Honshu and Okinawa

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I am back. I spent 10 days in Japan, 5 days for work on the main island of Honshu and 5 days of solo adventure in Okinawa. Travel is so invigorating dispite the uncomfortableness. Jetlag, anxiety, crowds, and other discomforts aside, it is mind-expanding and rewarding. Work went well. I flew a new airline (Skymark) from Tokyo to Naha. I am always wary of strange discount airlines and all the traps they set. However, I had a great expereince with "Sky". I was actually shocked. Super easy checkin at the airport, no extra fees even with extra luggage. The primary mission in Okinawa was to visit the Peace Park and the suicide cliffs of Okinawa. From what I understand, at the end of WW2 the inhabitants were encouraged to commit suicide rather than surrender to the Americans and get tortured and eaten. Besides other types of suicide, they jumped off the cliffs at the Southern end of the main island. If you have seen the original color footage taken at the time, I am sure you ...
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More folks are coming in from the field. ITASE is done for the year and those folks are back. ANDRILL is all wrapped up. The Meteorite hunters are done and they gave a presentation last night. We collected about 700 hundred meteorites this year. The Antartician meteorites are generally the most pristine on the planet. It is fun to catch up with these folks as they all come back into town after meeting them earlier in the season. Everyone learns something.

I am hearing a lot of "Where have you been Charlie?" I was out of town for a week on a business trip to Pole.

This is a hallway in the new South Pole Station.

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