Los Viajeros want to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

If you’re walking around Hong Kong, you can take a stroll through Hong Kong Park on the way to the tram that will take you up the hill to Victoria Peak. The tram ride itself is quite steep. If you need help walking or have young children, I recommend waiting until you can get near a tram door when it comes down (or up, as the case may be). That way, you can be sure of getting a seat and not having to worry about falling or getting crushed under the forces of tourists and gravity.

It’s

all

worth

it

at

the

top!

Getting around Hong Kong is fast and easy. There are many ways to get you where you’re going, and the tram, train, ferry, and taxi I used got me just where I wanted to be. Hong Kong is also a very walkable city; wear your walking shoes, and take your camera. Since I was based at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, I used the MTR train system to get into town (see the Disney-themed photo above; it’s similar to the train at Tokyo Disneyland Resort).

If you plan to stay awhile and move around the islands, you should think about getting an Octopus card. You pay one price to get the card and just scan it as you enter the wicket (turnstile). The price is deducted from your card, and you can reload the card in HK$50 increments as needed. Besides not having to buy a ticket or worry about having the proper change, using the card gets you discounts on some of the methods of transportation. The card can be used in many stores as well. It’s good for three years, so you can hang on to it if you plan to go back again. Otherwise, you can get a refund on any balance above a modest charge; I hung onto my card, so I am not sure how much you get back.

In the Central area of Hong Kong Island, there is an entire underground area with moving sidewalks and plenty of

shops (here’s a Japanese munchie shop!),

signs, and information areas.

I didn’t take the street car, but if I hadn’t had so much fun walking around, I would have.

If you want to go up to Victoria Peak, the tram may be the way to go. Don’t let the extremely long line discourage you, it moves fairly quickly. If you have an Octopus card, you’ll still have to wait in the long line, but there’s a place for you to skip the ticket line once you get inside. The Peak itself is separate-post-worthy, so hang on for that one.

Another ride you should think about taking is the ferry from Central to Kowloon (or vice versa). Flash your Octopus card, and on you go.

It’s a short ride, but you can get a completely different perspective of Hong Kong, especially if you go to the top of Victoria Peak as well.

The guidebooks mention that Hong Kong is one of the cheapest cities for taxis, so if you need to get somewhere quickly, keep that one as an alternative. I used it for the airport-Hong Kong Disneyland run, and the ride was quick and the price reasonable.

When I was up in Tokyo for the JALTCALL 2007 conference in June, 2007, I had my trusty Panasonic Lumix DX-10 at my side. I thought I would take some shots of my travels around the city. I didn’t have much time for that because I was busy going to presentations, and when I wasn’t doing that, I was lugging my bag around (note to self: take the rolling bag next time).

I did manage to take a few shots. I mostly got shots of the Tokyo Metro System, but I did get one of the the JR system in Tokyo.

I grew up in Southern California, so I was new to subway trains in 1985 when I went to both Mexico City and Japan for the first time. If you’re a subway train veteran, thanks for reading this far. You’re free to go. Since I walk to work now, I still have to acclimate myself whenever I head into the big city (we do have a street car here in Kumamoto! )

Basically, you want to find your stop on the map above all the ticket machines, look at the price to get there, put your money in, and get your change and ticket.

Follow the crowds to the wicket, go through the section with a green arrow, and remember to take your ticket out as you walk through (you’ll need it again to get out of your station).

Look around and up, and find your train line. Make sure you check the direction and stay on that side (I still have a tendency to move to the side dodging people and forget which side to be on), so you don’t head off the other way or on another line. I almost got on another line on the way home the last day. Hey, it was Shinjuku station, and there are at least 20 tracks!

Head out of the train at your stop, and look for the signs that show you what is near each exit.

It is important to go out the right exit, or you could have a really long walk to get around to the other side of the station. As you leave the station, have your ticket ready. You need it to get back out; it will not come back to you when you exit.

If you get stuck, there are lots of maps in different scales to help you get your bearings.

