Berlin's Wall Archives

Last Stop – Tokyo!

by Ryan Markiewicz | May 27, 2026 | Berlin's Wall

All,

Got to spend the last two days here in Tokyo. Believe it or not, Tokyo is the largest city in the world, with a metropolitan population of approximately 37 million people.

But, as you would probably expect if you have been reading any of my blogs from Japan, it is an incredibly clean, friendly, and well-organized city. No horns honking. No chaos on the sidewalks or streets. Beautiful to look at and seemingly run with incredible efficiency.

This has been a great trip. Hong Kong, Taipei, and half a dozen Japanese cities. All of them interesting and well worth seeing. (And Viking does a GREAT job on these cruises. Always enjoyable.)

I would say, though, that the highlight of our trip was the day we got to spend with Take Hosomi and his wonderful girlfriend, Asuka.

They had planned to take us to see some Tokyo temples and shrines (Buddhist temples/Shinto shrines : ), but I suggested we just “hang out.” We had already seen lots of temples and shrines and really just wanted to experience the non-touristy parts of Tokyo. (And, honestly, I think Take was a bit relieved as well 😉)

So that is what we did. We wandered around, ate at some street vendors, and while Asuka and Hallie did some shopping, Take and I spent time just talking about work, life, and things in general.

I LOVE that the relationships I have always had with our country leaders and colleagues around the world have felt more like friendships than business relationships.

As Take said during our conversation, when you are lucky enough to work with people you genuinely like, it does not feel too much like work.

A thoroughly enjoyable day and, honestly, the highlight of our trip.

We look forward to repaying their hospitality someday when Take and Asuka are able to visit us in Erie or Long Island.

Thank you both.

Tokyo – the biggest city in the world

Tokyo Tower

….and at night

Which one is the real Geisha?

Guess which one is the real ninja?

I think I may have been unclear of the concept

Take

Asuka

PS – We finally DID get to see Mt. Fuji from our bus on the way to a national park. So, it is NOT AI and really DOES exist 🙂

Mt. Fuji

by Ryan Markiewicz | May 26, 2026 | Berlin's Wall

Mt. Fuji is the highest and most revered mountain in Japan. Today was our day to visit it, but since the weather was totally cloudy we did get to go on it, but never got to see it hahahahaha. So here are some pics we screenshot from websites and the local museum.

It was cool to drive there as Japan continues to amaze at how green everything is. If you think about it, it’s just a series of islands that are simply mountains jutting out of the Pacific Ocean. Japan is 70% mountainous, and everything is green—varying shades of green—really beautiful.

Enjoy the pictures. And the knowledge that you have seen as much of Mt Fuji as we did yesterday hahahahahahaa

Onward! -JB

Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest and most iconic peak

It remains deeply sacred and a major cultural and recreational destination

The crater atop Mt. Fuji. The volcano has been dormant since the last blast in 1707

It is one of Japan’s three holy mountains (along with Mt. Tate and Mt. Haku)

Seems weird that we went halfway up but never saw it

The peak is visible from Tokyo on clear days. On the ground, the volcano is surrounded by the famous Fuji Five Lakes region

Tea plantation. They say the pure mountain water flowing down into the valleys from Mt. Fuji makes for wonderful tea (and rice for sake)

This is what wasabi is made of. 90% of the wasabi (Japanese horseradish) in Japan comes from near Mt. Fuji

Divine Wind – Interesting Story

by Ryan Markiewicz | May 21, 2026 | Berlin's Wall

The “divine wind” story is one of the most famous legends in Japanese history — and it’s where the word kamikaze comes from.

In the late 1200s, the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan tried twice to invade Japan after conquering huge parts of Asia, including China and Korea.

First invasion — 1274

The Mongols sent a massive fleet across the sea toward Japan. They landed in Kyushu and fought effectively, using coordinated tactics and explosives unfamiliar to the Japanese samurai.

But then a powerful storm hit the Mongol fleet. Many ships were damaged or sunk, and the invaders withdrew.

Second invasion — 1281

Kublai Khan came back with an even bigger force — one of the largest invasion fleets in medieval history, possibly over 100,000 men.

The Japanese had prepared this time, building coastal defenses around places like Hakata Bay in Fukuoka.

The Mongol fleet lingered offshore for weeks. Then a huge typhoon struck.

The storm devastated the fleet:

ships smashed together
many sank
thousands drowned
survivors were killed or captured ashore

The Japanese believed the storm had been sent by the gods to protect Japan. They called it:

Kamikaze (神風)

Meaning:

kami = divine/spirit/god
kaze = wind

So literally: “divine wind.”

Centuries later, during World War II, Japan revived the term “kamikaze” for suicide pilots. The idea was symbolic: just as the divine wind once saved Japan from invasion, these pilots were expected to sacrifice themselves to protect the nation.

Modern historians think the Mongol fleets were especially vulnerable because many ships were hastily built river/coastal vessels not ideal for open-ocean typhoons. But the storms themselves were very real.

-JB

Our voyage from Hong Kong to Tokyo

Container port

Container ship arriving in Osaka

Unlike the Mongol invaders, we came in peace

Samurai

A model Japanese warship

Osaka and Kyoto

by leah | May 21, 2026 | Berlin's Wall

All,

Arrived in Osaka. Again, a band was there to greet us. I think that is so cool.

