Japan Vacation Photos Part 1

Various photos from Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo.

Also see:

Japan Vacation 2024

Japan Vacation Photos Part 2

Eki Stamps from Japan Vacation 2024

Movies I watched in 2024 (not that many)

In 2023, I had A-List membership at AMC Theaters. I did see a lot of movies at the theaters in 2023.  However, I found myself attending showings of movies that I likely wouldn't have seen at the theater, if it were not for AMC A-List status. But, without seeing these extra movies, it was a struggle to get my money's worth for the cost of the A-List membership.  As such, I dropped A-List for 2024. 

This means I saw significantly fewer movies in 2024 at the theater.  In 2023, it is 32 movies at the theater.  In 2024, the number is 11.  That's less than 2022's number of 16 (after A-List was reïnstated post-Covid).

Please see the list below for the movies I watched at the theater in 2024. If you click on my Amazon affiliate links and you have Honey installed on your browser, please remember to NOT click on the Honey messages, even to dismiss them. Just ignore their messages until your purchase is complete.  

One thing I should note about Furiosa. I don't know if I'm in a minority, but I enjoyed that film more than Mad Max: Fury Road.  Back when media was heaping praise onto Fury Road, I was left wondering. It's a good movie, for sure. But it's not the great movie that people proclaimed it to be.

Watching movies where an accomplished writer is typing their book by pecking at their keyboard with their index fingers

Ever noticed the typing scenes in movies? Almost every film has this issue: when a character is shown typing—be it on a keyboard or a typewriter—they're pecking away like a chicken with their index fingers. This is especially absurd when the character is supposed to be an accomplished writer. Instead of touch-typing, they're either mashing keys aimlessly or stabbing at the keyboard as if playing a piano concerto.

It’s as though no actor on the planet has ever learned to type properly. And by extension, neither have directors, since they're the ones orchestrating these typing disasters. It's got to be rare for someone to attempt to write an entire book, or even a college essay, by hunting and pecking.

Sure, some people might actually write like that, blissfully unaware of the agony they’re inflicting on themselves. But wow, what a punishing way to work!

(Originally posted on reddit.)

Japan Vacation 2024

Allie and I travelled around Japan from Sept 15 to Oct 1.  We visited Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (including Mauka Market) on a layover in Honolulu while heading to Japan.

Fukuoka

Fukuoka Airport, Fukuoka, Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk, Nanzoin, Solaria Plaza, Yoshinoya, Gyushin, Hakata Seafood Restaurant Uokichi, Mitsukoshi, Fukuoka Tower, Shin Shin, Hakata Kawabata Dosanko, Grand Hyatt Fukuoka, Canal City, Kits, SoftBank Hawks game at Mizuho PayPay Dome, Hakata Station, Kokura Station, Amu Plaza, Bookstore at Amu Plaza and Hankyu Ferry from Kitakyushu to Osaka.

Osaka and Kyoto

Aloft Osaka Dojima, McDonalds, Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, Craft Burger Co, Osaka Castle, Pablo, Sanrio Gift Gate, tutu anna, Canon Plaza Osaka, Kame Sushi, Naruto Taiyaki Honpo, The Warehouse, JP Tower Osaka, Kitte Osaka, Sugi Bee Garden, Osaka Station City, Hanshin Dept Store, Ichiroku Saryo, Kiddy Land, Snoopy Town Stop, Hankyu Dept Store, Shin-Osaka Station, Kyoto, Kyoto Station, Shichimiya, Niomon Gate, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Asahido, 株式会社 山本商店 龍栄堂, snoopy chocolat, Soba Shiki and Osaka Station, Kintetsu Railway ~ Hinotori ~ Osaka-Namba to Kintetsu-Nagoya.

Nagoya

Courtyard by Marriott Nagoya, Nagoya, Oasis21, Donguri Kyowakoku, Beep! Aichi, Harry Potter Magical Spot, Nigiri No Tokube, Baskin Robbins, Naka Ward, Buruburu Aiai Bookstore, Nishinomaru Okura Museum, Nagoya Castle, Hommaru Palace, miffy style, Delica Kitchen, Rope Picnic, Cascade at Esca, Meitetsu Dept Store, Nagoya Station and Mermaid Cafe.

Tokyo

Shinagawa Station, Tokyo, Ginza, AC Hotel Ginza, Ginza Six, Tsutaya Bookstore, Uniqlo Flagship, Imperial Viking Sal, Tokyo Skytree, Koconoha, Chums, Neue, Donguri Republic, Plaza, SoraTora-ya, Ginza Itoya, Ueno Station, Ueno Park, Ueno Zoo, 3coins Ooops!, Kyukyodo, Shibuya Stream, Kaldi Coffee Farm, Kobe Teppanyaki Hakushu, Tsutaya Bookstore Shibuya Sakura Stage, AC Bar, Ginza Karen, Denny's, Bic Camera, Akihabara Radio Kaikan, K-Books, Hub, Shinjuku Station, Kizuna Sushi, NewoMan, Lumine Est, Giant 3D Cat, Godzilla Street, Krispy Creme, Ginza Food Garden, Kabukiza Theater, Tokyo International Airport (Haneda), Hyakuzen, Saryo Itoen, Observation Deck and Sky Lounge.

Yokohama

Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, NeNe Chicken, Lamplit, B-Side Label, Yokohama World Porters and Yokohama Air Cabin. 

Select Photos

Japan Vacation Photos Part 1

Japan Vacation Photos Part 2

Eki Stamps from Japan Vacation 2024

(Facebook, backup)

Welp, two more states I've visited

I've been able to visit two more states. I've added no countries or Canadian provinces, however.  I hoped to get one other state before this update, but that wasn't meant to be, yet. There's just 7 states remaining.

Trail 7 - "Easy" Elk Meadow Park

Hiking in the Rockies on a sunny spring morning?  It's typically enjoyable.  Elk Meadow Park trails are no exception.  The park is a hilly area within the Rockies, just past the town of Evergreen, CO.

There's actually a lot of interconnecting trails in a somewhat complex layout. This requires you to know where you are going before you get going.  I walked on the course identified as Hike #7 in the book 60 Hikes within 60 Miles from Denver and Boulder.  Fortunately, there are trail signs that tell you clearly on to which trail you are about to walk. Some portions of the trails involve modest climbs that would make me rate the hike closer to "moderate" than "easy".

Various courses along the trail system allow you several options to walk in circuits rather than in-and-out. I like the idea of hiking in a circuit.  Although there is plenty of shade during the hike, there are also significant areas under direct sunlight. 

Even though this is mid-Spring, I didn't see all that many varieties of flowers along the trails, but there were a few.  However, while exploring the trails, I ran across a few birds, and a coyote off in the distance.  No name sake elks, though.