Flameboard

This is so sweet - I`ve got my very own flameboard going on - wicked fight, fight etc.........

Man I`d pwn your@ss with my mighty sword of wrath and n00bness


tee hee

Snowboarding and Disneyland

The weekend

Hello all,

Well thanks for whinging at me for not having posted for a few days - Stu!! I have been in Yumanashi for the weekend. We went to visit Kenji (my friends other son) On the saturday morning we set off there and got there about lunchtime and had some other traditional Japanese food which was odd - but nice. was kind of a mix between a  pankcake, some noodles and an omlette which I know sounds pretty odd, but in fact was very tasty. Once we had met up with Kenji he took us for a drive, now, Yumanashi is ringed by mountains - the Japan Alps. After driving up some pretty perilous mountain roads with plenty of hairpin bends covered in ice!! Was pretty sweet! Then when we got fairly high up (not sure how long it took as in tradditional Japanese fashion - I fell asleep) we reached a cable car and went up it to get a view of the Yumanashi basin. So that was pretty nice - fuji in the background again and all round good views for miles and miles. Then we headed back down to our Ryoen (Japanese Inn) to settle in.The room is basically tatami (bamboo mats) mats on the floor with a low table and a serving wench who poured us some tea. From the room you could see an immaculate Japanese garden and all was nice. They then took us to another room similarly layed out for the most amazing Japanese meal which was well yum. Then we headed back to our room to play Winning Eleven X (Kenji brought his PlayStation) Whilst we were out of our room they had layed out futon type mattresses and made our beds for us - ver nice.

Ps Winning Eleven X is Pro Evo and was great fun as is its way. Then as this Ryoen also had an onsen (Spa) we partook of that and at one point was sat outside in a lovely hot tub in very cold surroundings (it does get very cold at night in Japanese winter)

Sorry in the delay of this post - I was too knackered so just went to bed. It carries on here;

Next day we went for another drive and went snowboarding, which was my first ever go and it was ace. Took us quite a while to get there and to be honest I`m not sure where there was, but we hired out the kit and boards (Yasuo and I, Kenji has his own) and got all kitted up which was good fun and built the excitement then we headed onto the snow and had a 5min lesson from Yasuo on how to slow down. So after doing that (and not being able to stand up very well) I got my feet for it and so we headed to the ski lift to go up the beginners slope. Now it turns out that Yasuo is not very good at reading maps as the first slope we went down was NOT the beginners slope. Hmmm oh well......

So after I got to the bottom - which took quite a while due to the amount of time I was on my arse we headed up again and realised that if you turn left there is a beginners slope. Wooo. That was much better and I fell over a lot less, which my bottom appreciated. So this continued and we carried on, I was great, as is my way and we went down all the slopes during the course of the day including, again using Yasuo`s map reading skills the hardest ski only course which was a kind of slalom - but once we got to it we couldn`t go back - so down we went!! Was all good fun with only a few perilous drops down the sides.

I definitely improved and could go down pretty quick by the end of the day without too much of the falling over so I`ve decided to look up snowboarding again when I get to New Zealand - depends how much it vosts though as it was fairly cheap in Japan (was about 40 quid for hire of everything and lift pass) - though I guess it is locals only as I was the only non Japanese person there - again.

Once we finished snowboarding we headed over to another Onsen that is in the hotel at the resort there. This was a good thing and after a shower and a was, a boiling hot bath was just the ticket for my aching limbs. Again they also had one outside so surrounded by snow in the lovely warmth - it was grand. Then inside for a sauna, then more lounging then finally we had to leave. So we headed off back to Yumanashi to pick up Toshiko and Mikio and got on the bus back to Tokyo, eating our bento (sort of packed lunch of sushi that you can buy) on the way - then back home and pretty much straight to bed.

Next morning....

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh pain!!!!

Didn`t realise snowboarding was this much effort - weirdly not my legs so much but my back and arms that are most pulled muscles - I`m so glad that we had the onsen though as without it I doubt I would be able to move at all (I`m writing this on Tuesday and I am still aching now - I don`t know how you could do this for a week and have to go back day after day whilst in pain - guess you just grin and bear it)
Luckily, I don`t have to grin and bear it hence me doing nothing today ;-)

Yesterday, Monday, We went to Disneyland - did not realise that there was one in Tokyo, but there is and as I have never been before I decided to go. I went with Saki and Kotomi (Yasuo`s friends) and Yasuo and it was good fun - I didn`t realise how kids orientated it is, but there were still some good rides there, so we enjoyed those and the girls enjoyed the whole thing - Japanese girls like the whole princess thing so we had to endure 2 parades of utter shite, but they had to endure the rollercoasters so I guess it was fair enough in the end. But they couldn`t get enough of the cheesy Princess thing. It was pretty cold there too as it is next to the sea and for the first time was overcast - boo hiss. It`s strange in Japan how hot the sun is - in England if the sun comes out it does not necessarily mean that it gets warm, but in Japan it does - it makes sense maybe its just England that is fubar`ed?

