Park Inn Hidaka Hotel Taito

... few of these locals dozing off on plastic sheeting or used newspapers with little of their belongings not far from where they rested.

Not wanting to further waste time, I headed straight for the Palace’s main entrance. This was one of the few attractions that didn’t require an entrance fee. Only the East Garden was open to the public; the palace itself was off limits with the exception of a formal invitation. After all, this was where the royal families lived and ...

... up to 12 lines, which are operated by 5 different companies and move about 4 million people a day (Shinjuku Station) do have many signs but it can be a bit daunting when there are swarms of people trying to move around you. But I find it quite an interesting experience and not that claustrophobic actually since one is oftentimes above the crowd :) And once on the platforms, it is quite organized ...

... a kilt. Street artists and performers were everywhere, too. It was a nice day, and Ueno Park is obviously a popular place to hang out. More neon When the sun went down, I headed to Ikebukuro, one of the busiest retail and entertainment areas of Tokyo. The station is the second-busiest in the city, next to Shinjuku. Like Shibuya, the main streets of Ikebukuro look like Times Square, only busier. There were young people everywhere, playing ...

... San Francisco airport and how that was blissfully stress-free. I sat at the gate and waited and realized that I truly was the only white person out of hundreds of people working at ANA airlines and then boarding the plane. I also realized how adorable all the flight attendants are with their cute little scarves around their necks--they all wear them in different styles and perhaps ...

... everywhere in Japan. You can buy cans of soft drinks and even cans of hot drinks from the same machines. During the winter, the hot drinks make useful handwarmers. Recommend you try the Royal Milk Tea - divine. Shopping for electronics has to be done in the Akihabara (Ackey-hab-ara ) district of Tokyo. It's a street about 1km long filled with electronics shops, and manga outlets. In my experience, you'll find a lot of electronics that are unique ...

... When you find yourself with only a very humble amount of money left, suddenly a new side of the world opens up. My first fear was homelssness. When you think about it, what really differentiates a homelss person from you or I? In Japan, homeless people are tid y enough to leave their shoes outside their sleeping spots, wear white business shirts and black trousers and cover their head with cardboard. Out of a sense of shame at their ...

... I think it may have been my imagination. Let's talk about kids. Starting with babies- they are all dressed up like little Pokemon. They have giant puffy snowsuits that they waddle around with that inevitably has a hood. The hood may be tall and pointy on top so the baby looks like a pudgy little star or might have some ears so the baby looks like a little panda or something. Very cute. Little kids (elementary) wear uniforms which consist of short shorts and knee socks even in ...

... was scared I was going to faint. The sun rose at 5:10am. And it was the most beautiful, amazing sun rise I had ever seen. Mel arrived at the top just in time to see it. She looked like death. She was so tired and sick. But she made it and I'm really proud that she did. Ricky, the tour guide, thought Mel wouldn't make it - but she proved him wrong. Dan (from Melbourne) and Darren (from Malaysia) both were life ...

... t find enough to keep us busy and warm enough to tolerate sticking it out. Even still, having arrived on a Thursday, we did have the rare luxury of getting to go on pretty much any ride we wanted without horrific crowds and two-hour queues. Not too shabby, really. And, admittedly, it was a very good time. A cultural experience it perhaps isn't (save for "pop culture"), but a Disney resort is a pretty difficult to place to not have fun at. That doesn't ...

4 Dec 2006 side note - I thought about changing the caps in this, but then I thought it wouldn't be a true representation of how I was writing back then. LET.ME.TELL U WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY. KASUMI TOLD ME TO GO IN THE LOUNGE AS HER PARENTS WANTED TO TALK TO ME. I WAS WORRIED AND WONDERED WHAT I HAD DONE... BUT ...