Joel Klebanoff 🇨🇦
@joel.klebanoff.com
Worrier & retired person (in that order). Boomer, grumpy old man (since forever). Travel. | Be nice. Especially to me. | repost≠endorse | Be all you can be. Wake me when you’re done. | Toronto 🇨🇦
Travel journal: https://journeys.klebanoff.com
Travel journal: https://journeys.klebanoff.com
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Joel Klebanoff 🇨🇦
@joel.klebanoff.com
· Nov 11
How does one get added to a starter pack of introverted, insecure neurotics?
Nah, never mind. I'm not worthy of being added to a starter pack. And I'm worried that people might start interacting with me if I do get added to one.
Nah, never mind. I'm not worthy of being added to a starter pack. And I'm worried that people might start interacting with me if I do get added to one.
With this post, my Japan trip is done. Sigh. I spent the morning today in Tokyo’s Ginza district. A description of that and summaries of my time in Tokyo and on the whole trip appear here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/goin...
Going. Ginza. Gone. – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
I spent my last night of this trip in the Ginza district of Tokyo. My flight isn’t scheduled to leave until early evening. My hotel gave me a free ...
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:26 AM
With this post, my Japan trip is done. Sigh. I spent the morning today in Tokyo’s Ginza district. A description of that and summaries of my time in Tokyo and on the whole trip appear here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/goin...
I’m back in Tokyo to catch my flight back home tomorrow evening. I spent the afternoon exploring a bit of Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward, where I saw an icon of the film industry, or at least the head of the icon. Read about it here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/shin...
Shinjuku Golden Gai and More – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
My time in Japan is winding down, but this afternoon I visited Shinjuku Golden Gai and a couple of other sights in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo.
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:44 PM
I’m back in Tokyo to catch my flight back home tomorrow evening. I spent the afternoon exploring a bit of Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward, where I saw an icon of the film industry, or at least the head of the icon. Read about it here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/shin...
This afternoon, I looked down on Nagoya from atop Higashiyama SkyTower and visited the lovely Noritake Garden and some of its buildings. This being my last afternoon in Nagoya, this entry also includes a summary of my time here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/nori...
Higashiyama SkyTower, Noritake Garden – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
... I then ended the afternoon by visiting the splendid Noritake Gardens, which isn't much more than a 15-minute walk from my hotel.
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM
This afternoon, I looked down on Nagoya from atop Higashiyama SkyTower and visited the lovely Noritake Garden and some of its buildings. This being my last afternoon in Nagoya, this entry also includes a summary of my time here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/nori...
This morning in Nagoya, Japan, I visited the Higashiyama Botanical Gardens. The gardens were wonderful, but I had a bit of a dreadful experience making my way to them. I explain that here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/higa...
Higashiyama Botanical Gardens – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
The full title of this attraction is “Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens,” but I stripped it down to just “Higashiyama Botanical Gardens” for the title of
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:04 AM
This morning in Nagoya, Japan, I visited the Higashiyama Botanical Gardens. The gardens were wonderful, but I had a bit of a dreadful experience making my way to them. I explain that here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/higa...
This afternoon in Nagoya, Japan, I observed from an observation lounge, visited a museum, a shrine, and a garden. And now it’s really late. So, please enjoy this post. Or not. Whatever. I’m going to sleep. journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/shir...
Shirotori Garden and Sights Before That – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
...Nagoya Port Building Observation Lounge and the Nagoya Maritime Museum. Then it was Atsuta Shrine. And I finished at Shirotori Garden.
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 22, 2025 at 4:25 PM
This afternoon in Nagoya, Japan, I observed from an observation lounge, visited a museum, a shrine, and a garden. And now it’s really late. So, please enjoy this post. Or not. Whatever. I’m going to sleep. journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/shir...
I’ve moved on from Hiroshima and I’m now in Nagoya, Japan. This afternoon, I visited Nagoya Castle and a park. Here’s the post: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/new-...
New (for me) Nagoya – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
I moved on from Hiroshima this morning. I’m now in Nagoya, Japan. This is the last city of this trip before I head back to Tokyo to catch my flight to Toronto
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:35 PM
I’ve moved on from Hiroshima and I’m now in Nagoya, Japan. This afternoon, I visited Nagoya Castle and a park. Here’s the post: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/new-...
his afternoon in Hiroshima, Japan, I visited a park and a school museum. Because I leave Hiroshima tomorrow, there’s also a summary of my time here at the end of this post: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/hiji...
Hijiyama Park, Honkawa School – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
I think this post will be short because I took it easy and visited only Hijiyama Park and a school museum this afternoon. We'll see how it turns out.
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:14 PM
his afternoon in Hiroshima, Japan, I visited a park and a school museum. Because I leave Hiroshima tomorrow, there’s also a summary of my time here at the end of this post: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/hiji...
