After about 25 hours of being awake I finally arrived back in the UK and fell promptly asleep. A few thoughts upon my return:
1) I must stop bowing at people.
2) Apparently it's not short skirt and sandal weather here.
3) I only gave out about 4 of my business cards and only one present. (I left the other presents as gifts for the housekeeping staff in the hotels)
4) Never go food shopping when you're jetlagged and haven't eaten for almost a day.
Goodbye.
Saturday 24 July 2010
Tuesday 20 July 2010
The final curtain
And yes we face the final curtain - or whatever Old Blue Eyes sang. Tomorrow`s my last full day in Japan and so this could be my last Japanese blog. Of course we may get stuck at Frankfurt airport for 3 weeks and then you`ll never hear the end of me.
My heat rash is still a delight but at least the sunburn has mostly turned to brown. I should almost match all the people who stayed in the UK where the weather was so nice.
Today We caught a local subway to Asakusa district where craft shops line the streets up to the big temple. There`s a pagoda and lots of giant lanterns but the main image for worshipping is considered too holy for us to look at so it`s kept locked away. Apparently it is a small gold statue 7.5cm tall of a god which was found by 2 lucky fishermen who now have their own shrine! We caught the ferry from here to some lovely gardens and then walked to the Ginza district of Tokyo which is their equivalent of 5th Avenue. By this stage my sandal sole was about 85% loose from the base making it rather tricky to walk back up hill to our hotel. I did show it to the man at the shoe repair stall at the station but he just shook his head, flapped the sole about, ranted in Japanese and handed it back to me. Ah well, at least that`s a little less weight in my suitcase!
Sayonara
My heat rash is still a delight but at least the sunburn has mostly turned to brown. I should almost match all the people who stayed in the UK where the weather was so nice.
Today We caught a local subway to Asakusa district where craft shops line the streets up to the big temple. There`s a pagoda and lots of giant lanterns but the main image for worshipping is considered too holy for us to look at so it`s kept locked away. Apparently it is a small gold statue 7.5cm tall of a god which was found by 2 lucky fishermen who now have their own shrine! We caught the ferry from here to some lovely gardens and then walked to the Ginza district of Tokyo which is their equivalent of 5th Avenue. By this stage my sandal sole was about 85% loose from the base making it rather tricky to walk back up hill to our hotel. I did show it to the man at the shoe repair stall at the station but he just shook his head, flapped the sole about, ranted in Japanese and handed it back to me. Ah well, at least that`s a little less weight in my suitcase!
Sayonara
Monday 19 July 2010
After my mardy day I`m generally feeling much more chipper again now. Although the rainy season finished 5 days early and to prove it I am now sunburnt and covered in a delightful heatrash. It was 39 at one part of the day but it may have been hotter still and soooooo humid. That said I`m having a lovely time so far in Tokyo. We got the bullet train here from Kyoto (have you noticed Tokyo and Kyoto are anagrams? Not sure if that`s intentional or a weird coincidence). There are several different levels of the bullet train ranging from really fast to super duper fast. We got the super fast (2nd fastest) and it was a very pleasant journey. Dragging my suitcase up a hill to the hotel: less good.
Today was our first full day here so we found the main tourist info office in the conveniently located back room on the 10th floor of a shopping centre not near the main station. Then wandered into the amazing Tokyo International Forum - which is a glass building with a boat hull type ceiling (go on google it - you know you want to). We stopped at an electrical store to get a new memory card and see if I could get a pin to hold my camera strap on but as it was going to take 3 weeks to repair and we leave on Thursday I thought better and am using my 100 yen sticky tape instead.
We plodded on to the sky bus for an open top tour of Tokyo (in 39 degree heat - not so bright!) and then a look round the Imperial Palace gardens. We then caught a train to Oena Park where I went to the zoo but was sad to discover the giant pandas mentioned in the guide book have now died. Lots to see though but conditions in UK zoos def. better.
Food is still amazing - eaten all kinds of mystery foods and can convince myself it:s all healthy!
Syonara.
Today was our first full day here so we found the main tourist info office in the conveniently located back room on the 10th floor of a shopping centre not near the main station. Then wandered into the amazing Tokyo International Forum - which is a glass building with a boat hull type ceiling (go on google it - you know you want to). We stopped at an electrical store to get a new memory card and see if I could get a pin to hold my camera strap on but as it was going to take 3 weeks to repair and we leave on Thursday I thought better and am using my 100 yen sticky tape instead.
