Most people have heard of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, the Iranian refugee who was forced to live in the departure lounge of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 until 2006. His story was made into a book and then the 2004 Tom Hanks movie The Terminal. This is not that story.
Instead, this is set in Japan about a very different man. One I am almost certain I taxied right past in one of my trips to Japan.
Takao Shito is a farmer living in the Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Unlike other farmers who left when the airport was built in the 1960s, he chose to stay and continue to cultivate his farmland. He’s been offered the equivalent of $1.5 million USD – but refuses to leave the land his family farmed for 100 years. It’s a rare an interesting view into land rights disputes and Japanese culture.
And when I say he lives right in the middle of the airport – I mean it. Here you can see the red spot exactly where his farm is located on the north end of the terminals right between the terminals and runway 34R.
Besides hiking down in the canyon itself, I also found a really good article by Annemarie Kruse from REI Adventures. We only had time for our Phantom Ranch hikes, but there are many different trails that can be even more amazing at the right seasons and times of day. She gives her expert opinion and list of trails – along with the best seasons and times to do them. I found them so good, I wanted to include them here too in case the article goes away.
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Cape Royal Viewpoint
Where: North Rim (open May 15–October 15 only) Distance: 0.6 miles (round-trip) from the parking lot Best time to do the hike: Sunrise, especially from July to September (monsoon season) for incredible cloud drama Highlight from the trail: Sweeping views to the eastern edge of the Canyon, and out toward the rocky badlands of the Painted Desert and Navajo Nation Best for: Beginners who want an easy win with memorable sunrise views
Kolb Studio via the South Rim Trail
Where: South Rim Distance: 2.5 miles one-way from the Grand Canyon visitor center (check to see if the free shuttle is operating so you can take it back to your car) Best time to do the hike: Mid-September, when air conditioning at the visitor center offers a respite from the heat and the Grand Canyon Conservancy, the park’s nonprofit partner, typically kicks off its annual Celebration of Art. Nearby Lookout Studio (pictured) also affords views, and a gift shop, naturally Highlight from the trail: Passing through the Trail of Time with its geology exhibits en route to the perilously perched Kolb brothers’ photography gallery built in 1905, now a hub for artists exhibiting works inspired by the Canyon Best for: Beginners with a penchant for art and human history
Grand Canyon Lodge via the Transept Trail
Where: North Rim (open May 15–October 15 only) Distance: Four miles round-trip Best time to do the hike: September–October to walk amid changing, fiery-colored aspen groves Highlight from the trail: Hiking directly from the popular lodge to the edge of the Canyon, alternating between dense woodlands and killer cliffside views of the Transept tributary and Bright Angel Canyon Best for: Beginners looking to get their feet wet hiking at North Rim’s high elevation
Toroweap Overlook
Where: North Rim (open May 15–October 15 only) Distance: Two miles round-trip from Tuweep Campground Best time to do the hike: May to June, before the muddy monsoon season Highlight from the trail: Backcountry vibes off the tourist map and the chance to stare down the edge of an abrupt gorge and a 3,000-foot sheer drop, the tallest in the Grand Canyon Best for: Any level of hiker craving a rugged, remote option and prepared for the rough drive (a high-profile vehicle is a must)
Ken Patrick Trail to Point Imperial
Where: North Rim (open May 15–October 15 only) Distance: 5.4 miles round-trip Best time to do the hike: June for spring wildflowers Highlight from the trail: Hiking through a wooded alpine climate to the highest overlook point on the North Rim at 8,803 feet Best for: Intermediate hikers who prefer minimal elevation changes
Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden Campground
Where: South Rim Distance: Nine miles round-trip Best time to do the hike: October to December for minimal crowds, color-changing cottonwoods, and a festive finish with holiday cocktails outside on the veranda of the historic El Tovar Hotel Highlight from the trail: Descending into Native American history with rock pictographs en route to the turnaround point of Indian Garden campground, a lush, creek-fed oasis once farmed by the Havasupai Best for: Intermediate hikers who want a solid introductory descent into the canyon
South Kaibab Trail to Skeleton Point
Where: South Rim Distance: Six miles round-trip Best time to do the hike: November–October (though it’s good anytime but April, when high winds can overcome this exposed hike) Highlight from the trail: A quick, switchback-laden descent opening up to a ridge and 360-degree panoramas with views to the North Rim, across the river corridor, and then, from Skeleton Point, a rewarding perch about 1,000 feet above the rarely spied Colorado River Best for: Experts looking for jaw-dropping views of the canyon and the river below
Grandview to Horseshoe Mesa
Where: South Rim Distance: Six miles round-trip Best time to do the hike: September–October and March–May for comfortable, snow-free temperatures on a challenging hike Highlight from the trail: One of the most remote trails from the South Rim, this rugged backcountry route doesn’t lead to Phantom Ranch or take you from rim to rim, but does offer an uncrowded option through signature Grand Canyon scenery, deep into the desert and high up to a forested mesa sprinkled with pioneer mining history Best for: Experienced hikers with between a few hours and a half day to explore
Grand Canyon Rim Trail to Hopi Point
Where: South Rim Distance: Five miles round-trip from Bright Angel Trailhead Best time to do the hike: June through July, when shade under the pines offers respite from a blazing summer sun Highlight from the trail: Accessibility may be the draw, but sweeping views of the West Rim from the wide Hopi Point promontory will impress every level of hiker Best for: Beginners and those who’d rather trade elevation for a flat, well-maintained trail
Back in the day before cheap digital displays, travelers all over the world used to listen and use these wonderful displays. They were especially popular in European train stations and airports. I say listen, because I still gets waves of travel nostalgia every time I hear them updating.
