the final countdown

Here I sit at Narita airporrt, cappacinno in hand, awaiting my flight home. I am sad to leave to say the least but I tried to sleep in this morning knowing I will not get any sleep winging my way to sunny Perth. I spent the day in Harajuku in the back streets where i found an interesting art space with a labrinth of rooms and stairways filled with local illustrators works with free samples printed on postcards, they were varied in style but the manga style dominates. the place was buzzing as people explored the rooms filled with amazing artwork and placed stars on them if they liked them and filled out comment books. Great way to showcase your folio.

I finally found a yakatori place and sat amongst clouds of smoke eating my yakatori and rice as I was sat in the smoking section as there was no other room at the inn, so very unpleasant surroundings for my final meal in Tokyu! Near the hotel I went to General Nogis house and witnessed a traditional wedding. No one invited me! Such costumes, lush and traditional.

I headed back to the hotel to pick up my heaving bags and reluctantly headed to Shibuya for my final train journey. Saturday crowds made my journey a little difficult on the subway but I got to the Narita Express without difficulty and waited to board the train to the airport and that is that.

My final observations of Japan are: the people are very friendly and helpful; the vending machines are awesome as previously stated; the hotels are extremely clean and well run; the transport system is spot on for punctuality and also for the stopping at stations and the alignment of the doors with the gaps on the platform which makes for easy boarding; the english signage and announcements make it easy for us dumb foreigners; food is awesome; green tea heaven; bicycles rule;  neon never looked so good; awesome views and beautiful scenery; great clean toilets with baby holders, optional flushing noise to disguise any untoward noise one may make sitting on the loo; just the fact that such a crowded city is so organised and easy to get around is amazing in itself; a great mix of history, modern life, traditional life, gadgets, fashion and shops, art and design, and more...

Fishy business in Tokyo!

Hi from Tokyo, my final night in this buzzing, neon metropolis. Yesterday after I ate my complimentary brekky of rice and fish and miso, I headed out to the famous Tsukiji Wholesale fish market where all the action starts around 4am the time the tuna gets auctioned. It is meant to be a real spectacle but as it is a serious business, only the first 140 tourists are allowed to witness the hard core bidding and if you are number 141 you are turned away. Funnily enough, I did not make the 4am start but did arrive at 10am, my sort of early... but some of the stalls were already shutting down for the day. Man it was the most awesome array of every sea creature imaginable, things I have never seen before, fish YES but sluggy things and what looked like giant mussles or shellfish, and every conceivable size of ocean creature from smaller than your thumbnail to as big as ME!

I wandered thru the stalls snapping away and nearly got run over by forklift trucks going in every direction in continuous streams, it was manic! The market was the size of both sheds at the Vic Market, maybe bigger, and filled with sea creatures. Now, I reckon the amount left over every day would be 10 times what the Vic market sells on a good day, so is this witness to the fact that we are overfishing our oceans, a moral dilemma to be sure. I had mixed emotions about this in the end.

I ate some sushi there, fresh from the ocean, in one of many tiny stalls on the outskirts where there is a general market, but quite small in comparison. It was expensive compared to the sushi I have eaten but I had to try it fresher than I will ever have it again my lifetime.

Then back on the tube to Akihabara, Electric Town, which sells all sorts of electrical gadgets and is the site of a manga info centre... which only consisted of a shop and some info and brochures on all the anime and manga museums in town... it was such a contrast to the fish markets!

Then onto Nihombashi to see a small kite museum which was above a restaurant and packed to the rafters with old hand painted paper kites preserved behind glass to newer and more fanciful ones hanging from every available spot, with some antique bits and pieces, and a wee shop. I got myself a box kite and hope it makes it home without breaking the bamboo frame. I love kites and if I had time could have booked in to a kite making class.

My by now weary legs then took me to Ginza to find a famous bronze lion near a big department store (of which there are many) which up til today had eluded me. I finally found it and was pleased, as today I met my friend Tomoko there. Ginza is the 5th Avenue of Tokyo with all the big names and an awesome Sony building which showcases new products... I wish I had a lot of money coz I could have easily spent a lot. I have somehow managed to go Italic on this keyboard, hey change is good! 


I  had a nanna nap at the hotel then headed out for dinner at a nearby station, and had tempura and rice and miso for under $10, something rare in this country... then back to base. I had a long soak in the bath and my sore legs thanked me and I hit the sack.