We plodded on to the sky bus for an open top tour of Tokyo (in 39 degree heat - not so bright!) and then a look round the Imperial Palace gardens. We then caught a train to Oena Park where I went to the zoo but was sad to discover the giant pandas mentioned in the guide book have now died. Lots to see though but conditions in UK zoos def. better.
Food is still amazing - eaten all kinds of mystery foods and can convince myself it:s all healthy!
Syonara.
Friday 16 July 2010
Mardy Gras
So today is the big final day of the Gion festival. Yesterday during my shopping fest I saw many of the floats parked ready for today`s parade. Last night we went into the city to see all the lanterns lit on the floats. 200,000 people throng to this area the night of the 16th to admire them so it was very crowded indeed. Guess what my biggest fear is...yes that`s right crowds.
Today was the 5th bad night`s sleep in a row (my acupunture has worn off) so I:m not exactly feeling at my finest today. I think most people suffer a mardy day somewhere in there holidays. A day when they just want to be by themselves and eat cake. Mine is today. I went to see the carnival but as the rain has finally stopped the sun has come out and it`s so incredibly hot. For the first few minutes I thought "how lovely I might get a tan after all" but after 5 mins I was trying to find shade. The streets were immensely crowded and despite the relatively short stature of the Japanese I (being rather short myself) couldn:t see anything, was sweating like a hose pipe and my ability to control by crowdphobia was waning so as I:d seen lots of the floats (and if I:m honest they largely all look alike) I waited for the first one and then wandered back to the hotel via a cake shop.
Is this really bad or should we all be entitled to our own personal mardy gras?
Sayonara.
Today was the 5th bad night`s sleep in a row (my acupunture has worn off) so I:m not exactly feeling at my finest today. I think most people suffer a mardy day somewhere in there holidays. A day when they just want to be by themselves and eat cake. Mine is today. I went to see the carnival but as the rain has finally stopped the sun has come out and it`s so incredibly hot. For the first few minutes I thought "how lovely I might get a tan after all" but after 5 mins I was trying to find shade. The streets were immensely crowded and despite the relatively short stature of the Japanese I (being rather short myself) couldn:t see anything, was sweating like a hose pipe and my ability to control by crowdphobia was waning so as I:d seen lots of the floats (and if I:m honest they largely all look alike) I waited for the first one and then wandered back to the hotel via a cake shop.
Is this really bad or should we all be entitled to our own personal mardy gras?
Sayonara.
Thursday 15 July 2010
brief thoughts
Well this will be a brief message as I'm writing it on my photo whilst using the WiFi in Starbucks. Tomorrow there is a big festival on in kyoto called the gion festival. About 30 huge floats will be dragged around the streets in the morning. One from each community. It's the equivalent of the nothing hill carnival I suppose. The roads are being closed off and vendors are lining the streets. There are also lots of people handing out plastic fans with adverts on. Much appreciated in this humidity as I'm far too hot to reach into my bag and get my bamboo and paper one.
Other observations of Japan. The houses are much closer together than I'd imagined due to the lack of flat land available.you can buy socks with a separate big toe section so you can wear socks with flip flop style shoes. This should be outlawed clearly. I've discovered another button on toilets. It's called a deoderisation button: you can work out for yourselves what that's for. Enough for now.
Sayonara
Other observations of Japan. The houses are much closer together than I'd imagined due to the lack of flat land available.you can buy socks with a separate big toe section so you can wear socks with flip flop style shoes. This should be outlawed clearly. I've discovered another button on toilets. It's called a deoderisation button: you can work out for yourselves what that's for. Enough for now.
Sayonara
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Temple of Doom
Actually that`s a thoroughly misleading title for this blog. Firstly let me apologise for my absence over the last few days. We`ve transferred to a hotel in Kyoto which is Japan`s second oldest city and despite it being a bit Western style hotel they clearly are used to catering for Japanese businessmen so have lots of facilities for you to plug your lap top in but only one computer for the rest of the hoi polloi to use. To their credit it is free but understandably this means you get big queues so by the time I`ve checked my email I feel I ought to allow the next person to use it - no time for blogging.
In fact if I suddenly stop writing this you know one of two things has occured. Either the hotel has been stormed by Samorai and Ninjas or there is someone else over my shoulder waiting to use the machine.
