Japan Update Wednesday 31st

Check out this piccie. Can you imagine the Health and Safety idiots allowing us to cycle through a shopping arcade in England? This is a good example of why cycling works here. You don't have to keep getting off and on your bike everywhere and you don't get run over by cars. Apparently if a car hits a cyclist, it's automatically the cars fault. You get a green man at all crossroads even if the side roads have a green light because cars turning have to give way to cyclists and pedestrian on the roads they are turning into. It seems to be true at every intersection, another reason why cyclists get places quickly and car driving is probably a bit of a pain.

Japan Update Wednesday 31st

We went to Osaka castle in the centre of Osaka. Apparently it was bombed in the war but rebuilt to its former glory which is splendid. It is in castle ground with two battlements and moats. We cycled there from home which is really cool. It was probably about 3 or 4 miles but since everyone cycles, you don't feel like you're being left behind by everyone in their car. It enables you to feel more in touch with your fellow citizens and also to easily stop on the way to buy things or pick stuff up/drop it off. It is also good exercise and fresh air - the air really is fresh here!

Japan Update Wednesday 31st

The trains in Japan are interesting. Contrary to what people might think, they are not all "Bullet Trains" (a phrase not used in Japan, they are simply called Shinkansen - "New Trunk Line") but are various ages just like in England. They are not all exactly on time to the second but they seem to be pretty much to timetable, partly because they are important for the country and partly because Japanese tend to take their jobs seriously and don't delay a train to avoid spilling their cup of tea!! The Shinkansen are reliable but they also have dedicated tracks so that they don't get interfered with by older local trains. This helps them to be on time but they do have system failures and suicides like the rest of the world and are sometimes late or cancelled.

Japan Update Tuesday 30th

We went to a place called Suminoe which has a few large arenas for golf, water sports and bowling but we went to the onsen (public bath) you pay 600 yen (about £5 currently), you take all your clothes off and go and lay in a load of very hot baths heated by the hot springs below. Before all you men get excited, the baths are separated by gender (but apparently not all of them are!!) so you only get to look at naked men which is mostly fairly terrible. Apparently it is an honour to be asked to clean someone's back (like your boss etc) but fortunately the friend I was with already regarded me as close enough without cleaning his!! It was quality and something we could do in England to relax and unwind. There was an outside bath as well which was nice because the wind was cold but the baths were hot. There was also a sauna and massage facilities. For obvious reasons I did not take any piccies of it (and no - it wasn't because I am embarrassed to appear naked on the internet!). I have included a picture of the golf driving range instead.

Japan Update Tuesday 30th

The Japanese have some interesting contraptions. This is a standard toilet found in most homes. It has a tap on the top which fills the cistern and doubles as a hand-washing tap to save water. It also has a computer controlled toilet seat with bum wash, front wash and other Japanese controls, none of which I have dared to try. I don't like the idea of electricity in the same space as a water jet machine!

Japan Update Monday 29th

We travelled on the subway from near where I am staying to Umeda. It is all on the same line. Some interesting facts about the subways.

1. There are no sumo wrestlers pushing people onto the trains contrary to popular belief.


2. The ticket machines are horrifically complicated but the pricing scheme is simple. You look at your destination on the map and it tells you how much it costs.


3. The trains are very smooth and quiet but not ridiculously so.


4. The line I travelled on was not in a tube but in a cut-and-cover where you dig the road up, lay the track and then cover it so you can see the trains on the other side and there is more draft to keep cool.


5. The trains are all air-conditioned


6. The direction signs are totally complicated and mostly in Japanese. They don't seem to like symbols (like for exit or whatever) very much.


7. It cost me 270 yen (£2) to travel about 8 stops on the subway. That is the standard ticket price and the exchange rate is quite bad, it would have been about £1 about a year ago.

Japan Update Monday 29th

We had a load of Afghan and Iranian guys come and visit us since there was an Afghan girl staying at the place I was staying at. We had lunch and I got to practice some more Tajik. After that the girl was returning to her university so we went to a place called Umeda where there are loads of departments stores and the biggest computer shop you've ever seen. I also got to go on the sky wheel with amazing views of Osaka from the top.