Today I hit Roppongi, the night spot area but during the day. There are many art museums there but do you think any were open at 10am? I am slow to learn no one opens b4 11am here and stays open til 9pm, so getting up early to get a start is not such a good idea. I walked more and saw a design exhibition and headed back to Ginza to meet Tomoko by that ol' bronze lion!


Spent a nice day eating seeing the Imperial Palace which is the Emperor's residence, losing my lens cap to the big camera and retracing my footsteps to Lunch where we banged on the door so the chef would let us in and found it, and then out of Tokyo to the burbs for some green tea cake and a tofu dinner in a restaurant which just makes Tofu stuff, interesting textures and flavours. My green tea adventures are coming to an end, only tomorrow til 3pm and then I head to Narita airport and head homewards... I am sad to leave this crazy place but come if you can, it is really worth the experience!

Tokyu

Yesterday I also saw the Philip Starke sculpture of the golden turd... on the river in Asakusa, it is the rather large golden flame on its side which if you see it you will recognise it, but it has been lovingly dubbed the former. Last nite I met with most of my gang for dinner and then we hit the bowling alley for a game. I did pretty badly but it was great fun anyway, then to Shibuya for a drink and mingle with the crowds at that large pedestrian crossing.

Today went to studio Ghibli in Mitaka and it was really a wonderland, it is meant to be visual and tactile and suitable for children of all ages including me... there are things to touch, a zoetrope of Ghibli characters, flip books, working drawings, small animated sequences, short films, and a metal giant on the roof garden, it was truly amazing and the gift shop was wall to wall people buying souvenirs and I had to wait my turn, Totoros in hand, giving my visa card a heart attack again... oh well.

I met Mariko from Melbourne and we had a nice day out wandering around shops, eating green tea iced donuts, lunch, coffee, green tea macaroons, green tea chocolate etc. I am happy in the land of green tea everything. My hotel is good, free bottled water in the lobby, breakfast vouchers (no other hotel provided breakfast) and english speaking staff who are extremely helpful. Oh and a coin laundry to clean up my act which was wonderful. Such basic pleasures when one is away from home.

Tokyo is amazing as I said, and being out at nite is so very different to during the day. Did I mention that there are vending machines all over Japan that sell all sorts of booze, tea, canned coffee, hot and cold and soft drinks on the street corners, at stations, in hotels, everywhere, can u imagine that happening back home? Oh and the kids don't seem to abuse the system and buy beer or mixed drinks from the machine.

Bicycles are the go, on the footpath among pedestrians, on the roads, going either way, both ways, who cares? The drivers are patient and hardly use their horns and no one except me j-walks or crosses b4 the little man turns green even if there is no car in sight, except me! The people are mostly helpful even if they do not speak English and are very kind to tourists. The subway system is a maze of corridors and stairs, not may escallators so dragging around heavy luggage is a chore and not good for my back. Have been spending a lot this week as my last week here and collecting lots of paper: maps, tickets, interesting brochures and small books, so that adds to the weight of the luggage. Only 2 full days left and then head to Narita airport for my flight home. It will be a challenge on a Saturday getting to Shibuya and finding the airport express as it is a giant station and as usual, up and down and up again on foot,  along travellators, to the platform. The scale of things here is BIG and BIGGER!

Off to find some dinner now. Arregato!

Mt Fuji is a spoilsport!

We arrived at the ryokan in the hills after a bullet train and local train and bus ride only to take the bus again up a winding road, up hill, a pirate ship (complete with pirate!) across a senic lake, a steep cablecar ride and a venicular to a sulphurous smoking spot in the mountains where the speciality is boiling eggs wot come up in crates by flying fox from below in the hot water springs... we ate the boiled eggs after peeling off the blackened skin and agreed, they tasted like boiled eggs, and the whole place smelt of egg!

Mt Fuji was nowhere to be seen as i took a pic in a complete whiteout... could not see my hand in front of me with the smoke of the hot springs and the cloud which descended. Then we did the trip down in reverse only taking a switchback train down the hill instead of the pirate ship back to our station. All that travelling for 45 minutes and no view... we were tired and disappointed. Back at our digs we had a very splendid meal laid out for us in a million different bowls and plates. I pity the dish hand as he had to wash everything x 12 so it amounted to a decent number after we were thru.

Then we all braved the onsen, a public hot bath where you have to wash and scrub yourself first and jump in a hot steaming pool of spring water, it was too hot for me and I did not last long, even in the outside pool! I felt hot and sweaty after I rinsed off and went back to my room, not refreshed at all.

