Heading for Thailand

Time is flying by and it's time for me to fly off to Bangkok! I don't want to leave Japan, it has been amazing! I am looking forward to more adventures and relaxation in Thailand though. Japan has been non-stop walking and going here and there. It has been pretty cold as well so I am beat!

Once I get a chance, I will upload more photos and a better blog post. I haven't had really good internet access but I am ok with that. Tired of spending my life on the internet and I love that I am living in the real world and meeting incredible people every day.

Sending smiles to you all!

Tokyo!

Before I left Shizuoka we went to a tea ceremony and it was amazing! I really enjoyed it.



It was so hard to leave my new friends from Shizuoka.



I am in Tokyo now! Awesome place!

I arrived in Tokyo yesterday and met Koichi who is hosting me this week. He has a nice but very small place in a great neighborhood called Shinjuku. It's a tiny hallway containing a kitchen, shower and toilet room and then a door to a small bedroom. That's it.

Last night when I arrived we walked around a bit. I was able to see Shinjuku at night, also Harajuku and Shibuya. We had a nice tempura dinner and then went to a sento or Japanese traditional bath house for a nice soak in hot water. It was pretty relaxing and put me to sleep.

Today, I was on my own again as Koichi is working. I went around Shibuya a bit and Harajuku. It was so quiet as it's really a night time place. Then I made my way to Akihabara. That is the electronics city. What an amazing place! They have every gadget and gizmo you can imagine and some you can't. All the games, electronics, etc. It was fun to walk around and check them out but it was pretty overwhelming as well. Also in this area are quite a few "maid cafes". I had to check them out! Here, you can find cute girls dressed up in various outfits catering to the geeks. It's pricey but fun. It's a pretty good business and I am sure makes a ton of money off of the shy and geeky types who want some interaction with cute girls but don't know how to get it.

After a long day walking around, I made my way back to the apartment for some relaxing before dinner.

Shinjuku at night when I arrived.



A nice guy I met at the Maid Cafe who was a regular and had many pictures of the girls he often went to see there. I received a picture with my girl as well but will have to upload it another time.

No More Sake!

Sizuoka has been awesome, especially the people. Mochan has been the best host ever and everyone else has been amazing as well. We had a great dinner and party on Sunday night and drank two huge bottles of Sake. It was so much fun as you can see in a couple photos here. I have a ton more pics I will upload when I get a chance.

However, that much drinking is always followed by bad times. Today, Monday, I was soooo sick. I went with everyone on our sightseeing trip but I had to run out of the bus a couple of times to puck. Uuugggg. I am just now recovering tonight.

Fortunately, I was able to enjoy the Onsen with everyone. It was so relaxing and refreshing. I hope I can go to more onsen while I am in Japan. I am also slowly getting over the cold/flu that I had so that is good news.

Cheers.

Osaka Castle



Dinner with Sakura in Osaka



Dinner party in Shizuoka. I had a ton of fun but drank way to much Sake.



Sight seeing trip



Dinner party after two huge bottles of sake.

Mt. Fuji

I am still alive and getting better. I am in Shizuoka now and going to Mt. Fuji today. Kyoto was great and then Osaka was nice as well. I didn`t do too much in Osaka as I was still feeling sick and so rested a lot. It was really nice that Sakura helped me and took me to see her doctor and I was able to receive some medicine.

Looking forward to the rest of my trip. I will update again soon with some pictures.

Cheers.

Kyoto Day 2

Kyoto Day 2 was great! I started out by transfering my bag to the dorm room where I will stay my last night in Kyoto. Then I headed off to the Golden Pavilion. It was a cold morning but beautiful as you can see in the picture. I will upload all of my pictures later when I have more time. I got some really great shots.

I visited another shrine in the same area and then made my way to the Imperial Palace for a 2 pm tour. This was by far the most turisty thing I have done. There were a lot of people on the tour. I met a really nice girl along the way from Brazil who is living in China and we walked together and took some pictures together. The gardens of the Palace were the most beautiful part of the tour as the buildings were very simple.

After the tour I went back to my bed to rest a bit before heading to dinner. I was getting more and more sick as the days go by as well. Caroline called me (the brazilian girl) and we decided to meet for dinner and walk around. We went to a little ramen shop in the shopping area and then found a gaming building after and played some video games. We had a good time. Then I needed to head to bed for some rest.

This morning I will head to Osaka and Sakura will help me to go see a doctor. I hope I can get over this sickness. I fear it may have turned for the worse.

Cheers.

