I'm sick, so this will be brief. My body is all out of whack from the schedule change, I guess. Thought I would at least do a small update so you'd know what's been going on. Wednesday Smith and I went into Akihabara. They call it Electric Town. It's just streets and streets full of electronic stores. Really weird vibe to the whole place. I couldn't imagine spending much time there. Kinda made me feel creepy. Their fascination with toys and tiny gadgets is just odd. I can't really explain it, but I was glad to leave the electronic wasteland. Next we went to Ueno to go visit the park and find some food. Ueno is like a big marketplace. Stores selling anything you could imagine. We had some Soba noodles at this place called the Spacecake Cafe. They were really good. After that we went to Ueno Park, but it was raining so we didn't stay. We decided to call a friend of a friend who lives here and see what he was up to. We ended up meeting him in Roppongi. Roppongi is where you go if you want to be with other gaijin (foreigners). It's kind of a safehaven for our kind. Just a bunch of bars and restaurants. We stayed in Roppongi for a while and then made our way back to the train station in order to get home before the trains stopped running.

Yesterday we picked up Al. I was pretty much sick all day, so I just sat on the train in agony. We finally got back to the house and Al got settled in. Smith and Al went to the 100 yen store to pick up a couple of things. I stayed here and slept. Today has been a day of rest for me, as well. I'm feeling a little bit better, but still kinda sick to my stomach. Al, Smith, and John are somewhere out in Tokyo. I guess Al will tell you all about it when he gets back. I'm going to take a nap. Just thought I'd give you a brief update since it's been a couple of days. Hopefully, I will be feeling better soon and will have some more exciting stories to tell. Until then, goodnight.
- posted by Captain Scurvy @ 2:44 PM |

 
Yesterday was my first day into Tokyo. We went into Ginza. It is known as the upscale section of town where everyone buys their Gucci and Chanel. It's too rich for my blood, but fun to walk around and window shop. It is especially neat at night once everything lights up. The Sony Building is there. They have a showroom of all their latest and greatest technological breakthroughs. It was interesting to see stuff that may never even make it over to the States. We also went to Tokyo Station which has a sort of Grand Central Station feel to it. One thing to know when you're in Japan is that people generally go up stairs on the left side opposed to on the right like in the US. On an escalator you are supposed to stand on the left side in order to let people pass who are in a rush and want to walk up instead. We ate lunch in Ginza at a Subway. They are pretty much the same as they are back home. They give you a wetnap with your meal which is nice. The drinks in Japan are super small. I ordered a large Pepsi, and the cup was the size of one of our small drinks. It started raining as we were eating, so we walked around to find somewhere to buy an umbrella. I had mine, but Smith had left his at home. After getting an umbrella for around 500 yen, we started walking to a nearby park (Hibiya Park). Nothing too exciting about the park. It was nice to see some trees in the middle of the craziness of the city, though. There was a replica of the Liberty Bell. I will post a picture at some point. The Imperial Palace is right next to Hibiya Park, so we journeyed that way. We made it right around closing time, but got to see the palace from a distance. They won't let you inside anyway, so we didn't miss much. We didn't get to see the gardens around the palace, but we can always go back. It was starting to get dark, so we headed back to Ginza to see all of the neon lights. After a few pictures we went back to the train station and headed back home. Finally got to visit with John once we got back. He cooked up a welcome dinner which was quite nice. We were all tired after that and decided to call it a night.

Today we are going to try to go to Akhibara (Electric Town) and Ueno Park. That should be fun. Akhibara is where you want to be if you plan to buy anything remotely having to do with electronics. Ueno Park has tons of things to do. Lots of museums, temples, and gardens. They even have a zoo. So, it looks like it will be an action packed day ahead. I will let you know how it goes.
- posted by Captain Scurvy @ 11:20 AM |

 
One more day of work...
is all that stands between me and the sweet sweet air! And then... NIPPON!!!
- posted by Unknown @ 11:06 AM |

 
So, I got the camera working finally. I uploaded some pictures that I've taken so far. You can find them at this website: http://lostinjapan.buzznet.com. You can also get to them by clicking on the thumbnail images on the right side of this page.

