Toyoko Inn Hiratsuka-Eki Kita-Guchi No.1

... ja sitä tässä nyt on ryystetty jo litratolkulla.

Pimeän tultua tämä Tama alkoi päästä vasta todella oikeuksiinsa ja kylläpä oli taas jouluvaloa kerrakseen! Joululaulut soi ja lämpötilakin alkoi ikävästi muistuttelemaan talvesta, että melko jouluisat fiilikset! :-)

Ei muuta kun takaisin Ikebukurolle, jossa pyörittiin sitten loppuilta ihmettelemässä perjantai-illan menoa. Jotenkin tosi tukkeessa vielä pää, eikä jaksa kauheasti vielä pistää tuulemaan ...mutta tilauksessa on! :-)

On Monday we wanted to go to see (or at least get close to) Mount Fuji. Apparently the warm sunny weather we experienced the previous day was unusual for this time of year. As a result the day was freezing, overcast and we had occasional rain. After a subway journey to Shinjuku station to figure out how to catch the train to Hakone, we bought the 2 day Odakyu Hakone Freepass and jumped on the train to Odawara ...

... because they were given plastic water bottles and could be seen perched on rocks with lunch and drink in hand. One was sprawled out on a rock and apparently thoroughly enjoying himself. As part of the whole gorilla experience, you could see your arm breadth in relation to a gorilla`s and also how big your hands or feet were in comparison. Sean and I found that our feet were pretty impressive, but our hands definitely weren`t. We also found that our ...

... Not a pervert but would sure like to see a japanese in that toilet! And the opposite situation at a sports shop...they had this awesome toilet with seat warmer and all the buttons for music, odour and flushing your butt..hahaha...id like that in Finland too. And the food, well so far I dont like th the food, well so far I dont like ramen or tempura...okay theyre easy and cheap but taste the same:grease! I also mention those blocks..they have different areas for sport goods, area for ...

... browsed the museum, seeing the amazing scale minature sets of Tokyo throughout the ages, and then went to meet up with Yurika, who was finishing work. Yurika send on the phone the night before that we will try to go to a Sumo match, which sounded brilliant. I was told by Yoshio though, that due to there being a massive sumo tournament in Osaka, and the fact that for some peculiar reason Michael Jackson had booked out the main sumo hall, no joke, we would ...

... on the floor infront of a table with a hot plate in the middle. You then cook your own food - delicious, fun and my favourite night of our stay. We were determined not to end up in any of the chain fast foods - they are all here in large numbers. Yuk! Our cultural dose was kindly received courtesy of the Tokyo Edo museum and the Tokyo International Museum - it is so different to any history or ...

Today's entry is more of a photo essay than lots of words. What follows are photos of the Tanabata Festival Sunday in Hiratsuka and a few shots from around the big city. Now I don't think I can really give a great explanation of the significance of the Tanabata Festival, so instead, read these short pieces: http://www.city.hitachi.ibaraki.jp/uplo ad/freepage/shikatsu/hyotanhp/2003july/ tanabata/tanabata.htm http://www.nihongomemo.com/nenchugyoji/ tanabata.htm

... I think this style was more popular in the 70s and 80s as typically only the oldest dudes do it. - The last run of the day is probably the most crucial, as you want to end things on a good note. I like to punctuate a good day at the onsen with the herbal bath. I really have no idea what it does, but once again, the over 65 crowd think its great (you can see it in their eyes) so in terms of looking like a champ I'd highly recommend it. - A good bucket wash when you are ...

... not as crazy. Roppongi is where a lot of foreigners hang out, so we weren't the only white people. On the way home, we were at a platform waiting to change trains and noticed a karaoke bar with a view of the platform. The people in there were having a ton of fun, which made us have fun, too. To their immense enjoyment, I even joined in with them for a round of Y - M - C - A. Anybody who worked at PIC in Saipan knows this song very, very well. Again, the train was extremely ...

... of Yokohama I live in is called Tarumachi, which is next to Tsunashima - something of a local centre. It is actually a fairly mixed residential/industrial area and is not what we Europeans would call "attractive" as the view from my balcony demonstrates: Still, it is home for the next 12 months and its location could be a lot worse. The picture shows a speeding Shinkansen bullet train which silently glides near our ...