I came back into the room from the loo. After a few seconds of embarrassing silence in the room, I was relieved to hear the laughter coming from the guests. The host was up in arms about it of course but, hey, after all, doors and windows in Japan are made of wood and paper.

I'll have to get back to those Asuka trips in the future, it's some time now and I remember some really good impressions. It is true about Japan changing in the last decades, but I am always amazed at how much 'ancientness' still remains once one's off the beaten trail. And the same for nature - I always tell the people who go there for the first time that, though the Kansai-Kanto corridor (what the West knows about the country, and where I would include Kyoto-Nara-Asuka) is entirely overpopulated, 90% of Japan is still more wooded and mountainous than any other country in Europe I know barring Switzerland. And kohuns and other stone paraphernalia can still be found everywhere.

Still, I am sure the fact that your own kin is following your steps (Japanese-wise), makes you quite delighted and proud at this moment.

XXX
GP