Flickr set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fractos/sets/72157623816182678/
late night blogging
Was fueled last night, writing about all that had happened by many Suntory beers, and these weird giant cheesey-puff things which come in all these different flavours. Quite like the teriyaki flavour. Do not have the chocolate one. It's just wrong. Oh, and Fanta Grape kicks ass.
asakusa - kawaii shopping
Really nice weather today, not too hot, wind not too chilly. The Senso-ji temple in Asakusa looked fantastic and it was great to wander through again and take photos. I managed to go into the temple itself today and the decoration is so rich and beautiful. There are some amazing paintings on the roof including the dragon that is recreated in the massive construction shroud around the temple. After taking photos there, I found some of the nice craft shops just off the main areas and found some kawaii presents for a couple of friends, and some postcards! Getting postage stamps is going to be an adventure just by itself, I can tell.
nearly getting to imperial gardens, central tokyo
And it turns out that the gardens are closed on Fridays, so all for the good. That part of the city is so corporate, it's like Canada square in London, I guess, except less Cockneys. Half way there was a really nice, contemporary plaza with fountains and water channels and sculpture and shit. I can't believe I just said that.
mitaka and ghibli museum (going low)
It was time then to go to Mitaka and the Ghibli museum, and Mitaka is gorgeous. A really weird mix of natural, peaceful river and woodland, and built-up suburbia. Maybe it is suburbia? The Studio Ghibli museum is amazing and abstract. Sadly, they don't allow photography inside (oh so ironic since half the exhibition is made up of animation and projection technology). I went in to have my voucher swapped for a clip of 3 frames from an animation. I'm not sure which one, I'll try and identify it another time. Then went in to the gorgeous atrium that shows off the various interconnected bits of the building. I went into the first room which contained a set of really clever exhibits showing zoetropes, including a massive glass cabinet containing a rotunda of 3d models that they animated by strobing an exterior light. Really bloody clever. Immediately after that going into an animated short film about a girl going camping. Really cool cartoon, but the old projector that is used strobes quite badly, which pretty much makes you feel ill. Speaking of which, I got to the café and was really starting to feel unwell. I went inside not realising that there was a queue sat in the area outside, and had a confused conversation with one of the waitresses, eventually having to back out saying it didn't matter. There was a hot dog stand around the corner and I realised that what was happening was that my blood sugar had dipped really badly, leaving me confused and unwell in a particular kind of way that is quite horrible. As soon as I ate the food and had some orange juice I felt completely fixed. I must watch out for that. Eating noodles at breakfast misses out important bits of nutrients that I need.
Then, I went back into the museum and really enjoyed going around the rest of the place. The fantastically detailed workshop rooms, the painstaking exhibition showing the making of an animated film. The shop was completely rammed full of people buying all kinds of things, and I found a couple of things to get as presents, myself. Once out of there (and I was glad to be out of there), I went up on the roof to see the iron robot that watches over the property. After that, I made my way back to Mitaka station and on the Rapid Chuo line back to Tokyo and then back to the hostel.
asakusa - finally finding an ATM that works
You have no idea how worried I've been about being faced by a cash machine that has no English on it and seems to spit out every card that you try and feed it. The secret, it turns out, is post offices. They have a big, friendly button saying "ENGLISH GUIDE", and are kitted out to use VISA, etc. Thank fuck. Bit happier now that there's a bit of noteage in my wallet ;)
meeting up at hachiko, shibuya with zoe, phil and shin
I pretty much had to leave then to reach Shibuya station, where I was due to meet a friend of mine from Chorlton and her fella, Phil. Travelling from Ueno Park to Shibuya was one of the nastiest journeys I've done so far as it was a complete crush and I was still feeling a bit crap from the afternoon. Once at Shibuya station, which is huge and ridiculous (2 million people a day go through it!), I managed to get there half an hour early and that turned out to be just enough time to make it to the agreed meeting spot! There's a bronze statue of a dog called Hachiko at one of the entrances (though the Rough Guide to Japan places it at a slightly different area, fucking cheers!) Hachiko was a dog owned by a guy who used to leave him at the station each day. Hachiko would wait for its master until he came out of the station again. When the man died, Hachiko would wait at the same spot each day for years afterwards. It's so sad. Now, the statue is a traditional meeting point for hundreds of Japanese, ready to go out on the town in Shibuya. The place itself is insane. It's that part of Tokyo you may have seen where there are 10 storey high video adverts, huge neon signs, activity everywhere, and that crossing where the whole road comes to a standstill to let people cross all the roads at once. It's totally chaotic. I managed to meet up with my friend Zoe ok and then we met up with her boyfriend, Phil and his Japanese friend Shin. Both really sound people :)
Shin was our guide for the night, and led us onto a bar called Pink Cow near Shibuya station. It had a really dark entrance way, but once you opened the door at the bottom of the pitch black steps, you were in an underground bar area, with DJs and live musicians playing electronica, and, weirdly, a huge population of foreigners, mostly British or American. There were Japanese there, but having an Australian barman was just a little rubbish. We finished our beers, waited while Shin got some baked sweet potato from a passing van (it was delicious) and headed off to a "more Japanese" place nearer the station... And it was, it really was. A full Izukaya with partitioned rooms for people to eat, and very very Japanese menu (no English at all, so Shin was our translator and ordered our food too!) We had a selection of little dishes at first, prawn, crab ("with guts", said Shin), squid ("with guys mixed up") and another crab thing ("does that have guts with it?" "no, only a little" "right..."). The prawn thing turned out to be delicious, but the main attraction was the gorgeous sake, fried pork and sushi we were served. Absolutely outstanding. Shin's great and I fully intend to return the honour he did us of paying for our meal when he visits Manchester.
