Date: Sunday, 9-2-07
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Man, what a long day. 2 hour flight to San Francisco, 10 hour flight to Tokyo, then an hour and a half train ride from the airport to my hotel. I actually found the hotel pretty easy. I was surprisded. My room is tiny. It's probably like 12' x 8'. I checked in, threw my bag down, and passed out for a couple hours. Now it's 11:25pm. I'm gonna go wander around and find something to eat. the street my hotel is on is actually pretty lively. There is a big pachinko parlor right across the street. I have no idea what I am going to do tomorrow.


Date: Monday, 9-3-07
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Today started out really shitty. After deciding to go check out Asakusa and Odaiba, I left my hotel in search of an ATM. There are two banks between my hotel and the train station. Of course neither of them accepted my card. So I jumped on the train and headed for Asakusa. At my first stop (Kanda), I decided to go out and try my luck with some banks around there. 45 minutes and 5 ATM's later I still had no money. Now I'm starting to get pissed and a little worried. I've used this same card to pull money out of ATM's in 3rd world countries, but it won't work in Tokyo? WTF? On my way back to Kanda station I see a 7-11 with an ATM sign. I'm thinking the chances of an ATM in a convienence store working are slim to none, but what the hell. Boo yeah! That shit actually worked. I went to 7 big ass, fancy pants banks and not one of them accepted my card. Good 'ol 7-11. With my spirits lifted, I grabbed a bite to eat (some beef and rice dish) then shoved off to Asakusa. I went Asakusa to check out te Sensoji Temple. Sensoji is a 1400 year old Buddhist temple. The street leading up to the temple gate (Nakamise Street) is lined with a bunch of little shops and eateries. I drank a cup of this puke green tea. It looked like death, but it was actually pretty good. I wandered around for a little over an hour checking out all the temples and statues and such. Next I made my way over to the Sumida River boat ferry station thing. I bought a ticket for a river cruise down to Odaiba. The boat ride took about an hour and dropped us off at Odaiba Seaside Park. Odaiba ended up being a bust. Half of the things I wanted to see were closed on Mondays including the Toyota museum/showcase and the Fuji TV building observation deck. Oh well. I did get to see Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo all lit up from the other side of the bay though. That was pretty cool. I hung out at the seaside park for a while then made my way back across the bridge to the JR Yamanote line (my ride home). I got some food then made my way back to the hotel. I'm exhausted. I think I am going to go to Kamakura tomorrow. Time for bed.


Date: Tuesday, 9-4-07
Location: Tokyo, Japan

I took a trip out to Kamakura today. It takes about an hour by train. Kamakura was the capital of Japan during the Shogunate era. There are tons of temples and shrines scattered throughout the city. I grabbed a tourist map at Kamakura station. Of course all the stuff I wanted to see was scattered all over the place. I picked out the major ones that I could somewhat make a loop out of and shoved off. First was Tsurugaoka Hachimangu. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu was the most important precinct in Kamakura. It was home to the Shogunate government. There were quite a few temples and shrines to check out as well as a couple ponds. Next I headed over to Kenchoji, which was the most important of the 5 Zen temples of Kamakura. It was founded in the 13th century by some Chinese dude who came over to Japan to teach Zen Buddhism. Next I walked down the street to Jochiji temple which is the number 4 of the 5 Zen temples. It wasn't as cool as Kenjochi, but it did have a cool cemetery and Hotei Buddha statue in a little cave. There was a hiking trail through the mountain that connected Jochiji to the last two places I wanted to go, Zeniarai Benten and Daibutsu (the Great Buddha). Zeniarai Benten is a shrine located at a natural spring that comes out of the rocks. Legend has it if you spend money that you wash in the spring, it will come back to you double or some crap like that. I washed the coins I had in my pocket then headed over to the Great Buddha (another mile down the hiking course). The statue of Buddha was cast out of bronze in the 13th century and stands about 40ft. tall. 800 years and several earthquakes later it is still standing. I sat down for a while (my feet were killing me), then went out to look for a bus back to Kamakura station. An hour and a half later and I'm back at the hotel. I am going to take a shower then go out to find an internet cafe and get something to eat. Oh yeah, these little eateries that line all the major streets, they are an adventure themselves. They have a machine out front where you pick what you want to eat, put your money in, and it spits you out a ticket. The problem is I obviously don't speak Japanese, so I have no idea what I am picking. Sometimes you will luck out and the machine will have pictures, but for the most part they don't. Alright, I'm outta here.


Date: Wednesday, 9-5-07
Location: Tokyo, Japan

So apparently there is a typhoon coming in, but more on that later.

Today I booked a trip with a tour company out to Mt. Fuji and the Hakone area. The Hakone area (all around Fuji actually), is famous for it's hot springs. It was about a two hour bus ride out to the Fuji visitor center. How about a couple quick Fuji facts?

After the visitor center we headed up to the 5th station, which is a little more than half way up and where most people start the climb from. Next we went over to a nice hotel where they served us a traditional Japanese lunch (tuna, rice and a bunch of other shit I didn't know). After lunch we drove for about an hour to Lake Ashi. We took a short cruise on the lake, then back on the bus and up to an ariel cableway. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been cooperating today, so no good views from the cable car. Back on the bus for the two hour ride back to Tokyo. I got back to the Omori station at about 8:00pm. On the way home I stopped off at the internet cafe since I couldn't find it the other night. After sorting through a shit ton of emails, I went next door for a bite to eat (pizza and Corona, hell yeah). I sat around for a while and drank a couple beers. I was trying to convice the bartender to go down to Sega World (arcade on the second floor) with me when she got off, but she wasn't have'n it. I gave up and went back to my hotel. Tomorrow I'm supposed to go on another tour (Nikko), but it was cancelled because of the typhoon. So I rescheduled it for Saturday. So this typhoon, I don't know exactly what it means. Nobody seems too concerned. Is it just going to be like a tropical storm? Either way, the picture that the hot chick on the news put up shows it plowing pretty much straight into Tokyo. Should be interesting.


