Japan Archives • Folksy Travel by Bill Smale

September 13, 2025September 13, 2025

Hopping in Kiso and Mt. Fujij

As I was traveling around Japan I decided to go to my old school area on Mt. Fuji, Fujinomiya, and also to a place I love to visit. The Kiso trail goes from near Matsumoto area to Nagoya and still has old villages with places to stay and a walking trail along the centuries old walking trail. These two areas are close to Tokyo so easy for day or several day trips. The Chuo line goes from Tokyo along the Kiso trail and is one way to see this beautiful area.

triumph car near Mt. Fuji — An old car museum display of one of my favorite type cars.

pokemon go players — Near my hotel in Kashiwa all these people are standing around playing Pokemon Go

the ghost musical — I am guessing this musical is based on “the ghost and Mrs. Muir”

motorcycle stop wakayama — Actually this is near Wakayama in the mountains and has been a favorite motorcyclist stop for over 50 years

The river view which is superb during the cherry tree blossoming season

bagdad cafe wakayama — The old sign for the “bagdad cafe”, evidently a hint from the movie

Map of customers — At a local restaurant a map with pins of were customers live

Measuring the CO2 level in the restaurant

few shops open — Many shops were not open due to dwindling tourist arrivals

noodle shop — I had delicious noodles here

March view — A view from the top in March

A small private garden. There are millions of these in Japan

mountain view Mt. Fuji — Later in the evening he snow dusted hills change color

Mt. Fuji view — A view from my grad school campus

shiraito no taki — Shiraitonotaki (white thread water fall) near my school has become quite a developed tourist destination

September 10, 2025September 10, 2025

Drifting around Ishigaki island

Ishigaki island is much closer to Taiwan than Okinawa and a much smaller island. However as you are drifting around Ishigaki Island you will find a wonderful ocean, interesting plants and animals and really friendly people wanting to talk to you over a drink. An island close by is Taketomi. When I was there in April/May I got the feeling it wasn’t the tourist season since most everything was closed. It is worth a day trip from Ishigaki and I recommend just walking around since it is such a small island.

typical local food — Typical local foods, the noodles and way of cooking pork is special to these islands

fish restaurant — Fish is the very delicious here

my hotel — My hotel which was not so cheap and a pretty old and not well maintained building. Hotels here are fairly expensive except that most seem to have rooms for 3 or more people, groups and families

Along with Avocado toast you can have “hot sand”,not so crunchy or gritty since “sand” is Japanese for “sandwich”.

Gas pump — Nice to see an old gas pump probably left from the US post war occupation

on guard — Watching out for all sorts of criminals especially illegal China fishing boats

beautiful ocean — Beautiful water. I wanted to try snorkeling but the shop said I was too old to go on a boat

traditional drawing — Okinawa tradition in a drawing.

island from above — Taketomi is the second from the right

While the Ryukyu islands were a kingdom each island had a different language. Locals today say they can’t understand what people on their neighboring island are saying.

growth monitors — Many trees are being monitored for growth

Two Korean tourists on the left (spoke very good Japanese), the bar owner in the back (bar seats 6 people), and two local residents to the right. It was a fun nght.

bar entrance — The vending machine on the left can be pulled out on a hinge and that is the bar’s entrance. Unique!

Highball — So “highball” is now a verb. This 1950’s term is still used in Japan and refers to whiskey and water.

beef is popular — If you “lanch” here you will have had a good lunch. Beef is a big thing in these islands and they raise cows on most of the large islands in a careful manner like in Kobe or Matsuzaka. But it is expensive.

roof tiles — Roof tiles stacked behind a coral wall

Coral wall plants — Plants growing out of the coral wall

Traditional clothing — Traditional costumes

nice trees — Reminds me of the Bhodi trees

chinese influenced temple — A temple with some chinese influences

I took a bus tour around the island. These are my fellow tourists.

ishigaki opposite side — The opposite side of Ishigaki

K car — Most cars in Japan now are “K” cars with 650 cc engines

flavored ice — Ice flavored with not much cream

August 15, 2025August 15, 2025

Hokkaido Enjoyment

Hokkaido Enjoyment includes food, walking around and traveling the countryside by car. You should be aware that in 5 years, as I was told, many of the local trains will be discontinued. This means car and bus will be the new major modes of rural transport. But the rental car companies seem to have things prepared in English pretty well so renting a car is pretty easy. My experience renting a car in Japan is very consistent. The rental companies are pretty honest and so are not trying to make extra money by charging for things that aren’t your fault. However, taking photos of the car before driving it as well as the gauge cluster showing milage and gas amount is still advisable.

Korean food (Japanese style) is very popular and becoming more and more Korean style while even Korean food in Korea is changing style. This is Korean noodles with Kimchi and grilled, marbled beef.

