View Full Version : Right, so I'm off to Japan
ms.peachy
09-17-2005, 01:01 AM
If I've got in-room internet at any of the hotels, I'll try and stop in and post some photos. If not, I'll see all you monkeys when I get back.
Sayonara!
Medellia
09-17-2005, 01:10 AM
Enjoy, Peachy! :D
paul jones
09-17-2005, 07:10 AM
say Hi to all the chinese people for me! :D (y)
JBernas
09-19-2005, 10:08 AM
Have a great time!
ms.peachy
09-20-2005, 05:12 PM
man this place is really something!
paul jones
09-20-2005, 05:17 PM
man this place is really something!
it's just like Bladerunner isn't it! (y)
tracky
09-20-2005, 05:18 PM
In-room internet? I wouldn't be suprised if you get an in-room robot over there :D
ms.peachy
09-22-2005, 01:03 AM
it's just like Bladerunner isn't it! (y)
parts of it, yeah
my room comes with 3 pairs of slippers. 1 pair is the 'toilet shoes'. These are to be worn only in the toilet. 1 pair is the 'balcony shoes'. These are to wear if (and only if) I want to stand out on the tiny wee little balcony. Lastly there are my 'hallway shoes', which are multi purpose in that I can use them when I am walking in the hallway to the public bath, OR if I am walking in the hallway that leads to the lobby, where I can put on my normal 'outside shoes'.
#1 rule: Never, ever, ever wear the toilet shoes in the hallway. Or the world ends, apparently.
p.s. all of the petrol stations here are called "cosmo".
p.s.s. At one store, my purchase came in a shopping bag with a picture of a puppy on it, and it said "Whenever you smash into something that is good, you hold it until it is time to let go. I always with you." How great is that? (y)
mickill
09-22-2005, 01:08 AM
#1 rule: Never, ever, ever wear the toilet shoes in the hallway. Or the world ends, apparently.
Oh, come on. Do it. Live a little. No one's gonna see you. And even if they do, so what? Let them watch.
jabumbo
09-22-2005, 12:47 PM
i say wear your hooker boots as you walk down to the lobby
report back with your findings
ms.peachy
09-25-2005, 02:20 AM
The toilet in our hotel room in Osaka had more buttons than my mobile phone.
yeahwho
09-25-2005, 02:25 AM
I'm jealous, japan is exactly the place I would love to visit. Enjoy all that crazy technology and far out food. Lucky!
ms.peachy
09-26-2005, 06:02 AM
Random thoughts on my trip so far:
1) Japanese people like to squat. Pretty much anywhere, anytime.
2) Japanese people like to nap. Pretty much anywhere, any time.
3) There are a lot of people in Japan.
4) I'm not all that keen on fish and rice and miso soup for breakfast. I know it's healthy and all, and I like all of those things. But it just doesn't work for me as a breakfast option.
5) At home, I'd never think of eating in a restaurant with pictures of the food on the menu. (Well, maybe IHOP.) Here, it's like "Oh thank god, this place has a picture menu!"
6) You might think you'd get tired of looking at centuries-old temples with beautifully landscaped gardens, koi ponds and raked stones. Well, maybe you would. But I don't think I ever could be.
7) The whole Japanese bath thing? Excellent!
8) In any city in America or Europe, if someone came up to you on the street and started talking to you, you'd assume they were just distracting you whilst an associate steals your wallet. Here, everyone here is unfailingly friendly and polite. If we so much as take out and unfold a map, within 15 seconds some nice person has asked "Can I help you?" Because, they actually want to help you.
enree erzweglle
09-26-2005, 06:07 AM
7) The whole Japanese bath thing? Excellent!
You're there safe and sound. It sounds like you're feeling well and enjoying the sights. (y)
What's a Japanese bath?
8) In any city in America or Europe, if someone came up to you on the street and started talking to you, you'd assume they were just distracting you whilst an associate steals your wallet. Here, everyone here is unfailingly friendly and polite. If we so much as take out and unfold a map, within 15 seconds some nice person has asked "Can I help you?" Because, they actually want to help you.I love hearing that. That is just so, so great!
venusvenus123
09-26-2005, 08:08 AM
parts of it, yeah
my room comes with 3 pairs of slippers. 1 pair is the 'toilet shoes'. These are to be worn only in the toilet. 1 pair is the 'balcony shoes'. These are to wear if (and only if) I want to stand out on the tiny wee little balcony. Lastly there are my 'hallway shoes', which are multi purpose in that I can use them when I am walking in the hallway to the public bath, OR if I am walking in the hallway that leads to the lobby, where I can put on my normal 'outside shoes'.
#1 rule: Never, ever, ever wear the toilet shoes in the hallway. Or the world ends, apparently.
p.s. all of the petrol stations here are called "cosmo".
p.s.s. At one store, my purchase came in a shopping bag with a picture of a puppy on it, and it said "Whenever you smash into something that is good, you hold it until it is time to let go. I always with you." How great is that? (y)
that's so excellent -- all of it really, but i love the two PSs. i didn't realise you were checking in here while you were there. i can't wait to go!
have you read Will Ferguson's Hokkaido Highway Blues? my sister gave me a copy for my birthday, so at the moment i'm spending my time reading that rather than my travel guide.
i look forward to hearing more about your trip.
