Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Previously on Japan....
OK, so my blogs so far have been mostly rants about various things... but as a lot of you will know, that`s what I tend to do in person, so I figured..... Why change. Anyway, I thought I`d put a note up to tell you where we have actually been so far, and where we are planning to go.
Please note that as I have been meaning to publish this post for so long, we have now actually done, and seen, much more than is written here. Unfortunately I can`t be bothered writing that bit up yet, so this will have to do.
First up was Osaka - Japan whitey rating of 5
(this is a rating of the number of non Japanese tourists spotted, which is a direct relation to just how much of a tourist destination it is. It`s called the Japan whitey rating because Japan has much less whiteys than other places, Thailand for instance has loads... you can even buy pretentious whitey bashing sticks which are used for smack pretentious white vest and fisherman trouser wearing white youths with.... can`t really, but it would be good. On the other hand Bolivia is like the whitey Sahara... everywhere you look there are Aymara faces and bowler hats. So the Japan Whitey rating is a comparison of whitey concentrations in Japan only. Please note that it`s not just white tourists that are counted, but any non Japanese tourists... the term being developed by a term used for the new arrivals that appear half way through a 2 week holiday abroad. It was the time in the holiday that my mum used to relish because she ceased to be in the "whitest people there" group, after a week of tanning).
With the amount of time we spent there (a total of 10 nights I think- though we did use it as a base for going to other places on day trips) it began to feel very comfortable. It`s pretty much a city for Japanese people. There`s not very many actually touristy sights, but I still liked it. As a first step into Japan it did bring up some surprises and it was dirtier than expected (but a bit of grime never hurt) but that`s what you get in a big city I suppose.
Nara - Japan Whitey rating 8.
We didn`t actually stay in Nara, but as it looks like the kind of place where everything closes at about 9pm (and that seems to be a common thing over here), but did go there as day trips from Osaka for a couple of days. It`s a nice place with parkland and old temples and deer wandering around everywhere. It does seem to be a tourist town though which seems to rule it out as a base for any other kinds of business (though that said, there does seem to be quite a few universities).
Kyoto - Japan Whitey rating 9.5.
As one of the big place you are told to see while you`re in Japan I was expecting it to be a big tourist city, and it does have loads of tourists (both foreign and domestic.... that`s something else that was unexpected... if you thought that you`d seen a lot of Japanese tourists somewhere in the world being lead around by a guide, forget it. If you really want to see a lot of Japanese tourists, come to Japan. They may like to travel the world and see foreign wonders, but it seems that first they want to see everything that there own country has to offer), however even though there are plenty of tourists buzzing around Gion ( the old geisha area) and the many temples, it is still a working city with regular Japanese people going around their business. Compared to Osaka it seemed a lot more snobby and upper class. It may have just been that we were hanging around the richer areas (shopping districts, Gion etc.) but the people in Osaka just seemed less full of themselves ( a bit like walking around Meadowhall and then round the Trafford centre.... although Osaka wasn`t full of Dobbers like meadowhall, when we got to Kyoto it felt like people were more into showing off how much money they had - just like the g-star jeans wearing muppets that wander round the Trafford Centre with their big "diamond" ear studs in). Apart from that, the temples were impressive and Gion is cool even if it does feel like it has been rebuilt as a bit of a "Old Japan" theme park.
Himeji - Japan whitey rating 5 (we didn`t see that many whiteys, but as it was raining we didn`t see that many Japanese people either so the whitey concentration was increased.... and it gets some extra points for the random goth geordies that were spotted (and heard by Anna to come out with the classic line, cue geordie accent "the problem with the Chili peppers is all the songs sound the same!"...spot on).
We only went to Himeji to see the castle, and we did. It was very impressive, but was let down a bit by the weather. The random old women that served us at the foodcourt in the train station were excellent too.
Please note that as I have been meaning to publish this post for so long, we have now actually done, and seen, much more than is written here. Unfortunately I can`t be bothered writing that bit up yet, so this will have to do.
First up was Osaka - Japan whitey rating of 5
(this is a rating of the number of non Japanese tourists spotted, which is a direct relation to just how much of a tourist destination it is. It`s called the Japan whitey rating because Japan has much less whiteys than other places, Thailand for instance has loads... you can even buy pretentious whitey bashing sticks which are used for smack pretentious white vest and fisherman trouser wearing white youths with.... can`t really, but it would be good. On the other hand Bolivia is like the whitey Sahara... everywhere you look there are Aymara faces and bowler hats. So the Japan Whitey rating is a comparison of whitey concentrations in Japan only. Please note that it`s not just white tourists that are counted, but any non Japanese tourists... the term being developed by a term used for the new arrivals that appear half way through a 2 week holiday abroad. It was the time in the holiday that my mum used to relish because she ceased to be in the "whitest people there" group, after a week of tanning).
