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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Here is a picture I took on February 19th when I was snowshoeing on the farm just after getting back from Antarctica. There is so much life in this picture. It was pretty amazing to me to see that Winter in Upstate NY is teeming with life compared to Antarctica. It was (is) like a dense jungle in comparison. One of the biggest misconceptions about Antarctica is that there is all this wildlife. Outside of the sea there is no life, wild or not. The sea harbors life very nicely because the sea ice seems to protect a lot of species from predators for at least part of the year. But outside of the sea it is incredibly lifeless. It is hard to describe how lifeless, because I have nothing to compare it to. There are no aromas.

I have been in touch with my friends I made on the ice. It is interesting to see who is going back this year and all the other related stories. I have several projects still going on related to the ice.

This weekend I have been doing farm work including skidding, cutting, and splitting logs for firewood. My Holder tractor has a new seat and has been lubed and washed.

I went and looked at new trucks yesterday. I will be buying a new truck this week (almost for sure). I am looking at Toyotas and Chevys. I realized I have been driving Chevy trucks for 24 years. I miss the Diesel already.

I am looking forward to my flying lesson this week. I feel most of it is now a matter of practice. It will be a great thrill when I solo. It will be a great personal achivement. I have to buy a few more aviation books today.

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Honshu and Okinawa

-
Image
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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