Then disaster struck. I went thru my shots on my camera and suddenly it went from koya san to singapore... where was Osaka? Oh my god, not one image was on my camera of my first experience of Japan. I had backed up my photos to a memory stick on the tour guides PC and must have somehow deleted them instead of copying and pasting. I felt ill, so disappointed and did not sleep well.

In the morning we rushed off again (as is the norm on these trips) after a buffet of Japanese weird stuff and some eggs and bread and tinned fruit and I asked our guide if I could check my memory stick to see if the images made it on my backup. But as we were in a hurry I had to wait, back on the local bus, the local train and the bullet train to Tokyo. We saw Mt Fuji in the distance as cameras were pressed to the window. But the train goes so fast you barely release the shutter and a building or pole is in the middle of the pic or it is just a blur.

We eventually arrived in bustling Tokyo at Shinagawa station and as luck would have it our hotel was just across the road, as have been all our hotels on this tour. We could not check in but left our luggage (mine weighing nearly double already) and I grabbed our guide's computer and frantically searched my backup. Nope nothing there, so I opened all the folders and lo and behold there were the missing pics withing 2 other folders... I nearly jumped for joy and had a grin like the Cheshire cat the rest of the morning. We were let loose to explore Tokyo and I went to Shibuya, the worlds busiest pedestrian crossing as seen in Lost in Translation, and the neons at night in the area apparently were the inspiration for Blade Runner. But it was daylight on my first visit and I have since been there at night, really bright, loud, and crowded and a great vibe.

Then on to Harajuku where there was a lovely park and shrine and crazy shopping street filled with tourists and kids, some cosplay kids dressed as fluro french maids and people young and old in kimonos. Then we headed to the Government Buildings near Shinjuku, the busiest station in the world, which have 2 towers and let people up to the 45th floor to get awesome views of Tokyo from all angles and it was free! We were meant to see Mt Fuji from here as well but as usual it was shrouded in cloud... damn you elusive Mountain (fist pounding the air)... until we meet again! We had our last group meal and sang karaoke til they politely told us to stop and piss off, and looked for bars to party on, but being Monday nite everything was closing by 11pm or 12, so I went back to pack as I was moving hotels the next morning.

So am now racing here and there on and off the intricate subway maze, taking lots of photos, meeting lots of friends, both old and new, and still enjoying the weird and wonderful tastes, sounds and sights of Japan.

Tomorrow Studio Ghibli and am very excited to see that with Mariko, a girl that used to work with me at the hotel. I have til Saturday to see as much as I can and eat as much as I can especially green tea ice cream! Over and out from crazy but awesome Tokyo!

kimonos in kyoto

After the emotional visit to the peace park in Hiroshima we headed by train and ferry to Myajima Is to see the floating tory gate which is famous and if i could post a pic you would know it, it is big and orange... so we landed on the island and I opted to climb to the top of the mountain to see the view rather than take a cable car. Myself and 3 others painfully climbed up steep steps for 45 mins to see a wonderful view of all of Japan bathed　in glorious sunshine and then had to walk down again,. Wild sacred deer roam the streets among pilgrims and tourists and look cute. The island is beautiful and we watched the sunset thru the tori gate before we set sail for Hiroshima.

The following day we had to leave again to catch a train to Kyoto where we did not waste any time and went to a site of 1000 tori gates. I think I have seen enough of them to keep me happy for the rest of my life. We returned to town and had sushi at a sushi train and there were several chefs moulding rice and slicing fish to keep the conveyor belt full at every point. There was so much variety it was delicious. After we ate our fill we split up and I headed to the Nishiki food markets, a long undercover stretch of interesting dried and fresh foods and other random stuff and then the Kyoto Manga museum which was fascinating, I went onto the Gion area for dinner and spot geisha, which I didnt. Poor girls have people waiting with cameras and tripods set up to catch them flitting around, like papparazzi, and I have heard people literally stampede towards them when they are spotted with flash bulbs flashing. eek what a life!

From there we had japanese bbq and went to an all you can eat and drink place for 1.5 hours where you have to stop and leave after your time is up. You get to cook it all yourself over a scorching grill in the centre of the table and there was a vast array of meats and seafoods, salads and drinks. then we hit the sodden streets of Kyoto with umbrellas in hand and got back to the hotel in the pouring rain.

