At long last.

Finally got all of my Japan photos uploaded to facebook (I still have more that I got from the other WWOOFers that I haven't sorted through yet). I had to spread it out across 5 new albums (facebook has a 200 photo limit per album) so here are the links. Sorry it took so long, please enjoy. And please feel free to comment here or on the album itself.

Album 1
Album 2
Album 3
Album 4
Album 5

They were uploaded in alphabetical order by picture name because it was easier then trying to sort them all out chronologically. So sorry about that, you'll just have to deal with a little bit of time leaping.

~Daniel

Some delays

Ok, So I'm back on US time and in work mode for the summer, which means getting up early and working Monday-Thursday (Hurray for paychecks!). I spent many hours this weekend going through all of my photos from the trip and selecting the ones to show to people. I trimmed it down to about 10% of all my photos. That being said, it is still 1,006 pictures. (It took a long time, and I didn't even look in the folders that I got from other people. They are all from my camera alone.) So this morning I started the long process of uploading them to photobucket because I didn't feel like creating 8 new facebook albums. (Facebook albums have a 200 photo maximum). Upon my return this evening I find that I have reached my storage limit on photobucket and that only about half of the photos actually got uploaded. You can view what actually made it here on my photobucket album I'll figure out what to do with the rest of them..... some time soon. But probably not during the work week. Until then, enjoy your summer days.

~Daniel

Transfer

I have just started transferring 109GB worth of my japan pictures from my laptop to my external hard drive. That is a lot of pictures. I'll be going through them slowly and posting them up either here or somewhere else that I will link to. And now that I'm home, hopefully I'll be able to post up some of the videos I made. It's going to take a while though, so don't expect anything immediately. I am also still rather jet lagged. My body is still waking up at 7:00am Japan time. which is like 3pm here. Hopefully I'll be able to fix it within a day or two..... Hopefully.

~Daniel

Home!

Due to the lack of free internet at the Tokyo airport, I was unable to do a large post like I had planned. However, I am now safely home and that large post is going to be put off until more pressing concerns are taken care of. Like unpacking and laundry and filling out paperwork that needs to be filed before I start work.

~Daniel

Up since 3:30, but totaly worth it.

I just wanted to share a couple photo's that I took at the Fish market this morning (you have to get there really early if you want to see the cool stuff).

So here we have an enormous tuna.

(Click to embiggen)

And here I'm having fun with my sushi. My delicious, super fresh, and rather inexpensive sushi.

(Click to embiggen)

Behold my Sushi Mustache!

Heading home in the morning. First hurdle is making it to the airport with all my gear.

~Daniel

Tokyo!

Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm too busy having fun here in Tokyo to do a long update. Expect one from the airport tomorrow though.

First time

So for the first time in my life, I have traveled totally on my own by some way other then car bike or by foot. I am now safely in Tokyo in K's House backpackers hostel (Though how I'm traveling isn't really backpacking at this point, I've got way too much stuff for that). It was not a direct trip here though. No that would have been too easy. Though my detour was pre-planned and much looked forward to. Allow me to explain....

So rather then taking the bus from Minami Alps straight to Shinjuku in Tokyo, I had Kazu drop me off at Shiozaki station (the local station). As I stared blankly at the ticket machine I realized how poorly planned this venture of mine was, as I had neglected to look at the train routs or schedules. I was in fact backtracking my route of arrival 2 and a half months ago from memory. I purchased a ticket from the little machine in order to get to Kofu station which was just two stops up the line. I apparently purchased the wrong ticket though, but it didn't cause much of a problem. (the conductor just put the cost of what I had already paid for the wrong ticket towards the price of the correct one.) From Kofu I took the local line to the Fuji station, where I transfered trains and headed for Shizuoka station, which was my intended destination.

Upon my arriaval at Shizuoka I shoved my bags into a coin locker (an ordeal unto itself) and immideatly realized that I didn't have the coinage necessary to lock it. So I stood around with one arm shoved into the locker holding my bags in place and waited somebody to pass by that was likely to have change. My help came in the form of a group of old ladies. They kindly exchanged my 1000 yen note for a 500 yen coin and five 100 yen coins. I shoved the locker closed, put in the coins, and got the key, and then proceeded to thank the ladies. Now down to just one bag instead of 3, I set out for what I was seeking. After asking the information center I found that it was one station back at Higashi Shizuoka Staion (East Shizuoka Station. It is common for large stations to have smaller ones near by that run the local trains.) So 140 yen got me up the line to where I needed to go. And at last I was able to lay my eyes on something I've been wanting to see, but thought I had missed entirely. THIS
Do you see those legs and the set of arms in the scaffolding? That is the start of the Gundam Statue that I so despratley wanted to see. It previously stood on Odiaba Island in Tokyo bay. And I dragged my dad all the way back to Tokyo mainly so I could see this thing. But once we arrived we found that it had been dismantled, but was going to be rebuilt here. When Dad and I were headed to the Orchard from Kyoto I picked a route that brought us through Shizuoka station, only to find that it wasn't going to be up until July. But what I didn't know was that they had to actually build this thing piece by piece like you would a building. As it turned out, they started construction about 2 weeks ago. Many thanks to Tim for sending me the link alerting me to its present construction and allowing me to make the most of the opportunity. So even though it is incomplete, I can now cross "see the life sized gundam statue" off of my list of stuff to do before I die.

From there, I paid another 140 yen to get back to Shizuoka station, grabbed my bags and purchased my ticket to Tokyo. I grabbed a bento box and some bread for lunch and hauled all my gear up to the platform. The train ride was pleasantly uneventful and I got a good amount of reading done. However as I was pulling my bags off the rack as we pulled up to Tokyo station misfortune struck in the form of my beloved bracelet breaking, dropping many of the beads. Most of them landed on the seat below but I had to scrounge on the floor as fast as I could for the rest. (The trains do not stop very long so I was pressed for time). From the train station I took a taxi to the bank that is very near the hostel I'm staying at. (It's around the corner fortunately, So I didn't have to lug all my crap very far.) Upon arriving I checked in, showered, and purchased a small coin purse in which to keep the beads from my broken bracelet. I seem to have lost at least two beads. This is unfortunate because I do not know where to get replacements of the same type. I suppose I shall have to repair it with beads of a different sort, and that will serve as a reminder to what happened on this trip, making my bracelet a little more interesting.

At any rate, so begins my brief stay in Tokyo. Tomorrow I'm meeting up with one of the girls that was at Nakagomi Orchard for a few days. and she is going to show me around Shibuya and Harajuku, It should be fun. Tanoshimini shitteimasu (Translation: I'm looking forward to it) I'll be home in 4 days.