So for a... rather delayed campaign I've come up with a few factions which I want to involve in a campaign. Its a sandbox game with factions competing in the area that the party might have a chance to work with or fight against. I've a couple of core ones and a range of other ideas but I'm aware at this point I should probably be cutting some. So i thought I'd throw this out there and get some advice as to what people thought was most interesting and what people thought should either be entirely discarded or at least moved to a back burner.
For a quick setting overview i'm going with some of the classic clash of order and freedom type of thing borrowing some ideas from things like Dark Sun and Mesopotamian history as inspiration. Broadly this part of the continent has most of its agricultural land focused around the coasts and some river systems that extend into the interior of the continent, most of this agricultural land is ruled by powerful city states dominated by Draconic King. Beyond this the lands surrounding it are largely arid, plant life only briefly able to flourish in the wet season as wadis fill for a time, the lands and people here often wild. Go far enough north and you hit a region of hills and mountains of a different but equally harsh nature most often.
So 2 factions which are must haves
Meshant
The closest of the great city states to the starting area, ruled by a powerful Blue Dragon named Ukrik'Azahim'Mli and with a satellite town called Oulm'Aki being a possible starting/hub location, a modest town sitting at the edge of a minor tributaries of the larger river upon with Meshant sits. As with many of the great dragon city states slavery is common here, order is often enforced ruthlessly and the society is extremely hierarchical, with a small clique of wealthy nobles (most of whom are dragonborn) at the top and a large number of slaves and poorer subjects at the bottom of the pile. However, it represents a place of socio-economic complexity, that embraces long distance trade. Ukrik'Azahim'Mli is also quite a capable ruler, he's been fairly good at fending off the attempts of rivals to conquer his lands and has earned wealth for his city through wars, his court is a centre of learning regarding the magical and mundane, as well as being a patron of the arts. His legal system may provide broad powers when dealing with those accused of crimes against those of a higher station but the great storm dragon does still value something approaching rule of law. And if you are someone who values things like trade and literacy it is Meshant that will further such things. For an adventurer who seeks wealth and prestige the forces of Meshant are also perhaps the best resourced to offer such things.
Here in Ouim'Aki, the governor Amar-Suen is the governor of a town at the edge of the city's zone of control, the river that connects them navigable in the wetter parts of the year but not always easy and safe to traverse with Ouim'Aki sitting on the north shore of a marshy lake in the wet season as water collects from nearby areas, the river flowing out to the south and joins the flow of a larger river at Meshant. Meanwhile with a new campaigning season likely to begin it is likely the king will bring his power southwards to wage war on his neighbouring monarchs meaning although Meshant is the greatest power in this region not all of its resources will be focuses here.
The Hatussa
The Hatussa describe a loose, fluid group of desert nomads that live in this area, their population is made up of a fair mixture of desert elves along with humans, half elves and a smattering of other races. The people of the cities would call them barbarians, surviving off pastoralism, hunting and gathering as they move across the landscape in small groups rather than farming, having no knowledge of writing and with the concept of law being nothing more than a group of loose shared norms, the enforcement of which is not the monopoly of any king, judge or their men. Those of the city might describe them as untrustworthy, at one time happy to do trade and at another to engage in banditry and raiding. The deserts they live in can often be tough places, low on water in many parts of the year and even at the best of times wild monsters and dangerous beasts are not uncommon. However they are lovers of freedom, decisions are often made by consensus among groups, leaders often chosen only for a specific purpose such as conducting a raid or a negotiation, their lose political structure lacking many of the traditional facets of state structure such as taxation and a monopoly on the use of force.
But I have some other ideas for factions and I'm debating which I might also include.
The Nethaniah
For generations the valley dwarfs have lived as slaves or poor lower class workers in the realms of the Draconic Kings. The Nethaniah are a local group focused on the liberation of of the Valley Dwarfs in particular and perhaps abolition more broadly, hoping to either rebel against the King of Meshant and free perhaps Oulm'Aki or else take as many of their people as possible and find somewhere to free. On their own however they know they lack the strength to have much chance of taking Meshant on. They are known for including warriors highly skilled using simple weapons and in unarmed combat but some are also said to turn to darker powers seeking stranger abilities. They are quite willing to be ruthless in their goals, carrying out assassinations and the like to undermine the power of the Draconic Masters in Oulm'Aki, although they are not blind to the suffering of slaves of other races they still tend to prioritise freeing their own people
The Sleepless Dreamers A group of former supporters of the old king of Meshant, Uzi'Isbi'Imi, who have fled into the deep desert along with the bones of the dead Brass Dragon. Since then they have been trying to find a way to bring her back to life or perhaps unlife. So far they have yet to be successful but in order to continue their work in that desolate place many have successfully turned themselves undead and raised undead servants. The old King was probably a better person than the current Ukrik'Azahim'Mli, if a less capable general, but the means that their followers would go to to return them are... disturbing.
The Cult of Kamosh Another internal rebellion group but this one largely led by humans. Focused around a secret religious movement focused around the dragon slaying god Kamosh they blame a lot of the woes of the world on the Dragons and their servants, their vision of liberation has little room for Dragons, Dragonborn, Kobolds and the worship of the Draconic gods in any area they may manage to liberate. The local cult is eager to rebel in Oulm'Aki and take control of it but at the present will need more resources or more allies to do so.
The Naram League As the name suggests this is a small group of villages and a town who are roughly organised around an alliance to a young copper dragon Naram'Dalu. These settlements are organised in a small ridgeline of hills much to the east where slightly higher rains and something of an aquifer allows them to survive in an area that is arid but a little more liveable than the surrounding desert. Their remoteness and small size has meant Meshant has generally had bigger fish to fry but both sides well know that they may one day turn on them and try to conquer them. Currently they have an awkward relationship with Meshant where they are willing to pay a small, largely symbolic tribute to the great city in order to secure their peace and a trade. Naram'Dalu is much less intentionally brutal than some of the draconic kings but this local lord would still much rather spend his time partying than dedicating himself to working hard to benefit his people.
The Yamna An nomadic tribe come from across the mountains that were driven south by bad weather increasing competition for resources in the far north a few years ago, the Yamna are a group forged around an orc core but they care more for strength than for lineage, any who prove their capability may join the tribe and as such they have a fair few people from other races mixed into their group. In recent years the Yamna spent some time providing mercenaries for Meshant, but two years ago during a difficult campaign against rival cities in the south their relationship shattered, both sides claimed the other more or less betrayed them. Now the broader tribe has been scattered into its component familial groups, many of which have come to this region with their carts looking for pasture for their cattle during the wetter parts of the year. With the drier season approaching though the future of the tribe is yet to be decided, will they be united under a new leader or remain scattered, will they try to return to the steppe beyond the mountains, will they try to carve out a place here by force with raiding and seizing land, will the establish relationships with local powers through trade, alliance and mercenary work to ensure they have means to keep their cattle from starving.
The following are more minor factions, they will probably only come up under certain circumstances, i'm less likely to create hooks to allow players to actually join them with their purpose more to be mainly either possible allies for a faction the PCs might join or factions mainly there to be antagonists.
Clan Jerahmal A dwarven mountain clan north the local region, the closest such of the clans that dot the mountains and jungle hills. They have no love for the dragons and heir servants and feel a certain kinship towards their cousins enslaved and otherwise oppressed by the whip of Meshant, despite some considerable religious differences, but it is likely to take a fair amount of persuading to get them to leave their fortified settlements in the hills and mountain and march upon the plains. Many in the towns and cities view the mountain clans as terrible isolated and superstitious, given their aversion to arcane arts and culture of ritual cleanliness, but their access to iron is both shrouded in mystery much envied and sort after given the lowlanders can only work meteoric iron. I'm debating whether to have some goliath either folded in as part of the clan's structure or as a separate but allied group in the same general region.
An-Nesa The marshy lake near Ouim'Aki in the wet season is a maze of reeds, deep channels of water and banks of mud. In the dry season it still retains a degree of folliage due to soil moisture but much less is navigable by boat, land navigation is still difficult as many areas have only a thin layer of hardened material baked on the surface which can break to reveal much softer mud and silt beneath. Half submerged in this is the ruins of an old settlement called Nesa, its inhabitants, the An-Nesa are a tribe of lizardfolk primarily (and a small number of those such as black dragonborn), they are known to hunt and fish in the area, as well as sometimes carry out a basic form of flood agriculture, but the An-Nesa are well known to often supplement this with raiding and piracy, which they seem to consider much the same as hunting, often targeting shipments that might contain food and fishing boats, not afraid to eat those they have slain to. Meshant would like to see these destroyed, or at least beaten back until they are no longer so great a threat. The marsh has made it somewhat difficult but the forces of Meshant would certainly consider operations to kill and enslave the lizardfolk when the chance arises.
Halfling Merchants River halflings are well known across much of this part of the continent and the bands of water traders and land caravans they use are well known in this region for their work. While some may regard them as not entirely trustworthy they do represent an extremely useful middleman for many groups, willing to buy goods from a party and sell them on to people who might have serious trust issues dealing directly. Their capability at navigation and willingness to take the risks involved in such journeys allows for a certain risk reward benefit for them to.
Araxes Serving as possible ally for the Hatussa these will probably only come up if the players choose to ally with Hatussa and seek allies or perhaps the odd random encounter with them. The Araxes are a loose group of Aarakocra in he region, they are known to travel long distances as the seasons change, largely practicing a hunter gatherer life style while the rains keep the low lands richer in resources they may well remain to exploit them before returning much further north as they steadily dry out in the coming months. In many regards they have a spirit not unlike the Hatussa in their love for freedom and willingness to act in a fluid and flexible manner, as such they may well serve as valuable allies should the Hatussa decide to go for a major attempt at waging a war in the area.
The Kukan Another faction that will probably be mainly just antagonists. They are a tribal group of goblins living in the east of the region not so far from the league of Naram although some smaller groups are well known to come west seeking chances to raid and the like. Their relationship with Meshant is particularly poor, they largely regard the goblins as pests who are barely people and will kill or enslave any they find without hesitation. Their relationship with other factions is perhaps not as immediately antagonistic but few have much love for them given the Kukan have a reputation for treachery and cruelty.

Hello LT! We are homeowners in Highland Woods, SLT. We have a 23 foot pontoon boat and looking for a slip or mooring/anchor to rent this summer for a week - or several weeks. Ideally in the lower half of the lake. These are very difficult to find these days, it seems. We used to rent one in Ski Run Marina, but they’ve since stopped renting moorings apparently. If anyone here has any recommendations, we would greatly appreciate it. Mahalo!

Tokyo - Yokohama - Nagoya - Kyoto - Osaka - Tokyo

Hi all, going to go through our trip covering golden week and time around it (: It was myself (F21) and my partner (M24) and the reasoning behind the timing was mainly due to bank holidays in the UK being unfortunately placed perfectly in line with golden week this year! Despite this, I feel we actually got pretty lucky with it all. I'll put an emoji to note which days were for golden week but for the tl;dr we weren't affected that much.
Other important contexts, both interested in Japan for a few different reasons. Anime isn't a small one but I'm also a huge fan of the Yakuza games, he's into the JDM car scene, and we just enjoy travelling in general. We didn't do many things like Universal, Disneysea etc. but hopefully there's some things in here that people will enjoy hearing about! I'll go through some tips/recommendations for the casual readers first before going into the trip in depth - please let me know if there's anything else you want to know about!

Tips + Recommendations

Yamato Takkyubin Luggage Forwarding If like us you are going to be staying in quite a few different places, this service is so so so good I cannot overstate it. We had two big suitcases and one smaller one, we sent just the big ones for two of the trips and then for the final trip from Osaka to Tokyo we sent all 3 and just used our backpacks to bring essentials for the night.Pretty much all hotels will allow you to use the service, some may request you pay them with cash for the actual service but for all but one of ours we could use card. We sent Yokohama -> Kyoto, then Kyoto -> Osaka, then finally Osaka -> Tokyo. There are options for same day delivery I believe however we did both the next day and for a few days later. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments and I'll answer if I can!
Trip Planning I've been fortunate to be able to travel a lot so wasn't nervous about the actual travel, however Japan is such a far away country that I didn't want to go and get there then not know what to do and waste my time. In the past holidays with family were more about relaxing on a beach, or with my partner our city breaks are short as they are other European countries and so easier to return to if we wanted. I wanted to take a different approach to this trip so I made a big Google Sheet and Google Map with all the places I wanted to visit/see. It was never meant to be a strict itinerary as some people I showed seemed to assume 😅 But it really helped me to visually see where things I wanted to go to were, and then make a rough plan in case I did get stuck at some point.Anyway it was a really good idea in hindsight and I'm very glad we did it for this trip as our first time going! Here's a picture of the map looks like, we didn't necessarily do everything but we did most things - https://i.imgur.com/2xLyy7Y.png. I used mymaps.google.com, to be honest there's definitely betteeasier to use tools out there but I got this to work for me so I stuck with it.
Walking People aren't kidding about the amount of walking, although I think our top amount was still under 30k so don't worry too much. That said, if you don't walk a lot anyway then your feet are going to hurt. My partner was fine, I was awful. I thought my shoes would be fine and apparently they weren't so if you can pack walking boots please do. The other thing is I think the way you walk affects it too, my partner and I both had multiple pairs of shoes with us but where his converse boots were fine, the soles of my feet were awful in the same types of shoes 😭
Driving I am not a driver but my partner is. He has a full manual UK driving license and insurance, and so for Japan all he needed was to get the International Driver's Permit a little before we went. We rented a car for three different occasions, two times from the same place then the final was for a JDM rental. All was fine, the JDM place was confused for a moment as my partner has a Polish passport + UK license but we translated Poland for him and after that there were no issues! You'll need to check what you need depending on where you're from, it's easier for us due to the same driving side although when we rented for Daikoku and the Nagoya drive they did give us an automatic so just be aware of that if you want to request/drive manual. The rental places we used were Orix rent-a-car for the Daikoku and Yokohama -> Nagoya trip and we had a Mazda 2. For the JDM rental we used Omoshiro.

Trip Report

Tokyo

25/04 - Airport, Shinjuku hotel, Shinjuku We followed a similar first day that I'm sure many of these reports will begin with - arrived at the airport, we had filled out the VJW forms and had both QR codes ready to go. Immigration had about an hour wait so longer than normal but we were also near the back of our plane and there was at least another full plane in front of us. Actually going through immigration was a complete breeze. Once through and picked up our luggage, we got a Welcome Suica, then headed to Shinjuku. We reached our hotel about 4 hours early for check-in, wasn't sure what to do for that time but they were happy to take our bags until we could go to the room (something that is consistent with all the hotels we went to thankfully). Jetlag was pretty bad, I was flagging by afternoon but we pushed through it and took the few hours to just walk around and see the sights. We spent some time in Hakone-yama before heading back to the hotel and getting cleaned up/accidentally falling asleep too early.
26/04 - Akihabara, Golden Gai Of course woke too early by not being as proactive as we should've with warding off jetlag but used that to leave early for Akihabara. After getting some breakfast we saw the Yodobashi Camera and went in there for about an hour just looking at all the floors 😅 It was raining a ton but it surprised us with how warm it still was and quickly realised why people prefer umbrella with no raincoat!! Spent pretty much the whole day in Akihabara, went round a ton of shops and also went into our first of many many arcades we'd go to. We went back to the hotel to return the items we'd bought then walked to Golden Gai as our hotel was about a 15-20 minute walk ^^ Had some delicious ramen, unfortunately didn't drink as my partner was finishing antibiotics for the first few days but it was still great to be there. Slept a lot later which was good.
27/04 - Kabukicho, Shinjuku National Garden This was more a day for me to fufill my Yakuza game sightseeing. Being so close to Kabukicho I was so excited to visit a city and be able to make my way round without a map loool. It was just the end of the blue festival so the iconic arch was still blue although I did get to see it red at the end of the trip so I wasn't too bothered about that. We went around Kabukicho, the square, again spent tons of time in the arcades and discovered how much we enjoyed the MaiMaiDX machines. Ended up getting one of the passports that save your progress and give you an extra play so if you like arcades then I recommend them!! After this and some lunch, we were going to do a walk to the national garden then realised I went the wrong way so we took the train. As a side note here, the Suica and train system is so useful. Very similar to using a card for the underground except it's actually clean. Walked around the national garden, it was very sunny and warm. Didn't know it had it before going but there's a starbucks in the middle of the garden and we managed to join the queue about 10 minutes before they stopped taking new orders. Had a nice time watching the sun set in that garden before heading back to the hotel.
28/04 - Teamlabs Planets Wasn't something I was going to initially go to however I checked out tickets the day previously and saw some for this day and decided we could do it as we had a ton of free time. I had chosen 2:30pm for an entrance time however it was such a nice day so we left early and spent time just walking around the docks. It was so so sunny, the area didn't have loads going on however it was still very pretty. We spent time in the parks and walking alongside the water. Teamlabs was pretty cool, I did enjoy the water based sections although dodging both influencer and family photos might detract from your experience. This was also where I realised I'd already become the stereotype tourist and was sunburnt :') I guess I had to learn my lesson physically and I did thankfully stop any further burning after this with diligent sun cream appliance afterwards pretty much every day. After this we went back to Shinjuku and after food we packed up ready to go to Yokohama.

Yokohama

29/04 - Bashamichi, Daikoku, Cosmo Clock ✨Showa Day Left our hotel at 11 and hadn't yet discovered the wonders of luggage forwarding so we brought all our bags with us on the train to Yokohama! Not too bad though, we got to our hotel a little early but they took our bags as we went and had lunch before the room was ready. Went around Bashamichi (another game location lol) before taking the train to central Yokohama. We had pre-booked the rental cars all before we left to ensure availability but there weren't any problems. This was also my partner's birthday which is something the rental staff realised whilst we were sorting out all the documents 😆. For Daikoku, we didn't need to pass through any ETC gates from Yokohama but it was the first time on the Japanese roads. It was a little nerve-wracking at first as there's very slightly different rules to UK roads but in general driving is fine. We reached Daikoku PA around 20 past 6pm, and it was about 2 hours until police moved everyone along. My partner was in dreamland with the cars that we saw, if you're into the JDM scene at all or just a petrolhead then you'll love it but it is a bit of luck with what you'll see. After we left Daikoku, we went back to our hotel. We'd checked in with them previously that we could keep the car with them as the hotel we had chosen had parking available for an additional cost. We left the car at the hotel then went out for drinks and to see the cosmo clock. Didn't ride it but it was very cool seeing it all lit up over Yokohama. We bar hopped a bit, then went back.
30/04 - Recovery... Not much to say about this day, my partner was fairly hungover so we returned the car to the rental place and then spent the day just chilling at our ryokan hotel and around Yokohama. No drinks this time round as we had a very long trip the next day!!

Nagoya (Road Trip from Yokohama)

01/05 - Expressways, Onshi-Hakone Park, Expressways, Shinshiro, Expressways, Nagoya I'll condense this one a bit otherwise I'll type forever but this was a really fun time. The driving totaled almost 6 hours by the end so it's not for the faint hearted haha. The point was that we'd stop a few times along the way though which is what we did end up doing. We sent our luggage with the forwarding service (to the hotel after Nagoya as we were just staying the one night), then had an early start as we went to the car rental for 8. We chose the same place we rented from for Daikoku and had the same sales rep sorting out any documents so it was a bit quicker although this time we did get a quick explaination on the toll gates. Anyone going on the expressways will need to know how to use them, we were a bit confused the first time but once you've done it a couple times it'll be smooth sailing (and it's such a good system for people with the automatic cards too). We left Yokohama and set our location for Nagoya. We went for about 2 hours before stopping in Odawara for a quick snack and pee break. Pretty overcast day but despite this we still decided to do a stop in a park on the way and went to Onshi-Hakone Park. It was very cool/bit scary going up the winding mountain passes but wow the views are incredible. We spent again probably a couple hours at the park, had some lunch, no view of Fuji but we could see a lot of the other mountains around which are breathtaking in their own rights (: It's right on Lake Ashi so we did get to see the pirate cruise going round. After this break we did another couple hours or so driving before stopping slightly outside of Shinshiro. Something I will say about the expressways is that it is insane how fast people go 😂 We're not about to try anything so it was sticking to the 120 on the signs for us but people just whizz by. Anyway, we stopped at a familymart in this village for a quick break and I know I've said it already but the views are so beautiful. It's green in the UK but it's something else, I kept wondering if it's just viewing through rose tinted glasses/greener on the other side but I don't think that's true at least about those countryside views. It was also one of the reasons we wanted to do the road trip instead of train at least this time round, we could stop in these places and take it in. After our stop there, it was back onto the expressway until we reached Nagoya. It was roughly 6pm when we reached Nagoya, we had intially booked the car for the whole day with return the next morning but they allow early return with Orix so we did that instead before finding our hotel and having some dinner. Not too much time in Nagoya but it was the first time seeing the bullet train which was cool. Nagoya itself has some nice sights, we were thinking about going to Liberty Walk the next day but instead we just decided we'd head to Kyoto once we left the hotel.

