Blogs from Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan, Asia - page 2

Tokyo with the Shinkansen On monday it was time for me to visit the capital of Japan, Tokyo. I had prior to my arrival in Japan purchased a Japan rail pass so I was able to catch the Shinkansen bullet train from Osaka. The day started of early as I had a train to catch from the huge new Osaka train station. Before boarding the train I bought the obligatory bento lunch box and a cold green tea drink to indulge during the trip. The train departed from the station on the exact minute. The approx 510 km between Osaka and Tokyo takes a little under 3 hours including 6 stop along the way. The train reaches the speed of around 300 km/h. The funny thing was that you couldn’t feel a thing while on board. ... read more

Today,s adventure was to what I like to call, "Techno Town", the technology district Akihabara. There were shops and stalls after stall selling all sorts of technology, games consoles new and classic, computers, watches, all sorts of cool MAN THINGS'! I decided to buy a Acer Netbook, which was cheap as chips, although it is Japanese(not always easiest to use). Went for lunch in this strange little shack, place your order through a vending machine, which takes your money and gives you a ticket. Take the ticket to the bar and dinner follows shortly. Was crazy, all the staff shout things when you arrive and leave, no idea what saying! Head back to Asakusa for beers, had a few beers in a traditional Japanese restaurant where we had to remove our shoes, next we went to ... read more

And now I'm in Sydney! On a computer in apple store right now.. how lame, it costs to use internet in my hostel here :(. So lets talk about yesterday.. Saying bye to Tokyo was pretty damn lame to be honest, but I am more happy of the fact I wasn't going home but going to Sydney! Ate our final rice balls from family mart, tear! We were planning on going to Shibuya to find our sexy avocado restaurant again, but we got into 'can't be arsed' mode and decided to go mooch on the computers in the hostel instead, as there wasn't really enough time to do anything anyway. I am very satisfied with my mooching as I caught up on my missed episodes of The Hills :). Also it was kinda funny, Greg came ... read more

Giornata piuttosto intensa, questa, che narrerò un po' brevemente per cronica mancanza di tempo. AKIHABARA Questa mattinata decidiamo finalmente di visitare Akihabara, descritto come paradiso dell'elettronica, dei videogiochi e soprattutto della cultura legata a manga e anime. Il primo approccio è piuttosto spaesante, come sempre all'arrivo in un nuovo quartiere. Un enorme filiale dell'onnipresente Yodobashi Camera ci accoglie e ne approfittiamo per fare un giretto introduttivo. Gli articoli sono sempre quelli, ma in una quantità impressionante. Circa 6 piani stracolmi e ogni piano è riduttivo chiamarlo enorme. Ci facciamo un'idea delle stramberie che troveremo in giro e usciamo, diretti al vero cuore pulsante del quartiere. Sulla strada troviamo un palazzo della Sega, in sostanza una grande salagiochi. Essendo il primo del genere che incontriamo, entriamo incuriositi e giriamo qu... read more

The Hotel Bellegrande I woke up early in the morning (well, early for me anyways) and made another call to my parents while browsing some of my favorite pages on the internet. I can scarcely imagine trying to do a trip like this without the internet. Thanks to messaging services like Skype and AIM, I can still keep in touch with people back home when I get homesick and update them on what’s been going on with me as well. It’s a wonderfully convenient connection. I spent the morning in my room, watching CNN (in English) and working to unsnarl the issues my bank was having with my charges in Tokyo. The Hotel Bellgrande came at the suggest of the head of the international center at Seigakuin, and it has served my purposes wonderfully. It’s a ... read more