We last left our travel hero heading from South Korea to Japan, his 49th country.
Though not terribly photogenic and with nothing touristy, Sapporo proved a most enjoyable visit due to the relative calmness and cleanliness.
Since the island of Hokkaido is infamous for getting a crudload of snow, covered pedestrian streets make more sense. Tanuki Kojo runs 14 blocks.
Sapporo Clock Tower is a thing here. It was built in 1876 for the Sapporo Agricultural College using the "American frontier architecture".
Sapporo has 2.6 million people.
Ramen yokocho...ramen alley.
Settling into one of ten stools. Trying to hide my excitement.
Miso ramen was invented here, and it was a delight to watch the master deftly prepare this bowl not a wasted movement. And it was 900 yen. $6.
Continuing to walk.
Back at Sapporo Station to retrieve my luggage and walking through yet another underground mall, can't see the end in any direction.
After using Google Translate to get checked in at Shikihanamaru Tokeidai, jumped out of my skin in excitement being seated at the sushi bar.
Bigeye Tuna
Minced Tuna. Stuffed silly and feeling guilty that my excitement yielded overordering and spending too much....then realized it was all $15USD.
Splurged an extra $4 to get the $37 deluxe pod with a little aisle and desk. The standard pods are mattress wall to wall. Everything was very clean, smelled new and great sleep quality.
Japanese Pancakes, or as they are called here Pancakes, are souffle like.
Little more walking before the next flight. (Notice anything?)
...actually went over Japan giving more of a tour.
Further south you see how densely populated it is.
Thursday, September 5th, 2024
Walking the 'downtown' Umeda district.
Heading to the subway.
And walking to Osaka Castle. It has moats. Two moats. My house needs a moat.
How it appeared in 1583.
The castle was rebuilt in the 1620s, burnt down after being struck by lightening in 1665 and rebuilt in 1931.
The views from the Castle showcase the immensity of Osaka.
Subway back to Osaka station to grab a train for the hour ride north to Kyoto.
Watching the countryside.
Arriving at Kyoto Station, Japan's 2nd largest building.
Kyoto was the capitol of Japan from 794 to 1868. Pretty long run!
Kyoto has 1.5 million people.
Downtown is a grid of narrow streets.
Tenzaru- Soba with tempura
NW of downtown, Nijo Castle allows a view of the shogun world from 1603.
Subway back to Kyoto station, train to Osaka Station. Walk to another station.
Another subway.
South to Shinsaibashi.
Taking in the night.
Dotonbori!
The flashy nightlife area of Osaka straddling the canal of the same name.
Takoyaki are pieces of octopus cooked in a circular griddle.
This canal actually goes back 400 years when a businessman wanted to commercialize this area. It worked.
More of the main drag parallels that canal.
Between people and sign food watching.
The BEST mochi.
Friday, September 6th, 2024
Chestnut and Red Bean Donut from Umeda Station.
Shinkansen! Bullet train!
It took an hour and a half to get to Hiroshima. A regular train takes 6.
This revered temple was built in 645. Paint is holding up quite well.
And ice cream is a must. Well, soft serve, Japan is all about soft serve 'milk'.
Sashimi Salad.
Salmon Gunkanmaki
Sat by Odori Park's fountain enjoying the night air.
And couldn't end the day without some more cremia.
Being in Japan wanted to stay at a capsule hotel (stacked beds), finding a pod (floor to ceiling room) hotel in Sapporo went for it. And really enjoyed it.
Wednesday, September 4th, 2024
Morning run through Nakajima Park, on the south end of Sapporo.
And good bye Sapporo, 45 minute train ride back to Chitose.
Lunch at the airport. Google Translate told me these were mayo chicken nuggets. Indeed they were.
The flight to Osaka....
Pork Katsu in Osaka.
Good morning from Osaka.
Umeda Sky Buildings' two towers are linked by the Floating Garden Observatory.
The Buddhist Higashi Hongan-ji Temple was built in 2004. Kidding. 1602 and 1895.
With a few main thoroughfares featuring covered sidewalks.
Gontaro has been handmaking noodles for a century.
Zaru- Udon sprinkled with seaweed
Nishiki Market is a narrow pedestrian market intersecting downtown.
Many tantalizing food options. Had crab, strawberries and matcha ice cream.
And it had a moat. Further reinforcing the idea my house needs a moat.
Amerika-mura is a gritty neighborhood of youth.
There was some girl group performance everyone seemed enamored about.
Heading back to subway, um, see the 'nurses'?
Good morning from Osaka.
Nishi-Akashi
Countryside
Okayama
Fukuyama
Countryside
Welcome to Hiroshima.
This port city is at the convergence of (7) rivers.
Nagarekawa is a big nightlife street.