Kyoto

02/05 - Shinkansen, Kyoto, Nishiki Market It was a really lovely day and we were taking the shinkansen for the first time. The shinkansen from Nagoya is only 34 minutes but we did end up buying reserved seats as the station was pretty packed. This is probably the main thing we noticed with Golden week, everything else was busy but not insanely so. Nagoya station was a lot busier but otherwise fine. We didn't have JR passes as when I used the online calculator it didn't come out to be worth it for our particular travel so it was full fare for us. The shinkansen itself was good, we would be using it again for Osaka back to Tokyo but due to Nagoya being closer to Kyoto I didn't reeeally think I'd need to book early. It's probably a good idea still lol but it worked out fine for us to book same day despite how busy Nagoya was. Once in Kyoto we took our time walking down to our next hotel. This was another ryokan style so that was nice, we also passed a garden which we noted to go to the next day (Shosei-en Garden). Our luggage had arrived and was waiting for us at the hotel already so we got refreshed then went out for the evening. We went up to Nishiki market then walked back towards our hotel again. Had a sushi train small dinner as we hadn't had any sushi yet and I've also only had a train once before. It might not be the best Kyoto had to offer but wow was it still better than anything I'd had in the UK!! We then spent hours once again in an arcade, if you like games the MaiMaiDX machines really are addictive :')
03/05 - Shosei-en Garden, Higashi Hongan-ji, Tō-ji Temple, Nijō Castle✨Constitution Memorial Day We woke up early, had breakfast at the ryokan, then went straight for the garden. It was a beautiful day once again so plenty of suncream applied. The Shosei-en Garden isn't the biggest but it's so beautiful, they have this pond that looks so still but my partner spotted a turtle and then you start to see more and more. They have some historical buildings around the place, we spent about an hour there before going to the next place. We walked down the road to the next place, this was Higashi Honhan-ji temple. Both locations weren't really that busy to be honest. Seeing this temple was nice but personally I did prefer the gardens. We next went Tō-ji temple. This is one of those locations that are on the 'must-do in Kyoto' but I did like it a lot. The 5 story pagoda was a cool sight. It wasn't so busy although we were going around lunch time so hungry crowds were likely taking a small break (: We spent an unreasonable amount of time just looking at the koi fish in the moat not even in the temple area 🎏 Finally we went to Nijō Castle. This was quite busy although we were one of the latter groups going around as it was nearing the end of the day. Another of the listed must do's but again I would say it's a cool place to see. If you do go, the tour around the main house is interesting and if you decide to climb the walls there's some nice sights of the area around. We finished up this day heading back to the market area and had dinner including a matcha beer. I'm not really a massive matcha person but I was up for trying all the different things, the beer sort of just tasted of normal beer but it looked exactly like a matcha-green coloured guinness.
04/05 - Arishiyama ✨Greenery Day This wasn't really a packed day as we were heading to an airbnb for a couple of nights. We used the luggage forwarding from the ryokan where they were concerned that we wouldn't get our luggage as soon as we wanted due to Golden week. I then let them know we were looking to get it sent for the 6th and they completely relaxed and said that would be perfectly fine 👌 For context if you've not been to Kyoto, the train system is alright but pales compared to Tokyo. Getting to our airbnb wouldn't be too long, about an hour, but as we didn't really have anything planned and only had our small suitcase with us we decided to walk to the next airbnb instead and waste time along the way. This way when we arrived it wouldn't be before check in time and it would keep us out and about. The walk was about 3 hours total although we lengthed it by stopping a few times. There were some celebrations happening due to Greenery day and Children's day being the next day. We stopped to listen to some music, stopped to have a starbucks, then finally we reached out airbnb in Arishiyama. The place was really nice, and it was fun to have a whole place for a few nights instead of a hotel. If you're wanting to, looking at airbnb's is a completely valid option when staying in Japan - you just might get warned before you arrive not to talk or laugh too loudly or the neighbours might complain/call the police 😅
05/05 - Fushimi Inari Shrine ✨Children's Day Initially were going to do both the bamboo/monkey forest and Fushimi Inari but ended up leaving a little later than planned so just committed to only Fushimi Inari. I was expecting fairly large crowds considering the day and the station was..... not great. That said, the station was very small and so although it was crowded we were also out of there fairly quick. This review of Fushimi Inari is going to follow almost everyone's - it was busy at the bottom and as you go up you'll get a lot less people. Even it being Children's day didn't stop us getting moments of just myself and my partner being alone so don't be deterred if the bottom is busy! Beautiful views, we did the full routes going to the top. It was a bit tricky at times but it's not a race, and you'll feel good doing the full thing. We reached the top, were able to partake in the prayers there, then had a great time going back down. There was a little area near the end with a bunch of cats; we turned a corner and saw one and a bunch of people crowding round to take a photo. Maybe only a few steps later you realise there's about 4 more just chilling around the place. It was a cool experience and definitely worth doing at least once if you're there.

Osaka

06/05 - Local train, Dotenbori, Den-Den Town We took a train from our airbnb to Osaka and went via the local train rather than the shinkansen. It was fine, we reached Dotenbori and our hotel was not far from the station. We got there a bit early again but our room was already available and our luggage had arrived too (: After getting refreshed we went out for the afternoon to Den-Den Town. This is Osaka's version of Akihabara, and we spent a lot of time with my partner looking in all the card shops. It was pretty rainy but not really a problem between the Lawson's umbrella and ducking into lots of shops ;) We spent time in an arcade for a while before heading out to Dotenbori market area and the bridges for the evening/night. Yet again another location in the Yakuza games so I had fun pointing out different places like the Mega Don Quijote or the crab restaurant. We had some food and ended up in a drinking place that used a QR code and website for ordering to the table which was dangerously easy to use haha. Had some really tasty sushi there too, I'll try and find the name if anyone is wondering! Took tons of photos there, the rain at night gave the city that classic look reflecting the neon lights everywhere.
07/05 - Kobe day trip We went to Kobe for the day, lots of rain but the main market area is all under cover so that was handy. My partner was looking for a new phone which he found, we also went to one of those places where they grill the food in front of you for dinner. It was great going in a scruffy elevator up to the restaurant and stepping out onto a really beautifully designed restaurant, and it wasn't very busy so we were able to go without reserving beforehand. Kobe itself is cool although we didn't explore too much outside the market areas due to just how hard it was raining, I think it was the heaviest on this day unfortunately.
08/05 - Nara day trip, Todai-ji We went to Nara and although the advice is to go early, we went for more mid-day time. It wasn't crowded at all so that was fortunate. We ended up walking past that famous mochi stall that you see on all the tiktoks of Nara. I wasn't expecting to see the making of the mochi and wasn't going to wait for it either however they started about 2 minutes after we found the stall so we did stay and watch and it was cool to see in person (: We tried the mochi, it's pretty good although for me it was a bit too dry from the powder. Was still tasty!!! Walked through towards the deer park and saw the pagodas around. When we reached the deer park of course we had to get some crackers and feed them. Oh my god they're so pushy!! It was actually so funny to interact with them, one tried to nibble me and we got headbutted a bit when we had the crackers but once you've given them all out then they'll leave you 😆. We sat on a bench for a bit and watched some other poor souls go through the same thing. Saw quite a lot of young fawns too which is cute. We kept walking up to Todai-ji, stopped for an ice cream, then went to the temple to see the huge Buddha statue. It was a good experience to see this temple, but at least for me it wasn't my favourite part of the trip. I know for many others though it's really great to see so don't knock it off your list if you're interested in it! I'm glad I went once but probably won't return. Spent some more time just chilling around Nara and looking at the temples and shrines around the place. We went back to Osaka for around 4pm. Spent the evening in Osaka again, no rain this time! Oh this was about the time I was developing a sore throat, a little bit nerve wracking but fully vaccinated + boosters and have had covid previously so was fairly certain it wasn't that. Even so, my partner was coughing a bit which is the start of the cold we both had for the rest of the trip 😔
09/05 - Osaka Aquarium, Dotenbori I didn't put the aquarium on my plan initially but we had another spare day in Osaka and I do like visiting aquariums + my partner likes penguins a lot and they had a lot there. It was a cool experience, a lot of families as to be expected but it wasn't packed so lots of opportunities to see the animals and fish :) The two whales were very cool, they're so massive. We also got to see their rockhopper penguin conservation area, you could see them sitting on their eggs. I recommend the aquarium to any families planning to be in Osaka, it's pretty easy to get to and the station gives clear directions on where to go to get to the aquarium and the nearby lego park. After the aquarium we went back to Dotenbori and looked around the various book-offs as my partner was looking for screen protectors. If you're interested in any Japanese media I can recommend them too, I found some games in there that were a lot cheaper than you find in the West in much better condition. Our coughs worsened by evening which wasn't great, we weren't doing much more in super crowded areas but it's obviously not good anyway. We were wearing masks everywhere beforehand but it made it more important. We did end up getting some Bron, if you're in Japan and have a cough then I do recommend it but just be aware that it contains codeine. We got some from a place that specifically had a pharmacy section, you bring the box to the cashier and they'll give you the actual bottle from behind the counter. Really really great stuff, much better than anything you can get without a prescription in the UK which was annoying as my cough was subsequently worse for about 5 days once I got back!! It's pretty much gone now though (lasted longer likely due to asthma but it was gone for my partner after a couple days of being back). Overall I really enjoyed Osaka, all the cities we went to were cool but for me Osaka was my favourite :)

Tokyo

10/05 - Shinkansen, Airbnb We left Osaka for Tokyo and took the Shinkansen back. We did splash out a bit and took the green car with seats on the Fuji side. I fell asleep for most of the trip but woke in time to see Fuji for the roughly 6-7 minutes it was viewable for. It was my only time to see Fuji due to the weather being almost clear that day aside from a single cloud going right across the mountain. It didn't block the peak though so I don't feel too robbed 😆. If/when we visit Japan again I would like to see it again closer but it was still a great sight. Once we reached Shinagawa station, we switched to the local train to head to our airbnb in Shinjuku once again (although closer to Shibuya this time whereas we were more North before). We were staying in a pretty close knit residential area but did a bit of a hello to the neighbours which was nice. We had done the luggage forwarding again but had set it to come the next day so we would be the people available for receiving it. Spent the time around the airbnb and also tried having an uber eats delivered (which worked great lol).
11/05 - Shibuya, Shinjuku We spent most of this day around Shibuya as we wanted a few souvenirs for family and also hadn't visited Shibuya properly. Went to the crossing, then spent time mainly shopping and going around one of the Donkis. Pretty rainy again but not a problem for a shopping day.
12/05 - RX-7 Day Trip (Lake Hinuma, Ibaraki Flower Park), Kabukicho We used Omoshiro Rent-a-car for the RX-7 (for those interested, here's the car - https://i.imgur.com/HRX4DYy.png ) and they were great. We had it pre-booked again before we arrived in Japan as it's a pretty sought after car to rent. Bit banged up but nothing major, and we had it booked for I think 8 hours? We did return it a little early as we didn't really have anything else to do and didn't want to be late with a return as the shop closed at the time we'd be returning it. A funny part of the terms you agree to is no Initial D style driving. For the trip itself, we didn't have anything major planned so I made a makeshift plan to just go a bit out of Tokyo and visit somewhere different. I found this lake on maps that'd be not too far, didn't realise until we were there that it's less a lake for sights and more for fishing 😅. No worries though, as the main reason was to get some driving in and enjoy having the car (which was achieved!). Got some snacks from a 7/11 then went off. We had a lot of time left so we drove to Ibaraki flower park, yet another quick find from scrolling around Google Maps. It was a very beautiful park, they have a rose market there as well as selling some fresh produce. It's a small charge to go in the park but it's worth it for the hour or more you might spend there and will go towards the park maintenance. Also being the middle of Spring of course it's going to be beautiful with all the new blooms (: We spent time there admiring the countryside and being sad about going back home the next day. We went back to the rental place afterwards, also during this drive was the time where we were finding it so funny how we were sticking to the speed limits in this beautiful car and being overtaken by massive trucks going so much faster. We did have a moment that was like from a movie though, we entered the expressway after the tolls and as we were pulling in an older Honda NSX was being driven next to us. The guy driving looked over and gave us a nod with a straight face before pulling ahead a little so we could be behind him. We ruined that movie mood by both being so excited by how cool the moment was but hey it's one of those things that won't be forgotten at least!! He zoomed off a few minutes later but we weren't risking anything to keep pace ahaha. We returned the car then went back to Shinjuku for our final evening in Japan. We went back to Kabukicho and I was able to see the arch in red :') Took photos of the karaoke place that's in the games, would've gone in but my throat was killing!! So we just stuck to being outside. We went back to the area around our airbnb, had our last dinner there then went and packed up ready to go home.
13/05 - Home :') Our flight was leaving a little before 9am so we were leaving the airbnb for 5ish. Early start but as we'd gotten packed up it wasn't too bad of a walk to the station. Grabbed our train, it was fairly early on one of the lines that goes direct to the station so we were able to get on with ease. The train was rammed by the time we reached the station. No problems getting through the airport, got to our gate and then flew home.

Final Notes

I had such a good time in Japan, I loved being there and hope to return within the next few years if life permits!! We definitely missed some of those 'must-do's' such as Osaka Castle, any of the theme parks, Arishiyama Monkey Park, actually doing Karaoke, and some of the food options due to my own anxieties walking into places lol. That said, I don't regret the things we did end up doing and it just means I'll have to fit some of those into my next trip 😉. Although my partner would like to visit more Northern areas like Hokkaido or Sendai so we'll see!
We didn't have probably as much packed into each day as could've been but for me this was perfect and a great time for my first time. If you managed to read all this then thank you very much, and please let me know if you have any questions about the trip!! I'll be happy to answer. Thanks for reading!

Sky Combat Ace and Similar Sounding Companies are TARGETING NW, Lone Mountain, Sun City and Summerlin Golf Courses on a daily basis. SCA and other similar companies (registered under different LLCs) are flying LOW and SLOW on top of desert shores lake and Sun City Summerlin golf courses so their clients would enjoy the scenery and pay thousands of dollars for their videos. Golf courses targeted by them on a daily basis are Sun City Summerlin, and occasionally The Arroyo Golf Club and TPC Summerlin.
https://www.change.org/p/move-sky-combat-ace-out-of-kvgt31624359
In addition to Sky Combat Ace E300s, Sun City, Lone Mountain, NW and Summerlin golf courses are under daily assault by other low flying small planes registered under different LLCs (they are aggressively maneuvering over our homes and Sun City Golf Courses). Below are just some of the most recent perpetrators:
VEGAS WARBIRDS LLC - N2550: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/...640Z/KVGT/KVGT CASS AVIATION LLC - N624PA: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/...527/1743Z/KVGT ACE OF SPADES AVIATION LLC - N1950F and N4928E: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/...806Z/KVGT/KVGT and https://flightaware.com/live/flight/...841Z/KVGT/KVGT BBL VENTURES LLC - N7375Q: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/...659Z/KVGT/KVGT TACTICAL INTEGRATED TRAINING SOLUTIONS LLC - N634DC and N49TT: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/...20230527/1712Z and https://flightaware.com/live/flight/...727Z/KVGT/KVGT CAVORT LLC - N1887S: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/...332Z/KVGT/KVGT Registration Pending: N98GR https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N98GR [New planes being registered everyday] GENERAL AVIATION LLC: N9560W
Sky Combat Ace registered under KD Leasing: N763DT, N21XT, N269KD , N466MD, N247MA, and N69XT Some of the other offenders are: ON TOP AVIATION LLC (N414DK), DIAMOND AIRCRAFT SALES OF KENTUCKY LLC and SMITH WILLIAM (N260LD)
There is No traffic in Henderson Executive almost on a daily basis now, whereas golf courses west of KVGT, in particular Sun City Summerlin and occasionally The Arroyo Golf Club and TPC Summerlin are being hammered by low flying stunt planes.
They all show the same pattern of "flying low, aggressively maneuvering, overflying and looping" on top of Sun City/Summerlin golf courses and homes. They all are being operated in acrobatic flight. Homes and golf courses west of KVGT are their favorite playground. Many of these companies are hiding their real identity under different LLCs, most of them located outside the state of Nevada or in Henderson. Mostly are visitors and are leasing a space at KVGT. The airport has no ordinances and has refused to put any curfew for noise pollution. They only care about making money at the expense of the residents that are placed underneath the daily flight path of these stunt planes.
These LLCs are TARGETING your residential Desert Shores, Lone Mountain, Sun City/Summmelin and NW. They are charging thousands of dollars for their popular war game videos on top of our homes and golf courses. Their war games start as early at 8 am, all the way till 8 pm, including Sundays and during the Holidays.
They are making lot of money at the expense of your residential neighborhood and will DEVALUE your home prices. Sky Combat Ace has had deadly crashes and is exploiting the FAA's loophole to AVOID oversight in terms of maintenance and pilot training. Sky Combat Ace got the boot from Henderson and Oceanside has banned them.
The choice is ours. Summerlin needs to make a choice, to live with the daily assault of touring businesses or to call for the boycott of Sky Combat Ace and other similar sounding companies that are invading the peace and tranquility of our residential neighborhoods: https://www.change.org/p/move-sky-combat-ace-out-of-kvgt
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If you're planning on embarking on a boating adventure in Norway, you've made an excellent choice. With its stunning fjords, crystal-clear waterways, and breathtaking scenery, Norway is a true boating paradise. And what better way to explore this beautiful country than by renting a motorboat from SEARADAR for a week? Here's everything you need to know about renting a motorboat in Norway.
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When it comes to the best time to rent a motorboat in Norway, the summer months are undoubtedly the most popular. From June to August, the weather is warm and sunny, and the days are long. However, if you prefer a quieter, more peaceful experience, consider renting a motorboat in the shoulder season. May and September can be excellent months to visit, with fewer crowds and lower prices.
SEARADAR offers the best prices in the market for motorboat rentals in Norway. You can book your motorboat rental through our website via this link: https://searadar.tp.st/ysUlRFOw. Our support managers are also available via phone, WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have.
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My family just got to a lake front Airbnb at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia and my wife lost her engagement ring jumping off of the dock into the water right off of our deck. Figured this is a long shot, but are there any scuba diving adventures in this area that would like to spend some time during this MDW to help us look for it? 😂
Totally willing to offer cash reward.
Edit “cash reward” was a dumb statement. I would totally be willing to pay anyone for their help, up front, regardless of whether we end up retrieving the ring. Wouldn’t expect anyone to take this on a contingency. Lol

Respect Toph

"If you knew me, the real me, you wouldn't be wondering if we're gonna live or die. Because you'd know I can keep this up as long as I need to. I'm Toph Beifong, the greatest earthbender of all time."

History: Born a blind girl sheltered by her wealthy parents, Toph learned earthbending in secret from the badgermoles of Gaoling. Secretly becoming the Earth Rumble champion known as the Blind Bandit, Toph's true destiny arrived when she joined the Avatar as his earthbending master. In travelling the world with Avatar Aang, Toph became by many accounts the greatest earthbender of her time.
After saving the world, and inventing metalbending along the way, Toph became an influential figure. She started the Toph Beifong Metalbending Academy to spread knowledge of the art, became chief of the Republic City police, and aided in the industrialization that helped modernize the world. Though she retired in her old age as a recluse, Toph still periodically answered the call to duty whenever the Avatar needed her.
Powers: Toph controls earth with a unique bending style, built primarily around her "seismic sense" that allows her compensate for her blindness by detecting and predicting movement through the vibrations around her. She later developed the art of metalbending she integrated into her combat style.

