Japan 2025 Oct 24-Nov 8
Hi everybody!
Sorry about the false start with the photo sharing. The limits and throttling that have been put on photo sharing by non-Meta properties has forced me to go back to my old fashioned (but very nice) way of doing things! The BLOG!
I've been keeping a journal for the past year, so sharing pics this will be a part of what I do anyway. So - here goes. I'll pop in pics and then a little verbage below to tell you what you're looking at.
Friday Oct 24/Sat Oct 25
We were lucky enough to snare some discounted Biz Class seats on Japan Airlines. Superb service - very kind and caring. They even gave us official Japan Airline sweaters to wear (but only while on board....boo!).
Flight operated without a hitch (we were worried about the shutdown, but so far the US Air Traffic control system is still operating OK). When we arrived at Tokyo Narita airport (their biggest one) this is what greeted us after we got to the ICE processing area:
It was organized, quiet and calm. Very unlike what you'd expect in a Western airport. Got through again without a hitch (even though Kevin left a bag and his jacket behind one of the security checkpoints. Oops).
Some pics taken from our hotel room the night of our arrival and the next morning:
Sat Oct 25/Sun Oct 26
Sunday Oct 26
On our first full day in Tokyo, we took the bullet train to a little town about 100 miles north of here called Karuizawa. The train was the main purpose of the ride, and it didn't disappoint. 200 MPH is very fast. The link below takes you to a short YouTube video taken as the train was cruising at top speed.
After the journey, we were happy to relax in the hotel. This was the entertainment they supplied:
Monday Oct 27
We awoke to dry weather, sunshine and got to finally see just how big the biggest city in the world is... which is quite big. We had a great day for walking, which included the Aoyama cemetery which was established in 1874. We also visited the National Art Center and took in an exhibit that was great - beautiful stuff that's hard to explain, but we'll put in a couple pics. (OVER 70 FREE ADMISSION!!!)
That's the Japan National Stadium in the center of the pic above. The primary venue for the 2020 Olympics.
State Guest House Akasaka Palace where the Orange Idiot (aka OI) will be staying, as seen from our room
Pics from the walking tour
This is a sewer pipe cover!
All the Best Vintage INDEED!! (thinking of you, Nat)
The care given to the trees in Tokyo is stunning to see. The trees are pruned near perfectly and their beauty stand out like a classic painting. This is a row of Gingko trees that was probably planted 100 years ago or so - biggest I've ever seen by far, and they have pruned them into the rough cone shape you can see in the lower pic. The leaves are days away from turning yellow, and this is what it's going to look like. So sorry we'll miss it!
As I mentioned, tomorrow the OI will be in Tokyo for some stupid waste of taxpayer millions, and we were right next to the place he's staying at while on our walk. There were literally HUNDREDS of police stationed around the perimeter. Very glad we'll be missing that.
We had dinner at a Kobe restaurant and drove right into the neighborhood where the American Embassy is located on our way to the restaurant. Pure madness. Miraculously, got to the restaurant on time. First pic is of technology we'll soon see everywhere: a rear view mirror that's not a mirror - it's an LCD screen. 2nd pic - the best steak we've ever eaten. By the numbers: best beef in the world is Kobe - 500,000 are grown each year, but only 1,000 of them fall into the top tier of the top grade, which is what we were served. Verdict? The buzz is true. It was unbelievable.
That cube on the left is bread
Monday, October 28
Good morning, Tokyo! Mt. Fuji sends her greetings.
We were told Mt. Fuji is very shy and often hides from the city - which was very true yesterday.
Tomorrow we get on the Regent 7 Seas explorer with about 750 other people and will see what the southern part of the country looks like. Osaka, Kobe, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Kyoto... and a stop in Busan, Korea.
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Observations I don't want to forget:
We only heard 2 car horns the entire time we were in Tokyo. Once was somebody HONKING AT US as our taxi was trying very hard to get out of the American Embassy traffic and get us to our reservation on time. Kind of embarrassing - but the irony wasn't lost.
We saw only one person smoking the whole time we were here (in his personal vehicle). It's not allowed even on sidewalks. But cigs are cheap. They got rid of it through a variety of ways, but the big one was societal pressure. These people are deadly serious about their culture and protect it vigorously.
Everything you've heard about how clean Tokyo is? Completely true. We encountered only one spot of litter (and it was in a very rich neighborhood - go figure!). The people here are polite, kind, helpful, sincere. The man who became our buddy in the Club Lounge at the hotel got teary eyed this morning when we said our goodbyes.
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Tuesday Oct 28 and Weds Oct 29
Some random shots of the interior of the ship - the lighting fixtures are over the top, as is the art. On Weds we visited a spot on the coast - largely industrial but we found some interesting places and things to do, including a traditional tea ceremony, and a walk through a Japanese Black Pine forest to the beach, with stellar views of Mt. Fuji.
