Adventures in Japan

Adventures in whistler

2009-07-12T15:09:00.000+09:00

Well it's 6pm. I'm sitting waiting for the greyhound bus to take me back to Vancouver. I'm in quite a bit of pain but most of it is muscle pain rather than pain caused by one of my 4 crashes.
Crash 1. Too fast on a twisty gravel track, didn't put enough trust in my bike, ran off into a tree
Crash 2. Got involved in a black diamond run where a lot of it was a 50 cm wide elevated wooden track snaking through the forest. I didn't handle the corners well got wobbly fell off an smashed my helmet against a log and bent one finger back badly, suspect it is broken. With the end of a 10cm thick branch almost going through the front of my full face helmet, I consider myself lucky. 1 cm lower and it would have smashed my sunnies
3. Same track, fell off elevated boardwalk again.
4. Super rough section on black course, at low speed tried to put my feet down and bail but ended up getting out of control and stacking

apart from that my wrist, hands , back and knees are aching. I truly learnt what real mountain biking is all about today
I started with a 12 min chair ride up to the first stop on the mountain. After a couple runs on easy trails I go used to the bike and remembered how to ride. It was a few more before I remembered how to jump properly.

This is the very bottom of the mountain, where it meets the vulliage.

I couldn't take photos on the trails. They go down through the forest and are quite furious. Jumps, berms, obstacles, drop offs, walls you name it. It wasn't safe to stop for photos so all the shots I have are on the main ski runs, which are just used as connector trails to get to the mountain bike trails. Once the track drops down into the forest it was insane. I got pretty confident and was geting some serious air.

I went to the top summit at 1800 metres.
This was where the glacier started and there were people with skis and boards getting the lift up to ski the glacier! Such a strange sight in 27 degree heat.

To get here took over 20minutes. It was so far down

On the way back i got lost and ended up screaming straight down a black ski run(not part of the bike trails). I must have been doing easily over 80ks on the rocky surface. Trying to stop was very hairy.
After that I ducked into some of the faster blue runs that had heaps of good jumps.

It took over 40 minutes flat out to get to the botom. The views were amazing and the trails incredible. I haven't had so much adrenalin fun In a long time. When I realized you can just scream down these slopes and the bike figures out the rest I got pretty fast. Having never ridden a downhill Bike I had no idea what it could do. Couple of times I was doing in excess of 60 and hit a ditch but the bike just absorbed it.
I'm a massive fan of downhill now, I'll be back to do this again.

Look carefully above
Coming out of one of the trails onto connector trail

Sleepy busride home. Despite the views across the fjord, sunsetting behind the mountains, I didnte have the energy to take a photo. Just half asleep, enjoying the serenity. Got back to my hotel just after 9. What a fabulous day.

Journey to whistler

2009-07-12T15:08:00.001+09:00

So here I am. Ready to get the skytrain into Vancouver, then get a bus over to north Vancouver where the mountineer train will take me up to whistler. Damn it's early, 7am. This better be worth it

Waiting at the watrrfront for the bus over to nth van. Couple of cruise ships in port including this one, the sapphire princess which is regularly in Sydney.

View of Vancouver as we drive over the bridge to nth van.
And here is my train

I'm in the last carriage which should give me good views of the train on the way up.

For the first 40 miles of the 74 mile journey the train hugs the coastline up into Howe fjord.

Looking out the back of the train.

40 miles in at sqarmish we passed a steam train that runs around locally

From here the train turns inland to climb up through the canyon.

Its About 680 metres vertical climb up to whistler

3 hours after leaving nth Vancouver we pull into whistler! 5 minute bus ride later we are in the vulliage. That spelling mistake reminds me, truck loads of kiwis here. Everywhere, working as well as playing. Anyway
I grab a quick lunch, hire a full spec downhill bike along with gloves, helmet, leg and arm armour - , got my lift ticks and hit the mountain

Update

2009-07-11T10:36:00.000+09:00

Got wifi access in a restaurant. Have updated my last post in japan with some pics

Whistler

2009-07-11T08:42:00.002+09:00

Great first week at my new job. The end of the week brings me to my weekend

Booked a ticket for tomorrow on a scenic looking train journey up to Whistler ski resort. Check it out
http://www.whistlermountaineer.com/our_train/

When there I will hire a mountain bike and hit the mountain. This bike trail map scares me a little

http://www.whistlerbike.com/information/maps/index.htm

Apparently Whistler is mountain biking mecca during the summer months and im sure I will enjoy it although I have calculated the risk of injury at 55%
My next post might include pictures of me in hospital

If I make it through with no breakages, a guy from work is going to take me mountain biking closer to Vancouver on the Sunday
We will head to one of the ski resorts overlooking Vancouver. I think the views will be amazing

Just spoke to Rumi, Neo has been sick most of the week with high temp. The temp has gone today but she has broken out in spots! Nothing seroius, I dunno the name of it but something young kids get according to the doc.
Anyways, thats all for me
Pics of the journey, whistler villiage and mountain tomorrow

Andee in Vancouver

Last few days for AM in Japan

2009-07-07T10:31:00.005+09:00

As I write this I am in Vancouver, having just finished my first day of work.
Sorry I cannot include any photos. I cannot upload photos until my iphone is back on the internet.

But back to Japan;
A few days before leaving Japan the neighbour with the un-secured wifi network lost internet connectivity so I was unable to do any updates.

Friday we went to Mihama, where Tokyo Disney is located. We couldn’t really afford to pay $160 to get in when we would have to take it in turns doing the fun rides. So we hung out in the Disney themed palazzo style shopping area bordering Disney land. We had Disney tunes playing and had lunch in the ridiculous rainforest café. Not a wall could be seen through the dense forest with bird noises and animatronic elephants, monkeys, birds, giant butterflies, crocs and a simulated thunderstorm every 30 minutes that scared the crap out of the 3 year olds sitting next to us. There were tears…. Neo wasn’t bothered though, and couldn’t understand why the girls were crying. She really enjoyed the floor to ceeling fish tanks too.

