In January 2020, Japan welcomed almost 2.7 million visitors from overseas in a single month. Three months later, in April, not even 3000 visitors were registered. Ever since, Japan has been closed to international tourism, a situation that I never imagined would occur during my lifetime. Needless to say, my own travel activities decreased considerably in 2020. While visiting around 30 of Japan's 47 prefectures in the regular year, I made it to only 16 this year, mostly in eastern Japan:

On a visit to Niigata City, I spend three hours to do the Nuttari Walk, a suggested walking route through central Niigata and its historic Nuttari district. Highlights of this attractively low-profile walk included a popular miso shop, a chic sake brewery, the free observation deck of one of the city's tallest buildings and a visit to the Nuttari Terrace, a collection of hip shops, cafes and galleries in a row of old buildings with an industrial backdrop.

Crisp air, a setting sun and a calm atmosphere with only a few fellow tourists made my late afternoon walk around Lake Onuma this September particularly pleasant. The highlight were the views of Mount Hokkaido-Komagatake, the local volcano that I love for its distinct and slightly scary shape.