30 Reasons I Like Japan

1. Figuring out how to navigate the day was like solving a puzzle. That was most satisfying.

2. Being able to hop on and off trains anywhere, having paid once for my Japan Rail pass.

Hokkaido Museum Day: Trains and Beer

The trails around Otaru are still buried under snow drifts, so time for plan B: Museum Day.

Otaru (Train) Museum

Otaru had the first railroad on Hokkaido.

One of the many snow plows on display

Tokyo Hiking Trails

Trailhead: Seibu-Chichibu Train Station

April 4, 2013

I stayed at a hotel two blocks from the station and walked directly to trails.

Cherry blossoms, rice paddies

Bigu Feetu Around Matsuyama

Today (Tuesday) was a day to pause the journey. Besides it rained hard all day, which would have made hiking less pleasant. Time to be a consumer of sights.

I knew Matsuyama was a really cool place when I saw this heading along the streetcar line:

Temple Plumbing 2013

Just after you enter the grounds of a Japanese temple, there's always a fountain for rinsing hands and mouth. Here's examples from the temples I visited when I followed the route of part of the Shikoku Henro ("Shikoku 88").

Temple 37: Iwamotoji

March 29, 2013.