Made it

I have seven minutes to write this, so it will be brief (about bloody time, I hear you say... especially you Danielle!).

I made it into Heathrow about half an hour ago, made it through customs in about five minutes and now I'm waiting for Lee to pick me up. Everything has gone so smoothly it's a little disturbing - although I am feeling quite woozy and almost passed out while I was walking from the terminal to the check out gates.

Apparently it's 2.30am in Tokyo right now, which means I've been up for 20 hours or so - despite the fact it's not gone 6pm here in London yet. Time zones, eh. Better yet, the night has just begun as Lee and I are heading out to see Nine Inch Nails play at Brixton - how's THAT for a welcome!

Three minutes left, I think I'll leave it at that.

Paid In Full

I knew it was coming - today, it finally happened.

I've finally paid my stupidity tax.

As I mentioned this morning, I had to rush to catch the Shinkansen to Osaka - but not before I jotted down the details of how to get to the hostel I was staying at. I made my train in plenty of time and arrived in Osaka at 1.30pm.

The directions were quite easy, I just had one subway ride to make and I was at the doorstep. I made it in around 2pm and checked in.

After going up to the room, I soon found out that the advertisement for this place had been a bit colourful in its description. Instead of Internet access in every room, instead there were three free computers in the lobby. Not that big a deal, but still a bit annoying.

Anyway, I unrolled the bed and laid down for a while - and promptly fell asleep. The last few days had been pretty huge and I'd been running around a lot, so it's not that big a surprise really. When I woke up, it was around 7pm so I figured it was probably time to get out and see some of this new city.

I wandered down to the lobby and hopped onto one of the free computers, then brought up the website for the place I was staying. This was the point I started to realise something fishy was going on: the picture on the website didn't look like the place I was in. Puzzled, I got up and walked outside... and saw that the place I was supposed to be staying at was actually next door!

Suddenly, it all clicked. I rushed inside and tried to explain to the guy at reception what had happened. It took a bit of time as he only knew a tiny amount of english and I knew no japanese, but eventually I conveyed the message that I had checked in to the wrong place and I'd like to check out right away.

I suppose I should explain what happened: you see, all I had written down was the name of the place, so as I started walking up the street I was looking for any sign that had that name on it - which is what I found. Unfortunately, the place I went into was the new building which, as it turns out, is a completely separate entity to the other place. Basically, all I'm saying is that it was an easy mistake to make!

I wasn't expecting a refund and I didn't get one, which was fair enough. All up, this little misadventure cost me 2500 yen - roughly AU$25.

So that's my story. I've paid my stupidity tax for this trip - luckily it wasn't a lot this time.

Rookie Mistakes

I'm now on day six in Japan and I'm realising just how many rookie mistakes I've been making on this trip. Don't get me wrong; I'm having a great time and what I'm seeing is amazing, but this is the first time I've been overseas and it's the first time I've ever planned my own trip. Knowing what I know now, the next one will be a lot better.

My biggest problem is that I've gone too far and not given myself enough time to have a look around. Yesterday was the perfect example: after a massive day in Kyoto, I ended up sleeping in slightly and didn't get to the train station until around 10.30am. Which was lucky, the Shinkansen was leaving at 10.40am, but then I needed to make a connection to Hiroshima which meant waiting around until 12pm. Consequently, I didn't get into Hiroshima until 1.30pm, and then the hostel until 2.30pm. I only had one night here, so I instantly raced out and saw as much as I could until the sun went down.

I'm getting ahead of myself, of course - I need to write something about Kyoto before I get to Hiroshima. However, that's going to have to wait because I now have to rush and catch another Shinkansen into Osaka and do the same thing all over again!

See what I mean?

Made it to Kyoto

Today I moved on from Tokyo to Kyoto, which involved a Shinkansen (bullet train) ride and a lot of walking. Oh, and some head scratching because I misplaced my instructions on how to get to the hostel!

I'm really enjoying myself so far, probably more than I expected to be honest. My first day in Tokyo proper was mostly spent around the Asakusa area, where the hostel was located. I wandered out with some others from the hostel but didn't see much so I had an early night.

The next day, though - oh boy. After grabbing some breakfast, I wandered back up to the big temple in Asakusa to look at it properly. I don't exactly know what was going on there, I'll have to do a spot of reading up on the place when I get some time! The shopping arcade was very pretty - lined with fake cherry blossoms - but most of the stuff on sale seemed to be touristy souvenir things.



Next I caught the train into Akihabara, the electronics district. I have to admit, although it was pretty cool (many, many shops lined up - almost all multiple levels), most of the stuff for sale was a bit... ordinary? Some of it reminded me of the markets in Sydney.



Shibuya was my next stop - wow, this place was phenomenal! This is where the classic neon Tokyo image comes from: the big traffic intersection with lights, signs and moving billboards. It's an assault on the senses and I loved it.



I wandered around here for a couple of hours just admiring it all. The streets are so clean, there are so many shops and restaurants and people and cars - it was so enjoyable just to wander around, ducking into different shops. I'll admit, I was on a CD hunt, but I also came across this MASSIVE instrument shop that had hundreds and hundreds of guitars - I just wanted to pick them up and play (I'm really missing my guitar right now).