After taking advantage of the sales, we rode the Disney train. It’s a mikey mouse monorail that circles around Tokyo Disney and Disney sea. We were lucky to get the front seat and I put Neo up on the massive dashboard. Its driverless so the front is a big flat dashboard type area under the sloping windscreen.

We did a few laps of Disney and Neo stood against the glass and got lots of waves as we pulled into the various stations around Disney. That night we set off some fireworks. We bought a few kiddie friendly ones (in addition to the fireworks I bought previously) and went to the park in the apartment complex. It hindsight it wasn’t the best place for a discrete fireworks show, situated inbetween two 14 story high apartment blocks. I wasn’t sure what I had bought, id just grabbed fireworks that I recognized from my childhood (thanks Dad). Fotunately id got a packet of these wicked little dynamite sticks with wings attached. Once lit They kind of jumped up 3 metres into the air then with a loud WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHHHHH they left a comet like trail as they took off into the air. With the blessing of a strong westerly I almost shot a few into the balcony’s of the neighbouring apartment block. After a spasm of sparks a burnt thumb and half a dozen ICBM smoke trails into the darkness I realized the kids were scared and had run off with the scared adults. I was standing alone amongst the smoke trails of my little pre-emptive strike against apartment block D in Makurai Family Heights. With the sound of dogs barking and babies screaming I stopped, and the scared adults and kids returned so they could enjoy some handheld colourful smoking sparklers. How childish i thought…

Next day was Saturday. The kids were off school (Chisako san puts them in school every summer holidays for 3 weeks so they are familiar with the Japanese schooling and better prepared for their eventual return to Japan) so we took the baseball kit to the park. We got Chisako san and Rumiko san to come along and woman the bases. They kind of manned the bases but at one stage there were 3 batters, Ryo pitching and me running around like crazy. 5 man baseball doesn’t quite work when one batter gets to first base and then a fielder decides to bat, then repeat. Anyway, it was fun and the kids loved it. It was over 30 degrees, 90% humidity (im guessing) and we were all soaked with sweat and pretty damn stinky. So we went straight to lunch at a sushi train place! Ive been wanting to go back to this place since we arrived in Japan and being my last day I got to choose the meals woohoo.
That night I cooked Mexican tacos again cause the kids love it and this would be my last chance until we see them next time which could be a year or so away.
Rumi and I limited ourselves to two tacos each cause we planned to go out later and eat again. Round 10pm we left to do some Izakaya style. (Food to go with drinking)

Last day – I started off with a dose of oxygen. This time I had 50 minutes worth and was buzzing with energy and a sharp mind when I left. Rode the bike back to a family restaurant called Fujiya to meet the gang for lunch, then went home to watch some pixar short films and finish my packing.
It was sad to leave. Nephew Ryo was a bit sad and couldn’t understand why I had to go start a new job. I think he was especially sad cause I was taking my iphone with me along with the cool games he was getting addicted too ☺

I wish Neo understood what was happening. She kept wanting to walk and cuddle mum and other antics when we were waiting for the taxi but when I was driving off waving goodbye she had such a confused worried look on her face. I pictured it all the way to Canada and just wanted to give her a hug. Rumi said Neo woke up sobbing the last two nights since ive been away. Its so strange how the sadness of your child can create such happiness. Not happiness due to the sadness, but happiness due to the cause of the sadness. To feel so important and loved, its one of the joys of parenthood that empathy and previous experience has never come close to preparing me for.

So here I am, sitting at the end of day one of my new job in my new suit. I explained to Rumi a new job demanded a new suit but she knew the truth is I couldn’t fit into any of my old suits.
Was it the midnight ramens? The raw chicken and raw heart? The four day buffet bender? The 12 course dinner followed by 9 course breaky? The daily cake ritual demanded by the girls?
Actually I was just a bit chubby when we left Australia and strangely ive lost a kg or so despite consumption figures to embarrass the bumpers off a hummer.

Well I don’t think there will be much to update in the coming weeks. Im basically learning the ropes at my new company, and next week traveling to Toronto and Atlanta to visit some customers.
Drinks at the owners house next Friday night, then I fly out at lunch Saturday and get into Japan via the dateline a day later. 24 hours post we head back home to Sydney after the biggest challenge of our trip, packing for the return journey. Im not sure you can fully appreciate how big a task this will be.
The amount of stuff we have aquired over the last few months is extraordinary. Lucky the return journey home is business class, but I fear we will still be hit with some excess baggage charges. Im picturing suitcases ocky-strapped to the roof of the megane for the ride from airport to home.

Signing off for now. I will send a final update from Japan and with time, updates on any interesting observations or activities in Vancouver over the next fortnight.

Andee in Vancouver, BC

Random pic of neo. Looking like a girl this time

Kamakura to daiba and home

2009-07-01T21:59:00.001+09:00

Wednesda morning we started with room service breaky

Hehe

Then after a quick Onsen bath we hit the road, or should I say rails.
On the way home we Headed to daiba(obstruction), islands just in front of the entrance to sumida river with daibas built to deter the " big black ships" from entering Tokyo. Today it's a modern mix of shopping, residential, headquarters and company showcases with a flash monorail connecting it to the main stations.

. We went into the panasonic centre and had an interactive demo of the " life wall", a completely dynamic wall in a house. Imagine an entire wall is a tv and you control everything with hand movements inthe air. ( point, make fist etc) It was absolutely amazing. I'd say unbelievable but I'd seen similar things in sci fi movies, so I was familiar with the way this stuff works :) the cofee table also acts as a giant mouse pad with touch triggering certain actions. We moved and re-sized the tv, downloaded photos wirelessly and instantly from a mobile phone, browsed photos, looked througj books and and created windows on the wall.
The best bit was when Rumi left to go into a seperate room but appeared lifesize in front of us. Neo was confused, especially when Rumi was suddenly walking with penguins around her! We dragged animals from a book onto the screen, which were then displayed in actual size on the wall. Oh I give up, it's too hard to describe how cool this was, you just have to do it yourself.
Only photos could show you what this life wall was like but there were gurads everwhere stopping people from taking photos. Everytime I touched my phone to check the time I could see security in the corner of my eye.