Source Key: Avatar: The Last Airbender Season & Episode = S#E# Katara and the Pirate's Silver = KPS Lost Adventures = LA Team Avatar Tales = TAT he Promise = TP The Rift = TR North and South = N&S Imbalance = IM Toph Beifong's Metalbending Academy = MBA Free Comic Book Day = FCBD Legend of Korra Season 4 Episode = LoK E# Ruins of the Empire = RotE Avatar: The Last Airbender; Legacy = AtLAL Avatar Legends = AL The Art of the Animated Series = AAS Director's Commentary = DC 

Physicals

Strength

• Holds Sokka off with one arm ^S2E9
• Kicks open a door, spilling over nearby furniture ^IM

Durability

• Takes an airblast that redirected her boulder, and recovers after falling out an arena ^S2E6
• Wrestles with Katara, bouncing back to getting slapped to the ground with mud ^S3E7
• Zuko burns her feet, throwing off her aim as she crawls away
• Blasted backwards by Yaling matching her force, but up a few moments later ^IM
• Yaling slams her into the ground and she gets up to counterattack ^IM

Speed
Reactions - Earthbenders

• Predicts the Boulder's movements and defeats him quickly ^S2E6
• Dodges an earthbending attack and juts out earth that sends Fire Nation Man flying into a wall and producing rubble ^S2E6
  • Toph predicts Fire Nation's aim from his foot position ^DC
• Catches the Gecko's rocks, shatters them, and juts earth to juggle him out the arena ^S2E6
• Raises a shield as projectiles fly toward her, then dodges a boulder and counterattacks before Xin Fu can respond ^S2E6
• Intercepts Dai Li agents attacking Sokka & Katara and quickly disposes of 4 agents attacking simultaneously, though caught off guard by a 5th ^S2E17
• Uppercuts an earthbender with a rock before he can attack ^IM

Reactions - Others

• Pushes Sokka out of the way of Azula's fireblast ^S3E11
• Dodges Sokka's boomerang when she hears it coming ^LA
• Catches a falling man and bounces him back onto a mountain pass ^S2E12
• Blocks Mai's daggers with a wall she raises & launches, then juts out the ground beneath Mai ^S2E20
• Dodges a swung sickle and counterattacks ^TR
• Raises a shield of metal that protects her from an explosion that destroys a factory ^IM

Earthbending

Projectiles
Small

• Catches the Gopher's stone and returns it, tearing him through the arena ^S2E6
• Hits airborne targets with stones when directed and does so again ^S2E11
• Catches a stone from Aang, then throws it back where it knocks over Katara ^S3E7
• Throws a stone hard enough to damage a guard tower ^S3E10
• Raises a shield from Zuko's attack, and throws stones at him before hurting his ribs with a column ^S3E12
• Blocks Aang's air attack with an earth wall, then fires several chunks out of it where one manages to tag him ^TR
• Uppercuts an earthbender with a rock before he can attack ^IM

Medium

• Raises a shield and flings a piece of it off as a counterattack ^S2E6
• Throws a boulder and it sends out a dust cloud on impact ^S2E8
• Pushes a large boulder down a ramp ^S2E9
• Fires a boulder that destroys a trebuchet, and then another that intercepts a trebuchet's shot ^S3E1
• Launches a boulder at Combustion Man amidst fleeing combat ^S3E7
• Old Toph slaps Korra down with mud when she tries a sneak attack ^{Lok S4E3}

Large

• Juts out a column from beneath a buzzard wasp when it lands, and throws a large boulder at another ^S2E11
• Fires a massive attack at Combustion Man that includes a huge swell of earth ^S3E5
• Replicates a small army for a training session, hurling flaming boulders and coordinating several statues ^S3E18

Shifting Terrain
Small

• Redirects the Boulder's step ^S2E6
• Pulls the ground beneath Aang's chair forward suddenly so his face plants in his bowl ^S2E6
• Knocks Iroh over with a boulder she raises ^S2E8
• Shifts the ground below Azula's feet to knock her down ^S2E8
• Disrupts Aang's footing ^S2E9
• Raises Sokka out of earth binding him in place ^S2E9
• Removes the stones beneath girls on a bridge so they fall through the gap ^S2E15
• Kicks out a stone that stops a carriage wheel suddenly ^S3E7

Large

• Rotates the ground beneath opponents so an attacker swinging at her swings into them instead, then flings all of them out the arena ^S2E6
• Turns a stairway into a slide beneath several guards' feet ^S2E18
• Pushes out a wave of stone, then raises and launches barriers ^S2E18
• Sweeps away a firebender with a wave of earth ^TAT
• Disrupts the ground beneath a kimodo rhino to throw its rider off ^LA
• Spills over people into the air with the tile floor ^TP
• Old Toph knocks over a small army of mechs with an earthquake while protecting her allies from the attack ^{LoK S4E10}

Columns
Small

• Creates a whack-a-mole of pillars to train Aang ^S2E9
• Juts out earth at Aang in their training ^S3E7
• Juts out earth to nail a Dai Li and slaps away his earth gloves ^S3E11
• Nails the Boulder in the face with a column of earth just as he announces their duel began ^TAT

Large

• Juts columns into an opponent, cracking the wall they hit ^S2E6
• Juts out earth that sends Fire Nation Man flying into a wall, producing rubble ^S2E6
• Catches the Gecko's rocks, shatters them, and juts earth to juggle him out the arena ^S2E6
• Juts columns from beneath two Dai Li to send them away ^S2E17
• Raises several columns at once beneath multiple guards to slam them against a ceiling ^S2E18
• Bursts through stone, launches Dai Li away, and raises barriers against their attacks ^S3E11
• Juts out stone toward Azula she leaps off of ^S3E11
• Raises a column from the bottom of a sea to break apart an iron boat ^LA
• Raises Sokka on a tall column that traps him atop it ^LA
• Old Toph smashes two mecha tanks together with columns ^RotE

Launching People
Individuals

• Brings up the ground beneath Aang repeatedly and fires a boulder at him ^S2E6
• Launches Aang into a tree with the ground beneath him ^S2E6
• Bounces Katara over onto Sokka ^S2E8
• Launches Sokka high up into the air ^S2E9
• Catches a falling man and bounces him back onto a mountain pass ^S2E12
• Knocks a spa worker away where they crumble through the stone frame of a doorway ^S2E15
• Launches Ty Lee up into the air ^S2E20
• Kicks mud onto Katara, then launches her away by raising a column beneath her ^S3E7
• Spills over a soldier with a column ^KPS
• Launches a man a distance away, confident he would've landed in a bush nearby ^TR

Groups

• Bounces Team Avatar into the air from the ground below ^S2E6
• Pins two earthbenders between walls and launches them into a cell ^S2E19
• Tosses her students around ^TP

Barriers
Small

• Raises a shield that blocks Xin Fu's boulders, then uses a piece of it to counterattack ^S2E6
• Raises a shield and flings a piece of it off as a counterattack ^S2E6
• Creates an overhang that guards from a small landslide ^S2E12
• Raises and drops quick successive barriers to defend her team's advance ^S2E18
• Raises a wall that blocks Mai's daggers, then launches part of it to counterattack ^S2E20
• Blocks Aang's air attack with an earth wall, then fires several chunks before one tags him ^TR
• Raises and lowers a wall used to hide from a mob ^MBA

Medium

• Creates a wall to disrupt the Dai Li from reeling in her allies ^S2E17
• Creates several large dominos between advancing guards that tip over to incapacitate them^S2E18
• Raises a shield from Zuko's sudden firebending attack, though hurts herself stumbling from it ^S3E12
• Uses a rock wall to defend from a water attack ^LA
• Raises a rock Katara smashes her own face into ^LA
• Blocks a fireblast with a barrier ^IM

Large

• Juts out large barriers in the distance ^S2E8
• Raises a massive wall to impede pursuers ^S2E8
• Raises walls, draws a line in the ground, armors herself in earth, and charges Aang down ^S2E9
• Raises and pushes a stone wall to knock away attackers ^S2E18
• Bursts through stone, launches Dai Li away, and raises barriers against their attacks ^S3E11
• Raises a large wall that blocks massive fireballs Avatar State Aang intended to destroy a factory with ^TR
• Raises a large barrier to separate two groups, then knocks a man away with another ^IM

Structures

• Creates a hut around her ^S2E8
• Builds a tent ^S2E8
• Creates a large tent around a few occupants ^S2E12
• Raises platforms to prepare for a party ^S3E2
• Grabs Aang with an earth hand ^LA
• Raises a slide beneath several men ^TR
• Traps a group of people by quickly raising walls around them ^IM

Busting

• Smashes a boulder ^S2E9
• Rattles the ground before exploding out of her earthen dwelling ^S2E9
• Blasts away a section of a building
• Intercepts thrown earth gloves by exploding them ^S2E17
• Bursts through stone, launches Dai Li away, and raises barriers against their attacks ^S3E11
• Smashes several stones ^TR
• Busts through a factory wall ^TR

Binding

• Traps Ty Lee's limbs and raises a boulder from the ground ^S2E20
• Pins Azula's arm to a cavern wall with a projectile ^S3E11
• Encases Azula in stone ^S3E11
• Binds a soldier with the ground beneath him ^KPS
• Pulls earth around someone to bind them ^N&S

Strength

• Begins slowing the descent of Wan Shi Tong's Library, needing to first solidify the sand beneath her, keeping it in place as attackers approach but needing to drop it periodically to fire attacks at them, yet manages to hold it long enough for her friends to escape ^S2E10
• Opposes the advance of a massive drill with columns of earth to slow its approach ^S2E13
• Repeatedly thumps a boulder against the ground to create an eerie sound ^S3E3
• Assists the others in pushing a chunk of meteorite ^S3E4
• Bounces a hammer from behind her so it swings into a strength test, shattering the top of it ^S3E7
• Forms giant rock gloves that send men flying back when she punches them ^N&S
• Keeps together the anchor for a rope bridge that crumbles apart ^N&S
• Keeps a collapsing building together as long as she can before Aang whisks her away ^IM
• Rides atop the earth and blasts open a barricaded door ^IM
• Secures a collapsing cave ^IM

Precision

• Kicks Aang discreetly from across a table ^S2E6
• Morphs a mud mask into a startling shape ^S2E15
• Sharpens rocks she uses to carve a jack-o-lantern ^TAT
• Subtly closes her hand to pull a pebble back into place ^S3E7
• Tilts her head to change a dice roll ^S3E7
• Bounces a coin purse up into the air where she catches it ^S3E7
• Pounds several little columns into Aang's back as therapy ^S3E9
• Launches a small creature out of the ground a vast distance away so it lands in her hand ^S3E9
• Replicates a small army for a training session, hurling flaming boulders and coordinating several statues ^S3E18
• Reshapes a stone etching into the Earth Kingdom symbol ^TP
• Old Toph strikes two stones together to produce sparks ^RotE

Sand

• Solidifies sand into firmer ground ^S2E10
• Creates quicksand from water Katara wet the ground with to trap her ^LA
• Says she has been working on her sandbending, and producing an intricate replica of Ba Sing Se ^S3E18
• Idly shapes sand into a sculpture of a building ^IM
• Pushes a group of people away with a wave of sand^FCBD

Mobility
Amplified Jumps

• Raises the ground beneath her to amplify a jump through the air away from Mai's darts ^S2E8
• Launches herself, Sokka, and Suki onto an airship with little direction ^S3E20
• Launches herself up onto Appa ^TP
• Launches herself and Chong onto a rooftop where she catches him ^MBA

Burrowing

• Pops out of the ground to surprise Aang, then uprights him from the ground ^S2E9
• Creates a tunnel to burrow through to obscure Team Avatar's approach to a war machine ^S2E13
• Creates a hole for she and her team to hide in ^TAT
• Burrows from behind her barrier to pop back up behind Katara ^LA
• Tunnels through the ground, guiding her allies through the dark before emerging into a tank ^TP

Raising Herself

• Shakes pillars Aang trains on, and raises herself up on a column ^S2E9
• Raises several people from underwater to below sea level on a column of earth ^S2E12
• Raises a column beneath she and Katara to remain above a deluge of slush ^S2E13
• Rises herself on a column and blasts away Dai Li approaching her ^S2E17
• Raises herself on a large column and threatens a crowd with a large boulder ^TP

Earth Surfing

• Launches herself across a gap, and then surfs along the earth to travel quickly ^S2E19
• Continues surfing along a swell of earth ^S2E20
• Rides a swell of earth, then later does so again ^TR
• Rides atop the earth and blasts open a barricaded door ^IM
• Old Toph surfs on mud with agility ^{LoK S4E3}

Misc.

• Makes an opening in a solid wall and closes it seamlessly ^S2E6
• Hides inside a rock until she gets sick of waiting ^LA
• Pulls up an earth slide while falling that catches she and Sokka ^TP
• Raises an earthslide to a rooftop she stands on ^TP
• Old Toph hides in a cave wall ^RotE

Misc.

• Pulls up a cloud of dust to blind approaching fighters, clearing it away when she whittles them down to one ^S2E6
• Chops her hands through stone that resists Aang's hands ^S2E9
• Creates a massive dust cloud to obscure she and her team's approach ^S2E13
• Clears mud off herself ^S3E7
• Stifles flames alongside Aang ^KPS
• Flips earth over onto fire to stifle it ^S3E4

Metalbending

Crumpling

• Dents the wall of a prison cell and tears out, closing it back up around two men to trap them ^S2E19
• Crumples a cell door and rebounds it off the surrounding walls ^S2E20
• Crumples a bridge between two ships ^S3E1
• Wedges open a metal barrier ^S3E11
• Closes metal around a Dai Li to pin him in place ^S3E11
• Crumples the fin of an airship to redirect it ^S3E21
• Punches from the ground into a tank ^TP
• Launches herself into a large machine she crumples on impact ^TR
• Old Toph bends metal seamlessly, opening a hole in a wall and closing it behind her ^{LoK S4E10}

Binding

• Knocks down a metal door, armors herself in it, and flings pieces of the room off at attackers to pin them ^S3E20
• Tears a chunk of metal off a boat and binds men together with it ^LA
• Pulls a halberd from behind a man and twists it around his head, then tightens it with a twitch of her hand. He seems unable to remove it. ^TP
• Binds soldiers in metal debris ^TP
• Unwraps a man's chain from several people, then wraps it around the man himself ^TR
• Wraps metal around a fleeing person ^MBA
• Grabs Yakone's wrist with alength of chain and pulls him from his seat ^{LoK S1E9}
• Tries to ensnare Yakone, but he bloodbends her ^{LoK S1E9}

Precision

• Bends meteorite into a variety of shapes ^S3E4
• Forms her meteorite into a key to open a lockbox ^S3E8
• Forms her meteorite into a key that unlocks several manacles ^S3E8
• Disassembles a battalion of tanks simultaneously ^TP
• Senses the inner workings of an engine, fixes its malfunction, and says even her most novice students could do the same ^TR
• Forms her bracelet into a hand she slaps someone with ^N&S
• Summons an urn to her hand, reshapes it into a small statue of herself, then returns it to its original shape ^IM
• Begins repairing in moments machinery said to requires months to fix ^IM

ArmoStructures

• Creates armor and barriers that resists Sozin's comet-amped fireblasts, crawls along a metal ceiling, and hurts a man's hand when he strikes her ^S3E20
• Combines several pieces of armor into a big scary suit she animates that later serves as a statue ^TP
• Creates a metallic prison cell she guarantees is escape-proof ^IM
• Shifts walls around to create a moving labyrinth ^IM
• Pulls up a sheet of metal as a defense, then forms it into a glove that protects her from friction burn ^IM
• Forms the siding of a building into a slide ^MBA

Strength

• Throws a metal door off its hinges ^S3E8
• Keeps an iron mine from collapsing for a sustained period of time as Sokka goes to collect her students from the next town over to dig her out, holding it successfully until they do so before collapsing in exhaustion and resting a short while ^TR
• Peels off iron scales from a giant spirit, then manages to hold him back while her allies flee ^TR
• Manipulates I-Beams and catches several when they fall ^N&S
• Catches a falling sheet of metal ^MBA

Misc

• Twists apart cymbals hurting her ears ^TR
• Raises a shield of metal that protects her from an explosion that destroys a factory ^IM
• Duels more evenly with Yaling later, but Sokka intervenes after Toph is downed ^IM
• Runs straight up a wall by bending footholds beneath her feet ^IM

Senses

Seismic Sense
General Info

• Explains her seismic sense, that she always had it, and detects an anthill from far away Aang struggles to see ^S2E6
• Learned to bend from the badgermoles, mimicking their style to learn to interact with the world ^S3E13
• Stubs her toe on a buried sand-sailer, saying the impact produced enough vibrations for her to identify it ^S2E11
• Toph trains Aang to hear the smallest creatures burrowing beneath him, to feel roots growing, and to feel the slightest shift in the deepest rock ^LA

Individuals

• Predicts the Boulder's movements and defeats him quickly ^S2E6
• Detects Iroh approaching from behind a boulder ^S2E8
• Senses Iroh's arrival from behind a door, recognizing him from the one time they met before ^S2E20
• Wakes up from a nap, identifying Sokka as he approaches ^S3E4
• Wakes up, sensing the approach of "a big metal man" from the top of a caldera ^S3E5
• Detects Zuko a short distance away before the others ^S3E12
• Adult Toph senses Aang on the other side of a door ^FCBD

Groups

• Identifies Team Avatar soon after they enter her estate ^S2E6
• Detects intruders a distance away, but falls into their trap ^S2E6
• Wakes up, detecting a large oncoming threat from far off, then detects it again later on ^S2E8
• Senses a battalion nearby in a forest ^KPS
• Detects hundreds of creatures underground ^S2E10
• Can tell Mai and Ty Lee are not the real Kyoshi Warriors within moments of meeting them, despite never meeting the real Kyoshi Warriors herself ^S2E20
• Detects cave hopper insects around her, and hits a cave wall to rock them out ^S3E2
• Detects several approaching guests from outside a cave ^S3E2
• Hears people yelling for help within a mountain, later locating them ^S3E8
• Wakes up after detecting the White Lotus' approach ^S3E19
• Locates a crococat and her kittens in a house when the Boulder could not hear them ^TAT
• Old Toph senses Guan's forces approaching in vehicles from a distance away ^RotE

Metal

• Strikes a metal wall several times until she can detect granularities of earth within it and metalbends for the first time ^S2E19
• Says that if someone is close enough to see metal she's close enough to bend it ^TP
• Located potential metalbenders by sensing the subtle vibrations of her bracelet when they unknowingly bent it while in emotional distress ^TP
• Senses the inner workings of an engine, fixes its malfunction, and says even her most novice students could do the same ^TR
• Old Toph senses metal poison in Korra's system that Suyin missed ^{LoK S4E3}

Structures

• Detects a hidden city deep beneath Ba Sing Se and starts a tunnel toward it ^S2E20
• Senses the scale and contents of Wan Shi Tong's Library by placing a hand on the outer wall ^S2E10
• Identifies a cave as excavation and alerts others to approaching buzzard wasps ^S2E11
• Senses a hidden tunnel beneath Lake Laogai and accesses it with earthbending ^S2E17
• Senses an entire village with hundreds of buildings buried beneath ash ^S3E6
• Detects several criss-crossing tunnels, and a bunker buried below ground before tunneling toward it ^S3E11
• Senses the Western Air Temple hanging upside down from the cliff she walks on ^S3E12
• Warns that Combustion Man's attacks will blast the Wesern Air Temple off its cliffside ^S3E12
• Senses that a mine is about to collapse ^TR
• Senses underground tunnels that go on for miles ^N&S
• Old Toph can feel a cavern stories below her and detect several mech suits there ^{LoK S4E10}

Misc.

• Detects a shell game nearby, saying she can sense a pebble on a wooden board to cheat at the game and does so successfully ^S3E7
• Wakes up, detecting a malfunction at a nearby factory, then tracks the saboteurs through city streets despite the difficulty of sensing those on rooftops ^IM
• After performing an investigation, says she recognizes footsteps from saboteurs the night previous and senses their mastermind lying to her ^IM
• Detects a fighting ring from several buildings away ^MBA
• Recognizes the sounds of the fighting ring's new locations again from several buildings away, and though she has difficulty sensing the proceedings from her vantage on the roof she can pick up fragments and scraps of conversation ^MBA
• Old Toph says she can see everything in the world from her place in the Foggy Swamp, including specific individuals in different cities ^{Lok S4E3}

Hearing

• Hears the Gecko swinging in from behind her ^S2E6
• Says she never forgets a voice after she recognizes a sandbender ^S2E11
• Hears men whispering to eachother from across a ship ^S3E1
• Dodges Sokka's boomerang when she hears it coming ^LA
• Recognizes the Boulder crying in his house while passing it on the street ^TAT
• Catches Momo as he is flung through the air, and indicates his scream aided her ^LA
• Recognizes Appa's raaaaar ^TP

Lie Detection

• Can read heartbeats to tell if people are lying ^S2E17
• Can tell Jet is lying when he says he'll be fine ^S2E17
• Confirms Zuko approached the group in sincerity and spoke truthfully ^S3E12
• Puts her hand to Satoru's chest to confirm he speaks the truth ^TR
• Old Toph confirms Kuvira tells the truth ^RotE

Limitations

• A Dai Li agent poses as a citizen who lies to Toph successfully ^S2E17
  • His name is Old Sweepy, and he was deliberately lying rather than brainwashed ^ANW
• Jet's brainwashing is so complete that Toph cannot tell he is lying, and he seems to wholeheartedly believe the brainwashing ^S2E17
• Quiet conditions are necessary ^DC
• Azula can fool Toph's ability to detect lies ^S3E11

Sensing Limitations
Airborne targets

• Has difficulty pinpointing Aang as he floats between steps ^S2E6
• Pinpoints Aang when he leaps off Appa, but fails to catch a belt thrown off Appa's back ^S2E6
• Misses a buzzard wasp with her projectile, expressing difficulty with airborne targets ^S2E11
• Hits airborne targets with stones when directed and does so again ^S2E11
• Mistakes a hot air balloon for Appa ^TP

Sandy terrain

• Explains how she sees through vibrations in the ground, and that surrounding sand is so loose it makes her vision fuzzy ^S2E10
• Cannot identify attackers approaching in a sandy desert and has difficulty aiming waves of sand she tries to throw at them ^S2E10

Surprised

• Detects intruders a distance away, but falls into their trap ^S2E6
• Grabbed by a Dai Li's earth gloves surprising her amidst a party ^S2E14
  • It's noted here she has more difficulty making predictions against such airborne targets ^DC
• Caught by a Dai Li's earth glove after defeating his allies ^S2E17
• Ambushed by two men who drop a metal container on her ^S2E18

Water

• Does not feel comfortable walking across a bridge made of ice, and nearly drowns while saying she cannot swim ^S2E12
  • She cannot sense vibrations through ice ^DC
• Freaks out in shallow water because she cannot swim ^LA
• Gets nauseous while riding in a submarine ^S3E10

Other impediments

• Says she cannot see as well with shoes on, so tears out the soles of those she has on ^S3E2
• [Says she can barely see the event of a play from the nosebleed section]() though still able to intuit actors' attributes based on their voices ^S3E17
• Says thick boots she wears at the South Pole make it harder for her to see her surroundings, though still manages to detect the approach of an underground drill ^N&S

