Oh, I Think So

I made the very good decision of booking a day trip to Kyoto out of Tokyo.  They are nowhere near each other so it really is an all-day affair if you want to see anything at all.  The train ride is two hours with a top speed of 243 kilometers per hour.  Within city limits like Tokyo, the train can't go that fast but out in the countryside, it's a like a bullet.  On the trip to Kyoto, there was daylight and a lot of curiousity on my part, Japanese countryside, some views of the sea, and using the restroom in a train going 243 KPH.  The train is pretty damn smooth.  Trains in the USA -- Amtrak and commuter trains -- do a lot of jostling along, probably due to the condition of the rail and the age of the train cars.  (Commuter and subway trains in Japan?  Also pretty damn smooth.) We have a pretty good view of Chicago from the office where I work.  It's an unobstructed north and northwest view of the city.  A few years ago, a really power...

I have a friend who used to work booking VIP travel for her employer.  Whenever one of the higher-tier or supercool hotels was having a party, she was always invited.  Occasionally, she would invite me along. At one of these parties, we met a man who was invited because he was flat-out stinking rich and because he booked enough rooms at this particular property to warrant an invitation.  He sat at our table and talked about how he went to Cuba every year at a time when Cuban travel was not allowed and the only way to get there was via Mexico or Canada.  The man was so tan he was purple, a most unattractive shade on a human.  He'd been everywhere several times, too, and he had opinions. The man asked me where I'd always wanted to go.  I said, "Tokyo."  He said, "You don't want to go there.  You want to go to Kyoto or Kobe or Nagoya.  You don't want to go to Tokyo."  I told him, "I said I wanted to go to Tokyo because I want to go to T...

I am in the throes of practice packing for my vacation, trying to determine if I should just buy a new damn suitcase.  Frankly, I should have just bought the new damn suitcase and been done with it.  I've taken a break to come here so I can clear my mind before getting back to the packing.  I think it will be fine and I've acquired one of those handheld suitcase scales. I will be back to the blog on Sunday, September 20, and there will be many pictures including those of people taking pictures of people.  I look forward to sharing them!