^{My New Year’s resolution in 2025: keep travelling, keep photographing, keep seeking, keep going! And I achieved that – two trips to Japan during 2025 – May and November. I have been to many places around the world, and in late life, Japan is a country I’ve come to enjoy very much. Our tenth journey there is planned for later this year, and a trip to the Australian island state of Tasmania early next year.}

^{I turned 74 this month (2026). How did that happen? 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, meeting wonderful people en route, a like minded life partner, blessed to become a mum – and quite late in life, even a Nanna (grandmother).}

^{In a blink of an eye, most of that journey is done. I’m an elderly, overweight retiree with a seriously bung knee. Not quite so zesty anymore. The knee was replaced three years ago. It didn’t go well. So I had further surgery to improve it three months ago. Currently, I am in rehabilitation mode, aiming at pain free mobility to continue my travels! It’s a long recovery road that will take me through this Australian winter.}

^{Meanwhile, many of 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 for me. I am a sports dud, so bowls, senior’s tennis and croquet are not for me. Card games drive me nuts. I’m hopeless at sewing, knitting and all those crafty things.}

^{So, MJ and I are ramping up our travelling while we are able. We travelled to Japan four times in the past two years, mostly exploring regional areas outside of the major cities – a big effort that enriched our lives with encounters with interesting people and places.}

^{We met this young bloke in Nachikatsuura in November 2025. He didn’t speak English, MJ doesn’t speak Japanese – yet they managed quite a yarn about fishing! The number of ‘conversations’ we have had with locals in Japan is remarkable, given we are not gifted with the language. Admittedly, google translate has made quite a difference in recent years.}

^{I could fill this whole blog with photos of some of the wonderful people we have met over the years. People like this community group we met in a shopping arcade in Ishinomaki – a city still struggling to recover from the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2011. We met the group above in a small shopping arcade, and they embraced us warmly. Little english, but with the help of google translate, we had quite a conversation! It’s people like this that make our journeys so much more than a postcard travel experience.}

^{We plan to return to explore more of Ishinomaki this year because they need tourist dollars to strengthen their economy. And because our short stay there was unforgettable because of the people we met there.}