Tag Archives: Japan travel

Bicycle Menace

While chatting at breakfast with a career diplomat on leave from Kabul, he says: It’s nice to be back. It’s so safe. No worries about suicide bombers. You’re right, I answer. You’re more likely to get killed by a bicycle.

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Learning to get around

In seconds it’s possible to become disoriented in Tokyo’s snakes-and-ladders streets. Sometimes it’s much easier to haphazardly wander than  find a specific location. Doorways often aren’t numbered in Arabic numerals. Outside the major tourist hot-spots, signs are primarily in Japanese.

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Body Language: A Surprise

Every time I enter a crowded elevator or the hotel breakfast room it happens. Immediately everyone shrinks slightly and turns away from me, a subtle but noticeable shift. As a non-Japanese travelling most mostly among nationals I’m not sure how, … Continue reading

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Dinner at Kita no Mori

On my way to Sensoji I had noticed the simple display: a pot of bushy, russet-coloured chrysanthemums and several bottles of sake on the stoop. This spot, a few steps south of my hotel, is fixed on my highly reliable … Continue reading

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Sensoji (Asakusa Kannon) Temple

My room is not ready. No matter. I leave my bag with the desk clerk and head out. The enticing light and warmth of the afternoon prompt me to visit Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple, Sensoji, the central attraction of Asakusa. … Continue reading

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On the Street in Tokyo

After breakfast I procured my JR Rail Pass and found the connection from Tokyo Station to Ueno Station with surprising ease. I disembark and walk north alongside the overhead tracks on the station’s east side toward my hotel in Asakusa. … Continue reading

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Off to Tokyo

After breakfast I board the hotel shuttle back to Narita Airport, validate my JR Rail Pass and follow the signs to the Narita Express (NEX) track for Tokyo. You’d think I did this every day—it’s that easy.

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Apprehension Evaporates

Pre-departure I confess that my solo venture through Japan worried me. When Yamakawa-san realized I planned to travel around Western Japan for 33 days without a tourist agency, he asked, “How will you catch the right train? The last time … Continue reading

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Narita Landing

A year ago today in the late afternoon, after 21 hours in transit from my front door, I landed at Narita a day ahead of myself. Brisk wind. The scarlet sun fallen into night by the time I got through … Continue reading

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Back to Japan

After struggling to maintain regular posts, I have decided to return to an earlier idea.

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