Here are some of Doug's thoughts and observations: These are random, stream of consciousness thoughts about our journey and the two countries we visited. Both Japan and South Korea are clean, at least in the public spaces places we saw and visited. Between the two, Japan appears slightly cleaner than South Korea. We never saw garbage on the streets of Japan; we definitely saw garbage on the streets of Busan and Seoul. It was obviously bagged and organized for pick up, but i

Today was self evident is its description. We had breakfast, returned to the room to pack up, then waited two hours for our guide and driver to arrive. We had a different driver than the past two days, but Grace was there, as always. I took a number of pictures on our way to the airport -- our last fleeting looks at Seoul and South Korea. Here are some of them... When we arrived at Incheon International Airport, about 12:40pm, we found the Delta ticket counter would not open

Picture of the Koreas, with the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between them. It is the only active DMZ in the world. Today we met our guide in the lobby early to head for the Demilitarization Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. This area is about 1.5 hours north of Seoul and we are trying to get the early shuttle into the area. What we learned was very complicated, but here is a synopsis of the experience. The DMZ was created by an agreement between China, North Korea and th

King Sejong the Great, the monarch who created the Korean alphabet (hangeul) and made it possible for commoners to have written language. Before this Korean was only a spoken language and the elites wrote in Chinese. Today was Hangeul Day, a national holiday. Today we met our guide in the lobby at 9:07 am. We were delayed due to a problem with sewer odor coming up from our toilet and smelling up the entire bathroom and our bedroom. The odor was atrocious! We called the mana

The dark blue line shows the KTX (Korean Train eXpress) route from Busan to Seoul Today was a full travel day. We woke up, washed up, got dressed and went to breakfast. Then we returned to the room to finish packing and getting things in order to leave. We met Mia Moon, our Busan guide, and Mr. Omb, our Busan driver, in the lobby at 11:30am. From there, they took us to the train station. Mia went in with us, helping us to find where our gate would be, but we had to wait awhil

We both slept well last night! It’s amazing how much simple travel can wear you out. We took our time getting dressed this morning. We were not meeting Ms. Moon until 10 am. About 9am we went to the breakfast suite. (Our room is on the 11th floor; the breakfast room is on the 34th floor. We ride up one elevator, then have to transfer to another elevator.) We ate breakfast, did Wordle, then headed to the lobby to meet Mia. She was already waiting on the first floor. (An unusua

The "Diamond Bridge" in Busan at night. Today was a lighter day of activity as it involved just travel. We slept very well last night, so we awakened feeling refreshed. We did Wordle. We got cleaned and dressed. Patrise had to process a form to register as a volunteer poll work for the upcoming November elections. The last day for registration was getting close. We did some technology work arounds, including getting the front desk to print what she needed to fill out. Once th

The building at the hypocenter (ground zero) of the atomic blast, the atomic bomb cloud, the Axis of Peace Today is our last full day in Japan and we decided to go visit Hiroshima and the Peace Memorial. We started very early with an 8:00am pickup for a trip to the train station for a 10:00 train ride to Hiroshima. We slept on the train for the entire 1.5-hour trip. Here are some of the many scenes of the Japanese countryside, on the way from Osaka to Hiroshima: Our guide,

Today was a significant step in our journey. The Gate City Bar Association portion of our trip ended; all of those travel companions were either going home or heading to Vietnam. However, the two of us were headed to Osaka, and then on to South Korea. We were headed to Osaka by way of a driver. The driver would pick us up at the hotel, but not until 1pm. Therefore, after breakfast, Patrise went to find a nail salon, to get one of her nails repaired. I stayed in the hotel room

[NOTE TO READERS: We were so tired at the end of yesterday’s, October 3rd’s, tour, that this is actually being written on the morning of October 4. Got to know your limits!] Today was our longest day of touring thus far. We began the day heading to see the Golden Pavilion; we ended the day with a farewell dinner. So much to talk about in between. We had our best night of sleep yet. We went to bed and immediately fell asleep about 11:15pm. Doug slept through the night uninte

