Comfort Hotel Narita

... during our work week)<br><br>So on my day off I thought it would be fun to make Boeuf Bourguignon and Poudin Alsacien for dinner. I shopped and found the ingredients and made a delicious Julia Child's meal for the guys, complete with garlic mashed potatoes. I think it turned out quite well &#8211; check out the pictures and let me know what you think!<br><br>More later . . .

November 13, 2009<br><br><br><br>The past two days have been perfect Santa weather! Cloudy, cool with just a little breeze. Perfect! Yesterday was so fun. I spent the day seeing all sorts of people. It has always been fascinating to watch people and see what they do when they don't know they are being watched! Young couples who are just getting to know each other. Older couples who have love and laughed (or cried) together for many years. Families with kids, and maybe one on the ...

... alot of airline staff too so again, easy to get around since most people spoke english. I had only booked myself in for one night since by some weird coincidence, my high school aikido team were flying home through Narita in two days and so, we'd agreed to all meet up at accommodation they were organising, I slept like a log that night and the next day, after my nice complimentary breakfast, left my bag with the concierge and went off to explore Narita until they ...

Howdy again<br><br> On the ground in Japan, we passed through customs, a swine-flu check point, and an immigration check point, we met with Mrs. Yamanka and took a bus to the hotel. The hotel is quite lavish, though quite western. It seems like a good cultural acclimatization point ...

... led me to Mt Misen to go to the "deer park"... ok, that sounds ok, I can handle that. I made him stop past the 5 storied pagoda and the adjoining "library" which had heaps of artworks and Buddhist sanskrit. Angus wasnt interested in seeing it, but I love all that sort of stuff so I ran in and took some photos while Angus chatted up some Japanese girls outside (In his defence "they came up to ME!"). From there we headed on to the deer park and took a break on the way - the moment ...

Finally got off the plane!! Felt like forever and a day. It was Dramatically colder off the plane than on. We followed the lady seated in front of us on the plane to a "shuttle" (train) we had to get from our gate to the main terminal for Quaratine. Most of the staff spoke English thank goodness. Both Amba and i got our finger prints and photos taken. i must have looked stupid coz i was sooo tired. i didnt even smile in the pic. We went to the Baggage Carousel ...

... they just decided that it would be a good place to be, especially with family around. As we were talking, he mentioned a company that sounded familiar. I asked him about an ex-coworker (Mark Nordstrand) who I thought had worked for that company. It turns out he is the person who got Mark the job in the first place. They've known each ...

... it. Rice paddies gave way to villages which eventually gave way to twenty-five miles of rather Soviet-looking midrise and high rise suburbs. From the window of a train, Tokyo is a rather ugly city. Once I got out of the train station, however, my feelings changed quickly. From street level it looks like a completely different city--first of all immaculate (at least the areas I have seen so far) and much calmer than I ...

... I walked and paid my $7.50, I was given a tiny towel, which I later found out that it was a wash cloth not a towel. At any rate, I strip naked I enter the bath area and follow the Japanese procedure when bathing in public. When I entered the hot water, I felt very relaxed and drowsy. It made sense why I saw two Japanese men naked and sleeping on the ground next to the onsen. Here comes the funny part of the story ...

... City - two panda bears. I had never seen a panda bear in person so I "sized the moment." After the zoo with headed out for lunch to this restaurant located on the 4th floor where you take your shoe off before you enter, pick your food and cook it yourself on a grille which serves as your table while you sit indian style. According to Mika, this was a traditional old Tokyo style restaurant. I was glad for her because she had a hard time cooking the food ...