(y)
mickill
09-26-2005, 08:59 AM
1) Japanese people like to squat. Pretty much anywhere, anytime.
It's an Asian thing, in general.
2) Japanese people like to nap. Pretty much anywhere, any time.
I was always under the impression that they worked too hard, especially given the profile of the typical Japanese businessman/woman. You know, hardworking, never home, 12 hour work days, sleeping on the train, collapsing in the middle of crowded streets from fatigue....oh, I see what you mean now.
can you take pictures of all the nice japanese performance cars you might happen to come across? eg. nissans & mazdas pleeeeeeease.
beastieangel01
09-26-2005, 09:35 AM
woo, awesome vacation spot. I am jealous, enjoy yourself :)
yeah, about the squatting; i heard in some asian countries (at least vietnam, i think), they squat to poo, rather than sit. are the toilets designed with that in mind in any way at all? or do people not do that in japan any more? i saw a picture of some sign next to a toilet in china or some place, with a little picture telling people to sit on the toilet, not squat on it. it was written in chinese, or korean, or elvish or something, but the diagrams were pretty self explanatory.
i've been posting about poo way too much lately
Hiebz
09-26-2005, 11:17 AM
sweet news, thanks for the introspective! and congrats on the expecting baby!
peace
ms.peachy
09-27-2005, 06:10 AM
Today we went to the monkey park! The monkey park!!!! (y) (y) (y)
paul jones
09-27-2005, 08:36 AM
Today we went to the monkey park! The monkey park!!!! (y) (y) (y)
did they have special sumo monkeys?
ms.peachy
09-27-2005, 04:10 PM
did they have special sumo monkeys?
No they were wild monkeys. It's this nature preserve area up on top of a mountain on the outskirts of Kyoto. It was a little freaky actually, because we were climbing the mountain for like a half hour going "This sucks, I'm walking uphill in the heat and there are no damn monkeys" and then all of the sudden there were, like, hundreds of them, all over the place, chattering and jumping over our heads and running past us. And no other humans, just a load of monkeys. And although they are wild, they are sort of used to people - they just don't seem to care that we're there, so they just swing across right in front of your face all of the sudden, or run straight at you and then jump out of the way (or, even wierder, suddenly stop dead in front of you and stare at you and grunt). It was really awesome, but, erm, kind of creepy at times.
mickill
09-27-2005, 04:12 PM
It was really awesome, but, erm, kind of creepy at times.
Imagine if they were gorillas!
ms.peachy
09-28-2005, 03:27 AM
mr.peachy says, next time I drag him off to see monkeys, they better be wearing suits, smokin' ceeegars, and riding bicycles.
Oh and today, we went to Nara and saw a giant Buddha, and mr.peachy got bitten in the ass by a deer.
ms.peachy
09-28-2005, 09:17 AM
Tonight we saw 2 geishas. Which was kind of unexpected and cool.
Oh, and a vending machine for lacy panties.
mr.peachy says, next time I drag him off to see monkeys, they better be wearing suits, smokin' ceeegars, and riding bicycles.
were they at least masturbating in inapproiate places?
DandyFop
09-28-2005, 09:21 AM
I'm glad you are having so much fun!! That sounds awesome. I never thought I wanted to go there but with all that crazy shit it seems amazing.
ms.peachy
10-01-2005, 05:06 AM
you guys would not believe the place we were staying at the past couple of days. It was amazing. Go google 'Fujiya Hotel Hakone'. It was so crazy, this place. Not crazy hectic, crazy like being on the set of some surreal film. This hotel, it's, like, something out of history. Being there is like stepping out of time. Could be 2005, could be 1978, could be 1950, could be 1936. Really weird and fabulous, like being a movie star of old. Amongst the guests that have stayed there over the years:
Neil Armstrong
John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon (clearly not long before he was shot, judging by the age of Sean in the photos)
Frank Lloyd Wright
assorted royals of various Scandinavian countries
Twiggy
Albert Einstein
Helen Keller
Margaret Thatcher
the Emrpress of Japan
and a few more I cannot remember now but holy moly, what a place. It's clearly not as 'polished' as it used to be - it's got this real faded grandeur about it, like a movie star of old or something, but still incredible. What a place!
So you're the famous guest at the moment then?
ms.peachy
10-01-2005, 05:21 AM
So you're the famous guest at the moment then?
Well, not any more, as I've now checked out and am back in Tokyo. (There was no internet access at the Fujiya, and rightly so.)
Now we are at the Hotel Okura, which is quite something else in its own right. Apparently it was featured in the James Bond film, 'You Only Live Twice', and decor-wise, looks like it hasn't changed since. It's like a time capsule, seriously. But absolutely pristine. Seriously, go look it up on the net, it's wild..
They both look very nice.
ms.peachy
10-03-2005, 08:49 PM
Sunday I spent the afternoon interviewing Japanese teenagers. That was fun! There's this area of town called Harajuku where kids all hang out, all dressed up in their wacky goth/manga clothes and shit. And when you talk to them (or at least try to), there are all, like "Oh, I am very shy and uninteresting, please do not notice me." Crazy. But that was a fun experience. Mostly they are just like teenagers everywhere really though.
Yesterday mr.peachy was chased by Godzilla. No shit.
Chicka B
10-03-2005, 08:53 PM
say Hi to all the chinese people for me! :D (y)
Hahaha you little butt monkey! :rolleyes:
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