Toyoko Inn Yokohama Stadium-Mae Honkan

... system measured my BMI and it turns out that I'm quite normal (sorry Jay!). Many of the exercises represented quite good work outs -- Jen, I'm going to need much more work in your yoga classes once I get back to Regina. I'm definitely in bad shape! This time spent in Yokohama with my nieces and nephew has definitely been one of the highlights of our trip so far. The kids are so ...

... polite japanese acknowledgement) and boarded the train quickly. Thru the glass I could see the two guys and bowed to acknowledge my appreciation to them and they bowed back and smiled. Bowing is not a must for us westerners, but hey when in rome.....I think it will be strange to go back to Canada now and not bow and say Aaragato Gozaimus. I say it all the time here....I mean Alll the time. I got on the rapid line to Yokohama and was there in no time. Is there ...

... accompanied by Bungo and a Vietnamese/Australian girl. There was barely anyone else around, and no matter how many times I go, I'm always impressed to see it lit up at night. We called in at Denny's on the way back to the hostel for an indulgent desert, but then I had to get some sleep as I knew that the proceeding couple of weeks would be action packed... I first met Ali in Golden Bay midway through my year in New Zealand, and we ...

... a Japanese cigarette brand, a demunitive ponytail and a camera dangling from his neck. His face is slightly tanned and scraggy. In the middle of his face sit a pair of rectangular black-rimmed glasses, yes the kind that Henry Kissinger, John Major and Robert Mugabe wear. The glasses always looked too large for his face. His built is thin and looks fragile. But I had seen him pedalling fast or ...

... from country to country and you learn a lot about the countries general culture from it: how much time and attention is seen as a good thing, how much you're spoken to, the options you get. The end result too, speaks volumes. Hideko and Mitsuko took me to a nice salon in Shinjuku. It was reassuringly busy, modern and similar to what you'd get in the west. I told Hideko I wanted a 'Japanese' haircut with layers, but keeping the length ...

... is everything here. I caught up with a few old school friends of mine. Overall a depressing experience. Especially Yuusuke and Taro who were pressured to excel from very early age still live at home and do menial work. Yuusuke lost a few of his front teeth and so much hair, and is now convalescing from pneumonia that he had contracted last month. Taro, a talented guitarist, persevered and got a degree in agricultural science, worked as a postman for ...

... by the way, is insane. I think they called ahead but for some reason it was still completely packed. We checked a few more places and I assured him some more that a traditional lunch would be fine. We were seated and without ordering (I think he ordered a set lunch of varied food for each of us) food started to arrive. There were stacked beautiful round boxes with flowers on top of them containing beautifully arranged food in delicate ...

... does not have an airport. What she had meant it was the Bus Stop for the airport shuttle. The woman sitting next to me was of little help when we got to the station. She just said she had no idea where I was staying and just ditched me once we got off of the bus. Confused I find an attendant at the information counter who showed me where my hotel was located. Fortunately it was a very short cab ride away. If I did not have my luggage, I would ...

... med moerke moebler og hoej jazz... Jeg faar en Penne Bolognese, lille portion, men det smager ganske godt. Paa et tidspunkt gaar jeg ud paa toilettet for at tisse. Og her viser det sig at vaere hjaelp at hente hvis man er besvaeret tisser - en lille hoejtaler der siger dryppelyde! Kan ikke lade vaere med at grine og kan slet ikke koncentrere mig om at tisse pga. dryppelydene... Mystisk. Desuden havde den smart roev-deo-system, hvis man skulle faa lyst til det ...

... is an amusement park - Hana-yashiki. We contemplated riding the Japanese version of the Maliboomer, but decided that we'd just wait till our next trip to California Adventure. From Asakusa we walked southwest to the district of Ueno. Getting there was the best part - about an hour of wandering through the side streets of Asakusa and Ueno. Along the way we stopped in a traditionl Japanese grocery. When I was a kid, dad had talked about ...