by ·Comments Off on Reflections on Japan

As my time in Japan draws to a close very very quickly I thought since I have been here so long that I would put some of my thoughts into one concise post.

Japan has been a total culture shock for me. The language barrier at times was the hardest, but yet there were times when it was frustrating but then there were others that people would do their best to help you as much as they could.

There are numerous things I will miss about Japan. The vending machines that dispense ice cold black coffee in a can. I mean seriously a coffee adict like myself this is heaven (I am drinking an iced coffee right now actually) and then there are the 100 yen vending machines. Where everything is 100 Yen. These are great for those times when you just want something other than water and the larger bottles of Tea or Cans of coffee are a bargain.

The wonderful variety of food. Although at any time I was always wanting to try Japanese food, it is not just japanese food that is available. There is always something that will fit your appetite no matter what and there is quite a bit of western food available as well (although often at a premium).

I will miss the cheap bowls of ramen at like 500-600 Yen a bowl. I will go home to the only really good ramen being at Wagamama or similar for like $15 a bowl. Yet over here the same bowls if not WAY better go for like $5 a bowl. The whole in the wall joints over here are always the best and after just a quick walk through an area I always tried to pick the spots that were full of Japense business men who looked like they wanted a quick easy meal as this to me was a good sign, and it usually worked.

The one thing I will miss the most though is travelling around the country by train. The Shinkansen was fantastic. I loved it. I will miss that english announcement every time the speakers came on “Welcome to the Shinkansen.” It is such a pity we don’t have anything even remotely close to this kind of transport system at home. But hey, what can you do.

I met some fantastic people here in Japan (Clare you are awesome) and also caught up with an old friend as well (Rumi thanks so much for getting me on TV!). It is such a pity that unfortunately it’s time for me to keep moving on. Time to head towards South East Asia, a new Country, a new City, a new experience.

Current Location: ANA Lounge, Terminal 1, Narita Airport

by ·Comments Off on Trip Report – Around the World on a Star – Around Japan on a Train!

Tokyo to Yokohama – Thursday 25th August

Today was the first day of my journeys around Japan. Pretty much over the coming week I would be heading around Japan by Shinkansen, something I have always really wanted to do. The “bullet trains” as I called them as a child had always interested me and getting a chance to use them was going to be a childhood dream.

Todays journey would give me 2 Shinkansen rides as rather than do just a day trip to Yokohama from Tokyo like most people do, I had decided on stopping off on the way to Kyoto thus giving me the opportunity to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Although this would only give me a full day in Kyoto I was willing to make that sacrifice (stupidly).

Up bright and early as had been usual most of these days I have been travelling there was one real reason to be up and going early. As I was staying in Shinjuku, I had to catch the JR lines into Tokyo station first before I could board my Tokkaido Shinkansen to Shin Yokohama. I had decided to go this way so that I could store my bags at Shin Yokohama for the day (my suitcase was travelling ahead of me and is actually pretty well priced, about $15AUD to send a suitcase from Tokyo to Kyoto). However Shinjuku as I found out is the busiest train station in Tokyo with around 4.5 million riders per day, and rush hour is just not fun.

So my 8:33 train to Shin Yokohama (Hikari 505) would mean the earlier I get out of Shinjuku the less hassle it is going to be. So I aimed to be on a train to Tokyo station no later than 730 to try and avoid some of the crush getting to the station, but really I just got moving as soon as I could get ready. After a quick free breakfast of the usual for me in the morning, I was off to Shinjuku Station via the tunnel that runs along the street from the Hyatt. It was an easy but slow walk with my bags and had me boarding a train to Tokyo around 7am. Awesome work, but still, the train was packed for about 2 stations so I still had to try and push my way on with bags and that was not easy.

Reaching Tokyo station was easy and as I had already scoped out where to go, I took my time in getting up towards the waiting room for the Shinkansen as the platform usually didn’t get released till about 20 mins prior to departure. I waited around without any music as it turns out my ipod is broken so some of my time today would be dedicated to obtaining a replacement to last me till I get home (thank god I can download music on the fly these days).

The wait was fine, and as soon as the platform went up, I made my way up to Platform 17 so that I could grab a spot on the platform and watch the trains come and go and hopefully get a half decent shot of our train arriving. This journey this morning would only be short but it was still the anticipation of it that was making me feel like a little kid.

The train that would be ours pulled in from its journey and was soon cleaned and replenished ready to go. The Japanese sure do know how to turn a train around. What took the crews here a good 15 mins would take over an hour back home for a train 1/10th the size. Once the train was cleared they announced boarding (I think) and as soon as other people got on, I did the same (monkey see monkey do).

Hikari 505 – Tokaido Shinkansen
Tokyo Station to Shin-Yokohama
0833-0852
Ordinary Car – Car 7 – 700 Series

The train pulled out late due to the weather (it was a touch rainy) and we were soon cruising along at high speed making a quick stop at Shinagawa before getting back up to speed for the trip down to Shin Yokohama. This journey was only going to be 19 mins but it was fantastic and I loved every little second. I scoped out some of the carriage to find out how I need to store bags for future journeys as for all but this one I was going to be getting on at an Intermediate stop so would need to act fast once getting onboard.

The legroom is good but the seats a little small, part of me wishes I had paid for a Green Car pass but the difference was just not justifiable for the journeys I would be making and considering there are no Green Cars in Tokyo, it would go to waste pretty much.

Soon enough the journey was over and I was alighting onto the platform at Shin Yokohama and needed to find my way around to store my bag for the day and then hop another train down to Yokohama Station itself to explore the city some more.

Yokohama to Kyoto – Thursday 25th August

After a morning of exploring Yokohama I returned to Shin Yokohama for some lunch at the Ramen Musuem and a little bit of silliness all mixed into one. With food in my belly (and plenty of it) and some souveneirs in hand I headed back to the station to get my new mp3 player up and working and synced with whatever music had lying around (one half decent song and some random French music my friend Yena had given me).

Once all done and my Train was up on the board, I made my way up to the platform to again enjoy the sights and sounds that is a Shinkansen station.

Hikari 519 – Tokaido Shinkansen
Shin-Yokohama to Kyoto
1552-1815
Ordinary Car – Car 14 – 300 Series

The train arrived a few minutes early (thankfully any delays from earlier in the day have disappeared) and as soon as the doors opened I hopped on board and found that the car was half empty. So after originally stashing my bag back at the end of the carriage, I moved it up to above my seat after a few minutes since it was obvious no one was going to be sitting next to me.

