Blogs from Tokyo, Japan, Asia - page 212

Winter vacation got off to a shaky start. After twiddling my thumbs and counting down the minutes Monday following our closing ceremonies at school, I rushed home to change and grab my pack. Downtown Matsuyama I met my fellow English teachers and walked to Niccori, a buffet style restaraunt near Okkaido. We had reservations for a Christmas dinner. To my surprise, the cost was all you can eat AND all you can drink. I hadn't planned on that one. Needless to say, towards the end of the meal I checked my cell phone to see the time had flown by. And I now had only 10 minutes to make my overnight bus to Tokyo! AAHHHHHHH!!! Panic! I quickly gathered my things and paid my bill, asking them to call a taxi. The waiter told me (in ... read more

OK stands for "oh shit this is so huge my brain can't register it, like an ant on a basketball trying to contemplate the length of the court. M'kay?" We almost got lost trying to find jimbocho on the subway. The express to Tokyo station was a breeze, but after that we had to get to the hotel, which involves two subway stops on separate lines. Nothing like a challenge after a 10hr, 20min flight. As we emerged from Jimbocho station into the cool, 8 degree air (welcome by this stage), we paused. I knew where I was, we were just about there, but wait! In front of us, in plain english: "You are Here". "A Map!" we cried, and proceeded to verify the directions i had painstakingly recorded in my beige notebook. Sugoi. We set ... read more

I am so sorry I have not written sooner, we have just had so much going on. My back is now back to 100% and I am feeling great. Usually my back acts up like that about every 3 - 4 years so the way I look at it, I am good for a while now! We have moved into our apartment, and we really like it. We are also starting to find our way around the Roppongi / Azabu Juban areas as well. Marc is settling into a routine at work, though things are slow now with various people on vacation and the holidays, etc. I think I’ll try to write this entry in chronological order so hopefully I won’t miss anything. Marc spent countless hours in the several days leading up to the December ... read more

I have been relaxing and contemplating. I came to relax and to escape Australia for a while and clear my head at the same time as experiencing a world different to my own yet still one and the same. My self absorbtion (laziness?) was interspersed with a few interesting activities. Shopping. I went to the supermarket to pick up a few things. Who would have considered a supermarket to be an interesting experience? At least when I was in Ecuador you could make an educated guess based on pictures and the words were similar in structure and script. Here I cannot understand the script at all so I have to rely on pictures and hope. There are many products that have English on them so I can use those words as a guide. I was amused ... read more

Safe, but tiring, arrival in Japan. Got to the hotel 23 hours after leaving Cardiff...but well worth the travelling. Hotel is a cracker - check out its website www.parkhoteltokyo.com - and with a room on the 33rd, and penultimate, floor we have an awe-inspiring cityscape view. Can't see how Bill and Scarlett could remain so bored in the film as Tokyo has such attractive architecture and attractions. Spent Sunday fighting off jet-lag and getting our bearings but were up bright and early to eat breakfast with the very many commuters, after which Mr and Mrs T visited Shinjuku and Harajuku where we toured the Meiji-Jingu shrine and temple built to commemorate Emperor Meiji after his death in 1912. With the numbers of Japanese visiting to pray, pen blessings on votive boards, and be generally deferential it's ... read more