Posted by Chris on Sep 4, 2007 in
Japan,
Uncategorized Learning from the previous nights mistake, I wore earplugs to bed last night and slept like a baby and I was up at the crack of dawn (well, 5.45am…) to get myself ready to go to the famous Tsukiji Fish Market. I managed to take a wrong turn from the hostel, and get hopelessly lost. Eventually got my bearings and I was miles off course…but fortunatley I was close to a subway station, so all was well again. I noticed a street aerobics class going on, with all the old folk from the area doing steps etc in the street…quite funny, especially considering the time! The Japanese are VERY early risers. The subway this morning was the quietest yet; in fact, most people were asleep. The train was packed with black and navy blue, and there’s me, in 3/4 shorts and a bright green t-shirt, seemlessly blending in to my surroundings.
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Tags: Japan
Posted by Chris on Sep 3, 2007 in
Asia,
Japan Despite my initial plans to go to the fish market today, I was a bit too tired so decided to leave it until tomorrow. Dorm was a bit noisy so i’ve learned a valuable lesson in travelling: always have earplugs!
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Tags: Japan
Posted by Chris on Sep 2, 2007 in
Japan So the time had came for me to head off on my own. First stop..Tokyo! I navigated my way to Sannomiya station, and easily exchanged my Japan Rail Pass Exchange Order for a real rail pass! This gives me unlimited travel on ALL Japan Rail trains for 2 weeks – that includes the Shinkansen (bullet train).
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Tags: Japan, Tokyo
Posted by Chris on Aug 19, 2007 in
Japan So I’ve been here almost a week now and it’s been a busy few days! Got over the initial woes of not having a clue what was going on and now I’m just getting on with things. I’ve adapted to the local bus and train services which are really easy to use so getting around by myself when I need to isn’t an issue. I’ve also got used to the whole bowing thing. Despite being told and reading about fixated stares from the locals, or the “gaijin stare” (gaijin meaning literally “outside people” in Japanese), I’ve yet to actually notice (with the exception of one old chap in a restaurant the other day, who barely broke his stare at us for the entire duration of his meal…having said that there aren’t many foreigners in this area!) – everybody just seems to get on with their own business. This is especially the case on trains where there is almost absolute silence, and locals have an uncanny ability to fall asleep and then awake exactly at their stop and then walk off. I had heard about this but as they say, seeing is believing. I’ve seen many people wake up miles after their stop after falling asleep on the Metro (thats the local train service back home).
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Tags: Japan
Posted by Chris on Aug 14, 2007 in
Japan Well I made it – the Land of the Rising Sun. And what a journey! I set off on time from Manchester and 23 hours later I arrived at my final destination – my friends flat in Akashi (he’s in Japan teaching English for the year!). 23 hours sounds pretty bad….but to be honest, it wasn’t – it was a breeze. The first flight to Dubai was great, grub was really nice and took full advantage of the Emirates award winning hospitality…notably the drinks trolley. Needless to say I was totally chilled out, seat back, legs stretched, watching films for the rest of the flight. No turbulence either, which is always a bonus.
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Posted by Chris on Aug 11, 2007 in
Japan Well here I am in Manchester, all systems go! This time tomorrow I will be in the air and over half way to Dubai International Airport. I did say that next time you would hear from me I would be in Japan…but I had to make an entry given the opportunity!
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Posted by Chris on Aug 1, 2007 in
Japan Hello people! So this is the first entry to the blog (and my first blog for that matter)…just to get the ball rolling…
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