Hotel Route Inn Chiba

... br>
While in TDS (That’s “Tokyo Disney Sea” for the lay people), Elizabeth discovered
her own guilty pleasure – flavored popcorn!
What a marvelous idea, and the queues can be out of control. Varieties include: Chocolate (Eli’s favorite), Caramel,
Strawberry, Sea Salt, Ground Black Pepper, Curry (no thanks), Soy Sauce and
Butter, Honey, and plain old Salted. The
food choices in both parks are phenomenal, and we ...

... in the distance, although not that day. There was quite a haze in the middle distance, presumably pollution. Quite a number of Japanese wear face masks although the atmosphere seems all right. Next stop was the Imperial Palace where the Emperor lives. You can only go in the gardens which unfortunately there wasn't time for us to do. The Palace is surrounded by a dry stone wall built 400 years ago which has withstood all their earthquakes and round that a large moat ...

... little alleyways and weird places I'd found when I last discovered the place (and got lost mind you!) and we ended up on the main drag at Ginza shopping district. Past Cartier, D&G, Apple, Lois Vuitton, Yamaha and then up into the Sony building - saw the BEST thing that I really really really really really want - called a ROLY. OMG. We then wandered along just checking things out and trying to keep out of the way of the millions of people doing their last minute ...

... but take my word for it that it was the most crowded event I've ever been to in my life. Today Betsy arrived, which is so great, and we went to my teacher's apartment to learn how to cook a few traditional Japanese foods. We made okonomiyake, which is kind of like a pancake batter that you mix meat, seafood, and vegetables into and fry. We also learned how to make Miso Soup, and rice balls. It was all delicious, plus she made a point to show us her collection of ...

... s being walked and one actually posed for me which was awesome. So not only that I also go to see the National Museum of Natural Science which only costed me 500 yen whoch is pretty cheap if I say so myself. Getting to see all the different exhibits was very intresting and I really learned something my time there, not only that I got to see hachi again! Love Hachi he is the dog! I also had some Dumplings and some ...

... work and proceeded to a favorite haunt of theirs called Big Echo- the karaoke bar. "Bar" is maybe not the appropriate word. "Hotel" perhaps would better describe it. We walked into the lobby and the concierge (as he appeared to be) behind the desk, with his headset and multi-lined phone system, took our booking for a room. We went upstairs to number 26, and got our very own little party room complete with flatscreen karaoke video extravaganza, table ...

... every carriage just for elderly or pregnant woman. In fact, during rush hours, there are pink carriages on every train just for women! Our hostel is good, all the things we need, except for a cosy corner double bunk! We had a Luca/Steffi moment trying to decide who would be on top, but as I was still feeling a bit ill, I just gave up and slept on the bottom bunk.

... it was built in 1252 and has survived earthquakes, tidal waves and typhoons, and it`s easy to see why when you see the size of the thing! Unfortunately things went a bit pear shaped after this as I proceeded to get completely lost, although I refuse to take responsability, seeing as though it was the Lonely Planet who recommended the Daibatsu Hiking Course (overlooking the fact that it is overgrown and not in the least bit well-defined!). I emerged onto a road ...

... talked about the history, traditions, rules, etc so that made it easy to follow the action - we really enjoyed it. We found it interesting that the expensive seats close to the action weren't seats at all - they were just cushions on the floor - very Japanese. We were in the cheap seats that had backs and cushioning... Pantea and I tried our luck at picking the winners and Pantea out picked Eddie 10 - 5, so she got to choose the restaurant for dinner. We went to a tempura house ...

... t speak English. Her daugher, who's name turns out to be Yok, does. And she knows what's going on in this crazy place. She showed me how to use the machine and spent the train ride giving me advice. I LOVE THAI PEOPLE!! When we got to Ueno station, it took a bit of looking to find where I needed to go. Yok helped me and then we parted ways. Please note, I repacked my bags in the airport so I now have 2 bags which are less heavy and one suitcase the size of Australia. Now, the problem ...