Cont'd in Comments

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As discussed previously, in Zhuangzi we can find some core values of individualism, and it is not inappropriate to call it Zhuangzian individualism. However, just like all varieties of “individualism” which appear in different times and places, each with its own connotations and characteristics, due to its particular social-cultural and philosophical background as mentioned above, the Zhuangzian individualism also has its own special characteristics, which make it a unique pattern of individualism and distinguishable from some of its Western counterparts.
First, Zhuangzi does not understand “individual” in a Western metaphysical way; in other words, he does not think “individual” as an abstract and permanent “Being,” like an individual “atom.” This makes it different from atomistic or abstract individualism, such as that of Thomas Hobbes. According to Chad Hansen, individuals in the Western conceptual structure are “fixed, interchangeable units” (Hansen 1985: 36). However, for Zhuangzi, individuals are neither “fixed” nor “interchangeable.” Zhuangzi has a dynamic view on individuals. Individuals do exist, but they may change their features and property during their time of existing, so an individual human being is not something similar to a “fixed” atom, nor a constant “matter-in-motion.” In Chapters 25 and 27 of the Zhuangzi, two paragraphs describe QU Boyu and Confucius respectively: as “growing up to his sixty years old, he has changed sixty times. There was nothing what he called right in the beginning had not been rejected as wrong by himself in the end. We do not know whether what he called right today was just what he considered as wrong when he was 59 years old” (Zhuangzi 25: 51–52; 27: 10–11). So QU Boyu and Confucius, as individuals, change during their lives in both body and mind; they are dynamic and living beings, rather than “fixed” atoms.
While individuals are changeable, they are not interchangeable, because every individual is unique and different. In his discussion of the ethics of difference in the Zhuangzi, HUANG Yong has keenly perceived that Zhuangzi “pays attention to the differences among human beings in terms of their ideas and ideals, desires and preferences, and habits and customs, etc” (Huang 2010a: 71), and “The central idea of Zhuangzi’s ethics of difference is to respect the unique natural tendencies of different things” (Huang 2010b: 131062). A resumption of this kind of ethics of difference is that every individual is unique and different. Therefore, human individuals are not “fixed unites” that are “interchangeable” in a social mechanism. They may not function in the same way and play the same role under the same situation, as indicated in Zhuangzi’s allegories:
[A big house beam may be used to breach a city wall, but it cannot be used to plug a small hole, which is to say the implements are different. A swift horse may gallop thousand miles a day, but for catching rats it is not as good as a weasel, which is to say their skills are different. An owl can catch fleas and discern the tip of a hair at night, but in the daytime with its eyes open it can’t even see the mountains, which is to say that natures are different. (Zhuangzi, 17:35–37)]
Therefore, no unified principles or norms can be applied to all of them without discrimination, as indicated in Zhuangzi: “Although the legs of a duck are too short, if we try to extend them the duck will be scared and worry. Although the legs of a crane are too long, if we try to cut them short the crane will be in horror and sadness” (Zhuangzi 8:9–10). These allegories in the Zhuangzi, as HUANG Yong pointed out, metaphorically tell us how human beings should act with each other (Huang 2010b: 1057) and be aware of the different needs, desires, and preferences of individuals. Actually, if individuals are treated as only interchangeable atoms, or just as “matter-in-motion,” it will unavoidably lead to certain general assertions on them, as well as some common principles or norms to regulate them. In terms of social politics, that will be social laws, regulations, and moral standards. This is a trend that Zhuangzi opposes. In other words, in the Zhuangzi, individuals are treated more particularly and respectively than in other theories of individualism in which individuals are understood as fixed, abstract, and interchangeable “atoms.”
Second, Zhuangzi thinks that the only thing that an individual mind or the “self” has to conform to is the unlimited and indefinable Dao. This actually has the significance of releasing the individual mind into a totally free and unconstrained realm of nothingness or emptiness, thus endorsing an infinite openness to any possible development of all individuals. Erica Brindley points out that Zhuangzi advocates conformism to the Dao: “individual relationship to the Dao is characterized not by dependence on political institutions or the central figure of the sovereign, but by direct, individual access to it through one’s own person” (Brindley 2010: 55). At first look, this is quite similar to Western religious individualism, which claims that the individual’s relation to God is direct and unmediated, and an individual builds his or her own relationship with God by self-scrutiny without any intermediaries such as a church or a sect. However, Dao is not the God. The essence of Dao is only everything’s “zi ran” or spontaneousness. The spontaneity of everything works automatically and perfectly, which is Dao. Dao does not have any will or intention, as God does. There is no clear definition of Dao in the Zhuangzi, except some descriptions of its nothingness, emptiness, infiniteness, and doing nothing: “The Dao has no boundaries” (Zhuangzi 2: 55); “The great Dao cannot be named” (Zhuangzi 2: 59); “It has no action or forms” (Zhuangzi 6: 29). As Brindley has also correctly observed, Dao is not a concrete, bounded entity; it is unbounded nothingness (Brindley 2010: 58). Therefore, individuals’ conforming to Dao or being together with Dao amounts to being in a realm of the boundless and limitless nothingness, or, using Zhuangzi’s words, wandering in a “wu he you zhi xiang 無何有之鄉” or “the country of nothingness” (Zhuangzi 1: 46; 7: 9–10; 32: 21). In this “country of nothingness,” everything moves and changes spontaneously along with the cosmos, which is Dao. Therefore, conforming to Dao does not mean conforming to an outside authority; it means to let the individual mind wander in an infinite realm and become what CHEN Guying has emphasized, the “open mind” (Chen 2009). Individuals in this realm are totally free and open, much freer than when bound with each other by common moralities or social contracts. It is just like the fish that, having once run aground, helped each other with their saliva and slime to survive; but it would be much better to let them return to their mutually disinterested original situation: “forget with each other in the rivers and lakes” (Zhuangzi 6: 22–23). It is because it conforms to Dao rather than to God or any other religious divinity that Zhuangzian individualism is not likely to be carried to the extreme and become absolutely egocentric and intolerant to others, like the Calvinists have demonstrated (Lukes 1973: 84), since conforming to Dao only means unlimited freedom and unbounded openness to the spontaneousness of every individual and unique thing.
Furthermore, since there is no need for a persistent or stubborn attitude toward anything when the individual spirit is conforming to the free, open, and dynamic Dao, one will also keep an open, free, and flexible attitude toward one’s own “completed mind” (chen xin 成心) or already constructed “self.” This is what happened in the process of “fasting of the mind” and “sitting and forgetting,” in two episodes in Chapters 4 and 6, when YAN Hui, Confucius’s favorite disciple, practiced a kind of self meditation under the instruction of his Master and finally reached the advanced stage of forgetting his body and mind (Zhuangzi 4: 24–34; 6: 89–93). Nevertheless, the so called “forgetting one’s self”—for instance, at the beginning of Chapter 2, when NANGUO Ziqi says to YANCHENG Ziyou: “Now I have lost myself” (Zhuangzi 2: 3)—does not mean that the individual “self” has totally dissolved or disappeared, physically or mentally. Just as some scholars have correctly analyzed (Chen 2001; Yang 2005), there are two different “selves” in the sentence “Now I have lost myself.” The first is the original and innate self, which is as free, open, and spontaneous as the Dao itself; the other is the socially constructed self, which is fixed, closed, and constrained by his or her worldly existence. What should be forgotten and lost is the latter, not the former. Otherwise, we would not be able to understand why in other places Zhuangzi mocks and denounces those worldly people for “having lost their selves in materials” (Zhuangzi 16: 21), and “conducting for fame but having lost self” (Zhuangzi 6: 12). In general, when Zhuangzi urges an individual to conform to Dao, he actually has released the individual mind into a boundless free realm, where it will no longer be constrained by even its own socially constructed “self,” let alone any other political, social, and cultural control and restrictions.
Third, Zhuangzi’s individualism is a kind of “inward individualism” rather than “outward individualism.” By “inward individualism,” I mean that Zhuangzi advocates and pursues individuality by exploring the innate and intrinsic self of individuals, rather than claiming and expanding outside interests and rights for individuals. This feature is partly due to the autarkical small-scale farming economy of his time, as I have mentioned previously, and it also makes the Zhuangzian individualism different from the economic and social-political individualism in modern Western culture, which makes great effort to draw a clear boundary of individuals’ ownership, encourages individuals to actively assert, pursue, and protect the interests and benefits supposed to belong to them from outside, and aggressively compete for individual success and achievement in social reality. Zhuangzi, in contrast, cares much more about an individual’s own body and spiritual freedom, rather than the individual’s material interests, economic benefits, and political rights in the outside social reality. As Judith Berling has pointed out, Zhuangzi’s “position is call not for the rights of the individual, but for a shift of attention from social and political issues to another dimension of life” (Berling 1985: 101).
In terms of economy, Zhuangzi’s individualism advocates a care-less attitude toward any material gains and profits. This is contrary to some Western economic individualists, such as John Locke and Adam Smith, who emphasize individual ownership of property and material goods. Zhuangzi thinks that in order to preserve and nourish real individual life, one should neglect material interests, as he states in Chapter 28: “he who nourishes his bodily form forgets about gain of interests” (Zhuangzi 28: 51); and “he who regards life as important will look upon material interests as insignificant” (Zhuangzi 28: 56–57). He thinks that only when you are indifferent to those outside gains and profits will you be able to preserve your true independence, as all those material goods and outside benefits are just burdens for spiritual freedom. One should not use oneself as a tool in order to gain those things. This also makes Zhuangzi’s individualism different from that of utilitarianism, represented by Western philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who take a calculating attitude toward gain and loss of interests and benefits.
In politics, in contrast to the modern Western individualism in the context of political democracy, which emphasizes the individual’s participation in politics and engagement in public affairs, Zhuangzi thinks that individuals should detach themselves from political institutions and public affairs. Many of his stories dissuade people from involvement in politics. Zhuangzi himself, as well as many other Daoist masters, is only interested in the issue of how to manage his own body (zhi shen 治身) and pursue longevity of individual life, rather than the issue of how to manage the state (zhi guo 治國) and society. As recorded in Chapter 11, when the Yellow Emperor came to consult Master Guang Cheng about the Way of governing the world, Master Guang Cheng was not interested and did not teach him anything. But after the Yellow Emperor gave up his throne and came back again to consult him about the “Way of governing body,” Master Guang Cheng sat up with a start and talked with him about how to protect the individual spirit and body and enjoy long life, with the essential of “being cautious of what is within you; blocking off what is outside you” (Zhuangzi 11: 28–44). Obviously, Master GUANG Cheng’s way of governing the body is to cut off as much as possible the links between the self and society, withdrawing to one’s own self consciousness. Most of the men Zhuangzi admired were those who “lofty in principle and meticulous in conduct, delighting in their own will alone without serving in public affairs” (Zhuangzi 28: 86–87). They considered their own body much “heavier” than the state and society, and did not want to consent to the existing political authority or take political responsibility or social obligation.
As a result, Zhuangzian individualism does not encourage social-economic contention or competition. This is quite different from certain versions of modern Western individualism, which take social Darwinism as their proposition, based on the belief that if everyone contends in pursuing gain and interests for themselves, the well-being of a society will improve in general, thus justifying ruthless rivalry among individuals in business and politics (Lukes 1973: 39). Here also lies a fundamental difference between Zhuangzi and Nietzsche, despite their similarities in other aspects. Nietzsche’s “will to power” theory encourages individuals to contend and even justifies the stronger conquering the weaker. His individualism is quite outwardly expanding and aggressive, while in a general Daoist view, fighting, rivalry, and contention are all of negative significance. From the angle of state politics, the Daoist doctrine of “wu wei 無為” (doing-nothing, inactivity) means no intervention and letting people take their own course, which has a similar connotation to “laissez-faire.” But from the angle of individual personality, “wu wei” also means “bu zheng 不爭” (no rivalry, no contention), a personal merit of no contending, no rivalry with others. There is no incentive element in Zhuangzi’s thought to encourage individuals to contend for outside success and achievement. His individualism is defensive rather than aggressive, inward rather than outward. Therefore, it should be exempt from the common socialist criticism of certain Western individualism, “as arming one human being against another, making the good of each depend upon evil to others, making all who have anything to gain or lose, live in the midst of enemies” (Mill 1967: 444).
5 Conclusion
We have found some values in the Zhuangzi, which can be reasonably regarded as belonging to individualism. It is Daoist individualism. The unique Daoist individualism represented in the Zhuangzi has a profound and deep influence on the later development of Chinese culture. However, due to its special characteristics discussed above, it has not become a fundamental resource for thinking about social, political, or economic revolution, as some versions of modern Western individualism functioned in the West. Nor has it played any role in constructing social, political, and economic institutions based on civil rights and interests and the contracts among individuals or between individuals and institutions.
Nevertheless, Zhuangzian individualism does provide an ideological resource for those who want to take a disobedient attitude toward political authorities, criticize autocracy and absolutism, keep their own mind in a free realm, and protect their independent personality. This is especially obvious in the thoughts and behaviors of some literati and intellectuals. Almost all the extraordinary, unusual, and eccentric figures in the history of Chinese literature and culture, such as TAO Yuanming, JI Kan, RUAN Ji, LI Po, SU Dongpo, and GONG Zizhen, among many others, are influenced by Zhuangzi and his thought. They find a cultural and spiritual space in Zhuangzian individualism, where they can reside with their unique personality and develop their individuality freely.
At the same time, due to its “inward” feature and emphasis only on spiritual individuality, Zhuangzian individualism does not cause any major collision with Confucianism, despite its disagreement with Confucianism in many aspects. It provides an alternative value choice for those who want to temporarily or permanently withdraw from the engagement required by common cultural custom or established social standards, thus to protect their individuality. Therefore, it has been an important and indispensable complement of the mainstream cultural tradition represented by Confucianism, which comparatively put more emphasis on the collectivity of family, group, state, and nation, and the value of the social order and political authority.
Furthermore, Zhuangzian individualism also provides an alternative angle for us to understand human beings as individuals different from the Western metaphysical perspective: individual persons are not like fixed, interchangeable, and forever “indivisible” physical “atoms,” individuals exists only temporarily in times, and one individual is not interchangeable with other individuals, because they are all different and unique; but it is changeable during the time of his or her existence, because the ultimate Dao is just the spontaneous change of everything. It is just this changeability that makes an individual really a free human being.
Acknowledgement
The author wishes to thank two anonymous peer reviewers for their comments and revision suggestions on an earlier version of this paper
From: A Different Type of Individualism in Zhuangzi by XU Keqian 徐克謙

As discussed previously, in Zhuangzi we can find some core values of individualism, and it is not inappropriate to call it Zhuangzian individualism. However, just like all varieties of “individualism” which appear in different times and places, each with its own connotations and characteristics, due to its particular social-cultural and philosophical background as mentioned above, the Zhuangzian individualism also has its own special characteristics, which make it a unique pattern of individualism and distinguishable from some of its Western counterparts.
First, Zhuangzi does not understand “individual” in a Western metaphysical way; in other words, he does not think “individual” as an abstract and permanent “Being,” like an individual “atom.” This makes it different from atomistic or abstract individualism, such as that of Thomas Hobbes. According to Chad Hansen, individuals in the Western conceptual structure are “fixed, interchangeable units” (Hansen 1985: 36). However, for Zhuangzi, individuals are neither “fixed” nor “interchangeable.” Zhuangzi has a dynamic view on individuals. Individuals do exist, but they may change their features and property during their time of existing, so an individual human being is not something similar to a “fixed” atom, nor a constant “matter-in-motion.” In Chapters 25 and 27 of the Zhuangzi, two paragraphs describe QU Boyu and Confucius respectively: as “growing up to his sixty years old, he has changed sixty times. There was nothing what he called right in the beginning had not been rejected as wrong by himself in the end. We do not know whether what he called right today was just what he considered as wrong when he was 59 years old” (Zhuangzi 25: 51–52; 27: 10–11). So QU Boyu and Confucius, as individuals, change during their lives in both body and mind; they are dynamic and living beings, rather than “fixed” atoms.
While individuals are changeable, they are not interchangeable, because every individual is unique and different. In his discussion of the ethics of difference in the Zhuangzi, HUANG Yong has keenly perceived that Zhuangzi “pays attention to the differences among human beings in terms of their ideas and ideals, desires and preferences, and habits and customs, etc” (Huang 2010a: 71), and “The central idea of Zhuangzi’s ethics of difference is to respect the unique natural tendencies of different things” (Huang 2010b: 131062). A resumption of this kind of ethics of difference is that every individual is unique and different. Therefore, human individuals are not “fixed unites” that are “interchangeable” in a social mechanism. They may not function in the same way and play the same role under the same situation, as indicated in Zhuangzi’s allegories:
[A big house beam may be used to breach a city wall, but it cannot be used to plug a small hole, which is to say the implements are different. A swift horse may gallop thousand miles a day, but for catching rats it is not as good as a weasel, which is to say their skills are different. An owl can catch fleas and discern the tip of a hair at night, but in the daytime with its eyes open it can’t even see the mountains, which is to say that natures are different. (Zhuangzi, 17:35–37)]
Therefore, no unified principles or norms can be applied to all of them without discrimination, as indicated in Zhuangzi: “Although the legs of a duck are too short, if we try to extend them the duck will be scared and worry. Although the legs of a crane are too long, if we try to cut them short the crane will be in horror and sadness” (Zhuangzi 8:9–10). These allegories in the Zhuangzi, as HUANG Yong pointed out, metaphorically tell us how human beings should act with each other (Huang 2010b: 1057) and be aware of the different needs, desires, and preferences of individuals. Actually, if individuals are treated as only interchangeable atoms, or just as “matter-in-motion,” it will unavoidably lead to certain general assertions on them, as well as some common principles or norms to regulate them. In terms of social politics, that will be social laws, regulations, and moral standards. This is a trend that Zhuangzi opposes. In other words, in the Zhuangzi, individuals are treated more particularly and respectively than in other theories of individualism in which individuals are understood as fixed, abstract, and interchangeable “atoms.”
Second, Zhuangzi thinks that the only thing that an individual mind or the “self” has to conform to is the unlimited and indefinable Dao. This actually has the significance of releasing the individual mind into a totally free and unconstrained realm of nothingness or emptiness, thus endorsing an infinite openness to any possible development of all individuals. Erica Brindley points out that Zhuangzi advocates conformism to the Dao: “individual relationship to the Dao is characterized not by dependence on political institutions or the central figure of the sovereign, but by direct, individual access to it through one’s own person” (Brindley 2010: 55). At first look, this is quite similar to Western religious individualism, which claims that the individual’s relation to God is direct and unmediated, and an individual builds his or her own relationship with God by self-scrutiny without any intermediaries such as a church or a sect. However, Dao is not the God. The essence of Dao is only everything’s “zi ran” or spontaneousness. The spontaneity of everything works automatically and perfectly, which is Dao. Dao does not have any will or intention, as God does. There is no clear definition of Dao in the Zhuangzi, except some descriptions of its nothingness, emptiness, infiniteness, and doing nothing: “The Dao has no boundaries” (Zhuangzi 2: 55); “The great Dao cannot be named” (Zhuangzi 2: 59); “It has no action or forms” (Zhuangzi 6: 29). As Brindley has also correctly observed, Dao is not a concrete, bounded entity; it is unbounded nothingness (Brindley 2010: 58). Therefore, individuals’ conforming to Dao or being together with Dao amounts to being in a realm of the boundless and limitless nothingness, or, using Zhuangzi’s words, wandering in a “wu he you zhi xiang 無何有之鄉” or “the country of nothingness” (Zhuangzi 1: 46; 7: 9–10; 32: 21). In this “country of nothingness,” everything moves and changes spontaneously along with the cosmos, which is Dao. Therefore, conforming to Dao does not mean conforming to an outside authority; it means to let the individual mind wander in an infinite realm and become what CHEN Guying has emphasized, the “open mind” (Chen 2009). Individuals in this realm are totally free and open, much freer than when bound with each other by common moralities or social contracts. It is just like the fish that, having once run aground, helped each other with their saliva and slime to survive; but it would be much better to let them return to their mutually disinterested original situation: “forget with each other in the rivers and lakes” (Zhuangzi 6: 22–23). It is because it conforms to Dao rather than to God or any other religious divinity that Zhuangzian individualism is not likely to be carried to the extreme and become absolutely egocentric and intolerant to others, like the Calvinists have demonstrated (Lukes 1973: 84), since conforming to Dao only means unlimited freedom and unbounded openness to the spontaneousness of every individual and unique thing.
Furthermore, since there is no need for a persistent or stubborn attitude toward anything when the individual spirit is conforming to the free, open, and dynamic Dao, one will also keep an open, free, and flexible attitude toward one’s own “completed mind” (chen xin 成心) or already constructed “self.” This is what happened in the process of “fasting of the mind” and “sitting and forgetting,” in two episodes in Chapters 4 and 6, when YAN Hui, Confucius’s favorite disciple, practiced a kind of self meditation under the instruction of his Master and finally reached the advanced stage of forgetting his body and mind (Zhuangzi 4: 24–34; 6: 89–93). Nevertheless, the so called “forgetting one’s self”—for instance, at the beginning of Chapter 2, when NANGUO Ziqi says to YANCHENG Ziyou: “Now I have lost myself” (Zhuangzi 2: 3)—does not mean that the individual “self” has totally dissolved or disappeared, physically or mentally. Just as some scholars have correctly analyzed (Chen 2001; Yang 2005), there are two different “selves” in the sentence “Now I have lost myself.” The first is the original and innate self, which is as free, open, and spontaneous as the Dao itself; the other is the socially constructed self, which is fixed, closed, and constrained by his or her worldly existence. What should be forgotten and lost is the latter, not the former. Otherwise, we would not be able to understand why in other places Zhuangzi mocks and denounces those worldly people for “having lost their selves in materials” (Zhuangzi 16: 21), and “conducting for fame but having lost self” (Zhuangzi 6: 12). In general, when Zhuangzi urges an individual to conform to Dao, he actually has released the individual mind into a boundless free realm, where it will no longer be constrained by even its own socially constructed “self,” let alone any other political, social, and cultural control and restrictions.
Third, Zhuangzi’s individualism is a kind of “inward individualism” rather than “outward individualism.” By “inward individualism,” I mean that Zhuangzi advocates and pursues individuality by exploring the innate and intrinsic self of individuals, rather than claiming and expanding outside interests and rights for individuals. This feature is partly due to the autarkical small-scale farming economy of his time, as I have mentioned previously, and it also makes the Zhuangzian individualism different from the economic and social-political individualism in modern Western culture, which makes great effort to draw a clear boundary of individuals’ ownership, encourages individuals to actively assert, pursue, and protect the interests and benefits supposed to belong to them from outside, and aggressively compete for individual success and achievement in social reality. Zhuangzi, in contrast, cares much more about an individual’s own body and spiritual freedom, rather than the individual’s material interests, economic benefits, and political rights in the outside social reality. As Judith Berling has pointed out, Zhuangzi’s “position is call not for the rights of the individual, but for a shift of attention from social and political issues to another dimension of life” (Berling 1985: 101).
In terms of economy, Zhuangzi’s individualism advocates a care-less attitude toward any material gains and profits. This is contrary to some Western economic individualists, such as John Locke and Adam Smith, who emphasize individual ownership of property and material goods. Zhuangzi thinks that in order to preserve and nourish real individual life, one should neglect material interests, as he states in Chapter 28: “he who nourishes his bodily form forgets about gain of interests” (Zhuangzi 28: 51); and “he who regards life as important will look upon material interests as insignificant” (Zhuangzi 28: 56–57). He thinks that only when you are indifferent to those outside gains and profits will you be able to preserve your true independence, as all those material goods and outside benefits are just burdens for spiritual freedom. One should not use oneself as a tool in order to gain those things. This also makes Zhuangzi’s individualism different from that of utilitarianism, represented by Western philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who take a calculating attitude toward gain and loss of interests and benefits.
In politics, in contrast to the modern Western individualism in the context of political democracy, which emphasizes the individual’s participation in politics and engagement in public affairs, Zhuangzi thinks that individuals should detach themselves from political institutions and public affairs. Many of his stories dissuade people from involvement in politics. Zhuangzi himself, as well as many other Daoist masters, is only interested in the issue of how to manage his own body (zhi shen 治身) and pursue longevity of individual life, rather than the issue of how to manage the state (zhi guo 治國) and society. As recorded in Chapter 11, when the Yellow Emperor came to consult Master Guang Cheng about the Way of governing the world, Master Guang Cheng was not interested and did not teach him anything. But after the Yellow Emperor gave up his throne and came back again to consult him about the “Way of governing body,” Master Guang Cheng sat up with a start and talked with him about how to protect the individual spirit and body and enjoy long life, with the essential of “being cautious of what is within you; blocking off what is outside you” (Zhuangzi 11: 28–44). Obviously, Master GUANG Cheng’s way of governing the body is to cut off as much as possible the links between the self and society, withdrawing to one’s own self consciousness. Most of the men Zhuangzi admired were those who “lofty in principle and meticulous in conduct, delighting in their own will alone without serving in public affairs” (Zhuangzi 28: 86–87). They considered their own body much “heavier” than the state and society, and did not want to consent to the existing political authority or take political responsibility or social obligation.
As a result, Zhuangzian individualism does not encourage social-economic contention or competition. This is quite different from certain versions of modern Western individualism, which take social Darwinism as their proposition, based on the belief that if everyone contends in pursuing gain and interests for themselves, the well-being of a society will improve in general, thus justifying ruthless rivalry among individuals in business and politics (Lukes 1973: 39). Here also lies a fundamental difference between Zhuangzi and Nietzsche, despite their similarities in other aspects. Nietzsche’s “will to power” theory encourages individuals to contend and even justifies the stronger conquering the weaker. His individualism is quite outwardly expanding and aggressive, while in a general Daoist view, fighting, rivalry, and contention are all of negative significance. From the angle of state politics, the Daoist doctrine of “wu wei 無為” (doing-nothing, inactivity) means no intervention and letting people take their own course, which has a similar connotation to “laissez-faire.” But from the angle of individual personality, “wu wei” also means “bu zheng 不爭” (no rivalry, no contention), a personal merit of no contending, no rivalry with others. There is no incentive element in Zhuangzi’s thought to encourage individuals to contend for outside success and achievement. His individualism is defensive rather than aggressive, inward rather than outward. Therefore, it should be exempt from the common socialist criticism of certain Western individualism, “as arming one human being against another, making the good of each depend upon evil to others, making all who have anything to gain or lose, live in the midst of enemies” (Mill 1967: 444).
5 Conclusion
We have found some values in the Zhuangzi, which can be reasonably regarded as belonging to individualism. It is Daoist individualism. The unique Daoist individualism represented in the Zhuangzi has a profound and deep influence on the later development of Chinese culture. However, due to its special characteristics discussed above, it has not become a fundamental resource for thinking about social, political, or economic revolution, as some versions of modern Western individualism functioned in the West. Nor has it played any role in constructing social, political, and economic institutions based on civil rights and interests and the contracts among individuals or between individuals and institutions.
Nevertheless, Zhuangzian individualism does provide an ideological resource for those who want to take a disobedient attitude toward political authorities, criticize autocracy and absolutism, keep their own mind in a free realm, and protect their independent personality. This is especially obvious in the thoughts and behaviors of some literati and intellectuals. Almost all the extraordinary, unusual, and eccentric figures in the history of Chinese literature and culture, such as TAO Yuanming, JI Kan, RUAN Ji, LI Po, SU Dongpo, and GONG Zizhen, among many others, are influenced by Zhuangzi and his thought. They find a cultural and spiritual space in Zhuangzian individualism, where they can reside with their unique personality and develop their individuality freely.
At the same time, due to its “inward” feature and emphasis only on spiritual individuality, Zhuangzian individualism does not cause any major collision with Confucianism, despite its disagreement with Confucianism in many aspects. It provides an alternative value choice for those who want to temporarily or permanently withdraw from the engagement required by common cultural custom or established social standards, thus to protect their individuality. Therefore, it has been an important and indispensable complement of the mainstream cultural tradition represented by Confucianism, which comparatively put more emphasis on the collectivity of family, group, state, and nation, and the value of the social order and political authority.
Furthermore, Zhuangzian individualism also provides an alternative angle for us to understand human beings as individuals different from the Western metaphysical perspective: individual persons are not like fixed, interchangeable, and forever “indivisible” physical “atoms,” individuals exists only temporarily in times, and one individual is not interchangeable with other individuals, because they are all different and unique; but it is changeable during the time of his or her existence, because the ultimate Dao is just the spontaneous change of everything. It is just this changeability that makes an individual really a free human being.
Acknowledgement
The author wishes to thank two anonymous peer reviewers for their comments and revision suggestions on an earlier version of this paper
From: A Different Type of Individualism in Zhuangzi by XU Keqian 徐克謙

