It was the one rainy day on this trip, so went to Osaka to ride transit, duck into buildings, and experience Tadao Ando’s architecture. Felt like a groupie, standing outside his office, touching the signature Ando concrete. The security sticker probably deters theft of the nameplate.
Category: Honshu
Sand, Sea, Sky
Broke the journey from Matsue to Okayama to visit San’inkaigan National Park to walk on massive sand dunes beside the Sea of Japan. Okayama Station was bustling, a contrast to my last few days. An elevator took me to the welcome solitude of a hotel room high above the station.
Instagram Bait
Couldn’t resist including this rural Shinto shrine in today’s journey. Three or four times an hour a train crosses the shrine’s approach path, between the torii gates, like a scene from an anime movie.
Daisen-Oki National Park
I’m staying in Matsue on the northwest coast of Honshu. My project today was to hike trails on Mount Daisen in Daisen-Oki National Park. A train and a bus got me from Matsue to trailheads. Lots of steep climbs, magnificent fall colors, and occasional ancient temples and shrines.
Joyful Kids
Rapid footsteps and giggling behind me. Schoolgirl, now in front of me, directs me back towards a table. Shrieks of delight when I turn and walk to the table. To much applause and giggles, I buy a packet of cookies. Three teachers simultaneously take photos. Lots of goodbyes.
Cycling Above the Sea
Cycled above the Seto Inland Sea on bridges and islands. In 2016 I did the whole Shimanami Kaido, 45 miles between two of Japan’s four main islands, Shikoku and Honshu on a creaky bicycle. These days, I take a scheduled bus or boat then cycle about half that, and can sit down comfortably afterwards.
Hotel Cycle
Checked into Hotel Cycle (yet again, third time), Onomichi, in a repurposed warehouse on a wharf. You can cycle right up to the front desk, then leave your bike on a rack outside your room. To mitigate bicycle separation anxiety, you can hang your bike on a wall rack in your room. I’ll rent tomorrow.
In the Media
Explored a mountainous area north of Sendai by train, local bus, and foot. In Kakunodate I was interviewed, via an interpreter, by a reporter for the local newspaper. American tourists are few and far between. Further down the road, almost walked into a professional photo shoot.
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.