HIROSHIMA

No words required.... (as with all the images, click on them to make them bigger)

Kiyomizu-Dera Temple

It's a mission to get here but the view is great.

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I managed to get these shots at twilight.....geting back down this mountain was going to be a problem....

Imperial Palace

So many photos, I don't know where to start......

The Imperial Gardens were very nice.....(you need to be granted permission to enter the palace area .... passport ........)

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The chinese influence is very clear from the colour of this area.

The Railroad to Kyoto

I got on the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Kyoto in search of all that's traditional in Japan. On the way there, we passed by Mt. Fuji.

















In Kyoto, I bumped into a girl from Phoenix Arizona and like me we were searching for our hotels whilst trying to avoid the cost of the Kyoto subway system. I paid dearly with a 2 hour walk in the RIGHT direction!!! It looked so close on the map.....arrrrrhh!!!!

Kyoto is also famous for the pebble gardens. Finely spread out.......

Asakusa

Hmm...

OH NO! Mt. Fuji got in the way of a wonderful pylon shot.....clearly........
I'm sure you can see the difference between this pylon and the Double-circuit PL16 linenear Currie pylon, (near West Lothian). If you thought it was a L6 D with quadconductor bundles, I'm sorry........ it's not good enough!

Sunset Day 1

What are your New Years RESOLUTIONS????

Happy New Year !!

On New Years Eve I went to downtown Tokyo (Near the Tokyo Tower) with a housemate. We went to a Salsa club to dance our way into 2006. (Carlos showing his moves)

We then popped into the Hard Rock Cafe to rest before returning to dance the rest of the night away! (I even managed to get a present from the Hard Rock Cafe!!)
















We got back at around 8am, what a night!!! Happy New Year!!!

Boxing Day

An ordinary working day here, but in the evening a few friends took me to a tazaki restaurant. Now this placed looked like somewhere out of a film. Westerners don't usually go here because the menu has no hint of English. You need to be taken by someone who speaks Japanese.

We were escorted to a private eating area surrounded by a traditional Japanese garden with the funky sliding doors, traditional corridors and low tables. If you've seen 'Kill Bill' you'll begin to get the idea.

There was lot's of food to eat, mostly sushi based.





Some of the food decided to get fresh with me... (get it?......get fresh!......ok sorry....)









It was a lovely place to have dinner!!!!

Christmas Day

Details to follow.........

Before all that.....

Before all of that karaoke we had an 'all you can eat' buffet. It was similar in some respects to the Mongolian BBQ in Brighton, where you pick the raw ingredients, but here, you took them to your table where there was a mini BBQ in the centre. It was time to get creative!!!!!

karaoke

OK.......here it is!!

I sang quite a few hits.....and some very embarrassing ones!!!

top of the list was NEW YORK NEW YORK - SINANTRA then..

HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME - BRITNEY SPEARS
NEVER HAS A DREAM COME TRUE - SCLUB7
SHINE - ASWARD
I DON'T WANT TO MISS A THING - AEROSMITH

I didn't have time to finish my sausage before the mike was handed to me, so half way through SCLUB7 I decided to sing and eat....and humm the bits I didn't know.....















Now it's time to wrap up the night with the 'all hands up' finale!

with my 'boyz' and backing singers who also play the guitar/bass guitar!!

Christmas Lights & Music

Earlier this week was the Toyo University Xmas celebration. There's a gospel choir belting out festive hymns ... in Japanese... and a countdown before the lights are turned on.


FREE FOOD under the tent, so naturally I was there. I had a tip off about the food so I made sure I was in the right position.

Ikebukuro

This place is one of the main stations in Tokyo (similar to Victoria Station in the Uk). Here you can find lots of strange and wonderful things........











MORE PLASTIC FOOD!!!!

















Oh.....Margaret. When did you arrive in Japan??

Electric Town

The most famous place in Tokyo for electronics is Akihabara (or as the locals call it 'Electric Town').

The type of technology you buy here is relatively the same as in the UK. REMEMBER!! THE ONLY TIME YOU HAVE SEEN HIGH-TECH STUFF IN JAPAN, ON TV, WAS WHEN IT WAS AT AN EXHIBITION.......AND THEREFORE NOT AVAILABLE TO BUY!!!!

Otherwise once you get over that, it's a great place.

EARTHQUAKE

Oh boy, that felt rough! It was more up and down than side to side. No damage around here. I feel sick though......

