Pearl Hotel chiba

... only seen under construction in Dubai.
Joypolis is sensory overload, with sights/sounds/smells (crepes!) to
excite the senses.



My personal favorite attraction in Joypolis – the treadmill ride. That’s right, you pay SEGA about $5 US to run
on a treadmill in a 100 meter
sprint. How well do you think that would
go over in the States?



Odaiba is also home to a replica of the Statue of ...

Travelling alone has afforded me a lot of time to ponder the world and where I fit in it. I didn`t set out on any kind of mission to find myself, but rather thought I would see what happened along the way. India I thought might stir some spirituality in me, but I seem to have walked away thinking religion is even more whacked than before. Japan I thought I might find some inner calm in a Zen like fashion.... I have found something inside ...

... come) and went to sleep for our early morning Buddhist ceremony. The ceremony was very simlar to the previous one but we were given better access to the shrine (still no photos allowed though) and there was a second part where they made a fire and hit a drum. And so our relaxing middle section came to the end and we took the long seven-ish hour train trip to Tokyo. Now here, I hope to find myself a young, disillusioned bride ...

... And it has been an impressive two weeks, so far ! It started out with the 11 hour flight to Tokyo, and straight into the Shinagawa Prince hotel, room with a view on the 30th floor. The first day was a bit jet-lagged, but I managed to get out and see a bit of town. The Ropppongi district was like an eye-opener to the immense city, and I felt like a dumb tourist as I walked around just looking up at the skyscrapers. The coming days I covered what I feel is only small parts of an ...

I finally arrived in Bangkok just over a day ago but must first tell you a bit about a little place called Japan. Bangkok will have to wait as it's whole other novel. Everyone asked me before my trip whether I was excited for it and I can honestly say that I really wasn't feeling too much in the way of excitement - not in the sense that I didn't want to go, but that I just didn't have time to think about it. I also knew that any preconceived notions I ...

... one thing that has meant more to me than any other story I have read or heard... Luke Chapter Two: And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David ...

... Got there, followed some ancient rituals regarding washing your hands, drank the water instead of spitting it out, oh well suppose im not properly cleansed now... Shrine was...well, a shrine. Nice to see but didnt contain us for long, back to Starbucks for us.. Played a game of Wheres Wally from Starbucks window involving me and a hugely crowded crossing. Mmm, Tokyo food fare - we love you. 1 chocolate Eclair to the good(packaged inside a very camp box) then back to ...

... s a winner. We wish to see more of Tokyo today so we hire a couple of bikes. They are excellent value at 200yen ($2) each for 24 hours, but they aren't exactly Tour de France material. They are more like 'easy rider' pushbikes, with the spread out handlebars and a non-adjustable seat set to the lowest possible height. This configuration means we are both pedalling with our knees around our chests like circus clowns ...

... room, Tropical Island room, Medieval room u get the picture all for a "rest - 3 hours" or a "stay - the night".... DAY 6: Nikko Nikko was a great day trip out of Tokyo, by that stage we needed a change in pace. It was picture perfect, the temperature had also dropped and there was an eerie fog, which made it really nice. We saw Shin-Kyo a famous red bridge over the Daiya river. Rinno-ji Temple with it's 3 buddha hall. Tosho-gu a huge stone torri (gate). Heaps of other shrines ...

... Right now I'm kinda going with the feeling that I will return to Japan someday. This is what I had in mind for the whole trip, without a care in the world and just letting myself loose on the largest city in the world. Yesterday was a laundry day, however, as I needed rest and to recover from all that I had done the past three nights. You can't constantly be moving, no matter how enticing it may sound.