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.