transit back to asakusa, fitting in (helped by sake)
The train back to Ueno and Asakusa was interesting. I started to feel like I was fitting in as opposed to being a complete tourist. I guess that A) it was the sake, and B) you pick up the right behaviour from being around on the trains for a while. If you're on the train, you play with your mobile, and you don't wait for the English translation of your destination to come up before you take your position at the right set of doors to open. Really enjoyed it. I made it back to the hostel after going to a 7-11 store, as I was sure that I'd need some crisps or something on top of all that rich food. That really paid off. Currently, I'm sitting in the lounge on my second beer and feeling a lot less queesey.
I've a bit of a worry in that I don't have a place to stay on Saturday night. There was no room at the hostel but I am booked in for Sunday and Monday night, having decided to do Nikko as a day trip from Tokyo instead of finding a hostel over there. It's about a 1.5 hour trip each way so that works a bit better since there isn't that much to see according to the people I've spoken to. I've got a few options for Saturday, as a backstop measure, I could go to one of the love hotel round the corner (not a chance), a capsule hotel (tempting), renting a room in an internet cafe (also tempting), or the Austrians from the hostel said that they were planning to go out to a club that night. Which reminds me - it will be Saturday night and I kind of said that I fancied going out to Roppongi and hitting the bars maybe. Also, it's Zoe's boyfriend's birthday, so they might be out and about that evening. If they are and can meet up, they'll let me know. Oh well, as long as I don't end up in the love hotel, all is well :)
loud, obnoxious amerikajin and his mates, all of which I want to kill. They're playing FIFA behind me and shouting, even though warned that it's past
2am. Tempting to smack them on the back of the head if it happens again.
The above placeholder kind of says it all. What a twat.
Right, that's me done for today, will try and get this stuff up to Flickr, too. Didn't take enough photos when in Shibuya as my camera battery was starting to run down! Shame on me.
~aFx
Friday, 9 April 2010
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th April 2010 [Tokyo]
So... a few of these items are going to be brief as I was working from a list of things that I've done.
Ooh, Flickr link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fractos/sets/72157623679598379/
Transit from Manchester to London
All packed up and made my way down to London, in a footwell. Thanks Branson! Much as I'd love to spunk more money on a 1st class upgrade, how about you get some decent trains that don't smell of poo?
Thanks to Nick and Liz for putting me up on Monday night, really appreciated the launch pad! Got to Heathrow with no problems. Cheers!
Transit from Heathrow to Helsinki
Into the madness of international departures... so busy, so many people, so little point buying anything duty free... I think this was the more nerve wracking flight as I hadn't medicated myself with any alcohol to make things easier. I had to tell myself that it was ok, as I was only going to Finland. That's not like the other side of the world or anything...
Departure lounge, Helsinki Airport
Helsinki looks, from the window of the airport at least, like a grey, cold, miserable place. Apparently the suicide rate dropped when they made people change to more environmentally friendly car fuels, so it was damn near impossible to gas yourself in the garage any more. Medicated myself with beer, that seemed to help.
Transit from Helsinki to Tokyo
Ok, firstly, FinnAir are a wicked airline. I've never had better service or food than when flying abroad. Full marks. I just wish I could've slept on the trip in economy from Helsinki to Tokyo... 8 hours of staring at the inside of my own eyelids was, frankly, horrible. But, highlights included the fact that the entertainment system was booting Linux, watching dawn over the mountains of Kamchatka (see pic), and realising that I was so, so far away...