This is a close-up of one of the lighting fixtures in one of the restaurants
The spot in the photo below is considered one of the top three places in the country to see
Mt Fuji. We were repeatedly reminded of how lucky we were that she decided to show herself today. It's a big deal to the locals. This mountain is about 1,000 ft higher than Mt Hood in Oregon.
Thus Oct 30
We pulled into Kobe harbor this morning, just before noon and were greeted with this:
Today we visited Mt Rokko, just north of Kobe. Part of the way up the mountain (1,000 vertical feet) was done on a funicular, a type of railroad for climbing very steep hills. And it only looked to be about 75 years old - so it was COMPLETELY SAFE.
The view from the top
...and then went to a distillery where they make sake the old-school way. How they ever figured out all the steps to make Sake about 2500 years ago remains a mystery, because it's complicated. We got to taste some made the old way, and it was pretty great.
Later that night....
The port of Kobe is doing a great job making itself pretty at night:
AND FINALLY (at least for today)
This is our 5th cruise - and (at least for one of us) the first show we've ever attended in the performance theatre space (all cruise ships have them, and usually the shows look... well, awful).
This one didn't look awful - and wasn't. It was amazing.
Full disclosure: I won't ruin a great show by recording it. I want to watch it. But I found this recording made by somebody a couple years ago - on a Regent Cruise in Kobe - with the same group. So I'm borrowing it.
Thus Oct 31 and Nov 1
Rainy today - which made it kinda perfect for what we did: a day of contrasts, first to visit the tallest building in Osaka, that features a 35 floor all-glass elevator (truly creepy if you have acrophobia), then a long escalator in a tube that connects the two towers of the building. Also pretty stomach turning for those of us with a fear of heights. The top of the building is crowned with a huge circular structure for viewing the city below.
In the photo above you can see the two escalators at the top that cross between the 2 buildings.
Here's another view of those escalators, taken from the top of the building (you can see people on the rooftop walk to get a sense of scale)
Later we visited Osaka Castle (built in the 15th Century) and the surrounding gardens, right in the heart of Osaka, Japan's 2nd largest city.
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, 2nd longest suspension bridge in the world (it lost it's spot as #1 to a bridge in Turkey that opened in 2022).
On Nov 1 we stopped in Kochi, the wettest spot in the country. A fairly small town with a deep connection to the sea. We went on a culinary tour of the town - a food hall that was packed tight with people eating all kinds of food, with a strong emphasis on fish. Bonita (a kind of tuna) is sustainably fished here - after the market we went to a restaurant where we roasted our own piece of Bonita over an open flame (made of rice straw). Fun fact: Japan eats 10% of all seafood harvested in the world.
Also visited a beautiful castle/shrine with gorgeous grounds.
See you all tomorrow
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Nov 2 - Nov 4: Hiroshima, Busan, Korea & Nagasaki
Sorry for the long lapse. Difficulty with internet signal and timing, but we've got a bunch of photos and stories to share.
Hiroshima. Damn this was hard. Our visit started at the Atomic Dome - a building that remained standing after the blast. Haunting - sad beyond words - frightening.
The building was left exactly the way is was found on August 6, 1945. Some reinforcements of weak walls were made - but the rubble and destruction was there for everybody to see and process.
The first thing I saw when we approached the dome were several herons perching atop the wrecked dome. It comforted me - but the stomach punch of seeing this place was very real.
There was a display of literally thousands of origami cranes assembled in memory of those who lost their lives that day - and the days that followed. 70,000 died on August 6, and it's estimated another 70,000 in the months that followed from radiation poisoning.
If you look carefully at the photo above, you'll see the flame that's more obvious in the picture below. This is not an eternal flame. They will extinguish it when the last nuclear weapon is dismantled. The day before the Orange Idiot announced we were going to resume testing nuclear bombs.
Monday, Nov 3
We visited Busan, the 2nd largest city in South Korea. Modern, busy, thriving retail, huge construction projects everywhere. We set out on our own - found a park and shrine and took some pics of the surroundings.
There was a bench near the shrine that some guy sat down on - and instantly a bunch (maybe 6?) cats emerged from the shrubbery to greet him. They love their kitties here.
Busan, Korea's mascot
Some hyperlinks to Korean-style building decoration
Tuesday, Nov 4
Nagasaki Japan
The site of the 2nd (and thankfully, last) atomic bomb drop in history. We decided to visit a different kind of hell instead of their memorials and remembrances of what happened in Nagasaki 70 years ago. Instead we went up the side of Japan's most active (and largest) volcano, Mt Unzen, to visit a National Park that has a place called Unzen Hell: active hot springs with an interesting history. When it was decided in the 17th century that Christianity needed to be vanquished from Japan (and the country was to be once again closed to all outsiders), these bubbling hot springs were where they'd throw people who refused to denounce their Christian Faith.
