Yokohama Garden Hotel

... which state is going to experience the most drastic weather changes in the near future. I left the test feeling frustrated because I felt like I knew more that my performance was going to show. Oh well! I went to the library afterwards and got a lonely planet guide on Hawaii to try and figure out just what I wanted to do in my 40 hours on Oahu. I looked into snorkeling, surfing on the North ...

... commuters (which hasn't been as hard as I thought it was going to be to be honest). Walking out of the station, it wasnt hard to find the building. It simply dominated the skyline. Plus, there was a nice undercover travellator equipped walkway leading from the station right to the tower elevator, which made getting there very fast and simple. Into the second quickest elevator on the planet, and ...

... our destination and were picked up by the pastor. He took us over to the Kogane Church where we finally got to set down our stuff in the pastors office and rest our aching bones. OK, well my bones were aching, I hadn't told Becky yet because I wanted to do what I said I would do, but when I had gone to bed, as well as when I had woken up, as well as all throughout the night, I had been having a soar throat, and a stuffy nose. In the morning I asked her for tea and hoped ...

... covered in snow. We headed to Harajuku the next morning as our Nigel wanted me to buy a Bathing Ape top for him, and we also found some good second-hand shops down Takeshita-dori. Ali splashed out on a few things in our last few days, which must be due to my influence, being something of a style guru afterall! I remember her buying a skirt in Motueka as well, when we were travelling together in New Zealand, so that just proves it... A key aim of ours ...

... in the family. He repeated Year 10 - upon his own volition. Why? His teachers decided that he should be placed in the accelerate class. But he could not cope with the rigorous and fierce competitive atmosphere in his classroom. Finishing high school he went onto a college that trains hospital secretaries. He was not interested but went there to mask his unemployment - which many people do - and to please his parents ...

... watched some of the tuna auction. There were hundreds of frozen tuna laid out in a few large warehouses for inspection by the bidders/licensed buyers. Given that the auction occurs daily, it is a wonder there is any tuna left in the ocean (I'll leave that topic for another day, as I love tuna). To cap off our stay, we grabbed some sushi for breakfast close by, and then headed off to the airport. Now off to Hanoi...

... as if we've been out the vet. What with her getting her vaccination and him getting his Rabies injection (they don't have it here but it's required!) Anyways, we had to take Himiko again yesterday as she's not peeing. Seems she has a UTI, poor wee thing, so we've got antibiotics for her. Thankfully the vet is pretty cheap over here. Consultation, drugs and pee test was about £15. Think a consultation would cost that much in ...

... my day. You don't want to hear every little mundane thing that happens to me, so I'll only tell you the interesting things, the things that made me laugh, the little realisations I've had. One such realisation I've noticed - I'm spreading my vegemite awfully thick on my toast every morning (I know Dave will be happy about this). Could this be the first appearance of the inevitable homesickness? Or could it simply be because each slice of ...

... to check it out so in we went. Inside the noise was deafening, and not really being able to figure out what the game was we left very quickly and had some ice cream crepes, which are delicious. The rest of the evening was passed in the hostel watching more Japanese T.V, which is somewhat addictive especially when I don't know what's going on, and chatting, which seems the staple nighttime activities here.

... spent more than an evening or two just chilling in the hostel watching DVDs with the other guests. We have seen School Of Rock, Shawshank Redemption and every episode of Star Wars at least 5 times each and even as I type I think someone has stuck School Of Rock on again in the background. *My gut got busted!* We were lucky enough to have timed our trip to coincide with 1 of only 6 yearly sumo tournaments. To make things even better, it was being held ...