Day 14 - The day of rest!
So I have not been sleeping well at night, so I decided to take today off.
Weather suited a day off, its cold and raining.
So today is about take-away from Family Mart + beer of course and TV.
I did manage to catch an old black and white movie that was in English.
The Japanese new programme, Every, is doing a segment on non-japanese lolitas in Harajuku. I have noticed this too. There are HEAPS! more non-japanese walking around than Japanese Lolitas now, kinda dissappointing when you go there on a sunday just to see them.
Hakuho Sho was on TV too, with Sly Stallon. Sly said they needed to do something Sumo-ish and got into a sumo stance, but Hakuho-san just picked him up like he was nothing. Sly looked a bit surprised and I had to laugh.
Showing posts with label hotel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hotel. Show all posts
Monday, September 27, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Nihon - Day 3
Harajuku (part 1)
Today it is raining!
the weather report says it should be all day and gives a typhoon warning for Okinowa.
I decided to scope out Harajuku today, see what its like before heading there on sunday for people watching. Despite the fact that this is my first time on the train system on my own, transfering between two different train company lines, it turns out its not that difficult!
I had a little issue finding the english button on the JR ticket machine, but some random (very helpful) buisness man stopped and helped me out. He even wrote my stop down in english and asked the man at the gate what number stop I was to catch the train at. Super helpful!
People are so quiet on the train, and i noticed the no phones sign. People back home would probably just ignore this. The trains are also so clean, as are the train stations. If fact while I waited for my train a cleaner scrapped up something that was stuck to the floor, then wipped the area clean again, Amazing!
Harajuku was great!
Although I was a little dissappointed Kiddy Land has now closed, I was relieved to find out from the girl at the information booth that it would have a reopening tomorrow! Even managed to score an invite to the opening...... not that i will be going, could you imagine all those kids!
I had a look in the 100 Yen shop and the tamagochi shop, where you can connect your tamaggochi to a machine and ....... well i don't know what it does exactley, but I hear this is simular to the pokemon shop too.
I saw the louise vitton, channel, issey myaki, and other big name shops. Had a good look in this gorgeous gothic lolita shop called Kithards. There was so much stuff I could have filled my wardrobe with had money been no object.
Stumbelled across Togo-Jinja, which has a beautiful moat around a ornate pagoda, like something in the final scenes of a romanitc japanese movie. I was a little lost at this point but found my way back to a place i knew, past a gorgeous chocolate shop that was painted like dripping chocolate.
I bought a few things here. I got myself a cool purple skull mug (plastic), a headband with a cool mini-hat and skull detail on it. Some miniture things, A laughing puimkin man (its halloween time in Harajuku!), a little cat thing from a gumball machine, lollilies for the kiddies back home and some things for my sister.
I don't think however that I will ever walk again! My feet are covered in blisters from these new bloody shoes, that I thought i had broken in but obviously not. If I could have done the day over I would have worn the same shoes i had been wearing the last few days again.
New shoes = Bad Idea!
The train trip back is even easier as I now know where I am going. I did miss my connecting train but in next to no time another one came, so no loss there, no wonder there are no seats in the subway, you would have to get up pretty much as soon as you had sat down.
I stocked up on food at family mart on the way back to the hotel, not intending to leave my room again today.
So now I sit in my room watching kids shows eating dinner, and drinking a beer from the vending machine in the hall, wondering what i will do tomorrow (if anything with all these blisters)
Today it is raining!
the weather report says it should be all day and gives a typhoon warning for Okinowa.
I decided to scope out Harajuku today, see what its like before heading there on sunday for people watching. Despite the fact that this is my first time on the train system on my own, transfering between two different train company lines, it turns out its not that difficult!
I had a little issue finding the english button on the JR ticket machine, but some random (very helpful) buisness man stopped and helped me out. He even wrote my stop down in english and asked the man at the gate what number stop I was to catch the train at. Super helpful!
People are so quiet on the train, and i noticed the no phones sign. People back home would probably just ignore this. The trains are also so clean, as are the train stations. If fact while I waited for my train a cleaner scrapped up something that was stuck to the floor, then wipped the area clean again, Amazing!
Harajuku was great!
Although I was a little dissappointed Kiddy Land has now closed, I was relieved to find out from the girl at the information booth that it would have a reopening tomorrow! Even managed to score an invite to the opening...... not that i will be going, could you imagine all those kids!
I had a look in the 100 Yen shop and the tamagochi shop, where you can connect your tamaggochi to a machine and ....... well i don't know what it does exactley, but I hear this is simular to the pokemon shop too.
I saw the louise vitton, channel, issey myaki, and other big name shops. Had a good look in this gorgeous gothic lolita shop called Kithards. There was so much stuff I could have filled my wardrobe with had money been no object.
