Tokyo Photos

Some weird and wonderful sights in Tokyo; a marketplace in Asakusa, near where we stayed, that sold Kabuki theatre puppets (far too expensive to buy unfortunately), the weirdest example of French architecture I've ever seen, part of the Tokyo Asahi complex, the eastern gardens of the Imperial Palace, and Japanime chick, interesting architacture in Roppongi, the Rodea Drive of Tokyo, and finally the Yasukuni Shrine, a bone of considerable contention between China and Japan because it contains several war memorials dedicated to convicted war criminals most of whom were involved in atrocities in China in the '30s and '40s. Unfortunately my shots of Shinjuku didn't really turn out, but imagine every cliched picture of Tokyo, and you get the idea, vast numbers of people, the brights lights, skyscrapers and crazy traffic. All wonderful. Tokyo was fabulous and I only wish I had had two weeks rather than two days to explore. Just like any big city, you could divide Tokyo into sections, each with a unique feel to it. I can't wait to get back there one day.

Killing Time Tokyo Style

Hey everybody, it`s me, do you remember me? Well, here I am, with hours to kill and nothing to do but write, damn damn damn, where are the excuses when you need them?

No more excuses, here`s a condensed version of what`s been happening:

Hokkaido with Pipi was wonderful, but Stuart forgot the bloody tickets. He paid dearly (literally), I think over $1000 on top of what we`d already paid. His own silly fault, I asked him about a hundred times if he had the tickets, to which he replied with increasing curtness, `of course I bloody do!`. He didn`t. Who picks up an envelope and just assumes tickets lie within without going to the minimal effort of opening said envelope (not even sealed) and checking? Anyway, bygones. It was a fantastic adventure, very cold, a taste of South Korea at Christmas time for sure.

The last week or so has been full of owrk and drunken misadventures, including the Nova Christmas party that got a little haywire for one friend in particular. Dear Robbie, one of the sweetest guys ever, got absolutely slaughtered and made a spectacle of himself in the most bizarre and wonderful fashion. Last seen running out of the pub to catch the train back to Himeji, two full beers in hand. I kept trying to persuade him we actually had ample time for him to slow down with the rest of us. Above all else, he was spilling precious beer all over the roadside. Got to the train station, and flushed with the success of getting to the station with a good 15 minutes to spare (close call, considering the pub was about 5 minutes away), he celebrated by dropping his trousers. Well, that parts a little unclear, maybe his cute little bottom just wasn`t big enough to hold them in place. Sufficed to say, many inappropriate photos were taken that have since provided him with ample emabarrassment. I don`t know why, I mean, he had a lovely little bum, not spotty or hairy or nuffin.

Still waiting for the train... Robbie suddenly grasps the situation, attempts to pull his trousers up, is thwarted by the simultaneous act of trying to run away from us down the platform. So we leave him be for a minute. Then, as the train approaches, someone asks, `where`s Robbie?`. He`s asleep on the platform with his head dangling over the edge, possibly about to be severed by said train. Tim takes more photos, Kate has the sense to pull him out of the way. So we all board and Robbie sits in Lauren`s lap all the way back to Himeji. Kate and I think it wise to seek the toilet carriage just in case the motion of the train gets the better of him. So, we are in a different part of the train when the call comes through from Tim saying simply, `It`s cool`. What`s cool(?), we think. Turns out it almost wasn`t cool. Robbie had seen one of the station signs with an `H` and dashed out of the train, thinking it`s Himeji. Tim chases him down the platform again and just manages to get him back on the train before it pulls away, the last train of the night, still a good 5 stations away from home.

Back in Himeji and Robbie doesn`t have a ticket. So as Tim is buying him a ticket, Robbie is army crawling on his stomach under the barrier to avoid detection while in the direct eyeline of the security guard. The guard is confused, Robbie thanks his lucky stars he is a criminal mastermind. Robbie runs out of the station and into the tray of a ute parked on the main street. He jumps out of the ute and into some bushes, where he hides, planning to jump out and scare passersby (us). We all see him, and pretend to be shitscared for his sake. He then passes out in a doorway and Tim and Ryan have to carry him home, all in the space of about 5 minutes.

It was without a doubt the most manic act of drunkeness I`ve ever encountered.

Enough about binge drinking. So here I am in Tokyo, we caught the overnight train and now we`re waiting in an internet cafe until the sun comes up and we can find us some fun. Harajuku here I come!

On Saturday I head to Korea for Christmas and New Years, so if I don`t get the opportunity to update again before I leave, everyone have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love to all, Mezzle.

P.S Shout out to Heatherbell who joins the league of mothers with their endless talk of breast pumps and nappy washing techniques - how to make those poo stains come out whiter than white.

