Hotel Springs Makuhari Chiba

Plane landed round 4:00pm, took a train-like shuttle to claim luggage, took another train from Tokyo airport, changed another train, the ride was so long and tiresome, I had fallen asleep, when I awoke, there was only one nija-like guy in the same compartment, I asked where we<br>are, he could not speak English, and there cleaning workers are cleaning up the train, I knew this was the last stop, and I had to get off, and luckily my stop was here. <br> <br>I got ...

... it's difficult to know how many are licensed, says Kiichi Kitahama, a well-known chef and owner of a fugu museum in Osaka. In addition, only 19 of Japan's 47 prefectures require chefs to pass an exam to obtain a fugu license, and those tests vary in their demands. In Tokyo, a chef must serve a three-year apprenticeship and pass a stringent test that involves gutting a fugu under the scrutiny of health officials. Fugu guts are so poisonous that they must be kept under lock ...

... of being possibly the most expensive piece of real estate in the world. It's a shopping neighbourhood full of the flagship stores of all the most exclusive brands - Gucci, Prada, Tiffany's, Swarovski, you name it, Ginza's got it. Everyone in Tokyo is well-dressed, but the ultimate well-heeled shop in Ginza, and I felt even more under-dressed than usual. There are also a couple of affordable stores wedged in between all the high-end stores, like Zara and H&M, and they were ...

... game, and based on the old fashioned slot ball machines we knew in the 60s. This is how the businessmen wind down after a hard day's work! We also discovered later that the people rarely talk on their mobiles aloud, but are constantly texting as they walk along the street, sit on the trains or even while riding bicycles along the street! We had stayed that first night at the Tokyo Prince which had a wonderful view of the Tokyo tower from our room ...

... I not been so exhausted, I would have displayed more concern over the loud rumbling in the middle of the night as if there was a train passing right outside the door. I went back to sleep and asked about it in the morning - "Ah, earthquake," Katsushi informed me matter-of-factly. "So many here. I don't notice". Sure does help one get over their smaller fears like continental drift whiplash. Stay tuned for the Tokyo installment. Talk to you all again. Kelly

... Here I stayed at the SnoDeck shinsentu rooms. Costs here are cheap but bring a warm jumper to sleep in as heating can be problematic. If you can't wait for the local bus from Echigo Yuzarawa station, take the Naeba Express bus that goes to the Prince Hotel and then walk 15 minutes through the village to the SnoDeck bar. Its located at a junction called Asagai Gelante and the shinsentu rooms are opposite the bar across the road. You can look for a ...

... ticket) that allows the holder to travel to any part of Japan on the JR network for free. Yet there was a nagging doubt in the back of my mind. I wanted to get enough money out for the rest of my trip before I left Tokyo. Looking on my online statement, I realised that every time I tried to find out my bank balance, I'd been charged 14 UK pounds for the priveledge! And the banks hadn't even given me the balance! I had not idea how big the other ...

... ranges and other cool features inside. They then made the mistake of trying to eat lunch at noon and could only get into Subway! After Japanese law was the local lawyer's New Years networking event sponsored by the school. It was at Casablanca Silk in the Maranouchi building right near my office. This was a very nice space, apparently a Vietnamese restaurant. There were over 200 foreign lawyers there, a huge amount considering the small size ...

... emailing on it) and my bicycle which I have never been more happy to have in my life especially since the campus is huge and takes about 15 minutes to walk to the gate of the school from my dorm alone and another 10 to get to the nearest store (don't scoff, it doesn't sound like much but you try doing it a couple times a day then get back to me). I am just setting myself up now and going food shopping- our kitchen is completely empty- and trying to meet as many people as possible. -lama.

... often, so I had to wait till 6:30p.m. I got on the train in Machida to go towards Shinjuku(Tokyo) and once I was a few minutes from Shinjuku realized that I left my map to the venue and my map of the subways.If I would have gone the right way, I would have been only a half hour late with plenty of time to dance since the dance started at 7p.m. and ended at 9:30p.m. So, I ...