This time the journey was going to be longer, so I settled in for the ride, Tablet out to read and put a good dent in War & Peace, snack, Tea and Camera in hand I was all set. This time you could feel the speed in the older 300 series trains but in saying that, the seats were pretty similar if not a little bit more basic. One thing I did notice though was the buffeting you get when you pass another train or in most cases a Nozomi train passes you, god damn that is a jolt that wakes you up. More than a few times it jolted me out of a doze I had.

We passed Mt Fuji, covered in cloud as expected, and cruised at high speed all the way through the Japanese country side. It was an awesome journey and now I know why this was a child hood dream.

Pretty soon we were coming into Kyoto and it was time for me to get off sadly. O well, I will survive. Upon arrival at Kyoto I disembarked, snapped a last couple of photos then trekked my way to the Subway for my journey to my hotel.

Kyoto to Osaka – Saturday 27th August

Today was to be my shortest ride overall on the Shinkansen. A total journey of about 14 minutes, but in reality I could of just done day trips to Kyoto from Osaka but it would of meant I would miss out on somethings really. So this journey was pretty much necessary in my head, but probably not to others.

The morning overall went ok and I arrived at the station with plenty of time after negotiating the subway with a suitcase. There is only 4 platforms at Kyoto station for the Shinkansen and 2 go to Osaka, 2 to Tokyo so it wasn’t half obvious where I needed to go, so off I went and camped out close to where my carriage would come in, to watch the trains and smash through some more of War & Peace (almost half way through and I started back in Canada).

Hikari 503 – Tokaido Shinkansen
Kyoto to Shin-Osaka
1016-1030
Ordinary Car – Car 7 – 700 Series

The train arrived as expected 2-3 minutes early and after letting the mass crowds disperse, I jumped on board and stashed my suitcase at the back of the carriage and dragged myself towards my row. Unfortunately I had to get my seatmate to remove her bags from my seat however she then removed herself entirely from the row to someone elses seat, so me thinks that someone who shouldn’t be in the carriage was camping out there.

The train journey flew by, watching as we rolled out of Kyoto and within 5 or 6 minutes started hitting open country side and then literally within another 5 minutes we were coming into the outskirts of Osaka. It was a flash in the pants journey really.

As we pulled into Shin-Osaka we passed the yards of I’m assuming the Local Shinkansen base and there was 700 series and Railstars lined up for as far as the eye could see (ok maybe 40 or 50 of them but it was still an awesome sight.

The train arrived into the station and after letting everyone else out of the carriage so that I could get my suitcase without having to fight through people, I was off into the Bedlam that is Osaka and to find my way to the main Osaka station in Umeda.

Osaka to Hiroshima – Monday 29th August

Today was another journey further south with the usual process. Up early, gym, check out, walk to station. Rinse repeat etc. I hated leaving my hotel and its luxurious surrounds but unfortunately it had to be done. After doing the traditional Osaka past time and eating myself to ruin (the japanse word is kuidaore) the night before, I figured that I should really walk to Osaka station and get the train to Shin Osaka, rather than getting a cab. It was a quick walk without bags and only a bit longer with them. I knew where to go this time so it was fairly easy.

After arriving at the station, I made my way round to the Central Gate, up the escalators to the platform and low and behold the train I needed was but a few minutes away. Simple as! From there it was a quick easy 5-6 minute ride out to Shin Osaka where it was back through the confusing labirynth that is Shin Osaka JR gates towards the Shinkansen gates. Now since I had not eaten yet and intended on eating on the train, I needed to find somewhere that sold bread or something more westerny for breakfast cause I really didn’t feel like a bento or a bowl of ramen at 7am in the morning.

After no help from the train barrier guard for directions (for some reason they don’t understand the word “Bakery” or “bread” I managed to get the information desk person to understand my actions for “Food Court” (imaging me shoving hand in mouth mimicking eating and then drawing a big square like area) and he pointed me in the direction of the lower floors with a warning that it is closed. Well stuff him I thought, I’m going to check it out. He was wrong, the grocery store (which was awesome btw) was open so picked up some lovely bread to go with a banana and some coffee and a bottle of tea for the train journey. My morning was set.

With now an abundance of time before the trip to go, I did the usual thing, wait it out on the platform watching the trains come and go while reading. It’s a good way to people watch to if your into that sort of thing. What I did enjoy watching though was the actions of the JR Train staff. Their hand movements, gestures etc when the trains are approaching and departing was totally foreign and interesting to me. It was great to watch.

Eventually my train showed up as next on the platform and so I moved up to where my car should pull in so that I could grab a spot for my suitcase first up without having to fight for one. As I was lining up a lovely tour group of Asian persuasion (not sure if they were japense or chinese) turned up and tried to push their way infront of me on the platform. With a quick “I do believe I was here first you can wait behind me” they moved out of the way. I know it probably wasn’t the nicest thing to do, but to be honest, don’t cut in line! Eventually the train arrived!

Hikari 495 – Sanyo Shinkansen
Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima
0835-1019
Ordinary Car – Car 12 – N700 Series

This was my first ride aboard the lovely shiny new N700 series. Boy are they pretty much the same inside but with a bit more flashier toilet area. Nothing much different with a 2-3 seating set up and the same style seats as the other train sets. What was different was the seat cushioning (much softer than the 300 or 700 series) along with the fact that power ports were highly evident. Either way it was good no matter what.

My seatmate was only joining me as far as an intermediate stop and once he departed I had the entire row (both sides of the aisle) to myself. Good way to travel. Unfortunately after not much sleep, It was difficult keeping my eyes open and I was nodding off here and there for most of the journey so not much reading got done. A shame really as there wasn’t much to see out the window with the majority of my time awake spent in tunnels.

A few little things spotted on my journey south was a 500 series shinkansen at one of the stations along with the old school 100 series as well . Both a sight to see (unfortunately no ride on a 500 for me and I didn’t even know a 100 series still existed in operation, in fact I saw 2 just outside of Hiroshima).

It was a pretty easy journey and once arrived at Hiroshima, I was downstairs, collecting a map and making my way to the Tram Stop… I mean Streetcar Stop for the journey to my hotel.

Hiroshima to Narita – Wednesday 31st August

This is the longest day of train travel I would have on this trip which meant if I wanted to be at Narita at a half decent hour to relax etc it meant being up at OMG o clock for an early train out of Hiroshima. Things were not looking up the day before when I had totally misunderstood my train time, thinking it left 5 minutes later than it would. Woops! But I was up, ready and good to go and in a taxi on the way to the station with plenty of time. Even the cab driver wanted to make sure I had plenty of time and made sure that the 5 minute cab ride would be ok.