P.P.S Shout out to Nadsie, with whom I had the very real pleasure of speaking last week, so nice to hear a voice from home. Sorry we got cut off, as soon as I can find the time and my phone card I`ll call you back to finish what we started! Love you babe.

P.P.P.S Geordy and Pete, you guys are so lucky, your new digs look truly amazing.

Hokkaido Continued

Ahhh, the hotel room who's foyer (yes, there was a foyer in the room) is bigger than our entire apartment. Needless to say, if it hadn't been for the weather, I never would have left. I would have begged a cleaning job and hidden out in one of the spare rooms at night. Come summertime I may still do this.

Hokkaido

Hey everyone, how's it going? So I bet you're all getting geared up for Christmas and New Years, I'm heading to South Korea for both and it's going to be frickin cold. I'm facing an extended period of frozen extremeties, yeehah!

Speaking of cold, let me fill you in a little more on Hokkaido. It was seriously fun, but came close to not happening at all... I'll explain. I'll start at the beginning. Stu and I bought tickets for all 3 of us to go to Sapporo for 3 days, staying in a gorgeous hotel right in the smack-damn centre of town. Last Tuesday we left the house in a flurry of excitement and last-minute packing, amid my rather repetitive chorus of, "Stu, have you got the tickets?" To which he replied many times over with increasing annoyance, "of course!". Cut to the train speeding towards Kobe airport and a new, more humble, almost embarrassed tone, "Mez, I forgot the tickets." I looked at him, scrutinising his face, checking for signs of suicidal tendancies, the only possible explanation for such a lame joke at this late stage. We were atleast and hour and a half from home, with only and hour until the plane took off. He wasn't joking and the blood in my body began to boil. For the next hour he negotiated with our travel agent, the airline staff and God, while Pipi and I took out our nervous, frustrated energy by jumping on the spot.

To his credit, Stu came up with a solution to our minor setback. Well, a solution of sorts. he ended up forking out almost $2000 to purchase new plane tickets, for which he will only be reimbursed half. If I hadn't asked him 50 times whether he had the tickets, I would almost feel sorry for him. Actually I felt sorry for him anyway, it was a lot of money. He was really good about it, mainly because he knew it was entirely his own fault. The rest of the holiday was lovely, and we all resolved to forget the "unfortunate ticket incident" ever happened, not difficult considering the massive amounts of alcohol we all consumed during our time in the frozen north.

After Sapporo we all headed to Kyoto for an afternoon of temples and other worthy, historical sites, punctuated by shopping. Pipi found the perfect pair of boots, I rejected an imperfect pair of jeans, Stu sat patiently in the "boyfriend chair" while we marvelled over hats and bags. Japan has definitely made me into a consumer, I'm somewhat ashamed to admit.

More later folks, have to go now, I'm entertaining my neighbours Lauren and Jeff with the cheese Pipi (with the benificence of mum) smuggled into the country, delicious! Love you all, more later. Mezball signing off.

More Photos

Well, Pipi came to stay and my liver packed up and left. We had so much fun, it's hard to believe I now have to settle back into ordinary everyday life. The hightlights? Sapporo was wonderful, in particular our daytrip to Otaru, where the snow, combined with Pipi's and my poor choice of footwear led us to do the unthinkable... but matching red gumboots to stride around the city. We must have looked quite the sight, but seeing as our feet were finally dry, we couldn't have cared less. Below (or above, I can never be sure where the stupid blog will put these words) are a few shots of the shenanigans that ensued after our afternoon spent in an Otaru beerhall, where we, the only customers, drank about five litres of beer in the space of an our thanks to a little old Japanese money-making concept "nomi hodai". Basically it means all you can drink for an hour, and they anticipate primarily Japanese clientel who could probably manage 2 beers in an hour. Ha ha ha, we showed them, and I think we drank the place dry, leaving the management dumbfounded and destitute.

Pipi, Stu and I in Hokkaido

Hiroshima, by Philippa H. Lamb

Cold, cold, cold, cold cold, cold Sapporo


Sooooooo imnature! He he he. Hmmm, somehow the last two comments next to the piccies got mixed up. To clarify: The dome piccie is from Hiroshima, the only building left standing after the blast. The cold cold cold comment was for the shot of Pipi and Stu doing their "cold" faces. I should mention that neither of them complained even half as bitterly as me about the freezing temperatures. I hate cold. I hate it soooo much. I'm cold right now. I hate it. I hate winter, it's too cold.

Hurricane Pipi to Himeji, Livers Destroyed

A few choice shots of Pipi's first few days in Himeji. Pipi and I with a few Nova teachers for a night out. Stu, Pipi and I out to dinner in a really swank Japanese restaurant.