Hi All,
Well I'm back in Melbourne and I'm fine. A little hayfever but I've got some pills for that.
Ok, so I'm back in my "home" city and I've got to start getting my life back together. I've now got to find a job, buy a car and then move out. Oh not to mention I've got to clean up my room... Since I've been back I've made a big mess... (It looks like a bomb went off in my room).
There's not much to say really.
Since my Last post I travelled through Malaysia and stayed with Patrick Pincon for 2 days. Then I went to Singapore and stayed with Julian for a night. The next morning the Heng family picked me up and took me around Singapore. After that I went to Indonesia for 2 days and stayed with Fadrian and his family at his home town. That was fun and a little more culture shock. By this stage I was EXHAUSTED I really was. I was looking forward to going home and sleeping for a very long time. After Indonesia I back tracked and took a boat from Indonesia to Singapore and from Singapore I took a bus to Malaysia. Where Patrick picked me up from the Bus terminal and I stayed the night with him. The next morning to took the 06:00 (am) bus to the airport.
I then flew from KL, Malaysia to Sydney Australia. Where Anna (my girlfriend) was waiting. So I stayed in Sydney for two and a half days and then flew back to Melbourne, Australia (my home city).
But it doesn't end there folks, the next morning I took a bus up to Mt. Buller where myself, Alan and Tomoko hired some Snowboards and went snowboarding. It was great fun but I really was exhaused. I picked it up fast and had the basic skills that I needed by the end of the first day. By the second day I had the basic technique mastered. But by the third day I was so exhaused that I found it really hard to get back up after each fall. So I called it a day at about noon and headed back to the apartment for some R & R and waited for the other two to arrive back.
So my whole trip finished on the 29th of September 2004 when I arrived back from Snowboarding. I've spent the last week and a half cleaning, shopping and lazing around... I needed a rest after my LONG trip...
I hope you have enjoyed my Blog up to this point. From here there won't be many stories to tell. So I'm not sure what's going to happen from here...
I will keep you posted with that's happening with me but I'm not sure if that's going to be all that interesting.
Take care and keep in touch,
Chan in Melbourne
Friday, October 08, 2004
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Chan Update: 23-Sept-2004
Hi All,
I'm sorry if you have tried to visit my site in the last week or so. But it's been down. I haven't been able to get the main site up but I have managed to salvage the Blog.
Here is a link to my pictures:
http://www.imagestation.com/member/index.html?name=chan83&c=201
When asked for the username and password enter these:
Username: chansguest
Password: moo
Take care,
Chan "no longer in Japan"
Chan Update: 21-Sept-2004
Hi All,
I've spent the last day and a half with Fadrian on his home island of Tanjungpinang. Tomorrow morning (22-Sept-2004) I'll be taking a 07:00 (GMT+07:00) ferry from this island to Singapore. From there I will be taking a 12:00 bus (called the "Nice" bus) from Singapore to Malaysia. I'll arrive in Malaysia at approximately 17:00(GMT+08:00) where I'm hoping Patrick will be free to pick me up. Otherwise I'll have to find some other kind of accommodation. But I will have to meet up with Patrick at some point to give him Julian's public transport card and give him back the mobile phone which he lent me.
My current plans after that is to take a Malaysia Airlines flight from Malaysia at 09:45 (GMT+08:00)at KL airport. I will arrive at Sydney at 19:35(GMT+10:00). I will meet up with Anna and then spend the next 3 days with her in Sydney.
After that I will travel back to Melbourne on a Qantas flight departing Sydney at 14:00(GMT+10:00). I will then go home. Unpack, wash my cloths, get some sleep. Then repack and go snow boarding with Alan on the 27-Sept-2004 for 3 days and 2 nights (as far as I know).
After that I have to find a job and be a normal member of Australian society. And leave my life as a professional tourist behind. :)
Take care,
Chan "no longer in Japan"
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Chan not in Japan Update: 18-Sept-2004
Hi all,
I'm writing this blog entry for both my own blog and Patrick's. If you don't understand what's going on then check out my blog at: it should all make sense after that.
Basically my name is Chan. I've been travelling around Japan from the end of August to mid September. But I'd worked in Japan for 5 months before that. But like I said check out my blog if you are interested.
Today is the 18th of Sept 2004. I've spent the last 2 and a half days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with Patrick Pincon. Today I'm leaving KL for Singapore to meet up with Julian and at some point Joleen. I have a 11:15 bus to Singapore from KL and a return bus leaving Singapore on the 22nd at 12:00 noon.
I arrived in KL on the 15th of Sept. And stayed in the "Bestotel" but it wasn't that good. It's been a bit of a culture shock being in KL. I've come from a society which is seen as a very polite society (Japanese) into Malaysian society. It really hit me when I got on the bus from the airport. I'd asked the bus driver something and he just kind of grunted at me. Then when I got to the hotel the lobby staff were pretty rude. But it's all good. Just have to get used to it.
Since I've been here I've met up with Joa Quim, Patrick and Patrick's friend Albert. The first thing we did was go to a Mamak to eat Magi Mee and Milo Ice… heheh… Very nice… I had like 3 or 4 Milo Ices. They're damn good. Since then Patrick has been showing me around. On the 16th he took me to KLCC, I have no idea what that stands for but it's at the base of the Petronas Towers. Yesterday (17-Sept) he took me the "markets" where they sell all the pirated CDs and DVDs. They're not as cheap as I was hoping they where. Then we went out for Japanese food… Yeah yeah I know… Um, but it was interesting to see Japanese food in the eyes of Malaysia. It food was similar but definitely not the same.
And how today I'm heading to Singapore.
Sorry my site has been down. My server closed all free accounts which included mine. :'( But if you are reading this that means that my site is back up and all is well. So for those in Melbourne I'll be seeing you in a little while. For those of you in Japan, good luck, I hope you are safe and well.
Best Wishes,
Chan
I'm writing this blog entry for both my own blog and Patrick's. If you don't understand what's going on then check out my blog at: it should all make sense after that.
Basically my name is Chan. I've been travelling around Japan from the end of August to mid September. But I'd worked in Japan for 5 months before that. But like I said check out my blog if you are interested.
Today is the 18th of Sept 2004. I've spent the last 2 and a half days in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with Patrick Pincon. Today I'm leaving KL for Singapore to meet up with Julian and at some point Joleen. I have a 11:15 bus to Singapore from KL and a return bus leaving Singapore on the 22nd at 12:00 noon.
