Blogs from Ueno, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

I have more to come, but here are some photos to make up for the lack of photographs so far of my Japan trip on this blog. There are lots of food photographs for those of you who said you wanted to live vicariously through my food experiences.... read more

It's almost 2:00 PM here at LAX as I'm writing these words, about an hour from boarding time on my flight on Singapore Airlines to Narita. I assumed with the length of layover I have here (over six hours) there would be plenty of time to update my travel blog. However, I haven't been able to access the Internet despite a tantalizing list of network names that seem to be some various of "LAX-WiFi." The flight to LAX on Alaskan Airlines was very pleasant. I sat in a window seat in row 23, right behind the wing. There were some great views taking off and landing. The middle seat was empty and my neighbor at the aisle quietly alternated sleeping and reading. I read the entire in flight magazine and then finished reading a free YA ... read more

I have now officially been awake for 24 hours, but despite a general fatigue I seem to be feeling a second wind. Maybe it was the two dinners Singapore Airlines served me (one at what was 1 AM Pacific Standard Time) or all the juice and green tea I drank. Or perhaps it is a false rush of adrenaline I received after the frenzied race through Customs, buying my ticket to the Skyliner, and getting to the Skyliner. Now I'm kicking back a window seat in Car 8 of the Skyliner waiting for it to take off from the station. I look forward to seeing what the night view of Tokyo is from the Skyliner. All I have to do now is get to Ueno Station and find the McDonald's where I am meeting my sister. ... read more

Today was our last day in Tokyo :( / :) ? Mom was happy that we were no longer going to be staying in the hotel-of-tiny-bathrooms, but we were sad that we were leaving the big city. Although, as soon as we arrived in Kyoto mom said, "This feels closer to home." I think she was relieved to be back in Kyoto. Before we left Tokyo, however, we headed over to Ueno Park--about 5 blocks away from our hotel--and took a stroll through the park to the Tokyo National Musuem. The Tokyo National Museum houses some of Japan's most valuable and precious historical objects and artistic masterpieces. The museum consists of four separate buildings, however, we just went into the main building; and there was plenty to look at. The exhibitions begin on the second floor ... read more

Hello Everyone!! I have arrived in Japan! There were a few hiccups along the way (such as the flight being delayed for an hour due to a thunderstorm) but I made it safe and sound!! I'm about to head off to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a meeting and then I will be on my way to Sendai and Shiogama City in Miyagi Prefecture!! I'm so excited!! I plan to update this blog as much as possible, but the photos will not be uploaded until after I return (but don't worry there will be plenty of photos!!) Tanya... read more

Rightio as the title says here we go.. So I arrived in Tokyo following a long and uneventful flight in which i had both seats to myself. This is an advantage when it comes to the logistics of trying to sleep but it nearly killed me not having anyone to talk to for 11 hours.I also missed Martin being there to laugh and ridicule my OCD tendencies when it comes to organising my airline food tray. I made it without incident to my hotel only to be met with a monsoon like downpour and no coat or umbrella to hand- very poor planning on my part! Oh..just to add everything is ok here- transport is running, there are no rolling blackouts and there is plenty of food and water. It is far from the apocalyptic picture ... read more

Kyoto is een mooie plaats; alhoewel, heel Japan is eigenlijk erg mooi. We hebben de afgelopen dagen onder anderen een gouden pagode bezocht en de grootste Boedah in Japan. Ook de residentie van de zoon van de toenmalige keizer en diverse tempels. Maar ook hebben we downtown verkend. We zijn inmiddels doorgereisd naar Tokyo, Mt. Fuji heeft zich helaas tijdens de trein reis niet laten zien. Teveel om op te noemen, eigenlijk... Eerlijk gezegd hebben wij niet zoveel zin om te typen - de dagen zijn behoorlijk vol en aan het einde hebben we niet echt zin om nog een heel verhaal te typen. Daarom doen we bij deze verslag via een heel aantal foto's! Wat zijn we lui!... read more