Blogs from Kochi, Japan, Asia - page 3

I have absolutely bugger all to write. I can't even upload any photos. But I have tea. Which is good.... read more

Settling in to my new town My God, it's hot here!!! The first thing I noticed literally as I stepped off of the plane was the intense heat! But excited all the same, especially as all we could see out of the window as we landed was just lots of greenery. Mmmm.... The airport, unsurprisingly, is not that big and therefore it didn't take long for our bags to come out on the belt. I managed to get my broken black trolley bag and headed out to the exit. There were lots of signs with the names of the new JETs that were arriving, and a welcome "committee" for each person. As soon as I walked out, someone addressed me as "Satsuki", and I found out he was the head of the Board of Education in ... read more

its 12 days and 234km since my last blog. sounds like a long way but in fact i continued to battle with my feet and was thus slower than i hoped. but the good news is that my blisters and i have finally come to an understanding; i smother them with antiseptic several times a day and they only give me bother after six or seven hours on the road. you find me in kochi. im having a day off to appreciate its original castle, kochi jo, and to stock up on plasters and other goodies like sellotape to mend my collapsing map book, and a vest and shorts for these long coastal stretches. not being a henro for the day is quite refreshing. i think its the first time ive actually stopped, reflected and felt ... read more

Well if I was not hot enough from the onsen of Dogo, it certainly paid off in the next few days! I spent yesterday morning seeing Matsuyama castle, and the tranquil park of Dogo kooen, where I was amongst the like minded taking photos of lillies and beautifully tamed bonsai. The local folk come here for relaxing, reading sleeping, contemplating, and a bit of romance, or so it seems! The odd vagrant also appeared beneath a newspaper and dishevelled clothing, but then again that could be me compared to the TORENDI japanese....I digress... The streetcars of　Matsuyama make getting around a breeze.....so I learnt. For 300 yen you can go anywhere for one day from dawn until 10pm, taking you in the general direction of every tour group known to visit this place. Creating your own itinerary ... read more

When I awoke the electricity was still off. Confused, I called the desk and learned the following; there is a switch just inside the door labeled MS, the switch controls current in the room, I hit the switch by mistake when I entered the room last night and tried to turn on the lights, and I really didn’t need the lights at all. My New Zealand Hotel had a similar system. I had to insert my room key in a slot to get power. They are interesting power saving techniques that we may see in newer hotels here at home. This should have given me a clue as to how the day would progress. I took the shuttle to downtown and planned to meander around. As you all know I am not a great shopper ... read more