I arrived in KL on the 15th of Sept. And stayed in the "Bestotel" but it wasn't that good. It's been a bit of a culture shock being in KL. I've come from a society which is seen as a very polite society (Japanese) into Malaysian society. It really hit me when I got on the bus from the airport. I'd asked the bus driver something and he just kind of grunted at me. Then when I got to the hotel the lobby staff were pretty rude. But it's all good. Just have to get used to it.
Since I've been here I've met up with Joa Quim, Patrick and Patrick's friend Albert. The first thing we did was go to a Mamak to eat Magi Mee and Milo Ice… heheh… Very nice… I had like 3 or 4 Milo Ices. They're damn good. Since then Patrick has been showing me around. On the 16th he took me to KLCC, I have no idea what that stands for but it's at the base of the Petronas Towers. Yesterday (17-Sept) he took me the "markets" where they sell all the pirated CDs and DVDs. They're not as cheap as I was hoping they where. Then we went out for Japanese food… Yeah yeah I know… Um, but it was interesting to see Japanese food in the eyes of Malaysia. It food was similar but definitely not the same.
And how today I'm heading to Singapore.
Sorry my site has been down. My server closed all free accounts which included mine. :'( But if you are reading this that means that my site is back up and all is well. So for those in Melbourne I'll be seeing you in a little while. For those of you in Japan, good luck, I hope you are safe and well.
Best Wishes,
Chan
Friday, September 17, 2004
Chan in not Japan Update: 15-Sept-2004 Part 2
Ok, well here are the details of the last 36 hours or so. Yesterday, Tuesday the 14th of Sept. Takako's dad drove me around for most of the day. He showed me a few of the interesting spots to the South East of Nagoya.
I also cancelled my mobile phone that day but I had hope that the phone would be cut at the end of the day and not on the spot. So for the rest of that day I didn't have a working mobile. Which is extremely inconvenient, especially in Japan. As Taki would testify. (He told me himself that he's the sort of guy who wouldn't get a mobile while he was in Australia, but he was forced to get one in Japan).
So I had to arrange to meet up with John with only the use of pay phones. Ek. But I eventually met up with him, had dinner at "Coco ichiban" which translates to Coco number one. It's a popular "curry on rice" chain. The Japanese really love the curry on rice. I have to admit I love the curry on rice as well. But it's not the traditional curry that you would find in India. The Japanese curry is a little more watered down.
After that we met up with Ryoko at the Nova Imaike branch. And headed to the local Izakaya for a few drinks and food.
I then headed for Takako's place (where I was staying for the last couple of days) to clean up and pack for my trip today. I was kind of impressed at myself actually. I had sent most of my stuff home. I think I brought over about 40kg to Japan and I left with only about 20kg. This doesn't include my laptop which easily weighs about 7kgs with the external hard disk. I sent everything else home. But it's only going to get there after a month. So I ll have to wait a bit for it but that's OK. I really don't want to be lugging it around south east Asia. I've got what I need and that's enough.
My plans for the next few days are as follows:
16 - 17 Sept. Explore Malaysia.
Night of 17th, travel via train from Malaysia to Singapore
18 - 20 Sept. Explore Singapore.
20 - 22 Sept. Spend time in Indonesia with Fadrian
Night of 22nd, travel back to Malaysia for my 11am flight on the 23rd.
Oh and somewhere in between there I have to contact Malaysian airlines to see what they're going to do about my phone. But again I don't care about the phone it's all the contact details that I really want. Oh well... These things happen. It's my own stupid fault, I should have been more vigilant.
23rd of Sept. fly to Sydney, Australia and meet up with Anna. Spend a few days with her. 26th of Sept. fly back to Melbourne from Sydney.
Then once I get back to Melbourne I'm going to show and then sleep for 24 hours straight. So to all my friends in Melbourne, please don't call me. I ll call you :)
I'll organise some kind of party or something once I get back and get some rest.
Well that's it for now.
Take care all,
Chan
I also cancelled my mobile phone that day but I had hope that the phone would be cut at the end of the day and not on the spot. So for the rest of that day I didn't have a working mobile. Which is extremely inconvenient, especially in Japan. As Taki would testify. (He told me himself that he's the sort of guy who wouldn't get a mobile while he was in Australia, but he was forced to get one in Japan).
So I had to arrange to meet up with John with only the use of pay phones. Ek. But I eventually met up with him, had dinner at "Coco ichiban" which translates to Coco number one. It's a popular "curry on rice" chain. The Japanese really love the curry on rice. I have to admit I love the curry on rice as well. But it's not the traditional curry that you would find in India. The Japanese curry is a little more watered down.
After that we met up with Ryoko at the Nova Imaike branch. And headed to the local Izakaya for a few drinks and food.
I then headed for Takako's place (where I was staying for the last couple of days) to clean up and pack for my trip today. I was kind of impressed at myself actually. I had sent most of my stuff home. I think I brought over about 40kg to Japan and I left with only about 20kg. This doesn't include my laptop which easily weighs about 7kgs with the external hard disk. I sent everything else home. But it's only going to get there after a month. So I ll have to wait a bit for it but that's OK. I really don't want to be lugging it around south east Asia. I've got what I need and that's enough.
My plans for the next few days are as follows:
16 - 17 Sept. Explore Malaysia.
Night of 17th, travel via train from Malaysia to Singapore
18 - 20 Sept. Explore Singapore.
20 - 22 Sept. Spend time in Indonesia with Fadrian
Night of 22nd, travel back to Malaysia for my 11am flight on the 23rd.
Oh and somewhere in between there I have to contact Malaysian airlines to see what they're going to do about my phone. But again I don't care about the phone it's all the contact details that I really want. Oh well... These things happen. It's my own stupid fault, I should have been more vigilant.
23rd of Sept. fly to Sydney, Australia and meet up with Anna. Spend a few days with her. 26th of Sept. fly back to Melbourne from Sydney.
Then once I get back to Melbourne I'm going to show and then sleep for 24 hours straight. So to all my friends in Melbourne, please don't call me. I ll call you :)
I'll organise some kind of party or something once I get back and get some rest.
Well that's it for now.
Take care all,
Chan
Chan not in Japan Update: 15-Sept-2004 Part 1
Hi All,
Well I've arrived safely in Malaysia. Unfortunately I can't say the same for my mobile. My Japanese mobile was stolen from my baggage. Which I wouldn't really care about normally because I can't really use it for anything now that I'm out of Japan. But I was kind of using it as my phone book. So now I ve lost almost every email and phone number of everyone I met from the 1st of August onwards. That really sucks.
