Post Holiday Photo Edition

Here are some pictures which I completely forgot I took. This might have been due to the fact that travelling from Canada back to Japan was even more stressful than the last. I had to worry about getting to a strange hotel and getting my bags and everything. What I did was land in Narita, take the shuttle to Haneda(1 hour), find a locker to keep my non-essential luggage, take another train to Shinjuku(1 hour) and get to a hotel. I was worried about missing my "reservation" time which would mean I was charged on my credit card and would then have to book again. I landed at 3 and had to be there by 6..... I got to the hotel at 7:30 which had to have been some kind of record and it turned out that they didn`t have my reservation anyway. Sorta annoying. They wanted to know which website I had reserved on, which is not something I thought I had to remember. I know which HOTEL I had reserved since that seemed pertinent to me. I did not remember which travel site I had used. Anyway. Booking wasn`t a problem. It ended up being a decent capsule hotel in the heart of Shinjuku. If you don`t know what a capsule hotel is then click here. Note of interest. Those pictures are not from the hotel I stayed at but were the EXACT same capsules I slept in. Circa 1970. Still, for $40 not too shabby. The hot baths and facilities were still top notch. The one I stayed in in Sapporo was WAY more modern for the record.I didn`t take a ton of pics because I was in a huge rush to get there, and I ended up sleeping right after I bathed. I was going to go out again and picture the night-life I swear.... heh heh. Sleep won. Then in the morning, I was so sleepy so only snapped a few. Its pretty quiet at 6am.

I am a fan of train stations in Japan. So many wires!

Really early morning train commuters. I saw lots of young adults in groups just coming home after all-night karaoke sessions.... Ah, to be in Fukuoka again.

More of the train station jungle.

This was at around 7:15. I got to the airport 15 mintues after it opened and 4 hours before my flight. I had a bit of walking around time... I found a big blue cow statue, which I didnt understand. It might be like that moose thing that we have in Canada. This one had a bunch of constelations on it. I wanted to touch it but I couldn`t. There was a metal tube around it and an invisible electric field which I found the hard way.

I almost stopped here for breakfast. Anyone who knows me know I love a hardy pimento-loaf breakfast spread. Actually I ended up just getting some delicious 7/11 riceballs! They are seriously the only food I need when I travel. Tuna, rice, seaweed. Nuff said. Plus I am addicted to the smell of early morning convenience stores in Japan. Anyone who has been here will agree I think.

And finally, here is the long-awaited(mostly this is an imagined long-awaited status that only exists in my mind) list of strange Japan-only special Edition! And I am going to do the cast rundown like its a highschool volleyball yearbook photo.

Front row, Left to right: Limited Time Bacon Sour Creme, Limited Time European Selection Italian Pizza, Stimulatingly DELICIOUS(I shit you not) EXTREME Mushroom.

Back row, Left to right: Limited Time Honey Roast Chicken, Summer Selection Keema Curry, Autumn Selection Smoky Salami.

Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen. The advertisers really know how to sell a chip here.

This is just a picture of my dinner. Tonkatsu and steamed rice. Don`t get much better than this. Probably my best homemade tonkatsu yet. I just wish I had some pickles to go with it.... *le sigh*