As discussed previously, in Zhuangzi we can find some core values of individualism, and it is not inappropriate to call it Zhuangzian individualism. However, just like all varieties of “individualism” which appear in different times and places, each with its own connotations and characteristics, due to its particular social-cultural and philosophical background as mentioned above, the Zhuangzian individualism also has its own special characteristics, which make it a unique pattern of individualism and distinguishable from some of its Western counterparts.
First, Zhuangzi does not understand “individual” in a Western metaphysical way; in other words, he does not think “individual” as an abstract and permanent “Being,” like an individual “atom.” This makes it different from atomistic or abstract individualism, such as that of Thomas Hobbes. According to Chad Hansen, individuals in the Western conceptual structure are “fixed, interchangeable units” (Hansen 1985: 36). However, for Zhuangzi, individuals are neither “fixed” nor “interchangeable.” Zhuangzi has a dynamic view on individuals. Individuals do exist, but they may change their features and property during their time of existing, so an individual human being is not something similar to a “fixed” atom, nor a constant “matter-in-motion.” In Chapters 25 and 27 of the Zhuangzi, two paragraphs describe QU Boyu and Confucius respectively: as “growing up to his sixty years old, he has changed sixty times. There was nothing what he called right in the beginning had not been rejected as wrong by himself in the end. We do not know whether what he called right today was just what he considered as wrong when he was 59 years old” (Zhuangzi 25: 51–52; 27: 10–11). So QU Boyu and Confucius, as individuals, change during their lives in both body and mind; they are dynamic and living beings, rather than “fixed” atoms.
While individuals are changeable, they are not interchangeable, because every individual is unique and different. In his discussion of the ethics of difference in the Zhuangzi, HUANG Yong has keenly perceived that Zhuangzi “pays attention to the differences among human beings in terms of their ideas and ideals, desires and preferences, and habits and customs, etc” (Huang 2010a: 71), and “The central idea of Zhuangzi’s ethics of difference is to respect the unique natural tendencies of different things” (Huang 2010b: 131062). A resumption of this kind of ethics of difference is that every individual is unique and different. Therefore, human individuals are not “fixed unites” that are “interchangeable” in a social mechanism. They may not function in the same way and play the same role under the same situation, as indicated in Zhuangzi’s allegories:
[A big house beam may be used to breach a city wall, but it cannot be used to plug a small hole, which is to say the implements are different. A swift horse may gallop thousand miles a day, but for catching rats it is not as good as a weasel, which is to say their skills are different. An owl can catch fleas and discern the tip of a hair at night, but in the daytime with its eyes open it can’t even see the mountains, which is to say that natures are different. (Zhuangzi, 17:35–37)]
Therefore, no unified principles or norms can be applied to all of them without discrimination, as indicated in Zhuangzi: “Although the legs of a duck are too short, if we try to extend them the duck will be scared and worry. Although the legs of a crane are too long, if we try to cut them short the crane will be in horror and sadness” (Zhuangzi 8:9–10). These allegories in the Zhuangzi, as HUANG Yong pointed out, metaphorically tell us how human beings should act with each other (Huang 2010b: 1057) and be aware of the different needs, desires, and preferences of individuals. Actually, if individuals are treated as only interchangeable atoms, or just as “matter-in-motion,” it will unavoidably lead to certain general assertions on them, as well as some common principles or norms to regulate them. In terms of social politics, that will be social laws, regulations, and moral standards. This is a trend that Zhuangzi opposes. In other words, in the Zhuangzi, individuals are treated more particularly and respectively than in other theories of individualism in which individuals are understood as fixed, abstract, and interchangeable “atoms.”
Second, Zhuangzi thinks that the only thing that an individual mind or the “self” has to conform to is the unlimited and indefinable Dao. This actually has the significance of releasing the individual mind into a totally free and unconstrained realm of nothingness or emptiness, thus endorsing an infinite openness to any possible development of all individuals. Erica Brindley points out that Zhuangzi advocates conformism to the Dao: “individual relationship to the Dao is characterized not by dependence on political institutions or the central figure of the sovereign, but by direct, individual access to it through one’s own person” (Brindley 2010: 55). At first look, this is quite similar to Western religious individualism, which claims that the individual’s relation to God is direct and unmediated, and an individual builds his or her own relationship with God by self-scrutiny without any intermediaries such as a church or a sect. However, Dao is not the God. The essence of Dao is only everything’s “zi ran” or spontaneousness. The spontaneity of everything works automatically and perfectly, which is Dao. Dao does not have any will or intention, as God does. There is no clear definition of Dao in the Zhuangzi, except some descriptions of its nothingness, emptiness, infiniteness, and doing nothing: “The Dao has no boundaries” (Zhuangzi 2: 55); “The great Dao cannot be named” (Zhuangzi 2: 59); “It has no action or forms” (Zhuangzi 6: 29). As Brindley has also correctly observed, Dao is not a concrete, bounded entity; it is unbounded nothingness (Brindley 2010: 58). Therefore, individuals’ conforming to Dao or being together with Dao amounts to being in a realm of the boundless and limitless nothingness, or, using Zhuangzi’s words, wandering in a “wu he you zhi xiang 無何有之鄉” or “the country of nothingness” (Zhuangzi 1: 46; 7: 9–10; 32: 21). In this “country of nothingness,” everything moves and changes spontaneously along with the cosmos, which is Dao. Therefore, conforming to Dao does not mean conforming to an outside authority; it means to let the individual mind wander in an infinite realm and become what CHEN Guying has emphasized, the “open mind” (Chen 2009). Individuals in this realm are totally free and open, much freer than when bound with each other by common moralities or social contracts. It is just like the fish that, having once run aground, helped each other with their saliva and slime to survive; but it would be much better to let them return to their mutually disinterested original situation: “forget with each other in the rivers and lakes” (Zhuangzi 6: 22–23). It is because it conforms to Dao rather than to God or any other religious divinity that Zhuangzian individualism is not likely to be carried to the extreme and become absolutely egocentric and intolerant to others, like the Calvinists have demonstrated (Lukes 1973: 84), since conforming to Dao only means unlimited freedom and unbounded openness to the spontaneousness of every individual and unique thing.
Furthermore, since there is no need for a persistent or stubborn attitude toward anything when the individual spirit is conforming to the free, open, and dynamic Dao, one will also keep an open, free, and flexible attitude toward one’s own “completed mind” (chen xin 成心) or already constructed “self.” This is what happened in the process of “fasting of the mind” and “sitting and forgetting,” in two episodes in Chapters 4 and 6, when YAN Hui, Confucius’s favorite disciple, practiced a kind of self meditation under the instruction of his Master and finally reached the advanced stage of forgetting his body and mind (Zhuangzi 4: 24–34; 6: 89–93). Nevertheless, the so called “forgetting one’s self”—for instance, at the beginning of Chapter 2, when NANGUO Ziqi says to YANCHENG Ziyou: “Now I have lost myself” (Zhuangzi 2: 3)—does not mean that the individual “self” has totally dissolved or disappeared, physically or mentally. Just as some scholars have correctly analyzed (Chen 2001; Yang 2005), there are two different “selves” in the sentence “Now I have lost myself.” The first is the original and innate self, which is as free, open, and spontaneous as the Dao itself; the other is the socially constructed self, which is fixed, closed, and constrained by his or her worldly existence. What should be forgotten and lost is the latter, not the former. Otherwise, we would not be able to understand why in other places Zhuangzi mocks and denounces those worldly people for “having lost their selves in materials” (Zhuangzi 16: 21), and “conducting for fame but having lost self” (Zhuangzi 6: 12). In general, when Zhuangzi urges an individual to conform to Dao, he actually has released the individual mind into a boundless free realm, where it will no longer be constrained by even its own socially constructed “self,” let alone any other political, social, and cultural control and restrictions.
Third, Zhuangzi’s individualism is a kind of “inward individualism” rather than “outward individualism.” By “inward individualism,” I mean that Zhuangzi advocates and pursues individuality by exploring the innate and intrinsic self of individuals, rather than claiming and expanding outside interests and rights for individuals. This feature is partly due to the autarkical small-scale farming economy of his time, as I have mentioned previously, and it also makes the Zhuangzian individualism different from the economic and social-political individualism in modern Western culture, which makes great effort to draw a clear boundary of individuals’ ownership, encourages individuals to actively assert, pursue, and protect the interests and benefits supposed to belong to them from outside, and aggressively compete for individual success and achievement in social reality. Zhuangzi, in contrast, cares much more about an individual’s own body and spiritual freedom, rather than the individual’s material interests, economic benefits, and political rights in the outside social reality. As Judith Berling has pointed out, Zhuangzi’s “position is call not for the rights of the individual, but for a shift of attention from social and political issues to another dimension of life” (Berling 1985: 101).
In terms of economy, Zhuangzi’s individualism advocates a care-less attitude toward any material gains and profits. This is contrary to some Western economic individualists, such as John Locke and Adam Smith, who emphasize individual ownership of property and material goods. Zhuangzi thinks that in order to preserve and nourish real individual life, one should neglect material interests, as he states in Chapter 28: “he who nourishes his bodily form forgets about gain of interests” (Zhuangzi 28: 51); and “he who regards life as important will look upon material interests as insignificant” (Zhuangzi 28: 56–57). He thinks that only when you are indifferent to those outside gains and profits will you be able to preserve your true independence, as all those material goods and outside benefits are just burdens for spiritual freedom. One should not use oneself as a tool in order to gain those things. This also makes Zhuangzi’s individualism different from that of utilitarianism, represented by Western philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who take a calculating attitude toward gain and loss of interests and benefits.
In politics, in contrast to the modern Western individualism in the context of political democracy, which emphasizes the individual’s participation in politics and engagement in public affairs, Zhuangzi thinks that individuals should detach themselves from political institutions and public affairs. Many of his stories dissuade people from involvement in politics. Zhuangzi himself, as well as many other Daoist masters, is only interested in the issue of how to manage his own body (zhi shen 治身) and pursue longevity of individual life, rather than the issue of how to manage the state (zhi guo 治國) and society. As recorded in Chapter 11, when the Yellow Emperor came to consult Master Guang Cheng about the Way of governing the world, Master Guang Cheng was not interested and did not teach him anything. But after the Yellow Emperor gave up his throne and came back again to consult him about the “Way of governing body,” Master Guang Cheng sat up with a start and talked with him about how to protect the individual spirit and body and enjoy long life, with the essential of “being cautious of what is within you; blocking off what is outside you” (Zhuangzi 11: 28–44). Obviously, Master GUANG Cheng’s way of governing the body is to cut off as much as possible the links between the self and society, withdrawing to one’s own self consciousness. Most of the men Zhuangzi admired were those who “lofty in principle and meticulous in conduct, delighting in their own will alone without serving in public affairs” (Zhuangzi 28: 86–87). They considered their own body much “heavier” than the state and society, and did not want to consent to the existing political authority or take political responsibility or social obligation.
As a result, Zhuangzian individualism does not encourage social-economic contention or competition. This is quite different from certain versions of modern Western individualism, which take social Darwinism as their proposition, based on the belief that if everyone contends in pursuing gain and interests for themselves, the well-being of a society will improve in general, thus justifying ruthless rivalry among individuals in business and politics (Lukes 1973: 39). Here also lies a fundamental difference between Zhuangzi and Nietzsche, despite their similarities in other aspects. Nietzsche’s “will to power” theory encourages individuals to contend and even justifies the stronger conquering the weaker. His individualism is quite outwardly expanding and aggressive, while in a general Daoist view, fighting, rivalry, and contention are all of negative significance. From the angle of state politics, the Daoist doctrine of “wu wei 無為” (doing-nothing, inactivity) means no intervention and letting people take their own course, which has a similar connotation to “laissez-faire.” But from the angle of individual personality, “wu wei” also means “bu zheng 不爭” (no rivalry, no contention), a personal merit of no contending, no rivalry with others. There is no incentive element in Zhuangzi’s thought to encourage individuals to contend for outside success and achievement. His individualism is defensive rather than aggressive, inward rather than outward. Therefore, it should be exempt from the common socialist criticism of certain Western individualism, “as arming one human being against another, making the good of each depend upon evil to others, making all who have anything to gain or lose, live in the midst of enemies” (Mill 1967: 444).
5 Conclusion
We have found some values in the Zhuangzi, which can be reasonably regarded as belonging to individualism. It is Daoist individualism. The unique Daoist individualism represented in the Zhuangzi has a profound and deep influence on the later development of Chinese culture. However, due to its special characteristics discussed above, it has not become a fundamental resource for thinking about social, political, or economic revolution, as some versions of modern Western individualism functioned in the West. Nor has it played any role in constructing social, political, and economic institutions based on civil rights and interests and the contracts among individuals or between individuals and institutions.
Nevertheless, Zhuangzian individualism does provide an ideological resource for those who want to take a disobedient attitude toward political authorities, criticize autocracy and absolutism, keep their own mind in a free realm, and protect their independent personality. This is especially obvious in the thoughts and behaviors of some literati and intellectuals. Almost all the extraordinary, unusual, and eccentric figures in the history of Chinese literature and culture, such as TAO Yuanming, JI Kan, RUAN Ji, LI Po, SU Dongpo, and GONG Zizhen, among many others, are influenced by Zhuangzi and his thought. They find a cultural and spiritual space in Zhuangzian individualism, where they can reside with their unique personality and develop their individuality freely.
At the same time, due to its “inward” feature and emphasis only on spiritual individuality, Zhuangzian individualism does not cause any major collision with Confucianism, despite its disagreement with Confucianism in many aspects. It provides an alternative value choice for those who want to temporarily or permanently withdraw from the engagement required by common cultural custom or established social standards, thus to protect their individuality. Therefore, it has been an important and indispensable complement of the mainstream cultural tradition represented by Confucianism, which comparatively put more emphasis on the collectivity of family, group, state, and nation, and the value of the social order and political authority.
Furthermore, Zhuangzian individualism also provides an alternative angle for us to understand human beings as individuals different from the Western metaphysical perspective: individual persons are not like fixed, interchangeable, and forever “indivisible” physical “atoms,” individuals exists only temporarily in times, and one individual is not interchangeable with other individuals, because they are all different and unique; but it is changeable during the time of his or her existence, because the ultimate Dao is just the spontaneous change of everything. It is just this changeability that makes an individual really a free human being.
Acknowledgement
The author wishes to thank two anonymous peer reviewers for their comments and revision suggestions on an earlier version of this paper
From: A Different Type of Individualism in Zhuangzi by XU Keqian 徐克謙