I'm just hoping that most of you who I met are checking out my journal. Because I have no way of contacting you otherwise.
These are some specific messages for people:
Reichell, could you please send your postal address to my internet email? So I can send you those animes. Could you also send me Melissa's contact details as well?
John Clark, could you please tell Ryoko and Belinda to send me a message to one of my internet email addresses please. I don't have their contacts.
Mayu, please send an email to one of my internet email addresses. I don't have your contact details at all.
Basically everyone I met at camp who I have been in contact with since I now no longer have you contact details. So if you could send an email to ozziesan2004@yahoo.com.au that would be great. This email address is my junk mail box. I'll reply to you with my other email address once I get a message from you.
Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience,
Chan (no longer) in Japan
Well I've arrived safely in Malaysia. Unfortunately I can't say the same for my mobile. My Japanese mobile was stolen from my baggage. Which I wouldn't really care about normally because I can't really use it for anything now that I'm out of Japan. But I was kind of using it as my phone book. So now I ve lost almost every email and phone number of everyone I met from the 1st of August onwards. That really sucks.
I'm just hoping that most of you who I met are checking out my journal. Because I have no way of contacting you otherwise.
These are some specific messages for people:
Reichell, could you please send your postal address to my internet email? So I can send you those animes. Could you also send me Melissa's contact details as well?
John Clark, could you please tell Ryoko and Belinda to send me a message to one of my internet email addresses please. I don't have their contacts.
Mayu, please send an email to one of my internet email addresses. I don't have your contact details at all.
Basically everyone I met at camp who I have been in contact with since I now no longer have you contact details. So if you could send an email to ozziesan2004@yahoo.com.au that would be great. This email address is my junk mail box. I'll reply to you with my other email address once I get a message from you.
Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience,
Chan (no longer) in Japan
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Chan in Japan Update: 14-Sept-2004
Hi All,
Well tomorrow is the big day. I'll be leaving Japan and will be headed for Malaysia. I'm not sure how often I will have access to the internet so please be patient if you send me messages.
Take care,
Chan in Japan (but not for much longer)
Well tomorrow is the big day. I'll be leaving Japan and will be headed for Malaysia. I'm not sure how often I will have access to the internet so please be patient if you send me messages.
Take care,
Chan in Japan (but not for much longer)
Monday, September 13, 2004
Chan in Japan Update: 13-Sept-2004
Hi All,
I leave Japan in 2 days. I'm looking forward to coming home. I'm exhausted. I've been in Nagoya for the last 3 days. Doing some final admin and sending back a few boxes of stuff. There's really not much to say.
The plan for the next leg of my trip will be to spend two days in Malaysia, two days in Singapore and two days in Indonesia with Fadrian and his family. I've booked the hotels for Malaysia and Singapore.
In Malaysia I'll be staying in "Bestotel" (http://www.bestotel.com) for the nights of the 15th and 16th. The next night (17th) I'm planning to travel to Singapore via train so I'll be sleeping on the train. On the night of the 18th and 19th I'll be staying in Singapore at a place called "Boon Wah Hotel Singapore". Then I'll travel to Indonesia to meet up with Fadrian on the 20th. I'll stay with him until possibly the 22nd or maybe only to the 21st depending on how long it takes for me to get back to KL (Malaysia) to catch my flight back into Australia.
Well those are my current plans. I have to admit that I'm really exhausted at this stage... I'm looking forward to coming home and just sleeping for a long, long time...
Take care,
Chan in Japan
I leave Japan in 2 days. I'm looking forward to coming home. I'm exhausted. I've been in Nagoya for the last 3 days. Doing some final admin and sending back a few boxes of stuff. There's really not much to say.
The plan for the next leg of my trip will be to spend two days in Malaysia, two days in Singapore and two days in Indonesia with Fadrian and his family. I've booked the hotels for Malaysia and Singapore.
In Malaysia I'll be staying in "Bestotel" (http://www.bestotel.com) for the nights of the 15th and 16th. The next night (17th) I'm planning to travel to Singapore via train so I'll be sleeping on the train. On the night of the 18th and 19th I'll be staying in Singapore at a place called "Boon Wah Hotel Singapore". Then I'll travel to Indonesia to meet up with Fadrian on the 20th. I'll stay with him until possibly the 22nd or maybe only to the 21st depending on how long it takes for me to get back to KL (Malaysia) to catch my flight back into Australia.
Well those are my current plans. I have to admit that I'm really exhausted at this stage... I'm looking forward to coming home and just sleeping for a long, long time...
Take care,
Chan in Japan
Chan in Japan Update: 07-Sept-2004
Hi All,
It's now 11:20am on Tuesday the 7th of September 2004. I'm travelling from Tokyo to Fuji Yoshida. I won't be climbing Mt.Fuji I'm just going there to take pictures and to kill time. I'm hoping that accommodations will be cheaper now that is out of season to climb Mt.Fuji. But as always I have no idea what's going to happen. I tend to just rock up at a city, go to the information office and get a map and a hotel list. Goto the Hotel/Ryokan/Hostel and drop off my bags and then start exploring the sights. But I'm really just looking forward to getting to a bed and sleeping. I've been traveling for a long time now and I'm really tired.
I spent the last 2 and a half days in Tokyo with Melissa nd Reichell. It was great. It really wasn't what I expected. It's a lot more fun. I was expecting to arrive is a huge concrete jungle and just be really bored with it all. But it was HEAPs of fun. I think the fact that we had all you can eat for lunch for the last two days kinda helped me enjoy it more. And having friends in a city really helped things. I'm pretty sure that without the girls I would be really lost. I'll have to post up a train map for Tokyo at some stage you then you guys will understand.
I've posted up all of the pictures from Tokyo. I think the most interesting ones are from my second day in Tokyo (Tokyo 05-Sept-2004) with the pictures of the "Cosplay" people in Harajuku. Cosplay is a short for Costume Play, it's the name for the people who wear those strange cloths. I think it's pretty cool. Although it was kinda raining that day so not so many where out.
Tokyo would be a pretty good city to live in. There's always something to do. It's not just a concrete jungle, it also has a lot of character (and characters). There are also a lot of interesting shops and resturants. I now understand why people like Tokyo so much.
In my trip so far I think my favourite cities are Kobe and Tokyo. Mind you I think it has a lot to with me having friends there and them being able to show me around, that really made it a lot of fun.
