KAGOSHIMA TO MIYAZAKI

Very few international visitors take the time to visit Kagoshima, and even fewer to Miyazaki. I came several decades ago because I used a lot of Japan Rail Passes, and wanted to maximize my distance travelled.

Sheraton Grand Kagoshima was the best hotel we've stayed in, all things considered, like value and cost. They had a shuttle service from the train station to hotel and back, featured excellent service, had an excellent club lounge and an impressive breakfast buffet. It only opened a few months ago. Best of all, it cost $125/night for two. So a few more photos to get us the the Sheraton Grand Ocean Resort in Miyazaki, starting with another view of Sakurajima.

Club lounge at Sheraton Kagoshima.

Morning view of Sakurajima from our room.

The breakfast buffet was terrific.

First course.

Second course.

Walked 3492 steps.

Final shot from hotel of Sakurajima.

Lobby Christmas tree.

Shuttle arriving.

Entrance to Kagoshima-Chuo Station.

Our train to Miyazaki.

Kyushu and train meal. Something new. Adorned fishcake.

Saw Sakurajima again from train.

Throughout Japan, all the homes near train tracks seem almost brand new with beautiful roofs.

Here is a sign that says don't squat on the toilet to do your thing.

Well, we got to Miyazaki and took a taxi to the Sheraton Grand Ocean Resort. About $20.

View from the Club Lounge on the 36th floor. We have a room on the 39th.

There is a Tom Watson golf course along the hotel. They have lights for golf at nights. Next morning for breakfast. Another fabulous buffet. Maybe the best yet. My first course.

Second course.

Not much of a day. The train ride of 80 miles took two hours, stopping at every station. But Miyazaki is that Japanese city which no one knows anything about, but by various taste tests have regularly come up #1 of the best Japanese wagyu beef, is the only site that grows sturgeon for caviar, and has mango orchards that supply those ridiculously expense mangos sold in department store basements. So tomorrow, Miyazaki. Then the next day, a train to Oita, transferring to another for Hakata Station in Fukuoka.

Comments

A NEXT COVID SUBVARIANT?

By now most know that the Omicron BA.5 subvariant has become the dominant infectious agent, now accounting for more than 80% of all COVID-19 cases. Very few are aware that a new one, BA.4.6, is sneaking in and steadily rising, now accounting for 13% of sequenced samples . However, as BA.4.6 has emerged from BA.4, while there is uncertainty, the scientific sense is that the latest bivalent booster targeting BA.4 and BA.5 should also be effective for this next threat. One concern is that Evusheld--the only monoclonal antibody authorized for COVID prevention in immunocompromised individuals--is not effective against BA.4.6. Here is a reference as to what this means. A series of two injections is involved. Evusheld was developed by British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, and is a t ixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab . More recently, Los Angeles County reported on subvariant BA.2.75.2 . which Tony Fauci termed suspicious and troublesome. This strain has also been spreading in

Part 3: OUR NEXT AROUND THE WORLD ODYSSEY

Before I get into my third, and final, part of this cruise series, let me start with some more newsworthy topics. Thursday was my pandemic day for years. Thus, every so often I return to bring you up to date on the latest developments. All these subvariants derived from that Omicron variant, and each quickly became dominant, with slightly different symptoms. One of these will shock you. There has been a significant decline in the lost of taste and smell. From two-thirds of early patients to now only 10-20% show these symptoms. JN.1, now the dominant subvariant, results in mostly mild symptoms. However, once JN.1 infects some, there seem to be longer-lasting symptoms. Clearly, the latest booster helps prevent contracting Covid. A competing subvariant, BA.2.86, also known as Pirola , a month ago made a run, but JN.1 prevailed. No variant in particular, but research has shown that some of you will begin to lose hair for several months. This is caused by stress more than anythi

HONOLULU TO SEATTLE

The story of the day is Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4 at 145 MPH, with a track that has moved further south and the eye projected to make landfall just south of Sarasota. Good news for Tampa, which is 73 miles north. Milton will crash into Florida as a Category 4, and is huge, so a lot of problems can still be expected in Tampa Bay with storm surge. If the eye had crossed into the state just north of Tampa, the damage would have been catastrophic. Milton is a fast-moving storm, currently at 17 MPH, so as bad as the rainfall will be over Florida, again, a blessing. The eye will make landfall around 10PM EDT today, and will move into the Atlantic Ocean north of Palm Bay Thursday morning. My first trip to Seattle was in June of 1962 just after I graduated from Stanford University. Caught a bus. Was called the Century 21 Exposition . Also the Seattle World's Fair. 10 million joined me on a six-month run. My first. These are held every five years, and there have only been

Search This Blog