We didnt have a lot of time but many other companies have tech showcases and innovative science exhubitions here including toyota! I think I have to come back to check that one out.

Damn, only 3 more days holiday for me before heading to Canada to start my new job!!

Kamakura

2009-07-01T20:46:00.001+09:00

Monday we headed off for a few days in Kamakura, about 80 k's south of Tokyo. Kamakura is a very famous touristy area due to the nice beaches and huge number of shrines. In ancient times this was the capital so lots of historical sites.
Having explored kamakura before we decided to skip the main area around the shrines and headed for the beach. We stayed at enoshima, on a little island (0.4 km sq) just off the shore. To get here we had to ride a cute little train that runs along the coast From the main station at kamakura.

You can just see the island in top right.
Last night we ate on the street.

These little stalls have fresh seafood, fried stuff, etc. You choose a bunch of things, grab a beer and eat at the outside tables.
After sitting down I asked Rumi to choose a "suprise", and boy it was a suprise

It's the biggest damn oyster even seen. And at $20 for one, the most expensive too.
Shame it tasted average but it was worth it for the novelty factor.
The ocean side of this island is sharp cliffs and there are long caves going in under the island. Boats have brought tourists here since the olden days (I don't know how long but it's a while)
We walked up to the top of the island to go in the observation tower, before descending the other side and into the caves.

Afterwards We were lucky to catch the last boat off the rocks. With the pram and hundreds of stairs to get here, we were not looking forward to reversing the journey back up the hill!

With mt fuji fairly close it's quite a beautiful spot. The camera coulnt pick it up due to the haze but you could see it with the naked eye.

Today, Tuesday was a bit rainy. We decided to go to the local aquarium cause neo loves them fish.

Not as spectacular as the one in Tokyo but still lots of fun, especially the dolphin show where we got drenched!
After that we jumped back on the little train and hopped off at a few places for a poke around.

I'm sure people think she is a little boy

Tonight we decided to stay in and order room service.

And I'm not being funny, two more plates plus rice appeared later in the meal.
Oishii!! Amazing food (Rumi selected this place cause of the food reputation). In Japan the old ryokan style hotels all provide
Meals in your room like this and where you stay is sometimes a decision made after consulting your stomach and taste buds.

I'm just glad I'm not doing the washing up!

--Morans in Kamakura

Shibuya, horse, and walking

2009-06-29T06:49:00.001+09:00

Yay convinced Rumi to hit late night ramen!

It was my second time I must confess. Nothing like a thousand calories around midnight!!

I hit the town with joss on Friday night. This time we went to shibuya. This WOULD be the most crazy place on earth except I already said that about Shinjuku. Oh well.
Spent a few hours in the 8 level Tower records, the most famous music store in Tokyo.
With the sad news of MJ death that day the press were all over the place, interviewing people etc. Whilst we love MJ we avoided being on the news but were likely in the backround of several shoots whilst tuning into some funky hop hop.
Anyway great night again, though nothing too shocking to report on the food front.
But joss-what a MENACE to japanese society. I won't say anymore.

Next day we visited rumis grandma. Rumis uncle and aunty also live with grandma, although uncle was out busy with summer festival organisation.
So we met her grandma and aunty at a restaurant near their house, 4 stations away.
Lunch was lovely but I did spot horse sashimi on on the menu. Raw horse??? Surely this was a translation error?
Damn, it was under the "meat" section, so maybe not "horse makarel" as I initially thought.
Sorry for the sake of a cool blog entry I just wasn't that brave.

After lunch we walked to their home.
I thought it was amazing to have 4 generations sitting together.

Rumis GM is 89 years old. But you wouldn't guess it. Spritely and full of beans. Up until
Recently still prepared meals for her son and daughter that have never left home!!
Judging by the veins in her arms she would beat me in and arm wrestle so I didn't put up the chaallemge.

Anyway that beings me to today.
Neh-oh chan decided to walk today. Up until now walking consisted of us holding her hands and tricking her by pulling her support away. She was ok with 2 or 3 steps but soon realized the deception and simply fell on her knees or bottom due to lack of confidence.. In the last few days she would stand herself up and let go for a few seconds. Testing the waters I guess.
Today she got bold, turned and used the legs! I grabbed the vidcam and she happily and consistently walked 5 or so steps between us. The excitrment, clapping and encouragement from us egg'd her on.
Now I fear a period of injuries and crying, but she is so proud of herself, she just stands and tries to walk everywhere!
Awesome, very exciting!!

Stay tuned for the forthcoming accidents and tears

Neo news

2009-06-25T11:39:00.001+09:00

Been a few comments on how Neh-oh chan has grown. The change is so dramatic even we see it, which is strange given the constant contact.

Thought I should list some of her personal development highlights:

Loves dogs. Calls them wah-wahns, the japanese nick name (for kids).
Spots them everywhere even when we don't see them and repeats "wah wahn" to let us know. Really sharp eyes, sometimes we back track to find them an sure enough we have just passed a teddy dog or picture of one.