I'm typing this message as I travel on the train to Fuji Yoshida. I'm not sure when I can actually post this message. I'm hoping that I can get a accommodation at some place with Internet access so I can send this and also keep in contact with the outside world.
Oh and I kinda felt an earthquake in Tokyo on the 4-Sept-2004. But it was really small. Or the building really took most of the energy. Cause I couldn't really feel anything but the girls were telling me we were in an earthquake. I'm sure I've been in heaps of earthquakes but I just have noticed them. But the one in June was pretty strong. That was my first noticable experience with an earthquake.
Ok, I think I'll leave you guys with that for now. I hope I can send this message to you guys sooner rather than later.
Take care,
Chan in Japan
It's now 11:20am on Tuesday the 7th of September 2004. I'm travelling from Tokyo to Fuji Yoshida. I won't be climbing Mt.Fuji I'm just going there to take pictures and to kill time. I'm hoping that accommodations will be cheaper now that is out of season to climb Mt.Fuji. But as always I have no idea what's going to happen. I tend to just rock up at a city, go to the information office and get a map and a hotel list. Goto the Hotel/Ryokan/Hostel and drop off my bags and then start exploring the sights. But I'm really just looking forward to getting to a bed and sleeping. I've been traveling for a long time now and I'm really tired.
I spent the last 2 and a half days in Tokyo with Melissa nd Reichell. It was great. It really wasn't what I expected. It's a lot more fun. I was expecting to arrive is a huge concrete jungle and just be really bored with it all. But it was HEAPs of fun. I think the fact that we had all you can eat for lunch for the last two days kinda helped me enjoy it more. And having friends in a city really helped things. I'm pretty sure that without the girls I would be really lost. I'll have to post up a train map for Tokyo at some stage you then you guys will understand.
I've posted up all of the pictures from Tokyo. I think the most interesting ones are from my second day in Tokyo (Tokyo 05-Sept-2004) with the pictures of the "Cosplay" people in Harajuku. Cosplay is a short for Costume Play, it's the name for the people who wear those strange cloths. I think it's pretty cool. Although it was kinda raining that day so not so many where out.
Tokyo would be a pretty good city to live in. There's always something to do. It's not just a concrete jungle, it also has a lot of character (and characters). There are also a lot of interesting shops and resturants. I now understand why people like Tokyo so much.
In my trip so far I think my favourite cities are Kobe and Tokyo. Mind you I think it has a lot to with me having friends there and them being able to show me around, that really made it a lot of fun.
I'm typing this message as I travel on the train to Fuji Yoshida. I'm not sure when I can actually post this message. I'm hoping that I can get a accommodation at some place with Internet access so I can send this and also keep in contact with the outside world.
Oh and I kinda felt an earthquake in Tokyo on the 4-Sept-2004. But it was really small. Or the building really took most of the energy. Cause I couldn't really feel anything but the girls were telling me we were in an earthquake. I'm sure I've been in heaps of earthquakes but I just have noticed them. But the one in June was pretty strong. That was my first noticable experience with an earthquake.
Ok, I think I'll leave you guys with that for now. I hope I can send this message to you guys sooner rather than later.
Take care,
Chan in Japan
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Would you like to be kept updated on what I'm up to?
If you do then go here and type in your email. This will send an email to you every time I update this blog.
http://www.botablog.com/botthisblog.php?blog=http://bluechan83.europe.webmatrixhosting.net/atom.xml
This link was from William but I'm not sure if everyone saw it the first time. (Thanks again Will)
Take care all,
Chan in Japan
http://www.botablog.com/botthisblog.php?blog=http://bluechan83.europe.webmatrixhosting.net/atom.xml
This link was from William but I'm not sure if everyone saw it the first time. (Thanks again Will)
Take care all,
Chan in Japan
Chan in Japan Update: 04-Sept-2004
Hi All,
Well I have my laptop back now so I can write longer messages again. It is now 08:52 on Friday 4th of September 2004. I'm really appreciating Australia right now. Don't get me wrong Japan is great but travelling alone for 9 days really drains you.
I'm currently travelling from Nagoya to Tokyo to meet up with Melissa and Reichell. I met these two girls at the Summer camp in August. I might have already talked about the camp before but not in much detail. The camp is organised by JR Shikoku (Japan Rail Shikoku), Shikoku is one of the many islands off the main islands of Japan. As some will already know Japan is made up of many Islands. In August I worked on a small island called Awashima which had a population of 350 people.
The camp (01-Aug-2004 to 25-Sept-2004) had Two sessions or two groups of kids. Each staying for 1 week. The camp had about 20 staff and 30 or so kids for the first session and 16 kids for the second session so the camp increased the poplulation of the island by a considerable amount. At the camp I was a Mountain Bike instructor. It was a whole lot of fun. But very exhausting. And because there was no information from the previous instructor, I had to make up all the lesson plans from scratch. I thankfully had a good knowledge of Cycling both Mountain and road so I at least knew what I was talking about. But there were no off road trails on the island. And I was specifically told that I could not go off road. So I was really a Cycling instructor not a mountain bike instructor. But I found ways to make things a little more interesting. For example, I couldn't find any rough downhills so I used some some stairs and a bits of rough ground that I found along the way.
Being a Cycling instructor was great though. Cause I had to explore the island for trails early on and this ment I got to know the island pretty well. I travelled on every road on the island, traveling from one end to the other.
One thing about Japan that is pretty noticable is the amount of rubbish on beaches. This was particularly noticable on the Awashima. It made me so sad to see what would be absolutely beautiful beaches ruined by garbage. Another thing which is different from home is the way the Japanese dispose of rubbish here. In Australia mainly have 3 bins. One for general waste, one for plastic and glass and one for paper. Here in Japan waste is seperated into the following categories: Burnable, Non-burnable, PET bottles (plastic drinking bottles), Aluminium and glass. And at first this seems to be a really responsible thing to do but if you noticed that the first two categories were burnable and non-burnable? So yeah they burn their rubbish here. Some people furn it themselves but most send this rubbish off to facilities to have it burnt.
On Awashima many residents burnt their rubbish on the beach. Yep that's right they pile up their rubbish on the beach and set it a blaze. And as I travel across Japan I see shafts of smoke rising into the sky. Not just one or two but hundreds. This occurs more in rural areas but still this can't be good for the environment.
