Dear friends and followers of this website, On April 6th I left my home in Niigata City and traveled to Noda city in Chiba prefecture which is just to the northeast of Tokyo. It was the first day of an extended trip which will last till the end of April. But only a few days later on May 2th, I’m off again on the road! The red line starting at … Continue reading →
Me hugging a huge palm street on Hollywood boulevard, Los Angeles California I’ve lived in Japan for 36 years at the time of this post — more than half of my life. In 2014 I had an opportunity to go to Los Angeles for a week. You might find my observations of America compared to Japan interesting. People using skateboards for transportation! At least in L.A. they do. I’ve never … Continue reading →
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5It’s been my observation that most people who have never been to Japan seem to think of Fukushima as an uninhabitable nuclear wasteland. My Facebook friends are surprised when on some of my posts I wrote that I traveled through Fukushima on my way back home to Niigata. “Why did you go there?” they ask. Mass media reporters have abbreviated the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to a single … Continue reading →
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1Towada in Chinese/Japanese characters There is evidence that Christianity may have come to Japan long before the Jesuit priest, Francis Xavier reached Japan on July 27, 1549. The northern prefecture of Honshu, Aomori, contains many Christian symbols that predate Xaxier, things from the 2rd or 3rd century! There is an area in Aomori Prefecture, Northern Honshu, called “Towada”. Lake Towada is famous and the largest lake in northern Japan. As … Continue reading →
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3I still hear a lot of fear-mongering about the Fukushima nuclear accident. Some call it “worse than Chernobyl”. I find no logic in that statement at all. Two and a half years later and yet not a single Fukushima power plant worker has died or is even sick! Examples of fear-mongering media manipulation headlines: Worse than Chernobyl: The inner threat of Fukushima crisis Nuclear disaster: Radiation levels at Fukushima would … Continue reading →
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3November 19, 2012: It was a bright sunny day and I didn’t want to spend it indoors in front of a PC screen. Instead I rode my bicycle to a village at the foothills of Mt. Yahiko, about 33 kilometers from home, and walked to the top, the very summit of Yahiko Mountain which is 634 meters above sea level. It took me 2 hours to ride to Yahiko Village … Continue reading →
Having fun hitchhiking in northern Japan, making new friends, and saving a bucket of cash.
Continue reading →Most of the Tohoku (northeast) region of Honshu Japan could fit in Lake Michigan.
Continue reading →Getting treated to an oyster snack on my 400-mile hitchhike adventure in Northern Japan.
Continue reading →Mr. Murata playing his handmade shakuhachi On June 22, 2012, Mr. and Mrs. Murata picked me up from Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, and invited me to drink tea with them in their home in Akita city. Mr. Murata’s hobby is making and playing a musical instrument made from bamboo which is called Shakuhachi. Mrs. Murata plays the Koto, a stringed instrument. I was honored to be their guest and hear them … Continue reading →
June 15, 2012: The day is bright and sunny with thin and wispy cirrus clouds. Again as I did the previous week, I started off from Majima station on Route 345 at 7:35 AM. This time I didn’t catch the first ride till 8:25, about 50 minutes later. The driver was a cook on his way to work at a restaurant in Sasagarenagare, a spa and resort area in northern … Continue reading →
Mr. and Mrs. Sakura in their living room Sunday, June 10, 2012: I hitchhiked 404 kilometers (253 miles) from Aomori Prefecture to Niigata City in 9 cars. They consisted of 4 married couples, two small children, 4 single men, 2 ladies and one single couple. A highlight of this trip was visiting Mr. and Mrs. Sakurada’s home in Noshiro. They picked me up when hitchhiking exactly one month before on … Continue reading →
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6Just take a very close look at the figure and describe what you see! Click it to see an enlargement. Clicking the enlargement will make it yet larger to see more detail. The figure is courtesy of Dr. Nakasato from Nagoya. I was introduced to him through my friend, Yoko Ishikawa of Tokyo. As you can see, major features of Japan are relatively close in position to those features of … Continue reading →
I had three books I wished to present as a gift to a VIP Japanese friend. I intended to give them as is without any formal wrapping paper to cover them, but my Japanese secretary suggested that they be wrapped together in a bundle with decorative wrapping paper. The secretary had only a couple minutes for the job and it looked rather haphazardly done. “Just tell her you did it!” … Continue reading →
