Asakusa Central Hotel Taito

... Senjoji, which was absolutely stunning. For the first time on this trip (and surely not the last), I thought to myself “It’s like Epcot, except for real.” There were plenty of tourists around the temple, but also plenty of locals coming to pray.

The temple emptied out onto a long street of little shops, which we picked our way through by feel. At some point I took out the map and figured out we were relatively close to the ...

... from around the world, and a small collection of impressionist paintings. An excellent, compact gallery. Final stop in Meguro is the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. The current exhibition is about Japanese tableware and especially how it changed to meet the demands of European markets in the late 19th/early 20th century. The highlight is the building itself though. Built in the 1920's as the palace of Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, it takes its influence from the Prince's travels ...

... from the Japanese Imperial military during World War II, want to keep it. Tribute: Yayori Matsui The Museum is a modern media centre and library. There are many informative displays and staff is helpful. Most moving for me-I was allowed to sit in the chair used by Yayori Matsui, the Museum's founder. Yayori Matsui was Japan's most prominent investigative journalist. A committed feminist, she broke stories about Japanese sex tourism, about the ...

... going on. Tonight, for instance, is my neighbourhood's fireworks show. My upstairs neighbour came by a few days ago to warn me about it. I'd noticed that someone had put tape down on the street in front of my door, delineating a large rectangle. It seems that a group had staked their claim and my front stoop is their firework-watching turf. I didn't understand the full explanation (it was in Japanese) so I'm not sure if ...

... one of the more traditional districts of Tokyo. About 30 minutes of walking later I spotted what looked like an amusement park. After walking around 75% of the park I spotted the Sakura Hostel. Thankfully the size of the park is approx. three city blocks and not equvalent to Disneyland. That could have gotten ugly. Looking back I'm not sure where I got lost, exactly - as at most the hostel is 10 minutes away from the subway ...

... perform Kabuki plays. After a walk around the streets, and admiring the huge T.V's on the sides of buildings, I tried to go to the Sony Centre, but it was not meant to be since it was closed today. Later in the day I walked around Asakusa, the area the hostel is located, to the Senso-ji temple. It is a interesting area with a small market leading up to the actual temple, which looks impressive when lit up.

... round the world) I choose a return that stops in USA for $1500 set up by a local agency with cheap blocks of seats. Other options for world flights; Open Jaw, Package Tour, Courier, Direct, Youth 26, student fares, internet ticket. A cluster at immigration and again with flight schedules, a regular for the nearly bankrupt United Airlines, I leave for the independantly wealthy islands of Japan. A land of traditionand ...

'm on my way home for Nova for the last time.. If anyone was thinking about it I would say DO it... Yeah there are problems but U get thru them and look back and say WoW!! I did it.. I settled in somewhere and I made it my home.. and Japan is my home... Talking to Kazuchan.. as we parted.. He ate the icecream I gave him today hehe.. got him eating on video.. was a beautiful day.. Met Rikachan.. dropped my video camera off and went down to meet her (we were both ...