After the camp at Awashima I travelled to Kobe (26-Sept-2004) to meet up with Coco. I met Coco in Melbourne when she went there to study. She's a really nice girl. She had an accident a few years back, she was paralised, unable to speak, read or do much at all really. Now looks like a million dollars, although she admitted to me it's only a persona and she still has a bit to go before she is fully recovered.
Kobe is easily my favourite city in Japan. It really reminds me of Melbourne. It's very multicultural and it's not over crowded. I think I like it because it's not grey like most cities. It actually has a bit of colour and it appears to be a little more relaxed.
As most of you would know Japan has a very dense population. I experienced this in Osaka (27-Aug-2004) where I met up with Taki (thanks again Taki). I don't want to go back to Osaka. It's way too crowded, it's crazy. I know it's strange to say this while I'm heading for Tokyo the biggest city in Japan. I'm mainly going to Tokyo to meet up with the girls and one of the kids from the camp, Ma-chan. He's the cutest and brightest little kid I've met. This kid will go places once he grows up. Anyway, everyone has told me I have to visit Tokyo because I'm in Japan and it's the thing to do. But I'm not looking forward to being wedged in with the mob of people like a sardine.
After Osaka I travelled to Kyoto and done the whole Kyoto thing. It was good but very touristy. Not really my thing. I mean once you' see one temple you've seen them all. I know what you're thinking, "you should appreciate the culture and the history". That's all well and good to say that but you don't understand how touristy it is there.
I stayed in Kyoto for 3 days (29 to 31 Sept 2004). On the first day when I was travelling to the Ryokan where I was staying. I was asking the bus driver about the stop where I had to get off. A family group (Ryuta, Kayo and Kiyoko) who were also traveling to the same bus stop overheard and invited me to join them. They took me to an old Japanese spa and a huge shrine which was really close to where I was staying.
After Kyoto I went to Nara (01-Sept-2004). I liked Nara it's nice and small. With a few places where you can sit down and just relax. Nara also has some pretty good food.
My next stop after Nara was Osaka (02-Sept-2004) to pick up some stuff that I left at Taki's place and while I was there I went by Kobe again to spend the day with Coco.
On 03-Sep-2004 I went back to Nagoya to drop off some items and to pick-up my laptop. My laptop is a heavy brick but I need some kind of entertainment on this trip. The TV here is pertty ordinary not to mention I don't understand any of it. One thing though. In most places I've stayed there is a pay per view thing. Usually you stick in 100 yen and you get like 10 minutes of porn. Interesting. But the Japanese porn isn't like the porn we have at home. The girls scream and scream and make weird noises. And all the good bits have been fuzzed out due to the Japanese censorship laws. So I got over the whole porn channel thing pretty quickly.
The food here is pretty good though. Even if I don't know what it is. Sometimes I get adventurous and pick a random thing from the menu. So far it's been OK. But my favourite food chain in Japan is a place called "Matsuynoya". The most popular dish is thinly sliced pork on rice. But the reason why I like this place is it's my only regular source of salad in Japan. I usually get a set meal which has some kinda meat on rice, miso soup and a small bowl of salad. So I try to go there once every 3 days or so. But I have eaten there for all three meals on some days.
I think I've typed enough for now. If you have read this far then you really are interested in my trip. I probably would have given up on the second paragraph.
Sorry it's so long but it's been a while since I've had access to a normal keyboard and my computer.
Remember if you want to send me messages please send them to my mobile email: chaninjapan(AT)c.vodafone.ne.jp (replace the (AT) with @).
Take care,
Chan in Japan
Well I have my laptop back now so I can write longer messages again. It is now 08:52 on Friday 4th of September 2004. I'm really appreciating Australia right now. Don't get me wrong Japan is great but travelling alone for 9 days really drains you.
I'm currently travelling from Nagoya to Tokyo to meet up with Melissa and Reichell. I met these two girls at the Summer camp in August. I might have already talked about the camp before but not in much detail. The camp is organised by JR Shikoku (Japan Rail Shikoku), Shikoku is one of the many islands off the main islands of Japan. As some will already know Japan is made up of many Islands. In August I worked on a small island called Awashima which had a population of 350 people.
The camp (01-Aug-2004 to 25-Sept-2004) had Two sessions or two groups of kids. Each staying for 1 week. The camp had about 20 staff and 30 or so kids for the first session and 16 kids for the second session so the camp increased the poplulation of the island by a considerable amount. At the camp I was a Mountain Bike instructor. It was a whole lot of fun. But very exhausting. And because there was no information from the previous instructor, I had to make up all the lesson plans from scratch. I thankfully had a good knowledge of Cycling both Mountain and road so I at least knew what I was talking about. But there were no off road trails on the island. And I was specifically told that I could not go off road. So I was really a Cycling instructor not a mountain bike instructor. But I found ways to make things a little more interesting. For example, I couldn't find any rough downhills so I used some some stairs and a bits of rough ground that I found along the way.
Being a Cycling instructor was great though. Cause I had to explore the island for trails early on and this ment I got to know the island pretty well. I travelled on every road on the island, traveling from one end to the other.
One thing about Japan that is pretty noticable is the amount of rubbish on beaches. This was particularly noticable on the Awashima. It made me so sad to see what would be absolutely beautiful beaches ruined by garbage. Another thing which is different from home is the way the Japanese dispose of rubbish here. In Australia mainly have 3 bins. One for general waste, one for plastic and glass and one for paper. Here in Japan waste is seperated into the following categories: Burnable, Non-burnable, PET bottles (plastic drinking bottles), Aluminium and glass. And at first this seems to be a really responsible thing to do but if you noticed that the first two categories were burnable and non-burnable? So yeah they burn their rubbish here. Some people furn it themselves but most send this rubbish off to facilities to have it burnt.
On Awashima many residents burnt their rubbish on the beach. Yep that's right they pile up their rubbish on the beach and set it a blaze. And as I travel across Japan I see shafts of smoke rising into the sky. Not just one or two but hundreds. This occurs more in rural areas but still this can't be good for the environment.
After the camp at Awashima I travelled to Kobe (26-Sept-2004) to meet up with Coco. I met Coco in Melbourne when she went there to study. She's a really nice girl. She had an accident a few years back, she was paralised, unable to speak, read or do much at all really. Now looks like a million dollars, although she admitted to me it's only a persona and she still has a bit to go before she is fully recovered.
Kobe is easily my favourite city in Japan. It really reminds me of Melbourne. It's very multicultural and it's not over crowded. I think I like it because it's not grey like most cities. It actually has a bit of colour and it appears to be a little more relaxed.