I had found online a good timetable with the station platform arrival and departures for all the trains that go in and out of the stations, so I was fully prepared this time. As it was going to be a morning of tight connections, I was fully prepared. Today’s journey would have me in 3 sections. Hiroshima to Osaka, Osaka to Tokyo and Tokyo to Narita. All in all around 7 hours of Travel time but about 6 inside the trains themselves . When I arrived at Hiroshima station there was pretty much nothing open, not even Macdonalds so I just did my usual. Read and people watch (not that there was many people around). I did score photo wise with a 500 series Shinkansen pulled into the platform behind me running as a Kodama to Shin Osaka and a 100 series Shinkansen arriving into Hiroshima terminating its journey. What luck!! Soon enough my train arrived, a 700 series (boo) Rail Star (yay!)

Hikari 542 – Sanyo Shinkansen
Hiroshima to Shin-Osaka
0715-0854
Ordinary Car – Car 8 – 700 Series Rail Star

This was my first journey on the Rail Star which isn’t to much different on the outside than a standard 700 series but where it differs is inside. Inside they are only Ordinary seats, no green car and its only 2-2 seating. No piggy in the middle on this train, which means the seats are bigger, more comfortable as well. More like a Green Car for the entire train. It looked good. Pretty soon we were under way. I read for a little while before trying to call home to wish my mum a belated happy birthday and then broke out my prepacked breakfast I had cobbled together from the Grocery stores in Hiroshima.

As the train cruised north, I half looked out the window, half read and half consumed my breakfast. I was going to miss the small cans of coffee you can get and after trying a very wide range it was hard to pick a favourite, but either way, coiffee in a can rocks. Where else can you get your coffee hit from a vending machine in small enough doses you don’t feel guilty having several!

It was a pretty unremarkable train journey as the same with the way down, it is mostly tunnels between Hiroshima and Osaka so the book was a fantastic distraction. I managed to smash through a good 15 chapters on this journey and soon enough we were coming into the outskirts of Osaka. I positioned myself bag in hand, ready to go at the doors so that once we arrived I could jump in a lift/escalator and get myself across the terminal as I only had about 10-15 minutes till my next train so getting stuck/lost was not an option. Thankfully there was a train timetable in the train vestibule and after checking it over, I noticed that the train started in Osaka so it would be easier because as soon as I got to the platform it should be there.

When we pulled up, the lift was directly outside the door I was standing at and managed to make my way to the next train in less than 3-4 minutes and that included trying to find the lift for the new platform after it was not where I thought it would be. The next train was waiting for me on the platform so I jumped onboard and stashed my bag then found out the first bad thing for this journey. I had been seated on the right side of the train… nooooooooooooooo. I needed the left if I was going to get a view of Mt Fuji. Well that is just not good! Without time to go down and get a new seat assignment, I figured I would just move to an unreserved car around the time we should pass Mt Fuji (cars 1-5 would be unreserved and being in Car 7 would mean I wouldn’t have to go to far from my bag).

Hikari 510 – Tokaido Shinkansen
Shin-Osaka to Tokyo
0913-1210
Ordinary Car – Car 7 – 700 Series

The train was extremely empty in my car and would hopefully stay this way if I was lucky. I could hope right? I found my seat, dropped my stuff and quickly jumped back onto the platform for a few photos before getting myself better settled. Within a few minutes the train was rolling out of the station heading for the north and Kyoto. Kyoto was our first stop and it would not be long to get there. Unfortunately my new friend Clare was on the train after mine, so no chance of seeing her today ?

The train pulled out dead on time so we were very quickly speeding north and after getting an estimated time we would be around Mt Fuji from the conductor I proceeded to get stuck into some blog writing and then at Kyoto watched almost the entire car empty out and only be replaced by 3 or 4 people (about 10 or so got off). The cart attendant started walking around tempting me with her fine smelling coffee but I was determined to try and wean myself back off coffee before the end of this trip and getting back home to reality in a short 11 days! I could not believe this trip was coming to an end.

My chance of a window seat in the same car around Mt Fuji dropped dramatically at Maibara when it felt like the entire car filled up, damn! I had a seat mate for only a little while as he departed at Nagoya. The train continued on north, loading and unloading passengers. I tried to focus on my book but just at times could feel myself starting to close my eyes. I set an alarm to wake me up in case I did nod off for approximately 10 minutes or so before we got to Mt Fuji. Luckily I had no threat of falling asleep at this time really as by now I was wide awake.

Since the car had filled up again after Nagoya there was no chance of me getting the correct side to see Mt Fuji from the same car and I couldn’t be bothered trapsing back to the unreserved seats, so I just hung out in the vending machine area near a window till I could see what I thought was Mt Fuji. Again, cloud. A lot of cloud. We passed Fuji station dead on time as pointed out by the conductor and then I wasn’t to disappointed.

I returned to the seat and continued to read, there was less than an hour left of this journey as we started to come into the more outerlying areas of Tokyo. Once we hit Shin-Yokohama I knew we did not have much time left to go and as Shinagawa approached, I packed up my stuff and made a break for the end of the carriage to extract my suitcase so I could get out of the car quickly. I had decided after getting stuck in the most uncomfortable seats from Osaka I was going to use up some of the last of my Cash and upgrade to Green Car for the Narita Express. I just needed something comfortable and some support for my back really.

After pulling in my first stop was to hunt for a bento box for lunch which after the first stand I found was charging exhorbitant rates so found the Newdays (convience store) which was full of people getting bentos and rice balls so figured they must be good and they were cheap as well. With lunch in hand I headed over to change my ticket over to Green Car and after spending some of my last cash on the ticket, I walked across Tokyo station all the way to the NEX platforms which were on what felt like the extreme other end of the airport.

Unfortunately there are no seats on this platform around near where I wanted to be and since I knew the Green car ends of the platform would be less crowded I just stood around and waited.

NEX 27 – Narita Express
Tokyo to Narita Airport Terminal 2
1303-1355
Green Car – Car 12 – E259 NEX

Soon enough the first half of the NEX arrived and then shortly after I boarded we were headed off. I got my blogging out of the way then sat back to enjoy my lunch as we cruised out of Tokyo in the peace and quiet of the Green Car.

With the update in my blogging done, I dropped the laptop back into my bag and secured it in the luggage area and returned to my seat for what was my first ever onboard Bento box in Japan. After almost 10 days of rail travel I was finally getting my bento box. It had taken this long as most of the trains I had booked onto were either early morning or late afternoon.