Transit from Narita to Asakusa
Oh my God. Remind me never to do this again without a night's sleep. I was such a mess. Getting out of Narita was easy enough, but once I had to change at Tokyo station, it was just fail Fail FAIL. Thanks to some lovely people who helped point me in the right direction. I eventually got to Asakusa via the metro, and ran my heavy suitcase along its streets...
Hostel
Sakura Hostel is good. A little bit expensive, but good. Nice people, good beds, great location, ramen available at the desk! I should have crashed out as soon as I got here. However...
Wandering around like a space cadet in Asakusa
This happened instead. There's nothing quite like arriving in a place, and it's slightly raining, and you're completely screwed due to the time difference, and it's totally abstract anyway as it's A) a bit like Oxford Street when you notice a bunch of Japanese tourists, and B) a bit like Starbucks or Burger King when they've synched up the whole staff to be one particular race. This place is strange, let me make no bones about it. If there's anything they could have done differently from the outset, they've done it.
Crashing out
Mercifully crashed out in the evening, after making a solemn request to fellow dorm-dwellers about visiting...
Tsukiji fish market
Wow. Absolutely chaotic. Not content with getting up at 3.30am, or travelling on the first metros that we could, but then we had to enter into the weirdest place I have ever, ever been to. The area and building that Tsukiji exists within is just huge. HUGE. 3 football fields I heard, and I'm inclined to believe it. (cue: lots of photos) You are worked around. You are worked around and you are made to feel that way, utterly. But that's ok, because it's worth it to observe what this slice of the population are doing, which is amazing. The sheer amount of things going on here, the bustle, the business, the rampant chance of being run over at Every Single Junction, are just fantastic. Words can't really express it. Have a look at the flickr feed. After the market we (the Austrians and I) had a completely amazing sushi breakfast in a nearby place. I remember distinctly hating raw tuna when I had it in England, but what I had this morning was a totally different world. Love it.
Crashing out
This was followed by crashing out till about 1.30pm back at the hostel. And a good thing too, if I'd stayed up - I'd be in a real pickle.
Asakusa Senso-ji temple and market on a sunny afternoon
And awaking to a sunny, beautiful, if a bit chilly afternoon. The area around the temple is amazing. Filled with people and things to look at. It was good to wander through it and see what needed to be seen. The temple itself is under wraps and I'll check it out properly tomorrow maybe. Good forecast :)
Akihabara, total disappointment with Tokyo Anime madness of electronic shops
The target this afternoon was supposed to be Akihabara, and I eventually got there about 3pm. To be honest, it's a bit like being at a PC parts fest, with a little bit of Forbidden Planet thrown in there for a mix. I really hope that I've got this wrong, because I've heard so much about it and it really didn't live up to all that I've heard. The "Tokyo Anime Centre", a frequent posting on tourist maps, is nothing more than a medium sized room who happen to sell some phone charms and t-shirts. Absolutely nothing special. Don't go there. It'll just annoy you. So, after seeing that and a few other places of no particular import, I decided to walk along to Ueno Park along the train tracks.
Walking through Ueno markets
So many market stalls, so many people. I loved it so much. It reminded me a bit of Camden Stable Market, except there was so much more of it. I followed it along as far as Ueno Park station.
[Edit: It's actually called Okachimachi, not Ueno Markets, they've been there since the old black market days]
Ueno Park, sakura, festival people, food, Buddhist temple
And the park was amazing. So many people, so much blossom in the trees and in the wind, I loved it so much. Everyone was in a festival mood. Lots of picnics going on to either side of the paths. Young people, sariri-men, all folk. I wandered through it and took pictures and thought. I'd love to be a part of this. I'd love to make this my home away from home. The park was alive with people just enjoying the place. I walked down to the part by the lake and zoo, got confused by the food, the temples, the views. It's too much to put into words. After a couple of hours, I said goodbye to it and got back on the metro and to Asakusa again.
100 yen shop
Amazing place. Better fun than a one pound shop by far. Bought a towel, I'm sure my room mates will be thankful.
Asakusa wanderings
Finally tonight I wandered around Asakusa, taking in all the little bars and food places, slot machine halls, shrines, people on their way back home from work.
