Blogs from Tochigi, Japan, Asia - page 2

It continued to snow today. The locals don't seem to share the same admiration for the snow as we do. They were eager to get rid of it- our neighbours were awake before us, shovelling snow out of their driveways and wiping it off their car windscreens. We set out for Edomura (Edo Wonderland) this morning, but Yoshiku stop us in our tracks. She insisted on driving us to the train station to catch the shuttle bus. Oh Yoshiku, for a Bed and Breakfast hostess she really does go above and beyond. We arrived at the station 12 minutes after the last train. We were happy to wait, but Yoshiku insisted on driving us the whole way to the historical theme park. I should point out that it was a 30 minute drive completely out of ... read more

Well, we know and we can tell you a fair bit after visiting the Osaka Science Museum. The Osaka Science Museum is a four-floor building filled with wonderment and fun. We were immediately impressed when we found 'Cubekon'- a robot that solves Rubix cubes. It is in this museum that you can interact and learn about astronomy, technology, geology, chemistry, physics and biology. We looked through old astronomy equipment, played with circuits and sniffed fragrances (including gross pizza and takoyaki). One of the best floors was the second floor, called: 'Science is fun'. We completed a series of marble runs and played strange musical instruments. James enjoyed checking himself out in the hall of mirrors. After a morning of exploring we went to the science show. The theme was 'static electricity'. This topic could really make ... read more

Like usual, I picked an early train to maximize my touring time. It takes three hours to get to Nikko, my destination for today. I debated last night not going and staying in Tokyo because of the travel time, but so many guide books and blogs recommended it, I decided to still go. I had to switch trains in Tokyo to catch a bullet train out. I had to switch again to get a local train out to Nikko (it's a small town part way up a mountain). On that train I made a new friends. His name was Rob and he was in Tokyo from Maryland for work, (something to do with bio engineering). He had a three day weekend (I'm thinking he works with the government as a contractor and gets memorial day off ... read more

Nasu to Nasu-dake A thin layer of snow had settled over night giving me the perfect excuse in which to build some snowmen. I hated how cold it was in the mountains yet the sight of my snowmen over breakfast gave me some warmth and encouragement. The 8km climb up to Yumoto Park today from my guesthouse was a relatively gruelling uphill ascent. Thankfully I was travelling light with my luggage remaining at my guesthouse. My uphill monologue normally going a little something like this: ‘F*&king s%$%"y w^&k, p*ss, c*&t b**%%$k m£$f, why the f*%k am I doing this? What kind of mug am I?’ And that’s even a toned down version as not to offend anyone’s Mum. But it also has to be said that I quite often offend myself with the physical assault of ... read more

I awoke the following rainy day having had an odd dream, to clean my bicycle chain I use a toothbrush, a very oily toothbrush I might add. In the ethereal realm and against the science of hygiene it appeared to be perfectly acceptable for me to use this toothbrush in order to clean my teeth. I do worry about my sub-conscience sometimes and upon waking I checked my teeth. As a British standard, horrible, yet not oily. It was just a dream, I was thankful. As it was chucking it down I re-created a scene from 7 years previously by having a stroll down to Kanmangafuchi Abyss. An eerie, secluded gorge just outside of town formed many years ago by the eruption of nearby Mt. Nantai. A mood lingers in the air as a row of ... read more