Man the rain did not stop and has been relentless since yesterday. It is not fun being soggy and siteseeing in the grey, cloudy atmosphere totally wet thru. However we managed to see the a shogun castle, Nijo with nightingale floors... they squeak when you walk over them and warn of intruders... then we went to the famous Golden temple but it was literally pouring so hard to get the classic photo we all wanted, so we trod along the path to the gardens and tried to keep ourselves dry along with several hundred other people trudging along. There are many Japanese tourists and pilgrims as well as the other bloody tourists. Another bus ride took us to a zen garden where we were told it represented birth to death by placement of stones, raked gravel and trees... we were let loose after that huddling under umbrellas not sure what to do as it was not a day to stay outdoors. I opted to go to Kyoto station and it is so big，like a mini city, with many floors of shops and food that I got lost and the maze of underground arcades disorientated me completely, so was in a bad mood after I finally found my way out and back to the hotel. Sake and dinner followed and another nite trip to the Gion area for a last wander up the narrow streets Geisha spotting, but my score is still 0.

Early start tomorrow to head to Mt Fuji and an onsen, a public japanese bath... hmmmmm....but it is still raining and the famous mountain may hide from us which will be really bad news... then onto Tokyo

on tour

Hi again, from electric Osaka we took a tube, train and cable car up the mountains to a famous monastary Koya-san which a bhuddist saint established. It is a tranquil place with temples and forest so green, with tall towering trees and moss covered rocks and gravestones. Stayed with the monks who gave us a vegetarian dinner with many tastes and textures and colours to devour. I walked thru the cemetary at dusk and saw some beautiful ancient and modern monuments to the dead, it stretches for about a km in the woods. Pilgrims come to pay their respects and the town is considered holy. After the worst nites sleep on a futon with a tiny pillow filled with dried peas, I spent the night trying to sleep but was up every hour too hot, too uncomfortable, too tired. The sleeping mat and bag on the Inca trail was more comfortable let me tell you. I awoke looking less than rested and we headed back to Osaka the same way we came and boarded a bullet train bound for Hiroshima.

On arrival at Hiroshima we were set loose to explore and I got myself and another girl lost as the maps were not that clear and I was still in a sleep depraved state. Anyway we got to the contemporary art museum and the manga library and met the rest of the crew for okonomayki Hiroshima style which is quite different to the style we are used to. It is cooked in layers with the addition of udon or chinese noodles. I washed mine down with a glass of saki... then I had to go to bed as I was dead on my feet.

This morning we took a tram to the Abomb site which was such a moving experience. We had a guide whose motherwitnessed the explosion and an in utero survivor and went to the peace museum. It was horrific reading about the events that led to the bomb and the devastation and utter suffering the victims endured. I cried, I could not help it. Truly shocking and everyone should come to see the museum and strive for nuclear free world. Some images were stomach churning, men women children disfigured and burnt, the accounts and drawings from survivors, I cannot imagine going through such Hell, and that is what it must have been. The town is dedicated to peace and preservation now. We soon head to Myajima Is to see some beautiful scenery and deer, a relief from a harrowing morning.

Osaka

Hi　from Japan. After an awfully boring flight from Singapore to Shanghai I was dog tired as did not sleep on the basic plane but thank goodness no engine fires after take off from Changi. After clearing immigration and customs even while in transit, i snoozed in the lounge of the hotel til the next flight to Osaka. Arrived to dreary grey skies and rain. Alighted the city bound train for Namba and caught a subway to the hotel. Now the heavens decided to open and me and my luggage were out walking the streets, soggy map in hand, no shelter at all, grappling with finding my wee umbrella in my very full bag...and finally entered the lobby of the hotel leaving a river of water in my wake.

I stumbled into bed as had been travelling for 15 hours or more with no sleep and very little food in my belly. The plane food was kinda grey looking chicken on a bed of dry noodles so I politely declined. After a snooze, showered and headed outside where it was comparitively dry now. It is humid but not  as hot as Singers thankgoodness. I ventured down Dotombori street brightly lit and pedestrians all looking for food or slot machines. I headed to the nearest Okonomiyaki restaurant and indulged in a yummy seafood one cooked in front of me and a glass of plum wine on the rocks. After i ate my fill i ventured out into the night and explored the bustling alleyways and streets like a neon extravaganza. I was planning to find some green tea ice cream but failed in my quest. All TV in Japanese so hard to watch.

