Destination: Japan

Ishigaki-jima

Thu, 26 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [314]

I JUST FINISHED READING THE ROAD TO LITTLE DRIBBLING , Bill Bryson’s hilarious account of his second foray to “discover” Britain.  Bryson is a walker.  His destinations are often the birthplaces, gravesites and stomping ... Read more >

Sunny Sunday

Sun, 22 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [351]

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES.  The rain has stopped, the wind has died down and the sky has patches of blue.  Typhoon Tapah left behind some scattered palm fronds, more rubbish along the high-tide line and empty store shelves.  One Family ... Read more >

Island Hopping: Miyakojima

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [356]

WHAT BEGAN AS ON-AGAIN, OFF-AGAIN SHOWERS accompanied by strong, gusting winds graduated from a tropical depression to tropical storm Tapah and may even — or already have — become a typhoon.  It's hard to tell since internet weather ... Read more >

Oh, Oh, Okinawa

Wed, 18 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [309]

ORCHIDS LINING THE WALKWAY TO BAGGAGE CLAIM give the impression that Okinawa is an island paradise.  Outside the airport the reality, at least through my eyes, is something less.  Okinawa is the island of “cube cars” of all makes ... Read more >

Photos: Island Hopping

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Photo Gallery

Nagasaki Peace Park and A-Bomb Museum

Mon, 16 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [392]

THE CLOUDS OVER KOKURA JAPAN HAD A SILVER LINING on that August morning in 1945.  Bad luck for the residents of Nagasaki, though.  Kokura had drawn the short straw and was the primary target for the world’s second nuclear bomb. ... Read more >

Nagasaki

Sun, 15 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [375]

NAGASAKI’S DORMY INN WAS A WELCOME SIGHT, visible as it was from the #5 Airport Bus stop at Shinchi.  It was after ten, we had been traveling all day and hadn’t eaten since lunch.  ANA, All Nippon Airways, was affordable, efficient ... Read more >

Photos: Nagasaki

Sat, 14 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Photo Gallery

Kelp!

Wed, 11 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [413]

OCHIISHI NATURE CRUISES SAIL ONLY ON WEEKENDS.  Their website is so poorly translated from Japanese that we had to drive all the way to Ochiishi to get the bad news.  This would have been our last chance to get a good look at a spectacled ... Read more >

The REAL Red-Crowned Cranes of Hokkaido

Tue, 10 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [407]

ONSEN IS JAPANESE FOR A HOT SPRING but it can also be a spa.  Or in the case of Akan Onsen, an entire town.  Akan Onsen sits on a lake which was formerly the caldera of a volcano and where Connie hoped to see Japanese waxwings.  We passed ... Read more >

The Grizzly Details—Shiretoko National Park

Sat, 7 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [472]

BROWN BEARS—GRIZZLIES TO US YANKS—were on everyone's minds.  Scores of weekend visitors—I didn’t realize it was Saturday until I saw the buses—hoped to see one of Shiretoko National Park’s Yezo brown bears. ... Read more >

A Damned Good Feeling

Fri, 6 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [383]

THE 325 KILOMETER DRIVE FROM SAPPORO was in its way nostalgic.  No, we've never been to Abashiri, nor have we driven in Hokkaido before yesterday.  But the long drive north brought back memories of other drives in other cars in other countries.... Read more >

The Birds in the Band

Thu, 5 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [329]

TUJI KOJI WAS JUST STEPPING OUT OF THE TREES as we arrived at Lake Utonai Sancturary.   When he saw my camera and Connie's binoculars he beckoned to us to see what he had in the small cloth sack.  Smiling broadly, Tuji-san — we didn't ... Read more >

Time Out at Misawa

Mon, 2 Sep 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [332]

WE ARE TAKING A FEW DAYS OFF — MAINLY BECAUSE WE CAN!  We're staying here at Misawa Joint Air Force/Navy Base.   It’s a little noisy with the F16s and the Navy P3 Orions taking off and landing at all hours, but we can handle it.... Read more >

Guardian Rabbits of Hirosaki

Sat, 31 Aug 2019 | By graynomadsusa | Views [331]

LIKE A ROLLING STONE, CONNIE GATHERS NO MOSS.  As soon as she wakes up, she’s out of bed and soon on her way — unlike a certain slug-a-bed who will remain nameless.  She is pretty religious about her morning walks as her iPhone ... Read more >