Anyway back home after that and pretty much straight to bed, at 11.30 as was knackered still - which brings us to now as I have slept for about 12 hours and thought I should come and finish this before I get whinged at some more for not writing it.

So today I plan to read and watch some telly and generally lounge around. So there you go. until next time readers, same bat time, same bat channel - well sort of anyway..................

(I`ll pop a couple more photos up in a bit too - will have to move off of the sofa though to get my camera to upload them, oh whoa is me, tis a hard life, but as it`s for you guys I guess I will make the special effort)


;-)

More pictures of Japan

Pictures of Tokyo

Tokyo by myself

Hey there all.

Well that was comedy.

oh yeah I remebered what I was going to say last time - better do that
know before I forget again.
Was going to say what long hours the Japanese work - mentally so.
Mikio has quite short hours and only works a 11 and a half hour day!
Yasuo on the other hand works from 9 in the morning till 1am and no
thats not a good 4 hour day but 16 hours!!! Kenji (their other son)
does a similar thing. Madness I tells you. followed by about 4-5 hours
sleep before repeating it all again. What really made me aware of this
was sitting on the tube watching all the people in a permanent state
of exhaustion. They have this amazing knack of sleeping on the tube,
not just when sat down, but sleeping on their feet trying to catnap so
that they can function (or so I would imagine) Sitting on the tube is
like sitting amongst a load of zombies - well not the flesh eating
type, more the lolling listless type. That was what I wanted to say -
it`s just slightly unnerving that`s all plus they work far too hard -
I guess is my point.

Anyway back to today.
Got to my first stop ok, following a change of trains - once you get
used to it its actually ok, but I`m glad that I had maps in my pocket
of both under and over ground routes.
So I went to Akihabara to check out some electrical stores - turned
out that I only checked out one though. I`m not sure that you would
comprehend how big this store was though. I can`t really think of how
to get it across. Suffice to say that it was 8 floors, each floor
bigger than a big thing - certainly bigger than oxford HMV anyway. The
space devoted to ipods and accessories was bigger than most shops you
can think of. I like electronic stuff, but I spent 2 hours working
from bottom to top, finishing at lunchtime so I ate lunch on their
restaurant floor (not the actual floor of one restaurant as it sounds,
but in one of the approx 20 restaurants on that floor) If that helps
give you an impression of size.
Some things are pretty good value, whilst some is just the same as
here. A PS3 will set you back about 220 pounds so pretty cheap
considering they are selling on ebay for 370 or the one that I saw
was. Whilst what I wanted, a nikon digital SLR is about the same price
- dammit! So no new camera for me :-(
If anyone wants anything then ask me and I can find out for you - I
remember that PSPs were 80 quid or so.

Anyway after lunch I took more tubes to Ginza which is the well posh
end of town, and looked at all the big expensive stores that I don`t
want anything from - ie all the designer stores. Was big and
impressive though.

Then went to the Sony Store which was cool. Loads of good stuff there,
Blue ray is pretty cool and very sharp, they were demonstrating it vs
DVD quallity. Rob (and any other geeks who may be reading) They were
also showcasing FFXIII on a PS3 on a 52" HDTV. It looks ace BTW.

So then I went to Shinjunku and checked out a couple of the big
department stores - mainly dull selling clothes and perfume etc but
again impressive in their bigness. Then as darkness fell I went back
to the Metropolitan Building again and had expensive beer and expresso
looking out at Tokyo in the dark. Man its the biggest place with the
most skyscrapers that I`ve ever seen. I tried to take some pictures
but I doubt that they will do it justice - I`ll get them off my camera
and post them if they came out after this. Just take my word for it
you think that there are some small houses and the like until you
realise that the small ones are also massive buildings, only 6 or 7
stories high rather than the 40 plus of the rest of them.

Anyway, bored now and tired its midnight and time to hit the hay I reckon.

Night Jon boy.
Night
etc.......

PS that`s Mount Fuji in the background

Some more pictures

Tokyo

Well, the picture post appeared to work, so I may as well continue with the whole blogging issue thingy.

Today I have mainly been exploring Tokyo with my guide, Toshiko.

While I remember, must say about - hmm dammit forgotten again. Will come back to that.

So anyway have been pootling round Tokyo, and been to many more shrines and the like, also today I have been to the 45th floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Building which is pretty darn high and you get an excellent view of the whole city - and my ears popped twice on the way up in the lift - which took not long at all to get up there at all. I`ve also been to Edo Museum (which, history buffs - is what Tokyo was called before being called Tokyo) It was mainly full of old Japanese stuff which was a bit dull, mainly cos I couldn`t understand anything. Oh well, you gotta go to these places I suppose - it could`ve been worse I could`ve been at work. I also went to some other shrine and they were filming something which was pretty cool as have never been on a film set before. I`d love to tell you all about what they were filming, but suffice to say it a) was in Japanese (are you seeing a recurring problem here with understanding anything?) and b) wasn`t dodgy Japanese Porn so I quickly lost interest (again) I know I`m so uncultured aren`t I?