I had picked the healthiest looking bento (nothing in Japan is perfect) and also since I had not had a rice ball/triangle (onigiri) either I grabbed one of them as well, but I wasn’t sure what flavor or filling was in it, so it was a bit of a random luck going on. O well! The food was good and pretty soon we were passing through Chiba and then Narita itself. This is the way to travel I was thinking to myself. A comfy seat, plenty of space, peace, comfort and quiet. What more can you want (well a hot coffee in hand would be nice but an Iced Tea will have to do).

Pretty soon we got the arrival warning into Narita Terminal 2 and I was up and getting my bags ready. I knew that the train would not spend long at Terminal 2 so didn’t want to spend much time screwing around and I had Wasabi Kit Kats to find in Terminal 2 while waiting for the hotel shuttle. Once off the train, up into the terminal and explaining to the Security that I was just changing to a hotel shuttle, I was up into the Terminal hunting for weird flavoured chocolate.

by ·Comments Off on Unexpected Contrasts

My stay in Hiroshima was not totally what I expected. One of the places I had to visit when I had planned on coming to Japan was Hiroshima. With its history of involvement in the war, with “the bomb” as it is reffered to, I could not miss it at all. However what I did not expect was just how much contrast there is in the city.

The city was much smaller than I expected so to think that the bomb was dropped on this city for anything other than military purposes would have been a bit narrow minded in my opinion. If they had of wanted to inflict mass casualties to civilans they could of picked a much larger city such as Tokyo or Osaka or Yokohama. This would of meant a much higher civilian casualty rate. But they didn’t.

Speaking of the bomb there is about a good 50-100 memorials dotted around the city centre dedicated to different people or groups of people affected during the blast and unfortunately 99% of these are in Japanese so you can’t tell who they are for. The bigger more important ones though were just fantastic with the Childrens Peace Memorial a bright and colourful affair that would bring happiness to anyone. The cenotaph, reflection pond and eternal flame to me though were the pinnacles of the memorials. All stunningly beautiful and done in such a way to make us remember the affects of war.

The peace memorial park and museum are highlighted by the A Bomb dome. The A Bomb dome is the remants of a dome topped building affected right near the Hypocentre of the blast. The structure is still partially intact so is a fitting reminder of just what sort of destruction a blast of this kind can cause. A reminder that war is hell. The museum though, was only 50Yen entry. That’s not even $1! The museum was fantastic and unlike the peace museum in Osaka not a touch of propaganda. The museum outlined Hiroshima and its history before and after the war in clear facts with no bias either side. Just what I wanted to see.

What I did not want to see though it seemed was the leftover remants of the war. Torn clothes, childrens toys etc all ripped apart or damanged by the blast. I could just not handle it and made my way quickly through this section. The letters were the same. I know that I should of spent more time reading these letters etc but again I could just not handle it, the sadness it brought to my heart was unbearable and I left quickly so that this big man did not start to tear up. Wikitravel was write, this museum could ruin your day very fast!

The contrasts of the city though was on the 2nd day when I had a tour of the Mazda factory. This is where the contrasts were starkly evident. In a city that was totally scarred by the war and practically destroyed (not many buildings survived the blast at all but those that did have been preserved beautifully). The city shows this stark contrast when you look at the size of the Mazda factory and how high tech the city has become. Mazda has always called Hiroshima home and with the head office and design components based in Hiroshima along with a fairly large factory it is just crazy to see these differences. It was as though they were not bombed at all!

The size and scope of the Mazda factory blew me away. It was fantastic to see the lines in operation and also be astounded at just how big a car factory can be. The new vehicles were rolling off the line extremely quickly and heading for ships quick smart. The factory is more like a small town with its own fire brigade, security force, bus line, hospital and even its own Shrine! Of course what factory is not complete without a bridge right through the middle of it. Not just any bridge either. This is the longest privately owned bridge in Japan (possibly the world) and of course we drove over it!

The tour itself was fantastic and after getting to see a few very rare Mazdas I was quite happy at giving up a bit of time in Hiroshima to see it. To be honest I think I gave myself a bit to much time in Hiroshima. The size and scope of the city means you can do so much so quickly and I think I could of given myself one less night and had a late afternoon train out to spend some more time in another city like Osaka or Kyoto or perhaps visit the new Maglev train park in Nagoya. O well, next time! What Hiroshima does allow though is quiet reflection.

There is ample time in life to rush around and go fast, but being able to stop, think and reflect on things was good. It was something I needed I think on this trip. Even though Hong Kong is going to be fairly relaxed for me as it will be spent mainly shopping, It was good to take a bit of a break and reflect on the good times I have had on this trip so far. To think back on the fun memories I will take with me forever now. I know that Hiroshima allows for this with many people sitting in peace park, watching life go past them. Hell I would of joined them on a bench in the park reading a book if it wasn’t so hot!

Current Location: Hilton Narita Airport – Narita, Japan

by ·Comments Off on Fugu!!

So as one of the things I had decided to add to the “things I should do on this trip” or one of the “things I should do before I die, but not really all that important” list was to try Fugu. The infamous or notorious blow fish, puffer fish or fugu, whatever you want to call it, is a delicacy in Japan (and around the world really). I had been given a tip by some people I did my fish markets tour with on a restaurant to try it out in Osaka. So that’s what I was going to do!

Thankfully my new british companion clare was also in the area and she decided she was up for a bit of craziness so she joined me. We made our way to the restaurant just off the famous Dotonburi in Osaka and were ready to put our lives in the hands of the master chefs. The restaurant “Genpin” is a chain of Fugu restaurants all over most of Japan and it seems fairly touristy’ish, however not even the Ritz could find anywhere else open on a Sunday night that serves fugu in August (as apparently it is not at its most prevalent at this time of year).

So once I was chastised for wearing my shoes and grabbed by the waiter (that shocked me a bit) I removed my shoes and we had the traditional, sit on floor experience. The meal was set and not cheap (about 5000 Yen) for 6 courses of fugu. A Starter of Boiled Fugu Skin, Sashimi of Fugu (super thin so you could see the vein pattern, like paper thin), Fried Fugu, Fugu Hot Pot (the famous Shabu Shabu style… awesome 2 birds one stone) then Hodgepodge Porridge (we were not sure what that was to start with) then Dessert (which was going to be ice cream, we knew it).

So we ordered that set menu and figured we may as well enjoy it. Lots of jokes were made while we waited for the first course if “intentionally eating poison fish” is counted on our travel insurance policies, what we would do if someone else got sick, would this be the first time we ever made a runner if need be etc. Good way to break the tension. When the first course arrived, we made a pact to take a bite together at the same time. None of this “you go first” stuff.