Flickr
When back at the hostel, I got a little annoyed with the Flickr Uploadr (sic) as it seemed to want to store images in the reverse order of when they were created. Thankfully, it turns out that it was only trying to express how things would be as if it was my Photo stream, hence, reverse order. The pictures were added and now I'm thinking that I'll have to upgrade my account. Grr.
Loud, obnoxious Amerika-jin, co-conspiratorial hippies
So, there's this American. And he's spouting shit in only the way that loud, obnoxious Americans can. Something about "being in the business" and about nuclear energy and how that "I'm on the same page, man. I don't need to see that shit" when it came to how, in Hiroshima, they are, oddly enough, a bit touchy, a bit keen to express how they got fucked during World War II. Fuck you, sir. Fuck you. They do this for a reason. They do this to show that, in the war, they did get fucked. They got fucked because their country was a warring empire and want to show the world that peace is a completely valid alternative to causing so much pain. It was getting so bad that I wanted to stand up and say "OK, kill me now. I can't believe that you have surived that long and been able to spout that much crap without getting the shit kicked out of you by someone." What a massive, massive cock. I don't know what'll happen on this particular guy's trip through Nippon, but I really hope that it doesn't enhance his world view. Cockwasher.
As it is, two hostel guests were totally not in to what he was saying, although keeping their own counsel at the table that I was checking my email at while simultaneously trying to filter out what this complete dickhead was saying. They understood, we laughed, we mocked, we struck up a really cool conversation afterwards over a few sakis and a couple of beers. Stuart and Anna, from Dublin, who have been in Thailand and New Zealand for the best part of a year. Really lovely people. Hope to bump into them again. Hope also to bump into aforementioned American except when I have a pair of nunchuku to hand.
Right, time to sign off. I'm blatantly the last person up in the hostel.
Take care all, more soon.
~aFx
Ooh, Flickr link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fractos/sets/72157623679598379/
Transit from Manchester to London
All packed up and made my way down to London, in a footwell. Thanks Branson! Much as I'd love to spunk more money on a 1st class upgrade, how about you get some decent trains that don't smell of poo?
Thanks to Nick and Liz for putting me up on Monday night, really appreciated the launch pad! Got to Heathrow with no problems. Cheers!
Transit from Heathrow to Helsinki
Into the madness of international departures... so busy, so many people, so little point buying anything duty free... I think this was the more nerve wracking flight as I hadn't medicated myself with any alcohol to make things easier. I had to tell myself that it was ok, as I was only going to Finland. That's not like the other side of the world or anything...
Departure lounge, Helsinki Airport
Helsinki looks, from the window of the airport at least, like a grey, cold, miserable place. Apparently the suicide rate dropped when they made people change to more environmentally friendly car fuels, so it was damn near impossible to gas yourself in the garage any more. Medicated myself with beer, that seemed to help.
Transit from Helsinki to Tokyo
Ok, firstly, FinnAir are a wicked airline. I've never had better service or food than when flying abroad. Full marks. I just wish I could've slept on the trip in economy from Helsinki to Tokyo... 8 hours of staring at the inside of my own eyelids was, frankly, horrible. But, highlights included the fact that the entertainment system was booting Linux, watching dawn over the mountains of Kamchatka (see pic), and realising that I was so, so far away...
Transit from Narita to Asakusa
Oh my God. Remind me never to do this again without a night's sleep. I was such a mess. Getting out of Narita was easy enough, but once I had to change at Tokyo station, it was just fail Fail FAIL. Thanks to some lovely people who helped point me in the right direction. I eventually got to Asakusa via the metro, and ran my heavy suitcase along its streets...
Hostel
Sakura Hostel is good. A little bit expensive, but good. Nice people, good beds, great location, ramen available at the desk! I should have crashed out as soon as I got here. However...
Wandering around like a space cadet in Asakusa
This happened instead. There's nothing quite like arriving in a place, and it's slightly raining, and you're completely screwed due to the time difference, and it's totally abstract anyway as it's A) a bit like Oxford Street when you notice a bunch of Japanese tourists, and B) a bit like Starbucks or Burger King when they've synched up the whole staff to be one particular race. This place is strange, let me make no bones about it. If there's anything they could have done differently from the outset, they've done it.
Crashing out
Mercifully crashed out in the evening, after making a solemn request to fellow dorm-dwellers about visiting...
