A Trip of Many Firsts!










I made this recording of Let It Be on my Yamaha P-515. Now if I could only more consistently follow that advice!

This was the trip of many firsts!

  • This was my first major attempt to focus on Mt. Fuji. What a gorgeous sight it is! I went to the 5 Lakes area and spent 4 days photographing Mt. Fuji. 1500 photos!
  • I cannot ever remember missing a bus for a major trip! I went to the bus stop an hour early. The sign said that the bus stop was "across the street." Given that I was standing "across the street," I thought I was in the right place. However, upon further investigation, what the sign neglected to say was that the bus stop was the other side of the overpass and up the stairs! By then the bus was long gone! Fortunately, Setsuko was able to get me on a later bus.
  • This was my first major Japan trip by myself. Quite the adventure when it came to ordering food!
  • This was my first major photography trip with a bicycle as transportation. Except for the fact that this mountain bike rental desperately needed a tune-up, the cycling all went well!
  • This was my first photo/hiking trip on which I suffered a pretty tough injury. I was almost at the end of a rugged hike on the second day. I was not paying close enough attention and I slipped on a strip of slippery mud. I was wearing running shoes, which did not help. I fell backwards and landed on my photo backpack and my bike helmet. I felt a sharp pain and immediately thought I had ruptured a disk. Alas, it was a bad muscle bruise. I was stiff and sore for the rest of the trip, but still managed to do the photography I wanted to do.
  • This was my first time getting kicked off a bus! When I tried to get on the bus to go home, the driver asked for my seat number. Given that my ticket was written in Japanese, I had no idea. The driver then told me to get off the bus! I tried to show him my electronic ticket, but he was adamant! Fortunately, after I left the bus, I found a worker who found my seat number. Homeward bound!
  • This was the first time a hotel worker asked to take my picture. I stayed at the Hotel Camelot, an older place with a first floor devoted to music rooms and studios. The customer service was out of this world! As I was getting ready to leave, the hotel front desk worker asked if they could take my picture. Three staff members and the owner then joined in for the picture. Very touching!
  • 1/15/24. I just added the quilt picture and information picture provided by my friend Molly. Thanks Molly!

Happy New Year to all!

Bob



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