As the floor plan shows, the lower levels of big Japanese resort hotels have something for everyone. Last week, in Kirishima, Kyushu, Japan, I walked through the hotel’s amusement area dressed in a yukata, clutching a towel, heading for the stairs to the outdoors hot springs. People were laughing and joking and drinking. Their… Continue reading Channeling Eva Gabor in Kirishima
Author: Tom Wilson
Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park
Mount Ebinodake and Onami Pond. From where I’m sitting in my hotel room, I see steam vents, and can smell their sulfurous fumes. Further in the distance, over 20 miles further in the haze, is the unmistakable cone of Sakurajima, the massive, active volcano across the bay from Kagoshima, southern Japan. At night, I see the… Continue reading Kirishima-Kinkowan National Park
It Takes a Village
Yesterday I was in such an intense conversation with Iris, thirtyish, from Switzerland, we almost missed the only bus from the trailhead that day. I get to meet fine people when hiking. These are people who put some effort into their travels. They discover and research trails, they put one foot in front of another… Continue reading It Takes a Village
Saturday Hike in Kagoshima
After being in Airport World for five days, it was good to spend today, Saturday, hiking in Kagoshima and the surrounding hills. When you hike on a Saturday you get to see the locals enjoying their place. Early in the hike I was the audience for a group of taiko drummers, practicing their art. I could feel… Continue reading Saturday Hike in Kagoshima
An Unplanned Night in Houston
Well, I didn’t get too far today. The plan was to get from Fort Lauderdale to Kirishima, southern Japan. Instead I got as far as Houston. My United flight from Houston to Tokyo was repeatedly delayed: something about a problem under the floor, eventually traced to a cargo door.I retreated to the KLM club where… Continue reading An Unplanned Night in Houston
From Beaches to Volcanoes
It’s time to leave a world of beaches for travel with a bit of fiber in it. This weekend, in Naples, Florida, I got reunited with my hiking boots and walking shoes and mailed the lesser stuff back home. I’m on my way to Kirishima, southern Japan. I’ll connect to a flight in Houston Tuesday… Continue reading From Beaches to Volcanoes
Pleading the Fifth in Naples, Florida
My urban hiking this weekend in Naples, Florida, included quiet side streets lined with posh homes. As I walked, I thought about the logistics of maintaining multiple homes, and the burden of mortgages. When hiking through farmland I avoid getting between cow and calves. In this spirit, I was walking on the street so I… Continue reading Pleading the Fifth in Naples, Florida
Why I Like SCUBA Diving
I don’t do water activities. I’ll dangle my feet over the edge of the shallow end of a hotel swimming pool while sipping something with a little cocktail umbrella poking out. Preferably a beer. But that is as far as I go. My partner, Dwight, does do water activities, including SCUBA. I’ll never do that,… Continue reading Why I Like SCUBA Diving
Iron Road to the Capital of Latin America
Tomorrow I leave Savannah for Miami, the end of the line on Amtrak. A journey from a world constrained by history to a place that is still inventing itself. For tourists, Charleston and Savannah are about colonial times and early independence through the end of the civil war. A white history with selective amnesia. Miami… Continue reading Iron Road to the Capital of Latin America
The Other
Woolworth’s lunch counter (Smithsonian) I tried to build a coherent picture of my seatmate as I rode Amtrak from Cleveland to New York. The obvious stuff: 40-ish, black, heavyset, financially on the edge. I got the financial bit as he talked on the phone about his imminent move to a smaller apartment. He clicked away at… Continue reading The Other