I won’t break it down for you course by course or anything like that, the photos will do that for you when I upload them, but to be honest, It just tasted like any other fish, nothing special. No tingly sensation, no numbness, no death. The Hot Pot was really good and the porridge turned out to be using the leftover hot pot stock with bits of noodle still floating in it, to make a congee style dish with egg and rice etc. Was really yum.

We finished off the night with a few photos, I got to hold the Fugu and when they haid it all blown up and im holding it in the middle of the street, you could hear the screams of “FUGU!!!” coming from people everywhere and I became quite the spectacle (well probably the fish was not the gaijin holding it). All in all a good night and something I can tick off the list and say “Yep I’ve eaten fugu and lived to tell the tale”

Current Location: Crowne Plaza ANA Hiroshima, Japan

by ·Comments Off on Ritzy

Well I thought I would post again this morning since I have a bit of time while I relax in my room after a light breakfast. When I planned this trip I had originally intended on staying at a cheap Comfort Hotel here in Osaka. But then for some reason I was just not happy with it. Over and over again I searched for something better. Then I started getting all the industry rate deals and I had settled on changing the hotel. I pulled the trigger on the Swissotel in Osaka cause it was such a good deal. But then for some silly reason i emailed the Ritz and well, it was to good a price to turn down!

Well I am here now and I am blown away. Although it does not look like the most modern of interiors, thats the Ritz Carlton way. It is meant to feel old and english style. The service here is impeccable. Nothing is to much at all for anyone and they apoligise if they cant help you the very second you come near someone. They are always there to help and hell, they go out of their way to do anything they can for you. I wanted to access the gym before opening hours tommorrow, not a problem, I just need to call the front desk and they will open it for me!

Although I don’t feel like paying a fortune for a breakfast I won’t really eat (after Kyoto i would rather not risk it), they have the best pastry shop next door to the hotel where I picked up some beautiful wholemeal bread that was fresh and gorgeous for like 160 Yen (about $2AUD) and add that to the cheap and plentiful bananas that are around here in Japan (all imported) and I have a relaxing morning in my lovely comfortable room (since most things dont open till like 10am).

The other thing with this hotel is they will do everything for you. I saw someone in the gym having their training shoes and gear carried into the gym for them by the staff. In the room service menu you can pay (5000 yen) for someone to get dressed up as the Ritz Carlton Lion and they will come into your room and get a photo taken with you and it comes printed and framed with a basket full of goodies.

This kind of craziness comes with a price though. I can afford it thanks to industry rates but staying here normally… no way!!! I feel totally out of place though with designer clothes, bags etc and lots of luxury cars in the drive way. Hell I will probably be leaving, dragging my beaten up suitcase up to the station for the train back to Shin Osaka tomorrow morning… lovely!

Current Location: Ritz Carlton Osaka, Japan

by ·Comments Off on Shrines & Temples…

After making it out of Kyoto without the feeling of having seen to many Shrines or Temples I am starting to think that I liked it more than everything else I have seen in Japan so far. Even though it is a little bit more touristy and I did not have the most pleasant experience with a prepaid breakfast at the hotel (which is a whole other story) I really did enjoy my time in Kyoto.

The town is home to some of the biggest and oldest temples & shrines in Japan and has about 6 or 7 World Heritage Listed sites located within the city limits. I only managed to get to see 1 of these sites but I did get to see some of the biggest Temples in town along with some very small local temples and a few shrines that are out of the way.

It is a small sleepy village atmosphere in certain parts but then other parts of the city have that touristy mecha feel that the other parts of Japan i have experienced have had, however they seem to be able to control it more.

One thing I will recommend is a tour called “Walk in Kyoto, Talk in English” run by Johnny Hillwalker. He must be almost 80 years old and does the tour 2 days a week. It is a bargain at only 2000 yen but it is well worth it to see the side of Kyoto not many get to see. It is only about 4 or 5 hours and you don’t cover much ground overall but you do get to see some good things, like some of the home industries in Japan, some of the more traditional kyoto style treats like Inari Sushi (vegetarian sushi) and also the Japanese pastries which Kyoto are famous for.

One good thing came out of the tour and I have met up with an awesome girl by the name of Clare. A British girl who did the tour as well and we kinda spent the afternoon together randomly exploring Kyoto and now also going to meet up tommorrow night here in Osaka for some fugu!

The comparisons between Kyoto and Osaka though, MAJORLY different. I have gone from Big city to older smaller city, back to BIG CITY! Osaka is like bedlam to me right now. It puts me off a little when I am getting poked, prodded, pushed, pulled, stabbed and stood on in a foreign country and people just don’t seem to care. At least in Germany or France they actually apoligised however here, they just ignore me and treat me like crap, so I have given it back a little at times.

I did get to scope out Osaka castle today and the International Peace Museum as well before the rain destroyed the rest of my plans for the day but it was well worth it. I have decided to make the most of tommorrow my only other day in Osaka and cram in as much as I can hopefully in the morning before the rain hits. At least this time I am planning a bit better to coincide with opening times!

Current Location: Ritz Carlton Osaka

by ·Comments Off on Turning Japanesa

Yes I’m turning Japanesa, I really think so. Ok enough bad music puns now but Tokyo has been great, frustraations and all. Even though I speak no Japanese and have had bugger all luck the last day or so it has been great. After my day spent exploring Tokyo with Rumi it was time to explore on my own but I had booked one thing, a Tsukiji Fish Markets tour. I had found a reccomendation online from one of the blogs I read and the price wasn’t bad for a guided tour through the market to areas you really shouldnt be able to access and also a maximum group of 6.

The down side.. meeting at 4am so that you get to experience the Tuna auctions. Now thankfully I had been living on coffee, adrenalin or some combination of the two over the last month or so as I only had like 3.5 hours sleep before getting up roughly 230am so that I could get an expensive cab ride to the meeting point. Thank god for convience stores selling giant bottles of coffee at 4 in the morning. The tour was great and our group of 4 including the guide got to see heaps in the markets and experience so much. The tuna auction was unbelievable. It was like a song and I got some video along with dozens of photos.

After the auction unfortunately our guide had left so he could make his normal job but the market was now in full on crazy mode as the auctions were closing down and the selling was about to begin. Since I couldnt really enter the other areas and didn’t feel like getting run over by the bikes, automatic trolleys or dozens of trucks I high tailed it towards the restaurants. Our guide had pointed out what he thought was the best in the market for sushi. 3500 yen for a set and it was worth every yen. It was amazingly fresh and delicious. No soy or wasabi needed unless already on it. This was I think the best sushi I have ever eaten and thats a big call after Tojos (sorry Cory).

