Blogs from Yanaka, Tokyo, Japan, Asia

later that very same day.... now this will have to be the final - and it will it will be relatively brief - I may like the sound of my own E voice but I need some sleep like serious as courtesie de Finnair and time zones not too much last "night". So what got "done" this afternoon? well I finally hauled myself off the tatami and wandered down the road - decided I needed some kinda grab it and go lunch so the local Lawsons convenience store - like 7-11 which are also big here - they even have a bank, Seven Bank which is virtually the only one - other than the PO I beiieve - in which you can withdraw Yen against foreign cards - the Japanese are very insular like that. Its ... read more

Tokyo I was excited about heading off to Tokyo, to see a futuristic metropolis, possibly a glimpse of what's to come. However, it also gave me the opportunity to ride the legendary Shinkansen bullet train for the first time. As expected it was comfortable, clean, on time and reasonably fast. There's so little noise and the fact its very smooth makes it hard to get a sense of how fast you're actually moving, so it's extremely efficient but somewhat disappointing as I hoping to slammed back into my seat like some NASA astronaut as we pulled some heavy negative "G's". No such luck as the food cart slowly passed by with multi coloured crustless sandwiches on it and the usual noodles, sweets and something that would be deemed the Japanese equivalent of a ration pack. Arriving ... read more