We met Moko-san for lunch in Azabu Juban. It was good to see her again after so long. We had korean bbq for lunch. She told us that she married her gf Shelly in Canada last year (on 7/7/07 7pm! 7 must be a very lucky number!). Shelly is (also) a South African-born Aussie, if you recall, dear readers. After lunch we walked to the school Shelly works at in Roppongi Hills. The weather was very nice (quite hot). Shelly teaches pre-school and we got to see her and her class of budding young students and the fabulous replica of Brasil City they made out of paper, cardboard and icecream sticks. It was quite impressive, right down to the jesus on top of the hill (tho a rather overweight one) -- very cute!
Afterwards we took the Ginza line subway to Ueno to go to the Ueno Zoo, as we were to meet my old mate Hechima (ex-AVA) after his work. Ueno Zoo is quite nice tho, we saw the panda (well the back of it anyway), but the most impressive were the gorillas, with which Charee had a certain affinity: one of them came to her *twice* as she watched thru the glass (but the crafty bugger ran away before I could get any snaps). The zoo closed at 5pm and we were only to meet Hechima at 8pm so we had a few hours to kill in Ueno. This was achieved by me eating something that didn't agree with me and consequently allowing us to find and explore several different types of bathrooms around Ueno. Eventually we did meet Hechima at Ueno station tho, he looks pretty much the same tho a bit older (about 3 years) and alot smarter in his suit, as he's now a "salaryman" rather than the scruffy punk I used to know him as. Once again we went to korean bbq (yakiniku) where we consumed vast quantities of meat. It was very good tho, and we regaled each other of past adventures and frivolity, the favourite of course being the somewhat hilarious "buraddo pitto / warrior rabbit" story (remind me to tell it next time).
Wednesday, March 12:
We decided to go to Kamakura to see the Daibutsu (Great Buddha), about an hour southish of Tokyo. Charee wanted to do a special hiking trail to see the Daibutsu which was from Kita-Kamakura station, taking 90mins to hike 3 kms and see a couple of other temples and shrines on the way. We got to Kita-Kamakura kinda late, 1pm-ish, but somehow managed to avoid paying the train ticket (saving us about Y2000). We visited a couple of temples around the station then hit the trail. Well, 3 kms on a flat path would be 90mins perhaps, but nowhere in the guidebook did it mention hiking up and down mountains! Boy was that a workout on the old knees! It was a good 3 hrs later we got near the end, meeting another hiker heading the opposite direction, who kindly told us we were a mere 10 mins from Daibutsu (which we were quite excited about!). However (yes, here comes the expected "however", dear readers), we proceeded to take the wrong fork in the road, which not only headed *back uphill* (up about a thousand steps) but also on quite a lengthy route (adding about another hour) around where we were supposed to go, with everyone telling us it was only 15 minutes further. Well, several 15-min-further's did finally get us there, at about 4:45pm, which was lucky as Daibutsu closed at 5:30! We took alot of pictures there, and rested our now-aching feet (later discovered several new blisters).
Afterwards we headed to Shibuya (Charee wanted to see the famous intersection there) and walked around until we found an izakaya for dinner. It was okay, tho izakaya is better if you have a nihonjin to order things for you, as they always know what to get! Of course, I got my edamame, so I was happy.
Thursday, March 13:
After the previous day's exhausting activities, we decided to take it a bit easier and go to the Science Museum in Odaiba (where I'm sure I'd gone before on a school trip when I was going to japanese school in Tokyo). It took us awhile to find it, apparently it has been upgraded or something since I was last there (tho, admittedly, dear readers, I don't remember it all that well, it's possible I had a hangover the day I went prior). The weather was quite nice tho (mid-teens and sunny), so finding it wasn't too much of a chore. The museum itself was so-so, the "rides" left a lot to be desired tho. The japanese curry didn't seem to agree with Charee tho I enjoyed it (I quite like japanese curry!).
Afterwards we headed back to Saitama to have (more!) yakiniku with Tsudoi, Hitomi (who'd arrived late the previous night from Okinawa), Tsudoi's dad (Abe-san) and (apparently) Tsudoi's mother also. It was quite fun, tho I needed Charee's translator abilities with all that nihongo flying round, phew! Taihen (hard work)! After dinner we all headed to karaoke. Oh boy, I was amongst singer extraordinaires (both Tsudoi and Abe-san are accomplished singers, Charee loves karaoke, Tsudoi's mother has a great voice), there wasn't much hope for me really, but I considered it practice for Poison Neko. The applause helped.