Vocab:
Dad
Mum
Bub
Woof
Moo(cow)
Qack (duck)
Wah wahn (dog)
Ichi (1)
Touch (when touching someone)
Bath
Bird
Hai(ywhen we do roll call " moran neo San" she puts her arm up and says " hai")

Also knows what the following means and does the action
Choo(kiss)
Odei(come here)
Bath(crawls to bath)
Itadakimas/gotsosama (before/after meal - clambs her hands together)
Run fast ( when helping her walk the legs start going overdrive)
Arigato ( and bows her head )

And:
Can easily walk 2/3 steps between people
Climbs up onto coffee table and sofa
Turns and slides off sofa
Puts any phone like object (remote control, calculator etc) to her ear and pretends to be on phone
Points at anything of interest and goes "aahhhh"
In bed crawls up and rolls into one of us so she ends up lying against us.
Knows basic hand movements of some Japanese kids songs which get sung everyday
(so much so that even I find myself humming some of them)
Nods head side to side when she really likes some food (oi-Shi-neh)
Sleeping right through the night without boobs
Loves chasing cousin ryo around going "rah"
Waves to anyone in public then engages them with her intense blinking (kind of like morse code using blinking). train rides are a lot of fun, she ends up communicating to several people in one way or another and they all wave bye bye when we get off

Talks her own language. Mostly it sounds like "gug gug heeba jeeba jabba jabba lawa oh wahhh"

I'm sure there is more I have forgotten but it is all very entertaining

Here she is right now

Mushi mushi

Tokyo sea life park

2009-06-22T19:03:00.000+09:00

We just got back from an exciting day at the sea life park, located next door to Disney land.
We met with Rumi's school friend Aiya, her husband and 2 year old son
This place is definstely worth a visit if you come to Tokyo. Only 10 bucks entry but an amazing display of marine life from across the globe

This Was one of by favourites-bluefin tuna. The only place in the world they can be seen as they need a constant flow of fresh seawater and they never stop moving, they just fly around in the current.

After this we saw dozens of tanks with marine life from specific locations.
Neo loved this place and would stand at the glass watching the fish and cackling to herself.

Watching the penguins

The deep sea exhibitions were really dark and we had an enourmius sunfish saunter out of the darkness straight at where neo was standing against the glass. This thing was like a cow and when it was a few inches away looking like it wanted to bite off Neo's head, it's amazing uglyness was exposed and it gave Neo quite a fright.
The 2m hammerhead sharks didn't bother her though, which brings me to my other favourite display- A massive school Of fish being circled by a dozen sharks.

I've never seen anything like it. The way the school dynamically moulded itself around the path of incoming sharks was extraordinary. I could have watched this dance for hours
Certainly the Highlight of the day for me....

--Morans at marine world
Thanks everyone for the comments, we do check back every day to read them!

Late night adventures

2009-06-22T19:02:00.001+09:00

THe whole house goes to bed at 10pm ish. Most nights at least. Being nocturnal this causes me some unrest. Going to bed at 10:30 to play poker on my iPhone has become a little tired.

And Id been wondering... When we are out and about we find that many restaurants are closed at lunch. Instead most open at 6pm and stay open until between 1 and 5am.
Whilst we are in the suburbs, I realized the lack of pubs in japan and closure of train services at 12 would result in lots of happy people back in their neighbourhood but unwilling to return to their cramped apartment.
Thus! Retire to a beautiful restaurant where you can get quality food and drink until 5 am!
Strangely they seem to open similar hours every day of the week, so it's not just catering for your standard office worker.

So here I am. 1 am Monday morning yours restless truly went for a wander

Ok so I only wandered across theroad.
But who would have thought I'd find a shochu speciality bar/restaurant just across the road open until 2 am! And they are playing jazz through a sweet hifi setup!
Heaven.

I started by ordering the most expensive rare shochu they have. Apparently even the empty bottle of this shochu goes at auctions. Only registered places can even sell it!

Started on the left with the most expensive

Then moved across to the right.
I'm no shochu expert, but I wouldn't mind being one so where better to start than the best?

Grabbed some late night food to match. Not raw this time!

This city certainly caters for night owls like myself.
And I cant think of any other city in the world where it would be normal for supermodel proportioned women to cycle past every few minutes in over the knee socks, mini skirts and heels - around midnight! Very strange, but you soon get used to it.

Anyway The shochu was fantastic. I prefer the taste of those made from sweet potato, rather than the buckwheat or rice varieties.
And shochu is the most popupar drink in Japan, not Sake as commonly percieved.

-- Andrew drinking shochu

Dangerous things to do in Japan

2009-06-16T22:02:00.000+09:00

Due to a couple of recent experiences I thought I might compile a list Of dangerous things you can do in japan.

1. Get a cab with a baby
No need for baby seat, and I suspect seatbelts are optional too?
Strap the kid into the seat and go for it!

2. Being in Japan
Rumi's mum feels 3 or 4 earthquakes month. Being on the 13th floor things can move around a bit. I've been here during 2 earthquakes, but oblivious to them both. 1st was the last trip 2 years back. It happened in the middle of the nihht and woke everyone up, except me
There was another last week that shook the apartment violently for 1 minute. However we were busy at the shops which are at ground level and didn't even notice. With a month to go im sure I'll get to experience one.

3. Go quad biking, horse riding and several other slighly dangerous activities and make it properly dangerous with no helmet! Whilst the quad bikes were speed limited, they went fast enough to be hairy.

4. Ride a bike. Everyone rides bikes but I've only seen two kids with helmets. Whilst people don't fly around, the sidewalks can get crowded so there is still lots of chances to have a good stack and crack your skull

5. Visit Japanese only restaurant and let waitress choose your destiny. Never thought I'd eat raw chicken or raw heart in this lifetime. But then again, it wasn't that dangerous. It's normal here, but it feels dangerous!!

6. Buy fireworks from the supermarket or 7/11
Dangerous can b fun too!

7. Cross road at pedestrian crossing without looking. Cars don't slow down or stop, they are really just recommended places tocross when there are no cars coming.

8. Hit the bum wash button on the dunny without checking what water pressure the last person left it set at.

-- Moran's in Japan

Farm then hokadate then back home

2009-06-16T21:38:00.001+09:00

5pm Monday
After a fantastic day in yhe farm and a quick stay ovrr in Hakodate, We are now all back in Tokyo.

Farm
Yesterday 7am we were milking the cow.

The Japanese farm hand was 2m tall!
Giant

8am was breaky
We each had frsh milk that was really nice once you got throught the inch of cream on top!

After that we plays with dogs, they have 60 breeds of dog here

Played with horses and Rina anD ryo went for a ride

We also fed goats, got chased by angry ducks, went quad biking, did some archery and rina and I learnt how to make butter!

