Microblog

Used NFC (near-field communication) to read the outstanding balance on my Japanese Suica stored-value card: ¥421, almost four US dollars. The balance expires in 2028, but I plan to spend it much sooner than that.

Woke up from a deep sleep near Seattle. “Anything you need?” asked the flight attendant. “The best cold beer.”

On my way to Haneda HND for my flight home, popped into TOTO’s Tokyo “demonstration showroom,” occupying two floors high up in a Tokyo tower. For good, practical reasons, most Japanese have TOTO’s washlets in their homes; we’re having them in our new home

Walked a level path through extensive marshland surrounded by mountains in Nikko National Park. After yesterday’s tough trail, I went easy on myself today.

Hiked a gnarly trail: extensive tree roots, scree, erosion, fallen trees, 2,300 feet gain in two hours, no switchbacks. Walking down was even harder than the climb. A guy, older than me, was doing this with camping gear. Mount Toyama (7,230 feet), Nikko National Park.

Walked for hours around an area of temples, shrines, and woodland paths on a hillside near Nikko, two hours north of Tokyo.

Rode a Sendai city bus past fields where homes had once stood, to an elementary school that is now a museum. The 2011 tsunami crashed through the second floor of the school, but the children had been sent to the top floors and roof where they were safe.

Hiked for two days along part of the 700 km Michinoku (Pacific) Coastal Trail in Sanriku Fukko (reconstruction) National Park. People stay away because of the destructive 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Rode this beauty through the 33.5-mile Seikan undersea tunnel from Hokkaido to Honshu.

Visited The Hill of the Buddha in a cemetery south of Sapporo. Architect Tadao Ando surrounded a stone Buddha, below the head, with a lavender-covered hill. Ando’s concrete is gorgeous: I’d joyfully live in a home with concrete floors, walls, and ceilings

Hiked through Fall colors above the tree line in central Hokkaido’s Daisetsuzan National Park.

Posted Snapshots: Eastern Hokkaido National Parks.

Paused my journey in Abashiri, a town on the Sea of Okhotsk, to explore a museum of prison buildings. Some buildings date back to the early days of Japanese occupation of Hokkaido. I can add this to my list of the wonderful open-air architectural museums

Hiked above clouds in Shiretoko National Park on the northeastern edge of Hokkaido. If I went further I’d be in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Russian Kuril Islands. Over 10 days I’ll head for Tokyo. Today, I’m 980 miles and 15 hours by slow trains and bullet trains.

Soaked my feet in the hot spring footbath at Kawayu Onsen Station (Akan Mashu National Park) while waiting for the first train to arrive at this station since the September 6 earthquake. I was the only person to board the train.

Hiked up Mount Kamui, the caldera in a caldera I saw from a plane two days ago. At the top, a young guy from Kitami, Hokkaido shared his lunch with me (filled, steamed buns) and took this picture of me clutching my hat. He then ran back down.