As most of you would know Japan has a very dense population. I experienced this in Osaka (27-Aug-2004) where I met up with Taki (thanks again Taki). I don't want to go back to Osaka. It's way too crowded, it's crazy. I know it's strange to say this while I'm heading for Tokyo the biggest city in Japan. I'm mainly going to Tokyo to meet up with the girls and one of the kids from the camp, Ma-chan. He's the cutest and brightest little kid I've met. This kid will go places once he grows up. Anyway, everyone has told me I have to visit Tokyo because I'm in Japan and it's the thing to do. But I'm not looking forward to being wedged in with the mob of people like a sardine.
After Osaka I travelled to Kyoto and done the whole Kyoto thing. It was good but very touristy. Not really my thing. I mean once you' see one temple you've seen them all. I know what you're thinking, "you should appreciate the culture and the history". That's all well and good to say that but you don't understand how touristy it is there.
I stayed in Kyoto for 3 days (29 to 31 Sept 2004). On the first day when I was travelling to the Ryokan where I was staying. I was asking the bus driver about the stop where I had to get off. A family group (Ryuta, Kayo and Kiyoko) who were also traveling to the same bus stop overheard and invited me to join them. They took me to an old Japanese spa and a huge shrine which was really close to where I was staying.
After Kyoto I went to Nara (01-Sept-2004). I liked Nara it's nice and small. With a few places where you can sit down and just relax. Nara also has some pretty good food.
My next stop after Nara was Osaka (02-Sept-2004) to pick up some stuff that I left at Taki's place and while I was there I went by Kobe again to spend the day with Coco.
On 03-Sep-2004 I went back to Nagoya to drop off some items and to pick-up my laptop. My laptop is a heavy brick but I need some kind of entertainment on this trip. The TV here is pertty ordinary not to mention I don't understand any of it. One thing though. In most places I've stayed there is a pay per view thing. Usually you stick in 100 yen and you get like 10 minutes of porn. Interesting. But the Japanese porn isn't like the porn we have at home. The girls scream and scream and make weird noises. And all the good bits have been fuzzed out due to the Japanese censorship laws. So I got over the whole porn channel thing pretty quickly.
The food here is pretty good though. Even if I don't know what it is. Sometimes I get adventurous and pick a random thing from the menu. So far it's been OK. But my favourite food chain in Japan is a place called "Matsuynoya". The most popular dish is thinly sliced pork on rice. But the reason why I like this place is it's my only regular source of salad in Japan. I usually get a set meal which has some kinda meat on rice, miso soup and a small bowl of salad. So I try to go there once every 3 days or so. But I have eaten there for all three meals on some days.
I think I've typed enough for now. If you have read this far then you really are interested in my trip. I probably would have given up on the second paragraph.
Sorry it's so long but it's been a while since I've had access to a normal keyboard and my computer.
Remember if you want to send me messages please send them to my mobile email: chaninjapan(AT)c.vodafone.ne.jp (replace the (AT) with @).
Take care,
Chan in Japan
Friday, September 03, 2004
Heading back to Nagoya
Hi All,
I'm currently in Kobe and I'll be heading to Nagoya on the 12:10 train. Since my last message I have travelled to Kyoto and Nara. I will post up the pictures as soon as I can. I can't do it now because I have a train to catch :)
My current plans are to go to Nagoya, crash at Takako's place (thanks Takako). Repack my stuff (get rid of half the junk that I've picked up along the way. Pick up my laptop and then head to Tokyo the next morning. Meet up with Melissa and Reichell and see some sights and then crash at their place (thanks gals). Then after that I'm not sure perhaps I'll keep heading north to Sapporo.
But I have to admit I'm exhausted. I am really looking forward to coming home. Arhh! running out of time (in this internet cafe). Ok, um... Well I'll post again soon...
-Chan (on the run)
I'm currently in Kobe and I'll be heading to Nagoya on the 12:10 train. Since my last message I have travelled to Kyoto and Nara. I will post up the pictures as soon as I can. I can't do it now because I have a train to catch :)
My current plans are to go to Nagoya, crash at Takako's place (thanks Takako). Repack my stuff (get rid of half the junk that I've picked up along the way. Pick up my laptop and then head to Tokyo the next morning. Meet up with Melissa and Reichell and see some sights and then crash at their place (thanks gals). Then after that I'm not sure perhaps I'll keep heading north to Sapporo.
But I have to admit I'm exhausted. I am really looking forward to coming home. Arhh! running out of time (in this internet cafe). Ok, um... Well I'll post again soon...
-Chan (on the run)
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Chan's Adventure 28-Aug-2004
Hi all,
Well I'm in Osaka at the moment. Since my last post I've been back to the camp on Awashima Island and completed the second Session. I'm now roaming around Japan, getting into what trouble I can find.
I departed Awashima on the 26th at 7:50am. I arrived in Kobe around 13:00 on the same day. Coco met me and took me to a Hotel called R&B, where I checked in my bags and headed out for lunch with her and her mum. We ended up eating curry at an actual Indian resturant. Kobe is a really multicultural city. It reminds me of Melbourne. Later that day Coco took me out to a Universal Studio Japan, staff party. Basically they're all performers so they had unplugged performances. It was pretty cool, they were very talented.
Yesterday (27-Aug-2004) I spent the day walking around Kobe, exploring.
I then moved all of my stuff over to Taki's place in Osaka and that's where I'm staying tonight. I'll be heading over to Kyoto tomorrow but I'll be leaving some stuff at Taki's. I'll stay over in Kyoto and go to Nara on the next day. Depending on how things go I might stay in that area for a little while it depends on how nice Kyoto really is. My plan after that is to head back to Nagoya and fix up a few things and then head over to Tokyo and then maybe head over to Sapporo.
I'm posting up pictures as usual. So please head over to my pictures section to see all the new pics.
-Chan in Japan
Well I'm in Osaka at the moment. Since my last post I've been back to the camp on Awashima Island and completed the second Session. I'm now roaming around Japan, getting into what trouble I can find.
I departed Awashima on the 26th at 7:50am. I arrived in Kobe around 13:00 on the same day. Coco met me and took me to a Hotel called R&B, where I checked in my bags and headed out for lunch with her and her mum. We ended up eating curry at an actual Indian resturant. Kobe is a really multicultural city. It reminds me of Melbourne. Later that day Coco took me out to a Universal Studio Japan, staff party. Basically they're all performers so they had unplugged performances. It was pretty cool, they were very talented.
