Had things gone different, I might well be counting down my last three months in Japan today. Plans may change, but my desire to travel does not, and so here I am announcing my intentions to visit the United States and Europe this summer. I guess I’ll dress up the old blog a bit, bring [...]

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I’m not entirely sure if anyone still checks this blog, but if I do have a loyal readership (thank you!), you are advised that I am now writing for the UKotaku blog, so get over there and check me out! I have this killer article planned in the near future.
It hardly seems possible. But on [...]

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I’m up to Kyoto. I quite like how this is turning out. When I’m done, maybe I’ll scan it all in and make a nice PDF.

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Pfft, look at me now. A mere month ago I was an Odyssean marvel of a man, splurging 15,000 yen on tickets ten minutes before the train was due to depart, arriving with 20 kg on my back in a city I’d never been to before with no map and no plans and no accomodation [...]

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I’ve been back, for two whole weeks. Christmas has been and gone. I can’t say I’ve missed Japan. Except, yesterday… I was walking back home from the bus stop, when I thought of the little McDonalds near Uguisudani station. How I’d pass it every evening on my way back from wherever. How I always knew [...]

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“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe…”
So here’s my 28 hours in transit.
12:12, Dec 15th: Random Tom Waits quote of the day: “Well I’m at the station, and I can’t get on the train.”
I hate airport security, it gives me the willies every time. There I am, just stepping off the train to Terminal 2, [...]

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And it’s like I never left.
Well, not quite, but I … simply cannot believe that two days ago I was actually in Tokyo. Me. This guy sitting here at this computer. (Incidentally, it’s so weird to have a full PC again. This 17″ monitor feels huge.) It’s … it’s really like I never left, like [...]

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Having problems uploading pics so can’t do a proper entry — oh wait, I ran out of disk space on the server.
That’s better.
So today I went to Hakone. The reasons for going are twofold, and equally nerdy.
1) There is an old PC game called Microsoft Train Simulator. You drive trains. One of them is the [...]

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So, future plans are: get a job, get accomodation. I need somewhere to leave soon, otherwise I’ll literally be out on the streets. Or a capsule hotel.
That gaijin house I was looking for apparently has phased from existence. I couldn’t find any sign of it whatsoever. Alas. So, the train back to Tokyo: into Ueno [...]

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Tokyo, Day One
My day, short version:
Got on train with a sumo wrestler. ‘Nuff said.
Gosh am I flustered.
Watched Japan as it passed underneath. “I wonder where Mount Fuji is?” thought I, and looked out the window to see:

Wow.
Came into Narita reasonably smoothly at 1300. Stepped off the plane and into Japan! Walked through, soaking it all [...]

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