So For the last 3 days we`ve been on an organised tour, seeing the sights of Kyoto and Nara (which is the oldest city on Japan!). We`ve seen more temples than you can shake a bento box at. They`re all absolutely stunning and filled with incredible sights - one (of the 3 we saw today) had the world:s biggest Buddha in whilst another had 1000 golden buddhas all lined up like an army. Truly spectacular stuff and I have taken approx 3.5 gazillion photos of anything that looks remotely Japanese - which is pretty much everything.
You know how you see coach tours of Japanese "doing" England? Well I think it would be safe to say that we are "doing" Kyoto. We jump on and off our coaches, wizz round somewhere, jump back on with our postcards and lucky charms and off we zoom to the next location.
On the plus side yesterday I managed to taste the waters at one temple which apparently means I am now healthier, wealthier and more beautiful - the proof of this was when a couple of middle aged Japanese businessmen immediately waved to myself and my companion. So at least middleaged Japanese men now find me infinitely more attractive.
Must go....someone has just thrown some of those ninja stars at me and some heavily armoured warriors are shouting something.
Sayonara.
In fact if I suddenly stop writing this you know one of two things has occured. Either the hotel has been stormed by Samorai and Ninjas or there is someone else over my shoulder waiting to use the machine.
So For the last 3 days we`ve been on an organised tour, seeing the sights of Kyoto and Nara (which is the oldest city on Japan!). We`ve seen more temples than you can shake a bento box at. They`re all absolutely stunning and filled with incredible sights - one (of the 3 we saw today) had the world:s biggest Buddha in whilst another had 1000 golden buddhas all lined up like an army. Truly spectacular stuff and I have taken approx 3.5 gazillion photos of anything that looks remotely Japanese - which is pretty much everything.
You know how you see coach tours of Japanese "doing" England? Well I think it would be safe to say that we are "doing" Kyoto. We jump on and off our coaches, wizz round somewhere, jump back on with our postcards and lucky charms and off we zoom to the next location.
On the plus side yesterday I managed to taste the waters at one temple which apparently means I am now healthier, wealthier and more beautiful - the proof of this was when a couple of middle aged Japanese businessmen immediately waved to myself and my companion. So at least middleaged Japanese men now find me infinitely more attractive.
Must go....someone has just thrown some of those ninja stars at me and some heavily armoured warriors are shouting something.
Sayonara.
Sunday 11 July 2010
Japanese Toilets
Ok so this is what you`ve really been waiting for I know! We`ve all heard about the weird and womderful ways of Japanese toilets but now I:ve experienced them for myself.
In most public toilets you actually get several of the cubicles containing squat holes which came as a surprise but if you bypass those and queue for the normal loo you often get the full electronic experience.
Just like a hifi differnt ones offer different features, most have certain things such as a button to spray a jet of water and another to offer a wider spray of water (bidet style the button calls it) but there are a variety of other buttons that I:ve discovered too. As standard you also get a stop button which took me a while to work out refers to the spray/jet, which doesn`t just stop automatically (I`m a bit slow on the uptake sometimes so I was beginning to wonder about the Japanese before it dawned on me that I:d seen another button.) You often also get a temperature button for the water so you can have it cold, warm or a bit hotter - I`ve not dared experiment with this one yet. On some you can also choose the pressure of the jet/spray. There`s another temperature button - but this one is for the temperature of your toilet seat. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this when I sat on a warm one in the rest rooms at the hotel. I think they should become standard on campsites in the UK - would make midnight toilet trips a much nicer experience! The last type of button I:ve discovered so far is the sound button - you can often choose to have the sound of a flushing toilet going whilst you:re going to cover up your own noises but some toilets seem to offer alternatives noises or possibly music. SOmetimes you accidentally start this button off if its on a sensor and it can worry you - mind you yesterday I managed to set off the actual flushing sensor whilst still going but thankfully I wasn:t sucked into the toilet with my legs and arms waving as they rotated down the pan!
As I mentioned on an earlier post I also discovered one toilet that had a seat lowering button too which I think should also come as standard. I could happily live without jets and music but a warm seat that lowers for me would be rather wonderful.
So on to what I:ve been up to for the last 24 hours. Last night was the formal banquet for the conference. There were junior geishas dancing and a Japanese band playing with a lute, a lyre and a wooden recorder thing! We also had a 5 course dinner which was delicious but largely western. Bizarrely I`d put down on the dietry requirements I couldn:t eat nuts so I got an entirely different meal to the less fussy people. There`s didn:t actually seem to contain any nuts! Even more odd my desert came gelatine free whereas the fussy eaters desert was in jelly - since when was jelly made with nuts_?!