Amazing to be here after reading so much about it.
Down an alley on the 2nd floor of a grungy building are okonomiyaki stalls.
Using wide angle lense to get all of this popular stall in.
Watching the creation of an okonomiyaki- batter, cabbage, bonito, pork, soba, egg, sauce.
This is several meals! Though I watched a tiny teenage girl next to me polish the whole thing off.
Hondori Shopping Street
Have read so many books on WWII, the Manhattan Project, Enola Gay, Little Boy, the bombing, the destruction, the stories of individual victims, the aftermath of this horror; being there it became very emotional. Knowing the rivers were choked with bodies. Those who lived had skin falling off.
At 8:15AM on August 6th, 1945 Little Man detonated above where this was taken instantly killing an estimated 70,000. By the end of the year, it is estimated another 70,000 perished. 
Since the bomb exploded 600 meters above Industrial Promotion Hall, the shockwaves traveled straight down allowing it to remain standing.
Peace Memorial Park was created in 1954.
Bell of Peace
Mound of cremated remains
Children's Peace Monument
Flame of Peace
Pond of Peace
Before and after. Peace and devastation.
140,000 tiles in Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum tells the stories of the victims.
Closes with the history of the Manhattan project and the later nuclear race.
Seemed a poignant moment with the youth on a school trip poising with a symbol of the destruction of their city. Japan has long been one of America's greatest allies. But other evils now lurk around the globe.
Walking some more, past Hiroshima Castle.
Good bye Hiroshima. Thanks for your peaceful atmosphere.
Bullet train back to Osaka.
Back in Osaka, subway to Dotonbori at dusk.
More food- Takoyaki again and Rice Dumplings.
And more nightlife viewing.
Back in the Umeda District getting a Tayaki.
View of Osaka from the hotel.
Saturday, September 7th, 2024
Good morning. Another Shinkansen to Tokyo.
Acting like a local, and who can really tell, grabbed a bento from the Umeda Station to enjoy on the high speed ride.
Watching the miles rolls by.
Somewhere in those clouds is Mt. Fuji.
Welcome to Ginza, Tokyo.
Surely everyone knows in the basement level of Asian department stores are exquisite food halls.
Yet another Pancake.
The famed Mitsukoshi department store and Sony building.
Walking through Chiyoda, the business district.
Along Hibya-dori in the Chiyoda area.
Moat around the Imperial Palace East National Gardens. My house really needs a moat.
The Gardens and its buildings date from the Edo Castle period of the 1600s.
Tokyo Station (built in 1914, destroyed by B-29s in 1945, rebuilt 1946), subway to...
Shinjuku District.
Another labyrinth of fascinating pedestrian streets.
Narrow alleys along train lines packed with restaurants.
Omoide Yokocho, an almost hidden alley of yakitori stands.
Head swiveling back and forth down Omoide Yokocho.
Too much to see.
Yet another major intersection.
And another.
And another.
Ice cream AND cheesecake at a subway station shop. Well yes please!
Night falls.
Why this is called the Times Square of Tokyo.
Ever seen the 3D cat billboard?
Back to Tokyo Station, walking along the tracks every arch has a nice restaurant.
Further down underneath the tracks is Yakitori Alley.
Shitake, chicken, pig tongue, pork
Good night from Ginza.
Sunday, September 8th, 2024
Good Morning from Senso-ji at the Hozomon Gate.
Tokyo Skytree was completed in 2010.
Views at 1,148 feet show how immense Tokyo is.
And Americans think NYC or LA are big.
Pay extra to go up to 1,476 feet.
Subway and more steps to get to Tsukiji Market. This is where the original fish wholesaling was until it outgrew and moved to a new facility a bit south. Now it's touristy food stalls.
Turns out pictures aren't allowed, so this is all I have. There was a lot of sushi.
And it was an early afternoon on a Sunday.
Imagine during a weekday rush hour.
Takeshita is the stretch with anime shops. Good thing it wasn't busy.
See the rooftop?
View from it.
Walk to Ginza, turn down this alley.
Good night from Ginza.
Subway to Chiyda (top) and another subway to Roppongi (bottom) districts.
Tokyo Tower was built in 1958 and looks vaguely familiar.....
Skytree has better views.
More views
Walking across Roppongi
Tucked on a side street is Sarashina Horii. Besides being a long time fixture that makes their own noodles, Tony Bourdain ate here.
Soba Noodles
Kakiage
Tamago-Yaki
Dubbed Electric City, this is the place to get DVDs, anime, computers, digital cameras, parts, gaming and gadgets.
1) Hate chains.
2) Second time doing a McDs out of the country (other was India
3) Custard Flurry and Tsukimi Pie (red bean, mochi, roasted soybean)
Back to the greatest country in the world in the history of the world.