Tsukiji fish market
Wow. Absolutely chaotic. Not content with getting up at 3.30am, or travelling on the first metros that we could, but then we had to enter into the weirdest place I have ever, ever been to. The area and building that Tsukiji exists within is just huge. HUGE. 3 football fields I heard, and I'm inclined to believe it. (cue: lots of photos) You are worked around. You are worked around and you are made to feel that way, utterly. But that's ok, because it's worth it to observe what this slice of the population are doing, which is amazing. The sheer amount of things going on here, the bustle, the business, the rampant chance of being run over at Every Single Junction, are just fantastic. Words can't really express it. Have a look at the flickr feed. After the market we (the Austrians and I) had a completely amazing sushi breakfast in a nearby place. I remember distinctly hating raw tuna when I had it in England, but what I had this morning was a totally different world. Love it.
Crashing out
This was followed by crashing out till about 1.30pm back at the hostel. And a good thing too, if I'd stayed up - I'd be in a real pickle.
Asakusa Senso-ji temple and market on a sunny afternoon
And awaking to a sunny, beautiful, if a bit chilly afternoon. The area around the temple is amazing. Filled with people and things to look at. It was good to wander through it and see what needed to be seen. The temple itself is under wraps and I'll check it out properly tomorrow maybe. Good forecast :)
Akihabara, total disappointment with Tokyo Anime madness of electronic shops
The target this afternoon was supposed to be Akihabara, and I eventually got there about 3pm. To be honest, it's a bit like being at a PC parts fest, with a little bit of Forbidden Planet thrown in there for a mix. I really hope that I've got this wrong, because I've heard so much about it and it really didn't live up to all that I've heard. The "Tokyo Anime Centre", a frequent posting on tourist maps, is nothing more than a medium sized room who happen to sell some phone charms and t-shirts. Absolutely nothing special. Don't go there. It'll just annoy you. So, after seeing that and a few other places of no particular import, I decided to walk along to Ueno Park along the train tracks.
Walking through Ueno markets
So many market stalls, so many people. I loved it so much. It reminded me a bit of Camden Stable Market, except there was so much more of it. I followed it along as far as Ueno Park station.
[Edit: It's actually called Okachimachi, not Ueno Markets, they've been there since the old black market days]
Ueno Park, sakura, festival people, food, Buddhist temple
And the park was amazing. So many people, so much blossom in the trees and in the wind, I loved it so much. Everyone was in a festival mood. Lots of picnics going on to either side of the paths. Young people, sariri-men, all folk. I wandered through it and took pictures and thought. I'd love to be a part of this. I'd love to make this my home away from home. The park was alive with people just enjoying the place. I walked down to the part by the lake and zoo, got confused by the food, the temples, the views. It's too much to put into words. After a couple of hours, I said goodbye to it and got back on the metro and to Asakusa again.
100 yen shop
Amazing place. Better fun than a one pound shop by far. Bought a towel, I'm sure my room mates will be thankful.
Asakusa wanderings
Finally tonight I wandered around Asakusa, taking in all the little bars and food places, slot machine halls, shrines, people on their way back home from work.
Flickr
When back at the hostel, I got a little annoyed with the Flickr Uploadr (sic) as it seemed to want to store images in the reverse order of when they were created. Thankfully, it turns out that it was only trying to express how things would be as if it was my Photo stream, hence, reverse order. The pictures were added and now I'm thinking that I'll have to upgrade my account. Grr.
Loud, obnoxious Amerika-jin, co-conspiratorial hippies
So, there's this American. And he's spouting shit in only the way that loud, obnoxious Americans can. Something about "being in the business" and about nuclear energy and how that "I'm on the same page, man. I don't need to see that shit" when it came to how, in Hiroshima, they are, oddly enough, a bit touchy, a bit keen to express how they got fucked during World War II. Fuck you, sir. Fuck you. They do this for a reason. They do this to show that, in the war, they did get fucked. They got fucked because their country was a warring empire and want to show the world that peace is a completely valid alternative to causing so much pain. It was getting so bad that I wanted to stand up and say "OK, kill me now. I can't believe that you have surived that long and been able to spout that much crap without getting the shit kicked out of you by someone." What a massive, massive cock. I don't know what'll happen on this particular guy's trip through Nippon, but I really hope that it doesn't enhance his world view. Cockwasher.
As it is, two hostel guests were totally not in to what he was saying, although keeping their own counsel at the table that I was checking my email at while simultaneously trying to filter out what this complete dickhead was saying. They understood, we laughed, we mocked, we struck up a really cool conversation afterwards over a few sakis and a couple of beers. Stuart and Anna, from Dublin, who have been in Thailand and New Zealand for the best part of a year. Really lovely people. Hope to bump into them again. Hope also to bump into aforementioned American except when I have a pair of nunchuku to hand.