Today we went for a look round Kobe fashion museum which was mostly full of western costumes but very impressive. We then headed onto teeny tiny Japanese buses and went to a craft centre to decorate our own candles and finsihed it off with a walk to a delightful Japanese garden - everything you:d expect and more!
Tomorrow we leave Kobe and head to Kyoto - which my friend Ste tells me is like the York of Japan.
Sayonara.
In most public toilets you actually get several of the cubicles containing squat holes which came as a surprise but if you bypass those and queue for the normal loo you often get the full electronic experience.
Just like a hifi differnt ones offer different features, most have certain things such as a button to spray a jet of water and another to offer a wider spray of water (bidet style the button calls it) but there are a variety of other buttons that I:ve discovered too. As standard you also get a stop button which took me a while to work out refers to the spray/jet, which doesn`t just stop automatically (I`m a bit slow on the uptake sometimes so I was beginning to wonder about the Japanese before it dawned on me that I:d seen another button.) You often also get a temperature button for the water so you can have it cold, warm or a bit hotter - I`ve not dared experiment with this one yet. On some you can also choose the pressure of the jet/spray. There`s another temperature button - but this one is for the temperature of your toilet seat. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this when I sat on a warm one in the rest rooms at the hotel. I think they should become standard on campsites in the UK - would make midnight toilet trips a much nicer experience! The last type of button I:ve discovered so far is the sound button - you can often choose to have the sound of a flushing toilet going whilst you:re going to cover up your own noises but some toilets seem to offer alternatives noises or possibly music. SOmetimes you accidentally start this button off if its on a sensor and it can worry you - mind you yesterday I managed to set off the actual flushing sensor whilst still going but thankfully I wasn:t sucked into the toilet with my legs and arms waving as they rotated down the pan!
As I mentioned on an earlier post I also discovered one toilet that had a seat lowering button too which I think should also come as standard. I could happily live without jets and music but a warm seat that lowers for me would be rather wonderful.
So on to what I:ve been up to for the last 24 hours. Last night was the formal banquet for the conference. There were junior geishas dancing and a Japanese band playing with a lute, a lyre and a wooden recorder thing! We also had a 5 course dinner which was delicious but largely western. Bizarrely I`d put down on the dietry requirements I couldn:t eat nuts so I got an entirely different meal to the less fussy people. There`s didn:t actually seem to contain any nuts! Even more odd my desert came gelatine free whereas the fussy eaters desert was in jelly - since when was jelly made with nuts_?!
Today we went for a look round Kobe fashion museum which was mostly full of western costumes but very impressive. We then headed onto teeny tiny Japanese buses and went to a craft centre to decorate our own candles and finsihed it off with a walk to a delightful Japanese garden - everything you:d expect and more!
Tomorrow we leave Kobe and head to Kyoto - which my friend Ste tells me is like the York of Japan.
Sayonara.
Friday 9 July 2010
Pilgrammage complete
Yes it`s true. I have completed my pilgrammage to IKEA. Took the obligitory photos of the signs in Swedish and Japanese and bought myself a lemon squeezer thing - you never know when it`ll come in handy for a whopping 29 yen (about 22p). Also bought a mr whippy style ice cream from a vending machine. I:ll grant you it didn`t actually come out of the machine all whipped, I just got a token which I took to the till and a nice lady then did it in the usual way. I was only slightly disappointed. This brings my total of IKEAs now to 13 in 4 different countries. I fear I have begun something that I didn:t mean to with this. Good job I like meatballs!
I slso went on a little bus around the city of Kobe but I:ve no idea what the commentator said as it was all in Japanese. I did get to see the sites of Kobe - it:s not really a town of sites if I:m honest, but then considering most of it was flattened in an earthquake only about 15 years ago, killing 6000 people, it:s hardly surprising. I did note that in our hotel handbook there:s a section with instructions of what to do should we have another earthquake. Highly reassuring!
I went up to the 21st floor of the hotel last night to look at the views. We:re staying on a man made island so you can see way back to the mainland. It:s very much a working port and industrial city so whilst impressive the view was thankfully saved a bit by the ridge of mountains surrounding the area.
Tonight we have a banquet to go to. Thankfully it:s in the hotel so I don:t need to worry about my swollen ankles and heels in the heat too much.
Tomorrow I will try and tell you about the Japanese toilets as let:s face it they are one of the most famous things about Japanese travel. For now though, Sayonara.
