^{My New Year’s resolution: keep travelling, keep photographing, keep seeking, keep going! I turn 73 this year. I’m unsure how that happened. One minute I was a slim young 18 year old, full of zest for life, embarking on my dream career as a cadet News reporter and saving for my first big travel adventure abroad. It was all ahead of me – realising dreams to explore the world, wonderful people to become my friends, a like minded life partner, blessed to become a mum – and quite late in life, even a grand mum – a Nanna in my case.}

^{The next minute, most of that journey is done. I’m an old overweight retiree with a seriously bung knee. Not quite so zesty anymore. My friends are downsizing – some already moving into retirement homes. Some sadly passed. It would be easy to put the best years behind me, and drift into a more sedate twilight life.}

^{Maybe not so easy. I am a sports dud, so bowls and croquet are not for me. The knee and age enable only the easiest of bushwalks (trekking)- one of my past passions. Card games drive me nuts. I’m hopeless at sewing, knitting and all those crafty things.}

^{In 2024, we lost two people dear to us – and I expect this will be a trend with friends and close family members aging to. I have no idea when it will be my turn – I have battled breast and thyroid cancer in the last few decades, and now old age is upon me. As a fellow blogger said this week, make every day count.}

^{So in that spirit, MJ and I ramped up our travelling trips, and went to Japan twice in the past year – a big effort that enriched our lives with encounters with interesting, beautiful people and places.}

^{And in 2025, I’m resolved to try to hang on to that youthful zest for life for as long as possible, moving forward the only way I know how. A lot slower in my old age, but with planning and thinking outside the box, I can still explore new places, revisit favourites, meet new people and enjoy fresh experiences.}

^{I’ve begun by embarking on months of intensive research to plan another adventure in Japan – a country I’ve come to enjoy very much. It will be the most challenging yet – exploring the northern end of Honshu, and travelling though Hokkaido to its top coast. Places where not a lot of english is spoken and information can be scant. My camera, of course, will on hand. What do they say: camera, light, action – forward ho.}

^{These are some of the people I met in the last year. They inspire me to ‘keep moving on’.}

^{We met her in an elevator, and she insisted on taking us to a nearby art gallery where she had exhibited her work a fortnight earlier. Age definitely did not slow this little lady down.}

^{We met him in the small shop he runs in Hida Furukawa, Gifu. Still working, still loving life. Still embracing each new person he meets.}

^{I met her as I was struggling up a mountain to reach a temple in Omihachiman, a canal town about 40 minutes train ride from Kyoto. She encouraged me to keep going, and gave me a victory smile when we met again on my descent!}

^{I can never forget the smiling boatmen of Geibi Gorge in Iwate Prefecture. They are loving life!}

^{Another Geibikei encounter – a fabulous chef who has returned from Tokyo to his home town to run an inn and deliver amazing meals for his customers. We stayed at the Inn, and he presented a delicious Happy Birthday desert for me.}

^{We had breakfast at his wonderful coffee shop twice in Morioka. Some reviewer on the Internet said he was a grumpy old bloke who didn’t like his photo taken. Not so. Lovely bloke, and he happily posed for my camera.}

^{She noticed me passing and admiring her garden – so she invited me in. No english. But she smiled and urged me to check the magnificent back garden too. So kind, so generous!}

^{“I’m handsome, aren’t I”, he joked as he posed for my camera.}

^{I love this photo. MJ and a local fisher – neither spoke each other’s language, yet they had quite a conversation about their mutual love of sighing (using a translator app).}

^{I met her in the Onuma Quasi National Park – an elderly widow from nearby Hakodate who loved to fish. We had a lovely chat because fortunately she spoke some english.}

^{We got out of bed at an ungodly hour to visit the Morioka Mikoda morning market in Iwate. It opens at 5am! This lovely lady was one of the stall holders.}

^{We met him at a railway station on Shikoku Island. He was retired, and about to head off on a long distance pilgrimage. He’d already covered about a thousand kilometres on pilgrimages during his working life, fitted in segments on his holidays. He spoke english very well, and asked for a chat while waiting for our trains.}

^{In her eighties, and still serving breakfast at her cafe in Kurushiki. Delightful lady.}

^{A retired businessman and passionate rugby follower – he is now a volunteer guide in Kurushiki – and how lucky we were to have him show us around!}

^{We met her at the craft village near Morioka. Her work was excellent. Of course, I bought something!}

^{Walking through Matsumoto (Nagano prefecture) I turned a corner into a square and found a bustling market full of local foods and goods – and this wonderful musican, singing some very cool jazz tunes. An unexpected pleasure!}

^{He spent so much time explaining his craft to us, and we failed to buy anything. His work was exquisite. Sadly, no room for a heavy iron kettle in my suitcase. Is that why he’s looking a little sad?}

^{We climbed up a very high hill in search of a coffee shop on Ogijima Island, and found this delightful man. He serves basic tea and coffee and a few other small treats from his place that also provides an amazing view of the harbour and Seto Inland sea. He moved to the island from Osaka to find a more peaceful life, and is now known as the cat man, taking care of about 70 stray cats on Ogijima.}

^{There were so many more people in 2024 who impacted our lives on our journeys. So many lovely encounters, and so many more photos. I end this story with a photo of a lady who approached us in the street in Morioka, Iwate, and gave us some lovely sweets. She didn’t have much english, and perhaps was surprised to see a couple of old westerners wandering around the back streets of her town. I’m hoping for many more such encounters in 2025.}