I awoke to torrential rain so started the day by writing postcards and drinking green tea. I decided to keep the day urban to maximise on any shelter, so headed south of Kyoto station, an area I had not yet been to. First I went to the Toji Temple which at 5 stories high is the higest in the whole of Japan. The rain did little to obscure the size of this temple, although it did obscure my desire to stand around looking at it, so I ran into the nearest restaurant for some lunch - a bowl of Udon noodles [View Full Entry]

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What a strange day. Something of seemingly little consequence happened last night. I was approached by a small (very small) japanese girl last night asking if she could take a photo with me (and who can blame her...). We got talking and eventually decided to visit the Kinkaku-Ji (golden temple) together. Kinkaku-Ji was stunning, especially as we where the first people through the gate so did not have to contend with hundreds of people. The temple itself was half coated with gold, and was a great place to be on my first sunny morning in Japan. It turned out that my [View Full Entry]

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Despite the cold overcast day I decided to go for a walk, so I grabbed the bus up to the Ginkakuji Temple, or silver pavilion. The temple was beautiful as were its gardens, but there were a ton of Japanese school children around so I quickly left down the Path of Philosophy - a riverside path literally surrounded by temples. Many of these temples were smaller and less impressive than the first but they were that much nicer for it. Many of them I had completely to myself, and when the sun eventually shone I was rewarded with some truly beautiful [View Full Entry]

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I made my way to Tokyo station to catch my Shinkansen to Kyoto. I purchased the quintessentail Japanese boxed lunch and made my way to the platform, where an army of pink uniformed cleaners were making the spotless train even more spotless. It should normally be possible to see Mt Fuji from the seat I was sitting in as the train speeds away from Tokyo, but I held up no hope thanks to the sheets of driving rain that were hitting the bullet train window. Indeed I was not pleasantly suprised - not by the view that is. The lunch and [View Full Entry]

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Having woken earlier than planned is decided to head out to the Tsujiki Fish Market. The fish market is a phenominal place which assaults all of the senses. Lorrys drive in and out, motorised carts scoot around with little or no regard for the safety of anyone nearby. The inner market is stall upon stall of fish and seafood - dead, alive, whole, filleted, fresh, frozen or preserved. The floor is wet with water, ice and blood. The central market is surrounded by a peripheral market which sells vegetables, knives, teas, condiments and so on, and is far less hectic. I [View Full Entry]

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Having feigned sleep to avoid trying to avoid pegion english conversations I finally arrived at Tokyo Narita airport. I caught the "local" train into Tokyo itself which seemed to take forever, despite it being called "Express". I walked from Tokyo station to the hotel which was in a fantastic area - very buzzy and seemingly full of restaurants, ski shops and bookstores. I headed out for a spot of lunch in a shokudo which is a cheap eating bar with fanstastically detailed plastic models of the food you were about to buy in the window. Upon entering the bar you choose [View Full Entry]

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"You little shit, i'll miss you". My obviously deliberate plan to leave my mums car empty but for vapour to make parting easier as she tackled the morning rush hour had worked... Despite the snow and the traffic I made the flight in plenty of time, and I had a leisurely wait　in departures. However things were about to make a turn for the worse. I was informed by the very polite girl at checking "I'm really sorry, but there are no emergency exits in economy on this flight". Those with legs as long as mine will realise my concern at this [View Full Entry]

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I'm all packed now, ready to go... Is it scary yet? Ask me again tomorrow. Next post should be from Tokyo! [View Full Entry]

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I depart on my Asian Adventure on the 23rd February. Flights are booked, visa application for Australia is in and the hunt for a cheap yet amazingly high quality mp3 player and camera begins. Plus a decision needs to be made... is one pair of boxers enough for 5 months? I suspect not, but part of me sees it as a challenge. In truth 4 and fair bit of soap might do me, but ill leave behind a T-Shirt for that! Im aiming to get everything in hand luggage. A pointless exercise considering the presence of a couple of sterile syringes [View Full Entry]

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