Right, time to sign off. I'm blatantly the last person up in the hostel.
Take care all, more soon.
~aFx
Monday, 5 April 2010
Final staging... [Originall posted 05 Apr 2010]
Well, I'm down in London, the night before my flight. On the one hand it is exciting, but on the other hand, I'm not really sure what to make of it. I guess it's nerves, really. Change, and a great deal of it. All at once.
For the past couple of weeks I've been as social as I can, visiting people, catching up, witnessing successes, failures, good parties. Oddly, it hasn't really involved a great deal of seeing my most local friends apart from a couple of occasions. Perhaps that's change too. Certainly, in one case, I'm leaving on slightly tainted terms. And if they're listening, I could do with a response. I don't like what happened and it's bothering me.
I saw Lost In Translation this morning, while packing. A good friend recommended it, not because it was a good film, but rather that it was about being lost in Japan. I loved it and can see exactly what she meant, though I really liked the entire film too.
I think I'm all set for this trip. All packed and ready in a staging position before travelling to Heathrow early tomorrow morning. My friend Nick has lent me his camera for which I'm massively grateful (yet more adaptors and cables and things to cart around though!). My netbook is all Skyped, Vent'd, blog tooled and far east language supported up.
So, Heathrow, Helsinki ... Narita Tokyo. Landing on Wednesday morning (Tuesday night GMT). If I manage to sleep on the flight then I think I can probably avoid any lag. Although it's going to be hard enough to sleep tonight.
Next update from another country!
~aFx
For the past couple of weeks I've been as social as I can, visiting people, catching up, witnessing successes, failures, good parties. Oddly, it hasn't really involved a great deal of seeing my most local friends apart from a couple of occasions. Perhaps that's change too. Certainly, in one case, I'm leaving on slightly tainted terms. And if they're listening, I could do with a response. I don't like what happened and it's bothering me.
I saw Lost In Translation this morning, while packing. A good friend recommended it, not because it was a good film, but rather that it was about being lost in Japan. I loved it and can see exactly what she meant, though I really liked the entire film too.
I think I'm all set for this trip. All packed and ready in a staging position before travelling to Heathrow early tomorrow morning. My friend Nick has lent me his camera for which I'm massively grateful (yet more adaptors and cables and things to cart around though!). My netbook is all Skyped, Vent'd, blog tooled and far east language supported up.
So, Heathrow, Helsinki ... Narita Tokyo. Landing on Wednesday morning (Tuesday night GMT). If I manage to sleep on the flight then I think I can probably avoid any lag. Although it's going to be hard enough to sleep tonight.
Next update from another country!
~aFx
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Adventure progress report [Originally posted 13 Mar 2010]
Well, my Rail Pass arrived, which is the first physical evidence of this whole thing starting to happen... Quite exciting :) I'm trying not to think of how much this thing costs...
I've also managed to get a ticket for the Studio Ghibli museum in Mitaka on the 9th April which should be awesome :)
Each morning I've been reading more of the Rough Guide to Japan and marking down places that I'd like to visit. So far I've got places like Nagoya (for its robot museum and good noodles - tebasaki) Togakushi (Ninja museum!) then Kanbayashi-Onsen to see the snow monkeys, if they're still around...
I really want to get some time in Kyoto as it sounds fascinating but accomodation might be really difficult. It's quite near Nara and Kobe, but neither of those are worth spending more than a few hours in by the looks of it. I think three days in Kyoto would be about right but when? Going to have a look at hostels this afternoon and see what's available...
~aFx
I've also managed to get a ticket for the Studio Ghibli museum in Mitaka on the 9th April which should be awesome :)
Each morning I've been reading more of the Rough Guide to Japan and marking down places that I'd like to visit. So far I've got places like Nagoya (for its robot museum and good noodles - tebasaki) Togakushi (Ninja museum!) then Kanbayashi-Onsen to see the snow monkeys, if they're still around...
I really want to get some time in Kyoto as it sounds fascinating but accomodation might be really difficult. It's quite near Nara and Kobe, but neither of those are worth spending more than a few hours in by the looks of it. I think three days in Kyoto would be about right but when? Going to have a look at hostels this afternoon and see what's available...
~aFx
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Adventuring East [Originally posted 03 March 2010]
So, what I was alluding to before was that:
I am GOING TO JAPAN soon!
