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Lesley Downer
For Lesley Downer's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 16, 2015
Cruising the waves of Japan's culture
As the great ship surges into Tokyo Bay I'm on the prow, hair streaming in the wind, like Kate Winslet in "Titanic." Wooded crags come into view, dotted with buildings and the odd factory chimney. The buildings are modern, not wooden houses, but the crags are still much the same as Commodore Matthew Perry must have seen when he sailed with his "Black Ships" toward what was then Edo Bay in 1853.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 21, 2013
Crossing the Himalayas through memory to Ladakh
I'm in a small van careering along a rough and narrow road beside a rushing river with brightly painted temples along its banks and craggy peaks towering overhead. We're traveling in the prescribed Indian fashion — drive as fast as you can and hope for the best or, better still, pray.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 30, 2013
Delving into Ethiopia's ancient past and present
I'm edging my way through a long tunnel in pitch darkness, feeling for the roof so I don't hit my head, waving my trusty flashlight around to scan the walls and sandy floor and check for any unwelcome wildlife. I feel like Indiana Jones but a lot less brave.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 30, 2013
A cup of coffee in cheerful ceremonial style
Ethiopia has no tea ceremony, but it does have a coffee ceremony all its own.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 30, 2013
How the Ark of the Covenant got to Ethiopia
According to the Bible, the Koran and several detailed Ethiopian texts, the Queen of Saba/Sheba, named Makeda, visited Solomon in Jerusalem in the 10th century B.C.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 9, 2013
A world of flowers and willows in Kyoto's geisha districts
'No matter what happens / I am in love with Gion. / Even when I sleep, / Beneath my pillow / The waters ripple.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 17, 2013
Warm memories of an Aizu winterlude
It starts to snow soon after the train leaves Koriyama, and further inland at Aizu Wakamatsu the snow is knee deep. My hosts, Nobuyuki and Mikiko, are waiting at the station. I'm relieved to see they've brought boots for me.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 11, 2012
To Kagoshima in search of a great samurai unbowed
Flying into Kagoshima from Tokyo across the volcanic landscape of Kirishima and Ebino Kogen, I feel as if I'm arriving in another country. The air is moist and warm, the light sharper, the sky bluer and the foliage intensely green, sprawling exuberantly over the rugged hills.

Longform

High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?