Dinner

Sashimi!

Looks good, doesn't it? it was good! A friend and her parents took us out to dinner one Saturday evening. In addition, there was also Tempura. The Japanese really know how to make a dish appetizing. We ate in a traditional looking restaurant, though I think it was a bit of a hybrid, our table was in the basement, and we got there via an elevator. The building however did look old, and probably may have been. I tried Sake that night...... it is somewhat potent. However it was three different types, served in the smaller glasses, and I tend to hold liquor very well. I slept well that night. ;-)

じゃね

Train Freak's Dream

The train freak's dream come true!

I have been wanting to ride the Shinkansen for as long as I knew there was such a thing... This is a picture of an E1 series Shinkansen - a MaxTanigawa. We rode this from Takasaki back to JR Ueno Station, on the way to Takasaki we rode the Asama Shinkansen. It was a blast! The MaxTamigawa was a little more noisy and wasn't quite as smooth as the Asama, but we were also riding on the bottom of a double - deck passenger car, I think that may have had something to do with noise and vibration. I look forward to another chance in the future, maybe a slightly longer ride than 50 minutes....

じゃね

Looking For An RV?

Folks in Japan looking for an RV?

Try Field Life. The Link is in my
Perma Links section. You may have
to wait a bit after ordering though,
they are a popular company and produce
very high quality products.

Give them a try.

じゃね

People

One of my Japanese friends asked me what was the most impressive thing about Japan, at first I though it would be a tough question to answer, but in the long run, it really isn't; the thing which I enjoyed the most, and which I will miss the most, is the people, they were really why I wanted to go in the first place, old friends, whom I have wanted to spend time with in their country, and to meet new friends. I miss the people terribly, and we have only been away for a few days already. It was very hard to get on that plane and come home, believe me.

またね

Emyn Muil... Or....

Last Monday, our hosts in Shibukawa took us by RV to Kusatsu, a large Onsen and very famous Onsen resort in Gunma Ken, On Tuesday, we went from Kusatsu to Yugama crater then to see Mt. Asama, a Volcano which erupted fairly spectacularly in 1973, and thereafter for a number of years spewed ash and stone. However Asama was obscured by clouds and was not viewable. However the observation area several miles from the mountain was, and to my mind, being a rabid fan of J.R.R. Tolkien looked to my mind to somewhat resemble Tolkien's description of the Emyn Muil. This picture has been cropped to remove a fence and a walkway, but I have a number of others, and it is surely prime evil looking, isn't it?

Another thought which had come to mind about this scene; Monty Python and The Holy Grail, I expect Michael Palin or Graham Chapman to pop up and say "We Are The Knights Who Say ..... NI!"

Oh well, what can I say except to quote Gary Larson (Far Side) it was late, and I was tired. ;-)

Vending Machines

According to Lonely Planet Guide Japan (I think it was last year's edition, but don't know for sure, sorry) at last count there are some 6,000,000 (yes that is 6 million) of these things in Japan (not necessarily this maker) and growing. They contain everything from Pop and water, coffee, cigarettes and juice, to electronics. I am told that in the ラーブホテル (Love Hotels) you can also get just about anything else you could want for your half hour or longer tryst, from condoms to naughty gadgets.....

It seems that you can't walk one city block in Tokyo without running into at least one of these. I have seen upwards of 7 in front of some places. Oddly enough (or maybe not) I never saw any in front of the western stores and restaurants, especially MacDonald's (Known by my family as Rotten Ronnie's) Wendy's or 7/11. They were certainly convenient for us, with the heat and humidity we experienced we were constantly getting bottled water out of these things.

By the way, these two (plus a third right next to them) were in our hotel lobby, the machine on the left dispenses different types of coffee.

またね

Canada

Well, we are back in Canada, I
would like to have stayed in
Japan....

I have fixed the problem with the
photo gallery, and will start
uploading photos again as soon
as my head gets somewhat more
wrapped around the time change,
BC is 16 hours behind Tokyo,
that plays havoc with the old
internal clock.

(It is 3:40 - AM - and I
am WIDE AWAKE - but then
my body thinks it's 7:41 - PM)

Now that I am back on a steady
internet connection again I
will also resume posting some
of what happened in the previous
two week period.

じゃね

New Local

This post will be breif as I am using
someone else's internet connection.

Yesterday (June 24th) we left Tokyo
and cought the Shinkansen (known
as the bullet train to you in the west)
for Takasaki, in Takasaki we were
picked up by my friend Hiromi.

The Shinkansen ride was a rush!

200+ Kilometers per hour!

I think it was somewhere up around
the 250 - 260 KMH level.

Smooth, little sense of acceleration
but the sense of speed was there.

More Later.

Subway

Today we went to Ebisu on the Hibiya Subway
line. It was about 9:00am and somewhat crowded
but not too bad, but it got fairly crowded, the
Tokyo subway system can be a claustrophobic's
worst nightmare come true....

We were not on during rush hour, however
so it was not crowded enough to drive
penny into kanipshins... ;-)

However, I am sure there must have been
at a minimum 75 people on that railcar.

Video - yes folks this is for - real!

Tokyo Station @ Rush Hour:










(Image from Wikimedia Commons)

Lotsa Fun!

In Ebisu we went to a small but fairly decently
stocked (with English Language books)
book store.