I'm so glad I did that. We made it with fresh cream straight from the cows in the farm, and finished by trying it on hot bread rolls straight out of the oven! So nice. I'll be
Making my own butter now.

Quick cruise with cousin Ryo before hitting the road

Off to Hakodate. We checked out some sites before heading to the hotel.
For the first time we stayed in a western style hotel. It was our last night of the trip.
We headed out for dinner but it was a little rushed with neo yelling at the top of her lungs. For some reason Neo is the loudest baby wherever we go. Or maybe everyone else with noisy babies keeps them at home?

We were staying right at the tip of Hakodate, near the old wharves. We rose early as the morning markets were across the road.

Squid is the speciality here And had it for breaky. It was still moving, no kidding. It's finely sliced but still wriggling around. It's fun having a bit of wriggling 2 minute dead squid in your mouth, just before swallowing it!

After some more siteseeeimg and shopping it was time to head to the airport and back home.

We were all tired but what an exciting 6 days!

Back in Tokyo now. It's been rainy and stormy the last day and half. A litle squashy here with 8 in the house.
Since we are just resting for a few days and have nothing interesting to write, Ive been thinking about dangerous things to do in japan!
Stay tuned....

Lake Toya to World Ranch

2009-06-15T20:40:00.001+09:00

Well the day didn't start with onsen. Rumi started her day with onsen, good for her. I meanwhile could barely muster the energy to roll over let alone get up.
Instead my day started with breakfast- buffet. A new Buffett in a new hotel.
We drove half the day which gave me some valuable thinking time. I devised a formula that determined, based on Various input and outputs, temperature, weight, energy and comfort levels, that the optimum number of consecutive buffet meals in a row is .......
-1
The problem with buffets is they are so exciti g. There is so much choice on offer and especially here, so many new things to try. My self discipline isn't equiped to deal with such temptation, and i already new it wasn't up for the challenge, so I didn't bother exercising it.

After breaky we hit the road.
We didn't have that far to go, maybe 180k's, but it took about 4 hours as the speed limits here are set for icy frozen conditions. The highest speed limit sigh I saw was 50kph. Most drivers were willing to travel at the 90 or so that matched the road and conditions but unfortunately some stuck to 30 and 40 as per the signs. The slow traffic was frustrating, but the illegal dangerous overtaking 10 cars in a row by large trucks was entertaining. Ok that only happened once, the rest of the time the scenery provided the entertainment

That's another volcano rising up in the distance.

I love some of the town signs and hotel instructions. I've never seen volcanic emergency instructions and evacuation routes before!
damn a pic of a sign would have been nice right about here!

We stopped off at lake Onuma just behind the volcano called mt Komagatake in the previous pic.
There is a beautiful park on the water that is a frequent destination for the royal family for many generations.
You can do go carting, hire trikes or boats.
We tried carting but the trikes were way more fun. You could join them together so it made a little train.
We flew around the pathways and across bridges onto little islands.

Our little elf

Our final destination today Is the World ranch. It's basically a big farm with cottages you can stay in. We had a Wander around
But we arrived around 5 and most of the farm stuff had ended. Tomorrow we start early and milk cows, Ride horses, see reindeer, and I hope to join the butter making.

BBQ dinner.

Volcano in the background.

And since this entire island is volcanic active the world ranch has it's own little onsen. I just finished my day with nice soak in the piping hot water.
-- Moran's in World Ranch

Onsen and Lake Toya

2009-06-15T17:00:00.000+09:00

Well the day started as any memorable day should.
Rumi went to the onsen bath at 5 am and when she got back I went down at around 6
Because it was morning the gents had the larger onsen downstairs. Rumi had told me about it and I was keen to say the least.
Like a seasoned pro I stripped off, went for a wash then wandered around the onsen nudie. There were about 10 different baths and I tried most of them. One was extremely hot, far hotter than the othes. The hotel says the springs providing the water range from 40 to 90 deg celcius.
Now the best part were the oitside baths!
I walked out into the cold fresh air, with steam everywhere. The hotel backs onto the side of the valley, with a raging creek hard up against the steep sides of the mountain. The outside bath is beside the creek, with large rocks seperating.
Lots of beautiful trees and moss. Such a beautiful environment, just imagine the SERENITY.
Now imagine me flying down a water slide into a steaming hot onsen butt naked!
Woohoo!
At that time of the morning none if the other blokes were on the slide but the girls had done it the day beforeand told me about it so I just had to do it too.

Next - bear park!
Located at the top of the mountain, the bear park is only accesible by cable car.

Looking back, that's our hotel on the right.

And looking ahead! While to go yet

Bears! Lots of bears up close.

from outside we Could throw little snacks to them. Most had learnt to wave to get our attention ( and a treat).
very cute. This half tonne bear could swipe me in two and wants to eat me. But oh so cute, just want to give it a hug...

After that we saw a funny bear show featuring a much Smaller and cuter bear doing tricks.

We fed the bears some more, had a look at the rest if the park showing how the indigenous people lived, then headed back down

Saw other local sites including the source of some of the bath water.

After lunch we hit the road, heading up into the mountains towards lake toya.
We were travelling through the ski resourt area, some amazing scenery.
Lots ofthe road was covered like a long carport so they obviously get a lot of snow here.
Through a tunnel and out he other side of the mountain range the first thing we see is a volcano that looks like a mini my Fuji. And actually that's it's name in Japanese. Old Hokkaido mini fuji.

A short rme later we were driving along lake toya. What an amazing picturesque place.
We checked into a hotel on the lakeside.

Our room

Our hotel has an indoors water park!

No photos unfortunately but I took Nei in a few water slides. The end was always a shock but she loved it!

Now I thought the OTT meals are behind us but oh I was wrong

That's the first half of dinner. The plates keptncoming and coming. It was crazy.
If I'm forced to eat anymore food all I want is to eat all bran straight out of a box.

