Pearl Hotel chiba

... 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 Liberty. With Tokyo Rainbow Bridge in the background,
it almost looks like Lady Liberty is standing in front of the Manhattan Bridge
in NYC.

After a little theme park fun, we headed up to Ginza. Ginza ...

... really say the 'th' sound so it sounds more like 'Bess-san/Bess'. or they call me the Japanese equivalent 'Besu'. One the second day apparently someone was calling my name three times but I never made the connection that it was my name they were saying, trying to get my attention. I've gotten used to just turning around when I hear the 'B' sound (or an attempt at something close to Beth/Bess/Besu/B) since it is not a very common sound and I assume they are ...

... and through to the path lined with trees, along a pathway flanked with japanese paper lamps and caskets of wine given in offering to the temple and finally approached the temple itself, after passing the shrine where everyone purifies themselves by rinsing their hands and mouth in the water,  i was lucky enough to see a wedding procession with the women in traditional kimonos.  After this i watched the monks wander about the temple whilst the visitors made offering before clapping ...

... only thing it doesnt have to match other world cities is diversity, let me clarify, Tokyo has plenty of diversity...in hairstyles and outfits, everyone, and I mean everyone here has a deliberate hairstyle and clothing style-it is really ridiculous. Other then that, this city is incredibly well organized, safe and efficient. Love it here. Really looking forward to the next 3 days here.

After a very brief sleep-in to recover from jet-lag, Sebastian whisks his family and friend off to Tokyo, while Fiona stays behind to sample some sake at a sake festival in nearby Fujinomiya. After the show, Sebastian and co. start in Ueno Park where they check out the National Museum's treasures, and then head down to Ginza to check out some kabuki at the Kabuki-za. The performances are great, and feature several Living National Treasures, in honour of the theatre's ...

... about Japan or Thailand would be way off the mark, so I usually tried to put all thoughts of it right out of my head. Even on the plane, I felt detached. Then I got off the plane... ...Japan punched me right in the face! Like no place I've ever seen. Adjectives that come to my mind straight away are- garish, goofy, colourful, crazy, tacky, overwhelming, and beautiful. My cheekbones hurt from smiling so much. The place is cluttered with the brightest ...

... canada. and was surprisingly nice... or so i'm told, as i was passed out for most of it. i did wake up here and there for food.. and one thing that i found particularily amazing, was that we flew over the ARCTIC! absolutely beautiful, especially from in the air (maybe b/c it was comfortably warm?!) - but the landmass was amazing to see!! TOKYO- i have to say that the ottawa JET crew is pretty f-ing cool, so i spent most of my time in ...

... a shock when she turned around and saw a big gaijin (foreigner) behind her - but as with everyone I`ve encountered, she was friendly and directed a smile and a "konnichiwa" my way. I spent a few hours blissfully roaming around, amazed at the intricate detail of the carvings on the shrines. I had to take my shoes off on the three separate occasions that I entered the buildings, with a monk demonstrating one of the shrines`strange acoustic properties by ...

... Four hours of speaking only Japanese is really exhausting! But I really liked my sensei, Iwanaga-sensei, and I learned a lot during the session, which included lots of language practice, but also lessons in folding futons, picking up chopsticks, entering a Japanese home, and introducing ourselves to new people and to our host families. We had a special Welcome Dinner tonight that was delicious! Everyone just hovered over a wide variety of plates ...

... Japanese jumped into my head, I:m sorry to say. However, soon after, I engaged in conversation with my host dad, Kurogawa-san. In Japanese! Now, Im not saying my Japanese is anything to shake a stick at, if you had a stick, but I told him about my Dads business as an infertility specialist...WHOA, I know, thats what I thought. How cool is that? (Yes, he did understand...thanks for the vote of confidence...)Plus, today I have spoken to about 10 ...