Brighton - Juice 107.2 FM....

All those early birds out there who were listening to Juice 107.2 FM in Brighton at 8.40am would have heard a 'shout out' to my research group and I here in Japan!

English Etiquette.

I thought I'd have a go a teaching some of our fine British rules on etiquette. Drinking tea involves perfect positioning of the little finger.........










.......and the penalty for getting it wrong!!!!!!!!

A touch of the past......

More from the southern island of Japan. It takes 1 hour 30 min. to fly from Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) to the beach resort of MIYAZAKI. Here you will find palm trees and red sunsets.

Stevie Wonder

Entertaining the guests at the Sheraton Grande Ocean Resort......

The food......

A banquet fit for a king!





Now that's what I call a dessert tray!!!!




Ohhh yes!!! TIME FOR SOME FUN!!!! I've always wanted to try this!!!!!
I had a few helpings of blowfish. I couldn't tell if my mouth was tingling (a sure sign of poisoning) because I had already had something very spicy. I spent the rest of the night playing Russian Roulette with blowfish. I felt rough in the morning......

The hard life........

Well.....I hope you're enjoying the weather in the UK...... HA HA HA !!!

G7 World Summit Centre

Today is conference day! Last night we took a plane to one of the southern Islands in Japan. The conference is being held in the World Summit Centre.

A Very Local Sunday

I spent today going around the local markets looking for new foods and spices, to see what I could throw together on my one hob. Just by looking around, you can see the respect that people have for each other. It's the feeling of community that's unfortunately lost in vast areas of the UK.

Anyway, let's see what I can put together......

Saturday in Kawagoe

Back to that shopping district. From a cultural point of view, this is a place where you can loose yourself completely for hours in the pursuit of local and designer goods. If you take a turn down a side street (past the likes of 7 Eleven – America’s cultural contribution) strangely enough, you will find yourself in the peace and tranquillity of a tradition Japanese garden. Another one of those ‘things we take for granted’ are bins. Strange but true, from what I’ve seen so far, you have to be quite alert to find one, and even if you do, it may not be for general rubbish……..

Mobile phone are another one of those things you have to get use to around here. I’ve seen whole train carriages full of people tinkering about on them. You might as well bin your British phone if you come here because it’s all 3G. Not GSM at all. In fact I paid a visit to a phone shop, and they were quite surprised to see a Vodafone SIM chip. Vodafone is very popular here, and surfing the net and watching TV on your phone is commonplace. Nokia phones are non-existent here as the market is dominated by the home-grown companies like Samsung and Panasonic.

Kiss your VISA cards goodbye here too…… If it says VISA in a shop and VISA on your credit card…..it wont work!!!!!! The people around hear haven’t heard of Barclays!!! If you put your card into an ATM with VISA on it……. That’s the last you’ll see of it this side of eternity.

…..and why is it no matter where you go, this type of shop follows you. The 100 Yen Shop.

Day 5 - Recovery.......

# ......I want to wake up...in a city....that never sleeps, and I'm king of the hill, top of the heap! #- (Frank Sinatra -New York New York)

Tokyo really is the city that never sleeps! I got back home quite late and the train was as packed as rush hour.

Today will be a quiet one....... authough I showed the lab some of the moves from last night. Hmmmm........ and there are big plans for my official welcoming party. They have hired a hall. I think I'm scared now.



Oh....and you can't get Duracell batteries here for love or money! I bought some co-op 'AA' batteries for the digital camera and after 2 pictures they were dead. The next lot died after the initial 'power up' It's lucky.... someone - (Margaret) bought me a phrase book that included the words - somats - which means poor quality.
okane o haraimodoshite kure-masen ka? - can I have a refund?
and honto which means 'really?' in a sarcastic tone. Now.....let's put what I've learnt to use. Let's see now, where is the co-op.........


Not such a quiet night after all. Went to a traditional Japanese restaurant (with an automatic wooden sliding door) with an old friend from Sussex Uni. The food was very good and in similar way to Italian and Spanish food, you order lots of different dishes.

As you can see, I’m stuffing my face with Sushi and having warm Sake.

It was rather interesting to watch the chef fishing in the fish tank in front of me before giving the fish its last rights. (I thought the fish were just there for decoration….oh well) It’s just strange to see your food swimming around one minute, and on you plate the next.