Saturday, April 25, 2009

Japan April 9 from Toronto to Narita

I'll be blogging every banal detail of my 11 days in Japan for my own amusement and posterity. You've been warned.

We get to Pearson nice and early, with plenty of time to catch our flight. Sit down and have a meal with Quinn and eventually Rob and Phil at Coyote Jacks. All seems fine since we've already dealt with customs and baggage, we're all set to go. With our tickets in hand we head for our gate.

There was the first of many heart-stopping moments when Rob is reprimanded for a seriously underdressed group of travel companions they begin threatening to bar us from the flight. On further reflection Rob is sure that it's more likely good natured ribbing but at the time it seemed ludicrously serious. They adjust Quinn's seat and put him at the very back of the Boeing 777.

12 hours and a handful of crappy movies later we are setting down in Narita. Security and customs are quick and easy with the exception of having to find an address to put on our paperwork even though we have no idea where we're staying at this point.

It turns out Rob wasn't staying in Japan but actually just flying us over and then hopping directly onto the return flight, too crazy, it's not an easy trek.

While sitting in arrivals we met an English teacher named Adam. His parents were on their way from L.A. to China with a stopover in Narita so he'd come down for a brief visit.

Unfortunatley they ended up stuck on the plane so he made the long journey for nothing. He was nice enough to let us tag along as he made his way back into Tokyo on the train. We followed him as far as Nipporri before we parted ways and went to look for somewhere to sleep. Not the best plan...

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Japan!

2100 pictures later and I'm back in Ontario for a little bit. I was lucky enough to travel to Japan for 11 days so there are plenty of posts to come.

Kampai!

Monday, March 30, 2009

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

And that has made all the difference.

This helped salvage an otherwise devastating day.



Thank you Jonathan Kim

Monday, March 9, 2009

One Week...Awwww, just a week?

So, for all the folks out there either tormented by or intimately acquainted with wanderlust, there is a new movie for you.

It stars Joshua Jackson as a young man diagnosed with cancer and the folly of finding meaning in a life with a time limit.



It started off strong with a healthy dose of dark comedy and I had high hopes for the movie in it's entirety. Unfortunately it couldn't decide what movie it wanted to be. The dark humor disappeared and the tone of the film rollercoastered the rest of the way.

The characters were likable enough that your heartstrings were successfully tugged but they fell flat since they managed to do nothing but gaze into space looking forlorn.

Overall the movie was inconsistent in acting, tone, humor, pacing etc. Save yourself some time and just watch "Into the Wild" again, you'll be much happier.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Backyard Adventure

I don't know about other people but I often get so wrapped up in dreaming about adventures in far off locales that I often forget there are things to see in my own area.

 
Posted by Picasa


Mix two parts frigid water with one part large green dumpster. Shake well with ice.

 
Posted by Picasa


The ice flow along the Grand River is one of those interesting things ignored too easily.

 
Posted by Picasa


Discoquinn with his eye on the ball...rock. Rockball?

 
Posted by Picasa


Just be careful. The ground isn't always as solid or not water as it looks.