I'd been told by one of the girls I met the previous day I should head up the big tower in Yokohama so I can see the city sprawl from up high, but another guy at the hostel told me I should do it at Shinjuku as I should be able to see Mt. Fuji from there - so that was my next stop. I wandered around looking for an observation tower but couldn't figure out where to go, so I picked a nice tall-looking building and asked the girl at the front desk if I could go up top and peer out. She seemed okay with it, so peer I did.



It was one hell of a view - Tokyo literally goes on as far as you can see, all around. This comes at a price, though: pollution. In the end I didn't get to see Mt. Fuji because the not-so-distant horizon was obscured by a thick dirty cloud of smog. It made the sunset quite impressive, though!

Planning has never been my strong point (ask any of my friends, family, ex-girlfriends, people on the street, etc.) and, sadly, my lack of foresight really bit me in the bum today. After I'd booked all my accommodation and flights, only then did I find out about the cosplay that goes on in Harajuku on Sundays.

If you don't know what this is, basically lots and lots and lots of girls and guys get dressed up in all sorts of weird and magnificent costumes and parade around the big park, playing up to the onlookers and posing for pictures. The idea of getting a look at dozens and dozens of sexy young japanese girls in skimpy outfits fills me with all sorts of feelings, so the fact that I'm going to be in Kyoto when this is all going on has bummed me out a little. Just something else to look forward to next time, I guess.



Nevertheless, I decided to stop off and have a quick look through Harajuku anyway - but not for very long. I wandered down one arcade that was lined with clothes shops (some of which made me wish for an adventurous girl to try them on for me - don't judge me, you'd think the same if you saw this stuff!), but it was getting dark and I wanted to head back to Shibuya to see the place lit up at night.

Back on the train and back in Shibuya, by now it was dark and I saw everything lit up. If you've ever seen Blade Runner, you know what I'm talking about when I say the entire place was alive with people and light. I was there for about 30 minutes and, I kid you not, not once did the steady stream of people ever let up or thin out. There are so many people this place!



I needed to change trains at Akihabara in order to get back to the hostel, so I thought I'd stop by and have a look at the lights here too. It was good, but Shibuya was just so dazzling that anything else loses its lustre, really.

Anyway, after being on my feet for a good eight or nine hours, I was very glad for a seat and to take my shoes off! After an hour or two sitting on the nice comfy lounge, this nice French guy staying at the hostel and I wandered down the road to a bar and proceeded to chat and get drunk until 1am. Which would have been okay except I needed to take an early train to move on to Kyoto...



Which is where I am now. I went for a bit of an exploratory wander through the city this afternoon (if Tokyo reminded me of Sydney, Kyoto definitely reminds me of Melbourne!) but I thought I might take it easy tonight as I have a huge day ahead of me tomorrow.

And So It Begins...

I'm here! Right now I'm sitting in the Internet room at the Narita View Hotel having spent my first night in Japan - it's awesome.

I don't have much time right now, I'm just waiting until the bus arrives so I can head into Tokyo.

First, the admissions: I've spent the last few days with a massive knot in my stomache from nervousness. Everyone has been telling me I'm going to have so much fun, it'll be great, it's going to be the best thing I ever did, etc. Every time someone said this though, the knot just kept getting tighter.

Finally, the day came yesterday and during the whole drive to Sydney I was really shaking (luckily it was cold so I hid it well). At the airport, I tried to eat and instead only could get a milkshake down. I tried taking some pictures, but airports are really dull to look at.

It was hard saying goodbye to everyone, especially Blake (my 11 year old nephew), who started tearing up a bit - which made me feel like doing the same.

The flight was no problem, the seat beside me was free so I had a bit of room to stretch out. The knot was still there, though.

Then we started to descend... and that was the moment I finally untangled the mess in my stomache.

Flying into Narita was unbelievable, as we started to descend I watched the mainland come into view, and sticking out of the clouds far in the distance was Mt. Fuji - which was visible the entire way into the airport. We landed around 6.20pm local time.

Not many pictures yet (as I said, airports aren't very exciting), today's the big day for that. Speaking of which, I need to go catch my bus!

I Hate Driving

"There are two types of people in the world: those who were born to drive and those who were born to be driven."

It may seem a little strange to learn just how much I hate driving, especially considering I'm about to spend the next however many months travelling around various countries and provinces. However, yesterday I spent 13 hours in my car driving from Melbourne to Newcastle and I think I'm quite justified in expressing how much I hate driving.

The above (mis)quote is actually from Men Behaving Badly, and it sums up my feeling regarding driving quite nicely: I consider myself part of the latter group who was unfairly thrust into the former. Of course life, being the vicious bastard it can be, decided to play yet another cruel practical joke on me by pairing me up for eight years with someone with no licence and no inclination of getting one. This isn't meant as a grudge against her, I'm simply pointing it out to try and demonstrate that, over the years, I've done a lot of driving.