In fact, I'm going in just over a month. I can't wait to be over there, to be immersed in such an alien environment... It's going to be ridiculous. I learned a little Japanese last year when I went on a beginner's language course, and I'm trying to cover the basics again with this massively Eighties video course I've found.
At the moment, it's looking like I'm going to be spending about 5 days in Tokyo. After which I'll move south west and check out various cities and places along the rail routes until reaching Hiroshima where a friend of mine has been teaching English for a while.
For Tokyo, I've already got accomodation sorted for staying in Asakusa for the first few days. I think I should try and move location to the West of the city for the last couple of days there as I want to check out Shinjuku, Roppongi and then Harajuku on the Sunday.
From the next Monday... I've not decided yet.
There are a few things I want to do, such as:
More to follow once I've worked out where I'm going!
~aFx
I am GOING TO JAPAN soon!
In fact, I'm going in just over a month. I can't wait to be over there, to be immersed in such an alien environment... It's going to be ridiculous. I learned a little Japanese last year when I went on a beginner's language course, and I'm trying to cover the basics again with this massively Eighties video course I've found.
At the moment, it's looking like I'm going to be spending about 5 days in Tokyo. After which I'll move south west and check out various cities and places along the rail routes until reaching Hiroshima where a friend of mine has been teaching English for a while.
For Tokyo, I've already got accomodation sorted for staying in Asakusa for the first few days. I think I should try and move location to the West of the city for the last couple of days there as I want to check out Shinjuku, Roppongi and then Harajuku on the Sunday.
From the next Monday... I've not decided yet.
There are a few things I want to do, such as:
- Visit Kobe for some ridiculous beef
- See Kyoto
- Do the whole cherry-blossom-festival thing
- Poke around Akihabara
- Visit the Studio Ghibli Museum! (Just applied for a ticket)
- See the Tsukiji Fish Market while jetlagged all to hell
- See a castle or two
- Make Okonomiyaki!
- Visit Osaka
- Visit the Peace Park in Hiroshima
- Get dragged to some Karaoke
- Take lots and lots of pictures (hey, turnabout is fair play, right?)
More to follow once I've worked out where I'm going!
~aFx
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Catch up [Originally posted 21 Feb 2010]
Clearly it's odd for me to be suddenly writing blog entries at a shocking more-than-one-a-day rate, after so long of being away from writing anything at all... But there's good reason. I'll come to that in a minute, or possibly in a later post. Meantime, a few things have been going on that need writing about, or at least mentioning...
Dirty Fire Project's new EP "Breaking The Robot" was released in December to ... well, not a lot happened. I'm a bit concerned on a couple of levels. Firstly, that the Xynthetic Label website and Myspace didn't get updated for weeks after it was released, which was pretty tardy, all said. And not only that but Xynthetic then went on to announce that they were wrapping up, which leaves me a bit stuck. I guess they didn't find the success that they were hoping for. Secondly, that I don't think the Techno thing went down very well.
Now, to be honest, I'm down with that. Techno is, basically, pretty boring. I hate 4-4 with a passion. If invited out and one of my mate's wasn't playing then I'd rather gouge my own eyes out than go to another dingy, cheap, more-hardcore-than-thou, shitty, banging-bass night playing nothing but acid, nu-NRG or whatever rinsed-out, treble-heavy, badly-balanced crap they're churning out. Techno, certainly in the UK, has missed it. The fans are still there but the events are just awful.
So, I can see that when presented with a new EP from a musician who most recently did breaksy-industrial stuff then suddenly goes four to the floor, people might decide that they just can't be arsed. And I think that's what has happened (though to be honest, I really don't have that many fans anyway.)
The problem is that I really needed to get those tracks out. They've been bugging me for months every time I open Ableton or FruityLoops and see them sitting there, just waiting for someone to do something with them. Now, they have been exorcised. They're out there. But no-one's that fussed. Most people, when asked, seem to like the non-techno track on there called "Make Me", which is pretty telling. Oh well.
In the grand scheme of things, I'm writing this music for me, and I felt the need to make those tracks and also to package them up in a balanced collection. It's a shame that people didn't like what I did this time round, but that fact alone isn't going to make me stop. Although, if I feel the need for techno again, I'll maybe use a pseudonym :)
(For the record, I do like some minimal techno.)
The two remixes for The Unknownn seemed to go better with good feedback from the band. Here's the link: The Unknownn @ Reverb Nation (Hmm, now that I look at it, it looks like only one of the remixes is up)
I've been reading a hell of a lot lately, though mourning losing Cities In Flight on the way to HAR 2009.