I spent much of this morning in Hiroshima at the spectacular Mitaki Temple. Then I had a notable lunch. It’s all here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/mita...
Mitaki Temple and Lunch – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
This will likely be a short post. Not counting lunch, which definitely should count for a variety of reasons, I visited just one sight, Mitaki Temple. It took
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:46 PM
I spent much of this morning in Hiroshima at the spectacular Mitaki Temple. Then I had a notable lunch. It’s all here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/mita...
Still on Miyajima, near Hiroshima, this afternoon, I went up to the summit of its main mountain, Mount Misen. It was spectacular. Here’s my post about it: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/moun...
Mount Misen (Miyajima) – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
After spending the morning in the lowland near Miyajima’s pier, I spent the afternoon at the top of its primary mountain, Mount Misen.
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Still on Miyajima, near Hiroshima, this afternoon, I went up to the summit of its main mountain, Mount Misen. It was spectacular. Here’s my post about it: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/moun...
Today, from my base in Hiroshima, I visited Miyajima Island. In the morning, I saw a couple of shrines and a truly iconic sight. My entry about it is here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/itsu...
Itsukushima Jinja (Shrine) & More Miyajima – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
Out of my base in Hiroshima, Japan, I spent the day on Miyajima Island, starting off at its main shrine, Itsukushima Jinja. I didn’t get there until
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Today, from my base in Hiroshima, I visited Miyajima Island. In the morning, I saw a couple of shrines and a truly iconic sight. My entry about it is here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/itsu...
This afternoon in Hiroshima, I went to a museum and took in the view from a “tower.” Here’s my journal entry about it: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/hiro...
Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, Hiroshima Orizuru Tower – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
Nevertheless, I persisted and visited the Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum in the afternoon. After that, and after another sojourn in the gardens...
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
This afternoon in Hiroshima, I went to a museum and took in the view from a “tower.” Here’s my journal entry about it: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/hiro...
This morning in Hiroshima, I visited Hiroshima Castle and a garden, and I suffered an incident. If that isn’t clickbait, I don’t know what is. (I don’t know what is.) Click here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/hiro...
Hiroshima Castle, Shukkeien Garden, and an Incident – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
This morning in Hiroshima, I visited Hiroshima Castle and Shukkeien Garden. The latter is a beautiful, peaceful traditional Japanese garden.
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:56 AM
This morning in Hiroshima, I visited Hiroshima Castle and a garden, and I suffered an incident. If that isn’t clickbait, I don’t know what is. (I don’t know what is.) Click here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/hiro...
Thank you, Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, for your very kind invitation to “Please take one” of your printed sheets with info about a few of the works. But if there’s not a word of English on either side of the sheet (there isn’t), there’s no need to invite me in English.
November 18, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Thank you, Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum, for your very kind invitation to “Please take one” of your printed sheets with info about a few of the works. But if there’s not a word of English on either side of the sheet (there isn’t), there’s no need to invite me in English.
I arrived in Hiroshima, Japan, around noon today. I spent the afternoon in the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park and gazing at a nearby iconic building from as close as the public is allowed to get to it. It was all a very moving experience, as I discuss here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/here...
Here in Hiroshima – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
When most people hear "Hiroshima," they probably immediately think of one thing. Maybe I'm just projecting. Nevertheless, despite not being born until more
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:41 PM
I arrived in Hiroshima, Japan, around noon today. I spent the afternoon in the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park and gazing at a nearby iconic building from as close as the public is allowed to get to it. It was all a very moving experience, as I discuss here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/here...
This afternoon in Himeji, Japan, I visited a gorgeous garden, walked up a hill to a shrine, and took in a spectacular view from a park above that. I wrote about it here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/koko...
Tomorrow morning, I’ll be moving on to my next destination in Japan.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll be moving on to my next destination in Japan.
Koko-en Gardens, a Shrine and a View – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
When I was at Himeji Castle this morning, I bought a combination ticket that included admission to Koko-en, a traditional Japanese garden just outside of the
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:24 PM
This afternoon in Himeji, Japan, I visited a gorgeous garden, walked up a hill to a shrine, and took in a spectacular view from a park above that. I wrote about it here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/koko...
Tomorrow morning, I’ll be moving on to my next destination in Japan.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll be moving on to my next destination in Japan.
This morning, I visited the spectacular Himeji Castle, where else, Himeji, Japan. Did “spectacular” whet your appetite for my journal entry about it? If so, it’s here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/hime...
If not, it's still there.
If not, it's still there.
Himeji Castle – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
The one sight that all of my guidebooks mention, and all in glowing terms, is Himeji Castle. That’s where I was this morning.
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:25 AM
This morning, I visited the spectacular Himeji Castle, where else, Himeji, Japan. Did “spectacular” whet your appetite for my journal entry about it? If so, it’s here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/hime...
