So I went to the Fuji Rock Festival. 'Twas wicked. I saw a bunch of bands play... Danced with a load of random Japanese people, basically didn't sleep the whole time... Man, I didn't know there were so many Japanese hippies. And these guys party pretty damn hard. The bands I saw were (In no particular order whatsoever): Kings of Leon Muse The Cure Lily Allen Jarvis Cocker Kemuri The Beastie Boys Iggy & The Stooges Kaiser Chiefs Omar Rodriguez Lopez Group ...And some random Japanese bands whose names I cannot type. ...And that's not to mention the all-night DJs. I [View Full Entry]

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Dun dun dunnnn.... I'm so hardcore. I was out until 5am the night before last, then came back to the hostel for about 15 minutes, then went out to climb Mount Fuji with a few guys from the hostel. I slept for about an hour on the bus, then was good to go. It was kind of intimidating when I showed up there. People were decked out in leg wraps, massive backpacks, wooden sticks and ski poles, special jackets, oxygen tanks and the like. I had my shorts, my short-sleeved jacked-shit thing that I bought here, a smelly T-shirt from dancing [View Full Entry]

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I'm alive and well. Haven't posted in a couple of days because I was too busy being in Japan. ;-) I was in the shower during this earthquake I've heard so much about, and I didn't feel anything at all... The typhoon mostly affected the area southwest of here... It has just been a little rainy--lightly, at that--over here the last little while. No problem whatsoever. Honestly, I love this city. Japan has got to be the pinnacle of civilization. There is nothing about this country I don't like... And it's not nearly as expensive to stay here as people say. [View Full Entry]

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So the reason you haven't heard from me in a bit is largely due to underestimated travel times. You see, originally me and this guy I met at the hostel who I've become friends with were going to go to see this world famous art gallery and some shrines and stuff on Naoshima island, near Shikoku... But when the train ride ended up taking most of the day and we couldn't get a ferry to Naoshima and we were stranded in Takamatsu. We found a cheap hotel and wandered around the city a bit. The next day we ended up getting [View Full Entry]

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First thing I did today was go visit the imperial palace. Well you're not allowed in the palace, so I took some photos of the garden. And there was a really badass looking samurai statue. After that I wandered around in Ginza, the neighboring district known for shopping and expensive brands. I came across a movie theatre, and decided I'd finally get around to seeing the latest Pirates of the Caribbean. Differences: -EVERYTHING IS PERFECTLY CLEAN -You get a seat assigned to you. -All the seats are on the same level, and tilted slightly back, with the screen higher up so [View Full Entry]

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That's how I'd describe the people of Tokyo so far. I'm writing this at about quarter after eight in the morning Japan time. I'm already dressed and have had a shower. Why is this, you ask? Subway closes at midnight. Cabs are ridiculously expensive. But that doesn't stop anyone in this town from doing their thing. I went out for a "night on the town", as it were, with some friendly people I've met here at the hostel. Two Britts, two Americans, and myself. Quite a balanced group. The subway and trains start running again shortly after 5:00. Consequently, every single [View Full Entry]

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So I couldn't manage to find a Lotteria, but I did find a McDonald's which I'd read on a poster outside of one that they also sell Terriyaki Burgers. Unfortunately, they don't sell them until past ten-thirty. I had a sausage muffin combo instead. It was good, but the cheese was extremely processed. I'm not complaining. The whole breakfast was ~$3 CAD. But, I do love a tasty burger. Some interesting things I noticed: -Well this isn't so much something I noticed as something I did... I was out of change and small bills, so I cracked a 10,000 Yen note. [View Full Entry]

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Soo I'm getting a bit of a late start today (It's almost 1pm as I write this). But I think it's well-justified. Last night was a gong show. I went down to "Roppongi", which is where I think most of the foreigners hang out in this city, because there were tons of them. Where to begin... Ah, yes. Food. Finding a place to eat in this city is extremely difficult. And it has absolutely nothing to do with a shortage of restaurants. You see, nearly everywhere that is a restaurant will have the name of the place written in English, a [View Full Entry]

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Almost an entire day on the airplane and a long and confusing subway ride (I tried to go through one of the gates once and it didn't like my ticket or something and a guy had to come over and fix it. I'm a tool. Also I still don't quite understand the ticket machine but I pushed buttons until it worked. Then it turned out to be rush hour on the subway--think TTC rush hour x1000, only you don't need to hold anything to stay standing it's so crowded. I had my luggage. I thought someone would beat me up.)--It all [View Full Entry]

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