Live Streetviews of Shibuya
Posted on | October 10, 2011 | No Comments
I found this a few years ago but just stumbled across it again the other day. This page has links to three different live webcams which you can zoom, pan, and control with the click of a mouse and see what’s going on in the streets of Shibuya. Check it out here: Shibuya Koen-Dori …
Read More...Blogger Ben: One Month
Posted on | October 18, 2010 | No Comments
A month ago, I arrived in Tokyo not knowing what to expect. A month later, I am happy to report that I am living happily and frugally in a city that can literally eat you alive. My Japanese has not improved much but I can say that I understand more than I first …
Read More...Blogger Ben: Memoris of a Geisha (Tour)
Posted on | October 13, 2010 | No Comments
There really is no such tour! I made it up just because it sounded cool, at least at the time of writing, that is….right now! Ok so this is the last portion of my Kansai extravaganza monster post. A trip to Kyoto would not be complete without a trip to the Gion/祇園 the …
Read More...Blogger Ben: Nara
Posted on | October 11, 2010 | 1 Comment
My second day in Kansai involved taking a day trip out to nearby Nara. Nara is a magical place with a temple inhabited with what I like to call four legged furry pigeons. Others call prefer to call them by a more typical name: deers. Seriously, the deers at Todai-ji (東大寺) will …
Read More...Blogger Ben: Kyoto
Posted on | October 11, 2010 | No Comments
I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Kansai via the ever “classy” and most importantly wallet friendly JR Highway bus! My goodness was it ever a blast. It would have been even better had the weather co-operated, but it’s almost always impossible to have your cake and eat it too, I …
Read More...Live from Kyoto, it’s Saturday…Day?
Posted on | October 8, 2010 | No Comments
I got in a few hours ago, but I am killing time at Kyoto station waiting for a friend, so I thought I’d do a post, of sorts. Weather wise it’s terrible. the rain has been on and off, but at least it’s still in the 20′s even though it’s already October. …
Read More...Blogger Ben: A list of random things that I learned this week
Posted on | October 5, 2010 | No Comments
1. In Tokyo (and probably all over Japan) you can get a Hamburg (steak) ハンバーグ and a Hamburger ハンバーガー. They both sound alike in Japanese. Although both contain ground beef, they are infact quite different. 2. Sorting garbage is a pain in the a$$. Someone should start a garbage sorting service. …
Read More...Blogger Ben: I’m So Sorry
Posted on | October 5, 2010 | No Comments
Dear citizens of Tokyo, if you had the misfortune of crossing paths with me, I sincerely apologize. By crossing paths, I literally mean crossing paths. Here’s a little background: In Canada people drive on the right hand side, so naturally when walking, most would walk on the right side of the side walk. …
Read More...Blogger Ben: My 1 Week Anniversary
Posted on | September 23, 2010 | No Comments
A week ago, I started the 16 hour journey to Tokyo. In retrospect my fears of getting lost were ill-conceived. Major cities in Japan are probably one of the most tourist friendly places in the world. I was fortunate to have befriended Jeremy, an American who is in Japan teaching English. …
Read More...Blogger Ben: Sashimi like a highroller
Posted on | September 20, 2010 | No Comments
The neighbourhood around me is pretty upscale, which means there are upscale grocery stores. I have been to my local (somewhat upscale) Maruetsu Petit location a few times and noticed that the price of their fish is comparable to that of other, more budget locations. I picked up a package of Aji (from Nagasaki 長崎 [...]
Read More...Blogger Ben: I ♡ Engrish が大好き
Posted on | September 18, 2010 | 2 Comments
I was exploring the neighbourhood yesterday, and came across this (see photo, English words below store name). It made my day. If only everyone is upfront and honest about what they cook up, our world would be a much better place.
Read More...Blogger Ben: I made it
Posted on | September 18, 2010 | No Comments
I think altogether, it took me about 18-19 hours to travel door to door from my parent’s home to my new home here in Shinjuku. It was not bad at all, in retrospect. The flight was fine, and I saw a few movies that were on my list of movies-to-watch. Immigration/Passport control …
Read More...Blogger Ben: What to pack and not pack
Posted on | September 12, 2010 | 2 Comments
Since my last post about travel insurance, I have decided to go with the basic emergency medical offered by Travel Cuts for $117, all in. So that’s dealt with, and paid for. I hope I won’t ever have to use it. Money well spent, perhaps? So now on to packing. I have …
Read More...Blogger Ben: 日本語を勉強しています
Posted on | September 1, 2010 | No Comments
I’ve been reviewing mostly Japanese vocab and some grammar lately because, and I am guessing here, that I can at least get by at the beginning in Japan by stringing verbs and nouns together to construct something remotely understandable to a native Japanese speaker. Case in point (maybe not so appropriate): in the movie …
Read More...Blogger Ben: Thoughts on travel insurance
Posted on | August 18, 2010 | 2 Comments
Japan has a fairly comprehensive public health care system which individuals can join. You can read all about it in Wikipedia and the official government pages. However, for people like myself on a working holiday visa with permission to stay for at most a year, we are not eligible for said health benefits. Accidents do [...]
Read More...Blogger Ben: Going to Tokyo from Narita, with the help of the black cat
Posted on | August 6, 2010 | 2 Comments
I’ve been looking at the different ways of getting into Tokyo City from NRT (Narita Airport) lately and the options seem quite overwhelming. You can take the train, the express train, the super express train, the limo bus or the taxi. That’s just crazy. My last visit to Japan, I remembered taking …
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