Re: your side blog.
Your story doesn't suck. In fact, as a U.S. citizen living in Japan, I find it fascinating and it makes (and made!) me want to go to my local shrines (and I have gone).  (Disclaimer: Don't worry, because you're not converting me to a religion!  I just want to check it out.)

Given the other sorts of Japanalia that is out there (such as Memoirs of a Geisha) that aren't really all that accurate, it's interesting to see one that is forthrightly fantasy, yet explores the culture in a detailed way.

I am totally going to go link people to this site.  I had no idea your recorded readership was so low!  Do you have a recommended blurb from a particular section? Any banners you'd use for advertising that I could copy-paste into my blog?