Seeking

Judy and I had missed out on the Philippines, perhaps because it was not on the main United Airlines routes. So now I will go spend about 3 weeks here, visiting just two areas: Manila and a world-class snorkeling and diving area to the south near Cebu, Dumaguete and Siquijor Island. Manila is reputed to be a big, chaotic city. I’m only lingering there long enough to get visas I need for Myanmar and Thailand. My real goal is to sample the outer island beach life and reef scene. As you can see, there are LOTS of islands! And this…

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I’ve arrived in the most southerly islands of Japan now, Okinawa, about 400 miles south of Kagoshima. Okinawa had a rather peaceful local populous that had somehow avoided the civil war years that Japan had endured. That ended when Japan invaded in the 1600s and easily conquered the islands. It bears some similarity to Hawai’i, where the US overthrew the Hawaiian government and annexed it. As with Hawaii, there remains some sentiment that they are an occupied territory. I’m back to staying in AirBnB apartments, in Naha for 3 days. Hotels are ok, but I prefer a nice comfortable apartment.…

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] On the last day of my Japan Rail Pass, I traveled from Kyoto to my most southerly stop on the main islands of Japan, the city of Kagoshima on Kyūshū Island. Though it is over 900 km., it was a smooth, fast 4 hours by train. It is noticably warmer down here, a high of 76°F, a low of 66°F. Hawaiian weather! Just 8 km across the bay from Kagoshima is the very active volcano Sakurajima. Since 1955, it has frequently spewing out plumes of ash, and in 1914 had its last big lava flow, which buried over 1,000…

Japan is not a small country! It is as long from end to end as from the Canadian border north of Seattle, WA to the Mexican border, about 1800 km. In just 5 weeks for Hokkaidō, Honshū and Kyūshū Islands, I will only get to see bits of it. A start. My beginning to explore Honshū Island, the main island of Japan, is to journey by train down from Sapporo to an onsen area north of Tazawako. This is a long day’s journey. Japan has created an amazing network of fast trains. On my way here, I measured 168 mph.…

[vc_row 0=””][vc_column][vc_column_text 0=””] After departing Seoul, I flew up north to the northerly Japanese island of Hokkaidō. My goal is to sample numerous onsen (hot springs) and do some hiking, traveling by train and bus. Many of our family have visited Japan, or at least have heard much about it, so it seems a bit unnecessary to go into detail. Yet the experience of going to rural Japan made a big impression on me the last time we came, so I’ll try to bring the experience to life for those who have not been there. Japan has over 3,000 natural…