The following morning I awoke early and was out by 8.30am planning to head to the Kuromon Markets and walk til my legs stopped working. A great disappointment as by 9am not much had opened except a few fish and vegie stalls but most things were shut. So i walked into the shopping district, most things were still shut, nothing opens til 10am or 11am. So I walked the entire length of Ebisubashi street, one long under cover shopping mall that goes for kilometres.  I found a great Loft, cool department store and a store with a giant kit kat atop. I raced in to find my elusive green tea kit kat but still cannot find any. BooHoo! People cycle here on the footpaths and malls and there are bikes everywhere, my kinda town. Old ladies and kids alike peddle and park.

My legs needed a break to sushi train for lunch with the freshest sushi being made and plonked onto the conveyor belt. Now am going to rest as I meet my group at 6pm and then want to go on the giant ferris wheel which operates at nite just like everything else here. Tomorrow we leave for Kyoto early I am told, so my next report will be there. So tonite I hit the bright lights of Osaka for the last time. Over and out...

farewell Singapore

So today is my final day in Singers and it is raining. Not planning on doing too much as long flight ahead overnight with transfer in Shanghai. Still not looking forward to getting on a plane. But today will head out to eat more interesting food and take it easy tonite. I got my dates wrong and actually thought i had another day here but luckily looked at my ticket this morning and realised my flight leaves in the wee hours of tomorrow, so tonight to Changi.

Eaten some great foods here and hope to share some photos soon. Not sure where i will get internet access in Osaka so cannot promise. There is such a mixture of authentic Asian cuisines here and so hard to choose. It is a clean and organized city. A great place to visit and the lifestyle is good if you can afford to live here. This was my relaxing part of the trip so it will be pretty full on from now on and the adventure will really begin.

singapore sling

Hi all, Singapore is hot, humid and happening! I arrived in the evening to the loud whine of the F1 Grand Prix virtually outside Kim's appartment window. You could not hear yourself think let alone talk, but the view from the penthouse balcony was pretty damn good. The humidity is not working for me. Yes, as usual I have been ill for the past 3 days and even fainted in the lift and had to see a doctor... holidays hey! But am on the road to recovery and acclimatizing slowly. Went to see my grandfather's grave or memorial in Singapore. It was dedicated to all the Anzacs and other troops who sacrificed their lives for their country and was very neat and well kept. I have also been on a lovely bike ride along the east coast with tankers lining the horizon as far as the eye can see, so amazing that they rely on the outside world for all their produce and material goods. The beach looked pristine but was told it was not suitable for swimming at all. The whole place is high rise with not a lot of colonial architecture surviving the massive ongoing development. Will visit Raffles as it is a landmark, High Tea anyone?

The food here looks glorious, so much variety and colour and the cakes are to die for. But i have yet to sample any as been living on boiled rice, toast and dry bikkies but am heading out today to give my taste buds a real good workout. Green tea cake, ice cream everything, chilli crab, indian food, chinese dim sum, Arab street all yet to be explored. Been to a great shop which sells all sorts of baking goods and cake decorating stuff. The shopping malls are cool in both ways, chic and air conditioned... am trying not to buy as will have to lug my bags around Japan and don't want to weigh myself down. Maybe should have stopped off on the way home instead... anyway too late now.

My friends have been fantastic and lucky me to be taken care of so well. My flight to Osaka leaves Sunday on East China Airways so am not looking forward to flying again via Shanghai. I guess my next installment will be from Osaka if I can find a computer to tap away on, so until then, I will have a Singapore Sling or 2 and shelter from the heat in the airconditioned malls and cinemas and restaurants... what a hard life hey? Take care all.

Getting ready for the Asian Invasion

Hi friends, so I am taking off again for another adventure, this time with an Asian accent rather than Espanole... and it will be another cultural highlight in my life. I am firstly heading to steamy Singapore to visit Kim and KJ and Philip and eat some awesome food and visit the war memorial where my grandfather has a plaque as he is buried somewhere there as he was a war casuality. Then onto awesome Japan arriving in Osaka via Shanghai on some possibly scary Chinese airline and then will wind my way to Tokyo via Kyoto, Mt Fuji, Hiroshima and more wonderful places with some new friends. In Tokyo I will spend 5 hectic days in the frantic city on my own and with a couple of old friends and my neighbour Totoro!

So I expect I will find some computers to report on my new experiences and hopefully be able to post images here as well as on Facebook.

I hope some of you follow me and comment as I won't feel so far away then.

the travelling pegzberry