Saturday night was my first experience of Japans night life and while very different to Oz thoroughly enjoyable! Everything is so much smaller- the clubs are just one room with a bar and sometimes a dance floor, you pay about 20-30 bucks to get in and then get given drinks tickets. Para para dancing (think it should be called paro paro, coz thats wat you look like when ur doing it) is a pparently all the rage over here- its a bit like when the nutbush or bus stop comes on at timewarp- everyone knows the steps to the songs and stands in lines to do them. Theres a guy that marissa has seen a couple of times whos always up the front leading, and they really dont care if complete no hopers like me stuff ... read more

It turns out that I arrived in perfect timing for the cherry blossoms. Marissa and I drove to a park in the city and then out to Nihoindara (about 20 minutes away if you dont count the little detour we took in the other direction!!!) where the views of Fuji were great and the blossoms beauiful. We have had lots of funny encounters with people who speak limited English, we tell them we dont understand and yet they just keep on talking and yabbering and laughing. ... read more