As discussed previously, in Zhuangzi we can find some core values of individualism, and it is not inappropriate to call it Zhuangzian individualism. However, just like all varieties of “individualism” which appear in different times and places, each with its own connotations and characteristics, due to its particular social-cultural and philosophical background as mentioned above, the Zhuangzian individualism also has its own special characteristics, which make it a unique pattern of individualism and distinguishable from some of its Western counterparts.
First, Zhuangzi does not understand “individual” in a Western metaphysical way; in other words, he does not think “individual” as an abstract and permanent “Being,” like an individual “atom.” This makes it different from atomistic or abstract individualism, such as that of Thomas Hobbes. According to Chad Hansen, individuals in the Western conceptual structure are “fixed, interchangeable units” (Hansen 1985: 36). However, for Zhuangzi, individuals are neither “fixed” nor “interchangeable.” Zhuangzi has a dynamic view on individuals. Individuals do exist, but they may change their features and property during their time of existing, so an individual human being is not something similar to a “fixed” atom, nor a constant “matter-in-motion.” In Chapters 25 and 27 of the Zhuangzi, two paragraphs describe QU Boyu and Confucius respectively: as “growing up to his sixty years old, he has changed sixty times. There was nothing what he called right in the beginning had not been rejected as wrong by himself in the end. We do not know whether what he called right today was just what he considered as wrong when he was 59 years old” (Zhuangzi 25: 51–52; 27: 10–11). So QU Boyu and Confucius, as individuals, change during their lives in both body and mind; they are dynamic and living beings, rather than “fixed” atoms.
While individuals are changeable, they are not interchangeable, because every individual is unique and different. In his discussion of the ethics of difference in the Zhuangzi, HUANG Yong has keenly perceived that Zhuangzi “pays attention to the differences among human beings in terms of their ideas and ideals, desires and preferences, and habits and customs, etc” (Huang 2010a: 71), and “The central idea of Zhuangzi’s ethics of difference is to respect the unique natural tendencies of different things” (Huang 2010b: 131062). A resumption of this kind of ethics of difference is that every individual is unique and different. Therefore, human individuals are not “fixed unites” that are “interchangeable” in a social mechanism. They may not function in the same way and play the same role under the same situation, as indicated in Zhuangzi’s allegories:
[A big house beam may be used to breach a city wall, but it cannot be used to plug a small hole, which is to say the implements are different. A swift horse may gallop thousand miles a day, but for catching rats it is not as good as a weasel, which is to say their skills are different. An owl can catch fleas and discern the tip of a hair at night, but in the daytime with its eyes open it can’t even see the mountains, which is to say that natures are different. (Zhuangzi, 17:35–37)]
Therefore, no unified principles or norms can be applied to all of them without discrimination, as indicated in Zhuangzi: “Although the legs of a duck are too short, if we try to extend them the duck will be scared and worry. Although the legs of a crane are too long, if we try to cut them short the crane will be in horror and sadness” (Zhuangzi 8:9–10). These allegories in the Zhuangzi, as HUANG Yong pointed out, metaphorically tell us how human beings should act with each other (Huang 2010b: 1057) and be aware of the different needs, desires, and preferences of individuals. Actually, if individuals are treated as only interchangeable atoms, or just as “matter-in-motion,” it will unavoidably lead to certain general assertions on them, as well as some common principles or norms to regulate them. In terms of social politics, that will be social laws, regulations, and moral standards. This is a trend that Zhuangzi opposes. In other words, in the Zhuangzi, individuals are treated more particularly and respectively than in other theories of individualism in which individuals are understood as fixed, abstract, and interchangeable “atoms.”
Second, Zhuangzi thinks that the only thing that an individual mind or the “self” has to conform to is the unlimited and indefinable Dao. This actually has the significance of releasing the individual mind into a totally free and unconstrained realm of nothingness or emptiness, thus endorsing an infinite openness to any possible development of all individuals. Erica Brindley points out that Zhuangzi advocates conformism to the Dao: “individual relationship to the Dao is characterized not by dependence on political institutions or the central figure of the sovereign, but by direct, individual access to it through one’s own person” (Brindley 2010: 55). At first look, this is quite similar to Western religious individualism, which claims that the individual’s relation to God is direct and unmediated, and an individual builds his or her own relationship with God by self-scrutiny without any intermediaries such as a church or a sect. However, Dao is not the God. The essence of Dao is only everything’s “zi ran” or spontaneousness. The spontaneity of everything works automatically and perfectly, which is Dao. Dao does not have any will or intention, as God does. There is no clear definition of Dao in the Zhuangzi, except some descriptions of its nothingness, emptiness, infiniteness, and doing nothing: “The Dao has no boundaries” (Zhuangzi 2: 55); “The great Dao cannot be named” (Zhuangzi 2: 59); “It has no action or forms” (Zhuangzi 6: 29). As Brindley has also correctly observed, Dao is not a concrete, bounded entity; it is unbounded nothingness (Brindley 2010: 58). Therefore, individuals’ conforming to Dao or being together with Dao amounts to being in a realm of the boundless and limitless nothingness, or, using Zhuangzi’s words, wandering in a “wu he you zhi xiang 無何有之鄉” or “the country of nothingness” (Zhuangzi 1: 46; 7: 9–10; 32: 21). In this “country of nothingness,” everything moves and changes spontaneously along with the cosmos, which is Dao. Therefore, conforming to Dao does not mean conforming to an outside authority; it means to let the individual mind wander in an infinite realm and become what CHEN Guying has emphasized, the “open mind” (Chen 2009). Individuals in this realm are totally free and open, much freer than when bound with each other by common moralities or social contracts. It is just like the fish that, having once run aground, helped each other with their saliva and slime to survive; but it would be much better to let them return to their mutually disinterested original situation: “forget with each other in the rivers and lakes” (Zhuangzi 6: 22–23). It is because it conforms to Dao rather than to God or any other religious divinity that Zhuangzian individualism is not likely to be carried to the extreme and become absolutely egocentric and intolerant to others, like the Calvinists have demonstrated (Lukes 1973: 84), since conforming to Dao only means unlimited freedom and unbounded openness to the spontaneousness of every individual and unique thing.
Furthermore, since there is no need for a persistent or stubborn attitude toward anything when the individual spirit is conforming to the free, open, and dynamic Dao, one will also keep an open, free, and flexible attitude toward one’s own “completed mind” (chen xin 成心) or already constructed “self.” This is what happened in the process of “fasting of the mind” and “sitting and forgetting,” in two episodes in Chapters 4 and 6, when YAN Hui, Confucius’s favorite disciple, practiced a kind of self meditation under the instruction of his Master and finally reached the advanced stage of forgetting his body and mind (Zhuangzi 4: 24–34; 6: 89–93). Nevertheless, the so called “forgetting one’s self”—for instance, at the beginning of Chapter 2, when NANGUO Ziqi says to YANCHENG Ziyou: “Now I have lost myself” (Zhuangzi 2: 3)—does not mean that the individual “self” has totally dissolved or disappeared, physically or mentally. Just as some scholars have correctly analyzed (Chen 2001; Yang 2005), there are two different “selves” in the sentence “Now I have lost myself.” The first is the original and innate self, which is as free, open, and spontaneous as the Dao itself; the other is the socially constructed self, which is fixed, closed, and constrained by his or her worldly existence. What should be forgotten and lost is the latter, not the former. Otherwise, we would not be able to understand why in other places Zhuangzi mocks and denounces those worldly people for “having lost their selves in materials” (Zhuangzi 16: 21), and “conducting for fame but having lost self” (Zhuangzi 6: 12). In general, when Zhuangzi urges an individual to conform to Dao, he actually has released the individual mind into a boundless free realm, where it will no longer be constrained by even its own socially constructed “self,” let alone any other political, social, and cultural control and restrictions.
Third, Zhuangzi’s individualism is a kind of “inward individualism” rather than “outward individualism.” By “inward individualism,” I mean that Zhuangzi advocates and pursues individuality by exploring the innate and intrinsic self of individuals, rather than claiming and expanding outside interests and rights for individuals. This feature is partly due to the autarkical small-scale farming economy of his time, as I have mentioned previously, and it also makes the Zhuangzian individualism different from the economic and social-political individualism in modern Western culture, which makes great effort to draw a clear boundary of individuals’ ownership, encourages individuals to actively assert, pursue, and protect the interests and benefits supposed to belong to them from outside, and aggressively compete for individual success and achievement in social reality. Zhuangzi, in contrast, cares much more about an individual’s own body and spiritual freedom, rather than the individual’s material interests, economic benefits, and political rights in the outside social reality. As Judith Berling has pointed out, Zhuangzi’s “position is call not for the rights of the individual, but for a shift of attention from social and political issues to another dimension of life” (Berling 1985: 101).
In terms of economy, Zhuangzi’s individualism advocates a care-less attitude toward any material gains and profits. This is contrary to some Western economic individualists, such as John Locke and Adam Smith, who emphasize individual ownership of property and material goods. Zhuangzi thinks that in order to preserve and nourish real individual life, one should neglect material interests, as he states in Chapter 28: “he who nourishes his bodily form forgets about gain of interests” (Zhuangzi 28: 51); and “he who regards life as important will look upon material interests as insignificant” (Zhuangzi 28: 56–57). He thinks that only when you are indifferent to those outside gains and profits will you be able to preserve your true independence, as all those material goods and outside benefits are just burdens for spiritual freedom. One should not use oneself as a tool in order to gain those things. This also makes Zhuangzi’s individualism different from that of utilitarianism, represented by Western philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, who take a calculating attitude toward gain and loss of interests and benefits.
In politics, in contrast to the modern Western individualism in the context of political democracy, which emphasizes the individual’s participation in politics and engagement in public affairs, Zhuangzi thinks that individuals should detach themselves from political institutions and public affairs. Many of his stories dissuade people from involvement in politics. Zhuangzi himself, as well as many other Daoist masters, is only interested in the issue of how to manage his own body (zhi shen 治身) and pursue longevity of individual life, rather than the issue of how to manage the state (zhi guo 治國) and society. As recorded in Chapter 11, when the Yellow Emperor came to consult Master Guang Cheng about the Way of governing the world, Master Guang Cheng was not interested and did not teach him anything. But after the Yellow Emperor gave up his throne and came back again to consult him about the “Way of governing body,” Master Guang Cheng sat up with a start and talked with him about how to protect the individual spirit and body and enjoy long life, with the essential of “being cautious of what is within you; blocking off what is outside you” (Zhuangzi 11: 28–44). Obviously, Master GUANG Cheng’s way of governing the body is to cut off as much as possible the links between the self and society, withdrawing to one’s own self consciousness. Most of the men Zhuangzi admired were those who “lofty in principle and meticulous in conduct, delighting in their own will alone without serving in public affairs” (Zhuangzi 28: 86–87). They considered their own body much “heavier” than the state and society, and did not want to consent to the existing political authority or take political responsibility or social obligation.
As a result, Zhuangzian individualism does not encourage social-economic contention or competition. This is quite different from certain versions of modern Western individualism, which take social Darwinism as their proposition, based on the belief that if everyone contends in pursuing gain and interests for themselves, the well-being of a society will improve in general, thus justifying ruthless rivalry among individuals in business and politics (Lukes 1973: 39). Here also lies a fundamental difference between Zhuangzi and Nietzsche, despite their similarities in other aspects. Nietzsche’s “will to power” theory encourages individuals to contend and even justifies the stronger conquering the weaker. His individualism is quite outwardly expanding and aggressive, while in a general Daoist view, fighting, rivalry, and contention are all of negative significance. From the angle of state politics, the Daoist doctrine of “wu wei 無為” (doing-nothing, inactivity) means no intervention and letting people take their own course, which has a similar connotation to “laissez-faire.” But from the angle of individual personality, “wu wei” also means “bu zheng 不爭” (no rivalry, no contention), a personal merit of no contending, no rivalry with others. There is no incentive element in Zhuangzi’s thought to encourage individuals to contend for outside success and achievement. His individualism is defensive rather than aggressive, inward rather than outward. Therefore, it should be exempt from the common socialist criticism of certain Western individualism, “as arming one human being against another, making the good of each depend upon evil to others, making all who have anything to gain or lose, live in the midst of enemies” (Mill 1967: 444).
5 Conclusion
We have found some values in the Zhuangzi, which can be reasonably regarded as belonging to individualism. It is Daoist individualism. The unique Daoist individualism represented in the Zhuangzi has a profound and deep influence on the later development of Chinese culture. However, due to its special characteristics discussed above, it has not become a fundamental resource for thinking about social, political, or economic revolution, as some versions of modern Western individualism functioned in the West. Nor has it played any role in constructing social, political, and economic institutions based on civil rights and interests and the contracts among individuals or between individuals and institutions.
Nevertheless, Zhuangzian individualism does provide an ideological resource for those who want to take a disobedient attitude toward political authorities, criticize autocracy and absolutism, keep their own mind in a free realm, and protect their independent personality. This is especially obvious in the thoughts and behaviors of some literati and intellectuals. Almost all the extraordinary, unusual, and eccentric figures in the history of Chinese literature and culture, such as TAO Yuanming, JI Kan, RUAN Ji, LI Po, SU Dongpo, and GONG Zizhen, among many others, are influenced by Zhuangzi and his thought. They find a cultural and spiritual space in Zhuangzian individualism, where they can reside with their unique personality and develop their individuality freely.
At the same time, due to its “inward” feature and emphasis only on spiritual individuality, Zhuangzian individualism does not cause any major collision with Confucianism, despite its disagreement with Confucianism in many aspects. It provides an alternative value choice for those who want to temporarily or permanently withdraw from the engagement required by common cultural custom or established social standards, thus to protect their individuality. Therefore, it has been an important and indispensable complement of the mainstream cultural tradition represented by Confucianism, which comparatively put more emphasis on the collectivity of family, group, state, and nation, and the value of the social order and political authority.
Furthermore, Zhuangzian individualism also provides an alternative angle for us to understand human beings as individuals different from the Western metaphysical perspective: individual persons are not like fixed, interchangeable, and forever “indivisible” physical “atoms,” individuals exists only temporarily in times, and one individual is not interchangeable with other individuals, because they are all different and unique; but it is changeable during the time of his or her existence, because the ultimate Dao is just the spontaneous change of everything. It is just this changeability that makes an individual really a free human being.
Acknowledgement
The author wishes to thank two anonymous peer reviewers for their comments and revision suggestions on an earlier version of this paper
From: A Different Type of Individualism in Zhuangzi by XU Keqian 徐克謙

This is a transcription of this post by armadillo
Subject: Fire Company Report These are notes from weekend of 3/19/05 and 3/20/05
WEEKEND OF MARCH 19TH AND 20TH, 2005
Fred, Suki, and Patti went to VT and NH and stayed at Wells River Motel
They went to the Woodsville Fire Station, Route 10 on Saturday (all call fire department) and spoke with the Fire Chief B Kennedy and his wife, Abby who is a dispatcher there. They were given a paper (call log with incident date, dispatch time, return time) with all the names of those at Maura's accident site including their signatures. Nine call firemen went in truck. They happened to be having a meeting/function at the fire house when the call came in. Heater Boy wonders how they all fit in truck.
The names of the nine firemen that wen to Maura's accident were Chief B Kennedy (...) A Kennedy, his wife and dispatcher, A. Wright, J. Robbins, M. Locke, K VanNorden, B Williams, W Mitchell, one with first name Zack, last name looks like Brinken or Brinker. E1 is the truck they rode in.
Along with the Fire Department, 2 EMTs and Sgt. C Smith were there. Patti and Suki think not much said about NHSP Trooper Monahan but heard his name. Woodsville Fire go in truck and appear to have department vehicles. Bath, NH on the other hand take their own cars.
Patti asked if the rag int he tailpipe was clean - yes. The Chief and everybody saw and were suspicious of the rag in tailpipe. C Smith told them that MA people do that ??? The Chief thought ... where did he come up with that??
The Chief said the car was not in a ditch but on the side of the road with so little damage to the car. He didn't understand why she couldn't drive off in it unless it just wouldn't start. Chief's wife Abby mentioned seeing footprints walking around the car. Patti thought around the car as if to look in. Abby said she was looking in the car window (Patti thinks passenger side) with a flashlight and in front seat could see Fred's name on a package of developed film; in the back of car she could see books and a bag. SHOULD ASK HER IF SHE SAW ALCOHOL IN OR OUTSIDE VEHICLE.
C Smith told them to get away from the car.
C Smith told them she probably went to a friend's house at mountain lake.
They did search "really sad" (?) Fire Co walked as far as Bradley Hill Road and saw no footprints. Patti doesn't know about other way. Searched around the area and found nothing. They thought the accident was strange right from the beginning and thought it very odd that nobody was there (neighbors, etc.).
When Fire Co. got to scene C Smith was there but they said that EMS might've got there first.
Fire Co. didn't see anyone walking but Abby said, I probably shouldn't tell you this but a person was seen walking there and both Suki and Patti thought she said by Eddie's Place but Fire thought she said Wini's place. THIS SHOULD BE CLARIFIED.
Heater Boy says Smith is about 40ish and that he is an arrogant guy.
Both Suki and Patti think the Chief and Abby are sincere and think this was not handled properly. Fred made a remark about police not talking and Chief said he doesn't understand it. The chief gave Fred his card in case he has any more questions.
They seem suspicious of Butch and don't know about him, strange character. They said why did Butch not come back out and why wasn't anyone out - strange that people didn't stay with her.
Cecil Smith may've left when Fire Co. there not sure.
Chief and/or wife said, how do you know someone didn't push her.
Car was very easy to get on the flatbed because it was just parked on the side of the road.
Suki said they saw footprints around car at her door like someone locked the door.
Suki also remembered Faith Westman in their phone conservation a while back saying that the car looked like it was just parked on the side of the road. Suki thought Faith thought it odd. Faith also denied to Suki ever saying there was a man with a cigarette in the car. In the Sheriff's report is says she did and also says she said the car was in a ditch.

Today thanks to a tip from Faraday_Rage, I bring you a ghost story from West Lake Hills, although saying that might be a bit misleading because West Lake Hills is a mid-20th century invention and the events of this story happen mostly before that. There used to be a village called Eanes in that general area full of farmers, ranchers, and cedar choppers before it was subdivided into one of the nicer suburbs.
There was only one bridge for vehicle traffic (besides the train bridge) from Downtown into South Austin before the 1940s. Because of this, the western part of Travis County was separated from the growth of Austin and the eastern part of the county, and remained sort of a wild frontier well after the surrounding lands were settled.
Among the early settlers in that area were two brothers named Alexander and Robert Eanes. There is a historical marker at the intersection of Red Bud Trail and Loop 360 which says the following:

Alexander Eanes (1806-1888) moved to Texas from Mississippi in 1845 and acquired this ranch by 1857. In 1873 he sold the property to his brother, Robert Eanes (1805-1895), who had moved to the area following the Civil War. A log cabin built on the Eanes ranch was the first Eanes school, and the community also assumed the Eanes name. Robert Eanes sold the ranch to his son-in-law, Hudson Boatner Marshall (1862-1951) in 1883. Marshall dismantled the ranch house and moved it to a site adjacent to the nearby creek.

So there was a man named H.B. Marshall who lived on the former Eanes Ranch with his wife Viola (Robert Eanes's daughter) and family.
H.B. Marshall was a Civil War orphan. His mom died shortly after childbirth and his dad died as part of Hood's Brigade. He spent his early life in Austin-area orphanages until he graduated high school at the age of 19. That was when the doctors of the era diagnosed him with "consumption", otherwise known as Tuberculosis today. There was no cure in the 19th century. Afflicted people were told to go live in the country and get some fresh air, and that's exactly what he did.
Lucky for him, HB's dad well fairly well off when he died and left him an inheritance. After he left the orphanage he used this money to buy the ranch from the Eanes family, met and married Viola Eanes, and started a family. Legends say a Mexican folk healer convinced him eating goat meat and drinking goat's milk was an excellent remedy for consumption, and so he raised goats.
The book Eanes Portrait of a Community has this photo of H.B. and Viola and their dog, along a brief biographical bit:

H.B. and Viola Marshall sold honey and butter and raised goats. At one time H.B. was president of the American Goat Association and traveled to Chicago to attend that organization's national convention. There he met and talked with Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. In its early days the Ford Motor Company used mohair from goats to make a soft, long-lasting fabric which was used to upholster the seats in its "tin lizzies". H.B. Marshall was one of the company's first mohair suppliers. Later, after Bee Cave Road became a better, more reliable road, Marshall, who was a skilled printer sometimes worked in Austin at that trade.

