Last night I returned from Japan. The Boeing 787 was like a time machine: It landed at JFK Airport at almost the exact minute it departed Haneda! The reason, of course, is that Tokyo time is thirteen hours later than New York, and the flight took about 12 1/2 hours. (The flight to Tokyo took about an hour longer because the plane was flying into the prevailing wind.) But I am still living on Japan time; it probably will take me another day to re-calibrate.
When I embarked on this trip I had planned to post on this blog every day, or nearly so. So why didn’t I? I was having such a good time. But, dear readers, that isn’t to say that I post when I am not having a good time. Rather, I enjoyed—and at times was exhausted by—my days there because I was experiencing so much.
Also, even though I’d read that most of Japan is very hot in July, I was not prepared for the heat I experienced: Every day the temperature reached 34 to 37C (93 to 98.6 F) and, because the areas of Japan I traveled are further south than New York, the sun was more intense. So at the end of a day of cycling to temples, shrines and other sites, I was exhausted!
Speaking of cycling: I rented bikes in Tokyo and Kyoto. The former has a bike share program but it’s difficult to use if you’re not a resident. I didn’t cycle during the three days I spent in Osaka: No one I asked seemed to know how or where to rent a bike.
During the next few days I’ll write more about my cycling and other experiences in Japan. I hope the trip I just took won’t be my only one to the Land of the Rising Sun.
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