After my breakfast of fish, rice and green tea I moved on to the stalls around the market area that sold the other goods to the shoppers etc full of fruit, veg, random assortments hell even some souveneirs. I picked up a tshirt (cause i can) and also some fantastic looking Japanese peaches which were more like nectarines but they were the size of a softball and cheap to, 125 yen each. With this it was time to brave the rush hour subway rides back to the hotel but I did not spot a push man 🙁

Pretty much the next two days was spent exploring random areas of Tokyo including most of Shinjuku, Ginza, shopping for plastic foods in the area where all the restaurants shop, Shibuya, Harajuku and Ameyoka. Some highlights include spending 45 minutes trying to pick a bento box for lunch in Shibuya for lunch, eating random foods at dinner in Shinjuku and walking through Harajuku all the way to Shibuya seeing the transition from cheap youth clothing and craziness to the high end brands like Louis Vuitton etc within 100m.

There has been some frustrations though. The language barrier is massive, but I knew that coming into Japan. I have barely spoken as most people just don’t understand me so I just point, nod and gesture, usually works the best. I also seem to have broken my ipod so will have to pick up a temporary replacement to get me by as this one can be fixed under warranty (thankfully).

All in all I have enjoyed Tokyo. I will be back so that I can see more of the parts I missed like the Ueno Zoo, Akihabara at night, the Imperial Palace and the Park Hyatt in Shinjuku.

Today though was an utterly random day. I planned to visit Yokohama on my way to Kyoto for purely one real reason. The Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum. This place is totally random. A museum dedicated to Ramen. The people in Yokohama love their ramen so why not dedicate a museum to it. The ramen was good with different kinds from all over Japan. I had two types (thankfully you can buy half bowls) so I had a bowl of Tonkotsu and also Miso ramen. Both were unbelievably good. It’s a bit of a toss up which one I like better. I must have more to experiment 😉

Pretty much I realized though, Yokohama really is pretty boring other than that. But what was not boring for me today was riding the Shinkansen. I had two journeys on it today and it was a child hood dream come true. You can read more about it in my trip report in a few days time after I put all the journeys together in one easy post, but seriously loved every minute of it!

Current Location: Citadines Kyoto Karasuma Gojo

by ·Comments Off on All the Queens Horses and Queens Men

My site is finally back up after a server crash so I can thankfully post again. London is been and gone and it was a great time. I only had a few days but as usual for me they were jam packed full of things to see and do.

After arriving off my flight from Berlin the train from Heathrow to Paddington was such a breeze and the short walk from Waterloo Station to my hotel was something I did about a million times on the trip. The hotel was amazing. I stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster bridge, and if i leaned a certain way I could just see Big Ben out the window of my room even though I officially had an atrium view and for £65 a night a total bargain for what I got. Was worth probably 4 or 5 times that amount.

I did all the usual touristy sites, changing of the guards, big ben, london eye but I also did a few less advertised ones like the RAF Museum along with the Guards and Household Cavalry Museums. There was a few big highlights for me though on this trip that stood out.

1. Ceremony of the Keys at Tower of London on my first night. This ceremony dates back almost 700 years so was a great honour to be able to see it.
2. Randomly finding a Jamie Oliver restaurant and being able to walk in, get a table and have a meal at a reasonable price (2 courses with sparkling water for £27) all before the theatre.
3. Catching up with Ross & Cat a couple of old Contiki friends and going to the world’s first Gay Ice Cream Bar which is also the same place that made the famous/infamous Breast Milk Ice Cream
4. Enjoying the sunshine while eating lunch in a deck chair in Green Park near Buckingham Palace even if only for a few minutes before being chased away for not paying.

But London is now gone and I am over East, the Far East as it was reffered to quite a while ago. I flew into Japan on Sunday and have so far had a great time. It is totally surreal. I am in a very foreign land where I do not speak any of the language at all and to be honest I feel slightly out of my depth, but that has not stopped me using the resources at my disposal namely the internet and the hotel concierge.

But yesterday i had the morning in Akihabra exploring what is really tech geek heaven with plenty of toys and gadgets to drool over. Then after getting onto the Tokyo Metro for the first time (had been using JR lines till that point) i hopped on over to Tokyo Tower to meet up with my old friend Rumi. We had a good day and she showed me many things and let me experience some more Japense food including cold Soba noodles with Yam (which was pretty yum) and some Little Red Bean cakes.

Rumi took me to my first buddhist temple at Asakusa and I did pretty much most of my souvenir shopping here (the street leading up to the temple is full of souvenir stores and thats a traditional thing to help serve the pilgrams journeying to the temple) and she also took me to my first ever Aquarium Art Event.

This is a little bit different and definately not something I ever would of thought of going to. It is essentially gold fish aquariums put together as art installations so lots of different coloured fish or lights and shapes of bowls/tanks to make it artistic. Sound also played a big part with light effects changing for the different sounds or beats. It was fascinating and beautiful. This is also where another one of my random events happened. I got interviewed for NHK which is an internationally broadcast Japanese TV channel. Im a tv star again!

It has been an amazing journey so far with more to come. More tails of Japan to come including a sushi breakfast.

Current Location: Hyatt Regency Tokyo, Shinjuku
Countries: 7

by ·Comments Off on Trip Report – Around the World on a Star – London to Tokyo

After what was a good day spent exploring more of London, I ended up heading back to the hotel on foot from Waterloo station in the rain. Not a good start unfortunately. The day was meant to go better as I was going to go by Tube from Waterloo to Paddington and then pick up the Heathrow Express from there. Yeah that is not going to work in the rain. So after running from the station to the hotel (a good half a kilometre) I grabbed my bag and jumped in a cab for Paddington Station.

The almost 20 Quid cab ride was pretty much as expected, was over half what I paid for my HEX ticket but to be honest, a 500m walk in the rain with a suitcase was not ideal. But I was at Paddington Station, dry and relaxed. First hurdle over. I walked towards the HEX platforms (6&7 according to the signs) and it turns out I had literally just missed the last train by like a minute or two. Damn. But that meant I had a good amount of time to sit, relax and enjoy the free wifi in my first class seat while I wait. Yeah not gonna happen.

Pretty much I was the only person in the carriage for quite some time, but the wifi just would not connect. Bummer. Even after speaking with the conductor he just didn’t seem to care, so by the time I gave up on trying to get it to connect we were on our way to Heathrow. A family of 4 had joined us by this stage and the train journey just does not feel like 15 minutes. This train is amazingly good. Gotta love it!