They are called split-flap displays – because they consist of flaps with digits/letters printed on them that rotated until the right digit or letter is displayed.
Sadly, with the advent of cheap digital, flip-discs, and dot-style displays, these old flip-style mechanical displays have mostly disappeared.
However, a few people have tried to re-create these mechanical wonders. With 3D printing, many people have made their own.
Probably the biggest/most authentic recent attempt is VestaBoard. At $2250 for a board, it certainly isn’t the cheapest version out there – but it does sound right.
Some time has now passed, and interviewers are starting to get the stories from those that gave it a try. The reality is that they have cost much more than $1 – but it has still has worked out great for many that tried it. Worth a listen.
I was lucky enough to see this parade on one of my trips to Japan. I didn’t know so many of the characters had such colorful back stories and it covered such a long period of Japanese history.
The Gangnam-gu area in Seoul is the Korean version of Times Square and it’s the country’s first outdoor advertisement zone. Mega-size LED screen displays have been installed on the walls of large buildings which create an electronic display for 18 hours a day.
One of the best known buildings is the COEX artium, also known as the mecca of K-pop. Featuring an electronic display measuring 80 meters in width and 23 meters in height, this massive screen wraps the building and is currently showcasing the korean wave designed by District.
Due to the Covid-19 virus, many famous sites are closed – such as the Winchester Mystery House. But now for a limited time, you can take a video tour that is pretty much the same one an actual visitor gets when they visit.
The Winchester Mystery House is located in San Jose, California – and has a much storied past. It’s mostly known for it’s sprawling, confusing, and often ghost-rumored history. There was even a recent ghost movie called Winchester.
I’ve taken a tour of the house myself, and found it to be less a den of mystery and ghosts than the somewhat sad reality of a house that was under constant re-construction by a reclusive, eccentric woman that had the very common and superstitious spiritualists beliefs of her era. Combine this with decades of self-ascribed ‘ghost hunters’ and mystics with … shall we say ‘inventive’…re-interpretations of Sara and her house, and you have something that takes a life of it’s own.
The architectural oddities can almost all be attributed the constant additions and renovations – as well as to her health and superstitions. The outside of the house is much more beautiful than the often spartan and sometimes unfinished interiors. The real, original house is the front section, and it was expanded, re-expanded, changed, re-worked, sections torn out, and expanded again. A number of rooms were simply never fully completed – some even sitting with bare plaster lathing. Shockingly, this is especially true in those original front rooms damaged during the great San Francisco earthquake. She got trapped in her room when the door was pinched shut and she simply boarded up the rooms out of fear of going back in them. They sit today with broken, exposed plaster lathing.
Other oddities are very simply explained as modifications when her failing health required changes – like tearing out steep stairs and replacing them with easier stairs. For example, changing out a simple staircase to a long winding one that had 7 bends and 42 steps. This becomes easy to understand for an older woman that’s 4 feet tall and has advanced arthritis. There is an elevator, but the old technology meant it went terribly slow (a minute or more to go one floor). Today people would put in a ramp or a lift chair. Other oddities simply came about from the constant re-construction and whims of a woman that didn’t always finish projects before a new one began.
The famed ‘staircase leading to nowhere’ was often described as being built to confuse spirits. This is pure conjecture by modern ghost hunters as there is nothing in Sara’s writings or stories to suggest that was her goal. Sadly, I think like many things, you get a lot more press from shock value than actual truth. The real truth is that it abuts a garage and was likely part of the carriage house/garage reworks.
But most of all, Sara Winchester was a spiritualist -a superstitious fad popular with many early 1900’s era middle and upper classes. A spiritualist convinced her to keep building her whole life – which lead to a building that was constantly being built, torn down, rebuilt, and put together more like a patchwork quilt than one with any kind of plan. Today, most people would call these beliefs superstitious and the people charlatans; their tricks were much explored and discredited by people like Harry Houdini himself. With all the resources at her disposal, one wonders what good she could have done helping the living over spending those decades following superstitions and hiding from ghosts. Her memory might be completely different today – much like the Gates foundation or the Carnegie libraries that were provided to untold generations.
The fact she added things on wherever and whenever was convenient explains much of the rest. Anyone that’s seen farm out buildings or software projects built this way can tell you that finding doors into walls, stairs that got cut off and go to the ceilings, or exterior windows that now find themselves turned into interior windows are common in these kinds of hap-hazard constructions. And these oddities are very much the exceptions rather than the rule. The majority of the rooms are well constructed and at least partially complete.
While the house is very empty for tourists today – with only a few rooms with furnishings surviving – when she died, it took 8 truckloads a day for 6 1/2 weeks to empty all the furniture and items from the house. Today, we might call this kind of thing ‘hording’.
While definitely a good tour and worth a visit, I think a lot of the ‘mystery’ is generated from conjecture and quacks as there is very little proof of their claims. I honestly left the house feeling quite sad for her and what good she could have done in the world. Instead of a robust life, she lived one of fear, isolation, and superstition.
What it’s like to go through a 9.0 earthquake AND tsunami
This video footage has been making the rounds. It shows what a 9.0 earthquake is like, and then after that is done, the resulting tsunami that comes in.
Requisite warnings – nobody is injured/hurt in the footage, but knowledge that thousands died during the event and the violence of the experience mean it might not be for everyone.
Carbidschieten – A Netherlands New Year’s tradition
Basically, a small chunk of calcium carbide and a little bit of water is placed in a metal milk churn. The carbide decomposes into acetylene and a flame is held up to a small hole in the milk churn. The resulting explosion sends the lid of the milk churn across a field and much fun is had by all. Just be sure to wear proper ear protection. 🙂
