Sala Inage Kaigan Hotel Chiba

... 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 is like 5th Avenue in NYC
(kind of), except larger. That’s right
New York, somebody did something bigger than you. Ginza has all the usual high-end shops you
would expect, as well as all the Japanese ...

... but its not what I was hoping for.... So I was catching the train back from Hiroshima to Tokyo today and I was mentally composing a blog entry for you all about the trains and how awesome they are, when I became aware of my internal monologue. I wasn`t just mentally composing I was having a running commentarty on everything I saw, other related things that popped into my head. I started to wonder at how much I just bloody go on and on ...

... for a connection in a city she doesn't understand. We'll go to sushi bars, karaoke rooms and the hotel lobby bar, striking up an unusually close friendship with an overt sexual undercurrent, despite the percieved age gap. Then the moment will come for us to separate and I will wisper something so sweet, so delicate, into her ear that it will change both of our lives for the better, forever. Or maybe I'll just go to a Love Hotel.

... metropolis, but I did manage (for those who know Tokyo) to cover the Yoyogi park, with families on Sunday outings and young garage bands showing off; Shibuya, with so many people that poor little Simon got all confused (and a parade, where a guy showed off...); Omote-sando, the Frederiksberg of Tokyo; the Ginza shopping district; the imperial palace; Asakusa, with pagodas and a shrine; a river cruise and the Onshi park, with a little cute tea house in the middle of this bustling city ...

... 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 ...

... is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the ...

... Hostel for food and out for the night to see what Saturday nights are like in Tokyo.. Back about 1.30, had to get last metro - didnt want to risk a taxi, could end up anywhere and oweing some taxi driver your life savings..not that it would have been a problem for me, he can gladly have my thousands of pounds worth of debt. Tokyo nightlife was interesting, thought was in Ibiza or something with big black dudes trying to shepherd u into their 'bars' - i say bars but ...

... going up steep hills is both difficult and ridiculous-looking. Nonetheless, we follow the map down a main road, dodging the cookie-cutter businessmen on the sidewalk and pausing for English-script clues as to our location, until we reach the Imperial Palace, home of the Emperor. Sadly it is closed on Mondays, so we vow to return another day and continue along, a little more randomly. By chance, we happen upon a ...

... the famous "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" wooden carved monkeys. DAY 7: Last day in Tokyo - Imperial Palace Gardens and Yebisu The gardens had been closed the day we visited the Imperial Palace, and since they were free, we decided to go back and see them. More beautifully keep green lawns as far as you could see, perfect to sit on under a tree and enjoy and ice-cream on a hot day. Next stop was a Junior Kendo Tournament that we stumbled upon; guess what they ...

It seems that I may not be going home to Taiwan for quite some time. Marina had tried to petition on my behalf once she got back to Taipei, but unfortunately it does not look good. Rather than fighting or resisting the new turn of events I will just flow with it and turn this unpleasant situation into something to my advantage. While sorting out what my next move will be, I will be spending the next couple weeks concentrating on my inner self. A considerable amount ...