So HB Marshall and his family were very good at raising goats.
The Marshall Family were also beekeepers. HB liked to be called "Honey Bee" Marshall later in life. He lived the rest of his life on that ranch and died in the 1950s.
Now that you have that little bit of backstory, on with today's tale. The following article appeared on page 21 the Austin American-Statesman on May 16, 1966:

MYSTERY
Old Grave Beside Creek
The mystery of who is buried a shallow grave beside Smith Creek, seven miles southwest of Austin, may never be solved.
With it goes a tale of a robbery and killing said to have occurred more than 60 years ago on the Bee Cave Road.
But at least one story told by a man who died last year sticks in the minds of some residents of the hill country behind Zilker Park.
The man was long-time stock man and World War I veteran John Marshall, who lived out his life on the Eanes-Marshall Ranch seven miles southwest of Austin. His story told him as a child by his father, early Travis County settler and school teacher Hudson Boatner (Honey Bee) Marshall goes something like this:
In the late 19th century, a man from Bee Caves came to Austin with a wagon load of cotton. After selling it, he was returning home when his hired hand killed him and took the money. The slain man was not found for several days, and when he was, he was buried on the spot, several hundred feel off the road.
This is the way Cecil Johnson, of 1500 West Bee Caves remembers the story. He heard it in 1956 when he and his brother-in-law, Elmo Freitag, dug into the grave and found a skeleton. Freitag and Johnson went from where they live to buy a dog killed by a car on the Marshall ranch, Johnson said. "When we found the bones, we were pretty scared," Freitag said. "We went up to the ranch house to tell John Marshall about them." "That's when John told us the story," Johnson recalls. "He said we should cover the bones back up and let the old man rest."
The story was brought to the attention of the American- Statesman by Bruce Marshall of Houston, a nephew of John Marshall and an heir to 10 acres of the old ranch land. Others who lived along Bee Caves Road, or who knew John Marshall, recall hearing him tell the story, but no one contacted so far remembers hearing the story from anyone else.
Sheriff T. O. Lang said he has no records dating back that far, Marshall was born around 1887, and Johnson said the killing and robbery occurred "before John's time."
A check into the archives in the Austin Library's Austin and Travis County Collection reveals a similar crime which occurred in 1871. On Feb. 7 of that year, according to Frank Brown's Annals of Travis County, "an old citizen" named Charles Barnes, who "lived seven miles north of Austin," was killed and robbed after he had come to town and sold a wagon load of hay. He was shot and killed "probably for his money," and his body was found 30 yards from the road, three-fourths of a mile from his dwelling. A $1,000 reward was offered for the criminal, but he was never captured.
This "official" report is quite similar to the story told by John Marshall, but the directions from Austin do not coincide.
There are descendants or a family named Cotton who live in Bee Caves, according to Miss Jessie Roy, former teacher who lives on the Rob Roy Ranch on the Bee Caves Road two miles beyond the Marshall ranch. But she said she never heard of any of them being robbed or killed. Her family moved here in the 1890s.
Conceivably, with the tale handed down by word of mouth for three generations, the name Cotton, and the product "cotton" could have gotten confused. And the Brown report, probably taken from a newspaper account, could have been mistaken about the direction (north or west) from Austin where the crime was committed.
But if the wagon load was cotton instead of hay, the crime would have occurred most likely in October, according to Austin rancher and historian Carl Widen. Widen said in the old days Austin, it usually came from the south and west, from Dripping Springs and Bee Caves, in October, "in time for the circus." "The whole family would come to town with the load of cotton usually one or two bales to a wagon and after it was sold the women bought cloth for dresses and the kids went to see the circus. Then they got back home late that night.
Another hill resident, Charles Roberts, 80, who lives on a creek near the Rob Roy ranch, said he remembered people hauling cotton in trains of three or four wagons pulled by oxen, rather than by horses or mules. And Austin resident Charles Dellana said it used to take at least four mules to pull a wagon load of corn out of the bottoms or "The Narrows" between Bee Caves Road and the Colorado River. He opined that the murder and robbery must have occurred "earlier than 1903."
Besides the Cotton family out Bee Caves way, other family names familiar to those still living are Theodore Bose, Joe Beck, the Freitags, the Teagues, the Simpsons and the Moores. But who is buried beside Smith Creek on the Marshall ranch, how he died, and when he was buried, no one seems to remember.

Well this old story was apparently told far and wide. There was another article on that same day (May 16, 1966) in The Statesman: (h/t/ jbjjbjbb)

Ghost Hunters Have a Go at Ghosting
San Antonians Learn of Murder and Such Things on Austin Ranch
Ghosts, anyone? A strange tale of murder and theft was spottily told Saturday night by a "spirit" who was supposedly in communication with a group of ghost- hunters seven miles southwest of Austin. The ghost hunters, five people from San Antonio, gath ered on the old Marshall Ranch in West Lake Hills with two news reporters. They apparently believed they were communicating with a ghost named Tom Burns.
"Margaret, Margaret, Margaret," the ghost kept repeating through the automatic-writing technique of Mrs. Joan McKee, wife of Don McKee. McKee is manager of the Builders Exchange of Texas, in San Antonio. He and his wife say they are "student" parapsychologists. Spelling out the name of Margaret Owens, Tom Burns said, "She is dead now. She is my love."
The names of Margaret Owens and Tom Burns were interpreted by the McKees from an almost indecipherable scrawl which Mrs. McKee transmitted to sheet after sheet of paper with a pencil, while her husband held her elbow. They were seated at a table in the single upper room of the old Marshall ranch house. With them were this reporter, ranch owner and Houston Post business writer Bruce Marshall, and San Antonio residents Mr. and Mrs. Frank Gibson, Mr. and Mrs. John Mac-Donald, and Mrs. Mary K. Cook. The only light in the room came from a lantern.
"Burns" said Margaret "Owens" was buried on a mountain top east of the ranch, and had been killed in or near some water. Burns also said he had been killed by three men on a road near the ranch as he was hauling a wagon load of hay. Placing the date at 1904, possibly on a Monday, he said he was shot as he got down off the wagon to move a rock that was in the way.
Although at least two other spirits were supposedly contacted beyond the pale, that of Burns appeared to be the most communicative and the most interesting. It was either Burns, or a ghost named Nathan Anderson who spoke of a John Anderson who came "often" to the ranch to drink "rum from South America" with Robert Eanes.
Eanes, according to Marshall, was the first man in the family to own the ranch property. He died in the 19th century and is buried in a family plot on a hill near the ranch house. Marshall said later there had been a man named John Anderson who was a friend of the Eanes family. Marshall and this reporter have established, from local folklore and from written records, that a man, possibly named Charles Barnes, was killed seven miles from Austin around 1871, after selling a load of ether cotton or hay in town.
There is a grave of an unknown man beside Smith Creek on the Marshal ranch, not far off the Bee Caves Road, which is seven miles from Austin. Neither Marshall nor this reporter have verified that the grave on Smith Creek is the one in which the robbery victim was buried, but the coincidences of the known facts leaves room for speculation that it may be the one.
Burns said he had worked for a man named Cotton Roberts, and that Roberts had worked for a man possibly named Mitchell Treadwell. The name of Treadwell first came to the attention of the group when MacDonald, a former announcer for KONO-TV, fell into a trance through what was called auto-hypnosis. He said he got the name from a ghost present in the room, and that he also received "an impression" of the dates 1890 to 1901. Marshall later disclosed that the old ranch house had been built sometime between 1890 and 1905.
The name "Mitchell" was written on the paper when one of the persons asked aloud, "Does the name Treadwell mean anything to you?" Burns also spoke of his mother, naming her variously Mary Markham, Marstur, Masters and Markem, who he said had been sick in a barn and subsequently died.
Mention was made of a bearded man who wore a big hat and was deaf in one ear, of a box buried beneath a barn, and of wild mohair goats. Marshall said the last man to live on the ranch, his late uncle John Marshall, found a hole on the ranch about 30 years ago where a box apparently had been buried. This was when Miriam A. Ferguson was governor of Texas, he said.
He also said a bearded deaf man had once been a ranch hand there and that John Marshall's father, H. B. Marshall, had raised Angora goats on the ranch. Burns said Roberts had buried the box, and he (Burns) had dug it up. "Money means death," came the scrawled message on the paper.
Two of the most dramatic events of the evening occurred when the McKees tried to communicate with a ghost named "Robert" Both of them believed the ghost to be that of Robert Eanes, whom they described as having a very powerful, domineering personality. Mrs. McKee broke down and could write no more after transcribing the words, "My time is up now. Many have come but nobody will listen." Later McKee tried to communicate, and apparently went into a trance after receiving the word "yes" to the question of whether "Robert" had been born in July.
Just before McKee went into a trance, Marshall and this reporter were curious to notice that a strong wind the only one noticed during the entire night rattled the eaves of the house for about a minute.
The time was shortly after midnight Mrs. Cook, who writes radio and TV commercials, took down the following from McKee's barely audible words: "I have many children. I am as Abraham I shan't stay around where my people don't want me. It is dark. Darkness is in the land. We shall bring light."
Further efforts to communicate with "Robert" failed. After this incident, the "ghosts" seemed to leave the parapsychologists and their fellow delvers into ESP (extra-sensory perception).
A long vigil at the family cemetery until almost dawn proved fruitless. Gibson, sales manager for Pratt and Lambert varnish makers, whose supposedly "haunted" house in San Antonio was the subject of a Houston Post story several months ago, conceded with high good humor that he had seen no ghosts Saturday night "But Robert was around," he affirmed confidently.
Marshall and this reporter scratched their heads, totaling up the number of "unexplainable coincidences" which made the night at least a little provocative if not downright exciting. It would take a patient historian to check the names listed. As for the "ghosts" well, who knows?

H.B. Marshall had a son named John and he in turn had a son named Bruce. Bruce Marshall was an artist who spent most of his time in Houston but moved back to the family ranch in 1974. Marshall recounted the story of the 1966 ghost hunt in this 1983 article:

THE SEARCH FOR ghosts is not uncommon with visitors to the Marshall Ranch off Loop 360 South. It is the home of artist Bruce Marshall and his family and nine ghosts, those of seven people and two horses.
Marshall studio and gallery is a restored, pre-Civil War ancestral home located next to the family residence. Parapsychologists visited the building in 1966 and declared it to be haunted by a man who was attacked, shot and killed near the original entrance of the ranch. The ghost of the dead man, whose unmarked grave is still on the ranch, reportedly told the ghosts hunters about his fate. The ghost also admitted that he had committed murder, killing a woman named Margaret by drowning her.
There are two creeks near the ranchhouse that are the source of several other ghost stories.
"SUPPOSEDLY ONE GHOST walks the creek towards Eanes (Elementary) school calling for someone," said Marshall. "There were some kids camping near the creek about six months ago, they heard dogs barking and the noise of a wagon drawn by horses. The wagon has no driver and follows an old road which used to connect to Bee Cave Road."
Marshall said his family tries to play down the ghosts tales surrounding his homestead. "If we really become convinced that we're haunted, we really lose our enjoyment of the place. People seeking ghosts out here are very unwelcome," he said. "If there are such things, they don't bother me. They like me. They probably feel that if I go, the house goes, the property changes, and they're evicted.

In 1999 Marshall sold the house and the ranch to The Eanes Historical Society, who moved it next to the current location of Eanes Elementary School, where it has become the home of the EHS and serves as a small museum today.
So who is in the mystery grave at Smith Creek? I found one lead.
Back in February of 1916 a 20-year-old man named Albert Cook had an unfortunate accident and was killed. The Statesman reported it like so:

While setting a wolf trap on the Marshall goat ranch, eight miles from Austin, Alfred Lee Cook, 20 years old, accidentally shot and killed himself at 8:30 Friday morning, a charge of buck-shot from the left barrel of a double-barrelled shotgun entering his abdomen.
Cook was a laborer on the Marshall ranch, near Summitt. Early Friday morning he attempted to set a steel trap for wolves. He was carrying a shotgun and was accompanied by two small boys.
Setting his shotgun, both barrels of which were loaded, against a bush, he advanced to the trap. The gun fell across his path and he shoved it aside. As he did so, in some way the left barrel of the gun was discharged, the entire charge taking effect in his abdomen at short range and badly lacerating his body. Death was almost Instantaneous.
Justice of the Peace George W. Mendell, Deputy Sheriff Jim McCoy and Deputy Constable Matt Turner went to Summitt this morning for the Inquest. Justlce Mendell rendered a verdict of accidental shooting. The name of one surviving relative was reported to the Justice of the Peace, being Mrs. Rebecca Ann Brown, mother of the young man

Is this the person in the grave? I can't say for sure without DNA testing, but poor Mr. Cook might be the best candidate.
Time is short and space is long today so I'll leave it there. The Eanes-Marshall house today is called the Eanes History Center, and sits next to Eanes Elementary School at 4101 Bee Caves Rd. Bonus Items to follow:
Bonus Pic #1 - Photograph of Bruce Marshall standing next to the graves of his ancestors in Eanes-Marshall Cemetery - unknown date (mid 1970s?)
Bonus Pic #2 - "Photograph of Bruce Marshall and Dorothy Depwe in the Eanes-Marshall Cemetary looking down at a tombstone." - unknown date (mid 1970s?)
Bonus Video #1 - Eanes History: HB Marshall (from Eanes History Center)
Bonus Video #2 - Eanes History: HB Marshall Ranch House Tour (from Eanes History Center)
Bonus Article #1 - Masons BBQ meet at The Marshall Ranch - November 17, 1919
Bonus Article #2 - "Better watch out! Spirits on the prowl!" - May 14, 1966
Bonus book excerpt? - Notes from an interview with Earl Short (a reformed bootlegger), in which he mentions he saw H.B. and John Marshall setting up a soda stand one Election Day after he bribed some illiterate people for their votes.

It started with body sensations as usual with shrooms for me. I peaked after 45 minutes and it went for almost 3 hours. I also had some puffs of a THC cartige here and there. I was kayaking In a lake between 2 mountains and I couldn't go back to the group for obvious reasons. At one point I felt something so insane that I'll try my best to explain. I felt the pressure of the wind itself. I felt the wind not with my skin. I felt as if I was a single point of energy observing this beautiful perfectly structured environment that's the earth. I couldn't feel the water going under me or I was sitting on a boat. I was just simply levitating with a gaze of deep understanding about the nature of reality. And then came the ancient DLC pack of the environment around me. I saw bones and skulls (i knew they were not real) whilst having the most Natural reaction to them. It did not scare me at all. Then i saw white and yellow paint on the rocks, like ancient decorations. Everything had a very festive vibe. Then i saw all kind of faces in those rocks on the mountains. These faces signified wisdom, secret knowledge of the universe and most importantly. They were all taking it easy. Almost goofy creatures. It was all but a playground for them. And I was one of them. My reality became a nature deluxe edition video game. everything was bright, light, flowing, exciting. Exciting In a way that nothing major was happening. And the sounds... Birds were chirping In absolute Harmony. The sounds of the water hitting the rocky shores were like perfectly structured symphonies. Everything was perfect. I kept saying to myself that that's all the mental stimulation a human needs. This was 25% of what I could explain. and this is first time i feel like a trip actually changed me and made me generally happier and more appreciate towards the world