Yesterday (27-Aug-2004) I spent the day walking around Kobe, exploring.
I then moved all of my stuff over to Taki's place in Osaka and that's where I'm staying tonight. I'll be heading over to Kyoto tomorrow but I'll be leaving some stuff at Taki's. I'll stay over in Kyoto and go to Nara on the next day. Depending on how things go I might stay in that area for a little while it depends on how nice Kyoto really is. My plan after that is to head back to Nagoya and fix up a few things and then head over to Tokyo and then maybe head over to Sapporo.
I'm posting up pictures as usual. So please head over to my pictures section to see all the new pics.
-Chan in Japan
Monday, August 16, 2004
Update: 16-Aug-2004
Ok, sorry for not updating my blog. But I have had some technical difficulties. Ok so far this is what's been happening. I have finished my training (aka Pre-camp) and I have been a Mountain Bike Instructor for the last week for the first group of kids. It was great fun and I look forward for to the next group.
I've been taking pictures like there's no tomorrow. Which wasn't a problem in the past but it's a bit of a problem now that I don't have regular internet access. I've been basically spending the last 3 hours uploading pictures.
My current plans are as follows. Finish the camp on the 26th of August. Head over to Kobe the next morning and meet up with Koko. And the rest is very flexible at the moment.
I'm exhausted. I'm sorry I can't type anymore...
Take care all,
"Chan in Japan"
I've been taking pictures like there's no tomorrow. Which wasn't a problem in the past but it's a bit of a problem now that I don't have regular internet access. I've been basically spending the last 3 hours uploading pictures.
My current plans are as follows. Finish the camp on the 26th of August. Head over to Kobe the next morning and meet up with Koko. And the rest is very flexible at the moment.
I'm exhausted. I'm sorry I can't type anymore...
Take care all,
"Chan in Japan"
Chan in Hiroshima
Hi all,
Well I'm in Hiroshima at the moment doing a little sightseeing. I've been here for 2 days now and I'm leaving tomorrow morning.
On the first day in Hiroshima I was invited by Akiko Suzuki (a Japanese girl who stopped me for no apparent reason) to do what I thought was at first some kind of cult activity. But lucky it wasn't. It ended up being an activity for Peace. Yep that's right Peace. You see here in Hiroshima there's a strong anti-war feeling because of what happened in the war.
OK, so activity was basically building a dome out of plastic sheets. It sounds easy but it actually took a little bit of work and precision taping. I'm in the process of uploading the pics now so for those who have no idea what I'm rambling on about just check out the pics.
And today I went to Miyajima. This is where the "Floating" Torii lives. It's basically a big gate that was built on a marsh. At high tide the gate looks like it is floating on the water. Again I'm in the process of uploading the pics so please spend sometime checking them out.
There were a lot of really tame deer there they were just walking around amongst the tourists. But again pictures say a 1000 words so just check out my pics.
-Chan in Japan
Well I'm in Hiroshima at the moment doing a little sightseeing. I've been here for 2 days now and I'm leaving tomorrow morning.
On the first day in Hiroshima I was invited by Akiko Suzuki (a Japanese girl who stopped me for no apparent reason) to do what I thought was at first some kind of cult activity. But lucky it wasn't. It ended up being an activity for Peace. Yep that's right Peace. You see here in Hiroshima there's a strong anti-war feeling because of what happened in the war.
OK, so activity was basically building a dome out of plastic sheets. It sounds easy but it actually took a little bit of work and precision taping. I'm in the process of uploading the pics now so for those who have no idea what I'm rambling on about just check out the pics.
And today I went to Miyajima. This is where the "Floating" Torii lives. It's basically a big gate that was built on a marsh. At high tide the gate looks like it is floating on the water. Again I'm in the process of uploading the pics so please spend sometime checking them out.
There were a lot of really tame deer there they were just walking around amongst the tourists. But again pictures say a 1000 words so just check out my pics.
-Chan in Japan
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Pictures of where I'm working.
The JR Shikoku company has a web site where pics are being posted. If you want to see what I'm up to go to this website:
http://ptc.jrscomware.com/canada/scr/board/QBoard.asp?DispKeyword=&Action=%82%B3%82%AA%82%B7&DocLimiteSel=0&ChkDispLink=&DispCategory=%82%B7%82%D7%82%C4%82%CC%8Cf%8E%A6&DispLink=ON&DispImg=&SearchFolder1=&DocLimiteNo=0&DefLimNo=1&DocLimite=&Keyword
It's all in Japanese so for those who don't understand Japanese (myself included) just have a look at the pics. I can't post any of my own pics up yet as we are on a dialup connection. So you guys will just have to wait for a little while.
I have limited access to the internet. An my email Blog posts don't seem to work for some reason. So for this leg of my journey I won't have much posted up.
Good luck and Take care all.
I will post messages as soon as I get to an internet cafe with a decent connection. Not to mention all the pics.
-Chan in Japan
http://ptc.jrscomware.com/canada/scr/board/QBoard.asp?DispKeyword=&Action=%82%B3%82%AA%82%B7&DocLimiteSel=0&ChkDispLink=&DispCategory=%82%B7%82%D7%82%C4%82%CC%8Cf%8E%A6&DispLink=ON&DispImg=&SearchFolder1=&DocLimiteNo=0&DefLimNo=1&DocLimite=&Keyword
It's all in Japanese so for those who don't understand Japanese (myself included) just have a look at the pics. I can't post any of my own pics up yet as we are on a dialup connection. So you guys will just have to wait for a little while.
I have limited access to the internet. An my email Blog posts don't seem to work for some reason. So for this leg of my journey I won't have much posted up.
Good luck and Take care all.
I will post messages as soon as I get to an internet cafe with a decent connection. Not to mention all the pics.
-Chan in Japan
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
TYPHOON!!! 31-JULY-22004
I'm stuck in a place called OKAYAMA. It's the city which connects the main island of Japan to SHIKOKU. There aren't any trains or ferries going to SHIKOKU tonight. So I've had to rent a room for the night. This leg of my journey is already eating into my funds. GRRR. I know that doesn't sound very adventurous but I'm on a stricted budget on this trip.
The other problem is I have to be in Takuma by 10am tomorrow morning but if there are no trains then I can't get there on time. But I'm sure it'll all work out.
-Chan in the typhoon :(
The other problem is I have to be in Takuma by 10am tomorrow morning but if there are no trains then I can't get there on time. But I'm sure it'll all work out.