Kyoto Day 1

Today was my first whole day in Kyoto and it was a great day!

Again, I woke up around 3 am and then laid in bed until about 7 am and then got ready. This jet lag is killing me. haha. After a few failed tries, I found a place to get some breakfast. There are not many places in the area I am staying. Then I walked toward Kiyomizu Temple and on the way met Junko, a really nice girl who showed me around.














Junko and I went to Kiyomizu Temple, Ryozen Kwan-on, and Heian Jingu Shrine.















Junko had to go back home to Shizuoka so I took a nap and then later that night I went to Arashiyama for the Hanatouro Light festival. It was very beautiful. I met a couple very nice college students who went way out of their way to go with me and show me around.


Then I made my way back to my Ryokan for a good night sleep.

Cheers.

Loren

pictures

Ok, I made it to Kyoto this evening but I am still pretty sick so I need to rest. I may have to see a doctor if this doesn't clear up soon.

Anyway, I uploaded some photos so have a peek. They are on my flickr account. I will post again with a better description once I feel better and can think straight.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lhale/

Hiroshima & Miyajima

I am at the Hiroshima Peace Park now and have use of a free computer for 30 minutes. It is pretty amazing the damage that can be done. It is beautiful today so I am greatful for that. My health is still bad but I am taking medicine so I hope it will improve soon. Once I get access to a more suitable computer I hope to upload the awesome pictures I have been taking.

I will make my way to Kyoto later today. I am excited about visiting Kyoto as everyone has told me it is a wonderful place.

Cheers for now.

Loren

Hiroshima

Well, I made my way to Hiroshima via the bullet train or Shinkansen. It was a nice ride and I was able to nap on my way. It's good also, because I still have very bad jet lag. I woke up again at 3 am and can't sleep so here I am.

I am staying at a nice hostel and the folks are so nice and fun. We had a party and good food and drinks. Unfortunately I am still sick so I am doing my best to enjoy. I will probably go sightseeing tomorrow with them.

I have some good pictures but will have to upload them later so stay tuned. I look forward to sightseeing tomorrow. My Japanese is getting good practice alsol. They said I can speak very well. That's nice to hear.

I am running out of time on my pay for use computer so I will update again soon and have pictures.

Cheers.

Solitude amidst an ocean of people

It is pretty amazing, the strange feeling of being alone while walking amidst a seemingly ocean of people. So much action going on, people talking, laughing, doing business, making plans, eating, etc. All this and you are alone and have no idea what is being said and what is going on. The world is all new, all over again.

Even simple things like ordering coffee or breakfast is fun and interesting. If you love to people watch then this is heaven. I hope to interact more but it's difficult with the language barrier and the fact that is everyone is so busy. Oh, except for a slightly crazy old man at the train station that could speak english, or should I say spit english and insisted on standing very close to me even though I continued to move away.

I will make my way down to Hiroshima, I am so tired, I hardly slept last night. I hope I can rest some on the train.

Cheers and Smiles.

Loren

Tokyo I have arrived!

I made it! I am in Tokyo and it's amazing!

It was a rough 12 hours or so of travel but I survived. The really amazing thing was my favorite Japanese language teacher was on the same plane! We didn't get to sit next to each other but when we landed she helped me find my way around the airport a bit and get a cell phone. Then we rode the train to Tokyo station together. It was nice.

Then I had to transfer to the Yamanote line and make my way to Ueno station. From there I had to walk about 15 or 20 minutes to find my hotel. I passed it the first time and stopped to ask a nice police man for directions. It is kinda funny, he only spoke about 3 words of english so thank goodness for my Japanese, but as the conversation continued, if you can call it a conversation, more like a game of pictionary, his english got dramatically better. hahaha. Strange.

I finally found my hotel and checked in. Made my way accross the street to a ramen shop and had some soup. It was about 9:30 PM by this time. There was hardly anyone in the shop when I arrived and the cook and helper girl was very nice to me. They didn't speak any english, well, maybe 5 words but we managed and I was able to practice my Japanese and have a fun little conversation. It's amazing how people can function without language, using pictures, gestures, smiles, etc.

Then I went back to my hotel and passed out. Even though the bed was less than desirable. :) Better than an airplane seat for sure. Now if only I could get back to sleep as I type away at 5 AM. Been up since 3 AM. :( Night!

