Usha's Odyssey

Whenever I talked to friends in Japan about sightseeing, they would ask me if I have been to Shiretoko? I had not much heard about this place but seen a short documentary about it at Nehru center courtsey Japanese consulate. In the documentary what I remembered was seeing an old lady collecting seaweeds along the beach, which is a favourite Japanese food. The beach was barren. The next scene I remember was showing grizzly bears roaming on the beach. The stark isolation of th

This second visit to Alaska was exclusively planned to see Brown bears during Salmon run. It was inspired by a show on Discovery channel showing bear viewing around McNeil River in SE Alaska. That trip was quite strenuous, requiring living in tents. My husband knew about the gathering of Bears during Salmon run. So after some Google search I found a location more suitable for us and decided to go to Katmai National Park located on SW coast of Kenai Peninsula. This national

During our several visits to Kyushu we went to Nagasaki only once. We went to Nagasaki as a young doctor whom we new very well had shifted to Nagasaki University to complete his thesis. He invited my husband to give a lectureWe flew in from Kansai airport and arrived early morning. The airport was located on one of the islands. And our friends took us to the main island where the city is located. We went to Nagasaki on a very short visit. Reaching Nagasaki from Osaka where

Whenever we were in Kyoto we went to one or the interesting town. Takayama is a city in the mountainous Hida region of Gifu Prefecture. To differentiate it from other places named Takayama, the city is also commonly referred to as Hida-Takayama. Takayama retains a traditional touch like few other Japanese cities, especially in its beautifully preserved old town. It ranks as a prime candidate among travelers wishing to add a rural element into their itineraries. Takayama reta

During our frequent visits to Japan, only once we had a chance to go to Okinawa. Okinawa islands are located south of Kyushu island. Okinawa became famous after Second World War. Besides Hokkaido, Tohoku, Shikoku and Kyushu, Okinawa is the 5th island of Japan. And it is the smallest island. A group of Islands forms Okinawa prefecture. They are further divided into 3 groups. Yaeyama Islands, Miyako Islands, and Okinawa islands. Okinawa Island is the biggest among them and the