Blog Archives - Russel's Havens

Nagasaki - Oct 2025

7/28/2026

On Tuesday, we were in Nagasaki. Since we had been there before, we did not do an organized excursion, but explored on our own.

We just took the famous Nagasaki Tram towards the Nagasaki Shinichi Chinatown. The Tram has a number of 60- or 70-year-old cars still in use. I'd forgotten my Suica, but luckily, I was able to tap-to-pay with my credit card. It was only a couple of stops, but the day was hot, so the tram was much appreciated.

Chinatown was not fully up and going when we got there, so it was not crowded, thankfully. We found an amazing little shop at the far south end--Studio Ghibli themed, with various versions of Totoro and all the other characters, with forest-style decorations (the stairs actually looked like a forest with the glowing white Warawara spirit characters from the Boy and the Heron). We bought a few items there, including a Totoro tie for Daniel.

It turned out that Shinichi is just a few blocks from Dejima. I've been reading about the fan-shaped, man-made Dejima Island since I studied Japanese history and literature during my bachelor's program. The whole island (which is now not really an island, since the back/south of it is now connected to land) is now a museum. The entry fee was not too bad, and there were all sorts of fascinating items displayed in the many buildings there. There was so much history that happened there--it was the only place where westerners could legally trade with Japan during the 250 years of the Tokugawa Shogunate. (It was a warm day, so Lisa and I availed ourselves of the wonders of the "isotonic drinks," Pocari Sweat and Aquarius.)

After Dejima, we walked back to Shinichi Chinatown and ate at a restaurant there (called Ryushozakura)--long wait in the line, but very tasty food! (The restaurant had scores of students--I overheard them saying that they were visiting from Osaka--the whole Chinatown main street was crowded with students at that time.)

One side adventure: I got us onto the wrong tram line, realizing it when the tram took a side road. We got off at the next exit and caught the correct line going back the other way (to the ship before it sailed!).

Busan - Oct 2025

7/27/2026

Busan is not too far from Fukuoka, so we were there on Monday. The weather was cool and rainy--absolutely perfect! (The number of photos from that day might reflect how much I loved the weather and the places we visited.)

We took a long bus ride to Gyeong-ju, an ancient capital during the Silla Dynasty. I enjoy the views afforded from long bus rides, and the low clouds on the forested mountains made this whole ride truly beautiful. The "party bus" lighting inside the bus added to the fun atmosphere. Our tour guide, Sam, said that there was a time when there were raging parties on these buses, but that injuries from even minor bus accidents brought regulations that ended the parties. The colored lights still survive, though.

Our first stop, Tumuli Park, has many large burial mounds, two which were been excavated in the 1970s, and one which had been turned into a museum. It was so fascinating to see the many artifacts and read the stories about the area--and so much gold! The tombs were built in such a way that digging them out results in them collapsing and injuring (or killing) would-be tomb thieves. Apparently, one patient and enterprising thief bought a house adjoining the tomb park and proceeded to dig from the basement into the nearest tomb. They were caught, eventually.

Next, we went to the nearby National Museum--a true national treasure, with extensive, rich collections of artifacts. I took photos of so many fascinating items and displays. One of my favorites was a roof tile endpiece with a simple face on it--that face is so iconic that inspired the LG corporate logo. Outside, there is a 20 ton bell, "The Divine Bell of King Sondok", with speakers playing its sound all the time.

We went to a nearby restaurant--which was amazing and delicious (as is to be expected). I love the way that Korean meals have many, many small bowls of side dishes (there must have been 15 or more that we shared with others at our table).

Finally, we went to Bulgaska Temple, in a mountainous area. The light rain and overcast skies really brought out the green colors of the trees and bushes, and perfectly emphasized the gray somberness of the tile roofs on the wooden buildings. All that gray just made the bright colors of the paper lanterns really pop (even without lights inside of them).

Hakata/Fukuoka - Oct 2025

7/25/2026

After leaving Hakodate, the next day, Saturday was another sea day, which I mostly used to sleep and recover from my illness. (Lisa was amazingly patient with me--I'm not a very good sick person.) We did see a concert from a Thai trumpeter called Chaw, who had a masters in Jazz Performance from the University of Colorado (such a surprising combination of details!)--he was very good, and his Louis Armstrong repertoire was fun to listen to.

