Travel Gear: One-Time Password Generator

My smartphone and tablet make it easy to access my Internet accounts, maybe too easy: what happens if my devices fall into the wrong hands, or if a username and password are somehow intercepted?

On my most recent trip, I used a YubiKey Neo one-time password (OTP) generator.

End of the Line

I'm on a fast train when I see a single train track peeling off into the distance. I want to go where that track is going.

Maybe the end of that single track is a remote place I can use as the start of an "Ekikhara hike," a hike from a train station.

Plain Views of Sado Island

Rice Field #1

Today, I explored part of the plain that bisects Sado Island (an island in the Sea of Japan, off northern Honshu, Japan). Walking on level ground gave my knees a rest after walking up a mountain the previous day.

Beyond wanting to be in the countryside, I didn't have a specific plan. If a side-road looked interesting, I took it.

Meeting Bashō

Zenshoji Temple

For two days I've been exploring an area the writer Matsuo Bashō visited in 1689 while traveling his "Narrow Road to the Deep North."

Today it worked out more practical to explore Bashō's journey in reverse. While he headed south, I walked north, in the rain, looking for little connections with his journey. I wondered if we would meet.

Temple Plumbing 2014

Just after you enter the grounds of a Japanese temple, there's always a fountain for ritualistic rinsing of hands and sometimes the mouth. Here's examples from the temples I visited April 2, 2014 when I walked the route of part of the Shikoku Henro pilgrimage ("Shikoku 88"). 

I wrote a similar post in 2013 when I visited other temples on this pilgrimage.

Temple 1 (of 88): Ryozenji

The pilgrimage starts at this temple.

A Day to Forget

OK I admit it: I got tired of figuring out this place all on my own, so I signed up for a "Landmarks and Viewpoints" tour for foreign visitors.

This was a day to forget.