Soon enough I was being dumped out at the station between terminals 1 & 3. I made my way up out of the rabbit warren that is the Train Station up to street level and to the Departures area of Terminal 3. But here is where plans go awry again. I had planned to be at the terminal nice and early, to hopefully check in and get lots of plane spotting done, as I was still hunting the Retro jet and I was sure I was going to get some weird, wonderful and random aircraft. Hopefully. But check in was closed and wouldn’t open for another 30 mins. So off I trapsed to get some cash converted, but I couldn’t even do that as he did not have enough Japanese Yen.

So after waiting it out in the line for check in (no seats around so may as well act like a gate lice) check in opened and I was checked in first for the business section (another man was checked in first for first class.. lucky bugger). But with that done, I walked around and checked out departures, got my cash exchanged as suggested at the main point (then found out that there was a 2nd brand of Currency Exchange so might of gotten a better rate… damn) and went in search of some “Tablet” a kind of Scottish Chocolate Fudge, but I could not find any.

Cleared through security using Fast Track which was actually very Fast but I was very slow, making sure I had everything out and did not get frustrated as I stripped off for the dignity dance. No shoes off though so that was a change. Through security, through “Passport Control” where it was a “Did you enter on this passport” “Yes” “Thank you”, all of a few seconds, wow… thorough. Then you are dumped out at what seems the worlds largest duty free store. I browsed through the watches as they had the brand I like, but did not buy as I was keeping all my shopping now really for Hong Kong. But I did end up picking up some Shortbread as a gift using the last of my coinage and some mens cologne as I was running out.

With that I wandered the halls a little, managed to score a photo of a Turkmenistan 757 at one of the gates, gave up and headed for the Singapore Lounge to see what it was like and I was told it had good views. They let me in surprisingly as I was instructed to go to the London Lounge. The Singapore Silver Kris Lounge was ok, nothing spectacular but it would do the job. Unfortunately it did not have the best views and it seemed what I thought was the London Lounge did, so I was going to change over (but what I saw was the Cathay Lounge instead).

I trapsed the short distance to the London Lounge and this is more my style, love the Scandanavians really as this is the SAS lounge, so fully of Ikea and Sven from Sweeden. Hah. But really the views were awesome, so out came the SLR, the food was good, lots of vegies for me to graze on with a good variery of snacks etc. Lots of them. But all in all, it was a good choice. I grabbed some drinks, some nibbles and camped out by the windows where I had good views of the active runway and was pretty much in the right spot for some shots of the landings as they pulled onto the Taxi Ways.

Lots of good things went past, Korean Cargo, Singapore Cargo, Emirates, Etihad, Royal Air Maroc from all the ones I remember but I am pretty sure I took several hundred photos again. Soon enough it was time to head to the lounge after picking up a few magazines to get me through the flight just in case. I headed towards the boarding gate a little early to make sure I got onboard with plenty of time to take some photos of their new product.

All Nippon Airways (ANA)
NH202
London Heathrow to Tokyo Narita
1935-1520
Boeing 777-300ER (JA785A)
Business Staggered – Seat 7A

Boarding: 1855 (Gate 307)
Push Back 1929
Take Off Roll: 1949 (Runway 27R)
Top of Descent: 1440
Touch Down: 1513 (Runway 34L)
Shut Down: 1518 (Gate 57)

Boarding was called about 5-6 minutes after I got to the gate so that was good timing! Gotta love it. I was the first person down the Airbridge for Business Class, again beaten by a man in First and some Unaccompanied Minors for Economy. But this meant I had heaps of time to explore the seat in all its goodness.

The first thing that strikes you about the new Business Staggered seat with ANA is the privacy. I could not even see anyone else in the Aircraft without really pushing to try. But to be honest that is probably what they were after. The seats were good and comfortable, plenty of nooks and crannys for storage and a decent overhead bin just for my bag as their seemed to be more than enough space.

The view out my window though, if I turn and look back, a Giant GE90 engine. God DAMN those things are huge (and loud when powering up as well). But that is a good thing, cause I love those buggers. I asked for some water, as the Pre Departure beverages offered were only Orange Juice & Champagne, so I could take some medication. The Flight Attendant actually was very kind and brought me some warm water to help with the medication, love the Japanese service!

After all the playing around getting myself sorted the boarding just flew by and before I knew it, the doors were shut and the air bridge was towed back. But that’s a good thing to as it meant I was now able to sit back and relax. Lots of photos taken as we taxied out and we passed the A380 ramp which was pretty much full (one each for QF, EK & SQ) and headed for 27R the active departure runway. We were about 3 or 4 in the line as we waited and I got to enjoy the Nose Camera View.

As we took off and roared down the runway (and I mean roared as the GE90s have that sound level)we were up in the sky, turning right towards Asia and my next part of this journey. The seatbelt sign stayed on for what felt like an eternity and it turns out it was kept on just in case of Turbulence. But then as they announced this, it came off. Funny that.

I browsed the menu which was at the seat and the Japanese menu sounded amazingly good so thought I would give it a try, gotta get used to Japanese cuisine I guess. But it was going to be a good service as the flight attendant serving my section just could not do enough. So with drink ordered and then shortly drink provided with a few little bites the service began.

The few little bites were like a small medly of yumminess with what I think was some duck, some weird jelly like thing, a little tartlet and also a medly of vegetables and lobster. It was yum++ I asked for some nuts and they didn’t have any but some rice crackers (close enough). Love it with a good drink as I settled in to watch a movie.

As the main meal service started it was looking to be good. The service was just excellent and the meal looked fantastic, full of vegies and some lovely looking smoked salmon. But there was also a few random things for me to try. Looked good. Tasted even better (especially the salmon which was not as smoked as I thought it would be).

The main meal was brought out pretty much as I finished the entrée and then that was just gorgeously prepared, the Sabelfish was tender and the rice and pickles made for a good filler with some warm miso soup. The Dessert though. AWESOME!!! This Ice Cream Parfait beat the pants off the Ice Cream Sundae on Air New Zealand but not as good as the ice cream I had in London at Ice Creaminista (which is a whole other story). After the meal and a quick cup of coffee, I put the seat fully flat and tried to get some shut eye.

The seat, well lets make some reviews shall we. The seat is great in the flat mode, but one little problem. It’s a little narrow around the shoulder area for me, but in saying that, I got about 3 or 4 hours sleep before waking up to try and reset my body clock to Tokyo time. So after a little snack of fruit, some tea I started working on this review and started a new movie (Adjustment Bureau).