Nagasaki with Mt Uzan in the background
Some surprises we had during our travels here: Japanese drive on the left (what I jokingly call "the wrong") side of the road. We learned this was because of the way Samurai warriors carried their weapons. If you passed them on the left it was much more difficult for them to fatally attack you with their swords.
Another interesting thing about their culture was about how they school their children: the schools have no janitors. One of the reasons this country is so clean is because children learn very early in life how to clean and how important it is to keep things clean. The kids do all the janitorial work.
The ride up to Mt Uzen was every bit as terrifying as Highway 1 through Big Sur (when you're on the southbound side). Hairpin turns and lots of them. The highway up the mountain had dozens of newly constructed tunnels and bridges. They spend huge amounts of money on infrastructure, and it shows. Their national debt is almost as bad as the US, but not because of endless wars and military spending. It's bought them gorgeous bridges that will withstand 9.0 earthquakes, tunnels wherever they are needed, 200 MPH trains (soon to be 350 MPH), superb local transit (LRV, subways, etc) and roads with no potholes. I don't think the Japanese even know what a pothole is, unless they've travelled to other parts of the world.
Today we're at our last stop in Japan: Beppo, another site of active hot springs. This time, though, we're going to get to soak in one of them!
If you're curious about why Japan has so many earthquakes, tsunamis, hot springs, active volcanoes, etc take a look at this map of the plate tectonics in this country.
The Philippine, Eurasian and North American plates all collide right under Tokyo, and the Pacific plate is just a few miles east of that. The "ring of fire" indeed.
Thursday, Nov 6
Beppu, Japan
This is the first time we've travelled to a new place since ChatGPT was released - and it's been such a huge addition to the travel experience. In the photo above, you see this huge section of the mountain that has no trees. What's that about? we wondered. The answer is below. We've been doing this through the whole journey and found it an awesome way to get quick answers to our questions.
The broad cleared slope you’re seeing in the middle of the mountain isn’t a landslide or deforestation — it’s Mount Ogiyama (扇山), a smaller volcanic cone next to Tsurumi. That grassy, treeless area is deliberately maintained by the city and local volunteers.
Here’s why:
🌾 It’s part of the “Ogiyama Fire Festival” (扇山火まつり) —
Every spring (usually in early April), the entire hillside is intentionally burned in a traditional controlled burn called noyaki. This has been done for centuries to:
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Celebrate the start of the Beppu Hot Springs Festival.
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Prevent forest overgrowth and maintain grassland.
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Keep the slope visually striking and symbolic of Beppu.
🔥 The burning lights up the night sky, and afterward, new grass quickly grows, giving the mountain its clean, green look for most of the year.
So, the cleared look isn’t due to damage — it’s a managed, cultural landscape tied to Beppu’s identity and its connection to the hot springs and nature.
We just pulled into port - and once again were greeted with music! 2 days ago it was a band - much like a marching band - but more than that. Dancers, choreography, etc. Very cool.
If you're not able to see these videos and you are using a phone - try using a laptop or desktop. There seems to be a glitch in the software with youtube links and cell phones.
Our last excursion was to a Japanese Hot Spring bath house. There are hundreds of them in this little town - it's what they're famous for. This one had two indoor communal soaking tubs, another large one outside, 2 steam rooms (one hot, the other REALLY hot), and a place for a water massage on your shoulders or back. The water is heavy with minerals, and the air smells strongly of sulphur. Separate facilities for men and women - no swimsuits or tattoos permitted.
After the bath we were taken on a walk around a quaint and charming neighborhood, where I took the last pics of the trip.
This gorgeous tree was planted next to a small parking lot behind a random building. You see this kind of work all over the country everywhere you look.
This is what a typical grouping of shops and storefronts looks like. We could never tell what they were selling. Food... clothing... hardware?
Signs like this were a bit more helpful. At least we knew they were a restaurant! 1500 Yen converts to $10, so good prices, but I pretty much didn't enjoy the food in Japan save for the Kobe beef. It's surprising because we eat more Asian cuisine than anything else when we are at home.
Jeff liked the food more than me, but there seemed to be a pervasive taste in almost everything that was off-putting. We're not sure what the taste was (not fish sauce, though). This made travelling through the country on a cruise ship the right way for us to travel through Japan. The mostly western food on the ship was great.
A utility cover in the pavement indicating there is a fire hydrant below.
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Our ship departs at 8PM tonight, and we head back to Tokyo.
Tokyo is 350 miles away and it will take 35 hours to get there - so yeah, these ships aren't fast.
The itinerary is a bit convoluted: 1 hour cab ride to the Tokyo Airport, 4 hour flight to Taiwan, a 7 hour layover, and then a 10 hour flight to SF, and then 90 minutes or so to get our car and drive back to Vacaville. We'll be in super comfortable seating on both flights, so it shouldn't be too bad.
So what next? Any suggestions are welcome. We hope to see you all soon!
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