On Sunday, we went to Hakata, which is part of Fukuoka, on Kyushu. It was not part of our original itinerary, but it was a great experience. The approach to Fukuoka was interesting--we passed many lush islands, some with their own protected harbors.

The first stop for our tour bus was Fukuoka Tower. Our tour leader purchased tickets for all of us, and we went to the top. The tower structure was visible through the walls of the elevator. There were amazing views in all directions from the top, of course, but there were a few other interesting things up there, including a place where lovers (presumably) would place locks to show their commitment to each other. When we came down from the tower, we walked through a small festival area, which was fun as well.

After that, we visited two Shinto Shrines. The first one was the Kushida Shrine--it was in town, with bus parking right on the property, right next to a huge, 1300 year-old tree by the entrance. The second shrine, which had a lot of walking involved, was Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, dedicated a deity of learning, Tenjin. The area was incredibly busy, and the parking some distance from the shrine. We walked several blocks through a shopping district to get to it--but that, in and of itself, was interesting The day was a bit warm for that kind of a walk, but we found some plum ice cream to cool us down. Everything along the way was amazing--the shopping area was crowded but very fascinating. There were quite a few people dressed in beautiful kimonos. The shrine was crowded but beautiful--it was a festival day for the shrine. It has a pair of beautiful bridges that symbolize moving from the past, to the present, and then the future. The area brought back memories of the Gion Matsuri from when I was living in Kyoto.

Yokohama to Hakodate - Oct 2025

7/24/2026

We cruised on the Diamond Princess, as we did two years earlier, 10/8 through 10/18. This time, we were scheduled to go down the west coast of Japan, around Kyushu, up to Busan, Korea, then back the way we came, with stops all along the way. Unfortunately, we had two typhoons (they called them Typhoon 22 and Typhoon 23) heading towards Japan while we were there. The captain took us north, instead, to run from the first of those storms. That canceled three stops, but put two new ones onto the itinerary. We had a nice view of Mt. Fuji as we left Tokyo Bay. Unfortunately, I caught some kind of virus, probably on the flight over. It hit that first night out from Yokohama, and I was quite sick for several days. I mostly slept during the sea day from Yokohama up to Hakodate, Hokkaido (Thursday).

With the help of some ibuprofen and a mask, I was able to go on our new excursion in Hakodate on Friday, 10/10. Though I was still not feeling great, I absolutely loved that experience. The travel was by bus, and I was reminded of how much I love Japanese cities. Hakodate is not a large city, but it definitely has a lot of personality, with lots of interesting things to see (not least of which, lots of docks and bay views).

After driving through town, the bus took Lisa and me up Mount Hakodate. It looks and feels very wild and natural, and we were told not to wander off from the buildings at the top, since there have been many bear sightings in the area. From the various view points at the top of the mountain, we could see not only the whole metro area of Hakodate, all the way to the mountains to the north of the city, but also the northern tip of Honshu, across the Tsugaru Strait. The weather was really beautiful, and the views were stunning.

Hakodate has a long, storied history, with quite a bit of interaction with Great Britain and Russia. After Mount Hakodate, our bus took us to the Motomachi District, which was the foreigner's part of the city, where there are many beautiful old churches, the Old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward, and even the former British Consulate building. It's a lovely area to walk around, with its own (lower) views of the city. We spent some time in Motomachi Park and walking around the area. We found a very cute little shop called Hiyorikan Hakodate (I think) on the first floor of one of the quaint looking buildings. It sold many kinds of handmade items from the area. We bought an adorable little wool bunny and a cute cat bookmark as gifts for our kids. I didn't get the impression that a lot of westerners frequented the shop--it really felt like a hidden gem. (My Japanese is still pretty rusty, but we did alright.) Interestingly, no photos were allowed inside the store, so I just have to go off of my memories.

After walking back to the bus, we were then taken to the Hakodate Morning Market, sort of part fish market, part farmer's market, part restaurant area, and a little bit gift market. We walked around that market, which had all sorts of seafood--tanks with crabs, squid, octopi, shellfish, as well as many other things, with both outdoor and indoor areas. There were quite a number of small restaurants as well. Hakodate is known for its squid production--the waters around the area are very productive. The only thing we bought was a huge white peach, which was cut up for us--very tasty!

There were so many things to see, and the weather was really beautiful--in spite of still feeling sick, I probably took more than a hundred photos during the day. Here are a few.