You can also ask any of the workers on the platform or the windows. Remember, everyone wants to help you get where you want to go. Just smile, and say the name of where you want to go.

One huge difference I noticed this trip (it’s been at least four years since I spent any time in Tokyo) was the change in the signs on the trains. They are all electronic now, so the signs change as the trains move down the line, with the present and next stop in big ol’ letters. That made it harder for me to miss a stop.

Another tip is to not ride during peak times. This worked out for me every ride except Saturday night getting on the Yamanote loop line. I just kept walking until I saw a little space on one of the cars. I exhaled to get as small as I could, and I pushed my way on. Two more people got on after me, so maybe you get the idea of how crowded it can get. I understand some of the train lines use the conductors to push people on during the heaviest times of the day. Fun, fun, fun!

[Editor's Note: This entry was originally written June 14, 2007. It has be redone (now with photos! )]

I went to Fukuoka last month to do a little business. I really like taking the train from Kumamoto to Hakata station, but that method is not nearly as convenient as taking the bus (and it’s cheaper, too!)

Anyway, I’ll have to write about all that another time. I hadn’t been to Fukuoka on foot in a while, so I hadn’t been on the subways for at least a couple of years. To my surprise, the two stations I used had guardrails set up the entire length of the platform. I cannot recall if Fukuoka has had any troubles with people falling or being pushed into oncoming trains, but it has happened in other parts of the country. This seems to be a great pro-active move on the part of the transit folks. Nice job!

Just to show the contrast between lines with and without the guardrails, the above shot is from one of the stations on the Tokyo Metro line.

This summer we got a chance to spend a couple of nights at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. We used some of our Disney Vacation Club points to stay on the concierge level of the Disneyland Hotel. The service was great and the view excellent! Two nights and two parks worked out well for us.

We happened to be at California Adventure when High School Musical 2 was debuting. There was a show and parade, and we were able to catch the float as it sped by. I had no idea at the time of its popularity. Now I know.

Another highlight was the Finding Nemo Submarine Adventure. The old submarine ride has been updated with newer, more accessible submarines and a whole new underwater world. We took advantage of the popularity of the ride (a three-hour wait!) and rode other rides early with shorter lines. We went back and took the Nemo ride later after things calmed down (and one of the parades was going).

More on the visit later…

There has been a push at work to connect better with the local community. The idea is to share ideas for research with those already doing similar work. I joined in on a trip this week to Amakusa, an island area south of Kumamoto connected by bridges and a system of ferries. The photo above is of the first bridge that connects the island of Kyushu to the first large island of Amakusa. The photo below is a view from that bridge.

We first stopped at a junior high school where there is a group of four or so people who develop and produce foods made from octopus. We learned that they get a supply of 30-40 kgs. a day of octopus, from which they make octopus ‘steak,’ giant ‘takoyaki’ (a kind of savory ball made from dough, vegetables, and seasonings), and other dishes. These products are then sold at the local souvenir shops. We sampled some of the octopus they use, and it was very tasty.

We next went to one of the local offices where the archives of Amakusa are kept. There was a long hallway where photos from various local events of the 20th and 21st centuries were hung on the wall. We then toured some of the rooms where the archives are stored. We did not really get to see any of the materials since they were all in boxes. Another missed opportunity was that the PR materials that were given to us were mainly photos of boxes. I think in the future some examples of the kinds of materials stored there would be enlightening; otherwise, it was a waste of copy paper.

From there we moved to Amakusa Airport where we learned about Amakusa Airlines’ business. Amakusa Airlines has one plane traveling: Amakusa to/from Kumamoto, Amakusa to/from Fukuoka, and Kumamoto to/from Matsuyama. We learned that their business has grown steadily over the years and that most of the passengers are business people.

We then went to Tomioka Castle which was fought over during the Shimabara Rebellion, but was destroyed in 1670 during the Shogunate period. The current site was rebuilt in modern times. The dark rocks below are the original rocks used to build the castle; the lighter ones were shaped for the reconstruction.

Here is a shot of what they found when they dug out the site. You can see that the castle was rebuilt with new walls.