White gyoza — This was actually in Kashiwa, near tokyo, at the White Gyoza restaurant. This order of Yaki Gyoza was very tasty and the meal including Kimchi was only US$6.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/f3mG6AXe2rRk7EBS8?g_st=ipc

Ferry for Hokkaido Enjoyment — While the Shinkansen (fast trains) go under the channel to Hokkaido now there is still the ferry system which is cheaper. This one goes from Hakodate to Aomori. This ferry was US$26.

Salmon sashimi Hokkaido Enjoyment — Many Restaurants have a photo of this salmon sashimi with salmon roe on rice in the tourists areas.

One man train — Many rural trains are called *One Man* which means there is one person engineering the train and no second person to issue tickets. So the silver and blue machine is to pay for tickets which the engineer manages at each stop. The fare is displayed above on the screen and calculated by distnce.

Toyo-ura town — I stayed at this small fishing town, Toyo-Ura, which I don’t recommend unless you have a car. There is only one resort here and in my estimation overpriced. Everywhere you see the floats for fishing nets.

Good restaurant — This drinkery has very good quality food and I highly recommend it. However, a reservation would be a good idea since it is pretty popular.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/53duUMjFehibRasy6?g_st=ipc

Dunkin' donuts — I never buy hotel breakfasts separately or pay extra for them since I only want a cup of coffee and something small to prepare the stomach for a late lunch, my only real meal of the day. Here I am at Dunkin’ Donuts. While I am “dunking” the rest of Japan knows nothing of this great American tradition.

Proof I was in Otaru, a must visit city with many local craft shops especially glassware.

Kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurant but the only thing on the conveyor belt was advertising for specific items. You order as you do in a regular (modernized) sushi restaurant, from an iPad.

Uni shop — This is the only UNI (sea urchin) specialty shop I can recall.

August 8, 2025August 8, 2025

Cornell Japan 2025

I happened to arrive in Japan just at the right time. A group of Cornell students were in Japan for a study course, one month, and a lot of beautiful cherry blossoms were coming out. Cornell graduates in Japan were about 10 in 1976 and now more than 76.

With a friend’s, and Cornell graduate’s, company employees. Two people from me is Ryoichi (Joe) Shiratsuchi, the boss, and Bob Nellis’s son Scott next to me.

In Osaka with Sang Hong (Seoul) Lee, my former roommate, John Hamada ’65, and Mano Pak, a former student, a close friend, and the one who encouraged his Nephew, Sang Il, to attend Cornell.

Betty Shibata passed away the year before so I visited her grave. Her father on the left received an honorary doctorate the year Betty graduated. He was the first and so far the only Japanese President of Rotary International, a very influential person in US-Japan relations as was Betty.

At Yukko’s entertainment establishment in Golden Gai Shinjuku with the Dates to the left, good friends, and Scott Nellis, rapidly learning Japanese and working here.

The Kobe reception for the Cornell students in Japan for a month on interdisciplinary studies.

Kawasaki-san talking about his enjoyments at Cornell and welcoming students. He is a well known potter

Happy students with Hiroko and her husband in the back. Hiroko was the first blind Japanese student to attend a regular curriculum (not specialized for the blind) in the US.

With Akira Kasano, the Cornell soccer goalie, on the left and his friend Inoue-san at a night club in Wakayama.

August 7, 2025August 7, 2025

Japan Food Varieties

Yesterday I had a nice cold ramen in Kashiwa for $6.80. That seems to be close to the low end of the price range but it was pretty good. Japan Food Varieties will amaze you. You can go from raw to deep fried food in the same restaurant or in speciality restaurants. You can get everything from vegan to almost every kind of meat, even bear. By now you probably know Japan is famous for whale and horse meat. And some of their world famous Italian restaurants are here as well. Every part of Japan has it’s own special foods you should try. Go from Hokkaido for excellent ocean foods to fatty pork in Okinawa to baby bees in Matsumoto. And, heads up, there is no tradition of tipping in Japan so the price you see on the menu is the total you pay except for places that have table charges (OTOSHI) with a small snack or those that don’t include the sales tax in the menu price.

Okinawa gin — This is a very delicious and unusual gin produced in Okinawa and maybe not available elsewhere

ice cream Japan Food Varities — Ice cream is everywhere and somewhat tasty though not as flavorful as most western countries

ocean grapes — UMI NO BUDO Ocean grapes prevalent in Okinawa

Ishigaki rum — The most flavorful rum I have ever had. It is available only on Ishigaki Island

A Okinawa meal. Fatty pork with rice, noodles, cured seaweed and NIGAORI (goya)

fish and sashimi — Special Japan Food Varieties.; grilled fish in a semi sweet sauce with sashimi including HOTARU IKA (squid from the north.

tonkatsu — TONKATSU, one of my favorites with sesame above with the stick for grinding it.;

India Thai food — Strange Indian and Thai restaurant. You see the lunch menu varies in price from US$7.50 to US$9.50

thai food — Thai food in a Karaoke bar in Kashiwa

sushi resautant — My neighborhood Sushi/Izakaya. Mr. Kamiya on the left is the same age as me and looks like my Danish adopted sister’s father

