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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Last week was busy and fast, and action packed. I had my Birthday at my Dad's last weekend in MA, attended and spoke at a conference in RI and then took a few days off vacationing in NYC, NY, PA and NJ. I also spent an hour or so in downtown Greenwich CT. It was many States, Cities and Towns. Great fun!

Angie and I visited a number of interesting places, including the site of the original Woodstock concert in 1969, various casinos (no gambling at all) and Centralia, PA.

Centralia, PA was worth the effort getting to. The whole city of Centralia was demolished because of an underground coal fire that has been burning underneath for 50 years. It is coal's equivalent of Chernobyl. Although the gentleman I interviewed (a native of Centralia) says the the $42 million USD buyout of the residents of Centralia was just a means to access the huge coal vein through the surface someday. During our visit, there were a bunch of different 4 wheeler- type vehicles gathered. It was very reminiscent of a Mad Max movie. Definitely a post apocalyptic scene, the experience was something like a Mad Max re-mix with a civil war reenactment. Weird.

























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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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