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