Currently reading:
Read recently:
Bit puzzled by these. They were recommended by a friend who knew that I liked the Night Angel, magical assassin trilogy. They play out, tragically, like a crazy Mills And Boon magic tech manual. Can only recommend for teenagers.
And then there's:
Okay, more later.
~aFx
Dirty Fire Project's new EP "Breaking The Robot" was released in December to ... well, not a lot happened. I'm a bit concerned on a couple of levels. Firstly, that the Xynthetic Label website and Myspace didn't get updated for weeks after it was released, which was pretty tardy, all said. And not only that but Xynthetic then went on to announce that they were wrapping up, which leaves me a bit stuck. I guess they didn't find the success that they were hoping for. Secondly, that I don't think the Techno thing went down very well.
Now, to be honest, I'm down with that. Techno is, basically, pretty boring. I hate 4-4 with a passion. If invited out and one of my mate's wasn't playing then I'd rather gouge my own eyes out than go to another dingy, cheap, more-hardcore-than-thou, shitty, banging-bass night playing nothing but acid, nu-NRG or whatever rinsed-out, treble-heavy, badly-balanced crap they're churning out. Techno, certainly in the UK, has missed it. The fans are still there but the events are just awful.
So, I can see that when presented with a new EP from a musician who most recently did breaksy-industrial stuff then suddenly goes four to the floor, people might decide that they just can't be arsed. And I think that's what has happened (though to be honest, I really don't have that many fans anyway.)
The problem is that I really needed to get those tracks out. They've been bugging me for months every time I open Ableton or FruityLoops and see them sitting there, just waiting for someone to do something with them. Now, they have been exorcised. They're out there. But no-one's that fussed. Most people, when asked, seem to like the non-techno track on there called "Make Me", which is pretty telling. Oh well.
In the grand scheme of things, I'm writing this music for me, and I felt the need to make those tracks and also to package them up in a balanced collection. It's a shame that people didn't like what I did this time round, but that fact alone isn't going to make me stop. Although, if I feel the need for techno again, I'll maybe use a pseudonym :)
(For the record, I do like some minimal techno.)
The two remixes for The Unknownn seemed to go better with good feedback from the band. Here's the link: The Unknownn @ Reverb Nation (Hmm, now that I look at it, it looks like only one of the remixes is up)
I've been reading a hell of a lot lately, though mourning losing Cities In Flight on the way to HAR 2009.
Currently reading:
 | Anathem by Neal Stephenson Really enjoying this. |
Read recently:
Bit puzzled by these. They were recommended by a friend who knew that I liked the Night Angel, magical assassin trilogy. They play out, tragically, like a crazy Mills And Boon magic tech manual. Can only recommend for teenagers.
 | Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder |
 | Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder |
 | Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder |
And then there's:
 | EVE: The Empyrean Age by Tony Gonzales This is all because I am now MASSIVELY ADDICTED TO EVE. Sigh. God help us. |
Okay, more later.
~aFx
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
HAR 2009 ... at last [originally posted 02 Feb 2010]
I had a rather excellent time at HAR 2009 . Here's a few pictures
Managed to go to a whole bunch of lectures and did a big swedge of volunteer work at the Info Desk and during clean up.
If I ever go again to this event, remind me to learn a little bit of Dutch. Because, frankly, a lot of people I was working alongside really looked down on me and were fucking obnoxious to the point of physically ignoring me. Thanks, guys. Some of you are twats and I hope your packets ARE ALWAYS LATE. Some people were great, thankfully.
I'd travelled there and back by myself, which, apart from meeting my family in Amsterdam one time, marked the first time that I'd travelled in Europe by myself. Quite fun. More on travel later on in the blog as there's news... oh, there's news... heh :)
~aFx
ps. Managed to lose "Cities In Flight" on the flight to Dutchland. Damn it.
Managed to go to a whole bunch of lectures and did a big swedge of volunteer work at the Info Desk and during clean up.
If I ever go again to this event, remind me to learn a little bit of Dutch. Because, frankly, a lot of people I was working alongside really looked down on me and were fucking obnoxious to the point of physically ignoring me. Thanks, guys. Some of you are twats and I hope your packets ARE ALWAYS LATE. Some people were great, thankfully.
I'd travelled there and back by myself, which, apart from meeting my family in Amsterdam one time, marked the first time that I'd travelled in Europe by myself. Quite fun. More on travel later on in the blog as there's news... oh, there's news... heh :)
~aFx
ps. Managed to lose "Cities In Flight" on the flight to Dutchland. Damn it.
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