Blogs from Nippori, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

Bonjour. Etant donné le décalage horaire, malgré ma petite sieste, je suis complètement crevée (j’aurais dû baptiser mon blog mamie maga parce qu’il m’en faut pas beaucoup quand même). Donc vous excuserez mes erreurs lexicales ainsi que grammaticales (comme d’hab en fait, sauf que là j’ai une excuse). Je suis de retour ! Et le Japon n’a pas vraiment changé. Tant mieux ! Les odeurs, les bâtiments carrelés, la propreté, les vélos par milliers, tout est comme je l’avais laissé ! Quand je suis arrivée, le premier truc qui m’a fait repenser à chez moi (à Nagoya), c’était le gros bâtiment de AEON(alors certains diront que c’est moche, je répondrais que tout et relatif). J’ai pensé à le prendre en photo mais ça bougeait trop dans le train. J’ai pas non plus pris de photos de ... read more

This morning I awoke with a pounding headache and backache, I assume from dehydration and sitting for so long- 11 hour flight, 1 hour train ride, 1 hour sitting and discussing our plans over a map= 13 hours sitting. This morning we had a brunch-buffet in the hotel restaurant. The hotel was fancy: marble, clean and shiny. The buffet offered an array of fruits, funny looking fish, yogurt, rice miso soup (with add-in ingredients on the side), toast, croissants, eggs and more. We were there for about an hour, eating, sipping and chatting away the morning. I enjoyed a safe bowl of rice, miso soup, and white bread. Yes, very safe and American, but with radiation spewing in the air I vowed not to eat any poultry, fish, vegetable or fruit, or at least try not ... read more

I am flying west of Seattle, making good time I suppose. The flight began rather loud and rough, turbulence at its finest. Our Boeing 777 was swaying side to side with the current of the waves swaying below it. One set of turbulence shook and dropped us down a bit. I felt my heart leap out of my chest, and keep beating. Before that set of turbulence occurred, I stared at the back of my eyelids and awoke to rice crackers with Japanese letters imprinted on the white bag. Lunch was served shortly after, about twenty minutes after. The stewardess, (all female, all Asian stewardesses wearing blue and white pin-stripe skirts, aprons and button-up blouses with handkerchiefs lacing their necks) walked down the aisles placing warm, wet, white hand towels in our hands. I watched as ... read more

Arriving in Japan was a total contrast to anything we experienced in China... most people either spoke some english or actually tried understanding and made themselves be understood. We quite easily managed to get money, rent a phone, change our flight out of Japan and exchange our Japan Rail Pass all within about 1 hour of arriving... a task that would have taken us a whole day in Beijing. There was nobody trying to get us into every taxi in the city or to get us to stay in their hotel... and nobody was trying to rip us off. China and Japan are total worlds apart... while in China there seems to be such a social and economic gap between people, in Japan everyone seems to be at the same level. The cost of things is ... read more

The youngest member (excuse the pun) of our party was subjected to rigorous molestation en route from Beijing to Tokyo today. Had the Chinese security dominatrix been any more thorough, the rubber gloves would have been deployed. Another 5am start and even I'm becoming jaded. Taxi-plane-train. We're staying at a lovely, minimalist in a Japanese Ikea-like sense, "ryokan" (Japanese guest house). Our tiny triple room has simple mattresses placed directly on bamboo matted floorboards, cushions round the kettle (green tea bags of course), a paper panelled sliding screen window and a bathroom of Boeing-esque proportions (by which I mean mile high club, not jumbo sized). It's charismatic, spotless and peaceful; the same goes for the idyllically dozy suburb in which we're spending out 1st 2 Tokyo nights. First impressions of Japan; civilised, dignified, quiet. We've ... read more