Hakone En Cottage

... br>While we were out Wendy had been in touch with JAL and Maria's luggage was finally on its way to Tokyo. We were told it had been unable to leave Beijing due to the bad weather brought on by a faux pas from the Beijing Weather Modification Office (although we discovered later it had inadvertently been sent to Kuala Lumpur - thanks Air China!). So, only two days late - it arrived by courier at around 11pm. Yay.

... to ask for a little bit of money and then pay the rest yourselves if you invited people to dinner. I offered many times to pay more, but was refused, saying I was the guest. The conversation at dinner was mostly English, but there was some Japanese (btw, I was so excited in an all Japanese meeting today when I understood one entire Japanese sentence!!). There was smoking, which I am really not used to, but I did notice that those that smoked at our ...

... in Ikebakuro where al ot Japanese gangs hang out and there are floors and floors along the street of gaming, pachinko and UFO Catchers (the little arm things that grab the toys), Karaoke and vending machines. Good times. We pretty much owned at UFO Catchers. The first three i put 100 yen into I got a prize. We ended up with 8 over all, ranging from about two inches in size to ten. There's most people's presents sorted! Nat and I ...

... me to change my course for the duration of my trip in Japan...yes, sistrens I am taking that challenge head on - no more attachment to comfort and fear of change! I was scheduled to go to Kamakura the next day, but I didn't' make it. On my next blog I'll tell ya where I went. How's that for suspense? (Mom, you'll be so pleased, hint, hint:) K, gotta get some sleep. Again, sorry for any weird typos, the keypads continue to challenge me here...

... so we wandered over to Omotesando, then while he ran into a bank I ran into an Urban Outfitters-esque store called WeGo. The prices were a little high, but the clothes were just...amazing! Even he looked around for awhile while we were there.. even though we were starving, it was hard to leave! I got some tights and overalls and a vest, then we crossed the street to have lunch at--I know, I know--Wendy's. But there, Wendy's is a novelty, so we were going native..? haha... nah ...

... front of you. Lots of fun, and the unlimited sake didn't hurt either. I woke up early the next morning, and I mean, 5 am early, so I could get a glimpse of the famous Tsukiji Fish Market. Holy ****. This is where the tuna, and all the other seafood, get auctioned off every morning and it is just pure organized chaos. There were 1000 lb tunas being flung everywhere and you could walk around for hours taking pictures of the crazy ...

... from the station. By the time we arrived, we had passed curfew and they gave the room away. Luckily, they were able to put us up in a hotel a 5 minute walk away. Doing the tourist thing in Roppongi Hills The next day we decided to see what the city was really made of, literally. Traveling to Roppongi Hills, we scaled Mori tower (home to Goldman Sachs and Yahoo! Japan) and were treated to a phenomenal view of ...

... nds on the list, me*ning th*t I prob*bly s*ng *bout 15 songs from the likes of The J*m, Sex Pistols, R*mones *nd the Arctic Monkeys (I remember being slightly *nnoyed when the word "something" repl*ced the word "summ*t" during When The Sun Goes Down...I definitely stuck to the Yorkshire version though!). Other highlights included * duet of This Ch*rming M*n th*t I did with * Kiwi guy, *nd *n O*sis Medley th*t l*sted *bout 8 minutes! Come 4.30*m, there were only ...

... There were many reconstructions of Japanese buildings from the Edo period. I especially liked one building that was a replica of a traditional Japanese home. The fire was being tended by museum employees, so we could go in and sit around it in the traditional manner. All the rooms had tatami flooring, and there were many rooms but no furniture, so that all the rooms could be used for various purposes ...

Can't say too much of interest happened between the 4 trains from Hiroshima to Narita airport, save for Japan having the opposite security policy of requiring any lighters to be carried onto the plane rather than checked where they might do some real damage in the baggage hold. I'm sure between that and the TSA someone has got it right but darned if I know who. I'll just close ...