Well the day ended as all good memorable days should-with a bloody big 20 minute fireworks show over the lake!!
I don't know what tomorrow has in store for us but I know it will start in the onsen

Hokkaido - Noboribetsu day 2

2009-06-15T16:21:00.001+09:00

Well it poured all day. We didnt make it to the bear park, instead we went to 'Edo wonderland', a kind of theme park that covers historical Japan, with a bit of humour. Between buildings it was oitdoors witj no cover so we ended up soaked but it was fun.

But first, the onsen!

I went to one of the two floors of onsen baths. One floor was designated for men ( the two areas alternate for men/women half day then swap)
It was my first public bath, I had only done private onsen baths with Rumi before)
But I wasn't too nervous, on account of few beers and little Bottle Of sake. I was most worried about etiquete. So I tried to copy the other fellas, without looking like I was looking, if u know what I mean.

Anyway scrubbed up first then wandered into the Bath area. The were several baths and I choose what I think was the acidic iron Bath. The skin feels amazing now, And whilst I didn't have any digestive problems Ive since developed some with buffet dinner and breaky two days in a row.

Anyway, more on the onsen later.

'edo wonderland is a massive recreation of a 'edo period vulliage. I guess half would be authentic and half funny stuff like a ninja house maze and a cat themes haunted house.
First we tried our luck at some traditional games.

Hit the target with a blowgun. These things were leathal. I'd like to make one for home and pop the Indian minors off my balcony. They are Pretty accurate too.

There were some theatres with shows and my favourite - the ninja show! It was full on. There were even two shuriken (ninja stars) throw across the stage to miss a ninja by cms and lodge themselves into the door frame!!

I wish i was a ninja
Lucky I filmed the whole show so I can go home and study the moves.

Back home for more onsen, buffet and sake

Later when Rumi was bathing I took neo to amusement centre

the kids playing on the futons before bed time

That's all for today. Tomorrow we hit bear park then drive on to the next place

Hokkaido - Noboribetsu

2009-06-15T16:20:00.001+09:00

Wednesday
Today we flew up to Hokkaido to meet up with rumis sister and family

It was only and hour and fifteen flight into Sapporo airport.
We had lunch in the airport while waiting for them to arrive.
The airport has one of the most amazing food markets I have seen. The number Of restauants and fresh food stalls is staggering.
Apparently Hokkaido is famous for various food products, so I think the next week will be more fun than I anticipated.
We found a ramen hall. There were 6 or more in a line, all specializing in certain types of ramen.

Just a sample of menus

My spicy red miso ramen

Unfortunately in the plane I spilt water on the iPhone so all my photos are foggy!
It will dry out...

After that we met chisako, masaki, rina and ryo. We all pilled into an 8 seated van and hit the road, heading south along the coast for noboribetsu, a famous onsen resort.
We have checked into a beautiful ryo kan (old japanese style hotel) for two nights.

Neo loves it. Soft tatami floors, everything at her level. She can even climb up on the table!

It seems really quiet here, until we went to dinner. I think the whole town is in the buffet restaurant in our hotel. This particular area is famous for crab and ramen.
Well the buffet was one of the best I have seen. They had various stations with chefs ( tempura, wagu steak, scallop, ramen, gyoza, miso, curry and a few other) plus a tonne of dishes to choose from!

These pictures show about a qtr of the Buffett.

Here we are, feasting.
Wagu, sashimi and scallop! Mmmm

Rumi just took neo for her first onsen bath and now it's time for bed. Ionce she is asleep I'll head down and get nudie and have a soak myself.
This particular hotel has about 6 different hot water spring sources, each with various healing properties. I'm heading for the acidic iron spring- good for skin, rhematism an digestive problems.

Apparently tomorrow we go to a wild bear park!
--Morans in Hokkaido

Home bound

2009-06-09T19:23:00.001+09:00

I haven't left the house in two days on account of a nasty cold. Hopefully it's On It's way as we all fly out tomorrow for Hokkaido to meet rumis sister and family. We have a week driving around exploring together. Probably won't be any updates unless I can find another unsecured wifi network...

Till then sayonara.

Dinner is so much more interesting when the kitchen ninjas are in
-- Moran's in Japan

1 year old

2009-06-08T21:11:00.001+09:00

It's hard to believe abyear has gone by. Yet she has grown up so much lately, hardly the little baby that she was.

Had a quiet day at home. Mum made a cake and we had it at 3pm. This really threw Neo out. She was impossible to get to sleep for her afternoon nap. She wanted her bedtime breastfeed. Eventually she went to sleep and was very suprised when we woke her for another meal!

Opening pressies this morning

Testing the dj keyboard from grandma

Mum finishing off cake

Happy birthdays

Later daddy made birthdy dinner - spag meatballs

Not in months anymore, 1 year old!
Will have a b'day party when we get home.

More cake

2009-06-07T20:59:00.001+09:00

Apologies for the spelling errors and occasional wrong word. Writing this all on the iPhone means occasional spellcheckrr swaps my words and some are just my errors.

Anyway

Busy making birthday cake for Someones 1st bday on Monday.
will post pics tomorrow

-- Moran's in Japan

Saturday with Mari

2009-06-06T22:49:00.001+09:00

On Saturday we met with Rumi's friend Mari, who used to live in Sydney.
We met a few stations away at one of the best ( and my favourite ) shopping centre in the world - Lala Port

We said our goodbyes to Joss on the train who then continuednon her way back home.

We hadn't Seen Mari since Neo was a newborn. I'm sure she was suprised such an ugly baby turned out so cute!

We hung out and Scoped out the shops. The baby shops are amazing. Pretty sure we will beback here a few times before going home.

Girls scoping out cake shop for later?

This place was great, you could watch the cake ninjas making cakes! Actually we ended up having aftenoon tea elsewhere!

After lunch and a walk to get the little one to sleep, this was the girls choice for afternoon tea.
That was just half of the cake cabinet!

Our choices

Well that's about all.
Oh we did get Neo to try on some of her new clothes. Here is a preview of her new hip hop jeans ( hanging low to show undies) and trainers.

Beer gut almost rivals dadies!

