Ueno Terminal Hotel Taito

... I did like the beginning history, which showed the early armor and swords and talked about the unification of Japan. There was a timeline shelf that extended out from the display case and showed from the 1200s to the 1500s. We were both surprised by how small the clothing looked up until the Meiji Era. The Meiji Era people seemed to be about my height and that`s not so bad for a modernizing country. There were a lot of really nice ...

... see people in sweaters. I tried to follow one of the ads suggestions in the train - "think cool" (oddly enough it was for a credit card..) but it only helped a little bit. I'm not sure I would want to ride a packed train every day for an hour standing up. At least the train is quiet - as in silent. It is prohibited to use cell phones, but apparently texting is ok and I would say about 75% of ...

... travelling around is a pleasure not a chore (you could set your watch by the bullet trains) the language barrier is not a huge problem (the signs are all in English), and the people are the kindest, most adorable, polite nation you`ll ever meet I`m sure (random old men kept giving me free sweets...) From the snow capped mountains of Fuji to the bustling neon lit city of Tokyo... I love how they have every extreme ...

... your feet, there is a bidet (sp)function in the toilet, and they put a fresh robe on your bed every day, and green tea with a little hot plate to warm water. It's about the size of a closet, but I managed to unpack everything last night and turn the TV on. Of course the first channel I turned to was a Japanese porno! Oops! I woke up early today and went for a run through some of the naighborhood behind the hotel ...

... Next door was the Hilton, which has some fantastic ultra-advance purchase rates so we popped on over there. It was much nicer than the Sheraton and even had a Starbucks in the lobby area. The Hilton was nicely furnished, stylish and not dull, tired and completely neutral like the Sheraton. I'd choose this if I wanted a normal hotel but I guess in that instance I would prefer to stay in Tokyo itself rather than out at the resort. Upon our return to the coin laundry the ...

... was borrowing money from Hideko and Subacko and it was bothering me so I lent him money myself. Its something people always tell you you shouldn't do, but in a year, I've voluntarily offered one other person money when Abbey National's overseas department broke down and wouldn't give any customers money, and she repaid it back. I would like someone else to do that for me, so I lent him a small sum that would see him by. He repaid it later, to ...

While it's actually only been 3 hours since I last wrote, it's now the next day in the mid-afternoon. Isn't modern technology fabulous? I'm going to try and pretend that it's not 11:30 p.m. Boise time. Fortunately I slept a lot of the day (or was that yesterday?). Update on the deported guy, he's evidently going to be on my flight to Bangkok also. I heard the woman escorting him say they'd return his passport and boarding pass when he got on the plane. It sounds like he's having a bad day!

Oedo Onsen Monogatari, Japan The last few days have been non-stop go go go. So today Mel and I took it eeeeeeasy. Slept in. Brushed my teeth with bottled water at the kitchen sink. Still no electricity or water. Ahh, the life of a traveller :0) Had a delicious Japanese lunch. (Food here is soooo good). After many ...

... was really cosy, especially with the under floor heating keeping the place warm. About 5 minutes walk from the Ryokan is the area Asakusa, with its famous 7th century shrine Senso-Ji. You enter through the Kaminari-mon (thunder gate) and into a double row of shopping markets on Nakamise-dori. The shrine holds a golden statue of the goddess Kannon. It is pretty tranquil here, as it is ...

... to an MD of Kareoki Tacchan and I made.. makes me feel sad.. this is gonna maybe my most precious thing.. My last Kara will be Sat I think.. gonna take the cam then too just set it up in a corner and let it go.. forget it's there aand make some good memories.. I know it's gonna make me laugh and make me cry.. I'm going to Anatolia for the last time tonight.. so I have my cam with me to video my peachpit tonight.. and the I think I the 2 friends I ...