Osaka is Japan’s third-largest city, but once again, it feels calm, quiet, clean, and easy to get around.

One side note: in a lot of countries (including many U.S. cities), finding a public restroom can be a pain in the butt (so to speak). And when you do find one, they are often filthy, crowded, or you actually have to pay to use them.

Everywhere we have been in Japan, there are public restrooms everywhere (many with Toto toilets—the famous Japanese brand). They are spotless, there are plenty of stalls so there is rarely a wait, and they are free. Honestly, I have not seen a better public setup anywhere.

And another thing you notice here is the absence of visible homelessness. I know homelessness is a complicated issue, and every society is different, but being here does make you realize it does not necessarily have to be as widespread and visible as it often seems in the United States. There must be better answers than what many of our cities have accepted as normal.

We drove up to Kyoto to visit an ancient temple associated with Japan’s old rulers. Beautiful place. As always in Japan, the gardens surrounding it were just as impressive as the buildings themselves.

There is a famous pine tree there—actually a single tree—that is over 600 years old and has been carefully shaped to resemble an old sailing ship. Pretty amazing.

One interesting thing I learned is that Kyoto is also home to Nintendo, which somehow feels fitting in a city that blends tradition and imagination so naturally. Nintendo actually began there in 1889 as a handmade playing-card company more than 130 years ago before evolving into one of the world’s great video game companies. Hard to imagine that the same city of ancient temples and Zen gardens also gave birth to Mario and Zelda. Plus, a good reminder of the Thought for Today the other day: “Map it out, but don’t write it in stone.” (Or as I like to say: “See opportunity/take opportunity.” 😉

Also, I have mentioned how friendly and welcoming the Japanese people are. Today, several young schoolchildren stopped me and asked questions from notebooks they were carrying:

“What is your name?”Where are you from?”What sports do you like?”

(All in English, of course. Japanese students begin learning English in elementary school.)

After our “interview,” they thanked me and gave me a lovely handmade origami crane, which is a symbol of peace in Japan. I will keep this memento in a place of honor.

Onward! -JB

Japanese garden

Konkani-Ji Temple

600 year-old pine shaped like a sailing ship

People make wishes to the gods

School kids

School kids who stopped me and interviewed me

After our “interview” they thanked me and gave me a lovely handmade origami crane, their symbol of peace. I’ll keep this momento in a place of honor.

Hiroshima

by Ryan Markiewicz | May 20, 2026 | Berlin's Wall

All,

Hiroshima is, of course, the site of the first atomic bomb dropped on August 6, 1945. The bomb, which detonated above the ground (I did not know that), leveled much of the city, with well over 100,000 deaths from the blast, heat, and radiation. Today’s nuclear weapons are hundreds of times more powerful. A sobering thought.

But Hiroshima today is a beautiful modern city with over a million inhabitants—living proof of rebuilding and resilience.

We visited the Peace Park and museum, which displayed the damage done to the city and its people. More than the statistics, it was the personal items—clothing, watches, photographs—that hit hardest. Though obviously a very different event, if you have been to the 9/11 site in NYC, it carries a similar somber and reflective feeling.

We also visited Miyajima Island, which has been considered sacred since ancient times. The shrine there was first built in 593 and later rebuilt in 1168. Its famous giant gate sits offshore and appears to float on the water at high tide, while at low tide, you can walk right out to it on the beach.

One thing Japan continually reminds you of is how comfortably the very old and the very modern exist side by side.

Onward! -JB

This building was one of the few in downtown Hiroshima that survived the atomic bomb

This is how it looked at 8:14 on August 6, 1945

And this is how it looked after the blast

More of the city of Hiroshima after the first atomic bomb

Lots of deer roam wild on Miyajima Island

And some of them don’t know their boundaries (look closely – it’s a deer not a dog 🙂

Itsukushima Shrine

The gate seems to float on the water at high tide and is on the beach at low tide

Sundown in Hiroshima

Beppu

by Ryan Markiewicz | May 19, 2026 | Berlin's Wall

Our next stop in Japan was a seaside resort called Beppu. It is not a big city, more a getaway from the city, famous for the hot springs that come from the volcanic activity beneath it. There are hundreds of places to sit (naked hahahaha) in these hot springs that are supposed to be good for your body, skin, and overall health. Hallie and I were not really interested in seeing all our shipmates naked (Viking, as you can imagine, is an Older crowd 😉), so we skipped the “hell waters” and instead went to visit a park famous for Macaques, or Japanese snow monkeys.

They warned us about the monkeys being aggressive (and I’ve seen aggressive monkeys before. They snatch your glasses, jewelry, cell phones and then “barter” them back to you for food—no kidding). But these monkeys all seemed very tame and just wandered around between us. Nothing scary at all.

We also visited a place with 60 stone Buddhas carved into the mountains – think Mt Rushmore, only way smaller and WAY older 🙂 which was pretty cool to see.

Another very enjoyable day in Japan (and another 13,000 steps PLUS half an hour on the bike), so starting to feel it hahahaha. But tomorrow is Hiroshima, so we’ll do it all over again.

Onward!