Rich 1, JR Pass 0

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

I honestly can't remember if I posted this before, and I don't particularly feel like wading through the 90,000+ words I wrote about the trip to Japan to see if I have posted this before, but I found the whole breakdown of the various trains I took on my 52,000-yen ...

Surface Mail Arrived.

Thursday, December 27th, 2007

Just a note for those wondering if surface mail (a.k.a 船便 ふなびん or funabin) really takes 8-10 weeks... it does. My packages finally arrived this past week. The last one I sent from Kyoto at the end of October just showed up today. I need to get busy and finish photo editing, ...

Buses in Japan. How to Cope.

Thursday, November 8th, 2007

I've mentioned buses in Japan before, but I thought I would mention them again to give them a little special attention. In order to get to some out-of-the-way places, you will need to ride buses.  They can also be the most intimidating of the various forms of transport, because there ...

The Voices!

Wednesday, November 7th, 2007

So if you're in Japan long enough, you'll notice that everything here talks to you. Everything. And I think it's all voiced by the same lady. She has a very kind and gentle voice, that kindly and gently informs you that the escalator is not a toy, the bus is ...

Jet Lag.

Thursday, October 11th, 2007

I did take pictures of my various teeny-tiny rooms, but I've been sleeping pretty much all day, and after a long nap, I'm now going to bed to sleep for another 8 or so hours. The school does have a nice bar called "ZigZag" that serves cheap Guinness, but ...

Off to Japan!

Thursday, October 11th, 2007

Well, I have arrived safely in Okazaki. I have a high-speed ethernet connection in my room, so I am a happy person. My flight to Dallas-Ft. Worth left at 6:00 a.m. Since I'm an international passenger, this means I had to be at the airport 2 hours early. (4 a.m.!) ...

My Japan Trip Preparation

Sunday, September 30th, 2007

I'm going to Japan, and I need to prepare. How did I prepare? Well, I'll tell you. I started in late August, when I went to Mt. Mitchell, the tallest mountain in North Carolina, and the tallest East of the Mississippi River. Because I have some inner ear problems, I wanted to ...