I'll admit, I am partly to blame for the situation as I passed my Ls test on my 16th birthday, and then my earned my Ps the day after I turned 17 (my birthday was on a Sunday that year). It seems as though I was chomping at the bit to get my hands around the steering wheel, right? Well, yes, I haven't always felt this way.

It's not actually the driving part that I can't stand; the problem is that I have a pure and blind hatred of everyone else on the road. From the inconsiderate truck drivers, the impatient taxi drivers, the dangerous idiots (and I know a few personally - idiot is too mild a word) who seem to think the roads are their own personal race tracks, or even better, seem to think it's okay to drive when they're drunk. Every single time I get behind the wheel I start to panic that this might be the last thing I ever do - and I have absolutely no control over it.

I'm also not the greatest passenger in the world. Admittedly, I love being driven around (because it's such a rare occurrence), but my innate distrust of people other than me behind the wheel tends to make me rather nervous when I'm in not in control of the vehicle. It's not uncommon to see me grab on to arm rests or tense up when the speed goes higher than I'm comfortable with - I've even been known to stomp my foot down on occasion in a futile effort to slam on the imaginary brakes.

Basically, I have a fear of becoming a road statistic.

This is one of the reasons why I really enjoyed living in Melbourne. Public transport there is fantastic (despite what the locals will claim) and it is very easy to get around without ever requiring a car. I have a friend who drives to work every day because he can't stand being near the people using public transport. I, on the other hand, am far happier to avoid the stress of driving in a big city at peak hour times. I find it way more peaceful to put some music on and either walk or tram it home (of course, it helped that I was in walking distance to work).

Yesterday's trip was mostly free of these problems, although I was occasionally amazed at how inconsiderate some people could be when it was extremely obvious that my very heavily packed little car wasn't able to stick to the speed limit when going up a steep hill. Especially when it's a truck that's decided to tailgate me in a misguided attempt to get me to speed up. I never know why these morons think this tactic is going to work; I'm far more likely to slow down just to piss them off some more.

So having admitted all of this, I guess the big question is: what does this mean for my trip? Well, not a lot really. I'm actually a big fan of public transport (although I do have a minor problem with flying), so I'm perfectly happy to train, bus, tram, ferry or whatever my way around to where I want to go. I've been warned about the cost and reliability of the train system in the UK, but I'm really in no rush to get around. I'll take my time.

Anyway, the good news is that I'm now in Newcastle - I now have two weeks exactly to get everything ready before I leave.

Ups and Downs

As the title of this post cleverly suggests, this week has been a bit of a bumpy ride. Let me start at the beginning and work my way forward - how's that for a radical concept.

The week began pretty much as normal, except this time I knew it was my last week of work. Nothing exceptional there - maybe a bit of excitement.

The next day, on the other hand, was about as unpleasant time as I've had in a very long time. In order to finalise our separation, I needed to have a solicitor look over our agreement and sign that it was okay - so that was where I headed on Tuesday morning.

It's amazing how instructions as simple as "I am perfectly happy with this agreement, let me just sign it so I can get out of this office as cheaply as possible" can end up costing such a stupid amount of money. And I really mean stupid: the amount of cash that is being pissed away on this agreement could easily fund two weeks of accommodation in Japan. Just to sign a piece of paper. Unbelievable.

See, just writing about it now has made me angry again - imagine how infuriated I was after leaving their offices. It gets better too - you should see the costs agreement these leeches have the nerve to wave under your nose! It should be a crime the amount of money these people charge for such simple tasks as sending a fax.

Calm blue ocean. Calm blue ocean.

Friday was my last day of work. I'd been at that job for almost three years - nearly the exact amount of time I've been living in Melbourne - so it was a little sad to be saying goodbye to everyone. Most of the day was spent wrapping up the last of my tasks and handing them over to other people to look after, but toward the end of the day we were all herded into the kitchen and I was given a farewell card and present, and a lot of kind words from everyone.

I must admit, it was a really strange feeling walking out of work for the last time. Knowing that on Monday I have no job to go to. Knowing that I've voluntarily made myself unemployed. Knowing that I'm leaving the country in just a few weeks. Wondering if I'm making a mistake of monumental proportions. And every time I have one of these thoughts, it just makes me realise all the more why I'm going.

Saturday was spent packing and partying, or at least hanging out with some friends I haven't seen in a long time (and some friends I see all the time).

Today, my flat is almost empty. I've said goodbye to my bookshelves and have deposited all of my fully packed boxes to R's place until I leave. I also managed to make a deal to get rid of the last of my furniture today, so I can stop worrying what I'm going to do with the last of my stuff. All of the stuff I'm renting is being picked up on Friday so all I need to do is pack the last of my stuff and clean the flat. Then I'm ready to go.

One week of Melbourne left.

Oh, I thought I'd finish with a couple of links:

• My 'official' review of the Roger Waters concert (scroll to the end) that I submitted to my favourite Pink Floyd website.


• And a bit of justification that the show was awesome - A review of one of the Melbourne shows from The Age.