Our breakfast buffet was in the Azalea Room on the 3rd floor of our hotel today.
Right after breakfast, we were leaving on a 2 hour bus trip to Nikko. On the way, Kami explained the saying…”Never say Kekko, until you’ve seen Nikko.” Literally, You will not be satisfied, until you see Nikko. Nikko is one of the most beautiful areas of Japan.
Not much to tell. After working for 3 companies over 43+ years (38 years 7 months with my last company), I finally got that promotion I had waited my entire career for……retirement.
I have been exploring this new career for the past 7+ years and while it is not always exciting, the chance to do what I want for myself and my family instead of what my company wants has been very fulfilling. Early on, there was a long list of projects in my “to-do” hopper and I attacked these projects with a vengeance for the first 9 months of retirement. Eventually, my brain told me that this was not what retirement was about, so it took me another 5 months before my industriousness again took over and I attacked another line of projects, this time somewhat shorter and less complicated, as well as many new projects related to the family weddings in 2016. After going hard for 6 weeks and 3 weddings, my body was telling me to relax, then the flu bug hit and as soon as that was done with me, my sciatic acted up. No rest for the wicked. In 2020 and 2021, the Covid 19 pandemic changed the whole retirement gig. I was lucky to not be still working, for sure.
I enjoy photography, gardening, working with my hands, walking, cycling, skiing, travelling, reading and creating special photo and video productions obtained in my first pastime. I may never become wealthy in any of these pursuits, but I already feel I am rich in life experiences far beyond any expectation.
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I am really loving these pictures! I saw that Japan is starting to open up to tourists again, I’d love to visit one day. Maybe by the time I get there there will be faster planes so the journey isn’t so long.
Glad to hear it Lyssy. They are a blast from the past, for sure. Hope you get the chance to visit. I think they are only open for tour groups right now. WE went on a tour in 1982 and then on our own in 1985 and 2009. Always a great place to visit. Our travel time home from Tokyo in 2009 from door of hotel to our front door (via Vancouver) was only 12 1/2 hours. Short by comparison to a trip to NZ. Happy Friday. Allan
As I read through these articles, I cannot help but reflect on the fact that I was just 4 years old during your trip! These are special pieces, I find myself looking a the toll booth man and wondering, what became of him? How did life treat him? I’m guessing he’s long gone at this point. Love the shot of the children at Toshugu Shrine.
Ahhh, such a nice way to tell me that I am old. Not to worry, I figured that out when I put this series together. I like your sense of wonder. I wonder what has happened to all the tour guides we met along our way on these travels and the fellow travellers who were all older than us. We did keep in touch with a retired couple out of Seattle Tacoma and we visited them in 1987 to show them our first born. They were gentle people. I often think it is not the places on our travels that make the memories, its the faces. Thanks for reading Leighton and your comments. Happy Saturday. Allan
One thing I did not mention in the post is that everywhere we went, the kids would all flash us the V sign and sat Hello Joe, assuming we were all Americans, which most of our group was. This still happened on our 1985 trip, but not in 2009.
Hey Allan, just a note to say that I have replied to your message on my post today but WordPress simply refuses to post it as a reply. Instead, it puts it down to the bottom of the thread as a standalone comment, which of course doesn’t give you a notification. I tried tricking the system by deleting and reposting it through my WP Admin, then the phone, then through the homepage, the result is the same. I’m not having this problem with other commenters (so far), I wonder what they’ve got against us communicating 😉
I see WordPress has been making a lot of changes lately, not all of them working. I seem to get more and more comments in my Spam folder. Will look for the comment. Thanks for the heads up. Allan
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I am really loving these pictures! I saw that Japan is starting to open up to tourists again, I’d love to visit one day. Maybe by the time I get there there will be faster planes so the journey isn’t so long.
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Glad to hear it Lyssy. They are a blast from the past, for sure. Hope you get the chance to visit. I think they are only open for tour groups right now. WE went on a tour in 1982 and then on our own in 1985 and 2009. Always a great place to visit. Our travel time home from Tokyo in 2009 from door of hotel to our front door (via Vancouver) was only 12 1/2 hours. Short by comparison to a trip to NZ. Happy Friday. Allan
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As I read through these articles, I cannot help but reflect on the fact that I was just 4 years old during your trip! These are special pieces, I find myself looking a the toll booth man and wondering, what became of him? How did life treat him? I’m guessing he’s long gone at this point. Love the shot of the children at Toshugu Shrine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahhh, such a nice way to tell me that I am old. Not to worry, I figured that out when I put this series together. I like your sense of wonder. I wonder what has happened to all the tour guides we met along our way on these travels and the fellow travellers who were all older than us. We did keep in touch with a retired couple out of Seattle Tacoma and we visited them in 1987 to show them our first born. They were gentle people. I often think it is not the places on our travels that make the memories, its the faces. Thanks for reading Leighton and your comments. Happy Saturday. Allan
LikeLiked by 1 person
One thing I did not mention in the post is that everywhere we went, the kids would all flash us the V sign and sat Hello Joe, assuming we were all Americans, which most of our group was. This still happened on our 1985 trip, but not in 2009.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Allan, just a note to say that I have replied to your message on my post today but WordPress simply refuses to post it as a reply. Instead, it puts it down to the bottom of the thread as a standalone comment, which of course doesn’t give you a notification. I tried tricking the system by deleting and reposting it through my WP Admin, then the phone, then through the homepage, the result is the same. I’m not having this problem with other commenters (so far), I wonder what they’ve got against us communicating 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see WordPress has been making a lot of changes lately, not all of them working. I seem to get more and more comments in my Spam folder. Will look for the comment. Thanks for the heads up. Allan
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Nope. I can’t find it. Hope WordPress sops tinkering. Happy Sunday
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