I must have taken a thousand photos on this three-week trip, so I thought I'd mostly show some new ones and point out oddities and other unusual items of interest
In Okinawa, the tour bus driver was introduced. Normally in the U.S. that is to coax you to leave him a tip, too. What the Japanese driver did was breath into a breathalyzer to prove he was sober. Where else in the world does this happen?
One bit of comfort is that in Japan and on the Diamond Princess (plus I have a Toto Washlet at home) you take for granted the warm toilet seat. Not so in Korea, for just sitting down there is a shock to the system. In Japan, furthermore, variations include options for music and sounds to promote what you're doing:
Yes, you can wipe to sterilize the toilet seat.
I've stopped going to China and India for their terrible air pollution. China's problem is partly natural, as there are regular dust storms. Add the industrial emissions, and they both waft over to South Korea. Here is photo from our Seoul hotel room at ten in the morning.
That is the sun and the Air Quality Index was 200. Delhi that day was at 600, Honolulu...10.
About human induced problems, you tend to see Mount Fuji photos in what looks like a pristine setting. Not so:
But I feel compelled to show a couple of more standard shots I took:
My blue-bar pigeon led me to a reunion with Pearl's Bluish-Black and White Koi at Shukkein Garden in Hiroshima:
This was the second koi to consume Pearl's ashes. Here is an earlier photo when I took it at that time:
What makes this carp so distinctive is that it is closer to blue than black.
On this trip, I had encounters with other creatures, like bears:
These colored bears actually saved us, for we were walking around Dongdaemun Gate in Seoul and couldn't find the subway station. Then we again passed this site and we knew exactly where to go.
Got to show this motorcycle lady on the subway in Yokohama. Note she has a helmet to wear. Most of these battery-powered scooters disabled people use barely get by. This one operated like a three-wheel motorcycle. She moved so fast she had to wear a helmet.
On Okinawa I could not show too many photos from Churaumi Aquarium because the ship's network was too slow. Here is a giant snail, then a manatee:
One more of the whale sharks:
I can show a thousand photos of Taipei, but here is just one more:
Two lounges stood out. First, a toast to the Nagoya Marriott Associa, for their Club Lounge was as good as it gets:
A rare shot of the ANA Business Class Lounge when I was one of the few people there. It can hold a lot more than a hundred people, and I spent ten hours there (in two visits):
Never spent so much time just looking around Yokohama. In my earlier days I stayed at the Intercontinental several times. I had rooms that generally faced this ferris wheel, which if it fell off and rolled toward the hotel, would have hit me:
My first trip to the Yokohama Ramen Museum. Here are various types:
The breakfast buffets were spectacular. While at the Yokahama Bay Sheraton I said it was free. That is for Platinum members. Others pay more than $30:
Yokohama was particularly graced with yellow Gingko Trees:
The Fall orange color are memorable, but the addition of yellow enhances the scene, here a yellowish maple, followed by mostly gingko:
The oranges were particularly spectacular:
Here was the last vestige of fall color in front of the Seoul Sheraton:
The cruise on the Diamond Princess from Yokohama to Okinawa to Taiwan is worthy of a repeat:
My travels will in the future be limited. However, there is that February adventure to Thailand, and, of course, I keep drumming up interest for those who want to join me for an around the world journey in about a year, with a primary stop at the World Expo in Dubai.
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