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The capsule hotel in Tokyo. Due to formatting difficulties, the explanation appears beside the second photo below.

This was my bed for two nights in the Shinjuku area. I stayed at a capsule hotel - which I understand is popular with Japanese men who have been out drinking and missed their last train home. It seemed to be just as busy on Sunday night as it was on Saturday.

The capsule is two metres long and one metre in height and width. There is a pull down blind at the entrance/exit for privacy. It has a TV, radio and clock inside.

For the two nights, I paid 4,300 Yen. That's less than I'd pay for a single night in a more traditional hotel. Just like in Kyoto, the hotel had a communal bathing area. All toiletries and amenities are provided. There is locker space for bags and valuables. Big bags can be kept at reception. Mine was the "upstairs" room 6017, with steps and a handrail to climb up into it.

Nara guide

Nara was the capital of Japan long before Tokyo, and back before Kyoto. It is currently celebrating the 1,300 year anniversary of that time with a special event. Billions of Yen have been spent reconstructing two of the buildings that once stood in what subsequently became rice fields. The government bought back the land and won World Heritage designation for the site. The remains will stay underground, however, because that is the best way of preserving them. It's unfortunate that a modern private railway line runs through the centre of the former capital, between the building and the gate that have been constructed. The throne where the Emperor would have sat looks to the south. There are mountains to all other directions.

On arrival it appeared there was no chance of a tour in English, because I'd missed the tour time by 30 minutes or so, and there wasn't another one for a couple of hours. But one of the kimono-clad officials decided she would get changed into trainers, shorts and t-shirt and be a private guide. Keiko is her name. She's retired, her husband is 62 years old and he loves rugby. He visits New Zealand frequently to watch the All Blacks play. He will, of course, be there for the duration of the Rugby World Cup in 2010. Keiko likes tramping (which is a NZ word for walking in the countryside or up hills). She has done the Routeburn, and similar walks in the English Lake District. She speaks at length and with great pride about her own country and is an enthusiastic guide.

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Okonomiyaki - is a pancake, with lots of cabbage and beansprouts, other fillings such as pork or fish, and an egg. There's a photo of it below, then a brief video showing this dish being made in Hiroshima.

Putting my feet up

I've got a little bit of temple-fatigue. Having seen so many wonderful temples, shrines, pagodas and other old buildings, it's time to rest up before heading to Tokyo tomorrow.

I withdrew some money earlier. The NZ and Aussie dollars I exchanged early on won't quite last me until the end of my time in Japan, so I calculated that I'd need about 6,000 Yen more. Now, there are only three places (to my knowledge) where overseas-issued ATM cards will work for cash withdrawals. These are Seven Eleven convenience stores, Post Offices and Citibank branches. I went to the Seven Eleven in Nara today, to get my 6,000 Yen - only to find the smallest note the machine would dispense is a 10,000 Yen note. So, I probably have a few more Yen than I need. Perhaps I'll have a couple of slap up meals !

Dogs. I've been meaning to write about dogs. It seems there are lots of little ones here in Japan. I mean those miniature, skinny ones. At various stages I've seen people carrying their dogs in bags, sitting them in bicycle baskets, or even zipping them up inside their jackets with the dog's head poking out.

Another bullet train ride last evening took me to Kobe, where there was a big earthquake in the 1990s. Of course, the place has been completely rebuilt since then. There are quite a few impressive and modern sky-scrapers, and the port is quite picturesque. Especially at sunset, as you can see in the photo at the beginning of this entry.

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Shinkansen bullet trains at Hiroshima station...

The super-fast trains make Hiroshima an easy day-trip from Kyoto. The city's A-bomb Dome, the Peace Memorial Park and the museum all give sobering pause for thought. So many people died on August 6th, 1945 - or as a direct result in the days, months and years following the first war-time use of an atomic bomb.

I've also been to Miyajima today, to see another shrine and temple on the coast. Lots of deer roam the streets there, unafraid of humans and wanting to eat whatever they can - paper, plastic, or some actual food if they're lucky. The paper bag I was carrying had a chunk taken out of it !

In Kyoto yesterday I was "interviewed" by children for their school project. Basic questions. They wanted to know my name, how long I'd been in Japan, what I thought of Kyoto etc.

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Look how disgracefully big my bag is ! Travelling light ? ! And below, a tasty meal in Osaka.

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Smoking makes you strong and bald... apparently !

Here are the bears I was mentioning earlier....

Stuffed bears

Why should there be a pair of stuffed bears outside a shop that apparently has nothing to do with taxidermy ? Why do Japanese teenage boys dye their hair brown and wear boots that are several sizes too big ? Why is fresh fruit so hard to find, and expensive when I do find it ? 157 Yen for a single apple ! I could buy a bag with eight of them in it for only a little more in NZ.

It's 27 degrees today. I've noticed a pattern, whereby the day is sunny to begin with but clouds over by about midday. In the overcast heat yesterday I took a stroll around the botanical gardens. Today I've been to another park and a covered, pedestrianised shopping street. I also saw the Sapporo clock tower, but didn't think it would be worth going inside.

I have one more day in this city. I'm planning to use it to visit the beer factory.

Oh... Japanese toilets. They're not as advanced as the ones in Dubai (which perform all sorts of functions), but they do give you the option of a jet or spray bidet, the intensity and temperature of which you can control.

