I was not in Japan this year

So, now there's a rumor that a fan saw me in Kyoto around the time of the Worldcon in Yokohama.

I was NOT -- absolutely not -- in Japan at any time this year. Jeepers, if I was in Japan, you think I'd pass up the chance to go to Worldcon? Besides the fact that I love Worldcons, it would have made any trip to Japan tax-deductible.

Yes, I was in China (in Chengdu) for a conference prior to the Worldcon in Yokohama. Those cities are 3,340 km or 2,077 miles apart; there was no way I could just "pop over" to Japan; that's more ridiculous than saying, "Hey, I hear you're in Chicago -- you really should drop by Los Angeles."

It would have cost, at a rough estimate, $2,000 minimum for my wife and me to add a side-trip to Japan onto our trip to China; that's the reason we weren't there.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site