Tomorrow I have planned a trip into Tokyo by myself which will be a laugh as about 95 percent of the signs are in Japanese script (on the subway that is - though I have been trying to pay attention today to what has been going on. The subway is one mad place and coupled with my complete lack of Japanese reading ability will be a hilarious disaster I warrent. Oh well gotta be done - my aim is to go to the electronics district and to one of the giant shopping malls. I do mean giant as well by the way far bigger than anything that I have seen in London for example.

Anyway I hope this isn`t the last post that I make - if it is for a while then you will know that I am lost on the underground - also there is the above ground stations and the subway ones which aren`t interchangeable though they often have the same station names!! genius whoever thought that one up!

Anyway will try and post some more pictures for you guys though that is proving one of the more difficult things to do, well time consuming at any rate.

Test picture

Well testing to see if this works first.

This is me and my Maiko! which is like a Geisha, only younger!

Kyoto, Nara and Mt Fuji

Well well Japan is strange, I have noticed a couple of things about it. 1) Everyone seems to be in a rush despite the fact that if they do miss the train/bus/whatever there will be another one along in about 3minutes, thats 3 minutes exactly not 20mins later, (to be honest not even 3 and a half minutes later) b) They are even quieter than in say London and you could talk as their trains are quiet and smooth and quick which is a bit of a novelty. iii) Although everyone here (I mean everyone, including the grannies) has a mobile it is considered rude to have it on, and there are signs everywhere reminding you of the fact so no annoying ringtones it`s bliss!!

Well I have been around the place and stayed in Kyoto and also visited Nara and seen my fair share of Buddhist temples many of which are impressive (in size, and in the fact that most of the buildings are made of wood and have all burned down at least twice - you think that they`d learn really) It`s just that they are getting a little samey now if you know what I mean. It`s funny how many people go to them though as they are all packed even on week days, and mostly 90% up are Japanese.

Then on the shinkansen back to Tokyo I was discussing going to Mt Fuji the following week with Toshiko and Mikio and so Toshiko rang her sister and we got off the train early and her sister met us at Fuji. Turns out she`s marreid to some buddhist monk type dude and they have a massive house with en-suite temple which was a lot more impressive than the ones that we went to see with the guide books and all.
They have a proper massive house too with all the sliding doors and paper walls that you could want with low tables and daughters to wait on us hand and foot. Was proper Bo and felt very special - I even got to ring their big bell outside. Another thing that I have noticed in the buildings I have been in is that it is very cold - colder inside than outside - odd. Anyway sorry for random thought. Good job that they give you slippers to wear really, even if they are too small!
They then took me to a very pretty waterfall, shiraito, I think it was called. Then drove up Mt. Fuji, well as far as we could go as they only clear the roads so far up it. It is so cool - snow, proper snow all over the place - I love the snow it`s ace. Wish we could have gone up further - it dropped from 9 degrees to 2 in the bit that we drove up. Oh yeah and that reminds me - how much do buddhist priest monks get paid??? I should think about that - big house/temple 3 cars thats right 3, one of which was a Subaru Forrester and another was a Nissen Skyline!! Was ver` ver` nice ;-)

Anyway, back now in Tokyo, thinking that the next few days will be spend exploring Tokyo and we`ll see what happens after that.

Japan

Hi everbody,
Well I hope that this post works as I am doing it from a Japanese laptop and everything is in japanese, but I think that this is the right link!

Well after a rather hairy, and exciting take off in high winds I set off for Japan. It took 11 hours, The departed, The Illusionist, Love actually, 2 Magazines, half of abook and lots of water, but I arrived in Japan at 9 o`clock local time hence missing out entirely on a nights sleep as it was 9 in the morning local time when I arrived.

So 36 hours later is about now and I`m pretty knackered if I`m honest.

I was met by Toshiko, Mikio and Yasuo at Narita airport who are absolutely lovely and have shown me my first Japanese budhist temple.
I have had Japanese noodles for lunch (according to my body clock was 4.30 in the morning!)
Have also ridden on the train in rush hour to have a first look at a Tokyo market and then the train ride home (in rush hour) which was cozy ;-)

I feel rather out of place as I have seen thousands of Japanese and not a single Westerner since leaving the airport. Which is no bad thing as in general they suck. Present comany excepted.

Right well better go as tea is being prepared and it is 10.50 am UK time.

Ahhh - Panic in the disco!

Got a letter from the fire brigade saying I need to do another beep test on the 1st February! Obviously I can't do that so I was stressing over that. Just spoken to them and I can do it when I come back - tough it now looks like I'll be coming back earlier than later as I have just been told that I need to be back 1 month before I start to be measured for my uniform which I didn't know about.

Well we'll see - they are going to email me, but I'll just ring them constantly or something from abroad.

End of work

Well I've got 4 working days left - hooray. Just ordered my Japan Rail pass so things are moving on.
I've managed to get hold of a rucksack and sleeping bag so not too much stuff to buy now - I hope ;-)

Have moved my leaving date so my last day at work is friday the 12th and I leave for Japan on the 18th.