[SOLVED] It was a mod called "Psyker Powers 2.0". I don't know if this was due to some sort of interaction/conflict with another, all I know is that after hours of trial and error - disabling this fixed this issue immediately.
I've posted on the fo4 mods sub but no luck so far, hoping maybe one of you might be able to help.
I've spent last hour disabling loads of sets of mods (I can't disable all of them, instant CTD when opening F4) and loading and still the same bug. Dropping a gun, drops it, and then instantly readds another copy of it (sometimes a variation of the gun). Even removing the items via console commands doesn't remove them. It's ONLY weapons/throwables in the weapons tab that do this, every other tab works as normal.
I'm hoping someone recognizes the bug and saves me so much more troubleshooting... (THANK YOU)
Here's my mods (there's a lot..):
Automatically generated by Vortex
*StartMeUp.esp
*StartMeUpNukaWorldPatch.esp
*StartMeUpShaunDefaultAppearance.esp
*Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch.esp
*ArmorKeywords.esm
*HUDFramework.esm
*WorkshopFramework.esm
*MutantMenagerie.esm
*MutantMenagerie_FarHarbor.esm
*SouthOfTheSea.esm
*JonsMod.esm
*DCGuard_Overhaul.esp
*SS2.esm
*SS2_XPAC_Chapter2.esm
*BetterCoastalWaves.esl
*Munitions - An Ammo Expansion.esl
ResourcesExpanded.esm.ghost
BasicMining.esl.ghost
*TheFarmlands.esm
*InstituteTechnologyOverhaul.esm
*TheMarshland.esm
*TheMarshland-MutantMenageriePatch.esl
*FrozenValley.esm
CWPointLookoutFO4.esm.ghost
*TheWilderness.esm
*SomberMountain.esm
*TheForest.esm
*TheCemetery.esm
*ProjectZeta.esm
*Darlene.esm
*TheSewers.esm
*TheMoleratTunnels.esm
*ProjectMojave.esm
*BlairResidence.esl
*Geckos.esl
*TheHouseOnTheLake.esl
*Bighorner.esl
*Centaur.esl
*TacticalReload.esm
*ConcealedArmor.esm
*AutoAxe.esl
*M84FlashBang.esl
*ShieldFramework.esm
*Overlays.esm
*Homemaker.esm
*Munitions - Vanilla Ammo Addon.esl
*Gunners Overhaul 1.1.esm
*CUPAPP.esm
*EthreonMasterPlan.esm
*SettlementKeywords.esm
*GTFOB.esl
*ExtendedWeaponSystem.esm
*MutantMenagerie_NukaWorld.esm
*ShipmentsExpanded.esl
*TrueStormsFO4.esm
*Robot Home Defence.esm
*IllumBillboardsAIO.esl
*Gritty Subway Stations.esl
*SwimmingAnims.esl
*RunningWithHandsAnim.esl
CWPointLookoutFO4Patch.esl.ghost
Resources Expanded - Recipes.esl.ghost
*SavrenXPropsAndJunk.esp
*VIS-G Item Sorting.esp
*LOST - AWKCR VIS-G Items and Weight.esp
*A Forest.esp
*Another Pine Forest Mod.esp
*UltraInteriorLighting.esp
*Unique NPCs.esp
*Unique NPCs - Creatures and Monsters.esp
*BTB- Beyond the Borders FO4.esp
*Phase4DLC.esp
*Enclave Resurgent.esp
*AWHD4KFull.esp
*NorthlandDiggers-Greygarden1.1a.esp
*BTInteriors_Project.esp
*VanillaExtensions.esp
*A Sensible Prydwen Overhaul.esp
*GunnersOverhaul.esp
*SouthOfTheSea[Previs].esp
*subwayrunnnernodynamic.esp
*Ketaros_Treasures.esp
*Remove Interior Fog - All Dlc.esp
*MODaquatic.esp
BTInteriors_Project[Previs_AIO].esp.ghost
*F4CR.esp
*3dscopes.esp
*MoreUniques.esp
*Creative Perks (everything).esp
*More Power Armour Mods.esp
*Better Locational Damage.esp
*Better Locational Damage - DLC_Far_Harbor.esp
*BLD - Leveled Lists - DLC.esp
*LOST Bleachers 2 Patch.esp
*LOST Sim Settlements 2 Patch.esp
*UnlockedTrailersProject[UTP]v2.0.esp
*OutcastsAndRemnants.esp
*NEST_BUNKER_PROJECT.esp
*SS2Extended.esp
*FunctionalDisplays-Collectibles.esp
*FunctionalDisplays.esp
*FunctionalDisplays-MISC-VIS.esp
*MojaveImports.esp
*CombatZoneRestored.esp
ConcordEXPANDED.esp.ghost
BeantownConcordExpandedPatch.esp.ghost
*Depravity.esp
*Vault4.esp
*Stm_DiamondCityExpansion.esp
*The Train.esp
*sectorv.esp
*AGNISNikaCola01.esp
*PAC.esp
*LOST - AWKCR VIS-G Apparel Bipods.esp
*Unique NPCs - BLD.esp
*PsykerPowers.esp
*MsAbominations.esp
*BTBfixA.esp
*America Rising - A Tale of the Enclave.esp
*InstituteTechnologyOverhaul - FULL.esp
*Eli_Armour_Compendium.esp
*Armor_Mods_Expanded_More_Slots_v1b2.esp
*BTBfixB.esp
*FAR.esp
*FarHarborStory.esp
*AA FusionCityRising.esp
*AnyModAnyWeapon2.esp
RaiderOverhaul.esp.ghost
*Relic Space Marine.esp
*Crossbow.esp
*CF_AtomicWarlord.esp
*AnS Wearable Backpacks and Pouches.esp
*WIPAG_Power Armor Overhaul.esp
*WIPAG_Vanilla_AWKCR_PA_Addon.esp
*AnS Wearable Backpacks and Pouches - Power Armor Carry Capacity.esp
*AzarPonytailHairstyles.esp
*BetterSettlers.esp
*Consistent Power Armor Overhaul.esp
Fallout 4 Plus 1.1.esp.ghost
*SpringCleaningCompatibilityPatch.esp
*RRTV_HomesAndBunkers_Coastal.esp
*F4llout76 - Mutations.esp
*ProjectDementia.esp
*FlaconOil_BA2_Upto4K_Part1.esp
*CCOFO4 - Traits and More Perks.esp
*VIS UFO4P Patch Vanilla Weight.esp
*ValdacilsItemSorting - WastelandImports TAGS.esp
*autoweapons.esp
*Better Locational Damage - DLC_Automatron.esp
*W.A.T.Minutemen.esp
*SailboatAbode.esp
*CombinedArmsNV.esp
*CombinedArmsEXPack.esp
*CAPP.esp
*DrunkenGnomes_Gnomepocolypse.esp
*Wastelander's Cookbook.esp
*WastelandEnergyShields.esp
*Pip-Boy Flashlight.esp
*RaceCustomizer.esp
*PIP-Pad.esp
*LooksMenu Customization Compendium.esp
*SancBridgeRestore1.esp
*CarAddon4.esp
Leaders Of The Commonwealth.esp.ghost
*WorldCars4.esp
*APC_Mobile_Base_v1.3.esp
*Better Locational Damage - DLC_Nuka_World.esp
*LOST WATM Patch.esp
LOST Raider Overhaul Patch.esp.ghost
*Better Locational Damage - Valdacil's Item Sorting - Patch.esp
*Children of Ug Qualtoth.esp
*KellyManor.esp
MilitarizedMinutemen.esp.ghost
*UniqueUniques.esp
*dD-Enhanced Blood Basic.esp
*EnclaveFactionItems.esp
*SKS.esp
*NorthernSpringsLODPatch.esp
*HalfwayRockLighthouse.esp
*TheBackrooms-ThePoolrooms.esp
CSEPLoadedBases.esp.ghost
*GrognakQuest.esp
*LOST - AWKCR VIS-G Lite Tweaks.esp
*RansackedRelay.esp
*Rsiyo'sLocationPack.esp
*Dank_ECO.esp
*Brotherhood Power Armor Overhaul.esp
*Dank_ECO-INNR.esp
*PAMAP.esp
*More Power Armour Mods - Automatron.esp
*BeastWhisperer.esp
*ExoticWorkshopCreatures.esp
*BeastMaster_ExoticCreaturesPatch.esp
*ProjectValkyrie.esp
*MjolnirMKVB.esp
*FarHarborCars.esp
*InsideJobs.esp
*DeathclawVariety.esp
*MODGirlyAnimation.esp
*Liberator.esp
*bbprepatch.esp
*nvvault1080.esp
*MoreBobbleheads.esp
*BioshockInspiredPowerArmor.esp
*LoadedBasesFSDPatch.esp
*LimaOutpost.esp
*stumbleuponinteriors.esp
*Noble Team Companions.esp
*NoVanillaRadiantDLCLocations.esp
*FPVertibird.esp
*standaloneconstruct.esp
*T47R_PA.esp
*FO4TribalPowerArmor.esp
cambridgefacility.esp.ghost
*ellen.esp
*DWUK_LexingtonInteriors.esp
*FainthearthManor.esp
*FOLON-StandaloneReleaser.esp
Dreamspace - Old House.esp.ghost
*SS2WastelandVenturers.esp
*Miami Misadventures EP1.esp
*llamaCompanionHeatherv2.esp
*0_Vault120.esp
*ECV_Remnants.esp
*RU556.esp
*LOST RU556 Patch.esp
*RU556Armouryprojectv3.esp
*Galac-TactREDUX.esp
*BH_MCX_Spear.esp
*PKMnv.esp
*MWIIChimera.esp
*QBZ191.esp
*MWIIstango25.esp
*Escape from Boston - MSBS Grot B.esp
*SPR300.esp
*Winters_FJX-Imperium.esp
*Groza.esp
*MWIIGolf17.esp
*GalactSpas-12.esp
*MercsAndMusic.esp
*NukaWorldCars.esp
*FO4 NPCs Travel.esp
*CHAOTIC SUN.esp
*Moon Exploration.esp
*DeathRift.esp
*[SS2 Addon] SimSettlements SuperStructures.esp
*Driveable Motorcycle Mod.esp
*BTB - Worldspace Data Override.esp
*FCOM.esp
*InsideJobs_UFO4P.esp
*ECV_Remnants1.1.esp
*M9A3.esp
*M870.esp
*RemoteExplosives.esp
*ConceptCentaur.esp
*TacticalReloadDLC.esp
*LeverActionBCR.esp
*Binary Speech Checks V.4.esp
*SlowTime.esp
*Faster Terminal Displays (20x).esp
*Multiple Floors Sandboxing.esp
*EnclaveX02.esp
*LOST Enclave X02 Patch.esp
*More Power Armour Mods - X-02.esp
*Realistic Death Physics - ALL DLC.esp
EveryonesBestFriend.esp.ghost
*SurvivalOptions.esp
*DX_Rogue_Prototype.esp
*BoS Medic Battle Suit.esp
*ConcealedArmor.esp
*Ev_CPA10.esp
*EV_CPA10_LL.esp
*LegendaryModification.esp
*LegendaryModification2LM.esp
*HAAS Automatron AE 2LM Edition.esp
*HAAS Core AE 2LM Edition.esp
*HAAS Nuka World AE 2LM Edition.esp
*Mark V[B] Armory.esp
*Rakshasa Armory.esp
*Rakshasa Armory Camo.esp
*WES-VIS.esp
*QBZ191_TR_patch.esp
*BH_MCX_Spear_STS_Patch.esp
*[BFV]Kar98k.esp
*BH_MCX_Spear_LvlListPatch.esp
*FISTICHUCKS!.esp
*SPR300_TacticalReload.esp
*SPR300_LvlList.esp
*Better Locational Damage - DLC_WWorkshop.esp
*M9A3_LvlLists.esp
*M9A3_MunitionsPatchTR.esp
*rings1.02.esp
*BossChestsHaveLegendaries.esp
*CROSS_Blades.esp
*Explosives Expanded.esp
*Extended weapon mods.esp
*P90.esp
*P90NPC.esp
*FTS.esp
*CraftingLegendaryFix.esp
*Winters_FJX-Imperium_LL.esp
*Chainsaw.esp
*Chainsaw_LL.esp
*Pig1887Munitions.esp
*RealThrowingWeapons.esp
*Armament.esp
*SkibsWeapons-REDUX.esp
*EFB - MSBS Grot-B TR Patch.esp
*Vertidrones.esp
*LOST Church of Atom Patch.esp
*CF_AtomicWarlord_VIS.esp
*BLD_CoA_Patch.esp
*Better Chems - Valdacils Item Sorting.esp
*VIS - Skibs Weapons REDUX.esp
*Better Perks.esp
*NoCombatMusic.esp
*RaceCustomizer - LMCC Compatibility Patch.esp
*PIP-Pad_LMCC.esp
*PIP-Pad_Pip-BoyFlashlight.esp
*PIP-Pad_RaceCustomizer.esp
*AlexSleevePatcher.esp
*Scopes.esp
*LooksMenu.esp
LOST Beantown Interiors Patch.esp.ghost
*VIS - Beantown Interiors.esp
*VIS - Brotherhood Power Armor Overhaul V2.esp
*VIS - Brotherhood Power Armor Overhaul.esp
*VIS - CAPP Collectible.esp
*BobbleGirl.esp
*VaultGirl.esp
*Bauble_Bobble_1.02.esp
*ComicCollector.esp
*VIS - Comic Collector.esp
*VIS - DrunkenGnome.esp
Eli Armor Compendium AE VIS Patch.esp.ghost
*VIS - Eli's Armour Compendium.esp
*VIS - FN P90.esp
*VIS - Fusion City Rising.esp
*InsideJobs_VIS.esp
*VIS - Inside Job.esp
*LOST Unique NPCs Patch.esp
*Unique NPCs Essential Pack.esp
*ModdableRobotSettlers.esp
*VIS - Moddable Robot Settlers.esp
*LOST Outcasts and Remnants Patch.esp
*VIS - Outcasts and Remnants.esp
*RealComics.esp
*VIS - Real Comics.esp
*LOST Stumble Upon interiors Patch.esp
*VIS - Stumble Upon.esp
*LOST Backpacks and Pouches Patch.esp
*ValdacilsItemSorting - Wearable Backpacks and Pouches TAGS.esp
*VIS - Wearable Backpack Weave.esp
*VIS - Wearable Backpack and Pouches Power Armor.esp
*CL Patch - Depravity VIS-G.esp
*LOST America Rising Patch.esp
*ClassicBehemoth.esp
*LOST Behemoth Patch.esp
*LOST Blades Patch.esp
*LOST Centaur Patch.esp
*LOST Chainsaw Patch.esp
*LOST Unique Creatures Patch.esp
*D.E.C.A.Y.esp
*MK_ComponentsRedone.esp
*LOST Components Redone Patch.esp
*LOST Construction PA Patch.esp
*Creative Perks (Companion Perks).esp
*LOST Creative Companions Patch.esp
*LOST Creative Perks Patch.esp
*LOST Crossbow Patch.esp
*LOST DECAY Patch.esp
*LOST Darlene Patch.esp
*LOST Depravity Patch.esp
*LOST Diamond City Expansion Patch.esp
*LOST Eli Compendium Patch.esp
*LOST Ellen Patch.esp
*LOST Remote - Expanded Explosives Patch.esp
*LOST Explosives Expanded Patch.esp
*[ARRETH] FGEP.esp
*LOST FGEP Patch.esp
*[ARR] FallEvil - Palehead.esp
*LOST FallEvil Patch.esp
*LOST Fourville Patch.esp
*LOST Fusion City Rising Patch.esp
*LOST Galac-Tac Redux Patch.esp
*LOST Heather Patch.esp
*LOST Homemaker Patch.esp
*LOST Huntress Manor Patch.esp
*ImmersiveAnimationFramework.esp
*LOST IAF Patch.esp
*InstitutePowerArmor.esp
*LOST Institute PA Patch.esp
*LOST Kelly Manor Patch.esp
*LOST Lima Detachment Patch.esp
*LOST Machine and Her Patch.esp
*LOST Mjolnir Patch.esp
*LOST NPC Travel Patch.esp
*OWR.esp
*OWR2.esp
*LOST Old World Radio 2 Patch.esp
*LOST Old World Radio Patch.esp
*LOST Phase4 Patch.esp
*LOST Project Valkyrie Patch.esp
*LOST Quad-Barrel Patch.esp
*LOST Ransacked Relays Patch.esp
*LOST Real Throwing Weapons Patch.esp
*LOST Remote Explosives Patch.esp
*LOST SS2 Chapter 2 Patch.esp
*LOST SS2 Extended Patch.esp
*LOST SS2 Wasteland Venturers Patch.esp
*SalvageBeacons.esp
*LOST Salvage Becons Patch.esp
*LOST Sector Five Patch.esp
*LOST See Through Scopes Patch.esp
*LOST Tribal PA Patch.esp
*LOST True Storms Patch.esp
*LOST Ug Qualtoth Patch.esp
*LOST Vault 1080 Patch.esp
*SS2AOP_VaultTecTools.esp
*LOST Vault-Tec Tools SS2 Patch.esp
*LOST Workshop Framework Patch.esp
*Reverb and Ambiance Overhaul.esp
*AWCKR-P90.esp
*PowerLinePhysics.esp
*ImprovedNuke.esp
*AnS Wearable Backpacks and Pouches - Ballistic Weave.esp
*AnS Wearable Backpacks and Pouches - AWKCR.esp
*FPV_Armored.esp
*OWR2_CraftableDecor.esp
*OWR2_CraftableDecor_CW.esp
*OWR2_CraftableDecor_CW_SKPatch.esp
*OWR2_CraftableDecor_SKPatch.esp
*OWR2_SKEPatch.esp
*SS2_CityPlanPack_RiseOfTheCommonwealth.esp
*SS2WastelandReconstructionKit.esp
*VividFallout - AiO - 4k.esp
*FlaconOil_BA2_Upto4K_Part3.esp
*FlaconOil_BA2_Upto4K_Part2.esp
*dD - Small Splatter Size.esp
*Power Armor HUD Switcher.esp
*Crows&Creatures_V1.esp
*SlowerGhouls_50_percent.esp
*SlowerGhouls_NoLungeAttacks_Both.esp
*Homemaker - Greenhouse and Bunker Disabler.esp
*BetterJunkFences.esp
*LegendaryModification Enhanced.esp
*HAAS.esp
*HAAS - Automatron.esp
*LegendaryModification - DLC Far Harbor.esp
*LegendaryModification - DLC Far Harbor (2LM).esp
*LegendaryModificationGroknak.esp
*LegendaryModificationMisc.esp
*AWKCR - Mod Power Armor Engine Glitch Fix.esp
*AIO SS.esp
*DN Music.esp
*Faded Glory - Soundtrack Expansion.esp
*DNMega.esp
*Dynamic Music Overhaul.esp
*BPAO - PAMAP 2.0 Patch.esp
*BPAO - ValdacilsItemSorting.esp
*Northland Diggers New.esp
*Northland Diggers - Fixes (Tweaked).esp
*X01Light.esp
*DCGuard_Overhaul-DCEPatch.esp
*Noble Team companions - Mark V[B] Armory Patch.esp
*tumbajamba Advanced Engineering.esp
*B35_PowerArmor.esp
*WIPAG_B35_Addon.esp
*combat_PA.esp
*WIPAG_Combat_Addon.esp
*WIPAG_Construction_Addon.esp
*WIPAG_Contraptions_DLC_Addon.esp
*WIPAG_FarHarbor_DLC_Addon.esp
*WIPAG_Institute_Addon.esp
*WIPAG_NukaWorld_DLC_Addon.esp
*WIPAG_Relic_Addon.esp
*tank_PA.esp
*WIPAG_Spartan_Addon.esp
*WIPAG_Submersible_Addon.esp
*WIPAG_Tribal_Addon.esp
*WIPAG_VIS-G_Addon.esp
*WIPAG_X02_Enclave_Addon.esp
*RedRocketReborn.esp
*CAMP.esp
*AtomGreatness.esp
*Better Vendor Stalls.esp
*SS2_ruined_simsettlement_addonpack.esp
*BuildTreehouse.esp
*JunkTownTwo.esp
*CabinInTheWoods.esp
*BoxHouses.esp
*BPAO - Automatron Patch.esp
*BPAO - PAMAP 2.0 Automatron Patch.esp
*BPAO - ValdacilsItemSorting - DLCAutomatron.esp
*Northland Diggers.esp
*OWR_AOC.esp
*GT_pipboy.esp
*WCB - ViS Sorting Patch.esp
*FunctionalDisplays-AID-VIS-WI.esp
*FunctionalDisplays-Patch-DLC-ALL-VIS.esp
*IcebreakerCDO-Settlements.esp
*OWR_CraftableDecor.esp
*OWR_CraftableDecor_CW.esp
*OWR_CraftableDecor_CW_SKEPatch.esp
*OWR_CraftableDecor_SKEPatch.esp
*OWR_SKEPatch.esp
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*PipeGalore.esp
*Boats.esp
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*RaceCustomizer - Fusion City Rising Compatibility Patch.esp
*RaceCustomizer - Far Harbor Compatibility Patch.esp
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AWCKR-870PumpShotgun.esp.ghost
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FCOM-C1PH3RX02.esp.ghost
HAAS Far Harbor AE 2LM Edition.esp.ghost L egendaryMod2LMAnyModAnyWeap.esp.ghost L OST BR77 Patch.esp.ghost L OST Militarized BLUE Patch.esp.ghost
VIS - Elpha's Unique Chems VW.esp.ghost
WastelandWorkshopPatch.esp.ghost
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Hello!
My partner and I (early 30's) are recently engaged, and to celebrate (also we were already planning this, but it has a new purpose now :) ) we are fulfilling lifelong dreams and traveling to Japan for the first time! We will be there just shy of 3 weeks from late October through mid-November, and splitting our time as follows:
Tokyo > Hakone > Osaka > Kyoto > Tokyo
We are SO excited!
It's really important to both of us that we strike a balance between doing the things we want, and having scheduled down time to just explore our surroundings, enjoy the autumn foliage, get lost. We have most things hotel-wise booked (sans our Disney resort), but everything is shiftable as needed until September. In addition to a few specific questions below, I'd love feedback on if the things we have planned make sense from a timing and location perspective, if anything feels too packed, or if you have dining or activity recommendations in the places we will be! We love great food, music, museums, video games, coffee, nature, history, woodworking, theatre, animals, theme parks, anime, and really lots of other things. I'm a big planner, so I definitely don't shy away from feedback if you have any and just want the trip to be amazing.
Something we are trying to be mindful of: my partner broke his hip in a car crash this last winter. He's recovered but gets sore easily, so we are making plans with the understanding that we may need to head back early some days, he may need to rest while I go out occasionally, etc.
Budget isn't a huge factor for us (though not non-existent), and we are happy to pay a bit more for a great experience whether that be dining, hotel, etc. Alright, here we GO:
Day 1 - Tokyo (first hotel: Shinjuku) Fly LAX > HND via JAL; Land around 5:30pm Grab suica card and e-sim cards for each of us in the airport Private transfer car to hotel Grab something fast/easy to eat nearby or in hotel and crash
Day 2 - Tokyo (Shinjuku/Shibuya) Jetlag recovery Morning/Afternoon: Explore Shibuya and Shinjuku (options to choose from depending on how we are feeling): -Shibuya Sky tree/scramble -Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden -Waseda University Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum -General walking around and exploring Evening: -Golden Gai
Day 3 - Tokyo (Arakawa, Setagaya, Nakano) Morning: - Ramen & Gyoza cooking class booked in Arakawa - Head back to Shibuya for Nintendo store and Kigumi woodworking museum - Chill and explore at/around hotel Evening: - Nakano Broadway - Either stay in Nakano or go to Setagaya for live music at a couple of venues we found and dinnedrinks
Day 4 - Tokyo (Ghibli, Disney) - Ghibli Museum (hoping to get in first thing at 10 when it opens) - Pack up suitcases and ship them to next main hotel in Ginza, and pack overnight bags for 2 nights at Disney - Head to Disney, drop bags/check into Tokyo Disneyland hotel, and use an evening ticket to enjoy Tokyo Disneyland
Day 5 - Tokyo (Disney Sea) - Disney Sea all day
Day 6 - Tokyo (Ueno/Ginza) Morning/Afternoon: - Check out of Disney - Hit teamLabs Planets on our way back into the city proper - Drop our bags and head to Ueno - Ueno park for a picnic and exploring - Hard Off & Hobby Off Evening: - Hibaya bar whiskey (or another bar) for drinks and get dinner - Hopefully catch a Kabuki show!
Day 7 - Tokyo (Akihabara) Morning/Afternoon: - Mostly open day (intentionally) - Sleep in and take the train up to Asakusa and explore, Senso-ji, etc - Go to Akihabara when we are done there for arcades, shopping, etc Evening: - Explore Akihabara/Ginza
Day 8 - Tokyo (Nikko) - Get up early for a day trip to Nikko - Toshogo, Kegon Falls, enjoy the national park and autumn leaves! - Head back for dinner in Ginza
Day 9 - Tokyo > Hakone - Send luggage to Osaka hotel in the AM, and pack backpacks for 2 nights in Hakone - Use this morning to get to anything above or extra that we missed/didn't get a chance to do - Romancecar to Hakone and check into Ryoken (or drop bags) - Evangelion shop - Enjoy a leisurely evening in Ryoken
Day 10 - Hakone - Ropeway - Open air museum - Lake Ashi boat tour if time - Evening in Ryoken
Day 11 - Hakone > Osaka - Enjoy Hakone a bit before we leave, maybe take a quick hike - Shinkansen to Osaka, check into hotel near Dontonbori - Pokemon Center - Dontonbori, Scheduled bar hopping/night food tour
Day 12 - Osaka (Universal) - Get up early and head to USJ for the day!
Day 13 - Osaka > Kyoto (Himeji, Kobe) Morning: - Store luggage in Osaka station - Himeji castle Afternoon: - Tekenaka carpentry tools museum - All you can eat Kobe for lunch/early dinner - Train to Osaka to grab luggage, train up to townhouse rental in Kyoto (staying in Gion) - Dinner near townhouse, unpack
Day 14 - Kyoto (Gion) - Keep day open - Get bikes rented for the week - Explore temples and shrines near our townhouse (yasaka-jinja, Ryoken kannon, etc) - Grocery shop - Nikishi market that evening
Day 15 - Kyoto (Naoshima OR Kinosaki Onsen) - Day trip either to Naoshima OR - Day trip up to Kinosaki Onsen for Onsen-hopping and relaxing
Day 16 - Kyoto (Fushimi Inari, Central Kyoto) Morning: - Fushimi Inari - Unagi restaurant for lunch - Rengio-In Afternoon/Evening: - Manga museum - Open evening
Day 17 - Kyoto (Nara) - Early train ride to Nara for deer, Todai-ji, Horyuji temple (if time) Evening: - Karaoke, find really great whiskey
Day 18 - Kyoto (open day) No hard plans mostly (staying this way), but potentially: - Arashiyama - Sannenzaka - Bike around town - Find an Onsen - Enjoy autumn leaves at Bishamon-do temple - Shop - Scheduled tea ceremony participation this afternoon
Day 19 - Kyoto > Tokyo - Send luggage (or do this the day before?) To final Tokyo hotel in Ginza - Do any final shopping etc in Kyoto that we want to do - Shinkansen to Tokyo - No plans! Just last minute shopping, fitting whatever we missed in, etc
Day 20 - Tokyo > LAX No plans! Just last minute shopping and sightseeing before our flight Fly out of NRT via Singapore Air at 6:15pm
Now a few questions!

1. I'm considering moving our south-Shinjuku hotel to Shibuya, as I've read it's a bit less hectic to stay in. Do you think it'll make a difference? The current hotel is directly the west of Shinjuku station if that helps.
2. We would really love to catch a festival or two while we are there. Any recommendations?
3. My partner has Celiac disease. We have been finding and saving as many gluten-free bakeries, restaurants etc as we can find and searching this subreddit, but we'd love recommendations if you have them!!
4. How early do we need to send luggage from city to city? For instance, for my final transfer from Kyoto to Tokyo, should I send it the day before we leave?
5. PLEASE share your must-do restaurants in any of the locations we will be in. We are fine having to make a few reservations if it's nicebusy.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/feedback!