As we cruised over Russia the scenery below was great, but after the movie finished I had the window open while I was working (its daylight I wanna be able to see things) I was asked to close the shades to help the baby in the cabin sleep. Damn babies ? O well. I grabbed a snack of some fruit & some cheese and settled in for another movie and did a bit of duty free gift shopping (they have something that would make the perfect gift for someone back home and since I was WAY under budget in Europe and Britain I just had to!) The service on my side was great but at times I wondered if they had forgotten me but to be honest they were just making sure everything was perfect.

After my “breakfast” of cheese & fruit I had asked to have my “lunch” served to me in about an hours time to try and sync up my body clock. I had thought they had forgotten as it came about 20 mins later than what I had wanted but I did not really mind. When I asked for some coffee to go with it, the first cup came cold, so when they refilled it, I mentioned this and the flight attendant brewed a fresh pot for me! Awesome++

Pretty soon after another movie and some more coffee they started warning us about the descent. Now what I did not like was that they took away your headphones a good 30 mins prior to arrival and because the plugs wont accept even normal airline double sockets I could not even use mine. O well. The descent was pretty much cloud and even with the nose camera all I could see was the front nose gear down and nothing but cloud till pretty much the runway but unlike the last landing I had in Narita, this one was smooooth.

After deboarding fairly quickly after a smooth taxi to our gate, it felt like I had to walk the entire terminal to get to the Immigration area where I was through with barely a question. It was baggage that was the issue. Bags took forever. I had to wait a good almost 45 minutes for my bags before they arrived and this was WITH a priority tag. The economy bags had not even started to come out at this point.

With baggage in hand, I went through customs and headed for the JR office to exchange my JR pass. Then it was time to pick up all my rail tickets for the next 2 weeks and then onto the next Narita Express into town. I had expected to get to the hotel around 630pm a good 3 hours after arrival (when my bags started taking their time) and I wasn’t far off it. I was on the 1645 train from Narita to Shinjiku and you are looking at a solid 80 minutes of journey time to Shinjiku (which is the end of the line pretty much). The Narita Express (NEX) was effortless and I paid for an upgrade to the Green car for today as to be honest, I just wanted some space. All my other journeys on JR will be Ordinary Car to keep the $$$ down.

By the time I got to Shinjiku and weaved my way out of the Station (muttering to myself West Exit, West Exit) it was just after 1830 by the time I got to the Shuttle stop and watched the Hyatt Shuttle pull around the corner having just left. O well, a quick 2 min taxi ride to the hotel and I was there and in my room before the next shuttle would of even picked me up!

by ·Comments Off on Trip Report – Around the World on a Star – Berlin to London

Not to early a wake up this morning but still fairly early but unfortunately things didn’t start going my way pretty much first thing, not a good sign. I was intending on eating Breakfast in the lounge and with some financial issues that needed to be worked out, well that meant getting out of the hotel a bit earlier to a place with a more reliable wifi connection (wifi at the Pullman was pathetic!).

I was intending on getting the buses out to the Airport after one from the hotel to the Ubahn Station, then another bus from there to Tegel. But that first bus was running late (as usual it seems in Berlin) and just as I was walking to get a cab from the hotel, bus shows up. Typical. As I roll up to the station, my bus rolls out of the station. Dammit! At least time to grab coffee #1 for the morning. Next bus rolls up late as well but soon enough I am heading towards the airport only about 10 minutes later than I had hoped. The bus ride to the airport was painless.

Upon arrival at Tegel this is where the fun starts. I had read before that at Tegel all the security is done at individual gates so the lounge is landside (awesome), what I did not find out is that check in doesn’t open till just before your flight and that the only way to check in earlier than this is to use the Self Serve Kiosks. So here I am trudging almost the entire length of Tegel to find the right gate, only to be told check in at the gate doesn’t open for 2 more hours. Not even an explanation of what to do. Thankfully a sign close by explained where to check in and drop bags. So with this done, rather than get stuck into some work first I was a bit all over the place so took some time out to eat breakfast and do a bit of errands in the terminal (shop, convert currency that sort of things).

With that all sorted, then it was time to use the internet for a while in the lounge and do all the other things I wanted. I had pretty much decided to head to the gate about an hour before departure to give enough time to go through security and immigration and do a touch of duty free shopping. Glad I had left extra time as once I got through security screening I was pulled aside for secondary, except at Tegel, this means they take you back landside, rescan you, then you have to go back through security, AGAIN! Retarded++

So once finally out into the terminal area and into the tiny little airside area, I had about 10 minutes or so to do some duty free shopping before boarding, perfect timing. Pretty much as I finished shopping, boarding was called.

British Midland(BMi)
BD842
Berlin Tegel to London Heathrow
1100-1200
Airbus A319 (G-DBCK)
Business Class – Seat 1F

Boarding: 1030 (Gate 5)
Push Back 1056
Take Off Roll: 1107 (Runway 26L)
Top of Descent: 1108
Touch Down: 1151 (Runway 27R)
Shut Down: 1155 (Gate 106)

Was one of the first few dozen people onboard which did not worry me as this was my third Euro flight so I knew the service was going to be Spartan. To be honest, I can see why people mainly fly economy in Europe as its pretty much economy in business as well, just with food and extra luggage.

Boarding was uneventful, the whole flight was really uneventful, nothing special to talk about spotting wise, the service onboard was pretty average really. I got fed some fairly good food, some coffee, some diet pepsi, a nice lunch, a good book (well over a quarter into war and peace so far). The eventful part was not really until landing.

We got to burn donuts in the sky over heathrow (expected) but then as we landed it seemed awfully fast but from watching a few landings while we taxied that seemed normal. However what I had also expected was an infamous Heathrow Bus gate. Figures. They had put us into the Domestic Terminal, so we had to be bussed to immigration. Unfortunately the staff onboard this flight, didn’t want to do anything good for the business class guests. As someone came to door 1L they advised we had to disembark by the rear doors but she asked how many business class guests, as she would get them off separately. This is the reply that came “don’t bother there is only 6). So unfortunately I was the very LAST person off the plane onto the bus, so didn’t get to take any shots on the tarmac ride (there was a Star Alliance painted A330 from US Airways I think).

Immigration seemed to me that I was the only person from our flight not from the UK or an EU country so I had to wait behind a flight full of American’s recently arrived onboard United. O well. Immigration took a little while in the queue and then only a light grilling before picking up my bag which was sitting on the baggage belt when I got there, but then only about 3 other bags were left.

I made a mad dash for the Heathrow Express and got onboard just as the doors closed and before I knew it, I was already at London Paddington Station, where a quick stop to get an oyster card and a tube map and I was on my way to Waterloo Station and my next hotel down near Westminster Bridge.