We are half way through our summer vacation in Japan and have had to actively pare back our goals given how much there is to see and do here.  After four days in Tokyo we barely scratched the surface and as soon as we hit Kyoto, we realized four days wasn't going to be enough here either.  So we 86'd some plans to visit the rural interior of Honshu and instead added two additional days in Kyoto and two more in Tokyo as well.  As much as Beth Kirby over at Local Milk had me sold on my need to see the Kiso Valley, we decided vacation should remain vacation and not a gladiatorial effort to consume an entire country's culture as quickly as possible.  Kyoto provides such wonderful wandering that we couldn't bear to cut ourselves short.

Your weekly distractions:

some infographics on why we couldn't tackle Tokyo in four short days

we've fully embraced looking like a tourist, but I'm on board with the bow as a form of perfect nonverbal communication

a long tradition of appreciating the beauty in the broken, especially in 1200 year old Kyoto

cheese knowledge, for when we get back to the United States and retain to our favorite ingredient

a fascinating piece in the Times this week about some unexpected consequences of the wage gap, female tracks and privatized social services

two generations swap lives for the day in this Guardian piece