With the amount of time we spent there (a total of 10 nights I think- though we did use it as a base for going to other places on day trips) it began to feel very comfortable. It`s pretty much a city for Japanese people. There`s not very many actually touristy sights, but I still liked it. As a first step into Japan it did bring up some surprises and it was dirtier than expected (but a bit of grime never hurt) but that`s what you get in a big city I suppose.
Nara - Japan Whitey rating 8.
We didn`t actually stay in Nara, but as it looks like the kind of place where everything closes at about 9pm (and that seems to be a common thing over here), but did go there as day trips from Osaka for a couple of days. It`s a nice place with parkland and old temples and deer wandering around everywhere. It does seem to be a tourist town though which seems to rule it out as a base for any other kinds of business (though that said, there does seem to be quite a few universities).
Kyoto - Japan Whitey rating 9.5.
As one of the big place you are told to see while you`re in Japan I was expecting it to be a big tourist city, and it does have loads of tourists (both foreign and domestic.... that`s something else that was unexpected... if you thought that you`d seen a lot of Japanese tourists somewhere in the world being lead around by a guide, forget it. If you really want to see a lot of Japanese tourists, come to Japan. They may like to travel the world and see foreign wonders, but it seems that first they want to see everything that there own country has to offer), however even though there are plenty of tourists buzzing around Gion ( the old geisha area) and the many temples, it is still a working city with regular Japanese people going around their business. Compared to Osaka it seemed a lot more snobby and upper class. It may have just been that we were hanging around the richer areas (shopping districts, Gion etc.) but the people in Osaka just seemed less full of themselves ( a bit like walking around Meadowhall and then round the Trafford centre.... although Osaka wasn`t full of Dobbers like meadowhall, when we got to Kyoto it felt like people were more into showing off how much money they had - just like the g-star jeans wearing muppets that wander round the Trafford Centre with their big "diamond" ear studs in). Apart from that, the temples were impressive and Gion is cool even if it does feel like it has been rebuilt as a bit of a "Old Japan" theme park.
Himeji - Japan whitey rating 5 (we didn`t see that many whiteys, but as it was raining we didn`t see that many Japanese people either so the whitey concentration was increased.... and it gets some extra points for the random goth geordies that were spotted (and heard by Anna to come out with the classic line, cue geordie accent "the problem with the Chili peppers is all the songs sound the same!"...spot on).
We only went to Himeji to see the castle, and we did. It was very impressive, but was let down a bit by the weather. The random old women that served us at the foodcourt in the train station were excellent too.
Nagasaki - Japan whitey rating 4.
As you`d expect, Nagasaki isn`t the most upbeat place to visit. Don`t get me wrong, the city is alright and has all the things all the other cities have (pedestrian shopping streets, slightly sleazy entertainment district, business area, Mr Donut), but let`s face it, when you are going to a city primarily to visit things to do with the dropping of the largest atomic bomb ever to be used against humanity... it isn`t going to be a barrel of laughs. However, the sun was sunshining and if you ignore the plaques scattered around the hypocentre area that tell you about the destruction caused, it`s actually quite an upbeat place. there are loads of memorials and statues donated by other countries in remembrance, and a lot of the areas immediately around the hypocentre have been made into parkland where the memorials are held. The museum was fairly grim, with details of the bomb and items found in the wreckage etc. but as has happened when I`ve visited Auchwitz and the Killing Fields (and I don`t want to sound heartless with this comment, but it`s the truth), it`s hard to find them truly depressing when the sun is shining and tour groups are circulating around the place. It is just unimaginable what happened in these places.
This is the point in the blog when Jack Bauer would pull around the corner in his SUV, open the door and start shooting, the clock would appear and the the beeps would sound leaving another week to find out what happened next. Well this isn`t 24 and it will probably take longer than a week for me to write up more... but then there is always Anna`s blog, which is proabably much more up to date than mine.
Inabit
Monday, 16 July 2007
Fortunately it`s neither raining men or cats & dogs.... otherwise the streets would be messy.
