Back in the US!

I'm back in the US! I flew from Narita (Tokyo) to Dallas to Tucson. I got lucky -- only a short delay taking off at Narita, but no disruptions to my plans. Previously, I'd flown directly to Chicago, with no other stops. That's good if you want to buy any liquids at the duty free shops, or bring your own.

I had planned on taking the train to Utsunomiya, then a bus to Narita. But Mr. Yamagi very kindly insisted on driving me to Utsunomiya. En route, we stopped at this shrine, then had a nice hamburg steak lunch.

The horse chestnut (栃の木 - tochi no ki) is where the name Tochigi comes from. Many things in Utsunomiya are named Marronnier this or Marronnier that, since "marronnier" is French for horse chestnut. The bus from Utsunomiya to Narita is the Marronnier Bus. So, if you are headed toward Utsunomiya, anything with "marronnier" in the name is a good guess!

Here is my last meal in Japan -- a tempura and rice set. Yum!







Now I'm staying with my parents inTucson. It's nice to have so much free time to spend with them and I could get used to the retired life very easily!