Narita Kikusui Hotel

... 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 . . .

... Kids who are trying to be "different" but end up looking like every one else their age. All of them are interesting to me. And that is who I got to see yesterday.<br><br>My day started with a little boy, about 2, who was enthralled with Santa and Duffy. When he came up, I put my arms out and he ran to me and squeezed my neck for a very long time! His parents were so cute as they watched him. Then we took pictures and he hugged Duffy and they were on their way. I don&#8217;t ...

Flug von Amami-&#332;shima zum Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Dann mit Metro, JR und Taxi nach Narita ins Hotel. Leider etwas weit weg, zumal ich am nächsten Tag wieder nach Tokyo zurück gehe. Hatten wir aber schon länger gebucht. Ich habe mir da mal wieder nicht wirklich Gedanken darüber gemacht. Wir sind etwa eine halbe Stunde nach Mitternacht dort angekommen und mussten dann erst mal noch was zum Essen auftreiben. Dann schlafen.

... We were very grateful. I'm sure this was above and beyond the call of duty! Once on the abandoned platform we had about a half an hour to wait for the next train. Apparently this line is not as busy as the JR Line trains, which always had another train arrive every 4 to 6 minutes. However, no big deal, as we are always up for an adventure. So having said that we got some drinks out of a vending machine, Eve, some lemon drink and I some other drink, that ...

... came up to us and was telling us about the area, as Angus raved to him about how great Japanese hospitality was. We decided that we were actually really hungry and had to stop being so stingey, so we went to main station in Osaka to find food. Angus remembered a really great bakery we went to the day prior so we jumped back onto the train and got off at Tenojii. I found the bakery and could not stop laughing - it had shut! The look on Angus's face was priceless but ...

... in a zip-top can! Apparently in the future, life will be so fast that we can`t wait for tea to brew. We took a bus to a modern shopping mall, and were surprised at how international retail is. If it were not for the language of the signs, we could be anywhere. We were pleased to make it back to the airport in good time for our plane (with very little security hassle), with the feeling that we had a taste of Japan.

... a bath with bare-naked strangers was quite an education. The first time we did this was in Tsuwano at a wonderful ryokan with an onsen (hot spring water) bath. Every room was kitted out with Yukata (like a Kimono only much more casual and traditionally only dyed in blue and white), happi jacket, thonged slippers and little socks with a toe division to allow you to wear them with the slippers. Disguised in our Japanese outfits and taking our bath towels with us ...

It occurs to me that as long as you have 150 yen in your pocket you will never go thirsty in Japan. You couldn't swing a cat around by the tail without hitting at least a couple of vending machines. Even in the most rural areas. I am not sure who is buying drinks from this sucker, but I guess some one is making money on it. The vending machines in Japan are great. They are ...

... into panic mode. I had never experienced anything like this in my life before. I read about Asian countries being over populated, but this was over crowded. I attempted to escape the crowds by getting on the subway, but they too were full. By this time, I was having trouble breathing. I was astonished at the sight of all these people flocked into what seems like small spaces. Make no mistakes, some of the major streets in Tokyo ...

... symptoms or signs of a cold, then in order to avoid the spreading of bacteria, it is polite to wear full clinical facial masks to cover nose and mouth. Again very nice, though it looks unusual. The flight was very quiet and without disturbances. Landing in Narita, it took ages to get through passport control, at least 30 minutes, but my luggage was already waiting ...