Friday, March 14:
We were going to head to Fuji-san, but the weather was quite bad (rainy and cold). We also got a very late start (around noon). [As an aside, I've been so tired here! I fall asleep on the trains and seem to be in a constant state of trying to stay awake!] For some reason I got it in my head to go to Hakone instead. It is quite far from Tokyo. Actually It was farther than Hakone, past Hakone onto Odawara and then up the mountain to Gora to see the bubbling mud baths. Well, all I can say now is wasn't that a stupid idea! Not only was time not on our side but neither was the weather nor the cost of the trains to get there! We had to take 3 trains, starting from Shinjuku (which is 2 trains from Saitama!), including a cable car ride to the top of the mountain (which was actually pretty cool). But arriving at the top, it was blowing a gale, raining (horizontally!) and freeeeezing cold! We were only there for 15 mins before succumbing to the elements, admitting defeat and heading back down again, pondering the damage: we were now soaked, it was freezing cold, pouring with rain, it took us 4 hrs to get there and all up about Y12,000 (ouch!). Not the best use of time nor funds, alas. We did have a nice dinner at Gyoza Centre in Odawara tho. Fuji-san would have been cheaper and could not have been worse weather-wise. We didn't even see the bubbling mud baths, tho we did get to smell the sulphur on the top. Yayyy... not.
Saturday, March 15:
We left early with Tsudoi and Hitomi to the Cafe Cotton Club in Tadanobaba for their formal wedding party. I was honoured to be chosen to be one of their witnesses when signing their wossname (a job I also had at Chris's wedding). The (first) party was pretty good and somewhat moving, they had a "video album" of their relationship, with Tsudoi and Hitomi performing a Quruli song as backing music. Mas (from Rasputin) also performed a couple of songs, including a pretty impressive acoustic rendition of Green Day's "Time of Your Life". It was good to catch up with some old familiar faces too. Besides Mas, there was also Yoshi (Rasputin), Kenji (Chakkamen), Byron, Jun, Hideyoshi (ex-Ahouzlife bass) plus a host of new faces. There was much drinking and celebrating (tho the wedding cake didn't quite agree with me). At around 3:30 we headed to an english pub called Hub for the casual party. Again, much drinking and chatterings. It was good tho. We refrained from continuing the festivities afterwards with people (Tsudoi and Hitomi then had a family-only dinner to go to), instead we opted for 2 hrs of karaoke by ourselves around the corner. It was a bit more bearable, as we were a bit tanked and I got to sing some Metallica which seemed to cheer me up somewhat. Masterrr masterrrr... We decided for some cheap ramen for dinner and then headed back to Saitama.
We're heading to Kyoto tomorrow. While it's been good staying in Tokyo with Tsudoi, we're ready to start our real backpacking adventure down south; we're a bit burnt out on Tokyo already: all the people, and it's so expensive here, we've already spent a substantial amount in transportation alone (it costs us Y2000 just to go from Saitama to Ikebukuro round trip). More from Kansai...
Howdy, we're safe and sound in Saitama at the moment. Today is day 3 on our trip. A quick summary of events:
We arrived okay after an uneventful flight on Saturday night around 6:30pm local time, and got to Ikebukuro to meet Tsudoi exactly on time at 9:30pm. It is pretty dang cold here tho. Tsudoi was pretty muich the same as I remembered him. We then proceeded to an izakaya to farewell one of Tsudoi's workmates (and drink beer and shouchu). We were pretty dang tired after the trip tho.
The next day we got up early and went to work with Tsudoi (in Ikebukuro, an hour from his place in Saitama). He works in the biggest music instrument and gear store I've ever seen, and as you can imagine, I was like a kid in a candy store! So many guitars and things! Good lord! Anyway, Charee and I then proceeded onto Harajuku to see some weird people, there weren't many tho, must be seasonal. We spent quite alot of time walking around tho, in the park and Takeshita Dori (trendy street). We did see the 50s guys strutting their funky stuff tho. We got quite hot traipsing about, with the sun out it wasn' too bad actually. We also saw the big shrine near Yoyogi Kouen, and were fortunate to catch a traditional Japanese wedding party (the bride all done up in kimono and groom looking like the last samurai on his day off). Later in the arvo we decided to head off to Shinjuku as we were meeting Joseph and Mickey (from Surge) and Ranran and Iku-chan (from RBV) for a long-time-no-see get-together at an izakaya. It was good to see them again, and Charee got on famously with them with her sugoi japanese skills, they kept calling her kawaii (cute). We ate and drank quite alot there, one has to marvel at just how great the japanese food is here, and izakaya in general (where you can try a ton of different dishes in one sitting, and pretty cheaply too!). At around 9:30pm we headed, ironically, back to Harajuku to Cafe Na for a private party with Ranran and Iku-chan, for one of their friends leaving for South America. We were pretty knackered by then tho, and didn't stay long, plus we were worried about missing the last train, which is not so good (okay if you're alone, but not good when you're with someone else = hard to find a place to stay!).
