I'm Back.

Four days in Tokyo is worth a lifetime back in Scotland. I was staying at a cheap ryokan (hostel) in a neighbourhood called Asakusa which is famous for two things: the Senjou-ji buddhist temple and the infamous golden turd called the Asahi(japanese beer company) building.

Check this out...
The next day was spent doing the sight-seeing thing with a couple of really nice german people who were doing the whole "Lost in Translation" movie tour. They even took me to the hotel were Bill Murray and Scarlett Johanssan first met in the movie.

The Meiji-jingu

Underneath one of the holy trees there, is a selection of wooden plaques with prayers written on them. They're called Ema; some ranged from the sad to the tragic. Some were quite personal so I didn't take any pictures of them but I would like to share a couple at least. Here are some examples:

This one is my personal favourite...
I'll post some more pictures when I've caught up on my sleep. If anyone is curious you can go to the same shrine and try to find my prayer...

I've learnt 2 interesting things about women while in Tokyo. German women take a really long time getting ready to come to bed, and they do very interesting things when they think you're asleep...men still have ears, and while our eyes are shut our ears work 24/7 ;-)

Good night.

Japanese Rockabilly -HELP!!

So, our friend Jason is coming in October to visit us here in Osaka and wants to see this band called The 5,6,7,8's. Unfortunately, they will be in Okinawa when he arrives - right in the middle of typhoon season. So he probably won't be able to go. So a question for all of you out there - do you know of any other good rockabilly/punk etc bands that will be playing in either Osaka or Tokyo the end of October??? We really want to make sure he has a great time when he's here. And hey, who doesn't like a live show? :)

Evidence of Sunday Madness

Secret in a pot

This ones for you Ana-chan. The strangest engrish tshirt I have ever seen.

Sunday Madness!!!

Karaoke + All you can drink = madness. On a Sunday. SUNDAY MADNESS.

Paaaarty!

So we are all currently hanging at Dunk for the all you can drink night. Woo hoo!!!!! Everyone may have to wait a day or so for the pics cause everyone may be too hungover to post the pics - hehe. Heres to nomihoudai!!!

Tokyo, baby!

I'm heading to Tokyo (after the all-you-drink party at Club Dunk of course) for 4 days of sight seeing, drinking, taking pictures and testing Kouji's theory about Harajuku girls ;)

If anyone has some good suggestion about where to go and things to do, drop me a note in the comments. I may even bring back some souvenirs for people. But I can't promise I'll behave myself...

Tokyo by night

Tokyo by day.

ALL YOU CAN DRINK!!!!!

Club Dunk is having an all you can drink night on Sunday!! 2000 and 2500 yen for women and men. Check out the website for more info!!

Check out the new link - Club Dunk!!

OK, so everyone knows we go to this place called Dunk. We started a blog just for the club because we decided that we have so many posts just from there it deserved its very own space! So go check it out!!

Hahaha hostile takeover!

I'm dominating this blog! Okay seriously, I made this today and it needs to be shared with my close friends. I don't think Karaoke Queen has myspace YET, so this is for you!


Get this video and more at MySpace.com

The kindly thoughtfulness of the Pac. NW

Never would I see one of these in my hometown. Although I wonder if people steal from them. Is that a federal offense?? Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised with how resourceful this city really is. And yes, these are right along the sidwalk.

I'm still in tune with my Japanese lessons...

Let's see if Toshi can measure up...

The Party:my contribution.

Jessica and Dali

Yoshi.

Marcus

Jessica and Matt.

There were a lot of pretty ladies there that night.

Hmm.

Jessica and...Wait a second!

Jess and Jamie

Jess and Anna

Jess and Blaine

Jessica and I.

Final farewells are such sweet sorrow...

Good bye is always so hard to say, unless of course you're liquored up and groovin' on the dance floor. The DJ spun his tracks and everyone had a great time. Look at them go!

Touching the Pacific once again

Yes folks, the Ookami has finally made it to the pacific northwest. All I can say is, why didn't I come here sooner?? Such beautiful things to see each day. My apartment (which is really my friend's apartment) is quietly nestled in the hills of West Seattle. We get a clear view of the Olympic Penninsula on a clear day, and a few days ago I wandered down to a look out point that faces the downtown area...



I still think about the people on the other side of the ocean. Wish they could be here with me now to party it up, Seattle style! The job hunt has begun...but that's a different blog. I'm just here to report interesting and cool things about my new home. There are certainly a lot of people I have run into on the streets that are photo worthy. Now I just need to remember to bring the camera everywhere I go.

An interesting tidbit though...I did meet Terry Brooks, author of the Word and Void trilogy and the Sword of Shannara series. He's got a new series out now, Armaggedon's Children. Sounds cool...anyway my roommate Justin is a big fan so we had to go get books signed for him.

To our friends who are leaving...

Blaine and Jess
Jess and Blaine.

We'll miss you guys.


Jess in Japan.


Blaine in his many poses.

We're back!

Now we have arrived home. Safe and sound. We got to see lots of things. We had some problems, but everything worked out. We also met some nice people along the way. Our flight back was great as the service was excellent on the France to Doha leg, and was great on the Doha to Osaka leg. Tomorrow work will begin again. *Sigh*

J'étudierai le français...

J'étudierai le français...

J'étudierai le français...

Highlights of Paris

The coolest thing about Europe was the fact that there are so many old buildings around you. In Japan we also see this but, it's so much cooler when you look out your hotel window to see a massive gothic styled cathedral.


The first and foremost thing one must do in Paris is, of course, to visit the Tour Eiffel.

We did this at night to see the city lit up and sparkling.

We were lucky enough to be at the base at the right time to see the Epilepsy inducing light show.


The second attraction on our must-see list was Le Louvre.


It was huge and that's no bull.


The pieces ranged from astounding...

...to cheeky. There was pretty much something for everybody.


The third major attraction we wanted to see was Notre Dame de Paris.


We marvelled at the architecture and what not. Again the extremely long queues drove us to not go up the towers. Besides we walked on the roof of the Doumo di Milano which was also decorated in Gothic style.

We also got to see some of the Cathedral's treasures. Hmmm. Hidden message anyone?

One day I will lead my flock to salvation in the name of the Church of Mr. E.T.


We took a cheap bus tour to see the many monuments around Paris.


It was more expensive than using public transport, but the convenience was a big plus in our books.


We got to see many of the famous sights.


We also got to see some of the not so famous sights.