Takadanobaba Station in Alameda

Nara is the site of Japan’s first Imperial Palace. That makes it one of Japan’s oldest city — dating back to the 8th Century. Our reason for traveling there, however, was more about cute four-legged furry animals than seeing the palace. Nara has a huge population of tame deer. We wanted to see them.  I’m standing maybe 10 feet away. Once you get out of downtown they’re all over the place. And they are pretty approachable. Actually, if they thing you have food for them, they approach you. We booked a bike tour in Nara.  Quick rewind — we started the Nara visit by taking the Kintetsu Limited Express from Kyoto to Nara. We took the Limited Express from Kyoto to Yamato Saidaiji (two stops) and then the local from there to Nara (two more stops). There was a moment of panic as I thought I had lost one of the Limited Express tickets. This ticket gets you an assigned seat on the train. A hasty trip to the ticket office. Paid for the ticket. Got out of the office, on the train and found the tic

The first full day in Japan is almost done. We took a day to relax from the flight and get a little oriented. First, I had to get a few morning shots from the balcony of the hotel room.  The red gate is the gate to the Heian-Jingu Shrine — want to go there (see lower photo) After eating the hotel’s complimentary breakfast it was off to the Kyoto train station to take a bus tour around town. Even when your sitting on the top deck of an open-air bus, it’s blazing hot here. I’m glad I had my hat to shield me from the sun. Tomorrow I will bring my umbrella and use it, too.  There are definitely sights we want to spend more time visiting.  Here are a few shots from the bus. I had an aisle seat so I didn’t have the best photo position. One of the shrines.  I know the real Boo Boo. He lives in Culpeper, Virginia. These are his parking spots.  The Nijo-Jo Castle — worth a repeat visit. Driving through the massive gate at the entrance to the Heian-jingu  Shrine. For my buddy Chris, who delivers

Arrived in Japan yesterday, Sunday, Aug. 27. It is disconcerting to fly following the sun and lose a day. It was about 11 pm San Francisco time, when we arrived, the next day. The smartest thing I did was arrange for a guide to meet us at the Osaka Airport (Kansai). Remy helped us purchase IC cards and train tickets.  First night was in Kyoto. The most efficient way to travel is by train. There’s an express. The Haruka express operated by JR West. We bought first class tickets which gave us assigned seats. We swiped our tickets through the fare gates and took the escalator down to the platforms. I’m not sure how many trains call at Osaka. I saw our express and an Osaka Loop train. (See photo) The closest thing we have in the U.S. to this kind of service is in Chicago. In Osaka and Tokyo, the JR urban railroads have loop trains that circulate around the central city core. I’m planning to ride the Yamanote Line in Tokyo.  Japanese trains sometimes have special paint schemes. Ours had a “

 Just a few days before we leave for Japan. The travel plans are mostly set. We fly into Osaka. We will be met by a guide who will help us convert currency and buy train tickets. First stop is Kyoto.  The next day will be a light day to allow us to get our bearings in Japan and see a little of Kyoto. I discovered that there's a Kato store in the Kyoto train station. I'm hoping to go there. If I don't make it, I'll hit hobby stores in Tokyo. Then we go to Hiroshima. To see the site of the dropping of the first atomic bomb and Peace Garden. Then back to Kyoto. All transport will be on the Shinkansen. That's the bullet train. The next day to Nara on a Kyoto to Nara direct train. Nara is the location of lots of tame deer. I'm looking forward to seeing them. At the end of the week we will again take the bullet train -- this time to Yamagata (via Tokyo) to visit a ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn). We will also go to the hot baths (onsen) and experience a Japanese T

The flights have been booked. My wife and I are are still working on the hotel and in-country itinerary. We're headed on a two-week lifetime bucket-list trip to Japan. My interest in Japan goes back to the fall of 1969, when my parents travelled there. I was only six years old and not invited on the trip. I stayed at home with Granny. She's my father's mother and a significant influence in my love of trains. One of the souvenirs the parents brought back for me was a fold-out pamphlet for Japan National Railways' Shinkansen. I looked at that and at some point it fell apart from having been folded and unfolded. At that time, I didn't know much else about trains in Japan.  Well, I did know that Japan was a major source of brass locomotives imported into the U.S. (At least that's what I learned from the back pages of the model railroad magazines.) Fast forward to December 2021. At that time, I was recovering from rotator repair surgery (left side). With nothing else