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

So today we woke up early-ish today and packed our small bags and are heading to Lake Yamanaka. We put out big bags upstairs in the Sakura. Then we went to the Liberty tower at Meiji and meet the Meiji students there for the ride up there. We all got on the bus, which is a lot nicer than US buses thou lacking a bathroom. We traveled to a rest stop about half way there then we stopped to get lunch i got a Coke, Pringles and i got a pork roll thing which was really good. Then we got on the bus and continued on. On the second half of the trip when we got close we passed a amusement park and an old beautiful looking Shinto Shrine. When we got to the retreat house ... read more

Good morning everyone I am feeling much better today, thanks to mom for giving me some stuff before i left that is :P. I slept great. the beds are really long but the comforter they give you is short :P. The shower is interesting one lever for water pressure one for temp :P. I thought i was vertically challenged in US showers but here it is much more so. They had a mirror in the shower that came up to the base of my neck. Today we all meet the Japanese Students and walked around Meiji University. There are a lot of Students who are support students. Even thou they area shy about there English they are actually really good with it. We meet the professors and got a tour of the Campus. After the initial ... read more

we really loved to stay in Jimbocho, which is conveniently close to the imperial palace, 15 minutes walking. we stayed at sakura hotel, which is more like a hostel than a hotel, rooms are clean and common bathrooms and showers are immaculated as you would expect in Japan. staff is friendly and helpful. location perfect. 100 m from underground station and from cheap restaurants, eateries and shops. we moved around by the incredible system of trains and underground, easy to navigate. we visited major sights such as shintoist shrines and buddhist temples in asakusa and of course the modern city of Jimbocho. don't miss the free admission on tokyo metropolitan government office and the great views from the observation floor. we were lucky and saw the fuji covered with snow.... read more

It doesn't seem like that long since we were blogging in Beijing, but we've already been here in Japan now for over a week. Part of the reason for the lack of blogging of late is that the internet costs are prohibitively expensive here (at least compared to the $1-1.50 per hour we've grown accustomed to in other countries), not to mention the fact that there are so few internet cafes here. The other reason is that there is so much to do here and we've been trying to take in as much as possible. Japan has been such a beautiful adventure, we can't recommend it enough. We arrived on September 3 at Tokyo's Narita Airport and had an uneventful train and subway ride to our hotel. We were impressed with the mass transit here ... read more

Hi All Well my time in Tokyo is drawing to a close. Today has been the first day of rain since Ive been here so thats not bad. Have been to lots of fantastic temples and seen the Cherry Blossom. Have been so lucky to see it when we did as it is already starting to wilt. Have eaten lots of delicious Japanese food, yes, even suishi. Yum! Had some black pasta with squid and octopus in it. In turned my entire mouth black! Maybe not one to order on a date! Have seen some Japanese drag queens (who didnt shave their beards close enough!) and a Japanese Elvis street show. Alot of people wear surgical masks on their faces whilst going about thier daily business, as they are all very paranoid about germs and smog. ... read more