I am a little in LOVE with Tokyo- it's kinda sneaked up on me, very quietly like, and then all of a sudden, I fully recognised how much I very much adore where I am. Cheeeeeeky!!
This blog post is about hitting travel in Tokyo and shares some of my tips for ironing out little road bumps to make things easy like ;)
First a funny wee story about crossing the road... No-one j-walks here- you do it once or twice, and then the feeling of a million eyes on you makes you tap into line pretty quick- although, sometimes it's nice to do it, just to remind yourself you can step out of line hehe. SO: Each time I would come to a crossing I would be waiting patiently for the red man to change to green. As it would flick over I, with my fellow crossing camaraderie, would take a step to move forwards. DOOF! I would nearly walk over the person in front of me! "Gomenasai!! Sorry, Sorry" I would say, thinking- what the hell?! I left plenty of space?! Finally it dawned on me, I was taking a good 5'9" sized step, but my fellow crossers were only 1/2 my height, so weren't travelling as far!
It's the funniest stuff that hit's you sideways here :))
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GETTIN' MOVIN! The tips you need in ONE place to get around Tokyo & Japan
Suica- your best friend for travel in and around Tokyo!
This is a re-chargable (most convenience stores and at all rail/ subway stations), pay as you go card for JR trains, Metro subway, buses and even buying stuff where the pass is displayed. BOOM easy!
Psst- between these, 100Yen shops and Lawson's, you are set for life... seriously.
Cash Passport- it means you can load multiple currencies and not have to carry wads of cash on you. You can get cash out (without charges at ATM's located at 7/11 convenience stores (logo left)- which are located everywhere in Japan. (They are the only ATM's I have found though that lets you do this). You can pay for goods where credit cards are accepted and it works as a debit card by doing this. Reloading takes three days as you do a bill payment from your NZ account. Super convenient and stress-free, and they even provide you with two cards incase something happens to one of them! Heads up though- Japan runs on cash, so you need cachinga on you- especially for paying for accommodation.
The best app ever developed in my opinion for budget travellers! It GPS tracks you without having WIFI and allows you to download detailed maps of where you are, when you do have a connection. Without WIFI, you can search for all sorts of things like museums, post offices, atm's, resteraunts and clubs etc. This wee puppy has been A LIFE SAVER!
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HULA-JAMMIES and BADMINTON BAGS
So THE COOLEST thang a 7 & 11 year old can have in Japan right now is custom bags for your gear. There's this chick that likes makin stuff- so she's thinking- what better way to put those skills to use right?- cos little girls (just like grown up ones) need pretty things to make life cool ;)
Plus, who can resist sewing a cover for a hula hoop that is called a 'Hula-Jammie' ?! HEHEHE
Feel free to holla if you'd like patterns or pointers ;D
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"KUCHIKASEYA MOIRA" is Japanese Photographer. Fetish & Nard...
I went to an eye poppingly cool presentation by this Babette. Check out her photos HERE
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I love making things for others which remind me of home (click to enlarge) ^=^
CITRUS FUDGE
STRAWBERRY SHORT-KOOK
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Particle Fever is a 2013 documentary film tracking the first round of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland. Geneva, Switzerland. The film follows the experimental physicists at CERN who run the experiments, as well as the theoretical physicists who attempt to provide a conceptual framework for the LHC's results. The film begins in 2008 with the first firing of the LHC and concludes in 2012 with the successful identification of the Higgs boson. I see strong parallels in Art, creativity and dynamic thought. I enjoy the way this movie illustrates Human curiosity about our world and why it is made the way it is. Science is fascinating, thought provoking and super cool. I love this stuff ^^
The art in using chopsticks... (check out the hand position and the finger placement) I thought I had it down, until a kind Otoosan (Pop's) gave me a few pointers to look a little more Eastern ^=^
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