/Furano = cold

It's bloody cold in Furano! Couldn't feel my face after 5 minutes in the sub 9+ degree cold last night.

We are back at the Ressha House Pension where you can leave your $2 Asahi can outside your room window and have ice cold beer in 10 minutes. Sure is a fine way to relax after a day on the slopes.

Today's food baby menu included: beef steak curry, azuki bean bun, octopus balls and vending machine coffee for lunch; and for dinner: 9 plates of sushi train plates. I could give you a visual depiction of my food baby, but I won't. Just imagine E.T but slightly more human.





Check out road works, Furano style i.e. with blow torches



First day of riding wasn't too bad either

/Tokyo - Gochisoosama*

* to express gratitude for cooking and serving (just after eating)

It has been an eating spree in Tokyo. Traveling with 5 perpetually hungry boys with bottomless pit stomachs is helping me bring my food baby to full term. I suspect that our voracious appetite scared some of Binny's Jap pals at last night's dinner. Today was no exception with a visit to the inspiration behind the scene where The Bride battles Go Go Yubari. The chocolate pudding with black sesame ice cream was sublime!






This is our last night in Tokyo and our living abode - Oakwood Apartments Shinjuku - for the past 4 nights. The 180 degree views from our apartment are spectacular ...







... and pity we only discovered the "sky lounge" on the last night. The lounge is secluded and decked with an awesome view; has a bar system based on 'honesty'; and a computerised piano that has good enough taste to leave out Richard Clayderman on its play list.




We were yet again caught in the rush hour subway chaos coming back from Akihabara Electric Town (秋葉原電気街). If Sunday @ 5:30pm generates this much traffic, I shudder at the thought of traveling on a weekday at the major stations. Being stuck in the mob and contending with the surge of bodies en masse is similar to being stuck in a strong rip, i.e. there is nothing you can do about it ... you must just go with the flow and assure yourself that the poor old grandma that you knocked over will live another day (despite the additional food baby weight).



Yodobashi at Akihabara is indeed a geek's fantasy. Lucky for me, fantasy-land also had an impressive range of anpanman paraphernalia.

/Tokyo Madness

Missed out on an update on Kyoto, aka Shrine Mania. There were good times in Shrine Mania, one of which was our stay at a traditional ryokan (旅館) which included kaiseki dinner and breakfast. It was a treat to be seen. The kaiseki required punctuality, which can prove quite difficult when there are 11 of us running riot. Other notable ryokan experiences were: wearing a yukata 24/7, and HT's favourite - having to shower in a common bath area (Ofuro).

More on Kyoto later.

Am now in Tokyo. As the saying goes, when in Tokyo...

• Squeeze yourself in a sardine packed Tokyo subway. Seeing it on TV might be fun, but being caught in the midst of it is stressful and tiring. I was physically unable to lose balance because we were squeezed in so tight - I had bodies all around me to break my fall. Apparently some guy said to Nat that it was a case of 'survival until you have to get off'.

• Eat at the Iron Chef's restaurant. It was a culinery experience well worth every dollar. 3 hours of delectable food and sake, all adding to this nearly full-grown food baby that I am harvesting this holiday.

• See lots of dead fish; feel regret and sorrow for the dead fish only to eat some of it later. So yummy though ...

• Buy a snowboard - tick! Not fun transporting the thing on the subway though.

Other Tokyo highlights to come later.

What I haven't done is try out the "massage" function on the bidet in our apartment. I will muster the courage before we leave on Saturday.