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Showing posts from August 28, 2011

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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I got out on the Appalachian trail again Saturday. I do better and better each time. Backpacking is definitely different than walking. I am looking forward to crossing the North Carolina and Georgia border. It will be a while yet. There are some grueling hills getting into the Appalachians. North Georgia is really a very nice place. I have been getting messages from all over the world with concerns about Hurricane Irene and the Farm. We will probably get less damage than he have in the several storms over that last year that went unnoticed by the rest of the world. In one of those storms in the past year, my neighbor was telling me how someone knocked on his door telling him his barn roof was in the middle of the road.