International Garden Narita

... me from Regina to Toronto was delayed by nearly two hours. I and approximately 60 other passengers sat on the tarmac in Regina after a couple of passengers decided at the last minute that they did not want to go to Toronto after all. They left the plane and, according to Transport Canada rules, their luggage had to immediately be removed. This should not have been a problem but the ground crew could not find one of their bags, resulting in the nearly two ...

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The people here are just fantastic and we have met a number of foreigners now living and studying/working here in Japan. Some of their stories are absolutely fascinating as is this country. I love Japan.

Unable to connect via wireless internet so more difficult to upload photos but may try later.

Mate ne. (see you later)

... Narita is home to Narita-san Shinshoji Temple which is a large complex complete with Peace pagoda, gardens and a calligraphy museum. The main building is famous for its Goma rite- a ceremony that prays to Fudomyo, the main deity of the temple, to fulfill our wishes, banish evil and chase away hindrances of passion and false knowledge (ooh er!). Most of the buildings had english explanations except for the calligraphy museum which was still beautiful none the ...

... br> The toilets, however, can only be described as decidedly non-Western. Google image "japanese toilets" and you might understand the confusion.
Also, I wanted to say that I have been unable to post pictures from the flight and hotel because I have been shooting in "raw ...

... opened his packet of Oreos ("Mama" tried to make us feel at home by buying random western foods for us :P) a deer and its kid came up to us... even though I had my leg out at a 90 degree angle to stop it coming near me and my food it persisted. In the end I jumped up on the park bench so I could eat my biscuits in (relative) peace while Angus laughed at me. After a while they got the point that we were going to eat all our food ourselves and went away. Angus and I kept walking to ...

... and waited for our bags. One of the staff was yelling something in Japanese and pointing to a sign that had pictures. We just smiled and waved boys - smiled and waved. Amba spotted my bag - then saw her bag. We heaved both off - mine with the bright orange HEAVY sticker on it - onto the floor. How did Asians fit all their clothes into those tiny little suit cases??? Its a mystery. We dragged our bags(!) to customs - we didnt need to declare anything really ...

... since the age of seven. I worked with Mark back in 1992-5 and we've kept loosely in touch. We had a good working rapport and bonded over Taco Bell and Frisbee at lunch. We had a good conversation and we marveled at how small a world it seems sometimes. It's not my most improbably small world story to date, but it's certainly up there now.

... In fact, most of the mile or so walk to my hotel was extremely quiet--dare I say zenlike. One thing about walking in Tokyo is that you evidently do not disregard a do not walk signal, even when crossing a little lane only about two steps wide. I did a couple of times, and immediately felt really bad about it. This calmness, however, breaks down in the area around my hotel which is in Akihabara--Electronic Town ...

... of the story is to take a towel with you or make sure towels are available before stripping yourself naked in public. The onsen bath by far has been the best culture experience of my life. If you don't mind stripping naked in public, I highly recommend it. Even if you do, try it. Come on bite the bullet. It was getting late so, I paid $12 for my train ticket to the airport. Here I am waiting for my flight back home. Pedro

... went to Ginza. Ginza in my opinion is the commercial capital of the world. Where else can you check out the latest electronic gadgets before they hit the world market? But first I made a stop at Starbucks, ordered a cup of coffee and a scone ($3.90) not bad for Tokyo. One of the first things you notice when you enter Ginza is the lights, bright neon lights, huge TV screens flashing different products, and people swarming all over. It was very busy for a ...