allrite@

allrite
allrite
@allrite@allrite.at

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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  • The winds of Ita

    So here we were at Kansai International Airport and it was time to fly home. Though the maps had shown Cyclone Ita drifting down the coast, weaker now but still disturbing the skies and land, still in our path, my terror had lessened. After a period of quietude last year had seen the return of…

  • Train day to nowhere

    Here we were with an unexpected bonus day in Japan. Had I known earlier then whole trip would have changed. We could have gone via Matsumoto or spent longer in Kanazawa. But it was all so unexpected that nothing was planned but a little sleep in to recover from the previous day’s exertions. Mum suggested…

  • Shimogamo Shrine and the Path of Philosophy

    I was tired and I was terrified. This was supposed to be our last day in Japan, we would fly back in the evening for Australia. But we had a transit in Cairns and category 5 Cyclone Ita was bearing down on the city. Being on the edge of Typhoon Fitow on the flight up…

  • Arashiyama, Nijo Castle and Kyoto

    The one place my Mum insisted on visiting were the bamboo forests in Arashiyama, Kyoto. I had to keep correcting her on the pronunciation of Kyoto: K’yo-to, not Ky-o-to (actually the proper pronunciation is with a longer “ou” sound, but then it would look even more confusing). Unfortunately, accommodation in Kyoto was heavily booked or…

  • More gardens in Kanazawa

    Kanazawa is full of beautiful and fascinating sights, too many to see on such a sort visit as this. There was one I especially wanted to show Mum, the Nagamachi Buke Yashiki District where samurai homes and their exquisite gardens hide behind high mud and straw walls. We walked the main street up from the…

  • Snow, sarubobos and cherry blossoms

    When I first planned this trip the idea was to go from Nagoya to Kanazawa via Matsumoto, catching the stretch of the Oito Line scheduled to close once the Hokuriku Shinkansen services begin. But I struggled with that decision. Though Matsumoto’s Castle is one of the best I knew that Mum would probably prefer the…

  • Springs, castles and the end of the line

    I am never happy to stop before the end of the line. It irritates me to know that there is still somewhere unexplored lying ahead. So when I only got as far as Gujo Hachiman on the Nagaragawa Railway last year I knew I needed to return for more. Especially as this private third sector…

  • To Japan with Mum

    Mums. They give birth to you, raise you, help you when you need it, look after your own little ones. Overall, they are pretty useful and deserved of thanks. Mine has wanted to see the Japan I keep raving about, but could not keep up with one of our family trips. So as a way…

  • Blaxland Park and Newington Armory

    Time for another local adventure, one worth sharing because it should be on anybody’s list if you live in or are visiting Sydney. I can’t believe how this gem in Sydney’s geographical centre has remained hidden from us. Sydney Olympic Park is, of course, famous for hosting the aforesaid games back in 2000. Today it…

  • The Kamioka mines: from silver to supernovas

    Part of the Kamioka zinc mining and smelter complex Just after posting about the Kamioka Railway another photo from that 2006 set piqued my interest. Up there in the mountains the landscape looked blasted not just by winter but by something more. It was the kind of lonely place where you would not expect to…