Resume in english / Résumé en anglais by Seb (Map)
On 2006-03-02 21:54:00
After months, I finally translated the resume in english. Sorry for the waiting time. It might not sound so good but be cool to me, this is not my mother tongue :p
Resume
Resume in french / Résumé en français by Seb (Map)
On 2005-11-21 18:29:00
Voilà le premier résumé de notre voyage, il est en français.
Here is the first resume of our trip, it is in french.
Résumé
Edmunds Final Thought by Scott (Map)
On 2005-11-12 03:11:00
"And now, the time is near, its time to face the final curtain". Too much Karaoke, sorry. So we come to the end of our trip. Back to Tokyo tonight, and fly off from Narita in the morning. Trying to put everything into perspective that we've seen and done these past two weeks is quite difficult. We've seen many sides of Japan. Big, buzzing, noisy cities. Quiet, reflective, historic old temples and gardens. Pachinko. Autumn leaves. We've learnt and added many new Japanese words in our vocabulary. Otaku (geek). Cos-play. Purikura (Print-club). Shabu Shabu. Shoture. But the word we've used the most is definately Oishii - Yummy. It seems to have been a culinary adventure as much as anything else. We have to thanks and say goodbye to all of our friends out here who have hosted and entertained us so kindly while we were here: the Miyasaka family, Yuki, Vishwa and Eiko and Yuko, Niaomi, Tom and his mother. Its really sad to go and say goodbye. Thank you so much for everything. Better go and pack now. So goodbye then. Take care of yourselves, and each other...
Kobe beef and Himeji castle by Seb (Map)
On 2005-11-11 01:48:00
After our karaoke experience two days ago, we needed a more quiet day to recover. We decided to wake up late and go to Kobe for lunch. Kobe beef is very famous. We had lunch in some kind of steack house which turned out, after getting in, into a very nice restaurant where a chef cooked beef, tofu, and vegetables on our own table. The atmosphere was great and the food delicious. We then moved to Himeji which doesn't have much to see except his castle which is the biggest of Japan. Liked the castle and the fact that there weren't so many tourists when we got out in the surrounding park as in Kyoto temples. As we left Naomi's flat in the morning, we moved to Tom's familly house in Sakai and met his mother. We had a nice drinking evening with her and went to bed for a very good sleep. Today is only the second day the weather doesn't look so good, we've been very lucky on that point. We are going to visit a bit of Nara city and Osaka. Cya.
Karaoke by Blues brothers (Map)
On 2005-11-09 18:27:00
Just got baxk from Karaoke. Still drunk. Olivia Newton John. American Pie. Shaggy. Baby's got back. Abba megamix. Elvis-a-go-go. Frankie. Falco. Sex Pistols. Monkey Magic. The horror. The horror...
Foot update. by Scott (Map)
On 2005-11-09 05:02:00
So the Autumn leaves are late this year, but still some of the maples are changing to lovely shades of red and bright yellow. Similarly my foot is changing in hue from the deep purple and reds, to lighter shades of yellow and brown. Maybe we can dancing again soon...
Reborn in Kyoto by 3-Gourmands (Map)
On 2005-11-08 16:45:00
Rather civilised day today visiting the many temples and gardens in Kyoto. Caught fleeting glimpses of Geisha in the tiny backstreets. Autumn leaves and the smell of incense filling the air. Theres something pretty magical about the place. Just a shame about the heaving crowds in the zen-gardens, and being pestered by random helicopters. We very sadly had to say goodbye to Vishwa and Eiko. Tom very kindly took us to an amazing restaurant in a Meiji era house that used to belong to a former prime-minister. Ate raw cod-testicles. Took part in a buddist rebirthing ceremony. Its been quite a day. Gotta make up for all the culture tomorrow with alcohol and Karaoke. After being reborn, Scott can drink Shochu again. Could get messy...
Eating the uterus of a pig by 3 Gaijin (Map)
On 2005-11-07 17:59:00
So our first experience arriving in Osaka is eating Korean style BBQ fallopian tubes. We've eaten some wierd things already on our trip (raw cow liver, fugu, chicken cartilage, colon, intestine stew, sweet-potato ice-cream, and all manner of things fishy) but this was about as far as we can go. It was sad to leave Hiroshima, but Eiko and Vishwa are coming with us to Kyoto tomorrow, and its great to meet Tom and Niaomi. Enjoying the Suntory time with them. Goodnight for now...