Stumbelled across Togo-Jinja, which has a beautiful moat around a ornate pagoda, like something in the final scenes of a romanitc japanese movie. I was a little lost at this point but found my way back to a place i knew, past a gorgeous chocolate shop that was painted like dripping chocolate.
I bought a few things here. I got myself a cool purple skull mug (plastic), a headband with a cool mini-hat and skull detail on it. Some miniture things, A laughing puimkin man (its halloween time in Harajuku!), a little cat thing from a gumball machine, lollilies for the kiddies back home and some things for my sister.
I don't think however that I will ever walk again! My feet are covered in blisters from these new bloody shoes, that I thought i had broken in but obviously not. If I could have done the day over I would have worn the same shoes i had been wearing the last few days again.
New shoes = Bad Idea!
The train trip back is even easier as I now know where I am going. I did miss my connecting train but in next to no time another one came, so no loss there, no wonder there are no seats in the subway, you would have to get up pretty much as soon as you had sat down.
I stocked up on food at family mart on the way back to the hotel, not intending to leave my room again today.
So now I sit in my room watching kids shows eating dinner, and drinking a beer from the vending machine in the hall, wondering what i will do tomorrow (if anything with all these blisters)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Nihon - Day One
Day One: Getting There
Headed to the airport around 10.45am, for 2 hour check in.
After checking in and getting my boarding pass we sat at the cafe and ate a bit of early lunch.
I had a ham and cheese crossoint.
After a quick goodbye I went through the door and headed to customs.
After finally bording we waited close to an hour before we could take off as the airconditioning had to be repaired. The in-flight movie was Iron Man 2, which i found funny as we had just watched the first one a few days earlier on free-to-air TV.
3.20pm = EXTREMELY BORED, and getting a little nauseas.
7.5 hours on a plane is obviously too much for me to fly, starting to feel every move the plane makes.
At Narita Airport we board a shuttle to get to the main building, squeezing in to get on the first shuttle.
Then we all line up at immigration with our passports and boarding passes. I am then directed by a man at the front of the line, which desk to approach. I hand over my passport, press my fingers to the pads and look at the camera. I am then allowed to go through to the next lot of desks. The man askes me a few questions, (yes ok, I get it I pack light!) then directs me through the glass doors. From here you have to find the esculators and head down to the arrivals. Thank goodness my airport transfer is standing right at the front and is easily found (best $300 i ever spent).
From here he leads me to the parking lot and I wait in a loading zone while he collects the car then brings it round to pick me up. Its a 60-70 minute drive he tells me. He was really nice, evem offered me his mobile to call my friends here to let them know I'm here.
At the hotel I check in at the desk and head to my room in the annex building. I get a call to my room a few minutes later saying that he forgot to get my credit card at sign in. I go down to give it to him. there is some sort of problem and he askes me if there is another card, I say there is not and start to panic ( i am already so home sick and want to go home at this stage). A realtivly long phone call later and the problem seems to be fixed.
i head back to my room and wonder what to do at 10.30pm local time. I still haven't eaten but am not feeling hungry either. I decide to try to sleep.
After some very disrupted sleep I wake for day 2!
Headed to the airport around 10.45am, for 2 hour check in.
After checking in and getting my boarding pass we sat at the cafe and ate a bit of early lunch.
I had a ham and cheese crossoint.
After a quick goodbye I went through the door and headed to customs.
After finally bording we waited close to an hour before we could take off as the airconditioning had to be repaired. The in-flight movie was Iron Man 2, which i found funny as we had just watched the first one a few days earlier on free-to-air TV.
3.20pm = EXTREMELY BORED, and getting a little nauseas.
7.5 hours on a plane is obviously too much for me to fly, starting to feel every move the plane makes.
At Narita Airport we board a shuttle to get to the main building, squeezing in to get on the first shuttle.
Then we all line up at immigration with our passports and boarding passes. I am then directed by a man at the front of the line, which desk to approach. I hand over my passport, press my fingers to the pads and look at the camera. I am then allowed to go through to the next lot of desks. The man askes me a few questions, (yes ok, I get it I pack light!) then directs me through the glass doors. From here you have to find the esculators and head down to the arrivals. Thank goodness my airport transfer is standing right at the front and is easily found (best $300 i ever spent).
From here he leads me to the parking lot and I wait in a loading zone while he collects the car then brings it round to pick me up. Its a 60-70 minute drive he tells me. He was really nice, evem offered me his mobile to call my friends here to let them know I'm here.
At the hotel I check in at the desk and head to my room in the annex building. I get a call to my room a few minutes later saying that he forgot to get my credit card at sign in. I go down to give it to him. there is some sort of problem and he askes me if there is another card, I say there is not and start to panic ( i am already so home sick and want to go home at this stage). A realtivly long phone call later and the problem seems to be fixed.
i head back to my room and wonder what to do at 10.30pm local time. I still haven't eaten but am not feeling hungry either. I decide to try to sleep.
After some very disrupted sleep I wake for day 2!
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