Star Hotel Yokohama

... resort and got a room for a little under $200. We got a student discount and the receptionist upgraded us to an oceanfront suite so we were all pumped about that! I am staying with Bri, Audrey, and Jessica in a room but there are fifteen of us that staying together at the Hilton. Audrey and Jessica headed out to go skydiving so I met up with Emily and Amanda who were on the beach right outside our hotel to lie out for a little while. We soaked up the sun ...

... a dog and a pig. These kept the girls amused for quite some time, and were definitely a favourite with the kids. It was at this point I realised that one of my camera batteries was a dud. I gave the battery a full charge overnight, and I had taken only 60 or so shots, and I was getting a low battery light. Fantastic. A few more shots and it was done. With the spare batteries sitting back in the ...

... I start to lose my shame when I am with kids. They really loved it! Around 40 kids were all gathered around the felt board and staring and even kind of pushing forward to see us! I mean, wow.....you should have seen these kids before this. They were bouncing off the walls. The puppet video really got there attention (which we made to introduce the story) and then once we started the story they loved it. God really is good. I was actually nervous because a lot of effort ...

... including the Imperial Palace Gardens, Tokyo Tower and Shinjuku Shopping district. The Palace area was pretty restricted in what you could see, but we did get to have a funny conversation with an old Japanese bloke who was practicing his English. He wanted to talk about the water shortage in Australia (he was very worried) and also let us know that he thought whale meat was disgusting and that it was the ageing political hotshots who only wanted to keep the ...

... some lovely sculptures, such as the Guardian God of Water and the India Water Tower with its instrinsic mosaic design as well as take in the landscaped areas hiding the road as the sun glistens in the harbour like liquid diamonds. Located on Osenbashi Pier is the incredibly impressive Yokohama International Passenger Terminal which is a beautiful wooden crafted creation in itself. With sweeping wooden panel sides, a half stepped half sweeping ampitheatre in ...

... when you have soap in your eyes). We were showered and out on the road by 5:30. Just a quick run to the ATM (we had to use all of our cash to pay for the room) and we would take the train to the market. Well, the whole "grabbing cash thing" turned out to be a huge mess. We were able to find several ATMs, at 7-11's and such, but none accepted foreign ATM cards. Between the two of us, we have four ATM cards, and a half-dozen credit cards. For some ...

... with senses of judgement would know when to retract their legs and un-cross their legs should situations demand. Are Japanese adults no adults? Do they need a synthesised female voice to behave themselves? Suddenly the oft-told tale of Japan being a land of group thinking is looking like thin-veneer. I am beginning to think that it is a deeply individual society, which I think is a function and manifestation of the capitalist society, to an extent that requires ...

... trains stop running. We took the train there without much incident and wandered around a bit. Every bar seemed to crowded or loud or charged a huge cover. A few which seemed interested or authentic informed us that they were "full" when we entered, whether that was true or they didn't w ant us there is unclear. We came across Propaganda, a bar our classmate had recommended, but one inside it seemed it would take an hour to get a drink and we couldn't hear each other so we ...

... That's a trademark of Japanese trains -- and public transit as a whole. ** One Japanese TV program is now showing small dialogue "skits," alternating between Japanese and Portugese and some English. Palavro do dia (word of the day) is argumentado (disagreeing). ... *** Each guest at the Hiroshima Business Hotel, and countless establishments like this one, received a freshly washed and folded robe to wear in their room each night.

Well i guess it's winter but it feels like it's still autumn - the leaves on the trees are still changing. The Japanese take their four seasons seriously and appreciate and celebrate each one. Spring time is cherry blossom viewing time - they call this 'Hanami'. Summer is marked with a series of festivals and firework displays called 'hanabi' which literally means flowers of fire. This weekend we are going to a forest about an hour and a half outside Tokyo where the colours of the autumn ...