I was helping “Maria” to apply online for a job. She had a good job history, she was eager and presentable. Maria was just the kind of person I would want to serve me in the low-wage position she was seeking. There were just a couple problems that prevented her from completing the form: she… Continue reading The “Worthy” Poor
Author: Tom Wilson
My Kagoshima: Arriving
My 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 journeys to Kagoshima Prefecture, southern Japan. I’ve arrived in Kagoshima Prefecture on some of the newest transportation on the planet. Arrrive… Benefit: A Good Place to Stay: …by Boeing 787 Dreamliner Quick A hotel on the edge of Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park. (Hourly direct buses from the airport.) This is… Continue reading My Kagoshima: Arriving
Scenes from a Day in 2010
The deep sleep during the overnight long-haul across the ocean. The pause between flights when I photograph a Heineken. I email the picture to a friend who is in a different place, a different time. I remind him of this place, this time of day, this beer, three years earlier when he and I were… Continue reading Scenes from a Day in 2010
Zen and the Art of Casserole Assembly
Oh, the things I wish I’d known when I was young. Take the ingredients for a basic bake pictured at the top of this post. They look simple enough but for me they represent small lessons learned over decades. Mise en Place I enjoy the calmness of preparing and laying out all the ingredients for… Continue reading Zen and the Art of Casserole Assembly
My Kagoshima: Chunking the Map
I’m filled with questions when I look at a map of a place I have never visited. How do I chunk up a manageable journey through this place? How do I get there? Which areas do I visit? Where are the hiking trails? Where are the trailheads? How do I get around? How do I… Continue reading My Kagoshima: Chunking the Map
Streamlining Flying
Earlier this month, I found myself airside at Japan’s Fukuoka Airport. 13 minutes earlier I was boarding the subway downtown. In those 13 minutes I rode the train two stations to the airport, walked up two levels to Departures, and cleared Security. I had almost an hour before boarding the plane, plenty time for a… Continue reading Streamlining Flying
Travel Gear: Buying the Wrong GPS
Whether it’s investments or stuff, I’m a buy-and-hold kind of person. I’d had my handheld GPS (a Garmin, function-key-driven GPSMAP 6OCSx) 8 years when I lost it on a trip in January 2015. I was not ready to replace it because it still performed well relative to current units. But now I had no GPS. I… Continue reading Travel Gear: Buying the Wrong GPS
Behind the Steel Door
Hakata (Fukuoka), Monday through Saturday: 08:53 People start to assemble outside the steel roller shutter door. 08:55 Voices behind the shutter make a declaration in unison. 08:59 An electric motor whirs as the shutter slowly rises. The scene slowly reveals itself: an office with about 30 workers in business attire. Three are standing at the… Continue reading Behind the Steel Door
Hita Station
I can add Hita train station, northern Kyushu, Japan, to my “delighted” list. By any standards, it’s a small station. A single train track enters town, and a single track leaves town. At Hita station, the track fans out into multiple tracks, more than enough to handle the three platforms and the boarding of an… Continue reading Hita Station
Animatronic Hell
Painting of Buddhist hell, Daihonzan Naritasan Temple, Kurume, Japan. The things you learn when you travel. I had no idea there was a Buddhist hell. I first caught a whiff of it this week in Unzenonsen, Kyushu, Japan. Hydrogen sulphide, boiling water bubbling out the ground, steam. It was Buddhist monks, back in 701 AD, who… Continue reading Animatronic Hell