This is our final full day in Japan.  Woke up to Mount Fuji, There was an early thought to return to Sankeien Garden in Yokohama, but we had our fill of Fall Colors in Nara.  Plus, you can  read what we saw exactly 4 years ago .  Here are two photos from our previous visit. So what are we going to do?  Almost nothing.  There is a huge shopping mall below our hotel, so we'll walk around a bit. As I'm in the Orient, I could provide a summary of news items from this region.  But nothing much seems to also be happening here. There is that matter between China and Taiwan, but there is no war today in this part of the world. No typhoons.  There was a Sunday 7.4 Philippines earthquake, killing one, but no noteworthy tsunami. In fact, the weather throughout this whole trip has been outstanding, with one or two cloudy days.  It did snow when we were on Hokkaido, but only a few snowflakes. North Korea?  Nothing.  If Kim Jong Un suddenly dies, will his 10-year old daughter,  Ju Ae,  inher

Our stay in Nara was, well, nearly perfect.  Yesterday, we did not see a cloud, so the sunlight enhanced the oranges and reds.  Today, it was cloudy all day, on our train rides from Nara to Kyoto to Shin-Yokohama to Yokohama Station.  But about Nara, we did not expect much, but it was the highlight of our Fall Colors visit.  While the cruise was fine, Hokkaido was a disappointment, which largely carried through in Tokyo and Nagoya.  Then everything got better and better. Need to show a couple more photos I missed enclosing yesterday.  First, we saw a persimmon tree where you couldn't count the number of fruits.  What is your estimate? That was in Nara Park.  Secondly, Nara has all that history and religiosity, but is today mostly a sprawling city.  While Nara Park is truly a national treasure, the city itself is nicely symbolized with this photo. You say, why?  See the middle of the above photo?  Then target that religious middle. In essence, that has happened because of "prog

Opening on Friday will be Japan's tallest living structure, the 1083 feet tall Mori JP Tower, replacing Osaka's Abeno Harukas.  Just bit shorter than Tokyo Tower. The lower floors will be for commercial facilities and the Keio University Center for Preventive Medicine.  The upper floors will be residences run by the Aman Group. Remember Aman?   The most expensive hotel in Tokyo .  The Ritz Carlton is #3. Mori Building was started in 1955 by an economics professor, who went on to build a real estate empire and become the RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD.   Taikichiro Mori 's net worth in 1992 was $13 billion, double that of Bill Gate's that year.  Mori passed away the following year at the age of 88. Each building in Japan is named according to its chronological building date.  Mori Buildings was not only responsible for Roppongi Hills ( 2003 ) in Tokyo, but also the  Shanghai World Financial Center  ( 2008, 1614 feet, which at that was the second tallest in world ) and  Jakarta

  One news item.  Democrats did well on election night this week.    Abortion adds to Republican woes. We arrived in Yokohama this morning and went back to the Sheraton Yokohama Bay.  A truly wonderful 9-day cruise. There were some negatives: The bed widths were too small.  I worry about falling out of bed, and was concerned.  Amazingly enough, I slept well, and must have averaged 8 hours/night. Like in 15 Craigside, the shower is combined in the tub, and it was dangerous to get in and out.  There were safety bars, but not enough of them.  Plus the shower head was placed awkwardly, We took no tours, but that was by our choice. I'm trying to think what else was bad....and might come back to add more. This was, maybe, the best cruise we have ever taken.  Better than the recent Regent 7 Seas, Seabourn and Norwegian adventures.  Why? The service was exceptional. The cuisine was uniformly terrific. The Japanese washlet toilet was warm. The premium liquor package was wonderful.  We were