Blogs from Tokyo, Japan, Asia - page 203

Tokyo Tokyo is beyond my grasp. Its size, its population, its lack of grid is nearly overwhelming. No, actually, it is overwhelming. It’s so thoroughly massive that you don’t even realize how little you’re actually seeing. A bird’s eye view would have been helpful for perspective but I never left the worm’s eye view. My whole understanding of the city is based on the main circular path of the metro map which itself is only conceptual. So basically, even after spending 10 days there, my understanding of Tokyo is at best, conceptual. This vague understanding was dotted with distinct experiences in dining, shopping, and sumo. The udon noodle shops were incredible, and plenty reasonable. The largest fish market in the world was impressively, well, large. Massive frozen tunas were moved about, marked in red paint, ... read more

Typical Sunday afternoon in Akihabara Asia » Japan » Tokyo » Ueno By CrashApril 15th 2007Nigel HenshawI live about 10mins away from Akihabara. A Sunday afternoon walk is always pleasant.... read more

As we disembarked from the plane after touching down in Narita, Japan, I could see Gene’s face light up in anticipation of our upcoming meeting with his best friend, Jess, who would be traveling with us throughout our entire stay in Japan. As we navigated through the airport, Gene’s eyes scanned our surroundings for any sign of Jess, to no avail. We were not yet aware that Jess’s plane from New York had landed early, which would have required him to wait at the airport for another 5½ hours before we landed. We gave up hope when Jess was nowhere to be found at the baggage claim and assumed that he had already headed for our hotel. We exchanged our paperwork for Japan Rail Passes and rushed to make the train for our first experience on ... read more

url='/Videos/2787.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/2787.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'Tiger?url='/Videos/2788.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/2788.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'Tennis in Japan Today I visited the school my sister has been teaching at in Shin-Kawasaki and trialled one of the many Linx driving ranges. Following an email Al left for me, I followed her instructions to get to Shin-Kawasaki rail station. From here I was supposed to have a short 10min walk straight down the hill to the golf range. Um...it didn't quite work out that way! Al had told me I would come across a small park on my right and the range would be on the left. After seeing a park on the opposite side and noticing the Linx was also on the other side to what she said I figured I had obviously taken a wrong turn. I walked back to the station and star... read more

Hello all, So, despite the warnings and the small internal voice of my better judgement, I decided to catch the overnight bus after work on Saturday to Tokyo. It is a fraction of the price of the train, and of course, there is a reason! Locals warned me not to take it, the sales people tried to gesture wildly that the seats were - how to say - Japanese size - and my students just laughed. But, of course, that just gave me more conviction ;0) So, I was off after class and a nice izakaya with some students and Geoff, which put me in a good mood. Also, after all the warnings, I had prepared myself for the worst, so luckily I was amused by my seat companion (an oversized Japanese man who decided ... read more