October12 came twice this year We crossed the International Date Line. In her morning announcement our cruise director, Karlijn, said that we seldom have a chance to do a day over. We should do this one over with random acts … Continue reading Déjà Vu Day
My father was a sergeant in the China, Burma, India war theater, in Stillwell’s army. He served in all three countries. After VE day he and many other sergeants were flown back to the US from India to attend Officer … Continue reading Words–Thoughts on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In Japanese Iwo Jima means Sulfur Island. The island has the smell of brimstone about it. In 1945, when the battle of Iwo Jima was fought in the second world war, it must have added to the feeling that this … Continue reading Iwo Jima
Thank goodness for McDonalds and Starbucks. Let me explain. Today in Naha Okinawa, we wanted to visit Tsuboya Yachmiun Street, an older street in Naha which specializes in pottery manufacture and sale In 1682 all of the kilns were consolidated … Continue reading Guardian Lions in Okinawa
When we sailed into Ishigaki we were greeted with a rainbow. We did not know if we would get into Ishigaki. Tropical Depression 20 became Typhoon Kathon and threatened our call. Ishigaki is off the east coast of Taiwan, opposite … Continue reading A Step Back in Time on Taketomi Island.
Nagasaki Japan. The Peace Park in Nagasaki near ground zero, or the hypocenter, reminds me of one of those parks in Eastern Europe, especially one outside of Budapest, where the authorities have gathered all of those monumental statues in the … Continue reading Degrees of Separation
On the east side of Honshu, on the Sea of Japan, Kanazawa is compared to Kyoto because of its traditional buildings and a cityscape that escaped World War II destruction. The city was a regional center of government, art and … Continue reading A Touch of Autumn in Kanazawa
I could feel it coming on, that scratchy throat, the overnight postnasal drip. So, I decided to skip the tour we had booked in Toyama and spend the day resting. Suzi went out on tour to look at temples and … Continue reading A Robotic Cartoon Cat and Taiko Drumming as a Martial Art.
On Saturday we called at Sakaiminato. There were temples and gardens we could visit, and it is a fishing port, so I could have wandered the docks. But we were only in port for half a day, and I wanted … Continue reading A Street of Whimsey and Delight
The Kanmon Strait separates the main Japanese Islands of Honshu and Kyushu. It is the way to get from the Inland Sea (which connects with the Pacific) to the Sea of Japan and is sometimes viewed as the gateway to … Continue reading Kanmon Strait
At least until after some thought. For now, pictures and captions. The “Atomic Dome” The one surviving building close “Ground Zero” or as the Japanese call it the Hypo Center. Scenes from the Peace Park, on an island across from … Continue reading Hiroshima – No Words
Paper is important in Japan. Not only is it made for documents, newspapers, books, and currency but fans and origami paper for creating three dimensional designs. Clothing was also made of paper. It was cheap and it retained heat well. … Continue reading Making Paper
Taiko Drummers and an animated Ferris Wheel ended our visit to Osaka. Each community tries to outdo the next in sending off cruise ships. This is an experiment. I have never tried to do a video before. Check out the … Continue reading Osaka Farewell
Leaving the train station, we had a lot of choices. Tour companies offered to take us on a bus loop to the major palaces, castles, forts, shrines gardens and temples that people go to Kyoto to see. We opted to … Continue reading Full and Empty
The bullet train takes 13 minutes to travel from Kyoto to Osaka. On the return the “Hello Kitty” liveried train took us back in about twice that time. Today was my train day. The Shinkansen, or bullet train, links most … Continue reading From Bullet Train to “Hello Kitty.”
Nine is the new midnight. After a relaxing day (we only went to one lecture, but it was a difficult one to hear, on the atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki delivered by a retired officer and military historian) the … Continue reading Osaka Night (ok early evening)Life.
In the classic days of ocean crossings, the sail away was an event. After partying on the ship guests would heed the call “All ashore that’s going ashore” and line the pier. Travelers threw paper streamers from the ship and … Continue reading I Take Pictures of Sunsets and Volcanoes
It was a three-day weekend in Japan. Sunday, September 22 is the first day of fall. We had blustery weather throughout the night and the captain aborted his first attempt to enter Shimizu harbor because of high winds and squalls. … Continue reading Looking for Fuji, Finding Halloween
Our first stop in Tokyo was the Asakusa district. It had started as a fishing village the Suida River. The legend is that some fishermen in the 7th century, caught a small statue in their nets. They built a temple … Continue reading Holiday Kimonos
The thing I noticed about Tokyo this trip is that I could breathe. The first time we spent the night in Tokyo I had trouble breathing. It was1969, Suzi and I were on our way to a summer study program … Continue reading When Tokyo was Edo
When we got back to the ship the air conditioning was working again and the engineer we spoke with said the ship had already cooled down by 3o Celsius. The view of downtown Yokohama at night from our balcony was … Continue reading Yokohama Comes to Us.
When I was kid there were a lot of myths about Japanese Baseball that I later learned were not true, like the myth that they ran the based clockwise go give more advantage to right handers. Not true. On … Continue reading …and Baseball!
After our son, Brian, graduated from college he and his roommate bought a house in South Minneapolis with the intention of fixing it up and flipping it. Halloween completely slipped their minds so when goblins started knocking they gave out … Continue reading In Praise of Ramen!
I stepped onto our balcony as we pulled into Hakodate. A group of school girls in white uniforms with sailor collars waved enthusiastically calling out “good morning mister.” I waved back and called out “ohayō.” They started jumping up and … Continue reading Hakodate