It has been rain, rain, rain for days now and frankly I`m not amused. As I said, fortunately it`s not raining men or cats & dogs because let`s face it, from that height, they wouldn`t stand a chance... and any that did survive would need to be put down just to stop their suffering.
It does seem though that the rain may be reaching an end. It`s been light and showery for days, but now it`s chucking it down, so hopfully that will get rid of it all for a while. I know what all you geography students and smart arses are saying out there (Stockey, Fraser, Matt) ...
"It`s a water CYCLE Ant, it doesn`t end, it keeps on going... you know, evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface water and ground water."
Well you know what I say to you....
"Shut it! If I want to think that the rain is going to stop, let me! I got really excited yesterday when I saw a patch of blue sky and I`m not giving up hope yet. I didn`t pay all this money to come over here to put up with rain. Yes, again for those smart alecs.... I realise that it`s the rainy season, but come on... give me some hope."
On a brighter note, it seems that the typhoon has passed us by and that the earthquake was too far north for us to feel (although it would have been quite interesting to experience an earthquake... as long as there was no chance of me dying).
And on a totally different note.... the list of songs that I find myself randomly sing has slowed in it`s growth. It goes like this;
the first song to arise was due to the fact that all the toilets and urinals are made by a company called TOTO, hence, everytime I go to the loo I find myself singing "Hold The Line".
Next came the "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (though it`s just the age of aquarius bit I get in my head) by The Fifth Dimension and as featured in the musical "Hair", This is due to the prevalence of a soft drink called "Aquarius" in the vending machines.
Third was due to the common lunch time food over here that is the Bento box. This is a plastic box that is sectioned into different areas for different food. There are shops where you can buy them hot, or you can get them from the fridge in convenience stores and supermarkets to microwave (there is usually a microwave to use there). You can get all sorts of stuff in them, but I had one that contained a fried, breadcrumbed piece of chicken, rice, japanese pickles (of course), potato salad and possibly some other bits. I ate until I was full but after I had digested it turned out that my lunch had left something behind..... the irrepressible desire to sing "bento, bento box" to the tune of "Macho Man" by the Village People". It goes like this,
"Bento, bento box. I want to eat a bento box". This happens everytime I see a bento box shop and I`m not sure how long Anna can last before she snaps and finally kills me.
Fortunately the most recent song I have found myself singing is the less embarrassing "If you got the money" by Jamie T. I have no idea why I keep singing it, but as it always seems to happen in the subway I think it might be because he has a track called "Northern Line", but as I don`t know the lyrics to that one my brain automatically switches to "If You Got The Money". Maybe if I think about "Going Underground" by the Jam for long enough now I that will automatically jump into my head next time..... Here goes.
Inabit.
It does seem though that the rain may be reaching an end. It`s been light and showery for days, but now it`s chucking it down, so hopfully that will get rid of it all for a while. I know what all you geography students and smart arses are saying out there (Stockey, Fraser, Matt) ...
"It`s a water CYCLE Ant, it doesn`t end, it keeps on going... you know, evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface water and ground water."
Well you know what I say to you....
"Shut it! If I want to think that the rain is going to stop, let me! I got really excited yesterday when I saw a patch of blue sky and I`m not giving up hope yet. I didn`t pay all this money to come over here to put up with rain. Yes, again for those smart alecs.... I realise that it`s the rainy season, but come on... give me some hope."
On a brighter note, it seems that the typhoon has passed us by and that the earthquake was too far north for us to feel (although it would have been quite interesting to experience an earthquake... as long as there was no chance of me dying).
And on a totally different note.... the list of songs that I find myself randomly sing has slowed in it`s growth. It goes like this;
the first song to arise was due to the fact that all the toilets and urinals are made by a company called TOTO, hence, everytime I go to the loo I find myself singing "Hold The Line".
Next came the "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (though it`s just the age of aquarius bit I get in my head) by The Fifth Dimension and as featured in the musical "Hair", This is due to the prevalence of a soft drink called "Aquarius" in the vending machines.
Third was due to the common lunch time food over here that is the Bento box. This is a plastic box that is sectioned into different areas for different food. There are shops where you can buy them hot, or you can get them from the fridge in convenience stores and supermarkets to microwave (there is usually a microwave to use there). You can get all sorts of stuff in them, but I had one that contained a fried, breadcrumbed piece of chicken, rice, japanese pickles (of course), potato salad and possibly some other bits. I ate until I was full but after I had digested it turned out that my lunch had left something behind..... the irrepressible desire to sing "bento, bento box" to the tune of "Macho Man" by the Village People". It goes like this,
"Bento, bento box. I want to eat a bento box". This happens everytime I see a bento box shop and I`m not sure how long Anna can last before she snaps and finally kills me.
