On board a bullet train to Hakata (Fukuoka). Indeed the rain bucketed down all day in Kagoshima, but I was able to visit the Meiji Museum and get my ears lowered. Also popped into MontBell, one of my favorite outdoors stores, to replace my folding/disintegrating daypack. Finally, I enjoyed a coffee and sandwich in a cafe in a lovely public library.
Category: Travel
History and Haircut Stopover
Moving to Fukuoka today (Sunday) for 3 nights. Since it’s raining, a big city makes sense. En route, stopping in Kagoshima for a few hours to visit the Meiji Restoration Museum and get a haircut at Hot Pepper Beauty (3rd time).
Oita to Miyazaki
Today (Friday) I’ll move my “base” from Oita to Miyazaki, 128 miles to the south, with a journey break in Saiki for another OLLE hike, this time on an island (Onyujima). After a couple nights in Miyazaki, the plan is open. I’ve managed to keep ahead of rain but by late on Saturday, western Japan is enveloped.
A Surprise “Sea Cruise”
Trains were cancelled because of high winds, so I had to change my route to Oita today. I describe the replacement journey in a blog post, A Surprise “Sea Cruise”.
A Surprise “Sea Cruise”
I’d been looking forward to the lovely views from the 8-mile Great Seto Bridge crossing the Seto Inland Sea from Shikoku to Honshu. The thought of my first bullet train ride on this trip to Japan gave me joy. But it was not to be… .
Following the Sun
It’s pouring rain all day today (Wednesday) here in Takamatsu, so I’m taking advantage of my Japan Rail Pass. Since the pass removes the financial disincentive to travel, I’m relocating to Oita, which has sunny skies this week and is close to a couple of OLLE hiking courses. The journey is 360 miles, much of it by bullet train.
The Slow Road to Takamatsu
Stitched together a journey along the less-traveled east coast of the Muroto Peninsula and beyond to Takamatsu. Three local buses on a road hugging the spectacular coastline, a local then an express train, ending at a pleasant hotel towering over the station plaza. Somehow I got in 10,000+ steps exploring between rides.
Fuji-san From Seat 9K
Whenever I fly west out of Tokyo I always select a window seat on the right side of the plane hoping for clear weather. Today I was not disappointed.
Tokyo HND—Kochi KCZ
This morning (Friday) I’ll fly from Tokyo to Kochi where I’ll stay tonight. Tomorrow (Saturday) I’ll head down the Muroto Peninsula (blue rectangle) for a few days.
Geek Heaven
With permission, stuck my head in the cockpit where the three pilots were performing pre-flight checks. “Come in,” they said. I asked for, and got, a trading card! (This is a service that Delta doesn’t advertise.) As a bonus, I chatted up the gate agent and got a seat set aside for off-duty pilots. (I won’t be using the curtains.) Please don’t judge me, I’m a geek!