Yamanouchi is an ancient village in the Japanese Alps, in the Prefecture of Nagano. Snow monkeys live in the forests and bathe in the volcanic hot springs. For a few months the forests are free of snow and the monekys give birth to many offspring.

A protective Mother.

Geysers shoot boiling water up from the volcanic ground.

While melted snow fuels the icy waterfalls.

Mother and Child in the forest.

Yamanouchi is an ancient village built atop thousands of hot springs. Buildings are heated naturally.

Social life revolves around the baths.

Inside a men’s bath. Cold water is mixed with hot to create a bath of 42 C ( 107 F ) .

A Zen Dinner at the Ryokan.

The best way to explore Japan is on the 200 mph , 320 kph High Speed Shinkansen network on Japan Rail. The Japan Rail Pass allows 7 days of unlimited travel for $ 279 – only non-resident foreigners are eligible. Distances in Japan are great – but seem close on these trains that seem to fly along the ground.

In Kyoto, the highest pagoda in Japan.

A Shinto Shrine.

Kyoto has delicious cuisine. Here is some venison sashimi.

Locusts.

And Bee Larvae

Japan does not normally conjure images of adventure, but ArcticTropic stopped in for several days to be totally immersed in this vibrant modern/ancient culture.

Tokyo is always the City of the Future.

Gundam ! Japan s the world’s merchandising capital.

Food choices not found elsewhere.

In vibrant Shinjuku ,where we stayed.

The best neon anywhere.

Our flight trajectory did not take us over North Korea even though we were in a Chinese plane. We passed about 50 miles south of that path.

A quick representation of destinations since the GoPro was acquired less than a year ago. Featured : USA,Mongolia,South Africa,Namibia,China. Music will now accompany most videos.

Last week ArcticTropic headed to San Francisco on business – to explore financial opportunities that will allow us to expand exponentially.  Since natural beauty abounds everywhere – it was easy to get great footage without traveling too far from the various meeting places.

Coming back into the City from Marin County at sunset. September is summer in the Bay Area – the normal cold grey cloak of fog lifts for a couple of months, allowing for spectacular views.

Sunset Over The Pacific.

The America’s Cup Yachts In Port.

Oracle Ahead – From the St.Francis Yacht Club.

On The Way – Chicago, before a change at O’Hare.

On The Way – Mono Lake, California – Nevada in the Distance.

Green World Adventures, in Costa Rica is one of ArcticTropic’s featured providers. As it is now the summer low season, prices are lower than in the peak winter months.

Some of the more high end trips feature luxury accommodations – great to relax after a day in the jungles and on the beaches.

Costa Rica is so close to the US – 5 hours from New York or California – only 2 hours from Miami. It is also one of the safest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

You can book directly right now by CLICKING HERE.

ArcticTropic has just Acquired the GoPro Hero 3 Camera with 1080p 60 fps quality. it will greatly improve our video presentations from upcoming expeditions. Above video was taken in the Florida Everglades,west of Miami, for testing purposes – editing on FinalCut Pro.

An ArcticTropic friend, Siham Sharples, who lives in Dubai, recently travelled by auto with her family to nearby Musandam, Oman. Musandam is at the northern tip of the country,where the Straits of Hormuz join the Persian Gulf.

Fortress towns dot the countryside.

The Khasab Castle is built upon an old Portuguese fortress from the 1700s.

Coastal highways afford beautiful views. At this time of year the weather is dry and mild, about 22C ( 73 F), while in the summer it is ferociously hot, up to 50C ( 122 F ).

Beautiful old fishing boats,known as Dhows, ply the waters of the Straits between Oman and Iran.

Snorkeling and diving look like excellent possibilities.

Today ArcticTropic was invited on a private yacht tour by a renowned Istanbul artist who will later be featured in the Blog.Time and bandwidth constraints in the hotel make posting difficult at this time. Today was an incredible fall day with temperatures in the 70s – in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

From Asia looking to Europe.

Turkey is extremely patriotic – the nation controls a good portion of this part of the world.

The entrance the Black Sea.

Saudi Prince Abdul Aziz pops in for a visit.

On the morning of 10/28/11 I travelled from São Paulo to Bogotá on my way home to Miami. The flight takes off from the second biggest city in the world, and within a couple of hours is flying over one of the most remote areas on the world.

Avianca’s twice daily A 340 flight is about 6 hours.

Vegans who want to save the world – guess what ? Soya farms are eating up the jungle !

Western Amazon.

Down below, Lost Tribes gaze up at the Big SIlver BIrd – too high for their poison arrows to hit.

The cloud cover thickened over the rain forest and we did not see anything the last two hours – missing views of the Colombian Andes until we landed at El Dorado Internacional.

Time to connect for Miami !