Electronics-a-go-go by Scotty (Map)
On 2005-11-06 10:33:00
Playing with all the crazy gizmos in an electronics shop in Hiroshima. Washlets. Massaging chairs. Rodeo-a-sisor. Wierd.
We are lost our Mind... Thanks Yuki! by Pierre (Map)
On 2005-11-06 06:00:00
Seb had speak previously about a crazy night in Tokyo... We had meet Yuki. She was leaving in Dole (France) for few years, and now she is came back to Japon. As a good "doloise" she bring us in a very cheap restorant with free drinks for Two Hours.... I waas very pleased to see her, and I thinks all of us too... The results: we had missed the last train to came back home!!! We were almost "lost in Tokyo"!!! We have finaly passed front of all the japoneses waiting a cab and went back... euh... in body but not in mind!
So now we are in hiroshima, quite an historic city! Tomorrow, the next step is: Osaka...
Fugu by Scotty (Map)
On 2005-11-06 05:49:00
They`re not really clued up about Western style binge-drinking here. Loads of places do really cheap `all you can drink in 2hr` offers, and we've been over-indulgeing somewhat. Mixing too much Sake-Suntory-beer and Shotchu (Japanese grain spirit). Still recovering from the really cheap Fugu restaurant, 3300 yen with all you can drink Shotchu menu... I still can't walk properly due to a Fugu-Shotchu-Dancing accident. I blame the Fugu...
Peacefull Hiroshima by Seb (Map)
On 2005-11-06 05:43:00
Reached Hiroshima after a last crazy night in Tokyo. Saw the A-Bomb dome on the first day as well as the peace museum. The whole area looks so peacefull (especially when you're coming from noisy tokyo). Museum was very depressing so we had to have many beers after visiting it. Maybe a too many for Scotty (see following news). Yesterday we went to Miyajima, an island full of temples and with a very nice shrine on the water. One of the top 3 spots in Japan. Was very nice, it feels refreshing to be away from big cities for some time.
Bolton by Scotty (Map)
On 2005-11-03 03:26:00
Everyone here seems to really like Bolton according to my not very scientific poll last night (3 people who could speak English on the last-train past Yokohama last night when we were drunk).
Day 4 Update by The 3 Samurai (Map)
On 2005-11-02 10:46:00
Live update from a trendy bar in Harajuku. Yaffa cafe has broadband, comfy seats, and Lost in Translation on the big screen. Seb said we'd see some Manga Cos-play characters this afternoon, but we saw three cafe's and the only characters they had were only dressed as French maids. Soaking up the ambience in Harajuku. Watching the fasion victims, then off Shinjuku again for drinks. Pretty much done Tokyo now, sans problem. Off to pastures new and Hiroshima demain...
Some (real) news by Seb (Map)
On 2005-11-02 04:34:00
Ok after Scott, VERY bried description of our trip so far, we thought we would write a bit more about what we did. On the first day we were pretty tired but saw Zushi see front and had our first traditionnal japanese lunch with our hosts, the miyasaka familly. On Monday we went to Kamakura, where we saw a couple of temples and a shrine in a city that used to be the capital of japan hundreds of years ago. We also went to Tokyo for a visit of Akihabara, the electric town and to shinjuku which is basically the red lights district with all the buildings you see on tv or movies. Yesterday we got up early and went to the fish market which is the biggest of the world. Very impressing. We then walked a bit around town and ended up in Yokohama`s china town where we had dinner before coming back to Zushi. Today the plan is the imperial palace`s gardens then maybe a cosplay cafe where waitresses are dressed as manga characters hehe. Then we`ll meet Yuki, a friend of Pierre for a drinking evening in Shinjuku.
Talk to you guys later !
Quick update by Scotty (Map)
On 2005-11-01 16:35:00
So arrived safely. Quick update. Problems with Japanese keyboards
Day 1 - didn`t manage any sleep despite being knackered from Paris. Dazed. Confused. Not really know where we are...
Day 2 - Sleep 12hrs. See lots of wierd stuff. Eat lots of wierd stuff. Less tired. Still not got a clue whats really going on. Kamakura. Bright lights of Shinjuku and Akiabara.
Day 3 - Got up early for Tsukiji fish-market. Not sleep much. Tired. Still dazed and confused. Eating unidentifiable fish. Loving it. More later...
