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Post by Cosmichorror on May 4, 2009 19:02:10 GMT
Ok, I know you're all on the edge of your seats and missing sleep thinking about things like "What if his plane crashed?" or "What if there's a swine flu outbreak while he's there?", but I assure you, I'm perfectly fine. I'll be posting here as I can about highlights during my trip, I'll also be putting pictures up here that you can all look at and wish you had come to Japan too.
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Post by Cosmichorror on May 4, 2009 19:49:52 GMT
Ok, so we left Halifax International Airport (I refuse to use the name that some guy with a bad wig in some big building named it) early in the morning surounded by fog. Despite this, the flight went off without a hitch down to Newark.
EDIT: Pictures moved to folder Tokyo Day 1
These last two are interesting. I saw this cloud formation and I just had to take some pictures of it. Also all of these pictures are taken over Nova Scotia.
I didn't bother taking any pictures leaving Newark as my seat on the plane we transfered onto looked out onto the wing, giving me little to see anyway. I did watch several movies I had been wanting to see during the 13 hour flight, so that was good. We touched down in Narita at about 13:30 and got to our hostel around 17:00. I actually don't have a picture of it yet, but after we settled, we went out for a walk around the neighborhood. Here's some of the things I saw that I thought merrited taking the time to take a picture of.
EDIT: Pictures moved to folder Tokyo Day 1
We're going to spend most of today exploring Tokyo so more pictures will be forthcoming. Descriptions also.
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Post by Idris on May 4, 2009 20:56:11 GMT
cool photos Chris - especially the shop selling guitars, a barometer? & what looks like an old monitor!
: )
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Post by Cosmichorror on May 5, 2009 9:23:35 GMT
Yah, that one... I have no idea what kind of shop it is, just that they sell stuff. So, today we did another exploration of Tokyo, this time going to some of the more busy places. We started out by going to Asukasa, one of the oldest districts in Tokyo, with one of the oldest and/or largest (I can't remember) temple gate in Tokyo/Japan (again, can't remember). Most places in Japan open up around 1000, and Graham insisted we set out around 0700, so we were mostly alone on the streets which was nice, especially compared to our later journies today... From Asukasa, we took a river boat to Tokyo. This was a very nice way to travel, and great for only 140 yen, if I remember correctly. The boat was only lightly populated, but this might be due to the time as well, though we were past 1000 by then. Once in Tokyo, we made our way to the famous Tokyo Tower. [glow=red,2,300]Protip:[/glow] Do NOT go to Tokyo Tower on a national holiday unless you don't mind waiting in line for at least an hour. Instead of that we took a little stop in a very nice park right next to the tower, really. From the top we could look down on the line up for the tower, we had a spot to sit, there was a shrine nearby, and most of the sounds of the traffic were muted by the abundant greenery around us. A much better use of time I think, and free to boot. Oh yes, on our way to Tokyo Tower, we stopped in at another Temple, this one's name escapes me at the moment, but when I remember/look it up, I'll post it. After Tokyo, we decided to head for Akihabara. For those of you who don't know, Akihabara is the electronics, gaming and anime capital of, well, the world I guess. This place is heaven for gaming geeks, anime nerds and japanophiles of all kinds. Though it was quite busy and crowded there. Agian this could be because of the holiday, but I can't say for sure. One thing though, anyone here thinking of going to Japan and wanting some suggestions on places to visit, Akihabara is a definate must. Even if you don't like anime or japanese games that much, the sheer sight of Electric City is incredible. There's also several shops in Akihabara that sell small donairs, good if you're a bit hesistant about Japanese cuisine. After Akihabara, we decided to head to Shijoku, but cut our travel there short due to tiredness. One place I would have liked to have gotten to but didn't was The Ginza, possibly the most famous area in Tokyo. I'm going to try to get to this area on our way back out of Japan. Pictures... I took over 200 pictures today, so instead of making individual links to them, I just made a folder in Photobucket named Tokyo Day 2. My photobucket account is smg.photobucket.com/albums/v24/CosmicHorror/ and the password (should there be one), is magic. I'm going to update the pictures with names and some description eventually, but as of writing this, I am really tuckered out, and the images are still uploading... In the morning we take off to Sendai, home of Date Masamune, the One-Eyed Dragon. I may check in one last time before leaving Tokyo. |
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Post by Cosmichorror on May 6, 2009 9:02:43 GMT
Today I am in Sendai, at a fairly nice Ryokan, however they have problems providing internet service. I have less than 30 minutes to get this message off before I have to plunk another 100 yen into the machine, that I don`t want to do, so I`ll make this short, at least until I get to a better internet location.
Sendai is nice, smaller than Tokyo, but still big in several ways. It was the home of Date Masumune, one of the most awsome lords of Japan of all time. Well, that`s about all I can think of, pictures will also have to wait unfortunatly. See you all next time.
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Post by Cosmichorror on May 7, 2009 5:31:15 GMT
Well, I`m here in Hakodate. Unfortunatly, my laptop`s wireless isn`t working very well, so I`m using this on the provided computer. It`s pretty crappy and the internet is not great, but I`ll try to post pictures. No promises.
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Post by Cosmichorror on May 7, 2009 23:49:15 GMT
Yah, no pictures today either. I`ll try once I get to Sapporo, we`re leaving for there later today.
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Post by CosmicHorror on May 9, 2009 7:11:17 GMT
Urg these small hotels can be annoying. Lack of good internet has really caused some problems. I`m going to try to get to an internet cafe and see how that works in a few minutes, but pictures will likly have to wait until I can get to place where I can use my own computer to get on the internet. I`m in Sapporo by the way, nice city, but I still like Hakodate better.
More later.
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Post by Idris on May 9, 2009 8:09:11 GMT
looking forward to it Chris
Id
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Post by sleepingdragon on May 9, 2009 10:45:36 GMT
Sounds like you're having fun even if the net connection's been a bit rubbish. I like the uniquely shaped object - it looks sort of like a massive parsnip.
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Post by sleepingdragon on May 9, 2009 10:57:00 GMT
The Pokemon Express is funny too...the one at the front appears to be holding a pride flag so they're presumably gay pokemons.
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Post by Cosmichorror on May 10, 2009 11:39:49 GMT
Well, no luck here, but our next stop should be in a normal hotel so I should be able to use my laptop for internet.
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Post by Cosmichorror on May 11, 2009 10:50:36 GMT
quick update! I'm in Aizu-wakamatsu, I jsut uploaded half of the pictures I took since Tokyo, I'm taking off to look around the city before it's too late, I'll upload the rest when I get vback
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Post by Cosmichorror on May 11, 2009 13:24:28 GMT
Ok, finally have internet access, however, it's fairly late right now, and we have an early day tomorrow followed by a 7 hour train ride to Kanazawa. I've uploaded all of the pictures I've taken since leaving Tokyo, they are in the Trip to Japan folder loose. I'll sort them into the individual days and areas when I get a chance, as well as adding descriptions. I've also moved the first set of pictures into the Tokyo Day 1 folder.
Sleep now.
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Post by Idris on May 11, 2009 22:30:33 GMT
loads of great pictures - the cherry blossom & crows are particularly striking, & the snowy mountain floating over the town
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