-- Moran's in Japan

Friday with Joss - Part 3

2009-06-06T22:02:00.001+09:00

We found ourselves in a funky little restaurant. it was packed and we took the final two spots at the bar.
Not quite sure what was on offer we asked the waitress for her recommendations.

We knew we had ordered a salad, sashimi, fried something and maybe something else.
We guessed from the extra speial welcome from the chef they dont get many foreigners Here.

That him waving and all blurry.

The salad was delicious we tucked In.
Next came the sashimi. While I examined it Joss got into it.

" it's delicious " she said. " I think that's chicken breast and that's heart" I said but it did little to deter her. Ok so I got stuck in too.
There was no smell and quite a nice but delicate flavour. We both enjoyed it. When it was almost finished Joss asked the waiter what it was.

He tapped his chest to animate the explanation. Yep, we just ate raw chicken breast and chicken heart.

Here I our waitress helping us prepare another of our suprise dishes.

We left feeling great. Another highlight to the night.
In the next bar Joss insisted the waiter congratulate us for eating raw chicken

He was not as impressed with our accomPlishment as we were and no congrats was forthcoming

Well there were a few more bars, many more laughs and an all round memorable and enjoyable night.

Shinjuku station 10:45 pm

Train home. Yes she is asleep.

Well there was one final twist to the eveniing, and maybe joss will tell you about it herself. it's not for me to divulge. Although we did somehow end up doing some train hopping as our train started heading back into Tokyo!

-- Moran's in Japan

Friday with Joss - part 2

2009-06-06T21:30:00.001+09:00

About 4pm Joss and I headed into town. We decided to hit Shinjuku since it is on the same train line and we could avoid train hopping in peak hour.
About an hour later we were wandering around a rainy shinjuku. I cannot describe how crazy this place is. There is no other place like this on earth. The busiest train station in the world, a mix of extreme Japanese cultural diversities. I've never felt so out of place for being so normal.

Both being big time processtinators, I set a 10 minute timer. Rather than search forever for the perfect venue we had to find somewhere before the timer was up. We stuck to this process for the rest of the evening and it served us well. With a lot of the popular ( touristy ) and suspicious ( girly bars ) at street level, we knew the hidden gems were hidden up in buildings with only Japanese signage and a single elivator for access.
We got brave and jumped in an elivator. It was very early so a lot of places hadn't opened but our first place was a restaurant in the 4th and 5tg floors of a building. It was fairly quiet but with 3 minutes left on the timer we just needed a seat and a beer!

We didn't get to meet any locals but we did get to play with this high tech ordeing system.

The whole menu is availabe on a touch screen monitor in the table. We choose our beer, size and hit order. 30 seconds later ice cold beers arrived.
The night had begun.

Next we ventured into an English style pub. It was a popular place but with happy our on and drinks being expensive in Tokyo it was a sensible decision.

3 quick ones later we stumbled into a maze of laneways and tiny bars.

Oh I almost forgot. On the way we passed these ones

Oh damn the photo doesn't do them justice bunch of frumpy blokes with makeup sparkles and mini skirts.

Anyway, back to the laneways...

The bars were all this size. Each holds about 6 people and in this area there are 300 little bars like this one mostly catering to regulars.

With 3 minutes on the timer we nervously wandered in and took a seat, hoping to be accepted as outsiders.
The young lady was very friendly and madebus del welcome. We enjoyed some shochu and joss chated back and forth in Japanese.

The night got interesting when these two squeezed into the bar. It turned out this wise old character owns a ramen joint - at Joss's university!!
He comes to this bar 3 times a week but I think he was already a little drunk when he arrived. What followed was a hilarious discussion on ramen and other things I cannot remember. In Japanese of course. I could only offer very basic discussion in Japanese but Joss filled in the blanks. This was the highlight of our night. Rather than siting in the corner observing the crowd and chatting amongst ourselves, for a little while we were PART of this happy little bar in the middle of shinjuku.
After many laughs and shochu's we wandered back into the night - time to find some food.

We struck gold ... And a litttle suprise.
Again we jumped into an elivator to explore the vertically concealed treasures this city has hidden away.
See part 3

Friday with Joss - part 1

2009-06-06T17:31:00.000+09:00

The day started by meeting Joss at makuhari station. It had taken her two hours train ride across the guts of Tokyo to get to our place.

we decided a nice relaxing lunch was in order so we went to one of the local hotels and all ordered the mini lunch set.

Following are some of the courses served in the mini set. Glad we didn't do the full priced option.

Pretty good value at about 40 bucks each.

We have realized if we are in a noisy busy place, neo will eat queitly and watch what's going in. In a nice quiet restaurant there is not enough happening so she yells. Loudly. By far the noisiest kid in Tokyo I reckon.

In the hotel lobby Neo decided she liked climbing stairs. This is how far she got before dad pulled the plug on the fun on the grounds of human preservation.

After a not of a wander around locally we headed back home.

....read on for part two

Ramen and electric town

2009-06-04T21:23:00.001+09:00

Mmmm dinner last night. Katsu, another feast.

Unfortunately the ramifications this morning were more than at least one of my senses could bear

Always a great start to the day.
Now the reason we are really in japan is this-

Oh such delicious ramen, and right across the road! I could write a whole page on this ramen. And they are open late - real late in case I get a 25:00 o'clock ramen craving. I have a sneaky suspicion this might just happen before I head back to Sydney. Last time in japan I did beer and sushi at the fishmarkets for 6 am breaky. Beer and ramen at 25:00 o'clock seems like the next logical goal in my extra curricular culinary oddesy of japan

After this I split and jumped a train into electric town.

..I noticed all the drivers must physically acknowledg every signal light the moment they see it. Most raise their hand, some have a little point, but some of the younger drivers Have incorpprated a bit flair making it a kind of salute. I watched intenty during the 40 minute train ride into town.

Electric town. Interesting g place. Not as good as it used to be. Kind of turned a bit touristy but I had a good search around none the less. Lots of electronics, toys, suspicious comics and figurines and strangely lots of cafe's with scantily dressed "maids".

