Blogs from Narita, Chiba, Japan, Asia

Friday 31st March Just after 0900hrs we were on the train headed for Narita, where we will spend our last 2 nights in Japan before heading home. We have become 'experts' using the train system and after only two transfers we covered about 750kms and arrived at our hotel at about 1500hrs. The Japan Rail Pass has certainly paid for itself over the last 3 weeks and we would recommend it to all travellers coming here. We had a booking at the Hedistar Hotel, the room here not as nice as the one we left in Aomori but ok for what we needed. One thing that was very lacking was the efficiency and pleasantness of the reception staff. There was only one person on duty, she was busy with another couple but didn't even acknowledge that ... read more

It turns out CJ and Clara are not morning people. They didn't get up until 10am, and then CJ was still like a zombie. Corey and I had our cereal as they woke up. He was feeling bad thinking I wanted to see a lot more today. I had to tell him I had no more expectations of Korea other than to see them, so already he'd shown plenty. Since I had to catch a bus to the airport at 2pm, we stayed in Gangnam. First we wandered around the rich neighborhood that even the previous president lived in (his house was surrounded by guards). They were pretty impressive houses despite being in the middle of a city. Intermixed with the mansions was a bunch of TV and recording studios. It had become a fad to ... read more

I awoke suddenly, I’m normally a light sleeper and I’m able to account for any abstract noises within my general proximity. In the presence of a Ninja however I fear that this skill becomes inept and amateurish, which must have been what the guy was of whom was sat down next to me watching me sleep. The scenario was exactly weird, very exactly weird actually. Obviously the guy had the right to be there, it was a public shelter, but why would he be there? Just…looking. I can only speak for myself here but if I was to see a bum homeless person sleeping rough in a shelter I’d avoid that shelter….because they are homeless and therefore they are stranger danger. In fact I feel it almost natural in everyday life to avoid the homeless, I ... read more

Narita was a short 20 mile ride from Togane, predominantly along a vicious route 409. Narita of course famed for its International airport, an airport situated just some 40 miles away from downtown Tokyo of which sees roughly 20,000 flights every month, that averages out at around 3 million travellers each and every month. So with a heavy bulk of tourism flowing through the region compacted with heavy commercial and industrial factions the roads around Narita City were a bit like cycling through a mosh pit of motor vehicles, every bit as vulgar as one might imagine. But apart from being a gateway to Japan, central Narita does hold an ambience of touristic antiquities. A place that if you had to while away a bit of time before a flight then one could quite easily do ... read more

De techniek van Vipassana meditatie is een simpele, praktische manier om echte gemoedsrust te vinden en een gelukkig, nuttig leven te leiden. Vipassana betekent “de dingen zien zoals ze echt zijn.” Het is een logisch proces van mentale verfijning door zelfobservatie. Overtuigd dat dit nou écht iets voor ons is, stortten wij ons in het diepe van ons eigen bewustzijn voor een tiendaagse cursus. Tien dagen mediteren brengt veel inzichten met zich mee. Niets om te lezen, te zien, te luisteren of te doen en bovendien niemand om mee te praten. Er zijn wel andere mensen, maar er is geen enkele vorm van communicatie. Je leeft alsof je helemaal alleen bent. Met zo weinig op de voorgrond komt de achtergrond ineens naar voren. De achtergrond van je eigen geest. Wat een gesprekken ga je eigenlijk met ... read more