Hotel Skycourt Asakusa Taito

... and we decided to pop into KiddyLand to recover and maybe look for a gift for someone. Sean`s shoulder was completely soaked from the rain and my feet were making squishy noises in my shoes. We were also grumpy from the disappointment. And that was pretty much our day. The only positive is that we got to spend it together, but that`s a big one so we weren`t feeling too down by the time we got back to the room.

Today we returned ...

... sky had not yet ceased its downpour and rethought our decision to go so far away when the streets looked like rivers. The k9ind lady at reception suggested a place for us just down the road which was a traditional Japanese restaurant so we graciously accepted her advice, borrowing umbrellas from the hotel and legging it down the road. Once inside we realised that there was no English anywhere and upon being approached by a Japanese speaking ...

... is only about a half an hour journey from my house. I am so excited that I have a job. I am so thankful to the Big Guy upstairs! So Becky finally got her tattoo done and it looks GREAT! I am so impressed with the skin artists here. I am pretty sure she agrees as well, although it is not too hard to tell from the look on her face. Mom I think I am going to get full sleeve tattoos here, I ...

... it - otherwise I:m going to have stomach ulcers. There is so much apologizing, and thanking and bowing and strange submissive behavior it's enough to make you want to live in America! Is that like a panic button in case someone tries to rape you or something? I told her that I set off a subway alarm yesterday by pushing the wrong button. I was in the bathroom and I thought the button was the flush, but it was some kind of panic alarm ...

... into a megaphone in excited Japanese. Throngs of women shouting at each other. A big red sign entirely in Japanese, but with the numbers "3100" in the centre. Me approaching shouting man and asking "sale?" Him yelling back at me in Japanese, and nodding and gesturing dramatically. Me: "ALL bags 3100 yen?" Him: (handing over several bags) "3100. 3100. 3100." Score. So I found a sweet bag, pushed my way into the line to pay, and ...

... direction. Ever generous, Hideko said that she would help him find his hostel, if he came with us to drop off my rucksack off first. He happily agreed and soon we had dropped off both bags and met Hideko's friend Subacko for lunch. He was a Chemistry teacher at a secondary school in London, and for the whole was friendly and chatty, good company. He accompanied us for the day. One of the first things I noticed about Japan was the beautiful ...

... amusement of the staff...who don't get many size 15 feet to work on. Lots of giggles as the slippers they gave me didn't fit & i think they brought out the master to work on my feet. Very relaxing. Older Japanese man who didn't speak english but we worked it out. Most of the staff came over during the massage to discuss the size of my feet. I felt like a celebrity...or a circus act. The National Museum of Emerging Science and ...

... designer) and Taro (the manager of the French cafe we went to with Ric******* Friday). This bar is a hang out for a mix of Japanaese designers, artists, editors etc. Mel, Bev and Richard Had fun trying to make conversation with drunk Japanese guys that speak only a little bit of English. (Some would say that's a good thing) Bev and Shinobu ...

... and happy tone not typically associated with staff on the graveyard shift, told me it was time to roll over and fall on the floor...I mean roll out of bed and into the toilet. Fifteen minutes later and still no more awake than fifteen minutes before, I meet my colleague at the lobby of the hotel and we take a cab down to Tsukiji. Navigating our way through the smells, we found ourselves in the main hall, where rows and rows of frozen tuna carcasses lay ...

... the Kawa.. It was the teachers who made that place special.. Steve, Cathy, Jen, Darren, Erik, Alex god so many ppl there who made me enjoy working there.. Junichi, Yumiko, Yukie, Junko... so many good students..Teasing and being teased by Rinzie.. I do miss Kawa sometimes.. Then my life changed and I moved further away.. but I wanted to stay in area 3..so I applied for a transfer to Meguro, Gotanda or Eibisu... and I know I found the best Nova to work out for the last 4 ...