-Chan in the typhoon :(
Chan has left NAGOYA (31-July-2004)
Hi all,
I'm on a train bound for HIMEJI. And I've just been informed that the ferry to AWASHIMA island has been cancelled due to the typhoon. So it looks like I'll be staying in TAKUMA tonight. After packing all of my stuff I'm carrying about 20kg on my back. That's after sending home 16kg and leaving my laptop and about 15kg worth of stuff with Takako (Thanks again Takako). I think at some stage I will have to send back another box.
The Japanese landscape is really beautiful. With rolling hills and these rice patties. Even in a typhoon. Actually it looks pretty good when the wind blows over the rice fields. It actually creats waves, very nice.
I experienced my first earthquake on Tuesday morning at 01:55 NAGOYA, JAPAN time. It was only a small one. But it was enough to shake my bed and other items in my room. I was just hoping that it wasn't going to get worse. There were 3 small earthquakes in a row. But no damage was done so all is well.
I just wish I paid attention in the Japanese classes in High School. Oh well.
Chan in Japan signing off.
I'm on a train bound for HIMEJI. And I've just been informed that the ferry to AWASHIMA island has been cancelled due to the typhoon. So it looks like I'll be staying in TAKUMA tonight. After packing all of my stuff I'm carrying about 20kg on my back. That's after sending home 16kg and leaving my laptop and about 15kg worth of stuff with Takako (Thanks again Takako). I think at some stage I will have to send back another box.
The Japanese landscape is really beautiful. With rolling hills and these rice patties. Even in a typhoon. Actually it looks pretty good when the wind blows over the rice fields. It actually creats waves, very nice.
I experienced my first earthquake on Tuesday morning at 01:55 NAGOYA, JAPAN time. It was only a small one. But it was enough to shake my bed and other items in my room. I was just hoping that it wasn't going to get worse. There were 3 small earthquakes in a row. But no damage was done so all is well.
I just wish I paid attention in the Japanese classes in High School. Oh well.
Chan in Japan signing off.
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Update: 29-July-2004
Hi all,
Well on Saturday 24-July-2004 Takako and her boyfriend took me to Nagashima Spaland. It's basically a big amusment park near Nagoya. It's got some really great rides. My favourite was the "Giant Frisby" I've posted up the pics from that day up on my gallery as usual. I've also posted a link to my gallery on my homepage so if you don't want to sign up to "Image Station" you can use my guest username and password. So yeah.
On Sunday, 25-July-2004 I went to Toyota city for the "Oiden" which means Welcome. So it was a Welcome festival? Well yeah it had heaps of fireworks. The only problem was that I was so close to the fireworks some of the fragments fell on me and the people around me. Of course the fragments weren't big or dangerous but they did stain. So now my nice white t-shirt has a whole bunch of little yellow dots. Which wouldn't be such a problem but I've only got a limited amount of cloths here in Japan. But all is well. I'm in the process of posting up those pictures right now.
I hope you like the pics. Some are average but there are some really nice ones there I think. Well you be the judge.
My current plans are as follows:
08:53 31-July-2004
Depart Nagoya from Kanayama train station on a JR train using the Seishun Juhachi Kippu (discounted all day ticket)
15:55 31-July-2004
Arrive in Takuma and then I have to find my way to Awashima Island. It should be fun :)
The rest is up in the air. I plan to visit all the major sites of Japan but I'm on a pretty tight budget so I'll have to see how I go... I might have to sleep in the park every now and then...
But all is well. This has and will be a great adventure for me.
I hope you're all taking care of yourselves...
-Chan in Japan
Well on Saturday 24-July-2004 Takako and her boyfriend took me to Nagashima Spaland. It's basically a big amusment park near Nagoya. It's got some really great rides. My favourite was the "Giant Frisby" I've posted up the pics from that day up on my gallery as usual. I've also posted a link to my gallery on my homepage so if you don't want to sign up to "Image Station" you can use my guest username and password. So yeah.
On Sunday, 25-July-2004 I went to Toyota city for the "Oiden" which means Welcome. So it was a Welcome festival? Well yeah it had heaps of fireworks. The only problem was that I was so close to the fireworks some of the fragments fell on me and the people around me. Of course the fragments weren't big or dangerous but they did stain. So now my nice white t-shirt has a whole bunch of little yellow dots. Which wouldn't be such a problem but I've only got a limited amount of cloths here in Japan. But all is well. I'm in the process of posting up those pictures right now.
I hope you like the pics. Some are average but there are some really nice ones there I think. Well you be the judge.
My current plans are as follows:
08:53 31-July-2004
Depart Nagoya from Kanayama train station on a JR train using the Seishun Juhachi Kippu (discounted all day ticket)
15:55 31-July-2004
Arrive in Takuma and then I have to find my way to Awashima Island. It should be fun :)
The rest is up in the air. I plan to visit all the major sites of Japan but I'm on a pretty tight budget so I'll have to see how I go... I might have to sleep in the park every now and then...
But all is well. This has and will be a great adventure for me.
I hope you're all taking care of yourselves...
-Chan in Japan
Monday, July 19, 2004
First Post!
Hi All, Well thanks to William I have started this Blog. Blog stands for weB LOG. It's basically an online Journal. This one allows me to make updates using email. So I don't even need access to the internet just my Japanese mobile phone and wala, updates from anywhere in Japan. Neat Ha? Thanks again Will for the address of this service. I owe you a big one. Ok, I have a little bit of news. I'm in the process of changing my flights around so that I can spend a few days in Malaysia, Singapore and if I have the time and the money I might to Indonesia to visit Gogo. But nothing is firm as of yet. And I plan to fly to Sydney when I come back and not Melbourne as originally planned. I'm going there to meet up with Anna. I've been spending so much money lately, but it's because I'm getting ready to leave Nagoya and actually travel through Japan. The only worry at this stage is that I might run out of money before the end of my trip. But at the moment I've budgeted approximately AU$160 per day for everything including transport. I hope that's enough. I've got a few backup plans... Fish net stockings and a few school girl uniforms and such... heheheh... Perhaps not. But I've got my credit card and AU$1000 in cash for emergencies. I should be OK... I've given up on going to Mt.Fuji as I just don't have the time. I will have to conquer that bump in the earth on my next trip. And I plan to go to Hiroshima in my break from the job in Shikoku. I hope 2 days are enough to explore Hiroshima. Well that's about it for now. I hope you are all taking care of yourselves...
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