If not, it's still there.
If not, it's still there.
I left Osaka this morning, and I’m now in Himeji, Japan. I spent the afternoon at a mountaintop temple complex. It was awesome. I wrote about it here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/hi-h...
Hi, Himeji – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
I left Osaka this morning and moved on to Himeji, where I am now. My walking tour app doesn't have a tour for Himeji. The advice I got elsewhere essentially
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I left Osaka this morning, and I’m now in Himeji, Japan. I spent the afternoon at a mountaintop temple complex. It was awesome. I wrote about it here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/hi-h...
Continuing my day trip to Nara from Osaka, this afternoon, I visited a garden, a temple, and a shrine. The linked entry also contains a story about dinner and a summary of my time in Osaka. journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/isui...
Isui-en Garden, a Temple, and a Shrine – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
I continued my day trip to Nara from Osaka. I had lunch today in a tearoom beside my first sight of the afternoon, Isui-en Garden.
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Continuing my day trip to Nara from Osaka, this afternoon, I visited a garden, a temple, and a shrine. The linked entry also contains a story about dinner and a summary of my time in Osaka. journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/isui...
Still operating out of my Osaka base, I took a day trip to nearby Nara. In the morning, I saw a temple and a museum. I discuss them here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/nara/
Now, Nara – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
Still operating from my Osaka base for today, I took a day trip to Nara. Including the walk to the nearby train station, getting to Nara from my hotel took
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Still operating out of my Osaka base, I took a day trip to nearby Nara. In the morning, I saw a temple and a museum. I discuss them here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/nara/
My afternoon in Osaka, Japan, took me to the Osaka Museum of History, a temple, and a shrine. Read about it here, if you like: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/osak...
Osaka Museum of History – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
The main sight I visited this afternoon in Osaka was the Osaka Museum of History. Before that I visited a temple. And I ended the afternoon at a shrine.
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:10 PM
My afternoon in Osaka, Japan, took me to the Osaka Museum of History, a temple, and a shrine. Read about it here, if you like: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/osak...
This morning in Osaka, I visited a temple and a shrine, walked along a couple of shopping streets, and went to a market. That sounds like a much busier morning than it was, as I explain here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/mitt...
Mittera Temple, Etc. – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
This was a slow, take-it-easy, odds-and-ends kind of morning for me as far as sightseeing in Osaka went. I started at Mittera Temple and then wandered,
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:33 AM
This morning in Osaka, I visited a temple and a shrine, walked along a couple of shopping streets, and went to a market. That sounds like a much busier morning than it was, as I explain here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/mitt...
I try not to be snarky (more than 50 times a day), and I’m exceptionally grateful to be informed that these leaflets are FREE, but the only English characters on them is a transliteration, “Tsuba.” Regrettably, I speak only English. Free doesn’t help me. Thanks anyway.
(Osaka Museum of History)
(Osaka Museum of History)
November 13, 2025 at 6:08 AM
I try not to be snarky (more than 50 times a day), and I’m exceptionally grateful to be informed that these leaflets are FREE, but the only English characters on them is a transliteration, “Tsuba.” Regrettably, I speak only English. Free doesn’t help me. Thanks anyway.
(Osaka Museum of History)
(Osaka Museum of History)
I spent most of this afternoon at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, but I also got a chance to look at the facade of a quirky shrine. Read about it here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/osak...
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan and a Shrine Facade – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
This will be a short post because I spent most of this afternoon in Osaka at only one attraction: the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. For simplicity's sake, I'm
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:32 PM
I spent most of this afternoon at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, but I also got a chance to look at the facade of a quirky shrine. Read about it here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/osak...
This morning in Osaka, Japan, I went up to the observation deck of a tower and took in some sights close to it. What tower? What sights? The answers are here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/tsut...
Tsutenkaku Tower and More – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
Today, I started my first full day in Osaka by going up a tower, the Tsutenkaku Tower. I followed that with some nearby sights, a garden, a pond in a park,
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 12, 2025 at 1:16 PM
This morning in Osaka, Japan, I went up to the observation deck of a tower and took in some sights close to it. What tower? What sights? The answers are here: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/tsut...
I decamped from Kyoto this morning and I’m now in Osaka, Japan. I spent the afternoon visiting Osaka Castle and spending some time in the green space beside it. Here’s the journal entry about it: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/osaka/
Oh, Osaka – Joel's Journeys & Jaunts
Osaka is close to Kyoto, which I left this morning. The express train took less than 30 minutes to travel to Osaka’s central station, even though the train I
journeys.klebanoff.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:01 PM
I decamped from Kyoto this morning and I’m now in Osaka, Japan. I spent the afternoon visiting Osaka Castle and spending some time in the green space beside it. Here’s the journal entry about it: journeys.klebanoff.com/2025/11/osaka/