Yesterday we went to a shrine just down the street. It was small and you couldn't go inside, but it was a good warm up for when we visit the more famous shrines and temples in Tokyo. Yesterday was pretty much a lazy day. We ran some errands and got to walk around town a bit, but that's about it. It was also really hot and humid yesterday, so we didn't feel like being out and about for too long. Smith cooked up some pasta and we watched some episodes of I Dream Of Jeannie and Bewitched that he had recorded before he got over here. We attempted to hook up the antenna so we could watch some Japanese television, but it seems that the previous tenants cut the cable. However, Smith bought a stereo that allows you to listen to the audio broadcast from television stations, so we can always do that. I've only seen John twice. Each time was just briefly in the morning as he was on his way out the door to leave for work. Haven't really gotten a chance to visit with him. Hopefully, I will get to see him tonight. Well, I think I am off to the store to see if I can find some eggs and bacon to cook up. I'll keep you posted...
- posted by Captain Scurvy @ 9:35 AM |

 
It's really windy here. It's good though because it is also extremely humid, so at least the wind dries you off a bit. Still trying to get the internet working on my laptop. I played with it some this morning and came to the conclusion that it's not the cable. I just need the IP info and settings to configure everything properly. XP usually recognizes everything as soon as you plug it in, but I guess in Japan it is different. I hope to have pictures up one of these days. I would use the computer at the house since it is already connected to the internet, but it won't recognize my camera for some reason. Al is hopefully going to bring over the camera software that I forgot, and that should solve any problems I am having.

Anyway, enough of the technical stuff. I haven't done anything interesting today, but it's only noon. Mainly I just want to rest. I took a shower which was at the top of my list. I woke up at 6:30AM which is odd because I was really tired, but I felt fairly good this morning. I am a little sleepy now, but I think that is from the fact that I only slept for about 5 hours last night. Smith and I are going to walk around Funabashi a bit, and we will probably go out for dinner once John gets home from work tonight. Sorry I have no exciting stories to tell, but I'm just trying to get settled in and rest a little. Last night we went to a grocery store down the street and got some tofu and a thing similar to a radish (except that they are huge) called a daikon. It has a very mild taste. They are actually quite bland, but good for snacking. I find the little differences fascinating. I'm sure I will be running into a whole bunch all too soon. For example, when you check out at the grocery store you pay for everything and then they give you plastic bags. You then gather up all your groceries and move to this small area where you bag everything yourself. I found this neat. I think everywhere should be like this. Also, you don't hand your money to the cashier. You can, but they have a tray next to the register that you lay your money in. Most vending machines take 10,000 yen bills which is something you won't find in America. Imagine sliding in a hundred dollar bill to buy a coke. You quickly acquire a bunch of coins. We took a cab from the Chiba train station to the house. Nothing super exciting. The drivers wear suits and gloves and the car was super clean. Also important to know that the doors open and close automatically. So there's a recap of some of the small differences I've come across so far.

Gotta go get some lunch. If I were to predict the future I'd say have to say noodles. I'll keep working on the camera issue and hopefully have pictures up soon. This is Josh... live from Japan... signing off.
- posted by Captain Scurvy @ 11:54 AM |

 
Um, apparently Japanese DSL CAT5 cables are not the same as in America, so I cannot connect my laptop directly to an internet connection. I will have to work some more to figure out exactly how to upload pictures and such from my camera.

However, I am now in Funabashi finally. I arrived around 1PM Japanese time. My friend Smith picked me up and took me to my final destination in Chiba. Once we got there we catched up on old times and headed to a 100 yen store (dollar store) to pick up a pillow case and some slippers. Yes, people really do take their shoes off everywhere over here. Well, atleast in their homes. The slippers are still small even though I tried to find the biggest ones I could.

I am very tired. It is around 10:44AM your time, which means I have been up around 17 hours now. So parden me if I ramble on too much. The house I am staying at is really cool. Nothing special, but more than I ever imagined. Very Japanese in its subtle ways. In my delerium I have already experienced many awesome things. Just the subway alone was an exciting thing. I will try to figure out a way to post pictures tomorrow. For now i am too worn out. Things have just begun, and there is so much more to report. I wish you could all be here with me. Save up your money. Until then. Goodnight.

- Josh
- posted by Captain Scurvy @ 11:37 PM |