I slso went on a little bus around the city of Kobe but I:ve no idea what the commentator said as it was all in Japanese. I did get to see the sites of Kobe - it:s not really a town of sites if I:m honest, but then considering most of it was flattened in an earthquake only about 15 years ago, killing 6000 people, it:s hardly surprising. I did note that in our hotel handbook there:s a section with instructions of what to do should we have another earthquake. Highly reassuring!
I went up to the 21st floor of the hotel last night to look at the views. We:re staying on a man made island so you can see way back to the mainland. It:s very much a working port and industrial city so whilst impressive the view was thankfully saved a bit by the ridge of mountains surrounding the area.
Tonight we have a banquet to go to. Thankfully it:s in the hotel so I don:t need to worry about my swollen ankles and heels in the heat too much.
Tomorrow I will try and tell you about the Japanese toilets as let:s face it they are one of the most famous things about Japanese travel. For now though, Sayonara.
Chicken Terriaki for breakfast
So I`ve been here a couple of days now and I`m even beginning to get my head around the keyboard differences. May I just start by saying how lovely the Japanese seem to be. They really welcome you to their country and are so helpful and courteous. What:s more you don:t even tip them so it`s not like they`re doing it for money! They all make a great effort to speak English to us - although I have now mastered at least 4 words of Japanese (my latest being mizu for water - not to be confused with Miso - a type of soup! thankfully when I tried this in a restaurant they brought us glasses with ice in and not steaming bowls).
I forgot to say on the previous post that the plane we flew here on was one of the brand new superduper Airbus 380 oojamabobs - maiden flight apparently (not necessarily what you want to be on actually!). I suspect plane type fans will be impressed with this news. For the rest of us - it:s a very big plane with an upstairs for the posh people.
So yesterday was our first ful day and we packed it in. We visited a couple of shrines in Kobe as well as the shopping area, had a delightful bright green drink which tasted delish and caught a cable car up a mountain. I feel I have mastered the ticket machines at the stations now and was able to lead our party across the city without ending up headed for Hiroshima or Tokyo. SO successful was I that today I ventured out by myself and tackled the shopping district properly. I was delighted to see that the rumours are true - there really is a 100 yen shop (just like the pound shops back home but about 25p cheaper!)...still didn:t want to buy anything from there though! I also discovered china town which you`ll be pleased to know looks the same the world over.
Food has been excellent so far and we`ve tried all kinds of weird and wonderful things. I had rice porridge for breakfast (which looked and tasted like last nights leftovers of rice) followed by chicken terriaki - yes for breakfast! We have a fab buffet at teh hotel so I:m just trying a little of everything. Well whilst in Rome (or Kobe) and all that.
Weatherwise it:s much as expected, very humid and plenty of rain. The Japanese are prepared for this though as most of their shops seem to be underground or connected by passageways to every other building. For example from this hotel I can reach the conference centre, 3 shopping centres, a museum or two, a cinema and the train station without going outdoors - there:s probably more still but I:m still exploring. Tonight I`m off to eat dinner by myself. Hopefully I won:t give in and go to McDonalds!
Until tomorrow - Sayonara.
I forgot to say on the previous post that the plane we flew here on was one of the brand new superduper Airbus 380 oojamabobs - maiden flight apparently (not necessarily what you want to be on actually!). I suspect plane type fans will be impressed with this news. For the rest of us - it:s a very big plane with an upstairs for the posh people.
So yesterday was our first ful day and we packed it in. We visited a couple of shrines in Kobe as well as the shopping area, had a delightful bright green drink which tasted delish and caught a cable car up a mountain. I feel I have mastered the ticket machines at the stations now and was able to lead our party across the city without ending up headed for Hiroshima or Tokyo. SO successful was I that today I ventured out by myself and tackled the shopping district properly. I was delighted to see that the rumours are true - there really is a 100 yen shop (just like the pound shops back home but about 25p cheaper!)...still didn:t want to buy anything from there though! I also discovered china town which you`ll be pleased to know looks the same the world over.
Food has been excellent so far and we`ve tried all kinds of weird and wonderful things. I had rice porridge for breakfast (which looked and tasted like last nights leftovers of rice) followed by chicken terriaki - yes for breakfast! We have a fab buffet at teh hotel so I:m just trying a little of everything. Well whilst in Rome (or Kobe) and all that.