Fortunately the most recent song I have found myself singing is the less embarrassing "If you got the money" by Jamie T. I have no idea why I keep singing it, but as it always seems to happen in the subway I think it might be because he has a track called "Northern Line", but as I don`t know the lyrics to that one my brain automatically switches to "If You Got The Money". Maybe if I think about "Going Underground" by the Jam for long enough now I that will automatically jump into my head next time..... Here goes.
Inabit.
Friday, 13 July 2007
First batch of pictures are now on facebook.
For anyone interested, I have just sat in front of the computer for ages uploading pictures onto facebook so that all you crazy kids out there can see what we`ve been up to.
If you aren`t sign up to facebook you better bite the bullet and do so, otherwise you can`t see them. You`ll need to be one of my friends too....
Here`s a little fact for you..
For some reason when a shop or restaurant is about to close over here, they play an instrumental version of Auld Lang Syne over over the music system.... Weird.
Inabit.
If you aren`t sign up to facebook you better bite the bullet and do so, otherwise you can`t see them. You`ll need to be one of my friends too....
Here`s a little fact for you..
For some reason when a shop or restaurant is about to close over here, they play an instrumental version of Auld Lang Syne over over the music system.... Weird.
Inabit.
Ohhh Baby I like it Raw.. yeah baby I like it raw...
... To quote the ever lovable Old Dirty B*st*rd, I do indeed like it raw.... unless, I have now discovered, the aforementioned item is in fact Octopus.
RAW OCTOPUS IS NOT GOOD!
As a lot of you will know, I will eat close to anything.... My philosophy is that if it wont kill me or make me ill then I`ll give it a go. Goats testicle.. tick. Kanga (that`s kangaroo) bangers.. tick. Guinea pig.. tick. It is also unusual that I will ever actually despise something. Yeah, guinea pig was a bit sparse on the meat front, and the presentation could have been better, but it tasted alright.... and goat`s testicle on a stick, while it sounds gross, just tasted like meat... but I now have a new item to add to the very shortlist..... Raw Octopus joins snake skin on the "stuff I never plan on eating again list".
If there are any more items to be added I will keep you informed... but that doesn`t happen very often... and for the record cooked octopus has been tried and tested and is fine... quite good even.
Later.
RAW OCTOPUS IS NOT GOOD!
As a lot of you will know, I will eat close to anything.... My philosophy is that if it wont kill me or make me ill then I`ll give it a go. Goats testicle.. tick. Kanga (that`s kangaroo) bangers.. tick. Guinea pig.. tick. It is also unusual that I will ever actually despise something. Yeah, guinea pig was a bit sparse on the meat front, and the presentation could have been better, but it tasted alright.... and goat`s testicle on a stick, while it sounds gross, just tasted like meat... but I now have a new item to add to the very shortlist..... Raw Octopus joins snake skin on the "stuff I never plan on eating again list".
If there are any more items to be added I will keep you informed... but that doesn`t happen very often... and for the record cooked octopus has been tried and tested and is fine... quite good even.
Later.
Monday, 9 July 2007
The story so far....
OK, so as some of you may have learned, me and Anna have come, once again to the far reaches of Asia to see what is going on in the Orient. The first stop on our 20 week trip is Japan and having now been here a week, we have finally found an internet connection that works, has a seat next to it and is cheap (ish). I figured I could use this blog to tell you all what we've been up to, but as a lot of you will either a) not care, or b) have read (or will be reading) Anna's, I think I'lll mostly be muttering on about things I've noticed. I did make a list of things to write about, but that is back at the hostel, so I'll have to wing it.... here goes.
My first impressions of Japan have some expectations realised and there are some surprises. AsI expected there are (or in Osaka at least) a lot of lights. Street signs, shop signs, neon, advertising.... everywhere seems lit up, but while I expected something like the clean streets & buildings of Singapore, it seems grungier. For a start around where our hotel was in Osaka there where loads of homeless people. I don't know why I didn't expect it because I know that everywhere has them, but I just hadn't thought about it. I expect it was the area that we were in, but I haven't seen the same amount of homeless people in a long time... I'm talking everyother shop doorway, but unlike most places I've seen homeless people, they seem amazingly well prepared. Guys go round everyday and collect cardboard boxes from outside shops and stack them high onto carts (the equivalent of a pallet full of flattened cardboard boxes), then, by the looks of it, they give them out to people to sleep on. Most of the doorways have makeshift shelters put up each day... one for each person. Some of them are rooms made entirely out of boxes that must be about half of the size of our (pretty small) hotel room. Parked outside the boxes there are bikes. Shoes are arranged neatly and umbrellas dry leaning up against the makeshift shelters. It is an odd sight to see.
