Month: February 2017

February 18, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 45 of 111. Incheon, South Korea The two strongest impressions of South Korea were the large number of condominiums indicative of the very high population density and the amount of barbed wire and observation posts along the coasts, the river, and the DMZ. It was obvious from our observations and from the information of…

February 18, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 45 of 111. Port of Incheon, South Korea Early morning entry into Incheon, Korea, involved passage through a lock with very little room to spare. At each port, a pilot from the locality comes on board. Looking up into the navigation window I could see our captain and I think the other fellow was…

February 17, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 44 of 111. The Yellow Sea nearing Incheon, South Korea In watercolor class we tried our hand at stylized bamboo painting. On our tours I took pictures of bamboo to get some ideas about how the leaves should look. It turns out that there are over 300 species of bamboo so almost anything can…

February 16, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 43 of 111. Nagasaki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan. We toured Ground Zero where the second atomic bomb was dropped. It was a somber visit with the message that Nagasaki must be the last place on earth where an atomic bomb is ever dropped. The black obelisk marks the exact spot of ground zero. There were…

February 15, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 42 of 111. Kagoshima, Japan We visited Kagoshima and the Sakurajima Volcano. We took a ferry over to the island volcano and could see puffs of smoke rising from the peaks. The island is also the home of the huge white radish! Cool stuff. Sengan-en Garden was built as the second residence of the…

February 14, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 40 of 111. Osaka, Japan At dinner, we decided to leave the ship one more time and ride the giant Ferris wheel. Our table mate, Bernice, really wanted to go, so we ended up going along with the idea. It turned out to be a smooth and pleasurable ride and we got a good…

February 13, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 40 of 111. Osaka, Japan We visited Osaka Castle today with its huge tower. We took an elevator to the fifth floor then walked up to the eighth floor observation balcony. On the way back down the tower, we saw exhibits about the shoguns and their history. The Castle was built for protection and…

February 12, 2017 Paul Groves

When we stopped for lunch at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Kyoto, there were two girls dressed in kimonos in the lobby. We asked, and one of them posed for a photo. In one of the handicraft shops, I saw a Hoberman Switch Pitch ball that we use in chemistry class totally covered with Japanese…

February 12, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 39 of 111. Osaka Japan Here we are at the Heian Jingu Shinto Shrine. The visit was great, but the garden must be amazing in the spring. The stand full of wishes and the offerings of saki barrels were interesting things to see. I really liked the trees covered with papers. All of the…

February 12, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 39 of 111. Osaka, Japan We arrived in Osaka at 8:00 a.m. The sea was very calm (a welcome change) but the air was cold (35 F). In my down coat I was comfortable, but my ears were cold. I went shopping later for a knit cap. (2,000 yen) We visited the Golden Pavilion…