My wife's cousin Jun composed the music for an opera, and we were invited to attend - in Sapporo! A blend of Japanese history and original music greeted us with this new opera. And while we were in Sapporo, we took a quick tour of the city.

Kawagoe is an historic Japanese city in Saitama Prefecture, nicknamed "Little Edo" for its well-preserved Edo-period buildings, featuring Kurazukuri warehouses, old merchant streets, and ancient temples. It's an easy day trip from Tokyo that allows you to experience some of old Edo Japan. We recently went once for lunch, and then I did a solo encore to check it out some more. 

If you're visiting Kawagoe you'll probably want to stop somewhere for lunch. Here are a couple of restaurants that I have tried recently that might work for you. One is a traditional Japanese sushi restaurant, and the other is a burger joint. Yes, quite a contrast! Bon appétit.

If you're in Japan during the fall months, it's always a nice idea to plan an outing outside Tokyo to see the fall colors. We made a plan to do just that, and tacked on a trip to Matsumoto to see the famous castle. Well, plans change when life gets in the way, but in our case not so much!

Introducing Greg Thomas, an old friend of mine from our time at Kaiser Permanente. He was working out of rosy Pasadena, while I was in various locations in the Bay Area. Greg retired a little earlier than I did, and did what some only talk about. Moving out of the US is not a trivial decision, but Greg took the plunge and did it, and most importantly, is happy he did.

As with David and Jeremy previously, I asked Greg if he would be interested in telling his story about how he decided to move to Costa Rica, and what is it like living there.  He’s included a some interesting and beautiful images of life in the small town he lives in. Enjoy!  --Charlie

Mt. Takao is another place off the beaten path that you can visit while you are in the Tokyo area. It has its share of visitors but is still not a hotbed of tourism, at least not yet. It's a nice alternative to the crowds at Hakone.

Introducing Jeremy Soltroff, another old friend of mine from our time working together at the Social Security Administration office in Northeast Philadelphia. A world traveler via the Air Force with various stateside assignments and notable overseas stints in Italy, Germany and Japan, he eventually retired from the military, lived for a time as a Jersey Shore beach bum, and eventually came full circle, settling back into the Philly area.  

Jeremy is a bit of a historian and lover of fine architectuture, and is more knowledgable about the tri-state area than anyone I know.  I asked Jeremy if he would be interested in writing about some notable estates in the area, and he graciously accepted.  His first story is about Andalusia, a beautiful estate on the Delaware River.  Enjoy!

Introducing David Rehmeyer, an old friend of mine from our time at Shared Medical Systems, both in Malvern Pennsylvania and Tokyo Japan. To me, David is a modern day Sal Paradise from Kerouac’s novel On The Road. His adventures are legendary, from Pennsylvania to Japan to New Zealand, Texas and Alaska, and many points in between. He’s done numerous long distance bicycle trips, and has avidly documented his treks in his own online journal.

I asked David if he would be interested in giving us a feel of what it is like to work in Alaska as a tour bus driver, his current gig, and he happily accepted.  He’s included a number of pictures depicting the beauty of the area around Fairbanks. Enjoy!

I was looking at some old photos the other day and stumbled on a place off the beaten track that I had pretty much forgotten about.  Our friends took us for a ride in their car to a unique park and museum complex called Clematis no Oka in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture. You may want to go too after reading this, but unfortunately, one of its key museums is closed indefinitely! Sigh.

After ten years we returned to Yosemite National Park to show my wife's brother and his wife its beauty and alure.  It was a chilly weekend in November a decade ago when we brought their daughter Akiko and her boyfriend Shinya to the park. This time we brought Akiko's parents to the park to experience the magic of Yosemite for themselves.