Weatherwise it:s much as expected, very humid and plenty of rain. The Japanese are prepared for this though as most of their shops seem to be underground or connected by passageways to every other building. For example from this hotel I can reach the conference centre, 3 shopping centres, a museum or two, a cinema and the train station without going outdoors - there:s probably more still but I:m still exploring. Tonight I`m off to eat dinner by myself. Hopefully I won:t give in and go to McDonalds!
Until tomorrow - Sayonara.
Wednesday 7 July 2010
Sleep deprivation
Hurrah! I:m here! Do excuse the poor punctuation but the keyboard is laid out differently here and I only have 5 mins left on my internet time so no time for correction if I:m to tell you all about my adventures so far.
After a fitful night of not sleeping properly my alarm was un-necessary at 5am as I was wide awake. I was picked up by a man called Wonky and a lady called Jane (who incidentally learnt to dive when she was 72 but that:s another story for another day). We picked up another of my mum:s friends and zoomed off to Birmingham where Wonky dropped us off and promised to collect us in 2 1/2 weeks time.
The flight to Germany was fine - I recommend Luftansa for leg room and food. We transferred at Frankfurt - like you do - and flew on to Tokyo - by this stage the local time was now 7am and in my head I:d been awake for about 28 hours. So we managed to work out our way to get into Tokyo (as the airport is actually 60km away) and then discovered that the cheap train we were hoping to get would actually take us 10 hours. By this point we were exhausted, hot, and feeling altogether a bit weird from the mixture of Japanese and Germany foods on the plane. So we decided to bite the bullet and get the Bullet train. This was an altogether more pleasurable exp@erience - still took 3 hours mind you - who knew it was a long way from one bit of Japan to another - looks fairly small on a map!
The Bullet train was 鉢に巣りん空ら利 - apologies I seem to have pressed the magic Japanese button - worked out how to go back to English now! Where was I...ah yes...The Bullet train was pretty cool - nice toilets (with a button on the wall to make the seat go down - how great is that girls!) a vending machine plus a man selling random food such as green tea ice cream (it was very green).
Finally arrived in Kobe and caught a bus to our hotel. It was now 4.30 in the afternoon - in my head about 36 hours since I last slept (yes I know there:s a nine hour time difference but you try telling my head that). We checked in and all went to sleep for a couple of hours. Just been out to dinner - lovely - ans a walk around the area - more of that tomorrow hopefully but I just thought I:d end by mentioning the sign on the lawn outside the hotel "please keep your dogs and cats off the grass" - good luck with that one - (No mention of goats so my pet nanny goat is fine obviously!).
I:m feeling weirdly sea sick which I:m putting down to lack of sleep and humidity so I shall sign off - hopefully another update tomorrow.
After a fitful night of not sleeping properly my alarm was un-necessary at 5am as I was wide awake. I was picked up by a man called Wonky and a lady called Jane (who incidentally learnt to dive when she was 72 but that:s another story for another day). We picked up another of my mum:s friends and zoomed off to Birmingham where Wonky dropped us off and promised to collect us in 2 1/2 weeks time.
The flight to Germany was fine - I recommend Luftansa for leg room and food. We transferred at Frankfurt - like you do - and flew on to Tokyo - by this stage the local time was now 7am and in my head I:d been awake for about 28 hours. So we managed to work out our way to get into Tokyo (as the airport is actually 60km away) and then discovered that the cheap train we were hoping to get would actually take us 10 hours. By this point we were exhausted, hot, and feeling altogether a bit weird from the mixture of Japanese and Germany foods on the plane. So we decided to bite the bullet and get the Bullet train. This was an altogether more pleasurable exp@erience - still took 3 hours mind you - who knew it was a long way from one bit of Japan to another - looks fairly small on a map!
The Bullet train was 鉢に巣りん空ら利 - apologies I seem to have pressed the magic Japanese button - worked out how to go back to English now! Where was I...ah yes...The Bullet train was pretty cool - nice toilets (with a button on the wall to make the seat go down - how great is that girls!) a vending machine plus a man selling random food such as green tea ice cream (it was very green).
Finally arrived in Kobe and caught a bus to our hotel. It was now 4.30 in the afternoon - in my head about 36 hours since I last slept (yes I know there:s a nine hour time difference but you try telling my head that). We checked in and all went to sleep for a couple of hours. Just been out to dinner - lovely - ans a walk around the area - more of that tomorrow hopefully but I just thought I:d end by mentioning the sign on the lawn outside the hotel "please keep your dogs and cats off the grass" - good luck with that one - (No mention of goats so my pet nanny goat is fine obviously!).