Sudoku by Seb (Map)
On 2005-10-29 12:05:00
Took us 4 hours to finish the sudoku 'Moderate level' of the Daily Telegraph. I think we suck at it. We just met Scott and are going to go for duty free stuff and a couple of beers before we head to the gate. After the traditionnal breakfast, i feel like taking a nap, hopefully we'll be soon on the plane, ready to take a long 8 hours nap. Talk to you guys in Tokyo !!!
Stuck in Heathrow by Pierre (Map)
On 2005-10-29 12:02:00
Lausanne is yet far from here!!! I had leaved switzerland yesterday a t 4PM and I had Passed this evening with old Lyonnais friends... I meet Seb in His flat at midnight, and We decided to sleep less that possible... 3h!
Quite rude to wakeup... as usual!
Now we are in Heathrow since 8AM... English breakfast... we are in england!
We just have meet Scott, and now, It's start for Fun!
I made it from Paris... by Scott (Map)
On 2005-10-29 11:57:00
Survived Paris, and my dodgy passport got me back to Londres. Not waiting for Narita flight. Went dancing in Guignole Pirate with Marine and her colocs last night till ~1ish. Should be able to sleep on the flight hopefully. Next stop Tokyo...
T minus one week and counting by Scotty (Map)
On 2005-10-23 12:30:00
The story so far...
Less than one week to go. So the three friends - two ex- and one current IARC employees decide to go on a Japan tour, visiting our former IARC friends in Japan. My first stop will be to visit Marine, another ex-IARC friend/embassy in Paris. For some strange reason its been cheaper for me to fly Paris-London-Tokyo rather than London-Tokyo. We then touch down in Tokyo, and are kindly hosted by the Miyasaka family. I've known them since I was 4-years old. Unfortunately my old school-friend Momo is still in London, but Hiro, Maya and Yo have kindly offered to look after us on the first stage of the trip. They live in Kamakura prefecture in Greater-Tokyo, very close to the historic town of Kamakura, and right by the sea. Not long now...
First stop will be Tokyo, facts by Seb (Map)
On 2005-10-21 13:32:00
As we are leaving in a week now, I thought I'd put some facts I found on the web about about our first stop : Tokyo.
Tokyo (literally "eastern capital"), is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu (The central and largest of the four main islands of Japan; between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean; regarded as the Japanese mainland). It is counted as one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and commonly referred to as the capital of Japan with the government of Japan and the Emperor of Japan residing in Chiyoda Ward. With a population of over 12 million, or about 10 percent of Japan's population, it is by far the country's most populous and most densely populated prefecture.
Although Tokyo is considered one of the major cities of the world, it is technically not a city. There is no city named "Tokyo." Tokyo is actually designated as a "metropolis" ( -to), similar to a prefecture ( -ken), consisting of 23 special wards ( -ku), 26 cities ( -shi), 5 towns ( -cho or machi), and 8 villages ( -son or mura) each having a local government. It includes outlying islands in the Pacific Ocean as far as over 1,000 km south in the subtropics. Tokyo itself is headed by a publicly-elected governor (not mayor).
Over 8 million live within the 23 self-governing, special wards comprising "central Tokyo" which defines Tokyo for most people. The daytime population swells by over 2.5 million with workers and students commuting from neighboring prefectures. The total population of the three central wards of Chiyoda, Chuo, and Minato is less than 300,000 at night, but balloons to over 2 million during the day.
Being the nation's center of politics, business, finance, education, mass media, and pop culture, Tokyo has the country's highest concentration of corporate headquarters, financial institutions, universities and colleges, museums, theaters, and shopping and entertainment establishments. It boasts a highly developed public transportation system with numerous train and subway lines, buses, and a convenient airport at Haneda with more runways than Narita International Airport.
This extreme concentration is both a boon and bane, prompting an ongoing debate over moving the nation's capital to another region. There is also a great fear of a catastrophic earthquake striking Tokyo, which may in effect cripple the entire nation. Nevertheless, Tokyo continues to attract people from all over Japan and many countries, making a substantial portion of the population non-native to Tokyo and making it a great place to meet people from all over the country and the world.
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/Reference.htm
Japan trip blog by Seb (Map)
On 2005-10-07 10:36:00
Welcome on our trip blog to Japan. If you're here, you probably know one of us and want to read about our adventures in Japan. We are leaving on the 29th of October and coming back on the 13th of November. The map attached to his news (see right to the title) is our planned itineray or at least the way we should take as we don't know where we are going to stop on the way. Hope you enjoy following us :)