• Past glories: A replica Jomon home from 3,000-5,000 years ago at the Idojiri site near Fujimi. | WINIFRED BIRD
    Past glories: A replica Jomon home from 3,000-5,000 years ago at the Idojiri site near Fujimi. | WINIFRED BIRD
  • Idojiri Archaeological Museum director Seishi Higuchi (right) points to one of his star finds from the Jomon era. | WINIFRED BIRD
    Idojiri Archaeological Museum director Seishi Higuchi (right) points to one of his star finds from the Jomon era. | WINIFRED BIRD
  • Men in black: Some of the residents of Trinity Benedictine Monastery in Fujimi, Japan's only community of Benedictine monks. | COURTESY OF TRINITY BENEDICTINE MONASTERY
    Men in black: Some of the residents of Trinity Benedictine Monastery in Fujimi, Japan's only community of Benedictine monks. | COURTESY OF TRINITY BENEDICTINE MONASTERY
  • Riding high: Fujimi and the Yatsugatake range seen from the Mt. NYUKASA ROPEWAY. | WINIFRED BIRD
    Riding high: Fujimi and the Yatsugatake range seen from the Mt. NYUKASA ROPEWAY. | WINIFRED BIRD
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What can be a more enticing invitation to travel than a good place name?

At age 19, an American wanderer in India, I drifted from Rishikesh to Shimla to Dharamsala on the current of fantasy those storied names wove inside me. Often, the reality of ramshackle hotels and tourist trinkets was a letdown. But Shimla! Ah, the beautiful dreams that name stirred up were worth whatever disappointments it later delivered.

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