I:m feeling weirdly sea sick which I:m putting down to lack of sleep and humidity so I shall sign off - hopefully another update tomorrow.
Monday 5 July 2010
Ready, Set, Go!
So the bag's all packed. Obviously there was some last minute unpacking as it was over the weight limit - decided to just put it all in the hand luggage instead! I've already checked that my passport is in my bag a couple of times - how many more times will I check before I leave?
The alarm clock is set for 5am - being picked up by a friend of my mum's at 5.50am so just time for a quick shower and breakfast (if I can face it). I suspect we may have another breakfast when we get to the airport and possibly a third one on the plane.
I may not get a chance to blog tomorrow as I'll spend most of the day on the plane. We fly to Frankfurt initially and change there. I once went to a nightclub at Frankfurt airport but that's a story for another day! Once we get to Tokyo we then have to get a train all the way to Kobe. I've checked the weather forecast again - thunderstorms still everyday, 83% humidity and 81 degree farenheit temperature. Not exactly my ideal but I'm not complaining (yet!).
Well for now Sayonara!
The alarm clock is set for 5am - being picked up by a friend of my mum's at 5.50am so just time for a quick shower and breakfast (if I can face it). I suspect we may have another breakfast when we get to the airport and possibly a third one on the plane.
I may not get a chance to blog tomorrow as I'll spend most of the day on the plane. We fly to Frankfurt initially and change there. I once went to a nightclub at Frankfurt airport but that's a story for another day! Once we get to Tokyo we then have to get a train all the way to Kobe. I've checked the weather forecast again - thunderstorms still everyday, 83% humidity and 81 degree farenheit temperature. Not exactly my ideal but I'm not complaining (yet!).
Well for now Sayonara!
Sunday 4 July 2010
Shoulder pads ahoy!
Finished off the rest of the packing - well except my wash bag and the clothes still drying on the clothes horse. Took a load of things out but when I did the old climb on the scales holding my suitcase routine it seems it's only just under the limit (and considering I'm likely to bring back more than I take that's not a good thing). Have moved my books to my hand luggage but I suspect I should remove lots more too.
Planned to clean the place today so that I come back to a lovely home rather than trying to work out if I've been burgled or not but got rather distracted watching Dynasty. My friend Vick has lent me the first three series and they're both glorious and shocking in equal measure. In the first series one of the characters takes Steven Carrington to a brothel to "fix him" from his homosexuality. As for the way women are treated and spoken to...well let's just say that I'm glad things have moved on. The fashions are hilarious too. So far no real shoulderpad action instead they all seem to walk round in their negligie and silk dressing gowns. Maybe that's why I always want to wear my jim jams - my own low class ode to the Colby/Carrington dynasty.
Planned to clean the place today so that I come back to a lovely home rather than trying to work out if I've been burgled or not but got rather distracted watching Dynasty. My friend Vick has lent me the first three series and they're both glorious and shocking in equal measure. In the first series one of the characters takes Steven Carrington to a brothel to "fix him" from his homosexuality. As for the way women are treated and spoken to...well let's just say that I'm glad things have moved on. The fashions are hilarious too. So far no real shoulderpad action instead they all seem to walk round in their negligie and silk dressing gowns. Maybe that's why I always want to wear my jim jams - my own low class ode to the Colby/Carrington dynasty.
Saturday 3 July 2010
Pack up your troubles.
Started packing today, I seem to have filled the case and yet I've not nearly put everything in it. Why do I always do that? The trouble is having been brought up as a good Girl Guide I take the "always be prepared" motto a bit too literally at times and have a tendancy to pack everything except the sky plus box.
I heard someone once say that you should pack everything you need then take half of it out again. Probably not a bad policy...well assuming you take half your skirts and half your tops etc and don't take out all your undies and leave in all your shoes.
I always say that packing and wrapping presents are the two things that take as long as you have to do them. So if you only have 20 mins to do it then you'll do it in that time but if you have three weeks it will take the full 3 weeks. Of course on shows like Neighbours the rules of packing are different again. You must bring your suitcase into the front room and pack several weeks before you leave...unless of course you decide to leave town in which case you'll simply declare you're leaving in an hour and we shall never see you pack at all - in fact you're worldy possessions will almost certainly fit into one backpack. Clearly they were never a Girl Guide!
I heard someone once say that you should pack everything you need then take half of it out again. Probably not a bad policy...well assuming you take half your skirts and half your tops etc and don't take out all your undies and leave in all your shoes.