I got one of Tolkien's books.
Penny bought a couple, a little pricey
for a used book store, but this is
Tokyo...

またね

Potato Chips (^-^)

So today I saw a bag of potato
chips on the local 7/11 (!) shelf
which looked intriguing,
colourful, if I had looked the
label a little closer I would have
seen what they were,
umeboshi flavoured chips....

Umeboshi is a pickled plum.


But really, is that any stranger
than some of the concoctions
on North American shelves?

Such as:
How about sour cream & Bacon.
Jalapeno pepper.
Pepper flavour....

You get the idea. By the way,
they were actually very good.

じゃね

Ooops

Something seems to have happened back
home, my server has dropped off the
net, so my gallery won't be available
for a few days.

Oh well, you will get to see the photos
eventually. :-(

Yesterday was a great day, we went
to Kamakura, via Yokohama, and
again met up with our friend Yoshiko.

We went on a tour of Kamakura
with her and took about 300
photos. Lots of temples and
shrines. Busy trains, busy streets
and fantastic shopping areas.

We ate a wonderful lunch,
Sukiyaki, the cast iron pots
were still sizzling when they
were brought to the table.

And it was delicious! I have
eaten NO WESTERN FOOD
at all since we left the hotel
in Narita.....

I don't wanna come home, believe
me....

More

Transit Japanese Style

To quote Darth Vader: "Impressive, most impressive."

The Japanese transit system is nothing short of
fantastic. We went trapsing about Tokyo with
a friend yesterday, the transit system is very
intimidating at first, trains above ground,
subways below, stations which cross each
other at different levels, and different lines
which cross each other and use the same stations
you have to pay very close attention to
signage (which is thankfully in both english
and Japanese - while I can read Japanese
OK, I only know about 350 of the 1900
Kanji - Chinese characters - which I should
know) Ticket dispensors also have English
available, but they can still be daunting
to use at first.

Today, we wandered a bit on our own,
heading to Akihabara (nurdvanna -
the tech phreak's paradise) you want
something electronic or electrical - if
you can't find it here, your not going
to find it anywhere. From foreign
electrical adapters (Thankfully -
the one thing I forgot was a three
prong to two prong adapter,
Japanese electrical is supported
by most gadgets these days, but
if it has the North American third
leg, the ground connector, you need
that adapter.) to digital cameras,
circuit breakers, transisters
and other paraphanalia of geekdom,
all of it right out where it can attract
geeks, just like shiny stuff attracts
rednecks and packrats.... ;-)

We then headed over to Jimbocho,
paradise on earth for used book freaks,
if you read Japanese. There were a few
books in English, none of which
were of any interest to Penny, I was
overwhelmed and started to melt
down mentally. (What else is new
I am often in that state of mind...)

Then we came home - or to our
temporary home anyway.

Next - who knows...

Tokyo!

Well, it has finally arrived.

After years of wanting to get here, Penny
(Mrs. Catwalker) and I are here in Japan.

Today, we met with a long time dear
friend. We then went to see the emporer's
Palace (His Majesty and the Princess
were not in so we couldn't visit over a cuppa
and besides, the guards carrying rather
impressive weapons were not interested
in letting us in.... ;))

All jesting aside, the palace was an impressive
structure, what we could see of it. It is
surrounded by a moat, impressive rock
walls and phenomenal scenery.

We then went and saw the outside of
the Diet building. (Japanese Parliament)
Again, well guarded, and a beautiful
structure on top of that.

From there we went to Asakusa, where
we viewed Sensoji, a complex of Buddhist
temples, inside the complex was a market,
were we bought Omiyage (souvenir) for my niece
a sensu (fan), when she heard we were
coming here, she asked us to buy
"something from Japan" didn't matter
what, as long as it was authentically
Japanese.
The buildings were phenomenal, the
thought going into them, very impressive.

Next up, Japanese Transit.


じゃね。

Mobile! 今日本へ行きます！

Well, not only are we packed,
but we are mobile! Tonight we are
staying at a hotel in Vancouver,
The Coast Airport.



今日は日本へ行って始めました。
今晩バンクーバー・コストホテルへ止まります。
明日の朝は便ですう。バンクーバーから東京まで
九時間三十分ぐらいかかります。
飛行機の旅行で大嫌いです。

ではまた

Packed (Mostly)

Well, we are mostly packed.

One more day of work.....

Gallery - 画廊

Look for a gallery of photos to pop
during the trip to Japan, the link will
be posted here once we head over and
start posting pics.

ここで、早く画廊は出します。
日本に行ったら、ここでリンクを見られます。
その時は写真は見られます。

Chores - 雑用

We have our Tickets - Vancouver to Narita

私たちは切符が持っています。- バンクーバーから成田まで。

This morning I booked a hotel in Ueno.

今朝は上野のホテルを予約しました。

Lots to do yet!

まだたくさん雑用をしなくちゃいけないんです。

じゃまた

Stay Tuned!

This will cover Cat Walker's adventures in Japan.

Look for Book Lover's adventures in Japan as well.

For the benefit of Friends in Canada and those
in Japan, I will post mostly in both English
and Japanese.

英語と日本語を話す友達のためですから、
ブログに書く時、英語と日本語を書きます。

ではまた。