Tempura — I have many favorite foods in Japan. One is TEMPURA.

unagi — A good UNAGI restaurant on the Tokaido line

Special variety. Above is something on a cured root.

cheap noodles — On Monday you can get noodles for as low as US$3.40

student discount — Student discounted food

cheap korean — korean style grilled food for as low as US$6

Sapporo fish restaurant. It was very tasty

kaiten sushi — A Sapporo KAITENZUSHIYA (conveyor belt sushi restaurant )

In UENO this ramen restaurant has the best pork ramen I have ever had for US$9.30. These are very tasty big pieces of pork which you never see.

izakaya — A typical IZAKAYA (drinkery) with grilled SHSHAMO fish (eat head frst), stingray fin, grilled chicken skin and liver

Delicious gyoza in a Shinjuku chinese restaurant I want to return to

With my former neighbors at our neighborhood sushiya

side dishes — Side dishes of MENMA and ZASAI

You can see the prices of food at drinkeries in Ishigaki

August 6, 2025August 6, 2025

Japan enjoyment

The key to Japan enjoyment is to just relax, take your time and don`t be pressured. There are so many little things to enjoy while bopping around the country. Take the opportunity to look at the smallest of things to understand how things work. You will love the places you visit if you take your time.

batmobile — A Village version of the Batmobile?

lotus Japan enjoyment — Lotus blooms at Ueno Park

Kaiba — Good Fiends I used to participate with sometimes

with friends — Lots of fun. The guy sitting next to me is Bob Nellis` son

Toto adversing their restroom products at the airport

lake hills Japan enjoyment — Hills around the lake

August 2, 2025August 2, 2025

Kyoto and Tokyo Memories

When you travel around Kyoto and Tokyo it’s always good to be with friends but even if you can’t remember there are some interesting places that even a person traveling by themselves can enjoy and can find somebody to talk to. I found myself having a fairly long discussion with a couple from Holland at the Ryoanji temple, the one temple I always visit when I go to Kyoto.

Kyoto in Tokyo memories — if you watch the video below you will see how detailed this lady is manicuring the garden grasses

Roof design — Old roof decorations. You can see the circles with the three items swirling, a design you see also in the Celtic tradition

Furigana — Here you can see modern Japanese written with some characters which are smaller off to the right. Those are to help people read the specific pronunciation of the kanji and are always used for students when they are learning kanji. This pronunciation writing is called furigana

Good timing — This was just good timing. There were a lot of pollutants and also missed in the air which made the Son this red color

The carbus — This model is called the carbus. I guess they couldn’t make up their mind what to call it

Old restaurant — Typical post war restaurant

Karaoke OK — Karaoke in the small restaurant

Singing karaoke — I never require much encouragement to sing karaoke

To graveyard — One of the most famous graveyards in Tokyo

Washing the tombstone — The bucket of water in the previous photo is used to wash the tombstone

Bar k — at bar K and GoldenGai Shinjuku with Scott Nellis

Preparing the stage — Preparing for presentations during cherry blossom season

Karaoke — With TAKEUCHI san singing karaoke

Used to be cherry trees — The street used to be lined with cherry trees 60 years ago

With a friend — With my friend Katena san

Cherry tree photos — People taking photos of the cherry tree

Tomb visit — With Hayashi san’s sister preparing to visit the tomb

Kei's grave — his is the one on the far left and you will notice the many kanji above the dates and name. This is the Buddhist name given to the person when they pass away. The more money you pay the better name the monks will give you.

Chinese crowd — my hotels convenience store was so packed with Chinese touristS it was impossible to even get in. I had to wait an hour for them finish their purchases

May 12, 2025May 12, 2025

Visit Wright’s imperial Hotel

it’s an interesting story how I learned the original imperial hotel in Tokyo which was taken down in the 60s was replaced with a giant hotel structure more fitting the economic potential of the area. As some of you know this building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and that is why it was so cherished and rebuilt at Meiji Mura (Meiji era Village).

Pete Muir and his wife Marjorie we’re close family friends often coming over for bridge and a dinner which gave us kids a chance to have some wine. Pete was the grandson of John Muir who you know as the great advocate of the Yosemite national park and many other things. He and Marge planned to visit Tokyo and I was going to take them around to interesting places I found. They had booked the imperial hotel and we’re surprised when they got there it was not the imperial hotel they remembered maybe from the 1950s or early 1960s. So I checked into the history and found that they were rebuilding the original hotel brick by brick near Nagoya at Meiji Mura. This was the first I heard of this place out in the middle of nowhere but my next post will be about the other buildings in this beautiful park which I highly recommend visiting if you’re interested in Japanese history, culture and the period between 1870 and 1925. if they wanted to again see the imperial hotel they remembered they could visit Meiji Mura which they decided to do.

https://www.imperialhotel.co.jp/en/tokyo/special/wright-building