I always say that packing and wrapping presents are the two things that take as long as you have to do them. So if you only have 20 mins to do it then you'll do it in that time but if you have three weeks it will take the full 3 weeks. Of course on shows like Neighbours the rules of packing are different again. You must bring your suitcase into the front room and pack several weeks before you leave...unless of course you decide to leave town in which case you'll simply declare you're leaving in an hour and we shall never see you pack at all - in fact you're worldy possessions will almost certainly fit into one backpack. Clearly they were never a Girl Guide!
Friday 2 July 2010
Didn't get a chance to do any holiday prep today as I had a job interview. Only found out about it yesterday afternoon so had a frantic evening preparing and then promptly forget to tell the panel any of the things I'd prepared. Why do I get brain failure in these situations? To make myself feel better (and to break the 3 hour drive home) I stopped at IKEA for meatballs. Ah how I love those meatballs.
I'm not quite sure where my IKEA obsession comes from. Here's a list of all the stores in the UK and whether I've been to them:
Belfast - No
Cardiff - No
Croydon (London) - Yes
Edmonton (London) - Don't think so
Glasgow - No
Leeds - Yes
Milton Keynes (Bletchley) - No
Southampton - Yes
Wednesbury (Birmingham) - Yes
Bristol - Yes
Coventry - Yes
Edinburgh - No
Gateshead (Newcastle)- No
Lakeside (London) - Yes
Manchester (Ashton-Under-Lyne) - No
Nottingham - Yes
Warrington - Yes
Wembley (London) - Yes
So 10 out of 18 - that's quite high isn't it?! I've also been to one in Montpellier in France and in Melbourne! Ooooo I wonder if there's one in Japan! Yes indeed apparently there are 5 of them. I have no idea where they are though but I'm tempted to look it up and try and visit one.
Other people have pilgrammages to Holy places...with me it's the home of the Billy Bookcase.
(Just looked and there's one really near by...I'm so tempted...is that wrong?)
I'm not quite sure where my IKEA obsession comes from. Here's a list of all the stores in the UK and whether I've been to them:
Belfast - No
Cardiff - No
Croydon (London) - Yes
Edmonton (London) - Don't think so
Glasgow - No
Leeds - Yes
Milton Keynes (Bletchley) - No
Southampton - Yes
Wednesbury (Birmingham) - Yes
Bristol - Yes
Coventry - Yes
Edinburgh - No
Gateshead (Newcastle)- No
Lakeside (London) - Yes
Manchester (Ashton-Under-Lyne) - No
Nottingham - Yes
Warrington - Yes
Wembley (London) - Yes
So 10 out of 18 - that's quite high isn't it?! I've also been to one in Montpellier in France and in Melbourne! Ooooo I wonder if there's one in Japan! Yes indeed apparently there are 5 of them. I have no idea where they are though but I'm tempted to look it up and try and visit one.
Other people have pilgrammages to Holy places...with me it's the home of the Billy Bookcase.
(Just looked and there's one really near by...I'm so tempted...is that wrong?)
Thursday 1 July 2010
Now and Yen
Hurrah I finally have my yen - although it took the woman at the post office several mins to find them so I was beginning to get rather nervous that this was going to turn into another scene from a sit com. I remember when I turned 30 I decided that life would be a cross between Friends and Sex and the City - strangely life has become much more of a comedy farce.
I've no idea how many yen are to the pound - I got 44000 yen to last me my holiday - yet that was only a few notes so feels like hardly any money at all. Apparently everything is really expensive there so I'll probably have run out by the end of the first day.
Also bought myself a pair of shoes for the trip. They needed to be really comfy as we'll be walking up and down to temples etc. But also cool enough because of the humidity. Able to cope with the thunderstorms. Oh and also easy to take off quickly as there's a lot of shoe removal in Japan. I wore my new shoes back to the office. They hurt a bit already....oops!
I've no idea how many yen are to the pound - I got 44000 yen to last me my holiday - yet that was only a few notes so feels like hardly any money at all. Apparently everything is really expensive there so I'll probably have run out by the end of the first day.
Also bought myself a pair of shoes for the trip. They needed to be really comfy as we'll be walking up and down to temples etc. But also cool enough because of the humidity. Able to cope with the thunderstorms. Oh and also easy to take off quickly as there's a lot of shoe removal in Japan. I wore my new shoes back to the office. They hurt a bit already....oops!
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