Date: Thursday, 9-6-07
Location: Tokyo, Japan

I wasn't sure what all I was going to be able to do today because of the typhoon. I went downstairs and asked the hotel guy what time it was supposed to make landfall, and he said this evening. Cool. At least today won't be a total waste. I started out at Zojoji, a Jodu Shu Buddhist temple. It is a fairly large complex of temples and shrines not too far from my hotel. Right behind Zojoji is the Tokyo tower. Tokyo Tower is a replica of the Eiffel Tower built in 1958 as a radio/TV broadcast tower. It is actually like 15 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower. There is an observation deck at 150 meters and 250 meters, but the one at 250m was closed because of the weather. The views from the 150m deck were still awesome. On a clear day you can see all the way to Mt. Fuji. Although, I am starting to learn that "clear days" are pretty few and far between here. I chilled for a little while at the cafe up there, then headed over to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. Edo was the name of Tokyo prior to 1868. At that time the Shogunate era came to an end and the Imperial family took over and moved the capital to Tokyo. The museum covered from about 1600 to present day. It was very well laid out and had everything in Japanese and English. I highly recommend it. When I left the museum the wind and rain had definitely intensifited. I figured I should probably start heading home. When I got to the train station some lines had already stopped service because of the high winds. Luckily my subway line was still running. When I exited the train station by my hotel the winds had gotten pretty gnarly. It was totally mangling peoples umbrellas. It was actually kind of funny. When I got to my hotel I threw on the news. It looks like the typhoon should blow over us by tomorrow morning. That's cool cause then it doesn't waste my day.


Date: Friday, 9-7-07
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Today I intentionally slept in a little late cause I knew the typhoon weather wouldn't clear up until about 9:00 or 10:00. First I headed south of Tokyo to Yokohama to check out their Chinatown. It is supposedly one of the largest in the world. I got off at the wrong station, but figured I could walk from where I was . A half an hour later I hadn't seen one sign for Chinatown. I admitted defeat (a rarity for me) and hailed a cab. I wandered around Chinatown for a little bit playing a game I like to call "Who is Chinese, Who is Japanese". I suck at that game. Oh, I forgot to mention why the chinatown is in Yokohama. Back when Japan opened it's border to international trade, Yokohama was one of the main ports, so a lot of immigrants ended up there. After Chinatown I headed back up to Tokyo to check out some of the popular spots in the city. First up, Shibuya. Shibuya is a major shopping, dinging, and entertainment district. It is also home to the worlds busiest pedestrian crossing (outside of Shibuya) station. Every three mintues all the traffic stops and hundreds of millions of people cross the street in every direction. Insane. Next stop down the Yamanote line is Harajuku. Like Shibuya, it is a shopping/entertainment district, but has become a favorite hangout of the extreme youth fashion. The more crazy these little bastards get the cooler they are I guess. Back on the train and two more stops to Shinjuku. Shinjuku is basically chaos. There are people every where. I only wanted to do two things in Shinjuku: see Yasukuni-Dori at night and go up to the observatory (45th floor) of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. I got there right as it was getting dark. I jammed up to the observatory, snapped some pics, then headed over to Yasukuni-Dori. I would have liked to wander around Shinjuku a little more, but I don't do crowds very well. I wanted to punch every person that got in my way in the fucking face. Speaking of which, the subways... holy fuck. At the major stations there will literally be a guy that will help smash as many people onto the car as possible. There is no way I could ever do this shit on a daily basis. I like solitude and the ability to get away from people if I want to. After Shinjuku I headed back to my hood to get a bite to eat, then head home. Tomorrow I am going on the Nikko tour since it was cancelled on Thursday. Oh yeah, one more thing... tipping. These people freak out when I tip them. Tonight I had the third person literally run after me to give me the money back as if I had accidentally left it there. Look, I don't care what country I'm in, I tip. That's how I roll. I was raised by a single mom who bartended. In other words, I was raised on tips. Get over it and just accept my money.


Date: Saturday, 9-8-07
Location: Tokyo, Japan

Today I took a tour out to Nikko. It is a little town about 2 hours north of Tokyo by bus. It is home to a large, lavishly decorated shrine/temple complex called Toshogu. We started out wandering around checking out the shrines for a couple hours. Then we headed down the street for an awesome tempura lunch. After lunch we went to Lake Chuzenji, a gorgeous lake at the base of Mt. Nantai. At the end of the lake is Kegon Waterfall. It is a one of Japan's highest waterfalls at 97 meters and is apparently a popular place to commit suicide. I took the elevator down to the base of the waterfall. That was pretty cool. After chill'n at Kegon for a little bit it was time to head back home.

So that wraps up another international adventure. I think I'm up to 10 or 11 countries now. Tokyo was off the hook. The history, the technology, the fashion, the population density, typhoons... awesome. Unfortunately this will be my last trip for a while. I've got some stuff going on in my personal and professional life that will prohibit me from travelling. But I'm not done, that's for sure. Australia is calling my name...