Sapporo - Japan

25 degrees and dry.. occasionally sunny, mostly overcast. I arrived yesterday, on a connecting flight with Japan Airlines from Tokyo. Everything was extremely efficient and fast. One or two things have amused me about the people I've encountered, and the way things are done...

When collecting baggage at the airport, it is someone's job to check that my baggage receipt and the tag on my bag match before I'm allowed to leave the airport; just in case I have taken someone else's bag you see.

Currency exchange at a bank in Sapporo was a drawn out process, only because things are done in a very strict order with various episodes of filling in forms and waiting to be called back to the counter. The rate was better than Travelex offered, of course, and I got 70 Yen for each of my Australian dollars. Departing the bank, every employee stood, thanked me and bowed !

I sent a post-card to my parents, and the man at the counter in the post office insisted on reading every word I'd written before accepting the card for posting. The cost was 70 Yen.. or one Aussie dollar.

Today I took a train trip to Otaru, which is a port town with some old buildings. It was quite pleasant and relaxed. I sought out the ice cream parlour mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide, and had two scoops... one of apple pie ice cream, and one of squid flavour. I've never had black ice cream before. It tasted perfectly fine.

Now, those of you who are interested in my Business Class travels might like to know what meal I selected from Sydney to Tokyo.. Japanese style chicken in lemon sauce with braised cabbage and bacon. Very nice indeed, and followed by hazelnut and vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate sauce. Yum.

OK... off to see more of Sapporo.

UNDERWAY !

And so the journey begins.... I'm in the Qantas Club lounge at Sydney airport, waiting to connect with my flight to Tokyo. As I write, I'm looking out across the runway to the city lights beyond. It's the evening, the weather is calm, and I'm feeling relaxed. Hardly surprising, since I slept through most of the three hour flight across the Tasman from Wellington !

I think the last time I wore a watch was in the early 1990s. It struck me once, while I was stuck underground going nowhere on the Tube in London, that having a watch causes stress. Oh, how frequently I would see the hands ticking by, shouting at me "you're going to be late" !! The way to remove the stress was simple... don't have a watch... realise that I can't get there until I get there, I am not in control of this Underground train, there is no point getting wound up ! (did you like the pun ?)

BUT.. having never seen - let alone owned - a mobile phone with "flight mode", I have always felt uncomfortable being unable to check the time when flying. Well, that has all changed now. No. I didn't buy a posh phone. I bought a Swatch watch just now in Duty Free. Nothing fancy, but quite smart.

The other thing I was going to do was exchange some Australian dollars for Japanese Yen at Travelex. I checked the rate online.. the wholesale rate is 79 JPY to the Aussie $. The Travelex website gives a rate of 75, which isn't so bad.. since they claim not to include commission. BUT... the Travelex outlets at Sydney airport are giving (wait for it....) 66 Yen. Crikey ! That's awful. I mean, this morning, in Lambton Quay, I got 62.45 Yen for a Kiwi dollar. For those who don't know, the Australian dollar is worth about 20% more than the NZ dollar. So, how could the exchange rate to JPY be almost equal ? The answer, I was told.. by someone maintaining a straight face.. was "obviously, the retail outlet rate will be less than the internet rate, to cover staffing costs". Well, I didn't buy it.. the excuse, or the Yen. I'll take my Aussie dollars and exchange them when I get to Japan, or elsewhere along the way.

The flight I just slept through (apart from when the trolley came with a nice butter chicken dinner) was an Economy Class one. The ten hour journey ahead is in Business Class. I'm not hungry for a special meal with fancy cutlery, but I am looking forward to a nice comfy sleep in a bed while I zoom through the sky.

The next time I write, I'll be in Japan.. where I understand the official start of the rainy season has been declared. Just how this will affect me remains to be seen.

I'm going to escape the hail !

In one week from now I will be in the air, making my way across the Tasman from Wellington to Sydney. The first of many legs on this journey will be the hop over to Australia, where I'll be boarding my longer flight to Tokyo.

I've been ready for this since the start of the month. The past few days have been pretty chilly in NZ, and there were even hail showers on Tuesday. I've been having cups of tea and meals with friends. On Monday there was a very nice farewell party for me at a friend's house. The reality is sinking in rapidly -- I'm going away for five months !!

Now, would the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kindly put up the OCR (interest rate) tomorrow morning.. and do so by more than has been forecast ? That would give the Kiwi dollar a bit of a boost, and hopefully push up its value against the Japanese Yen.

Video test

Here's a short video, to test my uploading capabilities ! It shows Saturday afternoon shoppers in Manners Mall and Cuba Mall. The city council has forced through the destruction of Manners Mall, because it wants to run buses along the pedestrianised street. The idea is to save time on bus journeys... approximately the length of time it took you to watch the video, I reckon. When I get back, Manners Mall will probably be no more !

Birthday surprise !

It often takes me by surprise when my birthday arrives. June 5th... it's so close to the start of June that I don't think about it, because I imagine June to be ages away ! Then once the month begins, I realise I'm very nearly a year older.

Feliz Cumpleaños
Zum Geburtstag viel Glück
Feliz Aniversário
Честит рожден ден
Boldog születésnapot
С Днем Рождения
Til lykke med fødselsdagen
जन्मदिन मुबारक
Chúc mừng sinh nhật

..... and so on.

After a dose of dreadful weather in Wellington, things have been looking up for the past couple of days. However, the forecast for the weekend is not especially good. It's a public holiday weekend - so what else should one expect ?

Oh... true to my prediction, I found that belt I'd been looking for in an old shoe box.