That's all from me. Got a fun day with joss tomorrow.
Oh yes, dinner tonight.

First train ride & Rumi's childhood home

2009-06-03T17:10:00.001+09:00

After my haircut this morning Rumi wanted to visit her childhood home, just two stops away on the train. We realized this would be Neo's first train ride!

Rumi got the tickets. Check out the network map!

Neo loved her first train ride. She was looking out the window and banging the glass . On the return journey she noticed the other passengers and was waving at people. She got a few goodbye waves when we got off.
Anyway so we walked around Rumi's old suburb, checking out her old schools, park and apartment.

Rumi at her old junior high

And around the corner at primary school

Aparently the tires, monkey bars and other playground stuff is exactly the same as she she was there...a few years ago, or so.
the old apartment was a fee minutes walk away

Apartment block 27 ( out of 30 )

Second from top floor on the right.

Around the corner we checked out the old little shopping centre. When Rumi had morning sickness she was CRAVING noodles from a place here. unfortunately it was gone but most other little shops as they were.

Once back in Makuhari we found a kid paradise. ball pit, ballon room (where the baloons blow around) and other soft rides that move around. Awesome we thought, Neo will love this. We tried a few and.... She cried. Maybe next year.
Although Rumi convinced her to try and make the most of the 300 yen we had spent.

And slightly terrified

That's today. Time for a beer, dinner In an hour.

--Morans in Japan

Day 4 - not much

2009-06-02T17:21:00.001+09:00

Ok
We didn't get far today either. And probably not tomorrow on account of my hair cut. But Friday we are catching up with Joss!

Rumi's mum has a 3 bedroom apartment in makuhari, Chiba. We have one of the bedrooms and we sleep on futon on the floor. Neo even has her own mini futon!

Although she rarely stays put.

Her cross country crawling is getting pretty good.

Stayed local again today. Had a few things to buy of course. And since I'm cooking thai curry tonight we had a light lunch.

Note how the bread isn't cut right through? It's like a pocket. Love it!

Ok it's hard to tell from the photo but it's these little details that makes Japan cool.

It's pretty hot today. Temp is an ideal 26 but it's so humid it gets uncomfortable. Not sure how I'll cope when it gets right into summer!

At least we got neo's toes wet.

Next I decided to try something new. I've been feeling really lethargic so I jumped in this pressurized oxygen capsule for 30 minutes. Very Michael Jackson

I feel bloody fantastic and will be back again . I've convinced Rumi to try it too. The capsule pressurized up to 36 (psi or bar? I dunno) but it took 7 minutes to pressurize and the ears popped constantly over that period. Kind of feels like the oxygen has been force fed into my body. Turbocharged I guess.

I gotta kick the little one out of the kitchen and get dinner on.
dewa nata...

--morans in Japan

Day 3 - not much to report

2009-06-01T17:08:00.001+09:00

Settling in here. Didn't get up to much today. Rumi and mum took neo to a governent offic to register for healthcare. So I split and spent some quality time investigating the supermarket/department store, then after a quick lunch looked through clothing outlet shops all within a walk from here.

In the afternoon we all went to the supermarket to get supplies for dinner. Oka-San (mum) has refused my offer to help in the kitchen so I will be watching closely from the dining table.

It was nice and quiet in the shops today (being Monday), compared the the chaos on the weekend.
Oh and the latest thing here in knives are ceramic blades. Bit expensive for a knife but I got a vege peeler to see how it goes. Also picked up a alfa Romeo japan mag for dad.

-- Moran's in Japan

Dinner day 2

2009-05-31T20:51:00.001+09:00

Again I only saw one frypan in action but somehow 4 dishes appeared. I'm beginning to suspect some secret kitchen ninja activities. I'll be sure to keep a closer eye on the situation tomorrow.

And of course the little girl got her own banquet.

Tomorrow promises at least another 2 exciting meals. But to avoid this becomming a food blog I'll try to capture some other activities tomorrow. Maybe...

-- Moran's in Japan

Girls preparing Ban-gohan

2009-05-31T18:01:00.000+09:00

At home

2009-05-31T17:15:00.001+09:00

The view from Rumi's mums. Today we walked through the park to the
tall building in the distance, just next to the ocean.

Mmmm

2009-05-31T17:10:00.000+09:00

Rumis lunch - $10

2009-05-31T17:06:00.001+09:00

My lunch

2009-05-31T17:06:00.000+09:00

Sushi tempura - $15

Lunch

2009-05-31T17:04:00.001+09:00

Sushi today. Neo had rice and veges

Looking for lunch

2009-05-31T17:04:00.000+09:00

Day 2 - walking around makuhari

2009-05-31T17:02:00.000+09:00

Beautiful day here. Sunny and 25ish. Had a lovely walk locally to work
up an appetite for.... Lunch

Dinner at Rumi's mums

2009-05-31T11:05:00.000+09:00

Banquet! Delicious. My favourite was the clam, miso, dashi soup!
That's all for today, I wonder what we will eat tomorrow?

Shopping for dinner

2009-05-31T11:03:00.000+09:00

In the supermarket. Rumi and her mum walking away from us

Pasta

2009-05-31T11:02:00.000+09:00

2 of the 3 bowls of pasta. Yum

Lunch arrival day

2009-05-31T10:59:00.000+09:00

After a nap ( just Neo and me, Rumi battled through to 9pm on 1 hours
sleep without a worry) we were starving. Lunch time! We felt like
pasta so here we are weighing up the options

Taxi to Rumi's mum place

2009-05-31T09:24:00.000+09:00

In Japan. Bus was a bit of a wait so we jumped in a taxi an just
buckled Neo in the middle seat for the 35 min ride.

On our way

2009-05-31T09:22:00.000+09:00

With a few hours till the flight, we went to the qantas lounge to eat
and drink. Neo crawled around on the carpet and at one stage had all 3
qantas staff watching her antics. On the plane we were lucky to gets
whole row so we made a little bed between us and neo had three good
long sleeps. Apart from a difficult hour or so in the middle of the
flight she was fine.