Today (Monday) we went to Studio Ghibli Museum! Finally! The weather was crap tho, cold and wet (10C) but the museum was pretty good. Afterwards we had ramen at a local ramen shop in Mitaka (down the road from the museu). Charee saw a famous Thai actor there (we got pics), she was quite excited about that, but too shy to go talk to him. We then headed to Asakusa to see Senso-ji Temple (the big famous red one in Tokyo). I'd been there the first trip with Luis. We spent a bit of time getting lost on trains and roads too. Alot of walking again, just can't escape it I guess. We had monja-yaki at a local place in Asakusa, very niiiice.
Anyway, enough rambling. Charee's crashed already, Tsudoi is doodling on his guitar and I've got a near-full can of Asahi to get thru before bed. Kampai!
We're all packed and ready to go! We had to clean the house as my sister is going to be house-sitting and taking care of TnT.
I was joking with Tsudoi that I'd dye my hair yellow for his wedding party, so I decided to dye it blond instead (!!), and guess what, it came out yellow! So his wish came true. :P (Well they say blonds have more fun, but I'm not sure it's possible for me to have any more fun in Japan, shy of having an ambulance on constant standby!).
Remember Moko-san, dear readers? She was the Doogmeister's friend whose apartment in Azabu Juban (in Tokyo) I stayed at a few times. Anyway, I received an email from her today (in the nick of time!) so we will go have lunch with her in AJ next week. It's been several years since I last saw her. It's good to catch up with old friends in exotic places (have to get to Belgium to see Luis next!).
Well, the countdown says 5 days to go! Yep, we got our 2 week JR Passes and have even booked a bit of accomodation! So it's time to dust off the ole backpacks and start getting organised for the trip.
Following is our tentative schedule. We decided not to go up to Hokkaido (or north Japan) after all, due to limited time and weather conditions (don't fancy negative temps in Hokkaido, and can't afford 16 hrs of travelling on the trains time-wise!), we'll save that for next time (when we go in warmer climes. We also want to go to Okinawa next time and also bike (!!) the 88 Temple Pilgrimage in Shikoku which takes about a month or something).
March 8: leave Melb, arrive Tokyo. Meet Tsudoi in Ikebukuro in the evening. 9th: Tokyo: izakaya with tomodachi Surge and Red Bacteria Vacuum (bands). 10th: Tokyo: Studio Ghibli Museum (I got tix!). 11th: Tokyo and surrounds 12th: Tokyo (Hitomi-san arrives from Okinawa) 13th: Tokyo and surrounds 14th: Tokyo and surrounds 15th: Tokyo: Tsudoi's and Hitomi's wedding parties (2 x izakaya, woot!). 16th: Kyoto and surrounds 17th: Kyoto and surrounds 18th: Kyoto and surrounds 19th: Osaka 20th: Himeji / Kobe 21st: Wakayama 22nd: Hiroshima 23rd: Beppu / Usuki (onsen) (Kyushu) 24th: Uwajima (Shukoku) 25th: Mt Koya (temple stay) 26th: Nagoya 27th: Kanazawa / Takaoka City 28th: Nikko (onsen) / Tokyo 29th: Tokyo, flight back to Melb. 30th: Arrive Melb.
Tsudoi has bought me a pre-paid phone again, so I'll be reachable.
I've been polishing up on my nihongo too, it's coming back slowly. I'm sure it'll come back alot when I get back tho!
Fortunately for us the AU$ is very strong and we should get close to 100Y per AU$1 which is great (last time I was there it was AU$0.80 = 100Y!).