Jishu Shrine for Lovers, next to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple After doing Wordle, taking showers, and getting dressed for the day, we headed to breakfast. We sat near Genghis Shakhan and spoke with him, as we were eating. (I don’t how I am going to reset my expectations to have breakfast without pork dumplings. Love those snack size morsels in the morning!) As we gathered to load the buses, many of out companions were awestruck by Patrise’s outfit. She dressed in a traditional Ja

Photo of a Shinkansen high-speed train zipping past Mt. Fuji (copied from internet) Today was a fairly simple day – activity wise. We awoke early, as has been our habit the entire trip. However, we awakened to better weather: nice and sunny, with no hint of rain. After packing our things and delivering our overnight luggage to the hotel lobby, we ate breakfast. After breakfast, Patrise suggested a walk around outside, to take in the sunshine. We did so and found ourselves wal

Joyce Tan, our new travel guide.. She is fantastic! We woke early again this morning. I slept most of the night; Patrise woke up too soon and not had sufficient sleep. Last night before going to bed, we did have a masseuse come to the room. Patrise had an 1.5-hour massage, I had a 1-hour massage. So, we went to bed fairly relaxed. She however had an upset stomach, from the sushi and sashimi we ate at lunch, although it did not bother me at all. Perhaps that is why she did not

Today was a free day, but it proved to be both unique and interesting. We were awakened about 4:45-4:50 this morning by a low intensity earthquake, 4.9 on the Richter scale. The earthquake announcement issued this morning The building swayed and it felt as though the bed was rolling. However, there was no apparent damage to any buildings. The Gate City Bar Association (GCBA) group had established a chat stream in WhatsApp at the beginning of the tour. Needless to say, the cha

Meiji Jinju Shrine Foundation Poster, Shibuya City wayfinder sign, signs of a rainy day in Tokyo. Today was a rainy and overcast day! The next few days are likely to be much of the same, due to the effects of Typhon Surigae, 900 miles away from Japan’s main islands. You will see a lot of rain, mist, and umbrellas in today’s photos. Projected path of Typhon Surigae, bringing a lot of rain to parts of Japan, including Tokyo The two of us awoke early this morning, about 5:15-5:3

Map of central Tokyo with East Gardens, Tokyo Tower, and other prominent sites. We ate breakfast in the hotel, using two of the coupons we have been given for dining. The meal is buffet style with primarily Japanese items, but there were scatterings of Chinese, Indian, and European-style items, as well. Our favorites were clearly the pork dumplings. So good!! We sampled a good number of the offerings. However, the coffee was not to our tastes, and so, still having 25 minutes

Our journey will begin in Tokyo (far right), then proceed to Kyoto (not shown), then Osaka (including a half day visit to Hiroshima); then we fly to Busan, South Korea, then take a high-speed train to Seoul. After over a year of anticipation, today is the day that our 2026 Asian adventure begins. The two of us are headed to Japan and South Korea. The journey will take 17 days, but today is the first day. Doug did not sleep well the night before the journey began. His brain w

This was to be our last day, before leaving town. We decided to get out and about, primarily because Doug has not been able to see as much of the city, having been sick four days this week. We began by making one last trip to Le Centennaire. It had quickly won our hearts and become our "neighborhood hang out. The quality of the food, the wonderful service, and the ever-changing views of community life: all combined to make it a place that we did not seem to tire from. So brea

This was the day for our last performance in the evening. However, before then, the group had the opportunity to visit Notre Dame, to glimpse the inside of the newly-restored sanctuary. Admission is free, but we got an early start, so as to get in before the large crowds inevitably arrived. The group traveled in three subgroups. One of the three walked from the hotel to Notre Dame, a trip of about 30 minutes. A second of the groups were carreid by van, leaving the hotel at 7: