Irreverently irrelevant.
Sysadmin, developer, web dude in a science research organisation. WordPress, Japan, planes, trains, Arduino, Raspberry Pi/Pico, puns, dad jokes, etc
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Seafood, Shinkansens and Shinjuku
One of the nicest things about being back in Tokyo is not needing to tread carefully to avoid slipping on ice. It’s more about treading carefully to avoid stepping on other people, but here in Shinjuku the legs are on automatic, so familiar is it to them. With the arrival of a sunny day and…
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Slipping round the back to Hakodate
JR Hakodate says it can’t afford to maintain much of its rail system anymore and that many sections will close. They include the most northerly and easterly of stations in Japan. Naturally I want to ride on all of these lines before they close, but that will have to be a trip for another day…
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Asahiyama Zoo
The cold record has been broken. Today the thermometer read -11.5 degrees centigrade at the zoo. In fact I saw it read -12.9 in central Asahigawa as we rode past in the bus. Look, I know Russians, Canadians and Antarcticans will laugh at such puny numbers, but you have to remember that we aren’t prepared…
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Takino Snow World
It once got down to minus 5.4 degrees in Canberra. I ran up the nearest hill dressed only in shorts and t-shirt as tiny flecks of snow fell around me. By the time I returned to the house my hands were almost too numb to open the door. On another day in Canberra it got…
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Streetcars, Shinkansens and Sapporo
Up until late last year the Seikan tunnel and 23.3 kilometres long and about 100 metres below the sea between Honshu and Hokkaido was the world’s longest and deepest mainline railway tunnel. Then the Swiss beat it with the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Also last year marked the first time that Shinkansens began using the tunnel.…
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Riding the Akita Nairiku line
Such is the web of Japanese Railways that there are many ways to travel between Kakunodate and Hirosaki by train. The fastest is to use Shinkansens. But I am a fan of the slow route, the unpopular line at risk of closure, the local train for a declining number of locals. The Akita Nairiku line.…
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Samurai streets in the snow
It stands alone at the edge of the street, snow piled high against the sidewalk in front, concrete walls a spider’s web of cracks. The sign atop reads Sharp, as in the ever troubled Japanese electronics manufacturer. At the window stands an ancient cathode ray television, petrol scooters and miscellaneous other items. It could be…
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Thunderbirds are snow go
You must forgive us for thinking snow is fab. I’ve been to the snow in Australia and it is nothing like this. It’s magical! An early morning start saw us racing to the train station and quickly reserving seats before hopping on board an unreserved section of the Haruka Express, the same train that had…
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Snow-saka
Tiny white flecks dancing through the air, up, down, all around. They land on our jacket, our hair, then disappear. Snow! We laugh with delight at this wonderful sight. When I gazed out of the hotel room this morning was greeted by a view across the South of Osaka. The sky was blue with scattered…