Japan > Oz
Posted on June 28th, 2006 in Travel | 2 Comments »
G’day!
It’s been a while since my last entry. My trip to Japan ended on a high with a great second week. Osaka was cool. It’s like a miniature version of Tokyo only a lot less rushed and a lot less people. The castle is pretty impressive too. If and when I come back to Japan, I’ll revisit Osaka and see the things I couldn’t see in one day or afford (the aquarium in particular).
On leaving Osaka, I stopped off at Himeji - site of the oldest preserved castle in Japan. It really was like stepping back in time as it had all been preserved for about 400 years and the views from the top were fantastic. This was another place in Japan, and I gather the Far East in general, that insists on you taking your shoes off. It”ll feel strange to be able to visit a museum or tourist site with my shoes on in future!
Another 5 hours on a train and I made it to Nagasaki and the pouring rain. It turned out the hostel room I had reserved was in the guest house owned by the hostel parents so it was a wee surprise when I saw I had a TV in my room and therefore a chance to keep up with the football. Nagasaki is a pretty little down at the south of Japan and was an A-bomb victim. It’’s remembrance of the bombing is more low-key than Hiroshima but they made up for it with their gruelling museum which really holds no punches. This town was also the first opened port so there’s a definite european flavour about some of the buildings, none more so than Glover garden - home of the western buildings and once a Scotsman. I only had a day in Nagasaki but it was a pretty good one rounded off with a bowl of Champon - seafood, meat and veg with noodles served in a soup, delicious!
The next day was pretty much spent on a train from 10am right through until 730pm. It felt good being back in Tokyo, almost felt like home, certainly the most comfortable place I”d felt in Japan. I”d love to go back and to Tokyo in particular and see more of the sprawling metropolis.
The next day I had to ammuse myself for a good few hours as my flight out wasnt until 8pm so I went to Ginza and Shibuya to see the shops. The place was jumping - like Argyle Street on a Saturday blown up 100 times! HMV and Tower Records were pretty impressive and I managed to get a listen to the new Keane album there! Outside Tower they were selling tickets to Fuji Rock - Japan’s version of Glastonbury and the lineup looked amazing! I spent the last few hours at Ueno park in the sunshine, almost getting stung many atime by these huge wasps!
The airport isn’t much to write home about and the flight was pretty much uneventful. The plane has seen better days mind as my armrest had massive cracks in it and the guy in front’s headrest came clean off the seat! Good ol’ Qantas!! I touched down in Melbourne at around 730 and got through customs 40 minutes later after they’d scanned my stuff for foodstuffs and soil. Reminded me of the Simpsons where Bart unleashed his frog on the country! My family came and got me and took me to their house in Laverton in the Western suburbs of Melbourne.
We rested for a while then went to Albert Park and did a lap of the course - was strange as I could visualise the circuit just without the kerbs, adverts and barriers! Then we stopped off at St Kilda for a few hours and back for dinner. It’s a quiet part of the city and a big difference from where I’ve been staying up til now.
Monday night was the Neighbours’ quiz night and a chance to meet up with Gary and Lesley. For those who havent spoken to Gary he’ll be home on Friday. I think we came 5th overall in the quiz and met Janelle, Boyd and Max from the show. Boyd waxes his legs and Max still has those awful sideburns and is a bit arrogant. Also, according to Gary, Harold is an utter sleaze and asks girls to sit on his face - nice!
Wednesday night was Gary’s 19th birthday so we headed out in St Kilda. Me, Gary, Lesley and her flatmate Tracy started off in the Espy - apparently its Melbourne’s version of King Tuts. I failed miserably at pool, knocking over Gary’s pot of VB in the process! We headed on the Vineyard then to another bar where we got Jaegerbombs - Red Bull and Jaegermeister, really nice! I had to head after that as the last train home is at midnight.
The family all left me behind on Friday as they went on their holiday to Thailand, leaving me with the house to myself… Saturday was my first proper venture into Melbourne city centre. It’s a really nice place, if a little cold! I started off at the Melbourne Visitor Centre on Federation Square where I armed myself with some maps and day trip information. After that I went shopping for a winter top as its really quite cold and I didn”t have enough room for two jumpers in my backpack.
At around half five I met up with Lesley who showed me some of the interesting places around the city centre before having dinner at a Greek pizzeria on Lygon Street - the start of Melbourne’s Italian district. After that we made the walk to the Southbank and to the Crown complex - a casino, restaurants, shops, cinema and hotel all-in-one! There was a fire show at 8pm, warmed us right up! We finished off the night in PJ O’Briens, an Irish pub in the Southgate Centre before she had to work.
Sunday and Tuesday I used to relax, watch the World Cup and catch up on some sleep! On Monday I went to the Melbourne Public Baths to have a swim. I need to get back in the water as my diving course is next month and I don’t really want to drown!! On my way home I stopped into Safeway and bought the last bottle of Irn Bru!
Today I collected my rail pass and booked my tickets for my onward journey to Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns. I”ve also begun the world tour section of my website where I will provide a more comprehensive record of my trip - look out for it soon!
Yours from the cold,
D
