Soaking Feet, Smoking Volcano

After a day of walking, gratefully steeped my feet in the volcanic warmth of an unusually long (100 meters) footbath. Watched a plume rising above Sakurajima, a volcano that regularly rains ash on the city of Kagoshima.

Far From Tokyo Crowds

Sendai, about 200 miles northeast of Tokyo, is my base for the next few days. From Sendai, rode a bullet train for 13 minutes, then rural trains to reach trails for some fall color hiking. The rural train line is in this photo.

Traveling with Salarymen

Arrived Tokyo HND, late afternoon Thursday, off a thirteen-hour flight and a +14-hour time difference. Took rush hour trains to a downtown hotel and an early night. Japan only reopened to independent travelers two weeks ago, so I’m expecting to see few westerners on my travels.

Renewed Places

Explored Downtown with a UK friend, focusing on fine old buildings, many sensitively adapted and reused. This former Milwaukee Road ticketing hall is now a hotel event space. Later, we rode a 21 bus along Lake Street to see how well it has come back after the protests of 2020.