As I've already mentioned the bikes, that's what I'll move on to. I'm sure you've heard the talk about the number of bikes in Amsterdam and Beijing, well I've been to both (I love to blow my own trumpet), but there seems to be a whole lot more here. Pavements line the streets with parked up bikes, and they whizz about everywhere, especially, to my delight, on the pavement, where they seem to be able to detect which way I'm gonna move and so go the same way, just to annoy me. Everyone rides a bike. I seems that unless you can afford a Lexus, you ride a bike. I really wasn't expecting to see a business man in a nice suit (not that I'd know a nice suit... but what I assume are nice) giving a quick "bring bring" on his bell before flying past me. Nor was I expecting to see dolled up Japanese girls, obviously going for a Saturday night on the town, cycling (in high heels) to whatever bar is their destination.
Changing the subject slightly.... I know there are a few people that may be reading this that are in the music industry, so I'll ask.... Why do the Japanese get extra tracks on their albums? We were in a music shop yesterday, and I was looking at some CDs by random British bands, and loads of them had "extra tracks for the Japanese market". Why? Does it not rub it in our face already that they are paying 3 to 4 quid for an album from a British band, that would cost us 8 quid at the least? To make it worse, they get extra tracks too! What's the score? Answers on a postcard please.
There are many, many more things that I can ramble on about, but as I have to sort out my email, and the combination of ice coffee, computer screen and lack of food is giving me a headache, I'll leave it at that for now.
Inabit.
My first impressions of Japan have some expectations realised and there are some surprises. AsI expected there are (or in Osaka at least) a lot of lights. Street signs, shop signs, neon, advertising.... everywhere seems lit up, but while I expected something like the clean streets & buildings of Singapore, it seems grungier. For a start around where our hotel was in Osaka there where loads of homeless people. I don't know why I didn't expect it because I know that everywhere has them, but I just hadn't thought about it. I expect it was the area that we were in, but I haven't seen the same amount of homeless people in a long time... I'm talking everyother shop doorway, but unlike most places I've seen homeless people, they seem amazingly well prepared. Guys go round everyday and collect cardboard boxes from outside shops and stack them high onto carts (the equivalent of a pallet full of flattened cardboard boxes), then, by the looks of it, they give them out to people to sleep on. Most of the doorways have makeshift shelters put up each day... one for each person. Some of them are rooms made entirely out of boxes that must be about half of the size of our (pretty small) hotel room. Parked outside the boxes there are bikes. Shoes are arranged neatly and umbrellas dry leaning up against the makeshift shelters. It is an odd sight to see.
As I've already mentioned the bikes, that's what I'll move on to. I'm sure you've heard the talk about the number of bikes in Amsterdam and Beijing, well I've been to both (I love to blow my own trumpet), but there seems to be a whole lot more here. Pavements line the streets with parked up bikes, and they whizz about everywhere, especially, to my delight, on the pavement, where they seem to be able to detect which way I'm gonna move and so go the same way, just to annoy me. Everyone rides a bike. I seems that unless you can afford a Lexus, you ride a bike. I really wasn't expecting to see a business man in a nice suit (not that I'd know a nice suit... but what I assume are nice) giving a quick "bring bring" on his bell before flying past me. Nor was I expecting to see dolled up Japanese girls, obviously going for a Saturday night on the town, cycling (in high heels) to whatever bar is their destination.
Changing the subject slightly.... I know there are a few people that may be reading this that are in the music industry, so I'll ask.... Why do the Japanese get extra tracks on their albums? We were in a music shop yesterday, and I was looking at some CDs by random British bands, and loads of them had "extra tracks for the Japanese market". Why? Does it not rub it in our face already that they are paying 3 to 4 quid for an album from a British band, that would cost us 8 quid at the least? To make it worse, they get extra tracks too! What's the score? Answers on a postcard please.
There are many, many more things that I can ramble on about, but as I have to sort out my email, and the combination of ice coffee, computer screen and lack of food is giving me a headache, I'll leave it at that for now.
Inabit.
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