Hmmm. My pictures aren't working on this post so you can check them out here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lhale/3103276352/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lhale/3103276358/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lhale/3103276362/

Sick but Packed

Well, I leave tomorrow around 1 PM for Tokyo and I am pretty excited! Probably not as excited as I should be but I have been sick for a few days now. :(

I am doing my best to get well before I leave but think it will linger a few days into my trip. Such is life. I can't let it get me down though. I have been waiting for this trip for a while now and I am determined to have fun and enjoy this adventure. An adventure it will be as well. I don't have all my hotels booked, so I will be winging it some of the time. I haven't been practicing my Japanese like I should either so I will be a little rusty.

I will take the BART tomorrow to the Airport to save a few bucks. I haven't taken Bart to SFO before so that should be interesting. Then I have a 12 hour flight to Tokyo. Once I arrive, it will be fun finding my bag, renting a cell phone, getting my Rail Pass, finding my way on the Train to my Ryokan in Ueno area, changing trains along the way, etc.

Once I finally get to my room on Friday night, I think I will pass out. :) hahaha.

Wish me luck!

Travel Delays

Wow, Thailand is in pretty bad shape right now. The majority of the middle class in Thailand is protesting against the government and has taken over the the major airports in Bangkok and shut them down for a week now. This has caused an amazing amount of damage to the country, not to mention my travel plans.

I have finally booked new travel at an additional cost and a two week delay, but never-the-less, I will be going on vacation! My new itinerary is as follows:

I depart SFO on December 11th
Arriving in Tokyo on December 12th

I hope to hop on a train as soon as possible and head south to perhaps Hiroshima or maybe even Fukuoka and work my way back. I would like to stop by Himeji, Osaka, Kyoto, and Shizuoka. I hope to find at least one or two nice onsen along the way.


Once back in Tokyo I plan on going to Harajuku, Shibuya, Asakusa, Imperial Palace, Roppongi, and Yokohama. I am looking forward to meeting some great people, having Christmas in Tokyo, and having a party with friends on the 26th.

I depart Tokyo on December 29th for Bangkok and arrive that night.
On the 30th I will make my way to Koh Samui for some Island fun and plan to be there for New Years.

Then I will take a boat to Koh Tao for more island fun and then Scuba lessons.

Around the 7th of January, I will make my way back to Bangkok for some sightseeing until the 12th when I return to SFO.

It should be a great trip and I am really looking forward to it. I hope Thailand can get itself back in shape soon.

REI Customer Service Excellence

Wow! I decided the shoes I purchased at REI last weekend were not right for me and decided to take them back. REI has an amazing return policy. 100% customer satisfaction guaranteed.

While I was there, I needed to figure out a solution for checking my new travel pack at the airport. I have read a lot of blogs and posts that say you should get a cover bag to protect it and keep all the straps from getting snagged in the conveyer belts. One of the guys at the store here in San Francisco was super helpful and showed me what they had and then while I was browsing he found me again and said he had some ideas to secure the bag better.

We worked together for what seemed like an hour on one of the bags at the store, (same model I had purchased) and added some little plastic strap holders and moved some of the buckles around etc. We eventually came up with a great way to secure the pack and make sure all the straps were secure and out of the way so they would not snag at the airport. I didn't end up buying a cover as I think our solution will work just fine.

I walked out after spending about $5 on some strap tie downs and thought, what amazing customer service.

Thanks REI.

Preparation

No! It's not the cream.  I am getting ready for a much needed and anticipated vacation to Asia and it's DAMN exciting!

I will be departing the ever wonderful city of San Francisco, for whom I have been resisting falling in love with, on November 29th. Yeah, that's 10 days from now!

I will arrive in Bangkok on December 30th at about midnight local time. Ouch! I transfer planes in Tokyo on my way there.

After a week in Bangkok, I will ta

ke a train and boat to Koh Tao and then Koh Samui for a week and then back to Bangkok.

Departing on the 16th for Tokyo. I hope to take the train from Tokyo to Osaka and Kyoto and find some beautiful sights and a relaxing onsen for a few days then return to Tokyo.

A week in Tokyo including Christmas and then returning to San Francisco on December 30th.

I forgot to mention that I have never been to Thailand before so it will be a new and exciting experience for me. I have only been to Japan once and didn't get to spend too much time in Tokyo so really looking forward to it. Not to mention I will be able to practice my Japanese.

I went to REI to pick up a sweet travelers backpack (REI Grand Tour Travel Pac) and some new shoes so I will be doing the backpackers thing this time. No suitcases! :)

Should be quite the adventure so stay tuned and I will do my best to keep posting with updates along the way and hopefully some amazing photos.

Cheers.