I visited Hiroshima, and the devastation visited upon the city by 'Little Boy' was nothing short of incredible. Everyone should visit the city to know that we can really blow the entire planet up if we mess up.
Interestingly, the mayor of Hiroshima will send a letter of protest to a country each time that country tests a nuclear weapon. The mayors have been doing that since they rebuilt the city after they got hit. That's a lot of letters.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Strange Housing 2
As part of my responsibility as a guest at my ryokan, I was summoned to eliminate a dastardly intruder: a millipede. The old dame called me from my room and gesticulated that I was to kill and dispose of the creature.
In addition, ensuring that a certain hallway door will be closed at night also seems to be under my purview. The old lady even called my room to make sure I had done so!
In addition, ensuring that a certain hallway door will be closed at night also seems to be under my purview. The old lady even called my room to make sure I had done so!
Building their own country
Every time I pass by a construction site in Japan, I tend to find myself surprised. Why? Because the construction workers aren't Bangladeshis or Indians or Thais, but actual Japanese folk. Being in Singapore too long gives you certain assumptions.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Chasing shadows
Travellers of foreign lands will tell you your shadow is a most useful thing. It can tell you where north, south, east and west are, critical information for getting around.
While this works pretty well most of the time, it can be a bit confusing if you're not sure what you're doing. In Singapore, at 12 noon you won't have much of a shadow, but in Japan, you'd have a shadow that's pointing north. Similarly, your shadow would always be slightly northwards in Japan until near sundown or sunrise. I can't tell you how many extra kilometres I've walked because of this. And the other thing is that this doesn't work at all at night.
Luckily, the 100 Yen shop comes to the rescue and I am now the owner of something I should have bought ages ago: a compass.
While this works pretty well most of the time, it can be a bit confusing if you're not sure what you're doing. In Singapore, at 12 noon you won't have much of a shadow, but in Japan, you'd have a shadow that's pointing north. Similarly, your shadow would always be slightly northwards in Japan until near sundown or sunrise. I can't tell you how many extra kilometres I've walked because of this. And the other thing is that this doesn't work at all at night.
Luckily, the 100 Yen shop comes to the rescue and I am now the owner of something I should have bought ages ago: a compass.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Strange housing
I'm presently staying in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Kyoto. Incidentally, the old dame who runs the place is a bit off her rocker.
On the first day I checked in, I received the strangest check-in package ever: the key to my room, a local area map and also a banana. Now I have stayed in many, many places, but never have I received a banana as a welcome gift.
The room I stayed in employed a sliding door. The shower is outside my room, so I have to lock the door and then make my way to the shower. One night after my shower, I make my way back to my room and find the door jammed. So I explain to the owner that I can't open the door, to which she gesticulates and rambles on in Japanese I don't understand, like it were my fault. And then she promptly hands me a butter knife.
So I gathered from her hand gestures that I was to use the butter knife to somehow jiggle the lock to get the door open. So for the next hour I am outside my room meddling with the door, and seriously contemplating taking the door down (this is entirely possible - the door is quite flimsy).
Before I do, however, the old lady appears with a mattress in hand, and indicates that I can sleep in the doorway outside my room for tonight. How about that, I pay good money to sleep in a hotel hallway...
Thankfully, it was at this point she actually looked at the door, and through some black magic with the butter knife manages to get the thing open. Thereafter, she promptly tells me not to lock the door any more, and conficates my key. So now I had a room; I just couldn't lock it.
It gets better. So I decide to extend my stay in Kyoto, and ask the old dame if I could do so. She mumbles something about needing to change to another room, which was bigger and had television and air-con and something else I didn't understand. I said fine, and left it at that.
Turns out that the something else was that the room was also used for spare bedding. So now I am sleeping in the utility room that is stacked to the ceiling with mattresses. I wonder what else she will throw my way.
On the first day I checked in, I received the strangest check-in package ever: the key to my room, a local area map and also a banana. Now I have stayed in many, many places, but never have I received a banana as a welcome gift.
The room I stayed in employed a sliding door. The shower is outside my room, so I have to lock the door and then make my way to the shower. One night after my shower, I make my way back to my room and find the door jammed. So I explain to the owner that I can't open the door, to which she gesticulates and rambles on in Japanese I don't understand, like it were my fault. And then she promptly hands me a butter knife.
So I gathered from her hand gestures that I was to use the butter knife to somehow jiggle the lock to get the door open. So for the next hour I am outside my room meddling with the door, and seriously contemplating taking the door down (this is entirely possible - the door is quite flimsy).
Before I do, however, the old lady appears with a mattress in hand, and indicates that I can sleep in the doorway outside my room for tonight. How about that, I pay good money to sleep in a hotel hallway...Thankfully, it was at this point she actually looked at the door, and through some black magic with the butter knife manages to get the thing open. Thereafter, she promptly tells me not to lock the door any more, and conficates my key. So now I had a room; I just couldn't lock it.
It gets better. So I decide to extend my stay in Kyoto, and ask the old dame if I could do so. She mumbles something about needing to change to another room, which was bigger and had television and air-con and something else I didn't understand. I said fine, and left it at that.
Turns out that the something else was that the room was also used for spare bedding. So now I am sleeping in the utility room that is stacked to the ceiling with mattresses. I wonder what else she will throw my way.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Photos
Here are some photos from my trip so far. I'm not much of a photobug, so don't expect too much. On the plus side, whatever you see here is likely to look even better in real life =)
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/jason.ng/JapanHoliday
Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/jason.ng/JapanHoliday
Enjoy!
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