I am a big fan of the coast in Amakusa. I would have to guess that I did about 50 dives at Myoken ga Ura (along the west coast of Amakusa) in the period from the summer of 1994 to the summer of 1998. I did not get many chances for a good shot, but this one is typical of the west coast:

We continued south and went to Oe where many Christians lived (and still live) before, during, and after Japan was closed to the West. Nagasaki’s Shimabara and Amakusa are so close that they share a lot of history. Here’s a shot of Oe Catholic Church:

and one of Sakitsu Catholic Church:

Both were destroyed during the Shogunate period and were rebuilt in the 20th century.

The day finished up at a nice Japanese Inn where the University members were joined by some of the workers of Amakusa City and Kumamoto Prefecture. I got to meet Mayor Yasuda of Amakusa City, a very friendly person. Amakusa City turns out to be a sister-city with Encinitas in San Diego. What a coincidence! Moonlight beach may just be the beach I have visited the most.

If you are planning a trip to the Kumamoto area, make sure you plan some time for an Amakusa trip. You will be glad that you did.

The photo is a little dark, but then again, so were the connected series of caves at Loltun (sorry, I didn’t find any decent sites to link to). These are located in the Puuc region of Yucatán, Mexico and were part of a Puuc region tour that we took last New Year. The others on the tour included Kabáh, Sayil, and Labná (I’ll save the links for posts on these sites later).

We drove up to the site (the only Mayan site on the tour with restrooms [keep that in mind]) and had to buy our own tickets. Read the small print on the signs carefully because the charge for the guide is included in the entrance fee. On the instructions of the guide, we moved quickly ahead of a huge group that was near the entrance. This turned out to be a good move because it could have been crowded in places (four members of our group were Mexican and were part of that larger group; it took them 45 more minutes to finish up).

Anyway, some of the caves were huge! There were lights placed in several areas, and virtually all of them shine in your eyes, rather than on the cave walls. Surely this can be taken care of! There are some figures on the wall in places, but they are hard to make out. I understand that not so long ago there were many very clear ones. Some stalagmites (as you may remember from your geology courses, they’re the ones from the floor up) in one room seemed to be hollow and made a kind of musical sound when hit (no hard instruments for this, please).

It turns out the caves were used as a last stand against the Spanish who were intent on controlling the area and the inhabitants. There were some large rocks piled up to close off one of the openings, but the Spanish got word that many were holed up inside. The climb up these rocks in very little light could prove challenging, so keep that in mind. I believe that climb and one other caused the delay with the other larger group.

The final large room, the one you see in the photo above, is like a scene from a movie. We understood that it was in fact used in a movie, but our guide was not sure which one. Maybe there’s an excuse to watch some potential candidates again.

One final note concerns the guide fee we had already paid that I mentioned above. As we neared the exit, our guide began to talk about how much other well-known tours cost, and that the usual fee was about $40 U.S. per family! There was one other family in our group; the father and I talked, and we decided to give the man $5 each. It was a good tour, and it took about an hour. A ten dollar tip for a job well done. Caveat emptor!

People were very nice to us during our one-year stay in Davie, Florida. The people at my daughter’s school, Tropical Elementary in Plantation, were just great (thank you Principal Anderson). They welcomed my daughter and helped her to learn to read and write (thank you Ms. Davis, Mr. Garcimonde, Ms. Shapiro, and Ms. Goldman). They held many kinds of events to bring interested parents and children together. They had lots of fund-raising activities that could be used here in Japan as well. The art and music programs added cultural touches as well (thanks Ms. Hodges and Ms. Evans).

The people at Nova Southeastern University were very kind to help me get set up with a place to work (thank you Ms. Fish and Dean Lieblein). Drs. Ellis and Cohen were very kind to spend time with me during their busy days. A special thank you goes to Dr. Abramson for reading through my drafts of proposals and guiding me through the process. My wife couldn’t work on her tourist visa, but the new multi-million dollar sports facility had a bunch of exercise courses that helped keep her in shape.

I’ll write some more on the year, etc. Film at eleven.