Park Side Hotel Chiba

... the train, and walked out the station, it was a little lonely place, two taxi parked outside, it was 10:00pm, there was no sign of my host waiting to pick me up, I asked the nija guy where is the public phone, he took me there and chose 20 yuan from handful coins in my palm, the coins came right out. So he took his cell and dial my host, spoke a few minutes and hang up.

I asked if the host is coming to pick me up, he answered in Japanese, I did not ...

... until Monday! Hotel is great, tiny room but it's Tokyo! Has everything in it - the usuals kettle, toiletries, etc and also a nightshirt, ( you will see a very fetching photo of Paul ), chopsticks, inkpad and wheelchair if you request it. Heading out around Tokyo on the subway, must be the biggest in the world, the amount of lines is unreal we are lucky being on the Yamanote line which basically circles the city and most of the stuff we ...

... on many people's faces as they headed home. It was Wednesday, October 8, and the Nikkei fell almost 10% that day. I checked-in to the Peninsula Hotel Tokyo. What a superb location: 5-minutes from Tokyo Station at the edge of Ginza and overlooking Hibiya Park and the Imperial Palace. You can't be more centrally located than that. My room - on the 19th floor overlooking the Imperial Palace. Quite a grand hotel but still intimate and ...

Just a quick note to say we made it all right to Japan. The business class experience on the 777 was quite nice. Our flight path from IAD-NRT took us north of Fairbanks, Alaska -- check it out on a globe! The shortest distance between two points definitely isn't a straight line on a Mercator projection. We are now in the ANA (All Nippon Airlines - Star Alliance partner) lounge, had a nice refreshing shower, a made-to-order noodle bowl (Travis had ...

... you all at the next opportunity. To keep you busy until then here's a few photos that Josh uploaded the other day, i havent uploaded mine yet but will at some point. Think the photos are upto about Sunday...So no hybrids on there yet. http://cambridge.facebook.com/album.php ?aid=2141886&l=604fe&id=3691346 2 http://cambridge.facebook.com/album.php ?aid=2141891&l=35993&id=3691346 2 Take Care all, and keep me updated on whats going on (Josh can get very boring..)

Having left Japan 1 year 3 months ago, it felt a little strange to be stepping foot back into the country I once called home. Everything seemed so foreign...that is, until I approached the immigration counter and was spoken to in Japanese. Despite handing the customs officer my foreign Australian passport, he immediately spoke to me in Japanese - probably assumed from the multiple stamps in entering Japan that I was able to speak Japanese. To my surprise and ...

... 3 hours, and sang and danced their hearts out. And the audience responded with the same fervor that the performers put into their show! I'm so glad I go to see that amazing show. It was very funny to see me sitting in a theater full of about 92% Japanese women, but well worth the effort! A truly one-of-a-kind theatrical experience. Dinner tonight was another visit to Udon, so Amy's boyfriend Dan ...

A friend of us invited us to join his family on a Chiba tour. Sounds interesting and not wanting to miss the opportunity, we decided to accept the offer. Started the journey around 8.00am and headed straight to Chiba town and we just make a round of Chiba town and then went to one of the beaches along Chiba seaside to have some snack and enjoying the scenery. Chiba has some wonderful and interesting scenery along the road. Along the road with views of its traditional houses, small ...

... out whether or not Langkawi truly lives up to all the hype. My next entry will more than likely come from Malaysia. Crossing a span of 5,000 kilometres in roughly seven hours to ultimately get there, my heart races with anticipation at the thought of setting foot on two more countries, opening up the mind and the senses to a flood of new experiences once more. It is the feeling every global wanderer gets when faced with the possibility to travel once more, and discover a new world...

... three lanterns hanging up. We also walked through Nakamise Street, which has little tents and stores lined up along it that sell traditional Japanese things from fans to Kimono's. It is usually very packed and hard to shop. THere are also jinriki-shas, those are little carts that you sit in and a person pulls the cart. There was also a little park next to Senso-Ji Temple that we walked through. We didn't stick around long cause it was dreary,crowded,and we were tired.