Recently I also picked up a new camera (from the US), a Canon Ixus 70, with extra memory and spare batteries. It's a pretty snazzy lil camera which takes great pics. It's a nice upgrade to my Powershot 400 anyway. Watch his space for more soon!
So Charee got a 3 month tourist visa for Japan, no worries.
We're starting to plan out our trip now. We're going for 3 weeks and will probably spend the first week or so in Tokyo (staying at Tsudoi's place in Saitama), and will then start using our JR Passes to travel up and down Japan by shinkansen (bullet train). As the weather will still be a bit chilly in March (~4-18C depending on location), we'll probably head south at first (towards slightly warmer climes) down to Kansai (Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Himeji, etc) for a few days, then down to Hiroshima, then down to Kyushu (south island). Though Charee hasn't been to Japan before, I want to see and do things I didn't see/do on any of my other trips (tho I don't mind visiting some places I've already been, of course). So on the agenda are some onsen (hot springs) around Beppu/Usuki (north Kyushu) and possibly Shikoku (east island). From Kyushu, we'll probably head straight up north to Hokkaido (north island), where I've never gotten to before, possibly by a west coast route (again, haven't been to many places on the west coast). Hokkaido is going to be pretty dang chilly, and might even still have snow!
There is also a very good chance we will see the sakura (cherry blossoms), which are only around for about a week at the beginning of Spring (and which I always missed before).
We'll be perusing the guide books for ideas. We also want to go to all the regions and try the local cuisines in each one. Japan in general has spectacular foodages, such as Hiroshima's okonomiyaki (remember them, Luis?).
We also want to spend a night or two at a temple; Mt Koya is a good place apparently to go (on Shikoku I think).
I also want to catch up with the handful of friends I still keep in contact with in Japan, though it looks like March is a pretty dead month for seeing bands (not sure what's up with that). One of my mates said he'd organize a get-together with the old mob (RBV and Surge), so that'll be good. And there'll be alot of familiar faces at Tsudoi's and Hitomi's wedding party on March 15 too.
Good times ahead! Looking forward to strapping on the ole backpack and hitting the beaten track like the good ole days. While it's not the usual 3-4 months, it will still be cool to visit some old haunts etc. (we really want to do the 88 Temple Pilgrimage in Shikoku tho, which takes about 30 days by bike or 60 days hiking -- hopefully next time!!).
Well, we booked and paid for our trip to Japan! We're going from March 8 - 30 (3 weeks) and will be in Tokyo until the 16th (Tsudoi's wedding party is on the 15th) and then will backpack all over Japan for 2 weeks using the ever-handy JR Rail Pass (which, if you have fogotten, fair readers, will allow the use of any number of shinkansen (bullet trains) and other JR trains). We are now in the process of organizing Charee's Japan tourist visa, as since she's on a Thai passport still (Aus PR pending), she needs to apply for one thru the Japanese Consulate here. It's a bit of a PIA, but just red tape ultimately, and shouldn't be an issue.
I must say we are quite excited to go, esp I, who hasn't been back in about 2.5 years. Oh, how time flies!! We will keep you up-to-date (like old times) of our adventures, so keep watching this space over the coming months!
In other news, and in line with this year's resolutions, I have gone gung ho with getting fit. I joined a gym on the last day of 2007, and have been going diligently 4 times a week (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri), and keeping my protein levels up (protein shakes 3 times a day). Most importantly I've fine-tuned my diet: no more junk food, fast food, high fat and high-sugar stuff! Honestly, once giving that stuff up I have not even craved it, but have been feeling fantastic lately, probably the best I have for years! This new lifestyle, though physically hard work, agrees with me muchly.
Charee and I have also gotten quite sporty lately. We've been playing golf (small and half-sized courses), tennis (tho we admit we suck at it) but mostly badminton, which I've really taken a great liking to and Charee is quite good at already (this interest started when I discovered one of my old mates has been playing for years, and then we found a pair of crappy badminton racquets in someone's hard rubbish (these el-cheapos died after the first day, but fortunately, we have borrowed 2 very nice racquets from another friend of our's)). We have been playing at least once a week (depending on availability of mum's car).
We'll be starting yoga and cardio next week, which I'm greatly looking forward to: the cardio will help immensely to get rid of my substantial paunch, acquired from last year's pizza addiction (which I have now quit cold pizza turkey). Also the backpacking will help tone things up while the middle goes down, which will be wonderbund!
Sunday, March 16, 2008