Blog

My nephews will giggle when they see this sign in June. I’m taking my nephews (7 and 8), their parents, and my partner, Dwight, to the area where I grew up. I took the photograph last year in the main train station of my home town, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. I expect a few bathroom… Continue reading Bathroom Humor

Train stations in Japan can be busy places, but boarding trains is an orderly process. In mainline and subway stations, symbols on the ground show where to form lines. When a train arrives, each door aligns with the queuing passengers. Train stops are brief, trains run on time. But things can go wrong. I can’t… Continue reading Uncomfortable Scene, Comfortable Food

The last time I went through the town of Itoigawa (population 47,102) I was on an express to Kanazawa. Since then, the Shinkansen (bullet train line) from Tokyo to Nagano was extended to Kanazawa, and the new section opened in 2015. This week I rode the bullet train 97 km from Nagano to Itoigawa, just… Continue reading A Small-Town Bullet Train Station

The Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage connects 88 temples over 750 miles on Japan’s Shikoku Island. It’s a circuit: temples 1 and 88 are 17 miles apart. It’s a journey: I’ve watched pilgrims making quite perfunctory stops at temples. This speaks to me. I walk to walk, not just to visit a sight like a waterfall or… Continue reading Temple Plumbing 2016

When I look across Japan’s Seto Inland Sea I see small islands, distant volcanic hills, ocean-going ships, sleek bridges, all sitting on a bright palette of blues and greens. The Inland Sea has energy: it connects three of Japan’s main islands (Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku), and the Pacific Ocean with the Sea of Japan. I’ve… Continue reading Cycling Across the Seto Inland Sea

As I was stretching, clambering, grappling over rocks in Kirishima National Park, I replayed in my head the most recent encounter with a fellow hiker. The woman had made the usual greeting, then a look of dissonance flashed across her face. I’d seen that look before when I’ve thoughtlessly put a shoe on tatami, or… Continue reading Travel Gear: Hiking Pants

When I pulled open the drapes this morning, I decided to drop my plan to go directly to Kagoshima City. Instead of yesterday’s unrelenting rain, sunshine was trying to penetrate mist. It was time for a bonus hike. I had less than 60 minutes to dress, pack, slow down enough to enjoy breakfast, then check… Continue reading Hiking Above Clouds

The flight attendant showed me a handwritten note: “we will be landing [in Kagoshima] at 9:30 [a.m.].” I’m the only non-Japanese customer, and, by the look of it, just about everybody else on this 737 is flying for work. I like traveling with Japanese people because they are generally quiet, calm, and are considerate in… Continue reading Finding Japan