TravelBio

One of the benefits of Covid-19 (on my way to Sayama and Tama Lake) Back in the early spring I visited Kinuta Park, which is southwest of my neighborhood, between central Setagaya City and the Tama River. Kinuta Park is about 100 acres and is famous for cherry blossoms. Although there weren't yet in bloom when I was there, the park was still a great way to get some peace of mind and take in the spring flowers. I'm generally a city person and love the convenience of Tokyo, but I try to take advantage of the nearby parks and get out of the urban landscape every week or two. I only took a few pictures, so decided to combine my visit at Kinuta with another area west of central Tokyo--the Sayama and Tama lakes. Sayama and Tama Lakes are actually reservoirs, capturing water from the nearby mountains to the west of the city. These man made lakes are a large source of Tokyo's water, and unfortunately most of the coastline is fenced off. There are several lookout points an...

  In early April I went for another weekend day trip, this time to Chiba prefecture, which is just east of Tokyo. The city of Tokyo itself has about 9.4 million people--large in its own right--but much of the metro area spreads beyond the city's 23 wards. The population of Chiba prefecture is over 6 million, most of whom are within the Tokyo metro. Some of my coworkers live in Chiba, with commutes to the office of 1.5 hours or more each way. Japanese office workers already have long hours; the last thing I'd want to do with my precious free time is waste 3 hours a day on a packed train! Nearly 14m people live in Tokyo Prefecture, with 9.4m in the city's 23 wards; but much of the metro area extends into Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba. From my apartment in central western Tokyo, I took the metro to Tokyo Station, then transferred to a local train bound for Chiba Station. When I exited the station, there were some pedestrians and several shops open, but I'm sur...

If you visit Tokyo, you'll likely spend most of your time in the western and central parts of the city--there's not a whole lot on the east side. I guess Akihabara and Ueno Park are technically east/northeast of the Imperial Palace grounds, although they are still quite central. East of the Sumida River, the only ward that draws many visitors is the aptly named Sumida City. The ward boasts the Tokyo Skytree, just across the river from Asakusa, and Ryogoku, home to the Edo-Tokyo Museum and the most famous sumo stadium in Tokyo. Since I've had a lot of time on the weekends, with coronavirus largely shutting down my social life, I took the chance to see more of East Tokyo. Back in March I spent a half day exploring Sumida and Koto wards. I walked past the Edo Tokyo Museum, continuing on to neighborhoods around Kinshicho, Mozen-Nakacho, and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa stations, including Sarue, Kiba, and Kiyosumi Parks. These areas are still close to central Tokyo, so maybe I...

Cliffs along the southern coast of Jogashima Back in March I took a day trip to Jogashima, and island in Kanagawa Prefecture, off the southern tip of the Miura Peninsula. It took close to two hours from my place in Tokyo on public transport, via two local trains and then a bus. The scenery was well worth the trip and I got lucky, with a sunny spring day in the 60s (close to 20 Celsius) and few other tourists on the island. This isn't an endorsement of Covid-19, but the empty trains and open spaces in normally bustling tourist sites are a bonus! And since Japan never had a strict lockdown, I made sure to take advantage of the opportunity. Jogashima is connected to the mainland by bridge and is less than 2 kilometres (east to west) by 0.6 kms (north to south), so it's easily walk-able. The north side of the island, facing the mainland coast, has a small town and fishing harbor, while the south side is guarded by steep cliffs. It took me less than two circumnavigate th...

Sunset along the beach in Hayama On February 1st, a man from Hong Kong who had been on the Diamond Princess cruise ship was diagnosed with coronavirus. Three days later, the ship docked at the port of Yokohama, just south of Tokyo. The following morning, over 10 people on board tested positive. The Japanese government decided they would keep all 3,711 passengers and crew on the ship and try to implement a quarantine. For two weeks no one was allowed off the ship (unless they tested positive--then they were transferred to a medical facility), passengers were largely confined to their cabins and medical staff conducted periodic tests for the virus. Medical staff conducted daily tests on passengers and crew The story was huge new in Japan, with media reporting from the docks 24/7 Problem is, the ship acted more as an incubator than a quarantine. Doctors also reported of disorganization on board, with no demarcation between infection free areas and those potentially ...